I posted one of Kate’s headshots the other day. Here’s a few more from the series.
Beautiful light in Kate’s home for portraits! And no special attention was paid to de-cluttering because it wasn’t needed. This would be contrary to the de-clutter frenzy I hear about for most of my family sessions. I love hearing the de-clutter stories because then I know that people will love me whether or not they love their pictures because they got a clean house out of the deal!
I still can’t decide whether I like the white shirt best, or the red turtle, or the blue v-neck. They all work on different levels. Which one do you like best?
Kate’s cat is a champion portrait poser!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:10 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
and turn up the sound for a little slide show from my winter daytrip to the beach with Steve.
What is it about sunflare that I love so much?
Steve is a writer.
Check out his Web site here.
What I love about this one is the use of the off-camera light to evenly light the outside of this old abandoned building and Steve on the inside as well.
I love the depth in this picture. Can you name the location? Bradley knew it instantly, remembering hordes of mosquitoes the last time he was there in summer. No mosquitoes now. That’s ice by the tracks. Brrrr.
Little tree growing on the beach.
Little tree gets a close up too. I have no idea what kind of tree that is.
But that tree in the background of Steve’s smiley headshot is an easy one. Know what it is? One of my favorites for winter interest because of that splotchy bark. Lots of blog praise for the correct answer.
Thanks again, Steve! You pick the coolest locations for your pictures!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:53 pm
If I had to pick a “best” season for headshots, it’s NOW. Why? Well, let’s take a moment to reflect on Kate’s cat, above.
She is perfectly happy sitting in the sun for her headshot. If it were summer, she’d be too hot. December? Too busy buying cat treats for kitty friends. Spring? Too many new little critters to chase around in the pale green leaves (which cast an icky reflection on human skin. Ew). Fall is good too, but second to fall, NOW is a great time!
If it were summer, do you think I’d be able to get Kate to wear that GREAT red sweater?
Plus, since I come to you for headshots, you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your own home (read: full access to your wardrobe). AND, I can’t help capturing the animals while I’m there. Check out the pets portfolio on my main web site. I LOVE shooting animals!
Wait. That didn’t come out right.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:01 pm
This team of marathon runners from Finland asked me to take some pictures the day before the big race.
We met late in the afternoon for some stretching, jogging and sightseeing in Central Park.
One of the sights we came across is the banner that marks the 25th mile. That last mile (actually, 1.2 miles) may be the hardest, but at least the finish line is near!
The runners, a team that is part of an asthma study with AstraZeneca, will be following that thin blue line throughout all five boroughs of New York, starting in Staten Island and finishing at Tavern on the Green in Central Park.
I’m going back tomorrow to meet the runners after the race.
But, for today, we were just hanging out. I have to say, New Yorkers are so cool! Here’s this team from Finland wearing their team uniforms, walking around the park, and just about every where we went, people would wish them luck in the race.
Robert, the team captain is in front. They’ve been training for about a year. This is the first marathon for everyone on the team.
You should all be proud of your accomplishments!
Training for a marathon is difficult and rewarding. The big payoff will come when you make your descent into Manhattan from the Queensboro Bridge. It is exhilirating! Good luck in the race tomorrow! I will be oh-so-excited to see you with your medals!
Check the blog for updates and a slide show coming soon!
In addition to this being the team’s marathon debut, it is also my debut as a marathon photographer. But it’s not my first experience with a marathon. Long ago, in the life of “Julie B.C.” (before children), I trained for a year and ran in the 1993 NYC marathon. It was one of those life-altering days, you know, one of those days, like the day I was married or the days my children were born, or
the day I sang in Carnegie Hall, that I’ll never forget — one of my all-time best days! I am so honored to have the opportunity to photograph this team from Finland. It may not be the same as running in the race, but being in New York on marathon day is the BEST!
That’s me (white shirt, white hat) in 1993 crossing the finish line after more than five hours. I looked quite happy to be finishing, no? Not long after this picture, I sat down — and didn’t get up for week.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:40 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
for Anissa and Kenny’s engagement pictures.
The picture above is a clue to today’s contest question. Get it right and you will win Anissa and Kenny a free 8×10 print! When the slide show is finished, it will jump back here where you can keep reading to find the question buried in the post. Have fun!
I don’t know what Anissa was doing but it’s so cute!
They seem so perfect for each other and so happy to be together!
Sweet nothings, or maybe something, I don’t know.
They were whispering.
Their first-date-restaurant, in their favorite town.
Love the colors!
Kenny wanted a picture with just Anissa in it. Beautiful!
So we did one with just Kenny for Anissa. How adorable is HE?
This was just after coaxing him to give us a “GQ look,” which made Anissa laugh, which brought out Kenny’s “I know where you live” look. LOVE it!
