12 days of Christmas photography tips. Day eight, tip eight: The Festive Photo

The Festive Photo (pets and kids).

You might like to think of today's blog as a continuation of the traditional family portrait becuase I couldn't finish  that without touching a little on pets at Christmas!

I know that pets are extremely important to many of us in our day to day lives and for people who don't have kids like myself it is my dog who is likely to make it onto a personalised Christmas card or Facebook Christmas post this year.

So how do we include these furry friends in the Christmas fun........well with a bit of imagination, patience and a couple of biscuits.

From very early on my Henry realised that on special occasions such as Christmas he would be called upon to wear something silly and show off a few of his moves in exchange for a yummy treat and easy life...

This is Henry, not yet a year old here, in our first Christmas card. This image was troublesome for a few reasons and took a lot of editing so we won't focus on it but the process I followed was: I put the hat on Henry, had the treat in my hand which he was watching the whole time and then I gently moved back asking him to 'stay' which he did. I grabbed my camera and took the pic. 

(the light was behind Henry so this meant I had to lighten the photo up after to be able to see his face ok which isn't ideal)

The following year these two images were our Christmas offering: 

 

I took these knowing I was going to add some text to the image so if you know you want to make your photo into a card you need to think about the frame of the shot and where you might place the text after - unless you include the text in the shot as you go like this image 

Creative Christmas Card Photos

Props wise the image (above left) involved silly antlers which we got a local pet shop.

The other image involves Christmas lights. 

I adore Christmas lights and I use them in lots of ways we can't forget they are attached to an electricity supply so if in doubt you can actually get these kinds of light that are powered by battery. With Henry dog I felt I could trust him enough to not to run off and even of he had I could have grabbed him quickly to stop the lights being pulled. Just remember animals and kids can be unpredictable. 

If you like the lights idea but are concerned about wrapping them around your pet or child why not try this:

We mocked this up very quickly with my parent's dog this morning:

Mia dog was sitting like a good girl and I placed the Christmas lights on a foot rest and positioned it in front of her. By making sure  the lights were very close to the camera and that she was the thing in focus it ensured the lights blurred well. If using an  smart phone or tablet make sure you touch the screen on the animal's fave to ensure it is the main point in sharp focus in shot.

With the two images above of Henry, I look at these now and think, why did I have the main light on? If I'd turned all the harsh lighting down and instead lit the scene gently with lamp light it would have meant the xmas lights would have blurred better and be shown off to their maximum -  similar the photo above. 

The key to taking fab photos of you pets at Christmas is making sure you get as much of 'Christmas' in the frame as you can like this pic of Hen. Here we have the tree, pressies and Xmas lights at his feet all in shot.

 It is the same principle if you are trying to compose a Christmas card type photo using your Children.

Try to fit as much 'Christmas' in the frame and you can't go wrong with Christmas lights for impact

Here Martha kindly posed for a photo to show us how beautiful Christmas lights can make a beautiful Christmassy photo - look at the colours on Martha's face and the light catching in her eyes in both these photos.

Thankfully there are some amazingly creative Christmas photo ideas out there so you don't have to rely on any of the ideas i've show you here with Henry!

I look forward to trying some of these myself this Christmas! :D


https://www.pinterest.com/explore/family-christmas-photos/

https://www.pinterest.com/bonnie_pickett/christmas-cats/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/newu1085/30-dogs-who-think-theyre-christmas-trees-654m



If you try any of these tips do send me your photos I'd love to see them and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.

However, if you are in that, 'OMG, I totally want a great family photo' place but are overwhelmed by doing it yourself then never fear, help is here! Click here to contact me so you can check this off your list. Easy Peasey

12 days of Christmas photography tips. Day seven, tip seven: The Traditional Family Portrait Part 3. Putting the fun into family photography.

The Traditional Family Portrait Part 3. Putting the fun into family photography.

So far I've covered formal family portraiture arrangements and ways of how to photograph children which yield the most aesthetic results.  For me however there is nothing more perfect than a family photo where true smiles and real laughter are present.

