Help-Portrait Milwaukee!!!

Hello, long-lost blogland!

I apologize that I have not been able to keep up the blog lately, but I thank you for keeping me busy! =) I will be updating the blog over the next couple of weeks (from oh, you know, August til now), but in the meantime I have an exciting announcement!

Help-Portrait Milwaukee takes place tomorrow. Tomorrow!

9am-5am in Riverwest

FREE Portraits with fabulous MKW photographers (wait, like for real? Yes, for REAL!)

More details here (including address).

International Details here.

This is a venture not to "take pictures, but to give them."

If you know someone who can't afford a portrait, please send them our way. We seek to provide for those of us in need. And I don't know if you can tell, but we're pretty excited about it!!!

Oh, and btw, yes, one of these days my R-E-A-L web site will be up. One of these days...

thanks for hanging in while I work!

Sneak Peek with my new lens...

(all photos copyrighted. thank you.)

Happy birthday to me: I got a new portrait lens! I love to work with zooms, because they allow me to work in photojournalistic style (paired with portrait work) & at times sneakily shoot from my shoulder. Plus, I have great zooms. But adding a fixed prime lens to my collection, is a lot of fun. It has to capacity for a very shallow depth of field, & I think they are going to pair together nicely. I received this lens, had 36 hours to research and practice, and hit the streets yesterday with this fun family to try it out. I shot with this lens, as well as my long zoom, and I'm pleased with how they will work together. Pretty much like best friends. These shots are exclusively from my new lens (sorry, Favorite Zoom). I'll post some more from the other lens next week. (Y'know- make new friends but keep the old...)
I like how this lens picks up the energy of the city, but allows the eye to rest on the beauty of the subject, or the beauty of the moment the subjects are caught up in.

This is me: I love these shots like the one above. They are storytellers- or "portraits of the story," as I like to call them. I try to incorporate these kinds of shots with family shoots. I love 'em.

and i really love these in black and white, too.
Oh, lenses are great. Also great? Fun families...and little boys who know just when to poke out with a great smile. Can't wait to show you guys more, A & T---Thanks! I had a great time!

Before We Shoot: Session Preparation Letter

Ticklebugs photography: Full Session Prep Letter

I know getting everything organized for our session can be tricky, so here are a few tips:

*Make sure everyone has eaten, washed their faces, and “gone potty” before you leave the house. Or, you might want to leave arrive early and take care of that if it is possible at our location.

*Pack a snack and a water bottle. You might want to think about what color clothes the kids are wearing so the snack doesn’t dirty the outfit. Snacks can act as more of a comfort or distraction than a necessary food item. With children under 3, we often break after 20-25 minutes just to talk and gear up for the next set of pictures. I’ll explain that to you when we meet.

*You are welcome to change outfits as many times as you would like within our time frame. (I do recommend shielding yourself to avoid tickets. Tickets make photo sessions much more expensive.)

*You are welcome to bring props. What does your family like to do together? Bike? Jump rope? Chalk? Bubbles? A ball? Balloons? Giant lollypops (and the kids say, “YAAY!”)? Think of these as toys, as well. Sometimes we need to stop and play while children get comfortable with the camera. I am a big proponent of play as a means of getting comfortable.

*Please make me aware of any special needs pertaining to your child. I am sensitive to children sometimes being afraid of the big camera, and I have some tricks to try to make that fear go away. (We try to have lots of fun!)

*Clothing: Wear what you like. Be yourself. Think about your environment- if we’re outside in Autumn, think reds and oranges and purples and browns and greens & *autumn* yellows.

*Try to avoid white, unless everyone is in white. But keep in mind that white always wins the eye (it also tends to overexpose), so if only one person is in white, the eye will be stolen by that shirt or dress. And often not the face of the person in the white, but the shirt itself. So, plan accordingly. A photoshoot designed as a “white dress photo shoot” is one thing--classic and beautiful, but otherwise you will find white competing for the attention of the eye, and a portrait is generally more about the people than the clothing. Generally.

*It is best to avoid clothing with patterns. Children’s faces are best showcased with a solid top. Of course, striped tights and crazy socks never hurt anyone. Enjoy your outfit! Let it represent you!

