Great skincare and makeup products!

We all want our skin to look great in portraits, and I use lighting and retouching to make that happen. But using good skin care products helps to achieve that naturally. I've been a fan of Paula Begoun ever since I read one of her books back in the 80's. Known as the "cosmetics cop", she was one of the first to investigate the ingredients of skincare and makeup products, reporting on their harms, benefits, hype, and options for less expensive alternatives.

Frustrated with finding suitable products for problem skin, she developed her own line of skincare called Paula's Choice. I've been using her skincare and makeup products for a while now, am very happy with the results and wanted to share the news about great, affordable products that work. My favorite is the Clear Anti-Acne System, but she carries something to address every skin type. Start with the Custom skincare guide to find the products that are right for you.

As to makeup, after trying two other popular mineral makeup lines, I now just use Paula's Choice Healthy Finish Pressed Powder and Soft Cream Concealer. Every time I've ordered, I've received free samples and have found new products that I love. You can also purchase sample sizes to try. A great feature of her website are all the reviews from other users that can help you make your choices. So click on the above link for more info and to place your order. Then let me know what you think.

Love in the garden

A bit of garden love. Happy Valentine's day!

And baby makes 3

3 boys thats is! We had a bit of a challenge to get the brothers to be, umm, brotherly, but we still captured some great images. Here's a sneak peak.

 

Business Portraits and Headshots

A quality headshot should convey a positive image imparting your demeanor, professionalism, and competance. Displaying your business portrait helps your client feel as if they know you, increasing their comfort level and confidence in you. A poorly executed portrait can negatively influence people in their decision to do business with you. A well done portrait is not an expense, it's an investment in your future!

I provide you with a professional image that portrays you at your best. Upon reserving your session, I'll send you my Business Portrait Guide to help you prepare for your session so we achieve the best results. We'll chat about your objective for the portrait and look you wish to portray and go over clothing options. After your session, we go thru the images together and I'll help you select the best. Then I refine the image with a bit of enhancement, not a plastic doll makeover, just a clean, fresh look. Here's a before/after example from a recent client session.

Update that headshot!

Now is the perfect time to update your headshot, business portrait or profile pic with our new, lower prices!

Studio Session, up to one hour, and one high resolution image on CD $150. Additional images $75.

Location Session, up to one hour and five high resolution images on CD $250. Upgrade to all session images on CD for additional $250.

Professional quality executive, business and promotional portraits help sell you and your product. Use on business cards, brochures, flyers, websites and more. High resolution digital files with reproduction rights granted. Includes minimal basic retouching per image for blemish removal.

Secret Baby Planner

After photographing their maternity and newborn portraits, mom decided to sign up for my one year baby portrait plan. But she wanted to keep it a secret from dad, so she could surprise him with the final baby panel at the end of the year as a Christmas gift. This required a bit of sneaky planning, but we pulled it off! So finally, I can post baby Ethan's images online. Here is one from each session at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. I've also posted each complete session in the Featured Sessions section of the Image Gallery on my website.

Merry Christmas!

How to photograph a Christmas tree with lights.

Camera on tripod at low angle, room lights off, expose for tree lights, shooting at a slow shutter speed to burn them in to the image, use cable release or self timer, white balance set to tungsten. Experiment with turning a room light on for a bit of fill light if you like. This was shot with one room light just left of camera, and it was a torchiere so the light was high and bouncing off the ceiling, with a 3 way bulb on the lowest setting. ISO 400, f4, 1/4 second. I lightened the tree top angel in post processing to give it some glow, added saturation, and applied high pass sharpening.

Christmas Baby?

Meredith is due December 24, so we'll soon find out. A sneak peak of a few images before the big show.

Riley, Todd Beamer High School

Riley is a very busy young man - ASB President, plays piano, is in the jazz choir, likes math & science, active in his youth group, technology in schools campaign, and works at the Met Market. Whew! We had a fun session, and as a bonus went to the school for a few images. It was a bit chilly outside, but he toughed it out.

Erin's sneak peak

Erin graciously modeled for a maternity portrait class I recently did for SPPA photographers. She did a fantastic job and we created lots of great images for her. Love the sexy boots and cute black dress she brought! You can view more images in her slideshow on my website.

Portraits for Home Decor

Portraits in the bathroom? Might not be a room you'd normally think of for displaying your portraits. Here's a cute idea for a bathroom. We don't normally put glass over our wall portraits, but do recommend it for bathroom displays.

