serendipity portraits | 2014
www.serendipityphoto.com
Alice and Bun-bun on a rainy day
Working with Serendipity Photography Our goal is to create art for your home that will remain displayed for generations. We tell a story of relationships and life. We document and immortalize. We guide more than “pose.� Using a combination of natural and artificial lighting, we make the most naturally flattering portraits, and catch the sparkle in your eyes. Your images will be a combination of beautiful color and timeless black & white. Warm, antique toning, custom cropping and retouching are included on all professionally finished products that we deliver. Serendipity is a full service boutique studio, which means that we guide you through every step of the process, from planning your session style, to helping you choose your images, to making recommendations for your home and gift giving. We then perfect and retouch the chosen images and create heirloom pieces for you and your family. You will not be abandoned with a folder of image files and left to figure out what to do with them. We hope to create meaningful and long standing relationships with our clients. This guide will give you tips on how to get the best photo session possible. We look forward to getting to know you and your family!
What to Wear Contrast and coordinate.
Good contrast
Low contrast
Plan your colors around the colors in the shooting location and/or seasons. You want to choose the OPPOSITE COLOR of your backgrounds, in general, IF they look good on you. Warm tones and bright colors are going to look great against water and greenery, and cool tones will look best with fall colors. Coordinate, rather than exactly matching, your outfits.
Avoid white. Solids are better than patterns and logos. Make sure they are comfortable in their outfits. If they don’t like the ruffly thing or the headband...we have to accept that. Comfort is key! Matching or complementing the eyes with color always photographs well. White can easily get washed out,and will lead the viewer’s eye away from the faces, so keep the white to one piece, or just an accent, at most. WHITE MAKES THINGS LOOK BIGGER.
What to Bring
DO Bring props!
We have had great sessions with balloons, wagons, costumes, favorite toys, pinwheels, bubbles, balls, fishing poles (if we’re on a lake) tea sets, etc. The less focused they are on the “picture taking,” the better. However, DON’T let this stress you out. It can be as simple as a ball, picking flowers, blowing bubbles...no panicked shopping sprees necessary.
DO bring snacks along, as well
as water. Minimize candy and sugar snacks. A buzzed child is a hard-to-catch child. Plus, candy can take a while to eat and it will get sticky. Goldfish or fruit snacks may be better options. Depending on location, you may want to bring a change of clothes, a hairbrush and spray, and a towel.
Interact. DO interact. You will like the
photos where you’re smiling at the camera, but you will LOVE the photos that show your relationships.
Small Children Don’t tell them to smile.
Please, I beg of you, please
Don’t prepare your child(ren) by telling them
we are going to take pictures, they have to smile & be good, and there will be a treat afterwards. This is the surest way to create rebellion. Why? It tells them they are in for an ordeal, it won’t be fun, and they will have to endure it with smiles on their faces. Instead, tell them you’re going to visit a friend, and you are going to go play at a park/field/beach/whatever you have planned for location.
Don’t tell them to smile.
Trust us to get the smiles. We know the value of images of a joyful childhood. We will invoke natural smiles, as well as introspective wonder. Please let them explore, it really makes the best images.
Don’t disrupt their schedules.
Make sure this shoot is not during nap time, dinner time, etc. It is good to have full bellies and be well rested!
If a “war of the wills” starts to happen, I will be sending someone to time out.
And it won’t be the kids.
Babies
SHHHH.... FOR A SUCCESSFUL SHOOT... Do not disrupt the baby’s schedule, if you can help it. If the baby is a newborn, we are likely to get both sleeping and awake images during your session. It is best not to alter their current state; if you visualized sleepy, snuggling pictures of baby with parents and baby is awake...just go with it. Feed, feed, feed! Feed the baby just before the shoot, and have more prepared. Babies are always starving during shoots. We don’t know why, but it is just one of those mysteries of the universe that is very consistent. We are very likely to take at least one break during your session for a full feeding.
This is normal.
It’s normal. Expect that they he/she may be fussier than usual. It may be a lot of stimulation, with the posing and outfit changes, and possible new atmosphere...even new smells. Don’t worry, we know how to catch the right “split second.” Allow about two hours for the shoot, so I can catch approximately 30 good split seconds. (wink!) We also know that your baby will pee on our props. NO biggie. We have laundry.
MILESTONES SESSIONS differ from regular family sessions, in that your baby is the “star of the show.” I will take some photos of baby with parents, and siblings if applicable, but the focus is mainly on the baby and his/her development; documenting his/her first year.
Let them go. You want genuine joy in your photographs, right? Then, Let them run and play. Know that they (and you) may (will) get wet and dirty. Trust us to get pictures of their faces with REAL smiles, along with all of their other expressions. The photos you treasure may not show their faces at all.
Would you hang this on your wall? I sure would....and I would never take it down. Because it will be better in a year. And better than that, in two. Priceless when she goes out on her own, and ABSOLUTE TREASURE when she brings her own babies to visit.
After your session Your session images will be edited and presented to you in person, in the studio. We can sometimes accommodate same-day proofing, or you can make an appointment any time after your shoot. Canvas gallery wraps and session albums are the most popular products. Everything we produce is custom designed and tailored to you, as well as being retouched. Orders take 2-3 weeks to deliver.
Finished (ordered) images include: removing undereye circles, smoothing skin, fixing stray hairs, removing lint and bugs, light body contouring, balancing skin tones, removing shine and bruises, detailed attention to color and contrast, and all other necessary finishing touches.
And, finally.. 2 words:
FART.
JOKES.
I’m just sayin.’
serendipity PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO: WWW.SERENDIPITYPHOTO.COM BOOKINGS: WWW.BOOKAPHOTOSESSION.COM Sessions start at $375 EMAIL: INFO@SERENDIPITYPHOTO.COM 2354 WILSHIRE BLVD., MOUND, MN 55364 | 952-472-9819 All images and text are the copyrighted property of Serendipity Photography, LLC.