Franklin, Brentwood, and Nashville TN newborn, child, and family photographer

Angkaw family 2015 | Franklin family photographer

October 14, 2015

This is the second of three previews I’m working on from this weekend! I posted the Harris family’s earlier this morning. Did you see it? Here’s the link. My little guy is napping, so I have another chunk of time to work on the session I had the other day with this fun crew of 4. I’ve also been photographing them for a few years, which I love. We met at one of my favorite spots in Franklin, which happens to have beautiful leaves for most of the month of October! The light here is just fabulous.

As a reminder, I don’t post whole-family photos on Facebook or my blog this time of year because I know people are often thinking about Christmas cards and gifts. 🙂

You guys see the circles of light in the background? That’s called bokeh. Lens choice, light, and camera settings all play into how much (if any) bokeh you see in a photo. Personally, I think it’s pretty drool-worthy.

I’m not sure what it is, but this last image really spoke to me as needing to be a black & white. I always deliver both color and b&w edits for final images to my clients, but sometimes I do feel strongly about a particular edit and want to show it that way.

Harris family 2015 | Franklin family photographer

October 14, 2015

This is the third fall that I’ve gotten to see this great family for a photo session. Last year, we FROZE on our date. We were all thrilled with a beautiful sunny day. The kids are total hams for the camera, so they were very willing participants! I happened to run into them the weekend prior at the park, so they were also really familiar with who I was, which always helps! Big brother brought along his football because he really wanted a photo with it. I know you guys have heard me say it before, but I’ll say it again– I love including things that are important to your child.

As a reminder, I don’t show whole family photos this time of year in previews since they will likely be on Christmas cards. I know you’ll enjoy seeing these images from our time together in Franklin!

Abby: 2 years old | Nashville child photographer

September 21, 2015

If you follow me on Facebook, you already got to see a few photos from Abby’s session earlier. If you don’t follow me yet, we can easily remedy that– just click on the little “F” icon just above this post, and you’ll be directed to my page. While you’re at it, I recommend that you hover over the “liked” tab on the page and select “Get notifications” or “See First” to ensure that you see my Facebook posts. There are some crazy algorithms that keep people from seeing posts lots of times, so that would override the algorithm (=the goal). If you want to hear about special events, learn if there’s a model call, and see some ridiculously cute images (who doesn’t??), then liking and getting notified about my page is the way to go!

Now that we’ve established that, let me tell you about Abby. I have been photographing this sweet girl for two years ago. Her mama and I went to middle and high school together in Knoxville, and then she found me via Facebook for photography once we were both settled in Nashville. So fun! While we were walking to our first location Saturday, I happened to notice that a tree had lost quite a few leaves. I’m not one to pass up a “child in leaves” photo opportunity, so I made sure to get a quick photo. It may be my first of the season, but it definitely won’t be my last.

When I showed up for Abby’s newborn session in 2013, I brought along this white metal basket that I had found at TJ Maxx/Homegoods not long beforehand. That basket has now been used for all 4 of Abby’s photo sessions, per her mama’s request. I think it’s fun to see how this sweet little girl has changed over the months and years. Holding the basket (as you’ll see below) at Saturday’s shoot was entirely her idea, too! Abby also got in the basket at one point, and her daddy picked her up. From the sounds of it, they must play a similar game with a laundry basket at home.

I just have to say, I have a special place in my heart for red hair, especially red hair with curls. DREAMY. It has always been my favorite, which I think was originally inspired by a crush I had on a little boy in kindergarten. Sadly, my children were destined for normal, brown hair given my coloring and my husband’s (and that of our parents and grandparents). Lucky for me, I have several red-headed clients, so I’ll just to have to soak it in and admire it during their sessions!

You’ve Booked a Session: Now What? | Part 2 | Nashville family photographer

September 20, 2015

Hey guys! I’m back with part 2 in my series– You’ve Booked a Session: Now What?

If you missed part 1, here’s that post.

