Took my camera to L.A.’s garment district today:
As always there are so many little nooks to explore it becomes overwhelming:
I think these have been here for a while:
30 new spools of thread:
We are so excited to have Holly today on the blog! Holly is the fabulous photographer behind Park Ave Photography. She is a pro at boutique photography and working with kids. I’m sure you have seen some of her images in your favorite online stores. She is going to share with us some of her tips for taking pictures of young children! Please welcome Park Ave Photography to the blog!
Like every other parent, I love photographing my children. My oldest daughter, Peyton, was born 5 years ago, and with her birth came this fascination of capturing her every expression and milestone. Okay, okay, I am also guilty of buying those over-the-top outfits and dressing her up like my little doll to take pictures. When Peyton was 18 months, a few online boutiques asked if she would model their clothing. It became something fun for us to do together, and after a few years of doing this, we found a routine for it. It used to take 40 minutes to do a shoot, and I would take over a hundred photos to get only 10 good shots. Now we can go out and shoot 35 great shots in less than 10 minutes. Here are our steps to a successful photo shoot.
Step 1: Plan it all out ahead. Being spontaneous is great, but once a shoot goes bad, trust me, they never forget.
Step 2: What time of day is your child happiest and alert? If it is 2:00, then make sure he/she is fed and bathed by 1:00.
Step 3: The invite. “Hi honey! Do you want to go ____________?” This is where you come up with something fun to do. Some examples would be picking flowers, playing red light green light, seeing how many balloons it takes to fly, hiding objects and finding them, blowing bubbles, counting and feeding ducks at the park, or any kind of pretend role playing.
Step 4: Now that you’ve gotten a “yes” it is time to get dressed and do up the hair. Be sure to talk about how much fun you are going to have and let them know taking pictures is also part of the plan. “I’m bringing my camera so I can take pictures when you fly away with those balloons!”
Step 5: Introduce the reward system. “If you’re a good girl today, we’ll go get some ice cream later.”
Step 6: Pick a location that will be safe and fun with good lighting at the time of day you have chosen. It needs to be a location where they can move around freely.
Step 7: The car is packed up with your camera equipment, a tote with props, wet wipes, drinks, and a change of clothes. Why a change of clothes? The clothes they have on for the pictures may be cute, but when they take them off, it signals that they are all done.
Step 8: Before you try to photograph your child, make sure your camera is on the correct settings. Then forget the camera for a while, and take time to connect and enjoy each other. Whatever event you have planned will set the mood for your photos. What you want to capture are the expressions that are a result of your precious time together (and maybe that really cute outfit too!).
Step 9: When everyone is relaxed and happy, this is a great time to bust out the camera. If you have had a series of bad photo ops with your little one, it may take longer for them to warm up to you. They know what you are up to, but they are willing to play along when they know it’s going to be good for them too. After several fun shoots together, they will soon forget the days of you making them sit, smile, and say cheese.
Step 10: Make suggestions for poses, but let your child lead you. You are simply the admirer here full of compliments and by no means the boss. If he/she wants to be close to you or held, bring a helper to distract and play. Toddlers often look down at the ground and run. Rather than chase them around, have a helper bounce a ball high in the sky or find a location near an airport to get them to look up into the sky with expression. Kids love spotting planes in the air and they can’t help but to smile at them. No matter what, if you get to the point that you aren’t having fun, put the camera away. You never want it to be a bad thing. There is always tomorrow.
Step 11: Shooting between 15 and 40 minutes is about all you should expect. Be sure to shower those babies with hugs, kisses, praise, and a fat reward afterwards.
Step 12: Show them the finished product. My daughters love looking at the silly pictures as well as the pretty ones. We actually have names for certain facial expressions, dance moves, and poses. Most of them are pretty goofy like “The Scuba-Scoob” or “Spanky Hanky”. Someday when Peyton is grown and dealing with real life issues, I’m going to tell her to bust out the Scooba-Scoob, and we will both crack up.
So in case you haven’t looked at it this way, taking pictures with your children can be quality time you spend with them. The best part is, you have the photos to remember those times forever.
Two Weeks of Photography with Lil Blue Boo wouldn’t be complete without talk of accessorizing your camera ….perfect timing for a spotlight on Shealynn Benner aka “The Camera Strap Girl.” Shealynn, also known as Shey, is an amazing mother, talented photographer, savvy businesswoman, voracious reader…..and the owner of *Shey*[B] Camera Strap Slipcovers. Shey makes the most beautiful camera strap covers and accessories ranging from classic to one-of-a-kind couture. Here’s just a teeny sample of the eye candy you can find in her shop:
I first met Shey over a year ago and let me warn you…..she’s REALLY likeable. She’s one of those people I wished lived right next door. She’s down to earth, hilarious, and super smart. She has built a successful business from the ground up and is a huge supporter of others trying to do the same thing. She has some amazing posts on her blog about what has worked for her and what hasn’t…..a must read for any small business owner!
