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1.  Christmas Morning photos:  Get your camera ready the night before.  Very important!  If your child(ren) get up at the crack of dawn like mine, you don’t want to be fumbling around at 5am looking for your camera, batteries, lenses, flash, etc.  The night before, check your batteries (and flash batteries), select the len(ses) you want to use – think about the room you are in, do you want a wide angle lens, or more of a telephoto?  Do you want to use a fixed lens, or a zoom?  Do you need your flash?  Then put your camera wherever you will be taking pictures on Christmas morning so it’s already there.

2.  Tell a story and capture the details:  I actually start photographing our Christmas morning photos the evening before.  I try to think about how I will put the pictures together to tell a story.  What will I want to remember when I look back at these photos 20 years from now?  I want to remember how we made cookies for Santa and how my son was so excited to put the cookies out on a plate and carry them up the stairs to set out.  I want to remember my husband stuffing his face full of said cookies after the little guy went to bed.  I want to remember things like hanging the stocking, setting out a note to santa, reading the Christmas story, etc.  You don’t have to go overboard, but just snap 1 or 2 shots of these things as you do them.  20 years from now, you’ll be glad you did.

3.  Take the tree picture the night before:  If you want a shot of your tree with the presents neatly arranged and the lights on and shining pretty – take it the night before without the kids in the shot.  Or after the gift-opening frenzy with the presents already unwrapped.  Has anyone tried to make your kids sit still in front of the tree on Christmas morning?  If you do – good luck!

4.  Get in position:  If you want a photo of your children with an expression of pure joy and excitement, position yourself by the tree before they come in and get ready to snap as they enter.  We always tell our son to come wake us up first, and then I run in the room where we open presents and grab the camera (it’s all ready to go if you did step #1!) and then my husband turns him loose to come running in.  Note to parents – if you are in fact up at 5am and you don’t want your bed-headed, pajama-clad self in the photos, make sure you send your child running in by themselves first and follow after you hear your significant other stop snapping the photos  That being said, make sure you do get in a couple Christmas morning photos too – it’s only fair that your kids get to enjoy looking back at your bed-head too!

5.  Don’t ask for poses:  Ever told your kids to sit still, look at the camera, and say cheese?  Yeah, we’re all guilty of it.  And sometimes we might really want that shot.  But 9 times out of 10 – the “cheese” smile you asked for is not the one you really wanted.  It’s rare that a child will give you a true photo-worthy glimpse into their personality when you ask for it.  Instead, have your camera ready and just observe as they are opening gifts, interacting with a sibling or other parent, etc. and capture those unposed true emotions.  And remember that you don’t always have to capture a smile to have a great picture.

6.  At get-togethers, photograph the activities, not just the people:  How many times have you seen photos of the whole extended family all lined up, staring at the camera, all wearing their  ”cheese faces”?  You know the picture I mean, and it’s not necessarily a bad shot, or one you shouldn’t get, but it just doesn’t tell much about the day.  Get that shot, but then don’t put the camera away.  Photograph the food preparation, Grandma reading a story to the kids, singing around the piano, the guys watching football – whatever it is that you do at your get-togethers, take a picture of it!

7.  Be unobtrusive:  We have the camera out alot at our house, so our family has learned to ignore a camera when its pointed at their face, however when staring down the end of your zoom lens, most people will automatically either 1)get their cheese face on, or 2)look away or cover their face.  Neither of these typically make for good photos.  If you want to capture some good unposed action, break out a short telephoto lens and stay back a bit.  People will be more comfortable if you aren’t right up in their face.

These are just a few things I have learned that work for me over the past few Christmases.  Do you all take a lot of photos over the holidays?  What tips do you have?  Please feel free to leave them in the comments section, or head over to my Facebook page and share your tips as well!

Have a great Christmas y’all!  Can’t wait to see your photos

~Sarah

Anywho – what this post was really about is my Black Friday Sale!  So here’s the deal…  One time a year and one time only, I like to have a fun sale to thank my current clients, and welcome new friends to try out my photography services.  This year, my black friday sale will be 50% off gift certificates that may be used on session fees, prints, and digital images in 2012! 