*People with lighter skin tones should be careful with wearing light colors, like white. People with darker skin tones should be careful with wearing darker colors, like navy, dark purple, dark brown, or black. Portraits look best when there is significant contrast between skin and clothing.

*While this is less important, women should be careful with necklines and undergarments.

Necklines are best when they do not “mock” the actual neck. For example, a circle necked T-shirt repeats the line of the neck, which some people find unflattering when they see pictures of themselves- it can seem distracting to the eye to see that shape repeated so close together. Just a slight “scoop” or “v” can solves that---or, a v-necked sweater worn on top of the round neck shirt can sooth the look.

Undergarments should be planned so they cannot creep out while we shoot, and think about lines that can be seem beneath the fabric. Look in the mirror from the front and the back, and think about if you raise your arms or bend over.

*Put the brightest colors on the smallest people. For example, if 2 people will be in navy or brown and 2 in red, put the brown/navy on the adults and the red on the toddlers/ kids.

*If this list stresses you out, throw a dart at it or something. Look the other way. Ignore it. And go to your closet and pick out what you love and meet me at our location. Period. :)

*Kids: You have a special job. Your job is to HAVE FUN! We’ll run and jump and play. We’ll do funny things, say funny things, and then pause for those regular smiles, too. We will have lots of fun, I promise!

*Parents: You have a special job. You job is to be smiling (or, photo-ready) from the time we begin ‘til the time we finish. It might be tricky to get a smile out of your child at times, so I need you to be ready in that split second your child flashes that fabulous face you want on your wall. And good news: I am not stressed out by your child’s disagreement, sass, tantrum or crying. I will be ready to capture each smile that comes our way, and you do not need to worry about the time in between. Let’s have fun!

Once we begin our session, we will be having so much fun that it will be hard to stop to go potty, so make sure that is taken care of before we start! (We will, of course, do so if necessary!)

Let’s have fun!

Newborn: 7 days-old

When looking to book your newborn session, call ahead of the birth and let me know about when you are due (or, book a maternity&newborn package). We try to take the photos within 8 days of birth to get that "newborn skin." I will squeeze you in as possible if you give me enough notice (call me from the hospital/ birthing center!).

Stripey Tights.

Okay, so here we are. I've been a bit, ehem, under the weather. I'm behind on posting. (Sorry, August. I really did mean to get you up here sometime!)

This was a fun family, and I will post more from their session later, but I thought I'd stop by and leave these happy pics for anyone who might need a cheer-me-up :)

Stripey tights get me every time. Ev-e-Ry Time!!!! I would wear stripey tights everyday if I could. I mean really- can you go wrong with stripey tights?

Fun pics from their family shoot and others to come. In the meantime, enjoy some happy-pretty stripey tights!

And, go!

Our conversation went a little like this:

"Okay, so you can play around in the tree and we'll stop here and there and get some really great shots of you. So, have fun, k?"

And her response was pretty much like,

"Okay. I'm just going to go ahead and look awesome in 3 seconds flat."

Okay, she didn't say that. But, wow, right? She just climbed into that tree and did that!

She's gorgeous. And lovely. Inside and out. I had a lot of fun that day.

Who says break-downs can't play to the lens?

Before we shoot, you'll get from me what I call a "prep-letter" (going to post here soon for reference). In that letter I set out to put you at ease that children's break-downs don't bother me in the least. In fact, sometimes we can get some great shots out of them!

These shots came at the end of an extended shoot. We got a lot of great shots (will post soon), but her mama and I ended up loving these last three. She was "done". You know D-O-N-E. They were leaving. We were wrapping up conversation. And then I noticed that lying on the ground with her just might present us with something sweet and fun.

As it turns out, I think we caught her at "her." Her smile. Her giggle. And catching you in your "most you" is always, always the goal.

So sometimes we have a break-down or two (who doesn't?!). Our job is to fill the space in between with as much fun as possible, so we can get this stuff :)

My favorite wedding sniper-shot of the summer!

Because Saturday is family day at my house, I don't shoot many weddings.

(I do love to shoot bridal portraits, however!)

I do my best to shoot during the week, or on Sunday (which is a work day for my family).

