Last night I got the chance to photograph a GORGEOUS family! when Brittany, of Love Stitched, asked me if I wanted to take her families pictures, I was stoked because…well look at them!! They are gorgeous, but not only that, they are a really nice family. The boys were so well behaved and the cutie in the gray shirt was so funny dancing around and being silly. I really had a fun time!
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]
I got the chance (after much bribing) to have little session with my kids! I went with the expectation that I was going to be very stressed out because the history of my kids sitting nicely for pictures isn’t great! I wasn’t really in the mood for pictures, but I thought “ah, I guess we can do them today”, so I started the “bribing” process early in the day and surprisingly enough, all day the kids were nice to each other and even kept asking to go take pictures!! I found (well, not found more so just drove by) this field the other day on our way home to our new house. It’s less than a minute away and it worked out perfectly! I can’t wait to blow these up HUGE!
This is the third year I’ve photographed this little sassafass! We headed up to Cascade Springs and she was just too cute to watch. She called the water “bubbles” and just ran from spring to spring so excited! I love when clients come back every year and I get to see how big their kids are getting! Thanks M and R for a fun afternoon!!
This is my older sister, Amy, and her family. I think it’s funny…as a photographer I show up to many photo sessions. Some go great, others I have to work for. You’d think that 4 teens and 2 adults would be easy right? No running around after a toddler right? I had to giggle at my cute family because it seemed impossible to get them all looking at once lol. I had to remember how much I loved to have my picture taken as a teen and to be honest…how much I just love to have my pictures taken now (which btw, if you didn’t catch that sarcasm, I was being totally sarcastic) . It’s hard work to be in front of the camera! he he…But we ended up getting some really great ones! I think a lot of people just kind of “skip” photo sessions when their kids are older because everyone is so busy and there is so much going on, but at any age, I think it’s just so important to have family pictures!
By this point 1/2 of the group was done…they stuck it out oh so well, but I thought it would be fun to do a “mock photo booth”…you know, try and loosen up the kids to get some fun expressions from them…and it worked! The two who agreed to humor were cracking me up!
And last but not least, I love this one. I love when I can catch a moment that just SCREAMS “we totally love each other (even if we’re trying not to act like it”!
I’m sure these cuties look familiar right? They are my good friends little ones and I am lucky enough to get to photograph them often! They crack me up because they are at those ages where 1. they don’t want to be in pictures 2. they for sure don’t want to be in a picture TOGETHER and 3. they just don’t want their pictures taken period. lol. You’d never be able to guess that though! and that’s what’s great about getting your kids pictures taken. You come to a photo shoot, kids are running around…crying…hitting….etc, but when all said and done…you get pictures like these and are able to enjoy those cute little faces!! For those of you on the fence about last minute fall sessions, I’ve still got spots open, so don’t miss out on your chance!
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 spunky baby girl! Today at school was “crazy hair day” and she was all over getting the chance to be silly and have her hair fun (unlike my son who gets embarrassed and didn’t want his hair silly). These pictures are just SO HER! She is full of life, spunky, silly, crazy, beautiful, and fun! The older she gets and the more she grows into her personality, I just love this little thing! Look at her…how could you NOT?!!