LOVE the ring shots!
Love this one too.
What’s the name of that park?
Not that many parks have carousels. Standing on a moving carousel backwards while balancing a camera bag full of lenses and a big camera all the while trying to adjust the manual settings so as to keep the subject in focus but let the background look like it’s zooming by is not the easiest thing to do. If you’re a photographer thinking of trying this, my advice is DON’T LOOK DOWN.
This one’s not in the slide show. Anissa, check your e-mail in a little while for a notification about your full gallery, from which you can pick your free 8×10, assuming somebody gets the answer right.
Hint. Hint.
I had so much fun that day! Thank you both so much!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:36 am
One of my loyal blog readers booked me for a photo shoot at a private beach club on the Jersey Shore with her sisters and all their boys. This is my favorite picture from the whole bunch, and that wasn’t an easy choice, since there are so many beautiful ones. But the reason I like this one so much is because of those beautiful, natural smiles.
Easy to see why those moms are so smiley.
They have six handsome boys between them. Here’s one.
Two.
Three.
(And a dad, or maybe an uncle.I was so confused about who belonged to whom. It was hard to tell becasue they’re all so close.)
Four.
Five.
Six.
That makes one big gorgeous family. (That’s the girls’ mom on the left. Hi mom!)
We started the day at the first soccer practice of the fall season.
First soccer practice of all time for two of our boys.
The day marked the end of summer — the beach club owner was battening down for the winter, for one thing, and hardly anybody was there.
But that just made it easier to get unposed shots (without a crowd in the background) in my “unportrait” style. I love how you can see the adults standing around in the background in this one. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow at a photo shoot that involves six boys under the age of 7!
Most of my pictures are candid, but there are a few “tell me when you see the shutter move” shots.
If this were me in the picture with my son, I’d print it, frame it, and put it on my dresser to stay forever. I love this shot.
Love this one too! I have too many faves!
I love their slide show, but this one’s private so if you want to see it, please email one of the sisters. And THANK YOU ALL for booking me to document this summer in the lives of those sweet little boys. I had a great time! You’re the BEST!
We’ll be seeing one of these families again in a few weeks because, as a loyal blog reader, she and her husband won my June contest for a free family shoot! And it’s only a few weeks away! Speaking of contests, no one has won this one yet!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 10:42 am
By far, the most common question I am asked is, “What should I wear?”
As I sit here in my pale blue t-shirt, ash grey hoodie and jeans, I feel particularly DISqualified to give fashion advice. However, one thing I’m pretty good at is coordinating clothes for my photo clients. I like to plan clothing for photo shoots based on current fashion trends for classic clothes, in colors that compliment skin tones and the natural environments in which we’ll be shooting. With the onset of fall, we always see clothing colors change hue to reflect the changing colors of the leaves — rich dark red, deep forest green, burnt orange, chocolate brown, pale yellow. As we morph into winter, we’ll see pinks, lighter greens and teals replacing the yellows and oranges. (Avoid primary colors — bright red, royal blue, kelly green. Gives a photographer the shivers.)
Coordinating clothing for one person is really not so hard: pair of jeans, white t-shirt, comfy red sweater, dark brown pea coat, stripey scarf, voila! an outfit that compliments the natural colors of fall. But how do you coordinate clothing for an entire family? That’s not so easy. So I gave myself a little assignment: could I put together some virtual outfits for groups of people based on the notion of sticking within a color palette, limiting patterns, and picking up colors from within the patterns? Could I do this on a budget? Could I avoid shirts with logos and silk screening?
My virtual shopping trip landed me at Old Navy, Target, American Eagle, Urban Outfitters, Land’s End and a store that sells “Life is Good” hats and scarves.
I wasn’t organized enough to actually write down what each item cost, but most of what I put together came from Old Navy and Target, so that should give you an idea. Probably the single most expensive thing I “bought” was the stripey hat!
THE RULES: Stick within a color palette, limit patterns, avoid logos, don’t be boring!
Here’s what I came up with: (Click the thumbnails to enlarge the images.)
I call this “Teal and Brown.” Teal does not fall within the fall color palette unless you live at the beach. Hey, rules are made to be broken! Let’s have fun! Notice the accessories. Necklaces and bracelets add color, interest and texture.
Also notice that the stripey sweater is sized for a small person — a baby or little girl. If you choose an outfit like that, be sure to also include an outfit for that child in a more subtle pattern or color so that we get lots of variety in our pictures!
Here’s the stripey hat I love. Notice how the entire wardrobe pulls off colors in that one little hat. Imagine that hat on an adorable little blue-eyed sweetie who is being held in your arms, your arms that are covered with a burnt orange sweater (I think that one came from Abercrombie) picking up the burnt orange stripe. Love it!
