Jun 30, 2011

Let the Kids Dress Themselves

Let the Kids Dress Themselves is a portrait inspiration blog in love with creative and honest photography. Myself, Wendy Laurel, and Tory O'Leary are the editors.

Tory O'Leary
Kjrsten Madsen
Kjrsten Madsen
The style of Let the Kids Dress Themselves is creative and honest photography. We love to see really beautiful and fine art photography that shows off the childrens' and families' personalities. We look for real life scenes and not overstylized photo shoots. And we are looking for an emphasis on the people, not overloaded on details or props. Of course we provide links to things our readers will want to know, i.e. where to buy that super cute baby outfit etc., but the emphasis is on the subject's personalities and relationships and beautiful photography. Our blog also provides a listing of our favorite baby and family photograpers by area.
Wendy Laurel


Tory O'Leary

Wendy Laurel

Recently in JPG magazine, Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai said, "Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it, download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don't look outward for your style; look inward." That is exactly what we are looking for at our blog. Photography that shows the photographer's voice. The props and actions can be put aside and let the photography and the subject shine through. "Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never outdated."

Wendy Laurel
Let the Kids showcases an amazing variety of both digital and film portrait photography. All different styles of babies, children, family and portrait photography are featured. The more unique and creative, the better. The criteria is to make us say, "Dang, I wish I shot that!" Submissions are accepted at submit@letthekids.com.

Who we are:

Wendy Laurel is a family and wedding photographer in Maui, Hawaii. She is the mother of four children, Nalu (15), Hannah (9), Noelle (7), and Noa (3). Wendy shoots 100% film and uses a variety of cameras, including toy cameras in her client work. She is known for her use of color in her images. She has been featured on Style Me Pretty, Brooklyn Bride, Weddings.com, and Rock and Roll Bride. She also has photos being published later this year in the soon to be released book, Lens Flair. Wendy's work can be viewed at http://www.wendylaurel.com.

Wendy Laurel

Tory O'Leary is a 100% film, sought after newborn and family photographer in Southern California. She was voted Top 3 in Los Angeles's Hot List for Portrait Photographers as well as a Favorite by the Daily Breeze. She is the mother of two children, Pierce (5) and Leighton (2). Tory's work can be viewed at http://www.photographybyvictoria.com.

Tory O'Leary
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Evoking You


I am a mother to 3 and have been married for almost 7 years. I got my first camera for my birthday 2 years ago and fell in LOVE. When my kids were awake I was photographing them. When they were asleep I was online reading about photography. Learning and practicing all the time. I started my business and shot everything. However I realized about a year in that I didn't enjoy shooting everything. There were certain sessions I LOVED and that was what I wanted to turn my focus to. So late last year I made the decision to do an overhaul and cut out what didn't truly inspire me. Scary yes but one of the best decisions I have made for my business and for my photography. 




I decided to create Evoking You because I know how crucial it is for us to be inspired. That we all get in creative ruts from time to time and we need a little bit of a kick in the butt. I hope that Evoking You will be that kick. I will be featuring amazing photographers with AMAZING style. Sessions that push the envelope and that I feel will help others to think outside the box. 



One feature that I am really excited about is the Evoking Creativity|Image of the Day. I have created a Flickr group where anyone can join and share their images. I will be choosing one image a day to feature on the site. My hope is that all the images that people see on Evoking You will help them evoke their creativity. To take what they see and make it their own. To get inspired to shoot for themselves. 

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Featured Session :: Maternity

by: Alexander Mo

The location was Mountain View Park in Henderson, NV, a bustling new suburb just outside of Las Vegas.  It has a small baseball field, which is perfect for Jeanette and Justin, as they are HUGE baseball fans, specifically Angels fans.

For lighting, I normally have the sun behind the couple so as to avoid squinting.  Otherwise, I like the sun facing them as it gives off a nice, natural light.  Sometimes it can be a bit tricky when the couple is facing each other, but fortunately the shoot was fairly early in the morning, so the sun didn't create very harsh shadows.

For posing, I decided on a more cute session with a sprinkle of fine-art photography.  It really depends on the couple, so you have to observe and see what best fits their personality.  The fine-art approach, however, is more universal as it comes from integrating the couple with the background and finding cool angles and pretty compositions that are pleasing to the eye.












My name is Alex Mo, and I'm living the dream of doing what I love most and making a career out of it.  My photography is defined by the beauty of the world we live in.  Long ago are the days of dark, underexposed photos.  Today, more and more folks want to be photographed in more unique and artistic ways, defined by bright imagery and vibrant colors.  With a keen eye for the arts, and an undying passion for what I love to do, I would be more than exhilarated to capture your wedding or portrait session with style.

My website is:
http://www.AlexMoStudios.com/

Blog:
http://www.AlexMoBlog.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AlexMoPhotog

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/AlexMoPhotog
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Posing for Couples


Posing for Couples: Engagements & Weddings
One of my favorite ways to pose couples is by not actually posing them at all. I love to just have them do something that forces them to interact in a natural way. Sometimes just talking to the couple and having them tell you about their personal love story or anything about them will get them to loosen up and get you some of those natural smiles and loving glances. You can also do things like have them walk or separate them and have them come back together. Little things like that you can do to help create a moment that will get you some great candid shots. You can also secretly tell one of them the next time I am setting you guys up for a picture, grab the other one’s butt or whisper something dirty in their ear. I guarantee most of the time you are going to get some great laughs and smiles.
There are lots of couples, however, who like to be posed. They like to be told what to do and where to put every part of their bodies. You should be prepared before the session with some poses that you can use. I like to do research and brainstorming a few nights beforehand and write up some notes that I bring with me to the session, because I always go brain dead and forget all my great ideas. You can come up with some great pose ideas by searching online, reading magazines, watching movies, or doing whatever else inspires you. It also helps to always carry a notebook or have somewhere on your phone that you can write down cool ideas as they come to you. 
The two main aspects of posing that I am going to go into a little more depth about are ways to slim people and the importance of watching and using their hands. One of the tricks to slimming people, mainly a bride, is to use things to block parts of her body. Two things that you will most likely have on hand are the groom and the veil. By positioning the bride and groom in certain ways you can use the groom’s body to block parts of the bride. Even something as easy as having the grooms hand on the upper part of the brides arm will help to make her arm look slimmer. Try to pay attention to the bride’s arms and make sure they are not pressed up flat against her body which is not slimming to any female. You can use the veil the same way that you use the groom, by positioning it so it covers parts of her arms or upper body. Having the bride and/or groom push their shoulders back and lean forward a little also helps to slim them. Also, shooting down onto the couple helps slim them as well.
Paying attention to the hands is a very important part of posing that often gets overlooked. No matter how great of a pose or photograph you take, if their hands are stiff and awkward, it makes the whole photograph look awkward. One of the best ways to use the hands is to have the couple create intimacy with them by holding each other or touching each other’s faces. If you give their hands something to do it helps them look more natural and loving. If the pose does not lend itself well to touching, make sure that they relax their hands. For females have them lightly lay their hand on themselves or something. If one of their hands is up, have them tilt the wrist back a little to give a slight curve to their fingers which is more feminine and natural. Typically the male can have at least one hand on the female. With the other hand he can rest it lightly in his pocket, or even rest it on a wall or something. If he has a hand that is just dangling, try and do something with it.

There are so many aspects to posing, but I hope that what I have shared with you can help in some way. Sometimes little things that you never thought about before can help to bring your photographs up to a new level.
XO-JamieY

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