I want you to picture something with me. It’s Sunday morning. You wake up to the sun hitting you in the face. *Ahhh, good stretch.* Your wife is sleeping next to you. Wow, you actually got to sleep in. When was the last time that happened? Not so quietly, you hear kids rumbling around in the kitchen. Aha. There they are. But why aren’t they coming in to jump on you – to announce their awakeness?

Hmmm. Why are they making breakfast….?

And then it hits you. What day is it? You check your phone, hoping it’s not today.

It’s May 9th. It’s Mother’s Day.

Shittttttttttt.

You didn’t mean to forget. You’ve been deep in the trenches with little people ruling your free time. Work is crazy. Sleep is minimal. Not to mention the air conditioner has been doing that weird thing that you’ve been meaning to call someone about because it’s about to be hot as balls outside. Did I mention tired?

So normally, you’d be up shit’s creek because you forgot. Sure Mother’s day presents *should come* from the kiddos, but you know as well as I do that if your kids can barely form coherent sentences, you’re the main driver for this day. Butttttttttttttt, I’ll let you in on a little secret, and it’s a purrrrrfect Mother’s Day present that requires minimal planning from you, and I can guarantee you every mother will appreciate it.  

Family photos. 

I mean, I don’t know what you expected. You’re visiting my photography website…of course I’m going to say family photos. Duh. (Being real right now, moms really just want a full night’s sleep and no children crawling up their leg while they eat their dinner. But family photos are a very close second.)

Mothers want keepsake photos of their babies (No matter how old they are, they will always be their baby). They want to remember how they are right now – in this messy middle. They want photos that show the love – a mothers’ love for their kids but also their kids’ love for them. Moms want those sweet photos of her family on her desk/on her wall/on her phone that she can stare at every day and brag to all of her friends how amazing her little family is. 

They want something that will tell them they’re special and wonderful and beautiful without telling them they’re special and wonderful and beautiful (though you should definitely tell them those things, too).

So let’s talk family photos and why these Spring mini sessions are the perfect gift for the moms in your life.

1. ✅ Location? Wash Park. Denver is already starting to pop this spring, and May will be the perfect time for photos. Not to mention, Wash Park is expansive and gorgeous, the photos will *chef’s kiss*.
2. ✅ Effort? Minimal. Mini sessions are easyyyyyyy. All you have to do is show up and love on your family for 20 minutes! In and out!
3. ✅ Price? $350 +tax. Mini sessions are about a third of the price of a normal 1-hour session, and I only offer minis 1-2 times a year. Book ’em while you can!
4. ✅Timing? May 15, 16, & 17. Sessions are ONE week after Mother’s Day! That means you can tell her about the session on Mother’s Day and that gives her a full week to decide on her outfit and the snow can melt (hello Denver weather).
5. ✅Shot List? You tell me! Photos can be focused around your whole family or just your kids…or a little of both. But if you’re thinking the session will be of just your kids, I’m going to realllllllllllllllllllly encourage you to be in at least SOME of the photos. So just know that coming in to it. It doesn’t have to be all, but it does have to be at least one. 😀

Mini Q&As

Does it have to be for mothers??

No! I purposely called them Spring Minis, not Mama’s Minis (though I love this name)! These sessions are great for families, mini engagement sessions, couples photos, mini senior sessions/graduate photos, photos with your pets, headshots…if you can dream it, I can shoot it. 

Is it enough time?

That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish, but I can do a lot in 20 minutes. Typically, for this length of a session, I’ll have about 12-20 photos to show in our viewing session. For families, my goal is: a solid photo for the wall, a solid photo of the kids, and a solid photo of each parent with the kids. Everything else is gravy with those perfect little moments in between. If you’re looking for an hour-long session, email me (maddie@maddiemoree.com), and I’ll send you pricing.

How much is it?

A 20-minute session comes with 3 digitals and is $350 +tax. I have additional packages that include more digitals or product credit to customize your own package. Just fill out the contact form below or email me (maddie@maddiemoree.com) for more info. 

How do I book?

