It’s your life. It may be your much-anticipated wedding day or a simple Saturday in the spring…but it’s important, and should be documented beautifully. The older Anglin gets, she can’t help but think about all that will change in the next hour or year- and photography is the way to stop the minutes. It challenges her to see the beautiful in the ordinary, and to celebrate the wonderful. Her clients are trusting her with their memories, and she’s honored to do so.
Anglin specializes in relaxed, personal, fun family portraits. Her main goal is to capture where your family is at at this season of life, so she does her best to create situations where everyone feels at home. This means if your two year old is in a clingy stage, she wants them to be clinging (haha), or if your 12 year old is totally into baseball, she may shoot a few of him playing catch with dad. If your family loves hiking and the outdoors, you will be in nature for your session. If you love to play games or have picnics, you may be doing that during your session!
Anglin’s first piece of advice is to hire a great photographer. It’s likely that if you do this one thing, they will handle this for you. Once she knows a little about your family and what you guys like to do (she is always sure to ask if there is a certain look or feel you’d like to see as well), she can recommend a great location for you. If you have young kids, or a large (extended family), don’t plan on more than one location for your shoot. If you have older kids (12 and up), it may be possible to change locations without losing too much momentum. Locations are important, but even more important than that is lighting. She has shot some of her favorite images in some of the ugliest places! One of the most requested locations is an outdoorsy or green setting. The key is not necessarily to get the perfect trees, but to shoot at the right time of day (in the morning or evening), when the light is most flattering. You want to choose a location that won’t have a ton of distraction in the background (i.e. cars, street signs). A grove of trees or a solid wall are always good. Shoot in the early morning or evening, when sun is not straight overhead. Step away from the background for lots of depth.
Please, please do not show up in matching banana yellow Polo shirts! You have many more options! It is wise to stick with a certain color scheme, but attempting to match one exact color between all family members may give you a migraine. Think about the time of year you are shooting- for spring, maybe softer pastels (khaki, light blues and pinks, yellow, white), summer- brights (red, cobalt blue, emerald green, yellow), fall- earth tones (brown, burnt orange, burgundy, navy), winter-neutrals (white, black, grey, browns, navy). What’s most important is not that you all match- but that you compliment each other. Start with one outfit for one person and build off of that. Don’t forget that accessories can help a lot- scarves, jackets, hats, jewelry. Casual clothing always works a lot better for Anglin’s style than formal wear- and people are generally more comfortable that way. Shop your own closets first and if you do purchase new clothing, be sure to give them a trial run first. The last thing you want is to realize something is uncomfortable or doesn’t fit an hour before your session.
Anglin’s best piece of advice is to know your kids. If they are not smiley generally, you can’t expect them to be so during their shoot. If they have a strict schedule, don’t plan the shoot during nap time. She has found that kids usually do better in the morning. Many parents choose to offer a little “incentive” for behaving well during their session, which she is not opposed to. The best thing is to keep them busy, and let them feel like it’s just playtime. Many times she will instruct parents to just play with their kids. Throw them in the air, swing them, have a race, etc. That’s how you’ll get the real smiles. Many times, Anglin will bring something for them to climb or sit on like a basket, chair or blanket. You can also bring their favorite books and read them together. The very best thing you can do for your kids is let them just be. If you are stressed about getting them to sit correctly or smile, they will know- and likely not cooperate. 🙂 She will never forget a time when she was attempting to photograph her son at 6 months old. He wasn’t having it, and she ended up photographing him while he had an all-out tantrum. Those are some of her favorite photos from that stage, because it was real life! For more information, you can go online to www.lissaanglin.com.
