Let me prove it!
Though digital images are what my Pensacola family photography and newborn portrait clients most request, I also make a point to let my clients know about the professional print and canvas products I offer! I do this for 2 reasons:

• 1 – I REALLY want you to print the photos from our sessions and hang them on the walls in your home and office. I worry that in 50 years, we'll have an entire generation of people with hardly any physical photographs - they're all going to be on a hard drive or the cloud or maybe even lost to changing times.
• 2 – I want you to understand that there’s a difference in the prints that come from a professional photographic print lab versus prints that come from a commercial lab (Walmart, Target, CVS, Shutterfly, Walgreens, etc).

Before you ask, yes, ordering prints from will cost more than if you had them printed at the corner store. But, prints ordered through me are always printed on professional grade, archival paper that are individually sized by me (to ensure proper cropping), then, upon arrival at my home, the photographs are hand checked (again, by me) before they're delivered to you!

I’ll sit here a minute while the shock wears off.
I have to admit I even I was surprised at the extreme difference in some of these pictures. I knew they would be off, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad!
Let’s break it down –

• Professional Lab – I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that the print from Millers had darkened the shadows a tad. But I will say that at least they lost NO detail in the image itself and the glossy paper was gorgeous.
• Walmart – Ok, on first glance, it kinda looks close-ish to the original file. But, with the print in hand you feel that awful dry "photo paper” that they use. The picture is horribly washed out and has lines through it from their printer.
• CVS – SO much cyan and green added! They also bumped the contrast was up leading to this sweet little girl now having shark eyes.
• Target – Very similar problems to the CVS print
• Shutterfly – Overall, the Shutterfly print isn’t that bad. They darkened the image a tad and upped the contrast, but I guess it’s “ok.” though the paper quality was no where near the quality of the professional lab

OOO look at all the pretty blues and greens. (There really should be a sarcasm font.)

Ok, obviously, these labs will do if you want snap shots or need 1 hour pictures printed for a school project or something where the quality isn’t that important to you. I’m not saying they don’t have their place in the market. But, if you’ve paid a professional photographer hundreds of dollars to take portraits of your family, why would you then trust a "budget" printing company over a professional printer. The professional labs that I use print on archival quality paper that is made to stand the test of time.

Hi mama! I see you there, cell phone in hand taking pictures of your child(ren). This post is for you. Even though I still want you to book me for your next Pensacola family portrait session, I want YOU to be able to capture all of those great everyday moments of your kiddos lives!
​What follows are 6 of my best, quick tips on how to take better pictures of your kids.

- with each other, with the environment, something

Your helper is there to get the kids to look at you, wrangle the one who tends to wander, quickly brush stray hairs out of someone's eyes, etc. Their most important job is to be your spotter! Safety is my number one priority and anytime I'm at all worried, I have one (or both) of the parents "spot" their child. The picture below is a perfect example of "what actually happened" vs. the final image.

You've gotten down on the ground with your kiddo. Now try taking a picture from above above your child looking down. This is a great way to showcase their face and their youth!

And one last thing. make sure you end up in some of those pictures too!

Family vacations can be stressful enough without the added headache of capturing all those memories. But, since capturing those memories are a must, I thought I'd share a few thoughts to help you on your way to great, less-stressful, vacation photography.

Oh, and enjoy some of my various vacation photos from over the years. :)

How many of you have nice, semi-pro (or even professional) cameras but still feel like you have no idea what you're doing? Yep, I thought so. 

This morning I thought I'd share my favorite photography books and magazines NOT specifically geared for the professional photographer. If you're ready to start unlocking your photography potential - then read on!

*Finding Beauty in the Ordinary photography receives nothing for promoting the following books and magazines. They are merely books I own and love and magazines I've subscribed to for years.*

We'll start with books.

• First up is "Your Child in Pictures: The Parent's Guide to Photographing Your Toddler and Child from Age One to Ten" by Me Ra Koh
• Next is another by Me Ra Koh - "Your Baby in Pictures: The New Parent's Guide to Photographing Your Baby's First Year"

​Honestly, I love Me Ra Koh's photography books - if you're a parent who just wants to capture better pictures of your children - she's your yoda!

• Something I tell every new DSLR owner is to purchase the "Digital Field Guide" for their specific camera and speedlight. These books go much more in depth into the inner workings of your gear and the why. But, as opposed to your camera manual, they're easy to understand and contain examples.
• Another photography book I really  like is one that was put together by Popular Photography (one of the photography magazines I recommend): "Take Your Best Shot - Essential Tips and Tricks for Shooting Amazing Photos" by Miriam Leuchter
• This next book is really great at getting your creative juices flowing and helping you find your eye. "Picture Perfect Practice" by Roberto Valenzuela
• Lastly for books, I recommend "The Digital Photography Book", "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom", and "Adobe Photoshop CC" each by Scott Kelby. I really  like how Kelby relays information and includes plenty of examples and illustrations when necessary. His Lightroom book was a lifesaver when I when I decided to streamline my photo editing.