You can see open time slots here. Fill out the form below. I’ll send over an invoice and contract. Session fees are non-refundable and paid in full. If you have to cancel, you can choose a different time slot, apply this session fee to a 1-hour session, or a mini session in the fall. If you decide on a different package, don’t worry, session fees are deducted from any package price.

Alrighty folks – that about wraps my Spring Minis FAQs. View sign up times here or reach out for more info in the form below!

xoxo,

maddie

Have a mini session coming up?

Mini sessions are just ramping up, and I wanted to take some time to dive into the dirty deets. If you have questions like: “What should I bring? What do I do with my hands?? What should I expect with this session? How do I get the pictures? What should I wear?” Don’t worry! I gotchu covered!

Ok, so first off…

What to bring to the mini session:

1. For your babies, bring ANYTHING that makes your life easier for these 20 minute mini sessions. Whether that’s backup outfits in case they get dirty, jackets, a stroller to hold everything, toys, treats for bribing, or snacks in general, bring it. When in doubt, bring it. I would much rather you over prepare and have the things you need than worry about how it looks to be the person who brought too much…there will be NO judgement here.

2. Your fur babies! If you want them in your family photos, I WANT to photograph them in your family photos! If you do bring your pets, bring a leash and doggy bags to clean up after them. I also recommend bringing treats for good behavior.  Like I said earlier, I’m a big fan of bribing.

3. Parents/Grandparents. I will photograph AS MUCH AS I CAN in the 20 minutes we have booked. I know grandparents love having pics with their grandbabies. I’m totally fine with you bringing as many family members as you want. I will shoot whatever I can in the time slot allotted. You just need to tell me priority. I’m here for YOU!

4. Props.  I will have a Christmas wreathe, a red/black checked blanket to snuggle in, a green blanket to sit on, some red ornaments balls, and some colored Christmas lights. Obviously, if you have something else in mind for the scene or prop-wise, NO PROBLEM, bring them with you! All locations chosen for mini sessions are pretty on their own without Christmas decorations, so if you want to go for a solid photo on the wall…all year round, I got you!

What to wear to the mini session:

Look, I feel you here. Picking out the perfect outfits that are your personalities, flattering on you, semi holiday-ish, AND cohesive yet not matchy-matchy…it’s HARD. Here’s what I recommend.

I would go for fall colors: dark greens, reds, browns, maroons, oranges (keep in mind that the grass will be more brown. I would recommend breaking it up color-wise with a pop of color or with whatever the rest of the group is wearing, navy blues, and purples. Christmas colors would be really pretty as well, especially since it will be a nice contrast to the brown: Maroons, reds, dark greens, creams, and golds.

When choosing clothes, you just want to make sure you all look like you belong together without looking like you all bought the same shirt. (Because we don’t want to wear the same shirt as our husband or our mother, #amiright…?)

So, it helps if you choose a color palette.

If you are unsure of some good color palettes, just go to Pinterest and type in “fall color palettes.” Pick one, two, or three main colors (either cool or warm) and then add in neutral colors (cream, grey, navy, brown, black) to fill any gaps.  Cool colors would be considered blues, purples, teals, greens. Warm colors are reds, yellows, oranges. Green and purple are transition colors and depend on how warm or cool the tone is.

Keep in mind flow as well.

If you’re in a large group, don’t have everyone wear the same color top. Try to mix it up a bit by wearing one color on top and then alternate with someone wearing that color on the bottom. This helps integrate the color throughout.

If you choose one color, I would do different tones of the same color so it’s not too matchy-matchy. I also recommend adding in a bolder color pop somewhere to break it up a bit! Scarves, sweaters, vests, and hats make for great pops of color, and you can always take those off if you want to change it up.

Don’t forget your pup! Bowties, scarves, and leashes can also bring in some color!

Palette of main colors: Navy and pink maroon. Neutrals: Grey (Remember neutrals fill in gaps. They are great ways to add pieces to your color scheme without taking away from the cohesiveness. **Generally, I recommend grey/blue jeans for cool schemes and brown/tan/cream for warm schemes. You can obviously wear jeans with anything, so that’s up to you!).

Palette: Brown, cream, white, jeans, red

Palette: Navy, Tan, Green Neutrals: Brown

Palette: Navy, cream, brown, grey

Here they did a mirrored color sitch. She’s light up top and dark on the bottom. He’s dark up top and light on the bottom. And check out the cute bowties for the pups! (Check that color integration, too!)