True laughter; the crinkly eyed, wide mouth, teeth on show kind is something that can't be faked. So essentially the only way to make sure you're ready when it happens is to be alert and ready with your camera for these moments and to have an idea of what makes different people laugh or smile.

This shot of baby Gaby is from an old  summer shoot. Here,

Gaby's mums genuine wide smile which oozes

love and contentment along with baby Gaby's 

real smile make this a highly successful shot for me.

 When it comes to family photography and the smaller family arrangements I genuinely long for a shoot where a crazy family moment erupts. If I have to be pinned down on when these moments might come I'd say most often near the end of time shooting. I think this is  when families are getting bit tired and bored of posing. This wonderful shot is from a family shoot from 2 years ago where a regular family portrait broke out into a friendly brawl and brother foot fight. 

This image cracks me up every time I see it, I feel like I 

was privy to special family moment of silliness. 

From the same shoot we had another moment of madness - a staged photo highjacked by Granddad and the resulting photo is far more precious as a 'real' and silly family moment than a staged shot would have been. 

 

FYI: Grandparents can become very unpredictable as a shoot goes on - always keep a close eye on them to  be safe ;)

In truth it is the little ones who really do become rather unpredictable as shoot goes on which is totally understandable especially if they have been super compliant with smiles and being moved about but these unpredictable outbursts, so long as they aren't the teary, tired kind, have worked to my 

advantage in the past.

Here little Lyla had been a dream modelling for me for nearly an hour 

for a Mothering Sunday shoot. We got some beautiful photos above

and below with her Nan and then.....

 .....suddenly in just one shot she took this moment to lick, yes lick, her mum. What I loved was that her mum adored that photo explaining that is was so typical of little Lyla. Love it.

I think it has been important to cover both the silly and the formal with family photography because I know that families often fall into these two different camps at different times. There is place for aesthetically pleasing photos where everyone is compliant, smiling and well arranged, the ones that live on the mantel piece. There is also a place for those real, laughing out loud photos that capture a precious moment in time that embodies love and laughter.

......and finally there are those creative types who believe in making a funny photo to make people smile and I'm a sucker for these so if this is you then here are a couple of blog posts to get your fun, creative juices flowing and if you attempt any of these you must share them with me! I insist :)

http://www.brit.co/funny-family-holiday-photo-ideas/?utm_campaign=pinbutton_hover

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/awesome-christmas-card-ideas-you-should-steal#.xbjkMkqAq3

http://www.buzzfeed.com/thefalafel/photos-taken-by-the-worlds-most-creative-dad-4x8q

If you try any of these tips do send me your photos I'd love to see them and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.

However, if you are in that, 'OMG, I totally want a great family photo' place but are overwhelmed by doing it yourself then never fear, help is here! Click here to contact me so you can check this off your list. Easy Peasey

12 days of Christmas photography tips. Day three, tip three: Low Light Photography.

Lighting Part 2

Low Light Photography. When Night Time Falls (even if that happens at 15.30pm!)

Before we begin, for those of you using cameras where you can adjust the ISO, to get the best results  you will beed to push that up as far as you can being mindful of the fact that the further you increase it the more grain appears in the image. For everyone else using automatic settings on cameras or iphones/tablets you need not worry. These devices are quite exceptional at dealing with low light but holding them exceptionally still or mounting them on a tripod will yield better results for this type of photography.


So, Rather than grumble at the pesky lack of light which I often do at this time of year, my aesthetic as a natural light baby and children photographer resting on it, let us find some ways to embrace it.

These photos where taken in the middle of a room and lighting wise there is a wall lamp to Alana's right hand side (you can see how the side of her face is lit by it) which is strongest of the light sources at play here in the room. The rest of the light, the ambient light within the room, comes from different places some of which is provided by the TV flickering in the background. These different sources of light within the room make for an arty, moodily lit image of Alana opening her advent Calendar.

What additionally adds interest are the colourful Christmas lights in the background which (as I briefly mentioned in day 1 tip one) if your subject is clearly in focus in the foreground then the lights in the backgrund will blur to great effect. This is called Bokeh and it is a very pretty effect that I love.

