Welcome to FAQ Friday, where we accept questions on our Facebook wall and select the 2 most popular questions to answer for you here! Let’s get started!
Here are our top three questions from this week, with 9 and 14 likes at the time of posting:
“I was wondering about your floors/wall/backdrops….I love the creams you guys are always using and was wondering if you have purchased these from somewhere if so where? Also do you have a favorite place you like to buy props from?” ~Amber
Mariah’s Answer: Hi, Amber! We got our beloved cream floor from Photo Prop Floors and Backdrops. A lot of our props we use are from yardsales, Etsy shops, and places like HomeGoods and Target. If something catches our eye or matches our branding, it joins the collection at the studio! For example, this highchair was sitting outside a little antique store while Heidi was driving by. She couldn’t pass it up, and we painted it turquoise and gave it a weathered finish at the studio!
“What do you do when you have a little one that is just on the move and all of your tricks don’t work?!” ~Kari
Hi Kari! I’ve learned that after they hit their first birthday, and until about their 3rd birthday, they are in the “NO” zone. That means they are likely to say “no” to just about any idea we have when they know everyone is watching and wants them to behave in a certain way. When they make up their mind that they want to do, or not do, a certain thing, trying to go against that will just waste your energy. Instead, I try to look at what they want to do and find a way to create a beautiful portrait out of it. For example, if they want to run, I clear the space and let them run, dance, jump, race… and I snap away. A few minutes later they have forgotten they are getting their picture taken. Once they see me as a playmate rather than a grownup, they will be more likely to get into my sets and play. And, if they still want to wander around the studio, I just follow their lead. In the end, parents want beautiful portraits of their children being themselves and being happy. If my best laid plans for the session don’t work with that, we scrap it!
“How do you manage your newborn and toddler sessions to ensure you get the most shots from each of them within a particular timescale? Do you have poses that you always start with or a workflow for your photoshoot sessions?” ~Nicky
Hi Nicky! When I’m photographing toddlers with newborns, which we do often here, I always do the family portraits before the individual newborn portraits. Toddlers have a very short attention span so I try to get all of their images taken first. Then, they are free to play and have a snack while I focus on the newborn. Depending on the age of the toddler and the parents’ requests, I usually have certain poses in mind. Older siblings between 1-2 years old do not take a great deal of direction, can’t hold a newborn yet, and are unpredictable in their reaction to the new baby. For that reason, I keep everything light and fun with this age, making games out of all of our poses and just trying to get them close to the baby. I’ll often pose the newborn and then try to bring the older sibling into the portrait. For older toddlers and children I try more advanced poses where they are laying with or holding their new sibling. I always keep mom and dad with their hands nearby for the safety of the newborn. I would much rather photoshop out a supporting hand so that we can keep baby safe and comfortable! The family portion takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and then we do all of the classic newborn photography.
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