All this to say, there’s a bajillion different combos and no wrong answer. It’s also helpful to lay out everyone’s outfit and see what looks like it fits and what needs help. Feel free to send me photos if you want my opinion. I’m happy to throw it out there! 

Call me, Colorado, but I don’t hate a flannel…🤷🏻‍♀️

Helpful tips/Questions:

1. Get there 5-10 minutes early! Look, I am the QUEEN of being late, so I totally feel your pain. BUT we only have 20 minutes, so make sure you aren’t rushed looking for parking spots or getting lost. If you are late, it will cut into your mini session time, so please keep that in mind when you are prepping!

2. Bathrooms are scarce. As in…non-existent. Most of these places are public parks. I highly recommend taking care of alllllllllllllll business beforehand.

3. Be open. Be goofy. Be ready to have fun! Pictures should NOT be painful.Your family has grown a lot this year. Things have changed, and we should celebrate that in photos. So let’s have fun with it! (Read: Don’t be so serious!) My goal is to photograph your family and your kids the way y’all are. Of course there will be happy photos where everyone’s smiling and looking at the camera, but I also love taking real photos of y’all laughing together and being yourselves. Don’t worry about the posing. That’s what I’m here for! 

What should I expect?

If you have any poses/shots in particular that you want to try out, just show me before the session on your phone, and I’ll make it happen! Most of the shots that I posted earlier in this post are shot at sunset time. If that’s not your session, remember that it will look different. But don’t worry. It will still be pretty.

As far as posing, do NOT worry! I got your back! We’ll walk around; I’ll set you up. You’ll look at me. You’ll look at each other. Y’all will be goofy. Y’all will snuggle. And the photos will be cute.

After the session is finished, I will go home and edit these as fast as my eyeballs can take. Typically, one week after the session. After the photos are edited, I will set up a virtual viewing session for you to see your images. From there, you decide which ones you’d like. After payment is received, I will upload them to a digital link OR send it to print depending on what you ordered. And voilà, that just about covers it!

I hope this post helped you prep for the mini session! Let me know if you have any additional questions. I’m always happy to help – just email me: maddie@maddiemoree.com.

If you haven’t booked your spot yet, you can view open times and locations here. Grab ’em before they’re all gone!

And till I see you at your session…

xoxo,

maddie

So today is October 16, which just happens to be the 11 month anniversary of these two lovebird’s anniversary!!

I know what you’re thinking. It’s ABOUT TIME. Y’all. I know. Life just got in the way. But at least it’s BEFORE the year! Wahoooo!

But we’re back on track now, and I’ve had the pleasure of going back through these wedding photos and being reminded of just how gorgeous Sarah and Tony’s day really was!

The Cadre is such a gorgeous venue for a wedding, and Court Square just down the street did not disappoint in those perfect fall views!! Ahhhh, swoon!

I’m so glad I got to be a part of their day, and I can’t wait to show y’all (albeit slightly delayed) Sarah and Tony’s Cadre Wedding in Downtown Memphis!

Congratulations on your day…eleven months ago! I’m so glad I got to be a part.

I would be crazy if I didn’t throw a quick shoutout to my amazing second shooter Emily Kalmon who makes every shoot so much easier by her calming presence! <3 Thank you!!

If you’re planning your Memphis Wedding, check out their vendors below!

Photographer: moi. 😉

Venue: Cadre Building

Planner: Betsy McKay with Salt Style & Events. Y’all, Betsy is on top of it. I would always trust her with my events!!! <3

Caterer: Paradox

Videographer: Message in a Bottle

Band: OMG, y’all! The band was the BEST! Soul Shockers

Ceremony Quartet: Memphis String Quartet

Cake: Miss Muff’n Bakery

Flowers: Deedra Stone

Dress: Maggie Louise

Rentals: White Door Events

Makeup: Heathers

Photobooth: Velvet Rope Photo booth

Hair: Epic 

Till next time, y’all!

xoxo

maddie

Memphis Wedding Photographer: Ned and Jennifer’s Pink Palace Wedding

OMG, can you believe we are in 2019?! Holy Cow. And already I feel behind!!! (Especially on blogging! Eeek.)

