Preparing for Fall Photos!

Ok so you found a photographer that matches perfect with your style and you're all scheduled, now what? What to wear? Will my kids cooperate? Will my spouse cooperate? Should I go on a diet? So many questions are now making this whole thing you wanted so stressful. Well I am here to tell you no more! This does not and should not be anything to get you panicked over. I primarily photograph children and families so I have some inside info if you're ready.

What to wear....

I say while I very much want my clients to take photos serious enough to put thought into their outfit planning I also very much encourage staying you! Keep it simple and comfortable. If you wear dresses and heals fairly often by all means wear your dress. If you're a jeans and boots kinda girl, do it! I want everyone to be themselves in photos. If you're uncomfortable it will show and then I have to get all "hey, none of that grumpy face stuff here" on you during the session. I do have some easy Do's and Don'ts that will help you choose

Do:

-Plan ahead

-Choose neutral colors (gray, brown, blue ect)

-Think head to toe (hats, scarves, shoes,)

-accessorize! little embellishments can make big improvements

-Dress for the weather

-Consider your location in your outfit choice. Think not only color but setting too.

-Coordinate colors of family members outfits so they look nice together

-Remember to consider textures of things, different textures can really add to your photos.

-check out my Pinterest board with great color scheme ideas 

Don't:

-Match everyone in the same outfits (Don't worry I'm guilty too, but let's not do it again)

-Wear clothes that are too big or too small

-Force your kids into something they don't like. Instead offer them color choices and let them help especially older children/teens

-Don't wear clothing with logos,words, or busy prints. 
-Don't experiment with makeup you do not normally wear

Ok on to the next big issue that almost every parent  worries about for the photo session...their kids!  First of all let me say this I have 5 boys..yes 5! Ranging from 4-15 and I have seen a lot of interesting things from them so please do not worry about your kids with me. Anyone who photographs kids knows that kids are not perfect little statues that sit and smile. I promise your child is not the only one to cry, run away or give me the stink eye lol. However, at some point they end up thinking I'm not so bad and that's when I put my ninja/photography skills to work and get awesome photos.  So do not apologize for your kids (well, unless you told them to cry or run off then ok apologize).  FYI all this applies to husbands too or maybe it's your wife who knows, right?  Regardless of who or why, I get it and I won't judge, I promise. I actually see it as a challenge and want to work even harder to make sure they end up being the one to call me next time photos are needed. I love what I do and I like everyone around me to be in on the fun I'm having.

Women are all too often so incredibly hard on themselves. Here you are in a photo with your amazing family and you find something wrong with you in it. Stop it, please...pretty please :) Cherish the beauty of your family for all that it is and do not criticize your appearance. You're beautiful! You are incredibly lucky to have this family whether it is 1 person or 20 beside you. I enjoy doing the best job I can do. I use various techniques to flatter you and your family so everyone looks their best. If you tell me ahead of time a certain concern you have about yourself  I will be extra aware of that and ensure you look your very best. However, the best photos come when you trust me to capture you beautifully and not worry about all that and let me do that worrying ;).

Ps years and years down the road when your babies are grown they won't care if you're overweight, too thin, bad hair style ect. The same way you cherish photos of those you love remember you too are loved and cherished for who you are. 

I hope this helps take some of the pressure or worry out of your next family photo session. Please feel free to comment below any other questions you may have. Also if you have a great photo session tip please share. 

See you soon! 
-Jess

Here is some highlights from a recent Family Session just for fun.

Mud Pies and Mayhem

It was an odd Wednesday here at my house. First, I woke up to see much welcomed rain falling outside. It's not very often we get rain in June here in Northern California. The next thing I noticed was it was so quiet in my house. This is the first week of summer break so you would expect wild, loud, boy filled madness going on. My oldest is visiting family out of state for the next few weeks. My two middle boys are also visiting family but just for a night. So it was only my youngest son and myself home today. My youngest is not at all used to his brothers not around to play with so I could tell he was a little bored and sad without them.

He was such a good kid letting me finish up editing a photo session I needed to do.  I decided we should head outside for some fun once all the work was done inside. He's all boy and loves getting to play with tractors and dirt! I thought it would be fun to add a little more mess to that mix and make some mud pies. What kid doesn't love to make mud pies, right?! This little guy sure loved it.

I think his favorite part was making the mud.

I'm honestly not too sure how he managed to not get completely covered in mud. As you can see he stayed pretty clean here. Just a few mud speckles here and there. Making mud pies is serious business apparently. :) 

I think this little activity was a great success and by the happiness seen in these sweet little eyes I think it cheered him up and distracted him from missing his big brothers. 

I'm fairly certain the rest of summer vacation will not be so quiet around here and I'm really looking forward to what our next summer fun activity will be. What are some fun activities you like to do with your kids during the summer?

