When the calendar turns to the beginning of the school year, I get excited for all of my fall photos shoots and taking great client portraits that also can be used for Christmas cards. Throughout my blog posts, I have featured how the photos were incorporated into cards, but I had a few extra favorites that I wanted to share, including my own. Last year, my friend Crystal held her annual fall South of Hampton trunk show, which featured the gorgeousness of Trabeautiful Designs, Bespoke Stationery from Nashville, TN. With a fab selection of custom-made stationery including announcements, invitations, social stationery, calling cards, and Christmas cards, several clients had unique cards created from their session. Top of the line quality combined with unique designs were the perfect compliment to my portraits!
In addition, many of my clients choose to order their holiday cards through my store fronts at either Minted.com or Tiny Prints, so click below to check them out:
Christy Fassnacht’s Minted.com storefront: http://www.christyfassnacht.minted.com
Christy Fassnacht’s Tiny Prints storefront: www.tinyprints.com/storefront/christyfassnacht
P.S. My fall is quickly booking up, so be sure to reserve your spot today for portraits!
* We ended up using the “blue” scarf photo (above), but I couldn’t resist popping in this red option!
And here’s the card that I sent out to our family and friends that I designed myself! I LOVE cards that have an actual photograph, so I really love to hand-craft my cards, and this year was no exception – I wanted a fun and colorful card to compliment the whimsical beach portraits I took in the fall. It turned out to be one of my most favorite cards ever! I do have card templates, if you are interested in something fresh and different!
“There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all.” ~ Unknown
I loved sneaking in this session while the weather was still gorgeous in February, as the family wanted portraits for a new home and change of address card. I consider it a success when I get a great photo of all the kids happy and smiling, as well as beautiful images of them individually. And this session was no exception! The last image is how I show my clients what combinations might look great in their own space as food for thought. Perfection!
“Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.” ~ Anonymous
I had the vision for the shoot in my head, as I had driven by the crazy location on several occasions and thought, “wowsa!” And I had a Suburban full of little girls decked out in tutus, ready to play with me. Little did I know that I would have only 10 minutes to secure these super fun images before getting shooed off the public property. Just enough time to capture some colorful, canvas-worthy images for their bedrooms!
One of my favorite tutu images!
“The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic.” ~Henry Ward Beecher
After a string of capturing clients’ dogs in their final days, I was so excited to hear about the highly anticipated arrival of a new puppy! I tell people to capture them early and often, just like babies: they grow up so fast, and before you know it they are bigger than ever. So we snuck in an afternoon portrait session at the family’s home with their old faithful, Dixie, and their new puppy, Shooter. These two boys are having the best time! And while I am at it, I wanted to share portraits from the families’ Christmas card, because you can never have enough tow-headed handsomness!
“Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!” ~Thomas Hood
One of my favorite holidays is Valentine’s Day, with all the red and pink and hearts galore. So I loved getting the call that this mom wanted some portraits of her children as a Valentine’s Day gift for her husband. Four beautiful girls, each and every one so fun to photograph, and extra gorgeous in a group setting with their mom. We also created a fun montage which made the perfect Valentine’s Day card for family and friends…love!
“The old man said to me, said don’t always take life so seriously. Play the flute and dance and sing your song!
Try and enjoy the here and now, the future will take care of itself somehow. The grass is never greener over there.” ~ Howard Jones “Life in One Day”
Ahhhh, youth! I am an avid fan of “First Wave” and “80s on 8″ on my Sirius/XM Radio, and I heard this song the other day and it made me smile. It also reminded me of a portrait session I had with my gorgeous niece in January (with tons of snow!), where we documented another chapter in her high school career. Along with the most gorgeous eyes you’ve ever seen, it’s her sweet and kind personality that shines even more. Her future has never been brighter!
“Life is like a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it you can!” ~ Danny Kaye
I love sibling pics, especially when capturing the perfect pair for portraits, cards, gifts … and canvases. These two children are just precious in personality and I loved the happiness in first portrait below, which was turned into a huge canvas for the family room. I always wish I personally had endless wall space for fun shots like these! And the last groupings of portraits was used for annual Christmas cards, and my client couldn’t decide between the various cards in my minted.com and Tiny Prints storefronts, so she ordered two different ones!
“I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.” ~ Katharine Hepburn
In December, I snuck in one last family session for holiday cards and gift canvases, and it was one of my favorites of the year, as I am very partial to winter whites! I was also excited because we were able to capture the last remnants of a beautiful ginko tree, and play in the fun yellow leaves! (Fun fact: Gingkos survived the Permian Extinction, back when dinosaurs were alive!). The first photo was used for the family’s holiday card, and every year it has a rhyming headline, so this year was “2010 in ends in a grin!” Gorgeous girls in beautiful December weather was the perfect combo – thanks for such a fun session together!
“Wear a smile – one size fits all.” ~Author Unknown
It can be a tricky thing, getting a genuine smile from your subjects. And with all of the kids and families that I shoot, I have some tricks that I can pull out of my hat to get those *real* smiles. One of my faves is having them say “Hey Lady” – and I have kids come up to me all the times and call me the “Hey Lady Lady” (or Ms. Flashlight, as I tell them because my name is a hard one!). This is a family I have shot for several years, and I can’t wipe the smiles from their faces when we get together for a session! This year we went “urban” with the black and whites, and the resulting images were not only fun to create, but are fun to look at long after the shoot.
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” ~ Walt Disney
Quadruplets….I can only imagine in my wildest dreams what it must be like to raise four children of the same age. I had a very small glimpse of that task when I had the pleasure of photographing these four precious ones for their annual Christmas card. And while I can only imagine what it’s like to feed, clothe, put braces on, throw a birthday party for quads, etc. - their mom is truly expert in managing multiples. My favorite tip from her: she learned while becoming an expert in making cupcakes for the kids’ class room, it’s best to ice them the morning of. Thanks again for a fun day together that was definitely four times the fun!
Love these fun, bright coats!
Next Page »
