Family Portrait At Red Rocks Park In Morrison, Colorado

On the day of this family portrait session I woke up and thought that there must be a fire in the mountains because their was a thick haze covering the mountains.  I was really worried about the whole situation and as I drove from Highlands Ranch to Red Rocks I actively listened to the radio to figure out if something was going on.  When I got there the answer was "Fall Fog" and it really put my normally bright red rocks colors into a bit of a haze.

This was an original image from the shoot before any adjustments were made to the color:

 

This is an image in the same series after the reds were brightened to bring out the rock color

Denver Family Photographer - {Rice Family Session}

Have you ever chased around a 2 yr old trying to take their photo in a place full of exciting things? That is what this session was all about! But it was so much fun - we chased miss Eleanor up & down stairs, around and around back up and down the stairs - haha.  Eleanor was definitely the most active two year old I've photographed yet.  But by the end of the session she wanted me to carry her (probably all that running around) and offered to make me a burger once we found a kitchen! So cute!

Engagement Session in Downtown Denver {Bryan & Jakki}

For Jakki & Bryan's Engagement session we decided to shoot in downtown Denver starting off at the blue bear.  If you are from Denver you know where the blue bear is - its an icon of downtown and a bit of an odd one.  I've always wondered who came up with putting a large blue bear statue peeking into the convention center - or it would have been kind of funny to sit in the meeting where that was first proposed. 

I really can't wait until their wedding - they are so in love and so much fun to work with!

Handmade Pottery Gifts by Season's Pottery

Client Spotlight: Season Cowdrey - Season's Pottery

I've been photographing the Cowdrey family since April 2008 - when I went over to take some pictures of Brian for his real estate business cards.  I was able to sneak a couple pics of his son Ashton but Ayla was out with mommy (old post here).  Brian ended up selling us the house we are living in now in May 2009.  I was lucky enough to shoot their twins both last year and this year.  They are so much fun too! (2010 blog post).

This year Season bought a kiln and started making some amazing pottery! She's started a facebook business page showing off her amazing creations and will soon start an Etsy business. When she posted these little cute mitten ornaments on Facebook I just had to get some. Here is a link to her facebook business page where you can pick up something for yourself.  Along with her goodies shown here she can make you just about anything custom.  Oh and she can make you or your little one a custom tea set - amazing.

"I make pottery. I love to create, to dream, to make things that make you feel at home, things that you love to use, to hold, to touch, to keep and pass on to your children. The everyday, ordinary objects that take you back to your childhood, or better yet will make the memories for your child's!" - Quoted on Season's Pottery Facebook Page

I am a firm believer in following your dreams and doing things you love!

Our 2010 Thanksgiving

A little late but I still wanted to share these images I took of our Thanksgiving this year.  James' mom came up from Houston to cook us Thanksgiving.  James was super sick the whole time but still managed to eat one small sliver of turkey, world famous stuffing, and a piece of cherry pie.  The pie didn't make it long enough to get photographed. 

Of course I couldn't resist a photo of two very happy doggies - waiting on their Thanksgiving turkey. Yes - they did get a tiny piece each.

Lynch Family Portraits at DeKoevend Park

DeKoevend Park is my go to park, when all else fails - DeKoevend is there to save me.  The park is located on University drive just north of Arapahoe and the park is huge! So with that said, come shoot here! You will LOVE it just like me.

These were done Late Late Late fall - in fact I didn't expect the park to have any leaves left.  Just like always DeKoevend came through for me.  In the spring this area of the park is not accessible because its the creek bed and it has water in it or mud,  In the fall & winter its just sandy and full of leaves (yellow ones).

Lucy & Linus joined us for the shoot and I have to say if you bring your dogs just be ready for even more fun and excitement.  I am definitely a dog person so I love working with them, so seriously bring them =)

Nathan & Sarah at Platte River Bike Trail in Littleton, CO

When Patty asked if I'd photograph Nathan & Sarah for her Holiday photos I was ecstatic.  I love photographing twins they are so exciting and lately I've done 3-4 families with twins.  I'm not sure if there is something in the water here but I've photographed more twins in the last 1.5 yrs than I've known my whole lifetime.

Its such a change of pace to photograph older kids, they actually listen and do what you say - craziness.  I guess I've been around 2 yr olds too long where I feel that I have to play the opposite game to get them to do remotely what I would like.

We photographed these on a Colorado bike trail in Littleton. I believe it is part of the high line canal or maybe the south platte river greenway just south of Mineral drive. I had lots of fun creating these photos.  Its hard to nail down my favorite but I love the one of them laughing at each other and the photograph of Sarah throwing leaves.  I feel that photo screams "FALL". 

