One of my favorite sessions this fall was with this darling three year old in downtown Chicago. I suggested "Autumn in Paris" as the theme for the shoot, and we styled the entire session accordingly. Merci beaucoup to mom for letting me run with my vision!
My 8 and 5 year old are making their way through the Harry Potter books and movies, and after watching The Sorcerer's Stone, I started musing about a Harry Potter-inspired family photo shoot. The imagery of the movie was merely a jumping off point, so the styling here is my VERY loose interpretation.
Setting the scene:
An evening chess game in autumn.
One daughter wearing:
Another daughter wearing:
Mother:
Father and Teenage Son:
And add a little candlelight in my loft studio or your backyard for a magical shoot:
Man Ray chess set from the collection of the MOMA
Another stunning Man Ray chess set is on view at our own Art Institute
First daughter's dress from J.Crew and Primigi boots from Zappos
Second daughter's outfit and shoes from J.Crew
Mother's snake dress from Tory Burch, Matthew Williamson rabbit gilet and Kara Ross evil eye cuff from net-a-porter.com
Father and teenage son looks from J.Crew
Art deco candelabra from Barneys New York
My daughters and I had a fantastic time at the Chicago Art Institute this week. We did a bit of location scouting for portrait sessions, I got to work on a fine art project I am developing, and the girls explored the galleries with their sketchbooks in hand.
Have a great weekend!
For your summertime portraits, here is a great set of outfits for two sisters and one brother:
And for three sisters who treasure their individuality:
All these items are from J.Crew's final sale.
I am really digging these postage stamps featuring works by the Abstract Expressionists. They are appropriately over-sized, and I am planning on using them on my holiday card envelopes this year. I have a feeling that they may inspire the look of the card as well. Come to think of it, why not dress your family in a color palette from one of these paintings for your holiday family portraits?
Think I'll head to the Art Institute's Modern Wing this afternoon...
Happy New Year! Yes, it's the time of year when my workload slows down, and I can finally update the much-neglected blog. I hope that you had a wonderful holiday amongst family and friends and that you are as excited as I am about all the possibilities that 2010 holds.
Today I am posting images from an early September session with a gorgeous young family. At the time of the shoot, their son was six months old, and it was the perfect time for a family photo shoot. Six month olds can sit up, make great eye contact and expressions, and they really enjoy being photographed. This six month old was no exception with his big blue eyes and adorable smiles. Many thanks to Mom and Dad for presenting me with such an agreeable and handsome little guy!
Lots more soon...
When planning outfits for your summertime photo session, why not start with mom? I think this dress from Tory Burch would look great for an outdoor session, particularly on the beach! If you look closely, it has navy, green and pink in the pattern, so there are a ton of options for dressing the rest of the family using this dress as the jumping off point. I also think this dress would be fabulous for showing off curves during a maternity shoot. When mom looks chic, the whole family looks chic. Happy Mother's Day!
For more color inspiration, check out the Pantone Fashion Color Report Fall 2008. I am thinking about gray, cobalt, turquoise and some punches of red for our family portrait.
As the air gets crisper, many of you are planning your holiday portrait sessions and deliberating about how to dress your children and yourselves for the big shoot. Over the next few weeks, I will offer some advice about styling your session. This fall, I am seeing lots of layering, mixing of clothing textures, and bright color choices. Instead of dressing your family of five in just two colors, try using different combination of three to five colors for a more sophisticated and less-obvious palette. Take a glance at J.Crew's fall crewcuts catalog for some great ideas about layering, color palettes and coordinating multiple children's outfits.
And if you are a real color junkie (like me), you simply must go post haste to COLOURlovers. There are lots of inspirational color palettes, and you can even create your own palettes based on uploaded images. What a great way to brainstorm a color scheme for your home, your fall wardrobe, or your upcoming photo session!
