My good friend added a new little bundle to her family! We did a quick little shoot for her and got some cute ones!

Have you been wanting to get GORGEOUS pictures of your kid(s) or family?! Now is your chance!

I am giving away a FREE photo session, Digital CD and a 16×20 print [an $800 value] to ONE lucky winner and  you DON’T want to miss out on this!

The RULES:

* This contest will be held on FACEBOOK on Melissa’s Fan page. Instructions on how to win will be sent via email

* For kids or families [limit 6 people]

* Entries MUST be from families living in Utah county

* Send ONE picture of the person(s) who you want to win the photo session to m@melissadavisphotography.com. Include the name(s) of the person(s) who will be photographed

* Entries are due July 29th August 7th, at 5:00 pm

Can’t wait to see who enters! If you want to become a fan of Melissa Davis Photography on Facebook, click HERE!

[the fine print: This contest is for new clients only. If you are a photographer or someone in your immediate family is a photographer, you are not eligible]

Wow, it’s been a while! HI to anyone out there who still visits my blog!  This was my first session since February! I love it and I miss it. It’s hard being in Utah with the market so saturated with photographers and I was REALLY happy and excited to get a call from the mom of this sweet baby girl! First, I love babies, so to get to go photograph one is just so fun for me. Second, it is so fun to see families oodle over their new babies, grand babies and GREAT grand babies! Such a great thing all around. Thank you, Audrey, and your fun family for letting me come today and be apart of your day!

This was my first session of 2010 and it was a GREAT one. I really really love these clients, they are just the nicest people you’d ever want to meet and I just felt like I was hanging out at a friends house taking pictures! It was so fun and it doesn’t hurt that these little ones are just the cutest ever!

So here he is…my cute, small, adorable, sweet little new nephew, Scooter. The other day I went to my sister’s to get pictures (a week + after he was born because I had sick kids) and I pulled out my camera to realize that I had forgotten my battery! man! So I went back today. He’s a dream. He’s happy with he’s awake and you can throw marshmallows at him when he’s asleep because he sleeps so soundly! I love new babies and I love them even more when they are my nephew and I get to hold him any time I want!!

This is my sweet, beautiful, new, tiny, cute nephew, Scoooter! I had been planning for months to come and photograph his birth and be there as my little sister welcomed a new baby boy into her family. She was induced this morning and I was keeping track of how far a long she was. I got a text around 1:00 that she dilated to a 4, so I decided to drop my daughter off at a friends and head to Murray so I’d be there with enough time to spare. I hoped in the car and headed North. I decided to make a QUICK stop at Kid to Kid (and it was quick, I was there for 5 minutes TOPS) and then headed to SL. I got a text that she was at an 8 and thought “oh my gosh, that was fast!” and around 7200 South I got a call from my sister saying I’d better get there quick! I was literally 2 exits away (10 minutes) from the hospital. I made it to labor and delivery JUST as she was delivering and they wouldn’t let me in the room! I couldn’t believe it…how heart breaking! Not only was I bummed I wouldn’t be there to take pictures (says the photographer in me), but if you have ever witnessed a birth, you know how AWESOME and AMAZING it is! To have this new body come into the world is simply a miracle and so beautiful! And although I missed it, you bet you’ll be seeing MANY more pictures of this little guy! He’s now my new “model” for newborn pictures! (be prepared Mind…I need to practice lol)! Love you guys!

I didn’t get any questions last week, but I did this week, so HI THERE…here I am today! (OH my gosh you guys! I saved this to publish and never came back to do it! SORRY!!)

1. How do position your newborns to get great shots? Well first of all, you need TIME!! to be able to do newborn shots. I spend at least 3-4 hours at my clients homes when I do a newborn shoot. All newborns are different, but if you get to photograph them, try and do it with in the first 7-10 days of life. The SOONER the better. I always bring a handful of warm blankets, a heating pad and then make sure there is white noise going on. Tell moms before hand to turn up the heat (you might sweat, but when the baby is in his/her birthday suit, it’s much better to have it WARM!). Make sure mom feeds and changes baby before you come. Lot of little steps to set up for a good newborn shoot. As far a positioning the newborns, I still have a lot to learn! Most of the newborns I’ve shot have been not liked me trying to position them, so I’ll just let them do what they want. If you can spend the time to get the baby out like a log, it works a lot better. Okay, so I’m not sure that even answered your question! LOL.