5 Quick DIY Tips for Photographing Families!

How to take professional looking pictures - DIY Photo Tips

I absolutely love taking photos of families, maybe its the challenge, the craziness or the fun. I think its actually all of the above. I've put together a quick list of things that will help make your family photos better & hopefully less stressful for all!

1) Make the photo fun - a 2 yr old is definitely going to rebel if mom is forcing her to stand still look at the camera and smile - instead try to get the 2 yr old to interact with her family members first (hug, kiss, tickles, whatever it is) then ask for her to look and smile - my favorite images are the candid ones anyways =) 

For a serious photographer - the instant you arrive on the shoot, start getting shots of the kiddos, these can be some of my favorite shots from the whole shoot - just because the kiddos are in the stage of who are you and what are you doing. (Caroline on Left - first shot of the shoot, before heading outdoors)

2) Shoot outdoors - I LOVE THE OUTDOORS, I live in Colorado so I should love them. Look for shade. Make sure EVERYONE is fully in the shade, even if you know nothing about lighting you will still come up with stellar images in the shade. Make sure your background is in the shade too.

Try fun things - bring a chair into the middle of a field - Khloe on Right - at Mid-day usually not the best lighting conditions, but I pulled it off here using a reflector.

3) Remember the camera has absolutely no idea what you are taking photos of so its going to try and decide what it thinks the exposure is. The camera determines its exposure from averaging all the color values into a drab gray color (like an overcast sky) so when photographing just look at the scene if you have only really bright whites the camera is going to take that white and make it gray (so it will be slightly under exposed) same with a really black scene - the camera will also make that gray. Just try to find a background with a variety of shades of color then you will have the most success.

4) Take more than just one shot - families have expressions, take a decent quantity unless you are sure that one came out. I take at least 2 of every shot because of expressions. If someone is a blinker, I usually have to take a few more. 

5) Hire me, haha or someone else to take your family photos - sometimes kids just react better to someone else doing the shots instead of a family member they are used to.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment.

Sharon

Hastings Family Portrait in Parker, CO

First of all, I think all my clients are amazing.  Chance, however, is one of the most creative clients I know.  She has her own etsy store "Made By Chance" selling CUTE little fabric crafts and its no surprise that her kiddos have some of the cutest clothing!  She made their Halloween costumes - so adorable.  She also loves the color Yellow! Which I love that she isn't afraid to throw some nice color into their outfits.  I love the yellow jacket she has.  Kind of jealous of that because, if you can't tell from my photos - I love color and I love high contrast.

Raval Family Portraits at City Park in Denver, CO

The Raval's were lots of fun to work with and little Matthew made sure that we kept the shoot fun and exciting.  We met up at City Park in Denver, CO for the shoot and it was a wonderful day for photos. I was actually a bit worried about shooting in City Park versus the ungroomed parks in the suburbs but the park worked wonderfully.  The light was amazing, filtering through the trees and creating some fun to work with shadows.

Borie Family Portrait at Red Rocks Park

Second shoot ever at Red Rocks.  The Borie's live directly across the street from me and I have yet to do their photos until now.  They are friends with another photographer and are really happy with their images so I didn't expect to be asked to shoot them but this year they asked me.  This makes me really happy - not because I am stealing clients from other photographers but because it proves that I am capturing something special for each family and putting my personal creative style into it.  I am creating something different, that you can't get from just any photographer.

One thing I have to say about my images is that they have great color.  I see the world as a bright vibrant, fun place - so I make sure that my photos show that.  Lately I've been developing an action, which I call the Anthro look - to look like it came out of an Anthropologie Catalog - which I am completely in love with their clothes and catalog.  Their October catalog had split toning on almost all the images, with yellow as the highlight and blue as the dark values - its still a work in progress and I've decided that I have to shoot the images to fit into it instead of just trying to apply it to any old image.

Castaldi Family Portraits in Trailmark Neighborhood

Two year olds are definitely some of my most difficult clients - if they sense that the shoot is not fun, then they don't want anything to do with it.  I am challenged to get the shots the parents want while still making the shoot fun.  I think that outdoor shoots work best at this age because we can do a couple family shots then let them run around, or let them swing between parents, tickles, laughter, hugs - the emotions can be amazing.  However once a two year old senses that mom and dad are forcing them to sit a particular way or do something - thats when my shoots take a turn and then it is a struggle for everyone.

For this shoot we did a mixed mobile studio / backyard location shoot. I am definitely partial to outdoor shoots, I love the COLOR, the natural - laid back look, and did I mention I love color?  I guess I'm just not a Richard Avedon type shooter (people on white backgrounds).

Halloween Portraits - In Studio Promo

This promo is a keeper - I loved it! Can't wait to see what everyone will dress as next year.  I had 12 families come and get their kids portraits done - free of charge.  Next year I will probably have two time slots a morning & an afternoon so I have a break for lunch (didn't think about that).  It was a wonderful day to have fun kiddos coming in and out of the house all day.  James was a good door man and led most everyone down to the basement.  It was so funny when Katy came with the twins because she needed help and James wasn't about to hold a baby - at least not yet.  Once we have kids I'm sure this fear will go away.