Extra tip: We asked Alana to save the opening of her advent calendar that day for me to photograph and it doesn't hurt when photographing children to set up a scene or a scenario as we have here. I ensured that the pretty Christmas lights would be visible in the background and then I set Alana up on her little table and seat and asked her to open her advent calendar. By doing this, photographing something real happening which in this case was the excitement of finding out what was in the advent Calendar draw, you are capturing a sincere response whatever that response may be. This can really make the photo.

This image above is lit by the blue light of the television. Alana was very involved in watching her program which meant I had opportunity to get a candid photo of Lani, a sweet profile shot lit from an unusual but effective light source. To maximise this effect make sure all other lighting in the room is switched off so the only source of light is the TV, you can create some very arty shots this way.


The image below goes some way to showing you how this may look. The room was very dark and an iphone was being used to add some light to a shoe that was proving rather difficult to do up. The light looked so beautiful on the faces of all involved I wanted to capture it.

If you try any of these tips do send me your photos I'd love to see them and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.

However, if you are in that, 'OMG, I totally want a great family photo' place but are overwhelmed by doing it yourself then never fear, help is here! Click here to contact me so you can check this off your list. Easy Peasey

Sammi Sparke Photography working between Sheffield, Cambridge and London

12 days of Christmas photography tips. Tip one - For the love of Christmas lights.

For the Love of Christmas Lights...

If you want to take some really beautiful photos of your children/family this Christmas then planning your shot makes all the difference.  My best images of children have involved a bit of planning, thought about backdrop, time playing around with framing the shot and of course a happy and content subject.

In the Pre-Christmas build up there are a number of opportunities perfect for making into keepsake photos.

Christmas lights add the 'wow' factor to photos.

If you are looking to get a couple of really cute Christmas photos of your children, maybe even a special photo to put on a Christmas card for the family, then why not try a bit of Christmas bokeh?

What is 'bokeh'? Well bokeh is a blurred light effect that you will already be familiar with even if you hadn't realised what it was called. Check out the photo at the top of this post to see what i'm talking about.

To create a shot similar to the one at the top of the post (or the one up next) there are a couple things you need to do.

Follow these steps:

First, turn the main overhead lights down a little (well this is my preference but you can play around and see what you prefer). If you do this you might need some kind of additional light source to light your subject's face if your camera phone struggles with the lack of light.

Bring your subject just a couple of feet in front of the Christmas lights and stand or sit them down. Make sure the Christmas lights are on!

Using your phone,frame the image with the subject either in the centre or to one side. Make sure you leave enough space at either side of the subject and over their head so you can see the lovely lights - like the photos in this post.

When you have framed your image touch the screen where your subject 's face is. You will see their face come into focus and become sharp and the Christmas lights behind them begin to blur beautifully.

You may need to play around with the distance you leave between your subject and the Christmas lights behind them - the nearer or further they are from the lights will give you slightly different effects.

I'd love to know how you get on and even better to see some of your photos if you'd like to share? 

12 days of Christmas photography tips. Introduction.

Introducing Sammi Sparke Photography's 12 days of Christmas Photography tips, a little something for families wanting to take better, more creative photos over the Christmas period.

As a family photographer I been into many houses and photographed many adults and children over the years. Every single shoot i've undertaken in my 6 years working with families have been part of a wonderful learning curve and an insight into the simple things that make all the difference in creating fabulous photos. So here, over the next 12 days, I look to share with you a few nuggets of useful tips to help you create some fab photos of your family over the the Christmas period.

Whether you are using a smart phone, tablet/ipad, professional camera or disposable camera these tips can work for all of you and don't require any specific level of expertise.

So sit back, enjoy and if you try any of these out I would love you to post your photos on my facebook or twitter page for us to have a look out:

Sammi Sparke Facebook  

or  

Twitter:Sammi Sparke Twitter  with hashtag #Sparkephototips

Happy Photographing 

My New Website. To thine own self be true.

I have a brand new website. Yay!

It is a site, a site which has taken an inordinate length amount of time to come to fruition.

www.sammisparke.com

I knew almost exactly a year ago it had to be done. I already had a website, two in fact; one for the babies, children, family and wedding photography I did and the other for the corporate, business, event and commercial work I undertook but here was the problem apparently. 

