Stacey's style of portraiture is a little different from what you may have experienced in the past. It is as individual as each and every client. She also specializes in individual children's portraiture. While she will photograph siblings together, please keep in mind that your children are very different, and photographing them together requires them to somewhat forget who they are and "smile at the camera". We will always encourage you to have your children photographed separately as a priority; these are the images that will truly show his or her personality. When we do photograph them together, please be mindful of their ages. Photographing a 2 year old and 3 month old together, for example, is not an easy task for anyone. 2 year olds want to run and play, and most importantly, have our undivided attention. Babies feel the same way. So when we are devoting our attention to one, we tend to lose the other. It's very important to know the limitations of children, and if we ask more of them than what they are able to give, the photographs will show that.
At your session, there will be times that I may pose your child for a particular capture, and there will be other times I want to capture your child and/or the relationship between those in the portraits. Relaxing is the key. We may hang out and talk. While we are shooting, I may see something and ask you to adjust a position slightly, or I may just shoot the way I see it. Other times, I may want to be a silent observer and capture moments as I see them. If clients can forget that I am there, these make the best portraits. I do not do "say cheese" pictures. If you have children and they are accustomed to this, please let them know that we will not be saying cheese for these portraits. Also, some children are very clingy to their mothers or special loves ones; we see this especially at the ages between 9 and 18 months. There may be times that we ask you to step outside of the camera room so we can work with your child alone. Please do not be offended in any way. Many times, the children respond iin a very positive manner and the situation greatly improves. Sometimes, it does upset them more and we do not hesitate to ask you to come back in.
Remember, it is all about capturing real moments and the real you. While I do some more traditional portraiture, I mainly try to "capture moments". I want to spend time with your child, get to know them and capture their spirit. If I am photographing your child, don't be surprised if I let him play and follow him with my camera. Other times I may set something special up and place them in the area and play a game with them or just talk with them during the session.
If you've been to a photography chain studio, forget everything you ever learned about how portraits are taken from these places. This will not necessarily be a traditional portrait session, nor will they be traditional portraits. The following guidelines and suggestions will help give a clearer vision as to the direction of the portrait session: