Moms always do a fantastic job of documenting the lives of their children all the way from birth to college.

You only have to look at a mother’s social media pages to see how much they cherish the big and small moments in their children’s lives. Every milestone is important to them.

Moms are no strangers to scrapbooking, blogging and documenting their child’s special moments, but the problem is that they often leave themselves out of their collection of photos.

Many times moms will ask to be left out of photos when they bring their children through for a shoot. If they do decide that they want to be in the photos, they’ll usually book the shoot months in advance so that they can lose any extra weight.

Every mom should be in more photos with her children and every mom deserves to feel good about the way she looks in those photos. Here are a few tips to help moms look fabulous in all future photos.

Keep that smile natural. There’s nothing more beautiful than a natural smile or laugh so do what it takes to smile as sincerely as possible. Bring someone along to tell you a few jokes to put you at ease if need be but don’t force that smile.

Angle your body. It’s time to put all those yoga classes to good use. In order to make your hips look narrower and your shoulders wider, aim to position your body at a ninety-degree angle from the photographer. Now, simply turn your hips towards the camera and square your shoulders.

Use your children as props. Many women really can’t stand looking at themselves in photos and if this is the case for you, get your children to stand or sit in front of you to avoid being the main focus in the photos.

Keep that chin down. Unfortunately, sticking your chin in the air doesn’t make for flattering photos. By keeping your chin down, you’ll create shadows and contours that will compliment your face. If you’re worried about having a double chin, lean forward slightly to prevent this from happening.

Tone down your outfit. A busy outfit is not the best route to go if you’re looking to go unnoticed in a photo. Keep your clothing simple in order to hide anything that you don’t want to draw attention to. You can also opt for black and white photos if you really want to take the attention away from specific details.

Use natural lighting. Forget the camera flash and opt to have your photos taken in a room where there’s tons of natural light. It makes for amazing photos.

 

Looking for other helpful ideas for your upcoming session? Check out the tips & tricks section on the blog.

 

I got a call from a family friend of the Morales’s telling me that she wanted to purchase a photo session as a gift for this family who is going through a lot right now. She mentioned that they have not had professional family photos in years and that the dad had been diagnosed with cancer.
I can not imagine what this family is going through but I knew that they needed that money more than I did so I gifted the session to this family all thanks to their family friend reaching out. Below is their story and a link to help support the Morales’s family.

Earlier this year, David was diagnosed with myxoid liposarcoma which is a rare form of cancer. He had surgery to remove a mass from his leg in April and was on his way to recovery being told that he was cancer free- being a cancer survivor, it’s important that you’re seen for checkups regularly and on Friday, December 7th David went to meet with his doctors to discuss his most recent scans. The news he was given on that day was not what anyone was expecting to hear. He was told that the cancer had returned and had metastasized to his bones. The cancer now resides in numerous areas of his body. He went from being cancer free to being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer within 6 months time.

David will undergo an aggressive chemo treatment over the next 5 -6 months that will include 5 days in the hospital and then 16 days at home, repeating this 6 times. During this time he will be out of work and his loving wife Bianca will be his primary care giver. Bianca holds the insurance for the family and will need to keep her job. She has been approved for FMLA so that she can help care for David on his journey to recovery, but David will be on disability and unable to bring home the full financial support that he is used to.

David is a very strong, dedicated and a giving man, and has done so much for so many people. He is the proud father of 6 beautiful children and enjoys attending church with his family and just having quality family time. David also has a passion for football and over the past 10 years he has given so much of himself to coaching youth football for his boys and community. He’s not only passionate about the sport but about seeing the players succeed in life. For those of you who are volunteers know that this has to be a selfless act, that’s definitely David.

The battle to fight cancer is a lot to worry about and David’s friends and family would like to get the Morale’s family with the added financial strain a critical illness can bring. Please follow the link below to help this family through this tough time.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about their story.

 

Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/david-moralesconquering-cancer

Oh how I just adore the family I’m blogging about today. I’m lucky enough to say I’ve been photographing the Gorman family for 2 years now! I truly can’t believe how much the children have grown and changed since I first met them.

It goes without saying, Abigail and Josh are always a pleasure to work with. It’s hard to not love clients like Abigail who has so much love and excitement for her family. Dad and husband Josh is just as great. He is always keeping everyone laughing with his sense of humor and he adores his family so much.

When Abigial emailed me to take their photos again, I immediately began counting down the days to our session! And as for the day of the shoot, I had a great time! They had a pretty great time, too.

“I love that my kids love Ashleys style of picture taking, she is very personable and she doesnt waste time! With such a large group of kids keeping things moving is a must with us, having to much down time where kids can get dirty and do who knows what is never a good thing. Ashley has always given us more photos then we can afford to chose from, I love that we have options and poses that we get to scan thru!” says Abigail.

Okay, enough text. Check out the fabulous Gorman family!

 

Check out tips and tricks for your upcoming session on my blog!