I needed all my work in one place.

I understand the advice. It was advice I took from the hugely knowledgeable South Yorkshire based PR guru #FayeSmith whilst i was on her February #BrandBooster course.

It turned out my brand was a little confused.

What this year of putting the website together has achieved, aside from a pretty fab website, is that it has lead me to a much better understanding of the type of photographer I want to be and therefore how i need to proceed, the work I need to prioritise, my desired cliental and how exactly to market myself.

Courses like Brand Booster in Sheffield, UK, run by Faye Smith, are exceptional at cementing in place in your own mind and the consciousness of the people around you who you are, what you do and how you do it.

So far this seems like a thinly veiled promotion for the Sheffield Brand Booster - I assure you it's not (though if you are a new or struggling business I cannot recommend courses like BB enough).

What this is about is an explanation for what you see now as my current website - my contemporary portfolio of work.

So here we go... this is my raison d'etre or maybe more accurately the motivation behind the madness: 

My updated website's home page shows mainly the creative, lifestyle family photography I do. It includes primarily baby, children and family photoshoots, wedding photography and artistic photoshoots. 

It is my ambition to do more of these types of shoots and my ambition for each type of work correlates with the order I've mentioned them in and the frequency with which they appear on the home page.

Some may find it strange that I have neglected to include the other work I do on the home page, work I do plenty of including corporate headshots (which I really enjoying doing) music photography (I love) and event and website work which is work I respect. 

Not having these areas represented on the home page (even though they are represented in my portfolio) has been a difficult decision for me because I still need this work and am good at it.

What I had to put first was my brand and what I want to be doing with my photography in the next few years and after I asked myself that question there was absolutely no doubt in my head about the answer. I want to be an exceptional family photographer with a specialism in lifestyle baby and children photography. I want my reputation to come before me and I want my style of work to be recognisable. We can all dream ;)

So, in a bid to make this happen I needed to represent only on the home page the work I want to be synonymous with and I hope very much I've done the right thing. Only the next few months will tell.

The site, although lunched is in need a little preening in the removal of some of the photos from the slideshows - I am told 10-15 is a healthy and professional amount of images per slide show but achieving this is incredibly hard as I have very little objectivity left with regard to what needs to go. 

Anyway, I open up my new website homepage content dilemma to you all and anyone who might have a considered opinion on it. 

Either way I'd love any feedback on the site.

www.sammisparke.com

Signing off for now, Sammi

Inside a Family Photo-Shoot

This lifestyle family photo-shoot, with the lovely Johnson family, is a typical example of what goes on in a family shoot with me, Sammi Sparke Photography.

I usually start the shoot indoors which allows you and the children to begin to get used me there and the camera. This doesn't happen quickly so I will normally suggest a few posed shots to get us started and intersperse them with catching you guys naturally in-between these shots.

After a while I suggest we change the scene, which I will have chatted to you about before the day so normally you have a good idea of where we are going. Usually a short walk or drive to a nearly park or wood, just somewhere that is a bit green, will do.

And as we're getting ready to go, because this can take a while with big families, I normally make sure I'm snapping throughout to catch some lovely moments here too.

.....and we then try a few lovely group photos with the pretty backdrop.

When we arrive back at the home we sometimes take a few more family shots in various different arrangements before heading inside.

Back inside everyone is usually a lot more relaxed, which lets me take some of my favourite, natural, photos of you guys just being you!

.......and the sillier you guys are, the better :)

As you all wind down we wrap things up and generally that is my cue to pack up and leave. 

The family shoots are designed to last no longer than 2 hours and if small children are involved and need a nap I will endeavour to get photos involving them taken before they head off to sleep. 

One big tip to make these kinds of generational family shoots run smoothly is the following: When I arrive at a family home where different generations of family are gathered together especially for the shoot there are a number of things running through my head. My first thoughts and hopes are that if you guys have not seen each other in a long time, that you have had long enough catching up with each other before the shoot so you are at ease in each other's company. 

This really does make the whole process so much easier and fun. 

So if you fancy booking a family lifestyle photo-shoot then do it today! 

Message me: info@sammisparke.com