Who's started holiday shopping? I'm trying to get out in front of it this year!

Portrait prints are ALWAYS an awesome gift that will be cherished by the recipient. Even if your session didn't take place this past year, you can still order prints! And check out these composites...I typically put these together for newborn clients, but this can be done for any type of session, even combining sessions from over the years. 

Printed 12x12" size, just grab a beautiful frame and you have a wonderful gift, ready to go. I love these frames from Amazon, they've got a pretty barn wood look and come in so lots of colors, perfect for framing your portraits. 

All of my printed portraits, including this 12x12 size, are printed on a rich, creamy matte paper that's nothing like you'll see on everyday prints. Prints are mounted for a sturdy surface and more even look under glass, ready for framing. 

Contact me to get your print order going and give the gift of cherished memories to your loved ones this year.

It's no secret that fall is the busiest time for most photographers. Lots of people want that coveted 'fall colors' image of the fam for their annual holiday card. And why wouldn't you, it's a beautiful time of the year! The heat and busyness of the summer has died down and with cooler temps and changing leaf colors, families start to think about doing a portrait session. For some, it's an annual event that scheduled well in advance. For others, it's the first session their family has done together in years...maybe even decades!

Why is fall such a popular time for portraits? 

COLOR.
Mother nature is showing off this time of year, there's no denying it!

THE LIGHT.
The quality of light during the fall season is unlike any other time of the year. The sun gives us fewer hours of daylight, but what we do get is light that's rich, soft and beautiful. That kind of light makes for some really striking portraits. Again, mother nature showing us that no matter how hard we try to emulate, she's cornered the market on awesome lighting!

Between the pretty scenery and temperate weather, families have plenty of reasons to love fall.

Time is running out to get your fall session in this year - drop me a line to book yours before all the leaves are gone!

Have you ever wondered how the images go from a file in my camera to hanging on your walls? It's all a part of the process, and the post-process is one of my favorite things about being a photographer.

I love images. It's why I do what I do. And during editing I get to decide which images speak, which are important and which will be loved.

2018 marks 6 years since I started this photography business Ivy Impressions. As a photographer I continually strive to improve at my craft, develop my artistry and perfect my process. I learned photography with a fully manual camera, shooting black and white film. I now shoot with two different digital SLR camera bodies and a variety of lenses. 

One area that I have really worked on is honing my process during editing. Back in my film days I'd shoot and develop the film, make a contact sheet of the negatives, and from there choose which images to print larger. When I started shooting professionally, I was using my digital SLR cameras. It's very easy to shoot hundreds of images in a short amount of time! I spent HOURS culling through the images shot at each session. Then more hours editing the chosen images to my style. I would spend many, many hours on the post-processing of each and every session, putting love into each and every image I delivered.

Over the years, as my style developed and I really learned what type of imagery I want to deliver, that post-processing time frame has shortened. I can now move easily through the culling process. If I shot 300-500 images at your session, you will probably see about 50 of those (that’s the beauty of digital!). First I do a quick run-through checking the technical aspects – believe it or not, I do not shoot a technically perfect image every time! If an image isn’t technically up to par, it’s dumped. Next, I go through all the images again and dump anything that isn’t cohesive with my style or my vision for the session. Lastly, I go through all the images again and select only the ones I feel are the very best. What makes an image ‘the very best’? Sometimes it’s the lighting, the pose, the eyes, the mood, the emotion or the interaction. Most times, it’s a combination of all of those things. 

When I’m making the final image selections I often ask myself,
“If this was a shot of MY family/child/newborn, would I love it? Would I want to remember this moment and look at it hanging in my home?”
That oftentimes makes the decision for me. I want every client to love their images. They’ve hired me because they liked what they’ve seen of my work, so I have to trust that my gut feeling will lead me the right way when choosing the images that are presented to my clients.

While I still give so much love and attention into each image that you’ll see, I can do this much more quickly than when I started six years ago. It’s one of the skills as a professional photographer that I’m really proud that I’ve improved on over the years. Culling the images from a session is one of my favorite parts of the whole process.

There are moments during every session, when I click the shutter and I just know I’ve captured something special. I love when I’m going through the portraits from the session for the first time and I can immediately identify those ‘moments’. That is one of my favorite things about being a portrait photographer…feeling that in my gut, then seeing it come to fruition on my screen and ultimately in print in the family’s home.

Have a question about another part of my process? Drop me a line or leave me a comment, I’d be happy to chat about it! 

Emily
lover of images and owner at Ivy Impressions