If, like me, you find it hard to find the time to sit down with a book, I strongly recommend you look into photography magazines. There are many, many options out there. The ones that follow are my personal favorites.

• Popular Photography
• Click
• National Geographic Traveler

​I hope you this post helps you find something to unlock your creative, photography spirit.

Family portrait sessions require a little prep work - fixing hair, putting on a tad more make-up than usual, choosing outfits. But, newborn sessions are in a whole other ballpark. You take a new baby, (often) brand new, exhausted, parents, and hormones and emotions that are usually still a bit out of control - and then you add another new person (me) who shows up with 4 bags of "stuff". It's a stressful situation. To help alleviate some of the stress, I've developed (and tweaked) my Newborn Portrait Session Prep Guide. Each Pensacola, FL area parent who books with me is sent a link to to the prep guide. Knowledge is power! And knowing what to expect from your session and what I need from you before the session will help insure that everything goes wonderfully!

First things First - 
Let’s get you on the books!
Your first few days & weeks as new parents are incredible, and exhausting, and fleeting! The last thing you need on your plate is the added stress of researching and booking the perfect newborn photographer! This is one of the reasons I strongly recommend you schedule your newborn session BEFORE your baby is born. This ensures you a spot on my calendar and takes the stress of finding the right photographer off your plate as new parents.
Contact me as early as you’d like (I’ve had moms contact me as early as 10 weeks along).
As soon as your retainer is paid and contract is signed, your due date gets penciled in on my calendar. Then, once baby arrives, you can shoot me an email, text or phone call to arrange your session date and time. 
So, what if you waited and baby is already here; should you still call? Will I still take your session? Of course you should still call! I will always do my best to work in last minute newborn portrait sessions in the Gulf Coast. I've photographed newborns as old as 24 days. Older newborns usually aren't able to be posed as tightly and curled as younger, but that's ok!

​Location
I am proud to provide your newborn portrait session in the comfort of your own home! I bring the entire setup to you – lighting included. You have enough going on without having to worry about getting your brand new baby out of the house! This also works well because baby remains in a familiar environment – everything smells like home because it is home. This also gives you the opportunity to comfort baby how and where you always comfort baby.
Also, if the weather permits and you’re comfortable with the idea, I LOVE to take a few newborn pictures outdoors – especially family pictures! Babies love warmth and most of the year, the Florida panhandle provides us with an abundance of that.
So, don’t worry about cleaning up because I’m coming over. I need less space than you think and I’m more than happy shifting furniture around if I need to (and I promise to move it back when I’m done).
 
When will I schedule baby’s session?
Traditionally, newborn sessions are done before baby reaches 2 weeks old (between 5 & 9 days old is best). Newborns grow and change FAST and we want to try to capture them during the super sleepy, curly stage. After 2 weeks, babies are more easily disturbed while sleeping as well as learning how nice it feels to stretch out.
So, yes, under 2 weeks is preferred, but this isn’t to say that newborn portraits can’t be done on slightly older newborns! I’ve photographed newborns from day 5 – day 26 and always managed to get the sleepy, curly poses the parents wanted. Just remember that older newborns require more patience and usually more preparation.

Day of preparation
Full babies are happy babies. And happy babies are sleepy babies. And sleepy babies is what we want!
So, how do you get there?

• On the day of your session, I ask that you try to keep baby awake for the 1 – 2 hours before I’m scheduled to arrive.
• Please plan on feeding baby right around my arrival time (or you can start the feeding once I get there). It takes me around 10 – 15 minutes to scout out the best window light in your house to shoot near, bring in my gear, and set up. This is a perfect time for you to give baby a nice big feeding.
  • Plan on at least 1 extra feeding while I’m there – all that movement while I’m there helps baby work up a big appetite.
• Dress baby in loose fitting clothes that don’t need to go over baby’s head. This helps prevent lines on baby’s skin and avoids disturbing baby as much when getting undressed. If baby is comfortable, your best bet is just a diaper and nice warm blanket.
• If you’re willing, a paci can make a huge difference in calming an unsettled baby.

 
Warmth
Please don’t be offended if I ask you to turn off the ceiling fan(s) in the area I’m photographing baby in. Newborns are used to being all bundled up and warm, so whatever we can do to help with that is good. I’ll also have a heating pad that I sometimes use to warm the blankets before I put baby on them.
 
