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DIY 4th of July Mini Photo Session!

The 4th of July is on Wednesday!  Can you believe it?  I know most of the states are experiencing super warm weather, but here in Western Washington it feels like summer has barely made an appearance at all!  According to our forecast the sun is *supposed* to make an appearance sometime later this week so maybe summer will finally begin here.  To celebrate, I wanted to do my first post having to do with photography… my favorite subject!

Mini Sessions are many photographers’ way of celebrating certain times of year, getting new clients in the door, and giving recurring clients a fun little discount.  They are usually themed, but short and simple.  The goal is to capture the time of year and the people in an easy, fun and fast way!  I only do Christmas Mini Sessions for my business, but I like the idea of themed sessions to document life at various events throughout the year!  This would be especially great if you have kids!  I don’t yet, so I had to demonstrate with my ‘baby’ a.k.a. Maverick, my dog.  :)  Below you will find a little photo collage of how I threw together my mini session, followed by some tips and tricks for creating your own!

Tips and Tricks for creating your own 4th of July Mini Session:

1. Make something for the background that screams 4th of July.  I chose to make a little paper banner that said the 4th and 2012 so I can always remember when I took this photo.  Plus it had to be all sorts of red, white, and blue!  I used the twine to string it all together for a little bit of a rustic feel.

2. Location: Had it not been raining when I did my mini session I would have hung my banner up outside between a couple of trees and had nature in the background.  BUT… alas, it was raining so I chose my den and used some white foamcore for the background.  Which brings me to….

3. Lighting: Choose somewhere that gets the best light.  If you are outdoors this won’t be as much of an issue, just try to avoid places that are half sun/half shade… you don’t want weird shadows on people’s’ faces.  If you are inside try to go near your biggest window.  I positioned myself near my sliding door, but an open front door can work well too!

4. Reflectors: this goes hand-in-hand with number 3.  You want to make sure that you are getting enough light throughout the photo so you can use a reflector to bounce light into shadowed areas if you need to.  A reflector can be anything from white foam core to really shiny silver baking pans!  Maverick always photographs really dark so I positioned a piece of cardboard that was white on one side to the left of him to bounce some light onto his face.

5. Props and Attire: You are trying to capture the time of year as well as your subject so go all out!  Dress your kiddos in red, white and blue.  Hand your toddler a little American Flag.  If you are doing this outside with older kids, you could give them some sparklers. Get creative!

6.  This is my most important tip: HAVE FUN!  Seriously.  To me a photo isn’t as much the picture of the face, it is the memory of that moment.  So while all of the above is important, if you aren’t having fun and enjoying yourself while taking the photos you aren’t going to enjoy looking back at them as much.

If you create your own 4th of July Mini Session, I’d LOVE to see it!  Leave me a link in the comments or shoot us an email at 2createsg@gmail.com!

Sam

  • Michelle - This turned out awesome!! Maverick was such a good model!! :)07.02.2012 – 12:21pmReplyCancel

    • admin - Thanks! It only took about 30 “sit-stay” commands to pull off a few good shots, but it was fun! :)07.02.2012 – 12:24pmReplyCancel

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