Now days when we hear about so many people passing away from COVID, we’ve been in lockdown, we’ve socially distanced, we are all tired of all the change we have all had to make BUT…. We’ve all learned a few things; Celebrate the little all things, and how important family is, When your Grammy turns 70, you CELEBRATE! Just to name a few.

Paige went looking for a photographer on Thumbtack and I have a post on Thumbtack. I have to admit I don’t look at Thumbtack very often but I just happen to take a look and saw a job request for family portraits in Salem Oregon. I was like huh, I live in Salem, and I do family portraits this sounds like a good match. She was wanting family pictures that were fun and joyful looking! I contacted her and gave her the link to my website. She and her sister were like “finally we found our photographer!” (at least that what I would like to think they said he-he). We scheduled a date for their session and chatted a few times about location. They chose Pioneer Park in Stayton which is one of my favorite spots!

Paige told me there would be 2 families, each with 2 kiddos and 1 birthday girl. She also told me they hadn’t had photos taken together since before the kids were born. I LOVE IT!! I love getting the opportunity to capture families together, showing love and joy, especially when it is for the first time or it’s been a long time!!

Let’s talk about what to wear for a photoshoot! This is HUGE, clothing can make you feel confident, comfortable, look handsome, and beautiful! If you show up in jeans and a logo t-shirt vs. khaki pants and a button down collar or for the girls a shirt and shorts vs a pretty dress or fashionable jeans and high heels. By the way ladies, high heals make your legs long, thinner and a little sexy too! I digress, dressing up makes everyone feel pretty/handsome, which gives you confidence and more relaxed with a little sass and makes for beautiful photos!

They chose great colors for their clothes, it’s important to pick a 2-3 color scheme, not too printy, mixing the colors amongst the adults and kiddos. Don’t be afraid to wear a statement necklace or a pair of suspenders or a vest, dress up, look nice, it will surprise you how much more you will love your photos! If you need more help picking outfits for your family, engagement, or senior pictures, go check out my Pintrest page on What to wear for Photoshoots.

Here’s where I get a little techie (if you want to know) I shoot with a Nikon D750, for this shoot, I used 2 lenses both Nikkor lenses: 24-70 f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4. I have to say these are my two favorite lenses! They give you that creamy dreamy background, great depth of feel, and amazing colors that pops! ok I’ll stop geeking out on you now.

I hope you will take the time to have family portraits taken, have photos taken in general. Stop saying “I’ll do it when I loose some weight” or I” hate how I look in pictures”. Love yourself, love your family and just book your session with any photographer. Oh, and by the way~ PRINT THOSE PICTURES!!!! Show them off and put them on the wall, wrap them in canvas or print on metal~ just print them!!!!

Go and check out the rest of Grammy’s pictures that I know they are all going to love and cherish for years to come! https://www.darciesphotography.com/p818853052. If you would like to book a portrait session with me, here’s a link that will get you in touch with me, Darcie LaFountaine. I hope to see you in front of my camera soon!