Portrait: Laurel +

I got to do another fun session with Laurel; this time with a few specific requests that I really enjoyed accommodating! She wanted to get together for a few things... to get some portraits of her for her hubby's desk at work (GREAT idea #1!), to surprise a friend with the gift of some pics of her and her kids (GREAT idea #2--she had her friend come along under the auspices of helping kid wrangle, which she definitely did, but Laurel had conspired with me ahead of time to nonchalantly try to capture a few of her friend and her friend's kids), and of course, we grabbed a few more of Laurel's girls, too. Some favs:



All the kids were LOVING this old tractor, so I used it to my full advantage:

Wedding: Stephen & Vonda (Part II)

First, let me just say you know it's going to be a great day when there are this many cute kids everywhere you look! ;0)

Vonda was SO great as we planned out the photography for her wedding day. She basically said, "This is going to be super casual. Do whatever you want! You just tell us when to be where, and we'll do it. All we want is that one great picture of the two of us..." What a dream photography assignment!!! They opted for a first look (a private moment where the bride and groom see each other for the first time, before the ceremony), which gave us plenty of time to do portraits before the wedding, while everyone was still fresh! ;0) Here they are, seeing each other for the first time in the morning:


Then we grabbed some portraits:








We walked down to a little garden off the house. One of my favs:






I couldn't resist some more fun with the rings, what with all the vintage collectibles throughout the historic house:


Then I corralled the flower girls on the front porch real quick:


I sure hope I get to shoot more weddings at this venue in the future! The entrance is just a wee bit more relaxed than a city church:


The whole event had a "Country Home" feeling to it:


A few ceremony shots:


There were several musical ensembles; all beautiful! I'm partial to guitars, so if I had to vote...




The reception atmosphere was like curling up with a good book by a fire, under a blanket, in winter. You know... warm. fuzzy. comfortable. relaxed. But with people all around...






Since Vonda has been a long-time member of our church, many of those in attendance were church friends. The first time Corey and I visited our church, I told him, "I want to raise my kids here." It's such a warm, family-friendly community. Jack is one of the many "grandpa" figures my kids love:




And finally... It wouldn't be a wedding without cake:


Stephen and Vonda, thanks so much again for the privilege of capturing your wedding day!

For those of you who have been asking about my wedding packages/pricing, I have updated my website to include that information. (It's under the "details" tab.) Give me a holler (jamie.zanotti@gmail.com) if you're interested in booking me for your wedding, or if you have any questions!

Wedding: Stephen & Vonda

I had the privilege of shooting my dear friend, Vonda's, wedding yesterday. The venue was a gorgeous historic house at a local filbert orchard.

I've only just begun looking through the images, but I have a feeling this will be my favorite of all:


Vonda made my job so easy! She absolutely glowed all day. Here's one from their front porch ceremony:


LOTS more to come!! I just thought I'd throw a few up for now. ;0)

How do I get everyone to smile? (Alternately titled: "Forget the cheese, but don't forget Grandma!")

Probably the #1 question I get from people is, "How do you get everyone to smile?" For starters: I don't. As I say on my web site, "I'm not so interested in capturing the physical features of someone for posterity's sake. My goal is to draw people out, get them to relax and laugh, and capture a glimpse..." Many of my photos include people with eyes closed, because they're laughing so hard, or include one person looking at someone else, because I love the interaction you can see there, etc.

That being said, I do always try to catch at least a few images with everyone looking and smiling. I can never state enough that I'm no expert--but from the land of "what I think I know", here are my top five ideas for how to get that "everyone looking and smiling" shot:

1) Make time to endear yourself to your subject(s).
For example, just as I was attempting to get this shot of Matt and Gena...

...I was ambushed.

Not once...


Not twice...


...but three times:


I wasn't irritated. I was thrilled! When Chase asked if they could mimic the characters in the mural...


...I was even more thrilled! I kicked Ma and Pa to the curb as fast as I could! When the kids are into it, and having fun, I'm a whole lot more likely to get those "everyone look and smile" shots when I ask for them. With every family shoot I can remember, I have taken several shots that I had no interest in getting, compositionally speaking. But if I give my subjects the time of day, they're much more likely to return the favor! ...so that's tip #1. When your subject(s) suggests something you didn't have in mind, oblige them! And smile inwardly. Because that's a great sign that you're developing that essential repoire with them!

2) Be assertive with parents, and share some guidelines up front.
Honestly, I often forget this one myself. When I remember, I like to encourage parents to leave it to me to get their kids to look and smile, etc. Because sometimes, well-meaning parents will try to help by snapping their fingers in front of their kids' faces, or giving them a little "pep talk", or what not... which results in lots of pictures with parents' snapping fingers in front of their kids' faces, and lots of not-so peppy expressions... ;0)

3) Whatever you do, do not have them say "cheese".
Say cheese. Yes, you. You who are reading this. Say cheese right now. Out loud. Please? It makes me giggle just imagining you sitting in front of your computer saying cheese... but I digress! Freeze your "cheese", and look in the mirror. Go ahead. Just do it! I'll wait..................... Okay. Are you back? Not so pretty, huh? Saying, "cheese" pulls your mouth into a tight, awkward position that is not really even a smile. My sweet Kendra was kind enough to demonstrate for me:

You gotta love how even her arm muscles are in full flex. She puts her whole body into a "cheese" grin! He he.

I'd take a silly face, a smiling face not looking into the camera... anything over an unnatural "cheese" smile, any day:

Ah, much better, to my way of thinking.

4) Make them laugh.
So what do you have them say, if not, "cheese"? How about "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"? Or, "We love to eat bricks with cheese on top!" I try to think of the most zany things I can. Because I'm not really looking for a smile, after all. I'm looking for a laugh. I think when someone is laughing, they've got their most beautiful, natural smile coming through. They can't "pose" their smile when they're laughing. I do all kinds of crazy things to get people to laugh. Mostly, I'm just an idiot. One of my subjects once said to me, "You know we're laughing at you, right?" ;0) I know, I know! I'll do whatever it takes!

5) Get Grandma, or a favorite Uncle, etc., to come along.
I owe MANY of the "everyone looking and smiling" pictures I've captured to the Grandma, Uncle, sister, friend, or whomever standing behind me. When I do a session, I like to have FUN, and I like my subjects to have FUN, too! We dance, we sing... you name it, we do it. ;0)

I hope this might give you a few ideas for your own attempts at "everyone smiling and looking" shots! Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time trying to get them!! ;0)

Maternity: Heather (Part II)

We started out at Heather's home, to get a few with her hubby and kids, and because I can't say no to hardwood floors. ;0) I had been dreaming of a soft, vintage, campy, summer-y feel for this session, so I nearly cried tears of joy when Heather greeted us at the door with her flowered headband! Perfect perfect perfect.

While I was scoping out some options in the living room, I discovered I was being watched:


Much to my delight, Grace's little sister Anna happened around the corner, and Grace snatched up her hand:


Kate played with the girls while I snapped a few of Phil and Heather:




For this next one, I lied. I told Phil and Heather to just relax, because they were going to be blurred out in the background. Which was true... until their conversation turned into hysterical laughter, and I had to sneak a shot of them:


After we wrapped up at their home, we headed out to my Grandma's old place in the country (thanks again, Aunt Annie!), and used up our daylight out there:


















Thanks again for such a lovely, lovely evening, Heather and Kate! Love you both!!