Noise
Please do whatever you can to help keep noise to a minimum during the portrait session. I’ll have a white noise machine with me, but it can only block out so much.
*If older siblings are being photographed along with baby, I recommend we plan on taking their portraits at the beginning or end of the session so they aren’t stuck waiting around. After their part of the session is over is a great time for a family member or sitter to take them to the park.

A Little Patience & Relax
Many parents are very surprised (and a bit daunted) when they see that my newborn portrait sessions include up to 3 hours of my time. That’s a lot of time. BUT, it’s pretty much guaranteed I won’t be shooting the entire 3 hours (this isn’t a wedding, lol). I allocate 3 hours because it often takes a bit of time to get baby to sleep, plus we’ll have potty breaks (or potty clean up breaks), feeding breaks, and just snuggle breaks. So relax, put your feet up, take a shower, take a nap, update your Facebook, whatever. Many parents take turns hanging out with and spotting for me so they each get a little break.
*Oh, and a recent client suggested I make sure to mention - baby will most likely cry. He/she is perfectly ok! Think about it - you and I can discuss when things are new or different, but baby's only way to communicate is to cry. Oftentimes, I'll continue to wrap baby while they cry and you'll see that as soon as they're snug and secure, all crying will stop.*
 
Poop, etc
Newsflash, babies poop. And pee. A lot! They even spit up. And baby’s going to be naked a lot. No worries; I’m prepared. It’s part of the gig! I bring extra tri-fold diapers (old-school cloth diapers) to help with clean up. This is also why I was ALL baby props and blankets between each session. If you had some rags, or paper towels, or wipes available nearby that’d be awesome too. Who knows, maybe we won’t need them.
*If you want shots with baby in his/her diaper, then I strongly suggest getting a cloth diaper or diaper cover in a solid color. Editing Elmo and Big Bird off newborn Pampers is time consuming and not always easy to do. J
 
Circumcision
Don’t worry, this is not a PSA about why you should or should not circumcise your little man. This is a plea to please let me know if you are planning to (this can be something we discuss before baby even arrives)! Circumcision often leaves the area raw and a bit painful for a few days after the procedure which can make posing and keeping baby content during their session difficult or impossible. Because of this, baby’s newborn session needs to take place BEFORE the procedure or at least 5 days after. (Before is definitely my preferred option.)
If I should arrive at your home and find baby freshly circumcised, I’ll be forced to reschedule your session. Baby’s comfort and safety is my highest priority!

​Sibling & Parent Portraits
If baby has older siblings that you’d like photographed with the newborn, we’ll do these at the beginning or very end of the session (preferably first). I recommend having children in coordinating outfits with no logos. Little boys looks adorable shirtless for pictures with the new baby and little girls looks so pretty in simple cream or white (I can even use one of my newborn wraps as a simple top for big sister).
*Please make sure to let me know on your Newborn Client Questionnaire or via email, text, or phone call if you’d like siblings included in the session.
I strongly encourage parents allow me to capture their portraits with the new baby. Trust me, someday that selfie isn’t going to cut it when you’re looking for a picture of you with the baby! No need to get all dressed up: brush your hair and put on a tad of makeup and a clean top and you’ll be all set! Maybe check that your nails are clean. This is a great “excuse” for why you need some extra alone time and a long shower that morning! Feel free to blame me!
I promise you won’t regret it.

One final note…
Props & Requests
My newborn photography consists of posing on white or light colored backgrounds with very simple props – hats, wraps, or little pants – or au natural. And my posing style is simple – keeping baby in a more comfortable/organic pose. I want the main emphasis of the portrait to be baby itself. To this end, yes, I’ll definitely try to incorporate your requests into the session as long as baby’s safety is guaranteed.
If you see a specific item in my albums that you’d like me to be sure to bring, just let me know!

Since it is the Christmas season, I am going to start off with these super cute, and affordable, custom Christmas ornaments. On the left is a bamboo ornament that comes in your choice of 13 sizes & shapes (the one show is 4″x2.5″). They’re ~1/4″ thick and show the beautiful, natural grain of the bamboo through the image. On the right is a sweet metal ornament that can be ordered in the design shown or a snowflake.
These ornaments not only look lovely on your own tree, they make a fantastic gift for grandparents!
Next up is an item I’ve been proudly using for 2 months now: a custom cell phone case.

