Sunrise Creations Blog

After my last post I thought I'd share some of my favourite family photos with you.  I love these.  They were taken by my son Liam.  We set up a little tripod for him and let him loose with a camera.  He directed us for every photo so the results are the ones he was after.

If you look carefully you will see that the photos are taken quite low down at Liam's eye level.  If you look closely you can see the door knob showing above my husband's head. 

We had a great time clowning around and the photos have turned out brilliantly.

Why not try this with your children?  The photos are something we will keep forever.  Despite our lovely faces!!

When you are choosing a family photographer you want to need to find the one that is just right for the job and for you. You want your pictures to come out looking great so that you can cherish those memories forever, and this means getting the right portrait photographer.

As with any photographer, the first thing you want to look at is their portfolio. Make sure that they have experience taking the kinds of pictures that you want. Also check into their pricing and turn-around time. Finding out how long it will take to get your pictures back is especially important if you have a date you need them by.

There are a couple different options people generally have in mind when they are choosing a family photographer. One is going to the photographer's studio and having their pictures taken there. The other is having the photographer accompany them to a specific location to take the pictures.

If you want the photographer to go to a certain location, make sure they are willing to do this up front. Sometimes a portrait photographer will only work out of their studio, so you should find out as soon as possible.

When you are choosing a family photographer, try to spend a little time with them to find out whether you like them or not. Establish a rapport with them and make sure that you communicate well. If they are a really good photographer, or if you have good chemistry, they should be able to visualize what you want easily.

If your pictures are going to revolve around kids, see how well the portrait photographer handles children. Are they good at making them look at the camera and smile? Do they get frustrated with distracted or fussy children? Make sure that the photographer is going to be able to work with the children; this will prevent frustration on a lot of fronts.

Something else you will need to look into is the style the photographer uses. See if they can offer you a few different "tones" in the pictures. Formal pictures are great at showing people at their best, and candid shots are often the most endearing. When you are choosing a family photographer you want to make sure you get one who can give you any of these styles.

When you are discussing when you are going to receive your photos, make sure that you will be getting a CD of the pictures. This makes it easy for you to then have someone make a variety of special keepsakes for you. Using portraits to create Christmas cards, coffee table books, and other mementos is very popular and keeps those memories within close reach for years.

Choosing a family photographer should be a fun process, and at the end you should have someone who you are comfortable working with and who knows exactly what you are looking for. Once you have your pictures you will be glad you made the choice to get them professionally done and to get a CD so that you can share your pictures with everyone.

 

There is so much love and creativity in a child's drawing. With so many beautiful pieces of artwork, they are often not enjoyed as much as they could be. As you know I am currently designing a our 2009 summary photobook. Just when I was finished, I realised that I was missing a major part of the year (oh joy!) - the kids drawings. Out came the memorabelia boxes - which is not that organised - luckily most drawings had dates, so it was pretty easy to select them.

From experience, I will now recommend the following:

• Photograph of your childs artwork as you receive it;
• Create a folder on your PC called "Kids Artwork"
• Within the folder, create year folders, and then sub folders for each child;
• Save the artwork in the correct folder.

The whole folder thing may sound a little complicated, but it only needs to be set up once, and then you know exactly where they all are.


Below are the pages from our summary photobook that incorporates the kids artwork:

I am currently designing a summary photobook for 2009. In the process, I started going through the kids memorabelia boxes, and realised that there are more than photos that should be included in this photobook.

So today's tip is to take a photograph of the meaningful birthday cards that you receive. Why? It keeps everything together, you don't need to store all your cards, and then if you decide to have a photobook designed, it's ready!

How to take the photograph:

• Background: Lay a white table cloth or sheet down (preferably ironed)
• Turn your camera flash on (forced flash)
• Take the photo at an angle
  Note: this will avoid the flash reflecting on the card

Below is the double spread from our photobook that incorporates the cards. I took a photo of the cards together, as these represent all his interests at the time - Spiderman, Bob the Builder, Frogs etc.