In this post, I’m going to update you on my current progress with picking out clothing for my family for our shoot that is coming up in 3 weeks (!) Now that I write that, I’m starting to feel the crunch! Good thing I have a plan. Well, sort of. If you’re still a few weeks out from your session, my hope is that you will allot some time now to evaluate clothing choices.

I firmly believe that what you wear for your session can help make or break your images.

If there is an engaging, thoughtful color palette or some sense of coordination, images will be even more pleasing to the eye. In some cases, they can even enhance your location. Cowboy boots when we’re shooting at a barn or near a wooden fence? Perfect. If each person’s outfit is just kind of randomly selected, there will be a subconscious appearance of disjointedness. Try to find unifying elements or colors.

When I last posted, I mentioned that 3 sweaters jumped out at me from my younger son, Andrew’s, closet after I realized what direction I was going to be going with our color palette. I think any of them could work, depending on what I end up picking for my outfit. More on that in a minute. My husband’s shirt will likely be picked last (sorry, Honey!)

Just a reminder, this is my starting point for our clothing. It is for my older son, and I got it at Gymboree earlier this year (or maybe last year? Not sure). I love that it looks “fall,” has the buttoned detail on the sleeve, the contrast stitching, is a classic pattern (plaid), and has plenty of colors for the rest of the family to work with.

Andrew’s option #1: Janie & Jack gray and red argyle sweater. Not my favorite for the shoot, but it could work. If we go with this, I would avoid big patterns for my husband and myself. We’d need to stick with solids or small/simple patterns.

Andrew’s option #2: Mini Boden heathered navy and tan sweater (with cute patches on elbows… forgot to take a photo of them). This is my favorite so far.

Andrew’s option #3: Gap gray and navy sweater. Simple and classic. I love the bold stripe trim.

Any of those really could work. Knowing that I had options for Andrew, I moved on to figure out what I might wear. I had luck at Gap online for a navy maxi dress last year for our family photos, so that’s where I started again this time. Nothing jumped out at me at the regular store, but I decided to try Gap Outlet the other day. These are the three dresses I picked up at potential options. The gray stripe was really more for fun/regular wear, not the shoot, but I kept it in the photo on accident. The dress was definitely more red in person, but it photographed kind of pink on my phone. Unfortunately, none of these fit quite right or were as flattering as I’d like. Boo.

Though none of the dresses worked, I found this scarf. Ding ding ding! It can tie into the red on Matthew’s shirt, and it has a nice small repeating pattern that won’t compete with his plaid. I then started thinking and realized that a denim dress (which I think is pretty trendy right now… but I’m admittedly not exactly the trendiest person) might look really cute with it.

I started looking around and landed on this one from Lands End (see below). Luckily, I got it ordered before it mostly sold out (website shows just a couple sizes left). It is knee-length on me (I’m tall), which is ideal in my mind since I know we’ll be moving around (standing up, sitting down, maybe playing with the boys) for our shoot. I’m thinking this dress with the sleeves slightly rolled up + Gap Outlet scarf (above) + cognac colored boots. Rolling up my sleeves serves two purposes– 1) It exposes a little skin, which will make me look a little more engaging, and 2) It ties into the fact that Matthew’s sleeves will be rolled up.

Source: Frye Melissa boot

These are a bit out of my budget, but I got a great pair of boots at Nordstrom Rack last year that are similar that should work.

Right now, you may think that I’ve invested a lot of time on all of this. Really, I haven’t. Let’s say you want to knock this out (or at least most of it) in one day. That’s pretty doable. I’d recommend going to the mall and spending a few hours going to a few of your favorite stores to get a plan. See what jumps out at you and go from there. Last year, I went to Opry Mills in Nashville because I know that I’d have more store options than just a regular mall. As I bought items, I then pulled them out in the next store to see if they might work with what I was considering. I may have looked slightly crazy at Banana Republic Outlet when I had my boys’ patterned shorts spread out on the table display trying to figure out which button-up for my husband would be best, but it helped!

When I’m choosing clothing for a shoot for my family, my goal is that we’ll look cohesive, but also that all of the different pairings/groupings will work together. My outfit has to work so I can do an individual shot with all 3 of my boys. Same thing goes for each of them pairing up for photos. It has to make sense as a whole and also be able to stand alone.

