A little cliché? Perhaps. But when it comes to portrait photography, clothing plays a huge role in the success of the finished product.

Before we get going – let’s be clear what you’re clothing does NOT need to be:

1. Brand New I’m down with your favorite ripped jeans, retro band T’s, and worn converse shoes – as long as you know how to rock them in your own fabulous style.

2. Fancy-Schmancy and Uber-Expensive Unless it’s your thing (If it’s really your thing, then by all means baby, bring on the bling). If you’re not normally a dress-up kind of person, don’t feel like you have to be one for your session.

3. Matching No need to focus on matching everything from the color of your fuchsia headbands to the stripes in your socks. In fact, I beg of you, please, please don’t. If you’re heart is set on everyone in white button downs and khaki pants, I’m probably not your girl.

4. Stressful No need to worry about each and every item, or fret about the suitability of each accessory. This is supposed to be fun. If you’re unsure – call me, and together, we’ll make sure you look fabulous. I promise.

I want you to be happy, thrilled, over the moon about your images, and I know that this is much more likely if we take the time and work together to help you choose clothing that fits these few simple rules:

Feels Good. During your shoot you could be sitting in a pile of leaves on the grass having a tickle battle, rolling down a hill with your family, throwing your kiddos in the air or climbing a tree. Wear clothing that lets you do all that (and more) comfortably.

As for the kids? Well…uncomfortable kids have a tendency to look…uncomfortable, and are often cranky to boot. Happy kids make for happy pictures.

Bottom Line: Don’t choose outfits that make any of you feel constrained, stiff, itchy, scratchy, like you’re dressed up for Halloween, or that leave you with a nagging worry that a button might pop if you bend the wrong way. Trust me.

Looks Good. This can be tricky, looking good is totally subjective – right? If you’re not a Carrie Bradshaw fashionista in real life, you might want to pull in some extra help from a straight-talking friend or your trusty photographer (that would be me) who knows about such things and has plans in place to help.

Sometimes last year’s of-the-moment dress has already become hopelessly untrendy. Sometimes the current fashions just don’t look or feel like you. Sometimes outfits that look good in the mirror might not be ideally suited for photography. If you’re really looking for extra help, I can put you in touch with some incredible folks who make people look good for a living.

Bottom Line: If you don’t feel fabulous-fierce-take-on-the-world gorgeous in your outfit, you’re not going to love, love, love the end result – and I’m all about you love, love, loving the end result.

Makes Sense. Here’s where we pull it all together. It’s not just enough that everyone look good and feel good – you’ve gotta look and feel good together AND the outfits should fit with your location and the desired mood for your portraits.

Glup. That seems like a lot, doesn’t it? (quick – revisit #4 in the top list, and remember, don’t stress).

Before you even begin figuring out your wardrobe, we’ll have an in depth consultation to narrow down what you really want for your pictures, choose the perfect location and make sure you have an understanding about how that all comes together in the finished photograph. I’m with you every step of the way.

Bottom Line: It’s easier than it seems.Think twice about having Emma in a lace Christmas dress if you can’t get Tommy out of his spider man cape and favorite Star Wars pajama top. If we’re going to be running around in a park, you’ll likely not decide to wear your starched Sunday best. Hate the way stripes and plaids look together but Dad has his favorite stripped polo ready to go? Best steer mom away from her beloved family tartan. Easy-Peasy. (unless Mom is really attached to that tartan, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it).

(used with permission from Jeanette LeBlanc)

photo #7. Thank so much to everyone who voted, there were almost 350 votes!

The winner of the $25 Target Gift Card is RAY CHOPPER.  

This is a contest for my top 9 photos that I took in 2009. It was nearly impossible for me to narrow this down to just 9 photos from all of the sessions I did this year (since I really do love every photo I take), so I had some help from my family and friends in choosing what we thought were the 9 best of the year. I did not include any senior, engagement or wedding images here, it’s just children and families.

The rules: You can only vote once. Vote by leaving a comment with your favorite photo in the comments section below the photos (all comments must be approved before they are posted, so don’t worry when your vote doesn’t show up right away).  DO NOT click on the photo to leave your vote. Click on the comment section under the last photo. Voting will close on Sat. Jan. 9th at 10 PM. Please forward this to your family and friends and get them to vote. Post it on Facebook and tell all your Facebook friends to vote! The winner will be announced on Sunday, Jan. 10th.

   The winner will receive a free session in 2010 and a $50 print credit. To spice things up a bit, I will randomly choose one comment/vote and that person will win a $25 Target Gift Card!

Thank you to every family I photographed in 2009! I hope to see all of you again in 2010!

Last week I traveled to Camp Can Do to photograph children for Flashes of Hope. Flashes of Hope is “a non-profit organization dedicated to creating powerful, uplifting portraits of children fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses”.  This was my second time photographing children at Camp Can Do. I love being able to capture images of these children for their families. Here are just a few of the 14 kids I photographed.

As I was driving down to take the photos, I was thinking of the kids I met last year. There was one kid in particular who I really hoped I would get to photograph again this year. If you have been following my blog for a while you may remember this photo from last year at Flashes of Hope. 

We were finishing up last week and I had photographed 13 kids. The women who set it up had two papers in her hand of kids left to be photographed. When she saw one of them was this kid – she handed me the paper and said something along the lines of guess it was meant to be. I got to photograph him again. This will be his last year at camp because he is 17. Check out his moves this year! I should also mention that he won a local dance competition and will be going to Hollywood to see a talent agent! I wish him the best.

A bunch of photographers have been putting together some what to wear guides to post on their blogs. I love the idea of posting a few outfit ideas on my blog every so often, so stay tuned for more. (I actually have a what to wear guide that I send out to my families who book a session.) Since I photograph mainly seniors in the summer, here are some outfits that look great.