Sneak Peek: The Dodge Family

Vandy and Jason are my friends. They live up the street and over the years we’ve lived in Lake Stevens I’ve been a Cub Scout Leader for their son, they’ve watched my kids, and we’ve all shared in the joy of watching our families grow. Through everything the Dodge family has been one of most photographed clients. That has a lot to do with the birth of their two youngest girls and Vandy’s borderline obsession with scrap-booking.

For this shoot we wanted to do something on location and mix it up. For the session I focused on getting individual portraits. Together the images I think will make a really nice wall grouping. Vandy did a great job with coordinating the kids clothing with colors that will work well in their home. Because we are friends and I have been in their home many times, it was easy for me to visualize as I shot exactly where I think the group of photos should go and what sizes they should be printed at.

It’s easy for people to think, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have photos up on the wall.” Often the thought stops there, unfortunately. That is where I come in. With new clients I suggest an in home consultation, or at the very least a consultation at my studio where you bring in photos of your house. This allows me to shoot with all the information I need to design images that will not only be lovely and full of emotion, but also complement the decor that my client’s have worked so hard to coordinate. These consolations are a great time for us talk about what kind of shots we will do, and for my new customers to get to know me. Especially with children I believe that a pre-session consultation is vital. Allowing a child to get to know their photographer before hand will guarantee less meltdowns, better images, and an experience that everyone will enjoy!

For this shoot it really helped to draw on the relationship I already had with each child, relationships that have been fostered over many photoshoots. Chyenne is so comfortable with me and in front of the camera that I could have asked her to stand on her head and smile and it would have happened! I’m sure this ease in front of the camera also has something to do with her Mom always having a camera too. These same kinds of relationships are easy to build with new clients during a consultation. After the first session I do like to touch base with each client prior to the shoot and go over the goals and ideas we share, but because a relationship already exists, we can use email or a phone call to accomplish the same thing.

The next step for Vandy and Jason (and all of my clients post-session) is a photo screening. This is actually a very fun date night activity. Clients come to my studio, we pull out the projector and look through all the photos from the session. We eat popcorn, laugh at the “outtakes” and order prints and frames. Clients go home happy knowing that in just a few weeks* time their home will filled with great photographs they will be proud to display.

Here’s a few of my favorites from the session:

*Orders take between 1-2 weeks for completion (depending on size products and frame choices)