Picture Prefect Video Post #12

About Me Post #11

Here is a little background on me!

Engagement Post #10

Recently one of my best friends got engaged and asked me to be a bridesmaid! As her wedding gift I told her I would do her engagement session. I rarely get to do sessions outside of the studio. I was excited about taking their photos because they were adults and would be cooperative. I got to be creative, try new stuff, and practice skills that I don’t often get to use. After buying a new camera, which if I am being honest, I first and foremost bought for their session, and secondly because I was ready for a new one. It was the perfect time to test it out! I used a lot of fun backlight with the sun and different focusing styles to make the session more special. Getting to shoot this really helped me learn F-Stop, ISO, and how to adjust them appropriately. With engagement sessions, and even weddings, it’s all about the love and the cuddly. I wanted to make sure that they could see the love in their session!

Senior Sessions Post #9

Senior are one of my top favorites to photograph! There are many creative things that you can do with older children (well they probably do not prefer that term) that young kids are not able to do as much. Seniors girl are normally the pickiest clients. They have a certain way they want themselves to look and for a lot of them it is probably the only time they will get to do a photo shoot like this. So, trying to capture them in the way they are aiming for is a big part of shooting seniors. Senior sessions are normally pretty fun because posing is a lot more open and they can do more difficult stuff.  I recently photographed my cousin’s senior pictures and that a loud me to be creative in a lot of aspects that I do not get to experience very often when photographing kids. I loved getting to practice on her and try new things and new light in an outside setting. I used a reflector to lighted her while under a covering that was blocking the sun. The reflector created an amazing lighting effect that turn into a gorgeous picture. These pictures are by far my favorite.

Children Post #8

 Children! What other big reason is there to go to a portrait studio? Mamma’s love getting those moments captured as their little ones grow up. Mom’s love to show them off! The term “children” umbrella’s a lot of things. It sometimes means a group of children or just one super energized two-year-old. Groups are the more challenging for the obvious reasons, multiple people in any setting can be tough on its own. When that group consists of all two-year old’s it is a lot harder. Most kids that age do not want to sit down or sit still for that matter. The perfect picture involves a lot of grabbing the kiddos and putting them back in place and tickling and jumping back as fast as you can. Getting that perfect shot can be difficult, but after seeing how it comes out is worth it! Single children are much easier but they have their own set of challenges. They can melt down or flat out not want to do it. Getting those perfect kids though make it all so much fun!

Families Post #7

Families are the staple of studio photography.  The mom’s that want pictures of their babies. The mom’s that work so hard to get everyone together once a year for the annual family photos. Family pictures are a big thing because it is how we create memories of how we were when our kids were little and capturing personalities. These memories are something that they can treasure forever. One thing about shooting a family is trying to get all the kiddos to smile at the same time, which can be a challenge. Especially with a two-year-old! I normally have to bring out the tickle stick (feather duster). It is easiest because it lets me tickle multiple kids and gives me the chance I need to jump back and take the picture before the smiles are gone. The other challenges are when doing a large group there are so many people to check and make sure that they are all looking at the same time. Grandmas tend to want to look at the grand-kids more than me. 😊

Life's a Beach! Post # 6

Each July the place I work at is ready for fun in the sun and we create a beach setting inside of our studio! We buy roughly fifteen fifty pounds of sand to cover the entire floor of our front studio. It is fun and messy all at the same time. Not to mention we get the cutest pictures!! We try to come up with unique and exciting themes each month! The themes are a great way to drum up business! During the month, we have the beach we run a contest to see who can get the most likes on their beach baby photo!

The thing about the beach is that most kids have a love it or hate it relationship with the sand! It's cold and freaks them out sometimes. But overall it is my favorite theme we offer!

Somebunnies love pictures! Post #5

This week I have taken more Easter pictures than I can possible imagine. During the month or so that leads up to Easter we bring in live bunnies every year at work. They are trained to sit in small flower pots, stand up, and some can even have tea parties. They are so darn cute and pretty much all the mommy's love them. That is not always the case with the kiddos though. Some LOVE the bunnies and we cannot get them to leave and others scream their heads off or won’t come out from behind mom or dad. Working with the bunnies is a lot of fun. It just gets a little tough when the bunnies won’t sit still or the two-year-old keeps running away. Today in particular one of my long-time clients brought in their eighteen month old. She would just pick up the bunny and then hand it back to us every time. She wanted nothing to do with them, she only wanted to play with the Easter eggs!

