I LOVE FALL! I LOVE HALLOWEEN! As September and October inched closer and closer, I could not get those two things off my mind and I had a gazillion ideas running through my mind about a fall and/or Halloween photography mini-sessions! I researched and I brainstormed for weeks. Finally, it hit me like a ton of bricks - I should have a Fall/Halloween mini-session in three towns over a weekend in limited quantities.

Now that I had a plan, I still had a lot of preparation in putting it all together. I had to find a "set-up." I envisioned hay bales, mums, pumpkins, possibly a scarecrow and maybe a few other items...and LEAVES! Leaves are a must if you are going to have a fall mini-session, even if you live in Central Texas! I climbed into the attic and scoured through the storage shed to see what decorations we had. I made a list of items that I needed and went shopping.

The set-up was complete after a quick shopping trip. I think it actually took me longer to dig through what I already had at the house! Next, I needed to put together a flyer, but before I could do that I needed to find two models. Typically I just use my own kids for these things, but they just don't give me the excitement anymore for some reason. I thought and thought about who I could use and then I had another revelation! I could do a model call to find some terrific models with fresh faces that would actually be excited to be in front of the camera!

The ad I used to find my two terrific models.

I posted this ad in two places. I posted it on my business Facebook page and I also posted it in the Limestone County Sway N Shop Facebook page. I received several inquiries and was only going to take the first two children that met the requirements. The children had to be a certain age. I wanted kids between the ages of 3 and 6, as they are generally able to concentrate for the amount of time I needed them to and they are just plain fun to work with. Another requirement was that they had to be able to have a cute costume by mid-September for the modeling session. The final requirement was a signed model contract and a $25 deposit to secure the modeling session that would be returned to the parents in the form as a credit to use towards prints from the session.

The first two models that met all three of these requirements were....Miss Dani and Miss Genesis!

Miss Dani's modeling session was first! She bounced out of the car and was so excited to have her picture taken (or at least I'd like to think that was why she was so excited). She had the cutest curls in her hair with a gorgeous blue princess dress. She was the blue Cinderella :) She cooperated so well and did everything I asked. You can tell that she felt so incredibly beautiful in that adorable dress.

Dani also brought a candy corn dress to wear for some of her photos. This dress was way adorable! It came with a necklace and head band that coordinated with the dress. Again, you could tell that Dani felt so beautiful wearing that dress!

Dani feeling pretty in her candy corn dress!

The second model was MIss Genesis and she arrived just as excited as Dani. She hopped out of the vehicle wearing an adorable cheetah costume complete with beautiful curls and whiskers painted on her face! Genesis also cooperated so well and did everything that was asked of her. She looked so stunning in her costume and again, you could tell that she felt like the cutest little cheetah EVER!

During the session with Genesis she posed a variety of ways and we were able to get some great shots. When I began looking at the images on my computer one photo in particular caught my attention. It was an ordinary image of a beautiful girl standing on a bale of hay in the park. The more I looked at it, I realized that it would make a beautiful creative image for fall. I decided to turn it into one of my Signature Edits.

Photography is my passion...like cake :) Signature Edits are like my cake with a TON of frosting! I start with a beautiful image that for whatever reason makes me wonder, "I wonder what this would look like with..." I start putting the vision together piece by piece. Signature Edits take a great deal of patience and time to put together. It is not uncommon to spend over two hours working on a Signature Edit.

With the help of these two terrific models and their parents, I was able to put together an ad that I love to advertise our upcoming Fall/Halloween mini-sessions. I pre-released the details to my newsletter subscribers for early bookings. I have limited sessions - 3 in Buffalo, 3 in Groesbeck, and 6 in Waco during the weekend of October 17th and 18th. Due to the pre-release, 3 of the sessions are already booked so far! The public release of the mini-session will be October 1st.

Well, it's that time of year again...time for those Fall Back to School Portraits. Back to School portraits have definitely evolved over the years, but Back to School portraits that take place at the school are still relatively unchanged. Many parents and guardians want a fun, creative photograph of their child entering a new grade as a keepsake that shows their child's personality. I love those sessions! The parents are excited and so proud of their kid. The kids are equally excited, if not more so, which allows their true personality to shine!

This is my daughter, Lily.  She started preschool this year. — This is my daughter, Lily. She started preschool this year.

After the school year officially gets started, the school takes Back to School portraits for the fall. These portraits are posed headshots and they although some feel they are boring, they serve rather important purposes. One, they too are a keepsake. These portraits are posed basically the same way each fall which allows us to compare the child's growth from one year to the next. I love those collages that are compiled with an image from each grade level! Two, these portraits are fairly close-up which allow you to focus on the child's face. The administration at the school needs these for their records and teachers like them for art projects throughout the year. Those art projects are another type of keepsake. I have boxes upon boxes of beautiful art projects from my kids! I am actually pretty sure our storage unit is about half way full of them. Three, these portraits are perfect for yearbooks! The portraits are nice and close-up of the child's face so their friends can look back through their yearbooks and remember what their friends used to look like when they were younger.

On Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015 we will be taking the Fall Back to School portraits for Hallsburg Elementary. I am very excited about this venture! If your child attends Hallsburg Elementary, look for the order information early this week. I worked with Hallsburg administration to keep prices extremely affordable and I hope the parents will appreciate the savings and flexibility I can offer.

Throughout the year we will take other school portraits at Hallsburg Elementary including basketball photographs, Spring Individual portraits (those will be more themed), class photographs, and graduation portraits for the itty bitties and the big kids.

Here is a handy tip sheet for school portraits:

I am looking forward to September 23rd and I hope you are as well! If you have any questions about upcoming school portraits at Hallsburg Elementary, please don't hesitate to contact me.

A Tale of Two Terrific Models

Fall School Portraits