The kids are home and you’re on the go from morning ‘till night.  Everywhere you look there are great opportunities to get great candid pictures – but you forgot your camera again.  Your cell phone is always with you and you can take some great pictures with it.  Follow the tips below to capture those special photos.

 

1. Clean the camera lens often.  Use an eyeglass cloth to wipe off spots and dust.
2. Use the highest quality settings.  Set your camera to save pictures at the highest resolution and picture size available so that you can capture all the details.   Note: High capacity memory cards are very reasonably priced and will give you ample storage space for more pictures.
3. Keep your subjects close at hand. Distance shots will often be blurry.  Try getting down to kid-height to record children playing or capture a group shot from a low angle.  Get close – but not so close that faces are distorted.
4. Hold the phone very steady while taking the picture.  We recommend holding the phone with both hands and keeping your elbows tucked in to the sides of your body for support.  After pressing the button, continue holding the camera still for a second or two.   You will get a better picture if your subject is also still.
5. Make sure you have proper lighting.  Outdoors, try taking the pictures on a cloudy day or in a slightly shady area. Indoors diffused light works best.
6. Use Flash to show more details. Using the flash when taking pictures in bright light will give you a clearer picture.  The burst of light will minimize distortion.
7. Frame your shot. Make sure that everything you want in the shot is in the picture and that the main subject fills the largest area of the display.  On some phones what is on the screen is exactly what will be in the picture. Other phones will capture more than the viewfinder shows.  It is better to put extra empty space  into your picture –  you can crop it later
8. Keep the background simple.  A busy background will distort the picture.
9. Edit your pictures.  There are many programs available which will allow you to sharpen the image, crop unwanted areas and/or enlarge the picture.    In addition to picture editing programs for personal computers, there are also some programs available that allow you to edit your pictures directly on your phone.
10. Share your photos. Don’t just leave your photo shots sitting on your phone. Share them with others.  Most phones have built-in options for uploading images directly to a website or social networking site of your choice.

I hope this is helpful for you and if you have any questions or are ready for that professional family portrait contact me via phone or email.

amanda@visualimpressions.org

503-320-3076

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The first person to send us 30 clients that book a session will win an IPAD! be sure to attach your name to the text when you forward it on!

It is always so exciting to begin a new year. I am filled with new hopes for the days to come. We have an empty canvas to fill. I would like to encourage everyone in the new year to capture the little moments. Slip that digital camera in your purse as you go to the grocery store, or to the gym. Some of the most memorable and silly photographs I have of my kids are from these unexpected moments. I would also encourage mom’s to look through old photographs. Take this challenge as you look through your last year’s photographs.
Count how many of your digital files you actually printed.
How many photographs are you in? (it does not count if someone managed to sneak you in a photograph while you weren’t looking).
What is the longest gap between one photograph and the next?
These are the questions we need to ask ourselves because these are the important and hard truths that we overlook.
If you have all of your photographs on your computer but haven’t printed any, take a moment to print up at least 20. This will help you appreciate the changes in your life and remember those fun times.
If you aren’t in at least half of the photographs, ask yourself why?
Is it because you are the one taking the pictures all of the time? Do you hate your photograph taken? Well make yourself a promise, let someone else take the photographs at the next family event or outing. Then when you have a free moment look at those photographs and appreciate the unique prospective these offer you. You get to see yourself and how you fit and interact with your family.
And Lastly, make a note of how long you go without taking photographs. Has it been 6 days? 6 month? 6 years? The reason it is important to take photographs is so we can pass down these memories to our children or on to other family.
I would like to challenge families everywhere to also make at least 1 professional portrait appointment a year. This will enable you to get that one great portrait at least once a year that you know will be printed and be wonderful gracing your wall for years to come.
Happy New Year everyone.
LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE

We are offering a Special through the Holidays; for $200 receive a 1 hour session with 15 of your favorite images on a Flash Drive with Printing rights. Schedule your session by Tuesday Dec 7th (session can be for a later date) and receive a free 5×7 Portrait! We are so excited about this great opportunity.

These great sessions must be prepaid – we accept all major credit cards,PayPal, checks and yes we do accept that green stuff-Cash.

This is a great way to get your family portraits done over the holidays and send everyone home with a digital copy!