You want to look your best on the day of your photo shoot and how you apply your makeup can play a big part in this. When it comes to doing your make up you want to enhance your natural features. Usually the less is more approach is the best way to go about this. To help you create a flawless natural look for your upcoming photo shoot consider these simple steps.

 

1. The base.

• Moisturize-

You always want to make sure you moisturize prior to applying your makeup. This will help keep the makeup looking fresh while keeping your skin hydrated. It also makes it easier to blend and limits creasing.

 

• Foundation-

After moisturizing, you want to apply your foundation over your entire face. Use a brush or blender to ensure you get an even coat over the entire area.

 

• Concealer-

Most women have a few trouble areas that they want to conceal, mainly around the eyes, mouth, and nostrils. Use concealer sparingly and make sure it is well blended in.

 

• Powder-

Applying a translucent powder to the center of the forehead, nose, and chin will reduce any shine you may experience. The camera will pick up any gleam your face gives off so you don’t want to skip this step but you do want to try to avoid any powders with glitter or shimmer as this will only be magnified.

 

2. The eyes.

• Eyebrows-

Many people neglect to use an eyebrow pencil to make their brows a little fuller because this can often be easily overdone. Using an eyebrow pencil, however, can make your eyes look wider and your face look younger. Starting at the bottom of your brow use a pencil to fill the brow in from the bottom up. You want to start off a little darker and lighten the color as you move towards the top to create a more natural look.

 

• Lids-

To help emphasize your eyes with eye shadow you want to use three colors. Start with a natural color that is close to your skin tone and apply it over the lid. Apply a darker color to the crease of the lid and finish with a highlighter color applied to the inner corners of the eye and along the brow bone. You want to ensure everything is well blended to maintain a natural look.

 

Don’t shy away from eyeliner either. Eyeliner will help frame the eyes and this can make them appear brighter. To apply the eyeliner you want to use a skinny makeup brush.

 

• Lashes-

Apply mascara first then the root of the lashes and then work your way out. Do this to both the top and bottom lashes and apply a second coat if necessary.

 

3. Contouring.

• Highlight-

Highlighter should be applied first before blush or bronze. This is the same highlighter you used with your eyes but along with applying it to the brow line and inner corner of the eyes you also want to apply it to the top of the cheekbones and center of the nose.

 

 

 

 

• Bronze-

Lightly apply the bronzer to the jaw line, sides of the nose, under the cheekbones and to the temple area.

 

• Blush-

Keep your blush a natural color and apply it to the checks. Make sure you blend it well with the highlighter and bronzer.

 

4. Lips.

To finish off you natural look you want to stick with a lipstick. There are so many nude colors to choose from so be sure to find one that keeps your _makeupwell balanced.

Hi again, ladies and gents!

Let me stop for a second to tell you that I am seriously the luckiest photographer in the world. My clients are always so wonderful to work with. That’s true of my session with the Barr family, too!

I met up with them at Scorpion Gulch and the weather was perfect but it was the Barr family that made this shoot such a success.

The Barr family consists of Mom – Amy, Dad – Eric, Rosalie who is 8 years old and she has been on the honor roll since she was in kindergarten and loves spaghetti, Melody who is 6 years old and has the cutest little dimple on one cheek and loves babies, and Baby Luna who is just 2 months old and loves to smile at her daddy.

“We like to watch a new movie, eat some snacks in our pjs on the weekends.,” says Amy.

As you can see from the comments above and the photos, this family is not only photogenic, but also a close-knit group who clearly loves spending time together. Amy, Eric, Rosalie, Melody and Luna are lucky to have each other.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

1. Plan it out.

The one thing that every family photo session needs is a plan. What you’re going to wear, where the photo session will take place and how you’d potentially like to pose are all details that we will talk about ahead of time. Your family’s session should be less about getting the perfect shot and more about enjoying the moment and making new memories together.

2. Keep it light and fun.

People playing, letting go and having a giggle make for some of the best photos so make your family shoot a fun event that will leave everyone feeling happy and content. If you want to change things up a bit, bring along a few props such as glasses, balloons or toys to add that element of fun to your photos. An added bonus is that bringing some props along such as toys can keep your younger family members busy while their siblings are being photographed. You know what makes your family light up so find ways to incorporate those interests into your shoot.

3. Leave your expectations at the door.

The perfect family photo session that you have in your head might not be what plays out on the day of the session, so it’s best to let go of any expectations that you might have. Instead, focus on relaxing and having fun and letting me do what I do best.

4. Everyone has a part to play.

In order to make your shoot seem less like a chore and more like a fun family event, get your entire family involved. Ask for everyone’s input when it comes to clothing, locations, props and poses. Give each family member an opportunity to speak and take a vote on the best ideas. When family members, especially children, are able to give their input, they’ll end up being a lot more cooperative on the day of the shoot.

Check out my blog for more session tips & tricks!

So we meet again, dear blog readers!