Here is a link to the studio that I work at!
...Worth A 1000 Words Studios

Birthday Babies Post #4

The next big milestone that parents bring their little ones in for is 1st birthdays. As a kid, birthdays are a big deal and what is a bigger deal to most parents than their kiddos turning one. Working with a one year old has its own set of challenges. By the time a child has turned one they are mobile and independent. There is no telling a one year old what to do. They like to do their own thing and want nothing to do with sitting still. After awhile every photographer develops tricks of the trade so to say. We find things that distract and entertain the kids while getting the shots they need. One of my personal favorites right now is using a feather duster. Yes, a feather duster! Tickling kids with the duster is a great way to get them laughing and give you enough time to jump back and snap that image. A few others tricks are having them give you a high five and pretending it hurt, or having them call you a monkey, Turkey, or whatever. Today in particular I used my lost rubber duck trick. I put the duck on my head and asked them if they could find it and when they did I start to fake sneeze and knocked the duck off my head and caught it. For whatever reason kids think it is one of the funniest things they have ever seen!

One big part of a 1^st birthday session is doing a cake smash. Letting kids stuff as much cake into their mouths as they can, seems to be a rite of passage when turning one. Basically, give a kid a cake and see how messy they can get before crashing from a sugar high. Even though the cleanup kind of stinks it is pretty cute and fun to watch!

Newborns for days! Post #3

At the studio I currently work at we are running a newborn special. So, we have babies coming out of our ears! This is going to be my second post on newborn photography and the first thing I am going to share with you is what I tell every new mommy that asks me about newborn photos. If you want those cute, perfect, and cuddly poses you will want to bring that baby in during the first 12 days. I know it sounds awful, getting out of the house right after you have a baby. 9 times out of 10 though your photographer will have a handle on it and you can sit back and relax. Maybe even take a nap ;).  Newborns are a hard thing to master. They are tiny and so breakable. You must be careful and pray they don't wake up! Sleeping babies are the best babies. You can do a much cuter set up if that kiddo is passed out! When babies are awake they are a lot more difficult at that age because their hands and feet are all over the place. They also can't focus yet. Their eyes tend to cross and/or wonder a lot. My last little tip which almost anyone who has been around a baby should know is, The Butt Pat. Patting a baby’s butt is normally the best and fastest way to calm them down and adding in the Shhhhhhhh’s will help that along too!

A little background on this cute dude. His mom came in with a Pinterest idea on her phone and big brothers Tonka Truck. I was super nervous because for one it's on wheels and big bro kept trying to push it around with baby in it! His mom and I were both having small heart attacks trying to keep him away and this little guy wanted nothing to do with laying in here! We got it done though, in the safest way possible and it's super cute! Pinterest Success!!

Starting Small Post #2

We were all babies once and our mothers cuddled us and showed us off because we were the most perfect thing they had even seen! More so now than when today's adults were young. Today's families want to capture their pride and joy at that young age. Nothing lasts forever and we as people want to remember how small and covered in rolls our little love ones were when they first entered this world. As a studio photographer, we learn quickly that these tiny bundles of joy have their own agenda and sometimes need convincing when it comes to those cute cuddling poses that make mama swoon. Just in the pose aspect, there are 100 things to watch out for and the biggest one is SAFETY! Keeping their heads supported and their little bodies held tight is so important. Once you know what to do to protect them then the fun begins and the creativity gets to come out! This sweet little girl came in last week and was as happy as can be, until it was time to fall asleep, she was not down for that. After a long while of snuggling in front of the heater to keep her warm and a lot to rocking she passed out and did her session perfectly. Here are a few from her adorable session!

Introduction Post #1

Hi! I have never done a blog before, so here it goes. You might have to just bare with me. My name is Hailey Mann and I started in on my Mass Media journey last semester when I came back to Washburn to complete my Bachelors. I spent two years at Washburn Tech in the Graphic Design program and then finished out at Washburn and got my Associates degree. I later decided to take it further and here I am.

This blog is going to feature a huge part of my life, which is photography. I have worked as a studio photographer for more than six years. My favorite part of working in a studio is being able to work with so many wonderful families and helping them create memories of their little ones! We do everything from newborns to seniors and everything in between! Now if asked which was my favorite, I would have to say newborns! In my opinion they were the hardest to learn and require the most knowledge. Most of the time working with toddlers, you just toss them back in place and hope for the best! They love to run away! Even with all that being said there is so much more to photography than just pushing a button!

Here are just a few examples. :)