You can book your session via phone,email, or directly from our website here : BOOK SESSION

Happy Holidays

Some of my favorite memories as a child are the holiday breaks from school.  What kid doesn’t love getting to spend a few extra days home with family?  I used to remember falling asleep to the sounds of people talking and playing games at the dining room table.  Now that I am grown and have kids of my own, I try and remember that it is my responsibility not only to help create the memories but to document them as well.

I would challenge all parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents everywhere to make a pledge to take 5 pictures a day.  It isn’t much but what many people find is that after a great day of spending it with family they find they forgot the camera, or decided it was too much of a hassle.  I promise you this, if you take that extra 2 minutes to find your camera and photograph your life you will not regret it; but if you put if off and think “oh I will take more pictures tomorrow” that will become habit and you will regret it later.

One rarely regrets a photograph taken – Many people regret the photograph never taken.

Visual Impressions wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Spend it with those you love and make memories.

If you are a high school senior or the parent of one, you understand the importance of getting Senior portraits done.

There are a lot of different photographers out there and we are going to try and help you figure out how to find the perfect one.

I am going to list a couple of questions to ask as well as the answers you would receive from our studio. Please feel free to use these questions when calling around to different photography studio’s.

What can I bring to my Senior Session?

Bring whatever you want!  Are you a basketball player? Bring your ball, into bass guitar? Bring that too!  Your senior portraits should be a reflection of who you are as an individual. No one wants a cookie cutter approach when it comes to the portrait gracing the yearbook and your walls for years.

Can I bring a change of clothes?

Certainly, we encourage you to bring at least 3 different outfits.  What you wear is going to help set the stage for a great session, as well as allow you to show off in many different looks.

Can I bring a friend?

Please do, this will help you feel more comfortable and have a lot of fun.

Do you offer any discounted prices or specials?

Yes! We offer a two for one on Senior Portraits.  When you and a friend book your senior portraits for the same time slot you both pay 1/2 the regular session fee and get a Great Deal!  We also offer great packages for really good prices.

How long does it take to get my photographs back?

We will have your completed photographs to you in 2 weeks.

Do you sell the CD of images?

Yes we do. Feel free to contact us for pricing.

I hope these questions will help you in your search for a photographer. Remember that the most important thing is that you like your photographer. Personality is key, I like to have a good time with all my clients so thanks for visiting and have fun at your session.

With the long summer days approaching I thought it would be good to give some helpful hints to all of you moms and dads out there who want to capture a great photograph of your children.

I find myself photographing my children on a daily basis and know that as other moms and even dads consider photographing their children, these basic tips may come in handy.

When you find yourself out on a sunny day, make it a point to photograph your children in a shady area. This will give you a nice quality of light as well as eliminate harsh shadows that cause anyone to squint.

Try not to place the sun directly behind or in front of your subject for a couple of reasons:

1. when the sun is behind your subject you often will get sun flare (when the sun shines into your lens) this is distracting to any photograph and hard if not impossible to eliminate post snap-shot.

2. When the sun is placed behind the photographer (you) it will cause those harsh shadows and squinting we discussed above.

Below is some information from a previous post I thought would be helpful.

Keep it fun.  Humor is a great icebreaker with children and most everyone else.

Nothing turns a child away faster than a persistent parent 🙂 and yet to get good photographs isn’t that what we must be?

When photographing your child make it fun. Give the children an opportunity to be the photographer, They love feeling important.

Try to pick a time of day when the children are well rested and have full tummies.

Every child loves a bit of encouragement.  In our house we use candy 🙂

Always have your camera handy.  I keep mine in my purse so it is always available.

Most of all keep it fun, fun, and more fun.  It is so easy to find ourselves frustrated to find that perfect picture opportunity slipping away.  Don’t push it, in 10 minutes another “perfect”  opportunity will arise.

Have fun and remember to get in on the fun. Being in our own photographs is something us parents often overlook. Remember 20 years from now our children will want to see what we looked like and we will finally appreciate how good we look now.

Well, it is with a happy heart that I find myself “arrested” for the cause.

Today is the day I get to go to “jail” for the cause. Raising money for our local Muscular Dystrophy kids to go to camp.  If you are able to help out with a small or large donation. Please click on the link below and we will put your contribution to good use. No amount is too small.

Have a happy Thursday.