Change!

I was at trader joes last week chatting with the checker about New Years resolutions. She said "I don't make them anymore, I never follow through," On one hand, her statement felt really freeing, but on the other hand, it felt defeatist. Like giving up. Since that conversation, I've been thinking a lot about New Year's resolutions and why we make them on a certain day.

As I've gotten older (and wiser) I've come to realize there is no magic to January 1.  Or Mondays.  Or Mondays that fall on the first day of the month. (!) But the bottom line is, that I won't give up.  It doesn't mater when you start to change, because "A year from now, you will wish you had started today." (Karen Lamb)

My mantra for change in both my professional and personal life comes from Napoleon Hill--"Do not wait: the time will never be 'just right'.  Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along."  No, definitely not perfect at remembering this, but getting better!  

Happy New Year's--here's to change happening all year long!  See you in 2016!

Am I Still Shooting Family Portraits?

ABSOLUTELY!!  It's that time of year and I wouldn't miss it for the world!!  As much as I love shooting corporate head shots because of the one on one time I get with my subject, I love hanging out with families and capturing their dynamic and the lifestyle vibe of family portraits.
Why?  My five fav reasons:

1. The sunsets are at their most magnificent at this time of year.  Really.

2.  Families tend to get together at this time of year and are happy to see each other!

3.  It's great to see how much the kids have grown from year to year.

4.  Love planning out a shoot: simple or elaborate.

5. I could never dream of the amazing and fun things that happen!!!

Give me a call--Let's see what we can dream up!

Featuring: In Home Portraits with the Peterson Family

The Peterson's have been photographed many times over the last year by other photographers because their son was recently married.  Yet as intimidating as that was, I also knew that as art lovers, the Petersons would leave me a wide range of freedom to create much, much more than a traditional portrait.  We talked about the many possibilities of locations and because they are moving, they decided they wanted to record their life at the house they are leaving. I thought a lot about the direction to go in and decided that we should create portraits with a little bit of irreverence and a whole lot of fun.  I started looking at photographers like Slim Aarons and Larry Sultan for inspiration.  I liked the idea of creating a more documentary style portrait but without the grit.  Linda briefed her family with the "goal that we would "artsilly" record the life we imagined we lived here."  And then asked them to pack as if they were invited to a lounging party with no color off limits.  

Fun is a bit of an understatement.  And just in case I had doubts about how much fun everyone had, Linda posted this from her husband:  He says, "She's really fun. It was a great day! I would do it again and recommend Laura to everyone." Followed by, "put THAT on Instagram. I don't Instagram."

Indeed.  

It's all about the eye (or is it?)

I used to think when I was younger and in school that it was ALL about the eye.  That is, it was all about how you see things, and how you see things differently than anyone else.  And of course, if it pleases your eye, but maybe more importantly if you are in the business of photography, how it pleases someone else's.

But I know differently now.  Seeing differently is absolutely still important, but now I know that how you run your business and treat people within your business can trump that any day.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou

That's why I strive so hard to make my subjects feel good about themselves.  Most of the time, at the beginning of a shoot, I hear how much they hate having their portrait taken, but it's something they have to do--whether it be for a business portrait, family portrait or high school senior portrait.  They've had awful experiences, whether it be from friends snapping unflattering pics or professionals rushing them through the process.  I understand that feeling--funny enough--I'm not fond of having my picture taken either!  So I want my clients to not only enjoy the process and love their portraits, but to know that I understand and change their feelings about having their portrait taken. And I want them walk away from their shoot feeling like a rockstar.

So before I even raise my camera to my face, we spend time just talking.  I ask them questions about their life, family, friends, pets.  It's amazing how much laughter and softness comes to a person's face when they speak about the people and things that they love.  I spend a good deal of time just chatting with my subjects, about who they are, what they do and who they love.  And you know what happens?  They forget just a little about my camera and just relax.   Their body relaxes, their faces relax, their eyes sparkle and their real personality shines through.  We begin to have fun and they end up feeling like a supermodel.  And then all I hear about is what a great time their photo shoot was!  And I feel like the rockstar for changing their mind!!!  Win-win!

I can't wait to meet you and hear all about you!