But I do like to spend the summer "snipering" weddings. Maybe just my own take on wedding photography?

And I just up and down love this shot. If anyone knows this bride, please let her know I have a gift for her. At least if I were her, I would want this shot! I love it!

I shot this from our picnic table behind a tree.

In my bathing suit.

I couldn't help it. Those people are just too fantastic. I want to know them. And the girl on the left? She had bright RED shoes...I wish you could see them. They're fantastic.

I will chase you!!!

If I must, I will chase you in between a wood pile and a recycling bin (you can't really tell that, can you?). And I will do just that all while we keep the laughs rolling.

And then...yes, and then... I will get you AGAIN!

I love my job!

Apple Picking

Tips: Dress your kids in earthy-appley colors. (Hi. My name is Robyn and I make up words. When necessary.) Think about the apples, and letting them be the pops of colors. So, the attention goes to your sweet kids' faces & the apples. Not the clothes. Think plain without patterns, or at most, simple and monochromatic color schemes. My son is in a yellow shirt (he wanted to match his favorite apples), and my daughter is in green with a yellow bow.

Play with the light. Also, one of my favorite things to do is to get under the tree with the kids, able to see the sky behind their faces and they come out from under the tree.

Make sure the fruit gets her close-up. And not to gross you out, but if you rub off the pesticides, the apples look a lot better in photos. See the shiny ones at the top? Yeah. And if you have the option, bump your color saturation up in your color menu for this shot. Sharpness, too, if you'd like. And zoom in an manually focus if you have that option. Which I did not do for this shot and wish I had taken the time to do. Another cute one? Have the kids sit on the sides and look up at you as you hold the camera high (on auto-focus). Now look, I'm giving away all my secrets. Trouble :) Have fun!

oh, and always pack some attitude. you know, for the woman who birthed you. (Tilt your camera here and there, and try to drop it to the level of the kids' faces. That way, the orchards look to the viewer of the photograph as they do to the kids: BIG. See how her arm is perpendicular to the ground and her shoulders are parallel to it? Btw, her brother made her that necklace. How sweet is that?!)

and this one...well, i just love it. my dad actually took this one. so, credit Dad & the Nikon D90 on that shot. Wish I hadn't been in the way. They're dissecting the process. Love it!

Now, go and enjoy some apple-picking!

Little Red Chair (ity)

So I have a thing for RED. Always have. It's a thing.

I also have a thing for water. Always have. It's a thing.

And as it turns out 20% of the world is without clean drinking water. I think that needs to change. I'd like to one day be sitting in my red rocking chair and hear confusion in my grandchildren's voices as they question, "You mean people used to not have clean water?"

So, I here's the deal. I have red chairs. I like to take them with me on shoots. I will ask if I can take a picture with your child in a red chair. I will give you all the shots from the shoot on CD as promised. Except for one. The Red Chair Shot.

I will sell Red Chair Shots for $10 a piece, and 100% of those proceeds will go to a water project. I usually work with Charity:Water or Bloodwater:mission. Both great organizations (recognized by the government), and both working to end the gap between humans and clean water. So, if you see a red chair in my trunk, you know why. If you have your own favorite red chair, bring it along. Because the Little Red Chair (ity) project is a Together-Project.

Because I like working together.

Always have.

It's a thing.

:)

Autumn is here!

One of the keys to a great photo shoot is having fun!!! And well, being willing to take the time to get the work done. Even if it means lying down in goose poop (me, not you!), taking a break to swing, having a lollypop, etc. We set up to have fun!

When shooting with a 2 year-old, we just go with the flow. We plan around nap time, we snack, we potty, we run-jump-sing-laugh, and somewhere along the way we get the shots we need. And I always tell the parents ahead of time that they have two jobs: (1) Be smiling the whole time because we never know when we're going to get "that face" from your child, and (2) You're not allowed to stress about your child(ren) not being happy. Or difficult. Or whatever. This kind of stuff doesn't bother me. I'm with you to catch you all at your best. I know what it takes. I know the mood swings of kids (I have my own!). And crying and tantrums- they bother me not. Not in the least. We just work hard, have fun, and usually spend the majority of the time laughing.