I have a wedding from allllllll the way back in October that I want to gush about. I know it’s taken me forever to get this up on the blog, but since today is so stinking cold, it’s the PERFECT thing to warm us upppppp!!!

So Jennifer and Ned are good friends with Anne and Srikanth! (Do y’all remember their gorgeous Indian style Botanic Garden Wedding??) And, as it turns out, they are all good friends with one of my very best childhood friends from my old tennis life! Small world, right?? I first really met Ned and Jennifer while I was visiting my friend in Philly. They were driving up the East coast for a vacation in their sprinter van. After they explained what exactly a sprinter van was (lol), I was immediately interested in them and pretty much everything they were doing. In fact, it is because of them that I have been seriously eyeing a little Airstream trailer to travel around the country in and do some more exploring in the US. Can you imagine the photos I could take while living the #vanlife?!? That all to say, this couple really opened my eyes to traveling. You don’t always have to get on a plane to have an adventure. And when I get tired of the cities, it will be time to start exploring the national parks. 😀 Maybe one day soon, I can make that a thing. Anyways…back to their wedding!!

Before I got sidetracked by the travel part, I meant to talk about their wedding deets! Their wedding was so perfect! The weather, omg. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect October day! As far as logistics, Jen and Ned did do a first look, and they read their vows to each other in private, which I loved! If saying your vows in front of a huge crowd kinda freaks you out, this is a great way to still say what you really want to say, but have a more private moment between just y’all (…and me too. hehe). It definitely takes a little pressure off the public speaking part.

As far as the day goes, my favorite part was the getting ready. This part of the day usually is my favorite, just because I love the nervousness of the bride when she’s putting on her dress, and I know all of the fun they are about to have. Not to mention the Pink Palace went through a LOT of needed renovations. Holy guacamole. It’s NOT the same getting ready suite as it was before! It was gorgeoussssssss! Brides, cough cough…. And then the other part of the day that I loved….of course….was the the first look portion with the bride and groom portraits. Their sweet moments saying their vows to each other definitely made me tear up. And this section is usually the calm before the storm! Haha

I love this couple AND their day! I know you will, too! So without further ado, I present Ned and Jennifer’s Pink Palace wedding through my lens!

Loved those cute little books!! What a cute detail!

Look at their cute cake topper!!

I LOVE that we were able to sneak out for some quick shots in front of this iconic house!!! Gah, what a fun couple!!

Congrats again Jen and Ned! I wish y’all ALL the best!! <3

And a special thanks to my amazingggggggggg second shooter, Amy!! Where would I even be without you?! 🙂

And for all my brides-to-be, here is their Memphis wedding vendor list!

Venue: Pink Palace

Photographer: Meeeeeee, Maddie Moree!!

Caterer: Drapers, Gibsons

Florist: The fabulous Lynn Doyle!

DJ: DeepBlu Entertainment

Wedding planner: The amazinnnnnng Michael Doyle with Lynn Doyle Flowers

Dress: Low’s

Photo Booth: Meeeeeeee, Maddie Moree!!

Till next time, y’all! Stay warm out there!

xoxo

maddie

Christmas Collierville Mini Prep 2018

OMG, y’all, I’m having some mixed emotions right now!!! I’m a little sad because this weekend is the LASTTTTTTT Christmas Mini session of the year. But then I’m also kinda pumped because it’s the last hooooorah for my Christmas minis. And it’s going to be GREAT! The tree farm was a ton of fun. This session is going to be quite a bit different. So, let’s get into the details and what you can expect for our last session so we can make this the best Christmas mini yet!!

First off, DATE!!!

NOVEMBER 17th, 2018.

In the event of rain, sessions will be moved to Nov. 18th, same time! Forgot your time??? EMAIL ME ASAP. (maddie@maddiemoree.com)

Secondly, location!

Nonconnah Greenbelt 4293 Forest Hill Irene Rd 

(On the left hand side when coming north from 385!!)

Your phone GPS should take you there. BUT, I made a map for you just in case….