What a great way to show off your babies – without having to even unlock your phone screen.
Cases are black rubber grip with interchangeable photo inserts. These aren’t sold as “protective cases” like Otterbox, Lifeproof, etc – BUT, my toddler has dropped and thrown my phone multiple times on quite a few different surfaces, and so far, no damage has occurred to my Samsung S6.
Cases are available for the Samsung Galaxy S6, iPad Mini, and  iPhones 4, 5, 6, & 6 Plus.
The base order includes 1 case and 1 insert – additional inserts can be added to your order or ordered at a later date.

Custom designed cards are perfect for new baby announcements, Birthday invitations, Graduation announcements, Christmas cards, etc.
So, now you’ve seen the beautiful, high quality, and affordable products we carry for our clients. But, just because you don’t see it here doesn’t mean we can’t get it. So, if there’s ever something special that you have in mind, just ask!

Most importantly – be comfortable. Make sure your kids are wearing something comfortable. And pick a location that you  love!

In this three part series, we'll discuss what to do after your portrait session is over!  Part One will talk about what you're doing with your digital files.  How are you safe keeping them?  Part Two will discuss how where you have your pictures printed matters.  And Part Three will give you ideas about how to best display your portraits after you print them.

Did you know that over time, CDs and USBs can become corrupt and unreadable?  What would you do if your hard drive crashed?  Yes, you'd most likely lose important documents, but you'd also risk losing all of your family's pictures.  Did you know that most professional photographers only keep client's images for a couple years?  We just don't have the storage space - plus, when we save files it's on at least 3 different devices. 

We hear it and read it all the time.  "Do I get the digital files?"  
In many cases, the answer is yes.  
My question to you though, is this - What are you doing with those digital files?  

Are you ordering professional quality prints and albums from your photographer?  Or are you trusting the nearest big box store or corner drug store with your printing needs?  

If you actually order prints, what are you doing with them?  Are you displaying them on the walls of your home?  Are you adding the prints to baby books or photo albums?  Or, are they just getting dumped in a photo box?
I would like to bet that if I stopped 10 random people and asked them what they do with their digital files, more than half of them with answer me with, "They're still on the CD/USB the photographer gave me," or, "I shared them on Facebook," or if they downloaded the files, "They're in a folder on my hard drive."

Say you get the digital files from your photographer.  Did you read your contract and/or print release?  If you have a professional photographer, at least one of those documents will have instructions on how to safe guard your images.  My personal Print Release card contains the following statement: "All digital media can become corrupt over time.  I highly recommend that you download the images off the CD/USB onto at least one computer to ensure the safe keeping of your images."  My Portrait Contract has the following clause: "FBO Photography is responsible for providing storage of their images for one year only.  After one year, images may be deleted or removed.  Client releases FBO Photography from liability of photo storage after one year."

This is not to say that I actually delete client's files after a year, but it does mean that I could.  And I know several professional, top of their field, photographers who do.

I thought we'd have a little fun today!  I know most people, myself included, want their pictures to be perfect the first time, every time.  But that's not realistic.  Life's not perfect - there are bumps in the road, "grin and bear it" situations, and moments when we're just done.  Many times, photo sessions have those same moments.  As a photographer, we have 2 choices: 1 - get annoyed and risk making the situation worse or 2 - roll with it, take the shot anyway because it's great to laugh at later, and know that moods can change on a dime.
So, in that spirit, below you'll find a collection of some of my favorite "take the shot anyway" moments.  They're good for a laugh, and in some cases, they remind me of how far I've come since starting my business.

Babies - some of my favorite subjects to shoot and definitely some of the BEST sources of photo shoot outtakes there is! There will be tears, there will be bodily fluids, and there will be some crazy expressions.

Working our way up from babies, we have toddlers and young children.  Many times they're even less predictable than infants.  If nothing else, their melt downs are more dramatic!

There are two types of photographers - photographers who LOVE photographing teenagers and photographers who HATE photographing teenagers.  I'm in the 1st group, and they usually leave their session convinced I'm a complete dork.  It's by being my dorky, silly, jokey self that gets those great candid smiles mom's looking for!  And that look - you know the look - I get it too!  Check it out!

Sessions with pets can lead to some GREAT outtakes as well!  In this one, the dog yawned just as I took the shot.  I kept it because it looks like it's about to eat its owner's face off.  Don't worry, Stella (the dog) was actually awesome!

I'll finish this post with pictures of my own family!  These are from a session I did 2 Easters ago in an attempt to get "one great shot" of my step daughters with their dad.

This is real life.  Embrace it!

boxy pose vs "S" curve

I hope you enjoyed this and realized how easy it really is to get the great family portraits that we all want!  Keep an eye our for our third installment where we talk about sessions with children - what to do, what to expect, and what not to do to get the pictures you'll love!