She doesn’t just make camera straps either….she’s always coming up with new things. I love the stamped ID tags she has for her covers, the point and shoot bags and the rad guitar straps!
I was so excited when Shey agreed to do an interview for the Lil Blue Boo Two Weeks of Photography and give everyone a little peek into her creative world! Thank you Shey! I LOVE creative people…..make sure to check out a few of my favorite posts from Shey’s blog too!
Behind the Scenes (I love seeing how other businesses work!)
So I’ve Been Thinking Of Starting a Business (innovation and accepting competition)
iPhone Photos (yes even her iPhone photos are gorgy!)
Preparing (Shey’s hubby cutting fabric….so sweet)
The Chair (an unlikely photo prop)
*Shey*[B] Camera Strap Slipcovers
Ah, yes. The Camera Strap Girl. Kinda fun to be known as her. 🙂 I think Kim of Today’s Creative Blog thought that up, actually. I thought of the idea of making camera strap covers when I was on a photo shoot. We were living in North Carolina at the time, and I was in downtown Raleigh photographing a model. It was really hot and humid, I was sweating and my camera strap was literally rubbing my neck to an almost bleeding point it was so raw! I just remember thinking (continuously) that there had to be a way to have a more comfortable strap. Now over 2 years later I guess I know. 😉
Everything inspires me. I love magazines, clothes, anything really. I think outside the box all the time. I am always thinking “will that make a good camera strap cover? let’s try it!” I love designing! So fun! I love watching something come from nothing. It’s my most favorite feeling in the world. Well, as long as it comes out good… haha!
Your shop has been so successful, what are your tips for someone wanting to start a small handmade business of their own?
First of all, I think it’s really important to love your product. When you love your product, chances are others will too! Make sure you are definite in what you want to make. Then advertise and do giveaways. If people love your product, they’ll want to know who you are, so set up a blog if you don’t have one. Sign up for Twitter. Twitter and my blog have really been key for my business. I have made friends from both of them in real life, and I get a lot of recommendations from both. But I have also advertised all over the blogosphere too. When people begin seeing your blog buttons on sidebars often enough, they get to know you by the sight of that button.
Also, don’t be upset if you don’t have a lot of sales at the beginning. It takes time to grow a business! It just takes dedication and persistence. Owning your own business is like having a baby. Babies don’t grow up over night. You nurture, love, feed and learn along the way.
Pace yourself. Once you start getting busy, know your limits. I have 2 children They are the center of my world, but I sometimes let work over shadow everything. This shouldn’t happen. Of course we are all human, so we have some mess ups, but then we try again. What I also mean about pacing yourself is take things slowly. You don’t need to advertise everyone all at one time. I have done this before and it was so stressful once the orders began pouring in. Life gets hard to balance. Figure out what works for you and stick to that.
What camera equipment do you use? The photography in your shop is stunning….do you have any tips for product photography you can share?
Oh, thanks! I use a Canon 5D. I love it! My husband got it for me for Christmas last year. I am so busy lately that it’s been hard for me to get it out and take fun pictures, but I’ll be getting it out more and more here pretty soon. The lenses I use are called prime lenses. Meaning they don’t zoom on their own… essentially, the photographer is the zoom. I have found that they take incredibly sharp pictures and I really don’t mind being the zoom. I have a Canon 35mm 2.0 lens and a Canon 50mm 1.8 – that’s it. I have studio lighting I use on occasion but not that much.
Taking pictures of your products is so so important. In my opinion it’s one of the most important things to owning your own business where photographing a product is involved. You must have lighting of some sort. If not studio lighting, then make a light box and use fluorescent bulbs. You can handmade them for really cheap ($20 or less). Or if you prefer (like I do) use natural lighting. Natural lighting provides all you really need with no equipment… plus it’s free! When customers visit your website they want to see a crystal clear picture of what you are selling. I guarantee you that if your pictures are bright, clear and a realistic picture of the colors, textures, etc. of your product, you’ll be way more likely to get a sale than if your product was photographed under a chandelier with tungsten(orange) lighting or if taken by a flash, which is way too harsh.
Thank you so much Shey for sharing with us today some of the secrets to your fabulous camera strap business and peeking into your creative world! Want to know more about Shey? Make sure to visit her blog!
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Happy Saturday! Shey has offered a generous discount to all of you too! Enter 15OFF for 15% off your entire order until October 29th in her *Shey*[B] Camera Strap Slipcovers store!! Thank you so much Shey!
P.S. One last thing! Make sure to check out the 2011 Creative Estates Conference that Shey is organizing….I’ll blog more about that soon as it comes together but I’m so excited because I’m a featured speaker with some amazing women! So thrilled! Lil Blue Boo will also be a part of the handmade market! It’s is going to be so much fun and we would love to see you there! -Ashley