Directions:

If you’re heading East on Bill Morris 385, take the Forest Hill Irene Exit.

1. Take a left on Forest Hill Irene.

2. It’s a small field on the left hand side. Apartment buildings are directly across from it.

3. Park in the circle lot. We will be in the field to the left!

If you’re on Poplar, heading West…

1. Take a left on Forest Hill Irene.

2. Take this for about 2.5ish miles

3. Field is on the right. It’s called the Nonconnah Greenbelt!

Entrance to park.

Area to park.

Field area on the left.

If you get lost, call me! We will have someone manning the phones! 901-412-4482

There is still time to sign up, so if you have are interested in having awesome Christmas family photos, here’s the link to signup times! This is THE LAST SESSION OF THE YEAR. So if you’re looking for a more affordable option for family photos, fast turnaround, and shorter family sessions…this is you last chance to book. 😀 Offering times 1:00-4:35!

What to bring:

1. For your babies, bring ANYTHING that makes your life easier for these 15 minutes. Whether that’s backup outfits in case they get dirty, jackets (it will be in the 50s this weekend), a stroller to hold everything, toys, treats for bribing, or snacks in general. I will have my lovely helper around watching our stuff, so you can bring your things, and she can watch it while we are shooting!

2. Your fur babies! If you want them in your family photos, I WANT to photograph them in your family photos! If you do bring your pets, bring a leash and doggy bags to clean up after them. I also recommend bringing treats for good behavior. 😀 Like I said earlier, I’m a big fan of bribing.

3. Parents/Grandparents. I will photograph AS MUCH AS I CAN in the 15 minutes we have booked. I know grandparents love having pics with their grandbabies. I’m totally fine with you bringing as many family members as you want. I will shoot whatever I can in the time slot allotted. You just need to tell me priority. I’m here for YOU! 😀

4. Props.  For this session, I will have a Christmas tree set up, a red/black blanket to snuggle in, and a green blanket to sit on if y’all want. Obviously, if you have something else in mind for the scene or prop-wise, NO PROBLEM. I am here for you, just let me know! We don’t have to use my setup at all. There is the cute open field, but there are also pretty trees, a little bridge, and pretty trees in general at the park. If you have a cute sign, ornaments, holly, or any Christmas/holiday things you want featured – feel free to bring them! I’m super excited for this look. Let’s have fun with it!

What to wear!!!!

Look, I feel you here. Picking out the perfect outfits that are your personalities, flattering on you, semi holiday-ish, AND cohesive yet not matchy-matchy…it’s HARD. Here’s what I recommend.

I would go for fall colors: dark greens, reds, browns, maroons, oranges (keep in mind that the grass will be more brown. I would recommend breaking it up color-wise with a pop of color or with whatever your significant other is wearing (check out heading photo to catch my drift), navy blues, and purples. Christmas colors would be really pretty as well, especially since it will be a nice contrast to the brown: Maroons, reds, dark greens, creams, golds.

When choosing clothes, you just want to make sure you all look like you belong together without looking like you all bought the same shirt. (Because we don’t want to wear the same shirt as our husband or our mother, #amiright…?) So, it helps if you choose a color palette. If you are unsure of some good color palettes, just go to Pinterest and type in “fall color palettes.” Pick one, two, or three main colors (either cool or warm) and then add in neutral colors (cream, grey, navy, brown, black) to fill any gaps.  Cool colors would be considered blues, purples, teals, greens. Warm colors are reds, yellows, oranges. Green and purple are transition colors and depend on how warm or cool the tone is.

If you choose one color, I would do different tones of the same color so it’s not too matchy-matchy. I also recommend adding in a bolder color pop somewhere to break it up a bit! Scarves, sweaters, vests, and hats make for great pops of color, and you can always take those off if you want to change it up.

Don’t forget your pup! Bowties, scarves, and leashes can also bring in some color!

Ok, so it would look something like this:

Palette of main colors: Navy and pink maroon. Neutrals: Grey (Remember neutrals fill in gaps. They are great ways to add pieces to your color scheme without taking away from the cohesiveness. **Generally, I recommend grey/blue jeans for cool schemes and brown/tan/cream for warm schemes. You can obviously wear jeans with anything, so that’s up to you!).