Mariah's One Year portrait

Mariah wasn't too sure about having her portrait done this time, but we still captured some great images. Here's a few of my faves for her sneak peak.

Costumes contest

Thanks to all who stopped by for our Halloween Costumes and Cans event last Saturday! With your support, we made a nice donation of food to the Multi-Service Center food bank in Federal Way. Images have been posted on my Facebook page, so become a fan, invite your friends and family to become fans, and vote for your little goblin. Most votes wins a $125 Gift Certificate!

Costumes & Cans

Do you have your costumes ready? Be sure to stop by for a treat, because Saturday the 31st is Costumes and Cans, our Halloween canned food drive to benefit the FW foodbank. Bring 5 cans of food, per child, and receive a free 5x7 portrait of your little goblin in their costume. Costume contest for Facebook Fans too! Tell your friends and family to become our fan so they can vote for your little goblin. Most votes wins a $125 gift certificate!

Fall Color in the Garden

(Click image for larger view.)

Look better in photos

Whether gathering for family snapshots, or having your portrait professionally photographed, there are a few simple things anyone can do to look better in photos. I often employ these methods for my clients during their session, and you can try these tips yourself the next time you're in front of the camera.

Angle your body. Facing straight towards the camera with both feet planted side by side makes your body look wider and only works for very slim model types. Angle your body away from the camera, one foot in front of the other and one shoulder closer to the photographer, weight on the back foot. To slenderize the waist even more, keep the hips angled away from the camera, then twist the upper body towards the camera. Men look better and more natural by just shifting their weight to one foot, leaning to one side, rather than standing stick straight.

Sit pretty. For sitting poses, again, angle your body, knees pointing to the side rather than straight at the camera. Sit up on the edge of the chair, not slumped into the back of the chair. Lean a bit to one side by propping your back elbow on the arm of the chair, a table or on your knee. This creates a diagonal line leading to your face, and adds life to the image.

Don't slouch. Good posture can dramatically improve your appearance. Most people slouch without realizing it, making them look heavier and tired. Sit and stand tall with spine straight, shoulders back and relaxed not hunched up towards your ears, belly in, buttocks tight.

Chin out and down. Lean in slightly toward the camera. Move your face forward a bit and tip your chin down slightly. This eliminates double chin and really engages the eyes.

Eliminate double chin. Position yourself so the camera is above eye level and tilt your head up to it.

Tilt the head. Tilting your head slightly forward toward your ear looks more natural and engaging.

Arms out. Move arms slightly away from your body, elbows bent slightly, for a more toned look and to avoid upper arm heaviness. This also allows the curve of your waist to show, making you look slimmer.

Avoid blinks. To feel at ease, try closing your eyes, then opening them slowly just before the photo is taken. This helps minimize blinking.

Smile gently. Learn to 3/4 smile, relax and think happy thoughts. A really big smile often exposes too much gum, and squints the eyes, making them look smaller.

Smile with your eyes. Tyra Banks calls this "smize". Open eyes wide, tilting up at the corners a bit, with a closed or slightly parted, relaxed mouth.

Don't look directly into lens. Try focusing your eyes just slightly above the camera lens.

Breathe. Don't hold your breath, and do some deep breathing in and out to relax and energize you.

Practice. Try these tips and posing in front of a mirror to see what works best for you and your body. Studying poses shown in magazines or catalogs is also helpful.

Holiday cards

This is the beautiful holiday card selected by the Kurnik family, and just one of the many designs we offer. Have you reserved your session yet? Yes, amazingly it's that time of year again! Call now to schedule your appointment before it's too late. Add us as your Facebook friend prior to your session and receive $25 off your session fee!

Costumes & Cans

Click photo to see the card bigger.

We are so excited for our Costumes & Cans event, which will be held at the studio on October 31, from 10am to 5pm. We hope to have a big turnout and collect lots of cans of food for the Federal Way Food Bank. Bring 5 cans of food (per child) and receive one 5x7 print of your child in their costume. Be sure to invite all your friends and family with little goblins and ghouls! This event is on a walk-in basis, so those with younger kiddos may want to come earlier.

Olivia - 2010 Senior Portraits

Olivia has such a warm personality and it was a fun time photographing her senior portraits. With dad, brother and friend Maria on the scene for moral support, we captured lots of great images.

Her white sweater worked perfectly for our WOW - white on white.

Olivia remembered that she wanted a portrait showing off her tatoo, but she forgot to bring shorts or a skirt, so I raided my closet. Anything for art! She has one of the prettiest tatoos I've seen.