So, when we get together, relax. We'll get the best pictures when we set up to have a lot of fun.

Likely more to come from this family. they did a great job picking clothing colors, and we had so much fun that I'm bound to post a few more once I get them edited.

Thanks, guys!

I think I could shoot everyday of the week in autumn.

It's just that fabulous.

Grandmothers

Can I stop and brag on my mother-in-law for a minute?

My kids think she's pretty fantastic!

Senior Portraits: Questions answered

So it seems some people are having a hard time coordinating their friends for a mini-shoot, but you still want to try to figure out how to make the deal work.

As it happens, I have shoots here and there over the next couple of weeks. If you are willing to meet up on a day I am already shooting, at the location I am already shooting, I will give you mini-shoot pricing.

So, if you are Alli, Sarah and Elle:

Alli can meet me after I shoot with the (Smith) family.

Sarah, you can meet me when I finish corporate shots for another group.

And Elle, you can have your portraits just before I shoot with the (Jones) family.

Then, we'll tack your group shot onto my single senior portrait shoot with Elizabeth.

Make sense? If you can work with me, I can work with you.

Life is hard, but this? This we can figure out :)

Email or call me, and we'll piece it together. But hurry! The earlier we schedule, the easier it is to pull this off!

Thanks! Let's have fun!

**If you simply want to book a Friend Shoot, it's $150 and you each get a CD. We'll book 1.5 hours and can go to 2-3 locations depending on distance. You may change clothes as many times as you'd like within that time frame. That's not something I fuss about. It's your time block, and you may use it as you like.

Now Booking: Senior Portraits!

Now booking for October!!!

Join the beautiful autumn landscape now for senior portraits! We can even run by the beach if we hurry! Think about what you love to do or think about- I taylor your portrait session to beautiful, specific YOU! Think sports. Or books. Music. Or artistry. We can have a lot of fun getting creative!

Senior portraits, from what I understand, are due to the schools by November 1st.

Book on the same day with 2 friends and get a complimentary "Friend Shoot."

We'll hit up some great locations and document your friendship. Even Album Style, if you'd like.

Great for dorm walls.

One Student: $99/ session including CD.

2 Students $80/ session including CD.

3 students $75/ session including CD.

Or, book at the original rate and receive a free "Friend Shoot."

($150 value!)

email: robynvining (at) (gmail) (dot) (com)

Book today to ensure your Nov 1 delivery!

2 Fun Girls!

I've been editing these photos for about a week, and finalizing the CD this morning. I have to say, staring at these little faces for the last week has been a lot of fun. Almost as fun as chasing them around and laughing with them at the beach!

(P.S. Sorry for the blog-neglect. It's been a busy end of summer, to say the least! I hope everyone is enjoying the arrival of the pumpkin latte. Sometimes we need to find fun things to focus on in the wake of summer, huh? :)

and again...margins broken. sorry for the loss of the right side. BIG GIANT SIGH.

Mini-Session Shoot this Thursday!!!

So, I'm toying with a last minute mini-session shoot this Thursday. That means I book at least 3 back-t0-back shoots that last 20-25 minutes rather than 60-90 minutes. This is an economical portrait shoot--- for that 1 portrait that you need. We'll likely get good 10 shots, but are gaming for that 1 that you need to send off to Grandma or post with a birthday picture. Or a blog photo update. Or something to turn into wallets. Or a nice, large cut-out for your lawn. (Kidding.)

Bradford Beach.

This Thursday.

AFter 10:30am.

Contact me if you're interested.

$35/ child, or

$25 if you are a "facebook fan".

Proofs ready in 10-14 days due to a busy week this week and next. Likely able to get you one proof via internet rather quickly.

*Other mini-sessions to come for family Christmas cards.

Little Girl, Big Bridge

I had fun with this one.

(Just pretend the blogger margins aren't knocking off the right side of the composition.)

Oh, and...

My dad took these this weekend while visiting us. He almost didn't take his camera out on the beach, but I coaxed him to. I like dueling cameras. Turns out? I got caught. And you know what? Pictures with me and my daughter? I couldn't love them more. My daughter & me as shot by my Dad: perfect. I think I will treasure these for a long time. A long, long time.