Palette one color: Navy blue, light blue, midnight navy blue Pop of color: Maroon

This shot and the first shot are similar, but still different!

Palette: Brown, cream, white, navy jeans Pop of color: Red (in scarf and bowtie)

Palette: Navy, Tan, Green Neutrals: Brown

Palette: Navy, cream, brown, grey

Here they did a mirrored color sitch. She’s light up top and dark on the bottom. He’s dark up top and light on the bottom. And check out the cute bowties for the pups!

All this to say, there’s a bajillion different combos and no wrong answer. It’s also helpful to lay out everyone’s outfit and see what looks like it fits and what needs help. Feel free to send me photos if you want my opinion. I’m happy to throw it out there! 🙂

I also think some flannel would look fun here, too. Reds, navys, or greens…

Maybe a little instagram hipster, but what can I say?? If the shoe fits…

Helpful tips/Questions:

1. Get there 5-10 minutes early! Look, I am the QUEEN of being late, so I totally feel your pain. BUT we only have 15 minutes, so make sure you aren’t rushed looking for parking spots or getting lost. If you are late, it will cut into your session time, so please keep that in mind when you are prepping!

2. Bathrooms are scarce. As in…non-existent. I highly recommend taking care of alllllllllllllll business beforehand. 🙂

3. Be open. Be goofy. Be ready to have fun! Pictures should NOT be painful.Your family has grown a lot this year. Things have changed, and we should celebrate that in photos. So let’s have fun with it! (Read: Don’t be so serious!) My goal is to photograph your family and your kids the way y’all are. Of course there will be happy photos where everyone’s smiling and looking at the camera, but I also love taking real photos of y’all laughing together and being yourselves. Don’t worry about the posing. That’s what I’m here for! 😉

What should I expect?

So we only have 15 minutes for these sessions! If you have any poses/shots in particular that you want to try out, just show me before the session on your phone, and I’ll make it happen! The shots that I posted earlier in this post are shot at sunset time. If that’s not your session, remember that it will look different. But don’t worry. It will still be pretty. 🙂

As far as posing, do NOT worry! I got your back! We’ll walk around; I’ll set you up. You’ll look at me. You’ll look at each other. Y’all will be goofy. Y’all will snuggle. And the photos will be cute.

After the session is finished, I will go home and edit these as fast as my eyeballs can take. One week to be exact! If you have questions in the meantime, don’t hesitate to call/text/email me.

I hope this post helped you prep for the mini session! Christmas Minis – Collierville edition, HERE WE COME!!!

Till next time!

xoxo

maddie

Christmas Tree Farm Prep 2018

Hey hey heyyyyyyyyyy! It’s Monday, and we are just a FEW DAYS AWAY from the Christmas Mini Session on Nov. 10th!! So, I wanted to write y’all a little post to get you allllllllll prepped for the session so we can make the most out of our time together.

First off, DATE!!!

NOVEMBER 10th, 2018.

In the event of rain, sessions will be moved to Nov. 18th, same time! Forgot your time??? EMAIL ME ASAP. (maddie@maddiemoree.com)

Secondly, location!

Merry Christmas Tree Farm. 1890 Getwell Rd, Nesbit, MS 38651

Your phone GPS should take you there, no problems. BUT, I made a map for you just in case….

Directions:

If you’re heading south on Getwell (blue arrows), the tree farm will be on your left. It kinda sneaks up on you, so just pay attention.

If you are coming from 55, (red arrows) take:

1. Head south on I-55 towards Jackson, MS.

2. Take Pleasant Hill road exit (after Tanger Outlet).

3. Head East on Pleasant Hill and

4. Take a left on Getwell. The tree farm will be on your right!

Here are just a few quick pics taken with my iphone. You will want to park to the right of this little gift shop building in the open field.

Walk through the bridge, and the trees are on the right. I’m not exactly sure where we will be set up yet because I’ll be picking a spot where there’s the best light. I recommend getting there about 10 or so minutes early. This will give you time to find it, park, and meet me at our spot. Don’t worry, the farm isn’t that large, so you’ll find me pretty easily. I will also have a LOVELY Santa Elf assistant there to tell you where you need to go. 🙂 If you get lost, call me and we will help you find it! 901-412-4482

There is still time to sign up, so if you have are interested in having awesome Christmas family photos, here’s the link to signup times! Offering times 7:50AM-4:40!

