Helping out the UK Children's Hospital

If you have been into the UK Children's Hospital recently, chances are you've seen our work (and maybe not even known it). We were honored to be able to put up a display of our photographic artwork in their wing over the summer of '08. Well, just in a recent publication of theirs we found this page talking about that very thing!



It is a privilege for us to help out this area in our community. We are also pleased to be able to donate proceeds to the Children's Hospital every year from our big summer project: the annual StarKids Modeling Contest. To learn more about StarKids modeling contest, visit our website! (Hint: the link is over there, on your right...a little farther...down...there you go! Now - CLICK!)

Lexington Family Magazine Cover Shoots

Lookee what we did!


If you thought that Portrait Shoppe only does photography for individuals and families, well broaden your horizons!

Once in a while we actually have the opportunity to do photo shoots for other business or events. We have done dance studios and animal hospitals, but one of our favorites is the cover shoot for Lexington Family Magazine. They are an awesome, free publication here in central Kentucky. They are an incredible resource for families of all types and address all kinds of issues. (Oh, by the way, it's FREE for you to pick up a copy). And, in our opinion, they have some of the most educated, well researched, on target editorial material out there - did we mention that it's free? You should check them out at www.lexingtonfamily.com

Alright, commercial over - Over the past few months we at the Portrait Shoppe have had the privilege of doing the photo shoot for many of their recent covers! It's really cool for us because we enjoy all the adorable kids, and Laurie (Event Coordinator at Lexington Family) always comes to make the experience particularly enlivening! So, next time you pick up your FREE copy of the magazine, flip open the front cover and look to see if the photo was taken by the Portrait Shoppe (all the ones on the left here have been).

Think your kid is cute enough to make it onto the cover of the Magazine?

Well, come and find out! Every year, in April, Lexington Family Magazine hosts a Summer Camps & Activities Fair. One of the events is the cover model search. Yes, anybody can enter their child into the search by sitting for a quick head shot, taken by yours truly - the Portrait Shoppe! Last year we took head shots of over 325 kids (thank goodness we don't have to narrow them down - we certainly don't envy that job)! It's free (like the magazine itself) and fun for everyone!

Date: April 11th, 2009 from 10am to 2pm

Location: Lexington Christian Academy

(for more details, see their website - particularly this page)

So, enjoy the cover shoots! And we'll see you at the camp fair to take portraits of your own cover model!

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!