What to wear for your portrait session, and getting your toes wet {Manhattan Beach Family Photographer}

I just absolutely love love love shooting in Manhattan Beach these days!

I know I’m not the only photographer out there that does, a quick image search will show you that.

But I do love having fun with my clients while we’re shooting, and making sure everyone has a good time

during their session is very important to me.

When clients ask me “What should we wear for our session?”

Here’s my answer: -Wear sold colors. Prints and patterns (like stripes and bold patterns)  are

very distracting in portraits, and when mixed can be very disorganized looking. You don’t all have to wear the same color,

but all solids works best and is easy on the eyes. There’s always an exception to this; if you have a little one or little ones

that you’d like to be the center of attention for the shoot, by all means, dress the kiddos up in just

about what ever is cute. However, make sure they are comfortable. If it’s a new outfit, make sure paper and plastic tags

are removed completely, it will bug the heck out of them and they won’t be happy.

-No writing on clothing. Our brains want to read words, and when we see letters we want to make sense of it. So

when you’re wearing a shirt with GAP written on it, guess what? That’s what we’ll see before the beautiful faces

of your family. Keep it simple, no writing. Exception? Of course! If you’re TRYING to send a message, then yes! Tell us!

For instance, you’re expecting an addition to the family? Let your little one now tell the family with a cute shirt that says

their only child status is expiring. Want to express holiday cheer? Wear cute sweaters telling your family and

friends Happy Holidays! Your little one’s first birthday? Put them in a cute shirt that says so! These are all perfect

examples of when writing is great on clothing during your session.

-Wear colors that are naturally occurring in the environment. Going to the beach? Blues, whites, khakis, even greens and

blacks are all great colors to wear. Going to the park? Greens, yellows, tans, blacks, whites are great too! You don’t

all have to wear the same color, similar color tones are perfect. You want your family to be seen as a whole, colors

unite well. Exception? Definitely, let the kids stand out with complimentary colors to what you’re wearing.

-Wear something you don’t mind getting a bit wet and sandy or dirty. Being in the South Bay, so many sessions are down

at the beach, especially Manhattan Beach with it’s amazingly beautiful pier! But at any beach, we WILL get in the water near

the end of our session. Your kids WILL get wet! And guess what, you’ll probably get a bit wet too! We may even sit down in

the sand, you will probably have sand in your pockets. And that’s OK!

Bring some extra clothes for the kiddos for the car ride home, or bring towels.

I want each of my clients to look back fondly on their portrait session each time they look at

their portraits. When I see my clients around town, the kids remember how much fun we had at the beach,

and Mom remembers what a great time they all had too.

These are what memories are made of!

Here’s the Roan family having a great time, and getting a bit wet, in Manhattan Beach under the pier

Are you crazy? It’s only August! {Holiday portrait photography}

It’s been waaay too long since I’ve posted anything!!! My apologies!

It’s been a fairly busy, and super hot summer here in the South Bay.

Now that August has arrived, it’s slowly time to start planning out my holiday season. I know, I know, you think

“You’re crazy! It’s only August!” well, yes and no one wants to rush through the late summer fun but planning

out my holiday specials and designing holiday cards takes time, effort and creativity!

In this past week already, I’ve booked multiple holiday sessions for late September and October. These clients

know how hectic the season can be, and the last thing that anyone wants to wait until the last minute to do, is send out holiday

cards! I have some clients who send out their cards the day after Thanksgiving. I know, just typing Thanksgiving seems like

it’s a million years away, but once the kiddos get back to school, and you get back into your regular routine, Halloween is

right there, ringing your doorbell greeting you with not only a big “Trick or Treat!!!” but also a ‘hey, we are way into fall here,

turkey day is around the corner, then BOOM! Holidays!!!’ Don’t get caught with your jaw dropped thinking,

“Wasn’t it just August a minute ago? WHY DIDN’T I PLAN AHEAD????!!!”

If you’re thinking this is the year, this is the year you’re going to be ahead of the game, you’re going to cruise right

on through this holiday season, stress free, smiling while you’re tree is trimmed, gifts are wrapped holding your

super awesome wintery Pintrest inspired drink in your hands, while your kids are baking those fabulous

cookies you pinned to your Pintrest WIN board, then you should contact me ASAP. Let’s get at least

one thing crossed off that crazy mental list you have going in your head.

But just in case you don’t plan ahead, I’m here for you. I’ll be here to photograph your kiddos, families, pets and anyone else,

and make sure you get your holiday gifts and cards on time.

Carefree as a kid {Santa Monica Children’s Photographer}

When was the last time you ran on the beach? And not the exercise-workout type running, but the ‘let’s go chase after seagulls’ (and not really worry about getting pooped on) kind of running around!

Those that are fortunate enough to live near the beach sometimes take it for granted; but when you see the expressions of kids who get to play and run and splash around on the beach, it reminds you to stop, and be just a bit more carefree (even if it’s just for a few minutes).

We had such a blast shooting on a beautiful, albeit insanely busy, Friday afternoon in Santa Monica at the Santa Monica pier.

We carved out a little spot for ourselves, and tried to avoid all those #%@&$%*@ selfie sticks, and had some fun.

Some of my favorites that reminded me that I should chase after some seagulls next time I’m on the beach…

Sometimes, after letting the kiddos run around, it can be hard to wrangle them back in, especially when it’s time for some portraits, but you know what works? Candy. And not a whole lot, just a little. Momma and kiddos here liked the Smarties, one pack split between them.

Candy works every time.

“What color is my tongue?” ” And mine?!? What color is mine?!?!”

Love it

Family Portraits in Manhattan Beach {Manhattan Beach photographer}

Oh my goodness how I love shooting in Manhattan! I just love the light under the pier, and the water is absolutely

beautiful! From shooting underneath, I like to head out on to the sand and let the kiddos run around, we all get to dip

our toes in the water and get to have some fun!

I feel so fortunate to have this in my backyard!