So to just go over a few pointers and add a few more (and this is from the mom's perspective... Seeing as I am a mom myself and I think moms are the ones to organize the family for photography sessions 99% of the time anyway):

-Let your kids bring something that will make them happy and comfortable (especially if I have never met them before) like a favorite toy or snack. For little ones I love marshmallows because they don't turn your lips blue and they disappear faster than... say... a big 'ol graham cracker in their hand.
-Dress for the weather! I cannot stress this enough. As adults, we can "fake a smile" well enough when we have to, but if your kids are freezing it is really really really hard for them to be happy.
-Bring other props for them to interact with.
-Never threaten with negative consequences, instead go for positive reinforcement (and yes, even bribery!) but be sure they are old enough to understand that the positive consequence (whether it be a sucker you brought with (an awesome prop by the way!) or whatever else comes when we are all done with the shoot.
-This is one I have a hard time "correcting" during a shoot, and I know it is just pure habit to tell your kids to say "cheese" but please please please for your own photographic sake and mine try and break that habit now! Look at yourself in the mirror when you say the long "e" in cheese. Almost any other vowel would give you a lovely smile, but the "cheese" smile is just not the most flattering. It's a hard one to break in kids (and parents!) Instead of outright asking for a smile, try a joke you know they will laugh at, or with littler ones a good game of peek-a-boo behind my back can often bring out some great natural smiles.
-Prepare your husbands. Grumpy dads give the kids an excuse to be grumpy too. Yes dad, you will get to be in more than one picture, and yes dad, you do have to wear that outfit that your wife picked out, and yes dad, the shoot may last as long as an hour and a half (the horror!) but your cooperation is so key to the success of a family photo shoot! To all the dads out there... You are awesome. Thank you for understanding! ;-)
-I will put you in some more formal poses, but then I love to see interaction!  I may just give you a prompt and go with it. I may ask you to do something again because it was really cute. Don't feel like you always have to be looking at the camera and holding a smile. You don't always have to hold still. Don't be afraid to just be you!
-Along with the threatening, please don't make me out to be a bad guy. Saying things like, "do this or Alea is going to be mad at you!" only make kids more scared of an already big scary camera in their face. I promise I am nice and sometimes rather goofy and I am not mad if things don't go perfectly. Trust me, I have kids. I totally understand if it's an off day. I understand spit-up and blow-outs and tantrums and being scared... If things are really just not working out we can reschedule. Really.

This session was before Christmas, but I had to post about it because it turned out so great! You know how we have had such a warm, mild winter so far? Well we just happened to pick the coldest, windiest day for our shoot (of course!) Everyone was so tough to brave the cold and put on some smiles for the pictures.

This post is prompted by a video I just watched. Check it out. Right now. It gave me a good chuckle!... But at the same time it's ALL TOO TRUE these days! Digital editing techniques have really changed our perception of beauty and reality.

Have you ever seen an old statue of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love & beauty? You'd notice that, other than the fact that she's almost always naked, (it must've been hot in Greece or something because they didn't wear much for clothing!) she actually looks like a real person with real proportions. Back in the day she was the standard of beauty. When did that all change to give us all (especially women) such unrealistic standards to try and live up to?

I wish I knew why and how to fix it, but I do know that my personal beliefs on the subject reflect in my editing style. I once heard a quote about makeup that I thought was perfect, but by George I can't find who actually said it (maybe I should just claim it as my own, eh?) It's something like: "beautiful is the girl that wears just enough makeup that no one knows she's wearing any at all." I believe the same about "photoshopping" images.

My goal is to enhance, not to change. As someone who has struggled with acne all her teen and adult life, I don't think anyone would decline the removal of blemishes from their skin. I am certainly capable of removing or smoothing out freckles and wrinkles but I generally don't unless I'm asked.  We've all seen photos of people so air brushed that they look like mannequins. It's not really my style. Just like the video mentions, there are also tools in photoshop to warp a body to make it look thinner. I never use this tool. I do however believe in dressing for the right body style, and using flattering poses no matter your shape. I also like to brighten the eyes to help draw the focus into the face, but very very rarely (unless requested) change the eye color. Once again, I think there's a fine line to be drawn.

As far as overall color editing, my favorite images are often those that are bright and colorful, but not so saturated that your normally beautiful skin looks like an oompa-loompa. Depending on the picture, I also love a good faded or vintage edit, and black and white is always classic. (FYI I custom edit my black and white images to be a bit warmer and more contrasted than if you were to just click on "black & white" when you're ordering prints, so be sure to print the black & white images I provide you and not rely on the printers to do it for you!) Selective color (where most of the image is black & white except for one focal piece) can also be a fun editing technique when used in moderation, so if there is an image from your session that you would like to see in selective color, please let me know!

I love post production of images. It's my favorite part of the entire process. Just a few little tweaks, not a photoshop "overhaul" can take an image from good to great. You can be confident that the images I provide will be a representation of your best self! ...All of the beauty and light that each one of us uniquely possesses!