 

  

The Thorpe's "We Do Again"| Vow Renewal

You know how sometimes you meet someone and you just know you will mesh well with them? That is how I felt when I heard from Danielle the first time. She originally had contacted me about a family photo session. Life  likes to throw little challenges at us once in awhile and unfortunately we ended up having to postpone our super fun photo session we had been planning.

During our weeks of back and forth planning Danielle had mentioned to me her and her husband Jason were planning a Vow Renewal ceremony. I absolutely loved her excitement she had about marrying her husband again. It was a contagious joy as she shared with me how many days (yes days) she had been loving this man. I mean how adorable is that?!  She ended up asking me if I photographed weddings. Well let me say I LOVE weddings but I do not really love the idea of photographing a huge wedding. I just envision these wild bridezillas and extreme stress going on behind the scenes of these giant perfect productions and that is so not me lol. I explained to her that if it was a small ceremony/celebration I would completely be into it and honored to capture their special day. Details were worked out and I was counting the days along with her to witness the magical love these two shared.

The day has arrived! Of course every bride wants to look her best and Danielle was no different. I snuck over to the Sasee Salon in Cotati to see Danielle getting all sorts of fabulous!

Danielle and Jason chose the sweetest venue. The Church of the Oaks is an adorable chapel with a great on site hall for their reception. The church was completed in 1907! It really is a site to see. You can feel the history it contains as soon as you walk in the chapel. I snuck in before the ceremony to peak in on the personal touches Danielle had done with the chapel.

Once Danielle was all gorgeous it was time to meet up with all her girls back at The Rose Cottage. Danielle was seriously the ideal bride to work with. She was calm and sweet the entire time. I really enjoyed getting to see and meet all those closest to her. She had sisters, best friends, nieces and her darling daughter by her side. 

I can not even put into words how much I loved Danielle's broach bouquet she made, The way it glimmered and sparkled was fit for a princess! Then there was her dress!! 

She was finally ready after so many years to have the fairy-tale moment she deserved! On her way to have a special sneak peak private moment with her husband. This was the biggest thing Danielle stressed to me she wanted captured. It was imperative that I captured the look on Jason's face when he saw her for the first time. It was such a precious time for them and I was behind my camera holding my breathe as watched the moment unfold. Jason said to her how she still gave him butterflies and I may or may not had to wipe tears from my own eyes as I captured Danielle's :)

Here comes The Bride....and the Bridal Party!

The Ceremony was lovely. They read their vows and decided on the unity sand as symbolism of their joining together. 

MR. and MRS Thorpe!

She is truly a beautiful person inside and out! 

I loved the details Danielle and Jason put into their special day. It just so happened they chose my favorite colors!

I will end with just a few photos from the reception. What a fun group!

Danielle and Jason thank you for letting me capture your special day! It was a pleasure to be present at such a celebration of love and commitment. I wish you many years of happiness together. 

To see more of my work please visit my website at www.JessicaCollinsPhotography.co

Winner Winner!! | Diehl Family| Santa Rosa Ca Family Photographer

Way back in November 2014 I ran a fun Black Friday promotion for a free session. Jake and Steph Diehl won that prize! We scheduled their session for February at the beautiful DeLoach Winery in Santa Rosa Ca. It is a gorgeous serene location with a fun setting. One of my favorite parts of this location is the lovely organic garden and farm animals! It helps with young kids when they need a little break or distraction from the session. It tends to cheer them up and get them happy and smilng after seeing the big fluffy sheep and silly little chickens.

The weather was perfect for our session and even though it had been a windy Sonoma County day it seemed to stop just for our session. We started out in the front entry area of the winery. I knew instantly this was going to be a blast. Little R was too adorable and full of personality! What kid doesn't love to throw little pebbles in and make a splash. I choose to start my sessions at this location  near the little stream. It is a good way for me to show the kids that they can play and have fun while getting their photos done. No boring sitting in a studio photographs here!

I

Is she not just gorgeous?!

Miss R was so cooperative especially when the all mighty "gummies" had been mentioned. For gummies she does extra cute stuff like this....

That face! Too much!! lol

Ok so my job is really hard right?! lol  Miss R sure made it fun and easy. I think she would make a fabulous child model if she wanted to pursue such things. After the fun poses we ventured over to show R the animals and the fantastic organic garden. 

Hmmm.. how cute can I be? Let me think about that. 

Coming soon Miss R will be celebrating turning 3! She plans to celebrate with a super fun Lilo and Stitch themed party!

Happy birthday Miss R!

Wrapping up with her solo part of the session we have these fun images.

She smiles with her eyes :)

Simply beautiful

Ok so now I know you must be wondering who are the lucky parents of this little angel. Meet the Diehl family...

First up gorgeous caring and loving mommy to Miss R is Steph 

This may be my favorite mother daughter image to date 

Just precious<3

Next up Dad Jake. Every little girl should have a daddy like this. Patient and fun. 

I can fly, Weeeee!!!

This was truly a pleasure to photograph this fun family. I could not have hoped for a better winner to the giveaway. Thank you Diehl Family for letting me capture your family! Until next time.....

Silly Face