So, like every good deal there has to be a little fine print, right?  Here are all the details:

• Certificate must be purchased on 11/25/11
• You must EMAIL me at clickphotodesigns@gmail.com to request your certificate in one of the amounts listed below
• I will send you a PAYPAL invoice for the certificate – you will not be mailed the certificate until the Paypal invoice is paid (but you can use credit card, check, cash to pay as well if you like).
• Only 10 certificates available – once they are gone, they are gone!  Emails will be processed based on the time received, starting from Midnight on Thurs/Black Fri.
• Certificate must be used in 2012 (expiration date will be 12/31/12) for single session fees, prints, or digital image files.  Certificates may NOT be used for products, frames, wedding packages, or photography class fees.  Once purchased, the certificate may not be redeemed for cash.   
• Only (1) purchase available per person – but if you are buying for gifts I can break them up into multiple certificates.  For example if you want to purchase $1000 worth of certificates for $500, you could specify that you wanted 10 – $100 certificates or 4 – $250 certificates, etc.

HOW TO GET IN ON THE DEAL:

1.  Starting at midnight on Thursday/Fri, email sarah at clickphotodesigns@gmail.com with the subject line gift certificate.
2. Tell me which of the following amounts you want to purchase:  $50 certificate for $25, $100 certificate for $50, $200 certificate for $100, $500 certificate for $250, $1000 certificate for $500.  If you would like the amount broken up into multiple certificates, please let me know that too.
3. I will email you a paypal invoice for the total (there will be no tax on the gift certificates so it will just be the actual amount)
4. Once you pay your paypal invoice (via paypal, credit card, cash, or check), you will receive your certificate.

Please keep in mind that I will only be selling 10 certificates for half off, so get your email in early!  I will not be awake at midnight I’m sure, so I will just process requests in the order I receive them in my inbox.  If you have any questions prior to the sale, please feel free to email!

Thanks so much – Have a great Thanksgiving, and happy shopping!

Sarah

Thanks so much P family! You all were wonderful to work with! Hope you like the preview pictures so far, and I’ll have the rest for you soon!

Blog readers:
*I still have 2 available slots for Christmas Mini-Sessions. Email me (clickphotodesigns@gmail.com) for details!
**I am about to announce the date for my second Basic DSLR Photography Class for October, make sure to watch Facebook for details!

So I have photographed this little guy 4 times now and he is always so much fun!  Mom told me he was really into trains now, so this was the perfect place to do his four year old photos!  He loved checking out all the trains and telling me which ones were who off the Thomas the Train cartoon.  We had such a fun time – here are a few of the photos from our session.  Also be sure to go to my Facebook Page to see more photos from this session!

Hope you like the preview pics so far! More to come in your online gallery soon

And to all you blog readers out there – a few annoucements:
1. Don’t forget, only 2 spots left for Christmas Mini-Sessions at Burritt on the Mountain on Oct 16th, and 4 spots left for mini-sessions on Oct 30th in downtown Huntsville. $125 for the 15-20 min session and 2 digital images!
2. Only 3 spots left for my first Basic DSLR Photography Class on Saturday, Sept 24th from 1-5pm at the 16 Main Gallery in Madison. $125
3. Still looking for a few newborns for half price studio sessions at my new little studio!
Call or email me for more info or to sign up for any of these! ph: 256-542-8345, email: clickphotodesigns@gmail.com

Thanks everyone, and happy Monday!
~Sarah

We never did find that giraffe…  Maybe next time!  Hope you all love the preview images – I”ll be finishing up your gallery soon!

~Sarah

PS – There are  a few different images from this session on my Facebook Page – be sure to check them out too!

PPS – Singups are currently going on for my first Basic DSLR Photography Class.  It will be held Sat. Sept 24th at the 16 Main Gallery in downtown Madison from 1-5pm.  The cost is $125 and you can sign up by calling the gallery directly (256-325-0161), or feel free to email me for more information as well!2

PPPS – Signups are also going on for Christmas Mini-sessions!  See the post here to see all the details, and then see here for the current availability!

PP25656-325-0161256-325-0161