Remodeling: part 2

Woo-hoo! The dressing room is done! Check out the pics!

[caption id="attachment_42" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="Big, Beautiful Butterfly"][/caption]

This giant insect is directly over our mirror (hey, look at that - Ryan the photographer got his legs out of the way for this shot - go Ryan!). The detail is amazing!

[caption id="attachment_43" align="alignnone" width="432" caption="The Tortise and ..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_44" align="alignnone" width="432" caption="... the Hares!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_45" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="Shy Field Mouse"][/caption]

This little guy has so much personality - we love him!

[caption id="attachment_46" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="The bee is done too - can you see its wings?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_47" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="1st Half ..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_49" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="... 2nd Half"][/caption]

We are SO THRILLED to have this dressing room done so beautifully. Linda (the artist) was amazing! It really helps transform the look of the room, and easily lets a child's imagination run wild! Come and check it out!

Snowed Out!

Whoa! Are you sure we're still in Kentucky?!?! What an incredible ice storm we had! This past Tuesday and Wednesday we closed up shoppe, which is a very rare occurrence for us, due to the fact that all of Central Kentucky was buried under an inch of solid ice. (Of course, if you live anywhere near Central Kentucky you have your own intimate knowledge of the storm...that is, unless you live in a cave or something.) Some of us at the Portrait Shoppe even lost power to our homes because of downed tree branches taking out power lines as they crashed. Hopefully you had heat, lights, and water during this storm.



This wasn't the first time the snow got to us, either. Back in December poor Shelly (one of our photographers) had to drive in the snow and freezing rain to get to Hamburg (a 20 minute drive that took 50 minutes) so she could set up a display in Babies 'R' Us. As evidenced by the photograph below her table was lovely, attention grabbing, the epitome of display tables...but you missed it; so did the rest of the world. Because only 3 people walked into the store during the entire 2 hours Shelly was sitting there...all by herself...at her beautiful table.

What are your most loved snow adventures? Post them in the comments below - we'd love to hear your favorite stories of kids and snow and bad weather! Best story gets a complimentary kudos and a big thumbs up - from us!

Eye Level

Chances are, no matter how much you love photography (or just taking pictures), when it comes to photographing children something seems, well...off. It's cute because the kids are cute, but there's something about it that doesn't look quite right and you can't quite put your finger on it.

More times than not the trouble is not your camera, the pose, the composition, or the lighting (although that's public enemy #2). Public enemy #1 when it comes to photographing children is your eye level.

The world was not intended to always be viewed from 5 and 1/2 feet high; children are not flattered by that camera angle - looking down on top of their heads with their necks craned upward and their feet disproportionately small. It is much more natural and aesthetically pleasing to view your subject at his/her/their own eye level.

When you're photographing children, get down to their eye level.

It's really that simple.

When you drop the height of your body to shoot your subject(s) on his/her/their own eye level, you will be amazed at how drastically it affects the quality and attractiveness of your photograph. When the perspective changes, everything about the photograph changes. This is the single most significant change you can make to your photography of children.

More importantly, this helps you to enter their world rather than forcing them to enter into ours (which we ask of them constantly throughout their day). It helps you engage your young subjects on a personal level and in a way that communicates to them that they are important. It helps you relate to them on their level, in that moment, and you are able to better capture all of the emotion and spirit of that moment in a memorable photograph.

You know what the best part about this tip is? You can put it into practice immediately! You don't have to upgrade your camera or go to classes to improve your photography - just start with this. Get down on your knees, or for babies lie down on your tummy. However you do it, get into their world and get down to their level; you will notice instantaneous improvement in your photographs.

Try it out, and lets us know how it goes - post your ideas and success stories below!

Paw-traits: Pet Modeling Contest

February 1-28, 2009


Introducing the first ever Portrait Shoppe Pet Modeling Contest! We have teamed up with Pet Suites www.petsuitesofamerica.com/location_lexington.asp) and put together a modeling contest for the furriest children of your family. For the entire month of February bring your dog into the Portrait Shoppe for his or her very own photo session, and we'll enter a portrait of your choice into our modeling contest: the winner gets their portrait on the cover of Bluegrass Dog Magazine! All participants receive a free portrait and a doggie bag filled with goodies. Proceeds go to benefit the National Canine Cancer Foundation. (www.wearethecure.org)

What about getting a family portrait that includes the dog, or incorporating your human children into the portraits? Yes! We want this to be a fun and memorable experience for your whole family, and look forward to including everybody in the portraits. Call the Portrait Shoppe at 859.277.6671 for more info or to make an appointment, or check out the website to learn more. See you in February!

Remodeling: part 1

So, now that the Christmas season has come and gone, it's time for photographers one and all to do a little pre-spring cleaning. Once spring arrives we are all too sick with cabin fever and start taking photographs of the great outdoors, so cleaning is now or never! We are making some decorative changes here at the Portrait Shoppe, including a total redecoration of our dressing room. Take a look at some of the work that is already under way!

[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="The dressing room under construction!"][/caption]

We're decorating with a Honey, I shrunk the Kids theme - the idea is that the grass and bugs and everything are huge. Those legs in the mirror belong to Ryan, one of our photographers...you'd think he'd had thought to get out of the way for the picture, you know, being a photographer and all. ;-)

[caption id="attachment_19" align="alignnone" width="216" caption="Painting Away"][/caption]

Painting can be messy, as evidenced by the lovely rainbow design on the front of the artist's shirt. And check out the bunnies - don't they look AWESOME!

[caption id="attachment_20" align="alignnone" width="216" caption="Linda, our resident artist"][/caption]

This lady is the talent and brains behind Project Dressing Room - she rocks! We almost caught a picture of her, but she closed her eyes at the last second...obviously we put it up anyway. :-)

[caption id="attachment_21" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="Hard at Work"][/caption]

Linda, doing a smashing job!

[caption id="attachment_22" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="The Brush is mighter than the Hammer"][/caption]

These are some of the artist's tools. It makes us glad we are photographers and don't need to use that much stuff!

[caption id="attachment_23" align="alignnone" width="288" caption="flowers and grasses and bees - Oh My!"][/caption]

A sample of the decoration - these flowers bloom above the doorway, and that's an unfinished bee up there. We can't wait until it's finished - it's going to beeee-utiful! (ba dum ching!)

We are really excited about this room - Linda is a masterful designer and is doing a tremendous job with it! Keep checking back for updates as the Portrait Shoppe continues with its makeover, and be especially on the lookout for the completion of Project Dressing Room.

In the beginning...

Welcome to the Portrait Shoppe's blog site! Woo-hoo! This is the first step in what looks to be a very exciting adventure. We'll be posting on PS events, funny moments at our studio, spotlighting some of the kids, and handing out FREE photo tips that our photographers use every day in the studio! So check back regularly for updates!