Annie & Dean–THANK YOU for braving the snow & chilly temps for some outdoor portraits. Though our fingers froze and our bodies went numb I think it was TOTALLY worth it! :)

…and it wasn’t long before we headed into the Parish Center to warm up…

Annie and Dean’s two adorable girls–so full of personality and so much fun to photograph: 

The photo of me on the right was taken by my someday-professional-photographer-son James. My dad took this photo of us. My new favorite family portrait.

A few photos from the birthday party PHOTOBOOTH!

With birthdays I usually take the easy way out and bake a box of brownies (yum).  But James picked out those awesome star candles which I instantly pictured on top of a simple white-frosted cake. So we went the more complicated route this year.  I’m quite proud of my homemade buttercream frosting, just not my actual frosting technique. :)

Often when a designer is transforming a space (kitchen, living room, bedroom etc.), the process starts with picking something  as a jumping off point–the pattern on the curtains, the tile backsplash, the fabric of the pillows, etc.  From there the designer chooses furniture, flooring, fabric patterns, paint colors, etc. that work well with that initial “inspiration” piece.  Typically, once the room is finished there are lots of colors, lots of textures, lots of personality, and everything works together as a cohesive whole.  Just visit Sarah’s House (aahh–I LOVE that show) and browse through her design portfolio–you’ll see what I’m talking about.

One question I often get from my clients (especially family and engagement session clients) is “what should we wear to our photo session?” The answer, my friends, can be found every time you watch Sarah Richardson design a room on HGTV.  Start with a single piece of clothing that you want in the photos (a scarf, a skirt, dress, pair of shoes, etc.) as your ”inspiration” piece.  Select the rest of the clothing/accessories to compliment that piece.  I wouldn’t expect to see a room designed with its walls, floors, chairs, sofas, curtains, lamps and trimwork all in the same green hue.  Visually that would likely be boring. Agreed?  Same goes for the clothes in a photo session.  Mix it up with colors, patterns and textures that allow each individual to be unique yet compliment each other and work together as a whole.

I put together this “style inspiration” board to give you a rough idea of what I’m talking about.  Hope you find it helpful when picking clothing for your photo session. :)

Where it all came from:

American Eagle: woman’s shirt, woman’s jeans, man’s shirt

Old Navy: man’s jeans

Forever 21: woman’s accessories

Zappos: man’s and woman’s shoes, girl’s boots

Gap: boy’s clothing ,girl’s dress

Hanna Anderson: girl’s sweater

AND REMEMBER–good interior design is not just visually wonderful, but also comfortable and live-able.  The clothing you choose for your photography session should be as well (form follows function no?). Even if it’s an amazing dress it’s no good for photos if you can’t breathe in it, worry that you’re exposed from all but one angle, etc. etc.!