The topic of discussion for today is none other than the cutest little boy, David. If the name or face look familiar to you, it’s because I’ve photographed this family before. Because my last session with this family went so well, I knew it wouldn’t be any different this time around. And I was right! Check it out for yourself:

I was over the moon when I got a email from Lisa saying she wanted to book a cake smash session. When I asked her the theme and vision, she had told me she wants it to be like the movie coco. I about went crazy and threw in the idea of doing a taco smash session instead! Mom was totally on board and I have never been more excited about a photo session in my life. We of course still had to include a little cake 😉

As expected, Mom and Dad did a wonderful job preparing David for our session. They brought all sorts of props and the cutest outfits to incorporate their culture. I mean how is this not the cutest session you have ever seen!

Having hungry kids at a photo session is almost always a recipe for tantrums.

While, ideally, you want to schedule any shoot with your children around meal times, this doesn’t work out for everyone. Even if you have planned your shoot to fall between meal and snack times it is always best to have something on hand just in case. Here are some healthy snack ideas that won’t leave your kids a sticky mess.

1. Apple slices and grapes.

Fruit is always a great snack and when you want your kids to remain mess free, apples slices are the best option. Apples tend to not be as messy or sticky and are easy for kids to eat without getting juice all over them as they would with other fruits. Grapes are also an easy snack to pack on the go and kids love. If you have younger kids be sure to half them before you head out the door.

2. Veggies sticks and hummus.

For a fuss free healthy snack slice up a variety of veggies like celery, sweet peppers, carrots and cucumber and pack some hummus for them to dip in. Combining hummus and veggies will help your kids feel full so you won’t have to worry about them asking for more minutes later.

3. Trail mix.

Trail mix is a super easy healthy snack idea you can have fun with. Combine nuts, dried fruit and whole grain cereal.  Use your imagination and you can make a variety of different trail mixes to keep things interesting.

4. Whole wheat wraps.

Use some small tortillas to create turkey, lettuce and cheese wraps. You can cut these into bite size portions to make it easier for your kids to eat. If want to cut back on the bread products leave out the tortilla and wrap the cheese and turkey in the lettuce.

5. Home made muffins.

Most prepackaged muffins are filled with artificial flavors, sugar and other ingredients you don’t want to give your kids. For a healthier alternative, try making your own muffins. Banana walnut, zucchini, oatmeal raisin muffins and even apple cinnamon muffins can be made to cut back on the sugar and increase the nutritional value. Plus, muffins are easy to transport, don’t need to be refrigerated and cause little to no mess aside from a few stray crumbs.

Your photographer desires for each and every photo session to go smoothly and for clients to have the most enjoyable experience possible. Many people believe that a photographer’s job is pretty simple. You just point and shoot right? The reality is that there’s a lot more that goes into capturing the images you love.  There are also some things many photographers secretly wish they could come right out and say to their clients. Here are a few examples.

1. We’re nervous too.

We know how important your photo shoot is to you and that you’ve been agonizing over the perfect outfits and spent hours on your hair and makeup. We know you are expecting us to capture you perfectly so that you will cherish the images from our brief time together for years and that is a lot of pressure. While we may be confident in our abilities we get nervous before each shoot as well wanting it to go perfectly for you.

2. We don’t want to fix every little flaw.

One thing that many people don’t realize is that they’re beautiful in their own way and photographers strive to capture this unique beauty in their shots. It’s for this reason that we only make minor adjustments when editing your photos.

Yes, Photoshop can work wonders and technically, we could fix every little detail that you’re unhappy with in your photos but this isn’t practical.

Do your best to make yourself picture perfect and we will take care of the rest.

3. We take our pricing seriously.

We price our services according to the quality, experience and time we spend with each client. When we hear people joke about how high our prices are compared to other photographers what we hear is that you don’t think we are good enough to charge that price. It makes us doubt our abilities and simply just hurts our feelings.

4. Have fun.

Chances are we’ve seen it all. Kids throwing tantrums, a surprise thunderstorm and wardrobe malfunctions, things can go wrong but don’t stress about them. We will work our magic to make your shoot the best experience for you but this means you need to relax and just have fun. When you are enjoying yourself we can better capture your unique personality and fun-loving nature, which is what we really want to do. When you stress out about your kids misbehaving we end up feeling anxious and that will only affect the way we take your images. No matter what goes wrong simply laugh it off, we always have backup plans and ideas up our sleeves.

5. Trust us.

You hired us for a reason. We’re hoping it was because you looked through our portfolio and liked what you saw. It is hard for us to do our best work and make you look your best if you don’t take our suggestions or trust that we know what looks good. We are seeing things from a perspective you cannot see so let us do our job. It is our job to make you look good and take images that you will love for years to come. This is something we take great pride in so trust that we would never ask you to pose in a way that is not flattering. Trust us and we will do everything we can to not to disappoint you.

We love what we do for a living and as photographers and artists, we want to share our passion and joy with the world but sometimes clients can forget that we’re also working professionals. We want to produce the very best results for our each and every one of our clients, which is why it’s important that prospective customers know what to expect when working with a professional photographer.