Note: horizontal stripes are to be completely avoided on women, and are to be used sparingly on everybody else. That olive sweater is just about right for a 4- to 12-year-old boy.
This one is a little dressier than the others. Not exactly my style, but I thought I’d try for a slightly less casual look just to see how it might work. The argyle sweater has a delicate red stripe. We’ll pick up on that in the red sweater, and we’ll bounce off the grey with a grey tweed blazer for added texture. But I prefer casual, so I dressed the argyle down by pairing it with khakis for dad. Or, as an alternative, if he’s the type to wear dress shoes, this would be the time to wear them and substitute those khakis for a pair of dark jeans. Best coat to layer: black leather trench or flight jacket. Perfect if you already have one in your wardrobe.
This set has a lot of pink. Pink is very big right now, and works especially well for those late fall shoots when the brilliant colors of autumn have begun to fade and our beautiful trees begin to show off their inner shape. The pink is going to work nicely with a clear blue sky, which we will see a lot of with no leaves to block it out. Plus, pink is GREAT with brown, and since a lot of the leaves are going to be brown by the end of fall, pink is good! (Add some bright or even stripey leggings to your daughter’s skirt for a few pictures. Very fun and wintery!)
So, as you glance at those thumbnails, can you see the color palettes and how they change? Can you see how some items in some of the sets wouldn’t work so good in other sets? (The orange sweater is not going to work so good in the pink set, for example.)
One word of warning: I’m showing a lot of hooded shirts and I actually don’t like hooded shirts all that much for family shoots because we tend to throw the children up in the air and upside down. That hood is going to mess up our pictures! So if you go for a hoodie, throw in a sweater change without a hood so we have some options.
Remember that if we are shooting outside in winter, it’s likely to be cold. Big down coats don’t do a whole lot for our figures, so it’s best to shoot for short periods of time, going from inside to out, and dressing in layers so that the coat can be unzipped. That said, hats and scarves are great for pictures as long as they coordinate with the other clothes and coats. Most importantly, have fun! Never force your child to wear something he absolutely hates. There’s nothing wrong with black and white pictures! I LOVE black and white!
One more note: please take this advice as merely a stepping off point for those of you who would like a little help choosing clothes. Nothing is written in stone here. Wear what you like, wear what’s comfortable, be happy, because when day is done all we ever really care about is whether you had a good breakfast that gave you lots of energy for your photo shoot and whether you brushed your teeth! (Because you’ll be smiling a LOT!)
Ask any one of my victims, I mean clients, about that need for lots of energy on photo shoot day! It’s a given. Now if I just had some energy to change out of this ash hoodie and pale blue t-shirt (blah, boring) I’d be in good shape!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:31 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:29 pm
You tell me. Does this picture tell the story of a high school senior, or what? I love it!
Every two years for the last, oh I don’t know how long, Jane and Ed have organized a portrait session with their extended family. It’s interesting to look through all the pictures they’ve had done — to see their grandchildren growing up is really cool. Some of the portraits are beautiful!
So when Jane asked me to shoot this year’s installment of family portraits, well, I felt a little pressure. I don’t really do portraits, at least not in the traditional sense. But I felt honored at the opportunity to keep their family tradition going and give them some decent group shots, pictures that would show the relative growth of the young generation, but I also knew I couldn’t deviate from my un-portrait style too far. Plus, my main goal was for the family to have such a good time, and have such a good time watching the slide show, that they’d remember this photo shoot for the rest of their lives.
Hopefully, they’ll remember it fondly!
The kids might remember it for the sore feet they got from jumping! In any case, I thought the shoot was really fun, and I hope it lives up to the tradition! Thank you SO much, Jane and Ed, for having faith in me and letting me add to your portrait tradition by bringing some lifestyle pictures into the mix!
The children loved the playhouse in their grandparents’ backyard when they were little. It’s a little small now. (I love this Alice-in-Wonderland shot!)
What a nice-looking family.
I tried to give each one of the teenagers a cool shot — something I would have liked when I was that age. This is his GQ look, toned in the style we’re seeing in magazines these days — the washed out look that gives it a classic touch.
She’s the first one of the grandchildren going away to college this year. I wanted a bold, ubermodern tone for her to bring out all her accessories — the earrings, the jacket, the headband. So cool. She’s gorgeous!
The reason I chose the song I did is because of this picture. I asked the kids to vote on which one of them was the most reserved. They couldn’t do it, agreeing that they all had very outgoing personalities. (I wanted everybody jumping except for the one who was most reserved. In the end, I picked the one who seemed the least reserved to play that part.) The little discussion we had about their personalities led me to the conclusion that they’d all love a fun, upbeat song.
I love her eyes!
Their slide show is private, but if you know Jane and Ed and would like to see it, just give them a call!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:59 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:35 pm