If you are late, it will cut into your session time, so please keep that in mind when you are prepping!

What to bring:

1. For your babies, bring ANYTHING that makes your life easier for these 15/30 minutes. Whether that’s backup outfits in case they get dirty, jackets (it will be in the 50s this weekend), a stroller to hold everything, toys, treats for bribing, or snacks in general. I will have my lovely helper, Christina, around watching our stuff, so you can bring your things, and she can watch it while we are shooting! I will also have cookies and milk (regular 2%, Chocolate, Egg nog, and Almond). If you do not want me to offer this to them, EMAIL me so I can make a note and not disappoint some babies right before photos. Haha They are also going to be eating cookies….so maybe bring some wipes.

2. Your fur babies! If you want them in your family photos, I WANT to photograph them in your family photos! If you do bring your pets, bring a leash and doggy bags to clean up after them. I also recommend bringing treats for good behavior. 😀 Like I said earlier, I’m a big fan of bribing.

3. Parents/Grandparents. I will photograph AS MUCH AS I CAN in the 15 or 30 minutes we have booked. I know grandparents love having pics with their grandbabies. I’m totally fine with you bringing as many family members as you want. I will shoot whatever I can in the time slot allotted. You just need to tell me priority. I’m here for YOU! 😀

4. Props. This session is a little different for me. I will have a blanket set up, Christmas cookies, milk, and cute milk jars. (*****I have cookies for kids. If adults want cookies too, send me an email so I can adjust my numbers). The idea is Christmas PJs and here’s the inspiration photo so you can see the style I am going for. Obviously, if you have something else in mind, NO PROBLEM. I am here for you, just let me know! We don’t have to use my setup at all. The tree farm is a gorgeous place for photos in general, so we can do full family photos, just kids, or both (with or without Christmas PJs)! If you have a cute sign, ornaments, holly, or any Christmas/holiday things you want featured – feel free to bring them! I will have a red and black blanket that can be used to sit on/wrapped around you. I will also have a green and navy plaid picnic blanket to sit on.

Photo by Lana Sky Photography

What to wear!!!!

Look, I feel you here. Picking out the perfect outfits that are your personalities, flattering on you, cohesive yet not matchy-matchy…it’s HARD. Here’s what I recommend.

If you are not dressing up in PJs, I would go for fall colors: dark greens, reds, browns, maroons, oranges, navy blues, and purples. Christmas colors would be nice too, especially since we are at the Tree farm: Maroons, dark greens, cream, gold, browns.

When choosing clothes, you just want to make sure you all look like you belong together without looking like you all bought the same shirt. (Because we don’t want to wear the same shirt as our husband or our mother, #amiright…?) So, it helps if you choose a color palette. If you are unsure of some good color palettes, just go to Pinterest and type in “fall color palettes.” Pick one, two, or three main colors (either cool or warm) and then add in neutral colors (cream, grey, navy, brown, black) to fill any gaps.  Cool colors would be considered blues, purples, teals, greens. Warm colors are reds, yellows, oranges. Green and purple are transition colors and depend on how warm or cool the tone is.

If you choose one color, I would do different tones of the same color so it’s not too matchy-matchy. I also recommend adding in a bolder color pop somewhere to break it up a bit! Scarves, sweaters, vests, and hats make for great pops of color, and you can always take those off if you want to change it up.

Don’t forget your pup! Bowties, scarves, and leashes can also bring in some color!

Ok, so it would look something like this:

Palette of main colors: Navy and pink maroon. Neutrals: Grey (Remember neutrals fill in gaps. They are great ways to add pieces to your color scheme without taking away from the cohesiveness. **Generally, I recommend grey/blue jeans for cool schemes and brown/tan/cream for warm schemes. You can obviously wear jeans with anything, so that’s up to you!).

Palette one color: Navy blue, light blue, midnight navy blue Pop of color: Maroon

This shot and the first shot are similar, but still different!