I will need very minimal additional accessories for myself based on my current outfit choices, but they may be key for your session. Accessories add dimension and personality. It may mean adding a necklace, headband (for a little girl), hat or vest, interesting belt, etc. For example, a thin navy puffer vest would look adorable over Matthew’s plaid shirt, so I’ll have to keep that in mind. Once you get your base layer or outfit picked, stop and think– what can I add to give it a little more oomph?

Also: SHOES MATTER. Yes, I put that in all caps, and I’ll be blunt: your children should NOT wear tennis shoes to a photo shoot. Period. My only exception to the tennis shoe rule would be if they are completely neutral colored (tan/brown/gray) and there is no neon, bright colors, superheros, or other characters. Here’s a great example of a tennis shoe style that is acceptable. In fact, Andrew has these very shoes and may be wearing them for our shoot.

Source: Sperry Halyard shoe from Stride Rite

If you made it this far, then you’re amazing. Really. That was a long post. 🙂 I’d love to hear from you! Did this inspire you? Which sweater option do you think is best for Andrew? What do you think my husband should wear? Do you have new ideas for your own family now? I’d love to know what this made you think about.

Coming up in part 3: what I’m doing when we’re 1-2 weeks out from our shoot.

You’ve Booked A Session. Now What? | Part 1 | Nashville family photographer

September 15, 2015

Congratulations!

You’ve scheduled a photo session. I’m excited and hope you are, too! There’s some prep work we need to talk about. My family has already scheduled a full session in October this year with an awesome photographer, so I’m going to walk you through how I’m getting ready (and thus how you can, too).

Assuming it is 1-2 months until your shoot, you need to:

Start thinking about clothing. (More on that below)
Schedule a blow out or styling appointment with your hair stylist on the day of your shoot. Trust me, it’s worth it. And note: I did NOT say get a haircut the day of the shoot. Never.
- I had a blow out last spring when my family had our last family portrait session, and I have to say it was so relaxing to be pampered (read: put me in a good mood!), and it made me confident knowing that my hair was going to look amazing in the images that we would be hanging on our wall. Your family will be looking back at these photos for years, so it makes sense to put a little extra effort into them.
Think about whether or not you want to have your make-up done. This doesn’t have to be scheduled now. Might sound like a splurge, but it doesn’t have to be. More on that in Part 2 of the series.

Something I want to start doing even more of is educating my clients about the importance of wardrobe selection. I want to start the conversation NOW so that you’re thinking about what you might wear. Clothes should not be picked out the day of the session. Trust me, it happens. It shouldn’t, though.

There are two ways I recommend picking out clothing:

Start with one piece of clothing that you know someone in the family is going to wear.
- This piece will be the jumping off point for everyone else. For my family this year, this shirt is our starting point. I was putting away some clothes in my 5 year old’s closet that I had just bought at a local upscale consignment sale a couple weekss ago when this shirt caught my attention. It’s from Gymboree, and I bought it several months ago. Our session is in October, so the colors will be seasonally-appropriate AND it gives me a great place to start planning the rest of our wardrobe. Part 2 of this blog series will dive more into good options to coordinate but not match. I already have three potential sweaters for my 2 year old to wear that could work, so I’ll give you a chance to vote on which one you think is best! I’ll also be walking you through my process as I shop for pieces (both in our closets and at stores) for the rest of us.
Pick a color scheme.
- Last year, I chose the colors navy and gray for my family. I knew that I wanted timeless colors that I could put in any room of my house. Taking cues from your home decor is definitely an option, too. If you know that you’re going to hang a portrait in the living room above the piano, look at the colors used in the fabrics in the room (rug, curtains, sofa, chairs, pillows) and see if pulling one or two of those might work.

Photo by Angela Crutcher Photography

Sarah-Beth Photography has amazing tips for selecting clothing for your session that get even more in-depth than my suggestions above, so I highly recommend you read through her post about what to wear. Her stylist friend also jumped in with her own tips.

I’ll be back with more prep tips and where I am in the process in Part 2 of this blog series.