2. How many shots do you generally take when you do a shoot? Um, it depends. I used to over shoot. I just shot, shot, shot, shot until I was for SURE there MUST be something good on there. The funny thing is, that just takes more time to weed through and then you’re tossing so many! Now, with a normal family or child session (not extended family, because there’s more to shoot), I’ll take some where around 60 shots. Another thing is, now I’ll really try and wait for a shot rather than just shoot and hope it turns out. Id rather have to toss an image because of closed eyes or “user mistakes” than tossing just because I took to many!

3. Do you have a studio set-up? & if so, what equipment do you suggest using? Nope, I don’t have a studio set up. I am fully natural light, so when I go into someone’s home, I use my surrounding or if it’s a newborn session (which it is 90% of the time when I go into a home), I will find the biggest window and use my blankets to drape over a couch or pillow or whatever my client has there to work with. One day I would like to have some lights and studio stuff I could bring on location for darker days, but for now, just natural light

Alright! Caught up! Keep them coming and remember you can find all the Q&A’s up top!

This is my good friend Karilynn and her family! Karilynn has just recently lost over 70 lbs and is looking FAB!!! She wanted to make sure to get family pictures so she could show off her new bod (and of course her cute family!). So proud of you Karilynn!! Thanks for the fun time!

I’m just going to say it…I love when I get to a photo session and there are adorable little babies there What a CUTE family!! I love the mom chose clothes that matched but didn’t “match” if you know what I mean! We had a fun time…at one point we drove to down town Salt Lake and I swear, I am never going downtown again lol. It is SO hard to find a parking spot!!! Thanks for a fun time you guys!

OH I’m so excited about these! I have never done mini sessions before, but I think they are a GREAT way to get a quick session in at a GREAT price, have your holiday cards taken care of and get on of my FAVE products – a 5×10 mini storyboard! You can view my holiday cards by clicking HERE.

I will be doing these two days like it says. One at the American Fork amphitheater which will be Oct. 9th and then at Memory Grove in Salt Lake on the 10th! These mini sessions are for small families up to 6 people (extra for more people) or if you just want pictures of your kids, we can do that too!

* *  I’ve decided to come back and add all the details of the mini sessions here because I’ve got some people asking  * *

Okay…

The mini sessions last for 30 minutes and we will just jump right into taking pictures! I  will have an assistant with me during these sessions to help get the attention of smaller kids (lol, even big kids for that matter). The purpose of these mini sessions are to get some pictures of your family and kids for your holiday cards OR if you are just really wanting (needing) family pictures taken because it’s been YEARS since you’ve done it he he…

One thing that is VERY important, is that you show up on time. If you are late, that will cut into your session time.

You will get 5 – 10 images displayed in an online gallery where you can choose your favorite 5 for your image disc. (You CAN order prints of the images taken and they will be 30% off as part of these mini sessions).

I have four openings on each day. $150 is due at the time of your booking to guarantee the time and you’d like. I will post here as the times fill up to give you an a visual of what times are taken and available.

OCTOBER 9th – AMERICAN FORK AMPHITHEATER
4:15 – 4:45
5:00 – 5:30 ADAMS
5:45 – 6:15
6:30 – 7:00

OCTOBER 10th – MEMORY GROVE
4:15 – 4:45 KING
5:00 – 5:30
5:45 – 6:15
6:30 – 7:00

So I think that’s pretty much it! This is truly a GREAT deal, so if you know anyone who might be interested, let them know! If you tell a friend and they book a mini session (mentioning YOU told them), you will get an extra digital file on your disc!!!

If you have ANY questions, let me know! m@melissadavisphotography.com