        Texting all butterflies.... we need a group photo....

See the Animoto Video Here:

McDoniel Family Portraits at Red Rocks Park

Beautiful fall day with a beautiful family! Jackson is such a great older brother - willing to sit still and hold onto Henry.  We started the shoot at the amphitheater and moved along to the geological marker at Red Rocks.  There were people up at the geological marker and they asked to take a photo with Henry.  He must have been the cutest baby they have ever seen. I can't imagine what you'd say to your friends afterwards "we were up at Red Rocks and saw the cutest baby ever so we asked to take a photo with him" a little creepy but they left shortly after so that was nice.

Watch their animoto video:

Veronica & Chris's Wedding at Paraiso Maravilla in Houston, TX

Veronica & Chris were married at Paraiso Maravilla, October 9th, 2010. They had a beautiful fall wedding - I absolutely LOVED the colors for this wedding - in fact I chose the same colors for mine! The venue housed the fall colors quite beautifully with the dark stone floors and cream textured walls. Simply amazing.

Venders:

Ceremony & Reception Site: Paraiso Maravilla
Event Coordinator: Casey LeBlanc - Events Made Perfect
Florist - Distinctive Floral Designs
Cake Artist - Cakes by Gina
DJ - DJ's Unlimited
Videographer - Metro Bridal Films
Hair Stylist - Beautique

Anna & Mauricio's Houston Heights Engagement Session

I met Anna & Mauricio in Houston on 10/10/10! What a cool date to do a shoot. We photographed in the Heights area of Houston - it was a pretty day.  They were a lot of fun to work with! We mixed up the outfits a bit, we did casual in the downtown heights area on 19th street and formal in the "park".  The park is really the median of Heights Blvd which has a walking path in the middle.  I really love how the dark colors worked in the park scenery! View the rest of their photos here: http://pictage.com/870198

Whittemore Family Portraits

A beautiful fall day for family portraits! Taken my new favorite location: Turkey Creek Park. Chloe & Elijah were super fun to work with!

Veronica's Bridal Portraits: Paraiso Maravilla - Houston, TX

There is nothing more intimidating than showing up at a venue you've never seen before to photograph a bride you've never met but when I walked into Paraiso Maravilla I knew that everything would be OK.  First of all the place is amazing, tons of great -- I mean GREAT locations to shoot in.  There is the garden outside, the giant windows, staircase, archways, another staircase, giant mirror, and the list goes on and on.  Veronica was simply amazing, a natural model! Besides being absolutely gorgeous she is totally down to earth and willing to try just about anything.  I love how the images came out, but there were no happy accidents on lighting - the further away from the windows the darker the venue got.  I used my battery pack + softbox + reflector for nearly every shot.

Alexikis Family Portraits at Dekoevend Park

Alexikis Family Portraits taken the first weekend of October at DeKoevend Park.  Beautiful fall day, beautiful family.

Holiday Cards Are Here!

A new offering for 2010...

5x5 Luxe Cards, diecut circle cards printed on pearl paper, give your friends & family a little art for their tree.

Order information coming soon, until then please shoot me an email info@sharonsphoto.com and I can create an order for you!

Project: 3 Environmental Portraits

Larry & Holly volunteered for my recent project of three completely different environmental portraits taken in one evening.  The goal was to produce three final photos that look & feel completely different using the same people and taken all in 2-3 hrs (including clothing changes & driving between locations)

I arrived at 6:30PM to find out that their doggies had eaten an entire cantaloupe - core & all ! Pretty amazing and luckily not poisonous to dogs! After cleanup we headed off to the golf course for the first location.   

When we were headed back to the house for a clothing change - I just couldn't resist this shot - I LOVE silhouettes!!!  In case you can't tell - that is one of the most amazing things about Colorado - the sunsets over the mountains with the reds, yellows and blues =)

As you can tell it was getting dark and our next location is a field near there house - I had initially imagined it with the sun peaking from behind the mountains - but since we had a little surprise cleanup at the beginning we just didn't make it back in time.  So instead we had a nighttime picnic with the prairie dogs.  This is probably my favorite shot from the shoot - I used a battery pack with a strobe for my main light and a shutter speed of 6 seconds to get the nice ambient light.

That shot really inspires me to try some nighttime engagement photos - so if you know anyone up for this project that lives in Colorado - I'd love to try it out.

Last but not least - the most difficult photo of the shoot - Holly & Larry + Animal Kiddos

It worked out pretty well - what we learned is that Reverend (far left) is scared of the camera clicking noise.

Thanks Holly & Larry for making my project a success !!!