Palette: Brown, cream, white, navy jeans Pop of color: Red (in scarf and bowtie)

Palette: Navy, Tan, Green Neutrals: Brown

Palette: Navy, cream, brown, grey

Here they did a mirrored color sitch. She’s light up top and dark on the bottom. He’s dark up top and light on the bottom. And check out the cute bowties for the pups!

All this to say, there’s a bajillion different combos and no wrong answer. It’s also helpful to lay out everyone’s outfit and see what looks like it fits and what needs help. Feel free to send me photos if you want my opinion. I’m happy to throw it out there! 🙂

For PJs, you can go all matching where everyone is wearing the same outfit, OR you can break it up and follow the same rules for the normal clothes…but ya know, in pajamas!

I would stick to Christmas colors for this part (Reds, greens, browns, creams, golds, plaids). Don’t forget outfits for furbabies if you want them in the photo!! 🙂

I love the Christmas plaid like in the first image. I also created a Christmas Pajama inspiration board in Pinterest. Here’s the link to see a few things that I think would be cute for kids and families!!

For some ideas to add to your PJ outfit, I would consider bringing: Slippers, Uggs/fuzzy boots, fuzzy socks, a robe (if it’s cute and Christmas-y), a fun winter hat (or even a Santa hat), a scarf, Christmas pillows, a Christmas book, or Christmas mugs.

Helpful tips/Questions:

1. Get there 5-10 minutes early! Look, I am the QUEEN of being late, so I totally feel your pain. BUT we only have 15 minutes, so make sure you do not lose any time in your session looking for parking spots or getting lost.

2. Bathrooms are scarce. We are at a tree farm, so porta-potties are a thing. I highly recommend taking care of alllllllllllllll business beforehand. 🙂

3. Just kids or us too? This is up to you! If you want just your kids to be in the photos with cookies, I’m totally cool with that. If you all want to be in there as well, that’s great too. With full families, we will also be walking around to get a variety, so you’ll still want to bring shoes to wear in the photos.

4. What if I don’t have kids but still want to do PJs photos? Heck ya! Of course!! Just let me know if you’re doing PJs without kids, and I’ll have some cookies for you too…. **maybe consider bringing some cute Christmas mugs…Ain’t nothing saying you can’t bring some whiskey to mix in with the egg nog, if ya catch my drift.** 😉

5.  Do I have to wear PJs?? No!! You can wear anything you want. I would refer back to my color palette ideas! If you aren’t doing PJs, it would be a normal session around the tree farm. We can still shoot on my blanket that’s set up and still Christmas-y, and we will be moving a lot more around the farm. In short, no worries. I’m not pressuring you to wear PJs at all!! These are for you, and I’m here to make you happy! <3

6. One outfit. Unless you have a 30 minute slot, I’m going to go ahead and say that we will not have time for outfit changes. If you’re in PJs, be prepared for all photos to be in PJs. If you decide you want to try to change clothes, please note that the clock will not stop for outfit changes, so it will cut into our shooting time. If you’re ok with that, I’m ok with that! 🙂

7. Be open. Be goofy. Be ready to have fun! Pictures should NOT be painful.Your family has grown a lot this year. Things have changed, and we should celebrate that in photos. So let’s have fun with it! (Read: Don’t be so serious!) My goal is to photograph your family and your kids the way y’all are. Of course there will be happy photos where everyone’s smiling and looking at the camera, but I also love taking real photos of y’all laughing together and being yourselves and munchin’ on some tasty cookies. Don’t worry about the posing. That’s what I’m here for! 😉

What should I expect?

So, we only have 15 or 30 minutes for these sessions! If you have any poses/shots in particular that you want to try out, just show me before the session on your phone, and I’ll make it happen!

As far as posing, do NOT worry! I got your back! We’ll walk around; I’ll set you up. You’ll look at me. You’ll look at each other. Y’all will be goofy. Y’all will snuggle. And the photos will be cute.

After the session is finished, I will go home and edit these as fast as my eyeballs can take. One week to be exact! If you have questions in the meantime, don’t hesitate to call/text/email me.

I hope this post helped you prep for the mini session! Christmas Minis – Tree farm edition, HERE WE COME!!!

Till next time!

xoxo

maddie