The annual #POSE4PICKET contest that I hold with The Picket Fence always brings such wonderful people into my studio and into my life. Every year, we give away an incredible prize package: an Editorial Session, three images, and a Tea Collection outfit. This year’s winner, Marley, stole my heart from the moment I saw her entry photo, and even more so once I met her.

Marley is silly and spunky and full of personality. She has the most beautiful natural hair and makes the best sassy, little faces. Keeping in mind the three words that Mom picked, I wanted to capture all of the personality and highlight her beauty and the gorgeous, warm tone of her skin. So, I opted to photograph the session on a light pink background, but to tone the images to look a bit vintage and add a bunch of warmth. We chose a 70s theme and even got to include her baby sister, Kamara, in a few of the images. They had great wardrobe in their closet to echo that vintage vibe and I LOVE the Tea Collection outfit that The Picket Fence contributed to the session. It was incredible and SO fitting for the theme. The striped pants are everything and looked so comfy that I was jealous they weren’t available in my size. Going into the session, I had a vision of the final image you’ll see in this blog. It happens like that for me sometimes, where I see the finished image as a flash in my brain, and it’s just a matter of making it a reality. With kiddos, that can sometimes be a roll of the dice, but Marley executed it so perfectly - look at all that attitude!

Some fun facts about the session:
1) The caftan that Marley is wearing in the final image is 70s vintage, a fabulous hand-me-down gift from her grandmother. I melted when Mom pulled it out of the closet and showed it to me.
2) The overalls that Kamara is wearing are also vintage Osh Kosh and used to belong to Mom. I love including cherished, hand-me-down garments in sessions and these were two of my favorites that I’ve photographed.
3) The records came from my dad’s collection. He has a massive record collection and great taste in music.
4) I poked my finger with a sewing needle so many times making those daisy curtains that it went numb for a bit, but, WORTH IT.

Three words to describe the session: Natural, Retro/Mod, Sweet

(All of my portrait clients choose three words from a list of how they'd like to describe their finished images. You can click on any of the three words at the bottom of this post by the little tag icon to see past sessions that chose the same word. You can also see how different combinations of words leads to the creation of different images.)

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I really, truly love meeting the families and important people in the lives of the kiddos that I work with. Before photographing Zoey, I had the pleasure of meeting a whole bunch of her family, and let me tell you… afterwards, it was easy to understand why she’s so loving, kind, and warm. I want to so humbly thank them for being so welcoming and appreciative and gracious to me in the time that we spent together.

Mom is a fan of both vintage/mid-century and city loft/metropolitan aesthetics, and I wanted to combine those for her in this portrait session. Through lighting, wardrobe selection, and retouching/color-grading I took this session back to the seventies (still with a modern edge), but I also decided that we should go outside and create some images in the urban area surrounding my studio. (Whoa! - Miss Lexi leaving the studio is not something that happens often anymore!)

Zoey, newly 5 years old, is a gentle soul, talkative and sweet, and a bit sassy when the occasion calls for it. She also has the most amazing taste in music. What other 5-year old has a penchant for Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder?! We had several things that we wanted to capture in this portrait session, including her adorable personality. Firstly, it was nonnegotiable that I create a portrait of Zoey and her beloved Uggie, a giraffe blanket that has loyally served as her lovey and BFF. I decided to have her also wear her favorite dress in this image - this image in particular was alll for Zoey. (She was sure to tell me that this dress was her favorite when I went over for their Styling and Planning Consultation and to correct me when I referred to is as turquoise - “It’s Tiffany blue!”) Zoey has a few other treasured friends: a set of vintage-looking rag dolls that they call “The Sisters.” They fit right in with the seventies vibes of the session. Mom also found some amazing temporary tattoos that helped yield some of my favorite images ever.

The session, of course, wouldn’t have been the same without incredible hair and makeup by Tori Bivins. When it’s time for your session, I so highly recommend adding on styling services!