Client Story – Broomfield Family Portraits – Fabulous Fall Portraiture

by | Jan 3, 2017 | Broomfield Children's Photography, Broomfield Colorado Family Photography, Broomfield Family Photography, Clothing, Colorado, Daddy, Fall Colors, Families, Father and Child, Fathers, Featured Post, Girl, Golden Family Photographer, Mother and Child, Outdoors, Siblings, Sisters, Style, Testimonial, Westminster Children's Photography, Westminster Colorado Baby Photography, Westminster Colorado Family Photography, Westminster Family Photography, What to wear

December break that gave me time to  pull all this together. Better late than never, right?  😉 Jade is a local Broomfield mother, and the owner and chef behind Jades Kitchen (Delicious food made with love.) It’s such a treat to get to order healthy, delicious homemade food for your family! And of course, it’s a bonus that you get to support a local mother-owned business. Well, perhaps the biggest bonus is that you don’t have to shop or cook or clean – it’s all done for you. LOVE that! Jade had me do her family portraits and we had so much fun with her sweet calm family. Seriously, the most mellow, calm daughters ever! I wish I could bottle that and release it at my own house from time to time. BTW, she also had me do Headshots with Personality(sm)  to create an image bank (a full suite of marketing photos) for her business, website and marketing materials (more on that later!) For today, I’m sharing  her images from her beautiful Premium Family Portrait album, starting with the cover and the back. I think it’s great to see what a finished product looks like. Esp if you aren’t so much the video type, and you prefer to look @ “still images.” One thing people often notice (and appreciate) is that I take a variety of photos that capture each of the unique relationships within your family: you and your spouse, your spouse and the kids, you and the kids, you and each kid individually, the kids together, the kids alone, etc. 001-002 005-006 007-008 011-012 013-014 015-016 017-018 019-020 I’m so excited to share these beautiful images with you.

  1. Tell us a little bit about you and your family?
I love my family. As a family we love the big and little things – taking a road trip to a new part of Colorado that we haven’t seen before, hiking in Boulder, playing board games and UNO, watching movies, eating ice cream at our favorite local spot – Sweet Cow, traveling to new places – two years ago we rented a house at the beach in Oregon (favorite vacation so far), eating dinner at Happy Sumo… For myself, I love to be alone in my free time. It gives me time to think and re-energize. If I feel indulgent, I will curl up on the couch and read my book, or watch a movie. I do love coffee dates with friends, but I always have to make sure I carve out some time just for me. The one thing I have always dreamed of doing…is an African Safari. It would be spectacular and frightening at the same time to see all those wild animals!
  1. What made you decide this was the time to do a family photo session?
Jillian, my first baby, was starting middle school, and Ella, my second baby, was about to turn 8. It was the perfect time to capture them, ages 7 & 10. I will always remember them in these photos – still believing in Santa Clause and the tooth fairy.
  1.  Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?
I wasn’t worried about a thing! Natascha is so professional and did such a great job at preparing us so we had an idea of what to expect.
  1. What made you choose Natascha Lee Studios?
I had seen a marketing brochure for her business, and the photos were absolutely stunning.
  1. How did the actual  photo session go? What was your favorite part of your session?
The photo session was everything I hoped it would be! She did such an amazing job capturing the girls in the sweetest of moments. I love how authentic our pictures are, even when we are “posing.” My favorite part of the session was watching Jorin, my husband, with the girls, and the girls tickling him on Natascha’s cue. He loves his girls so much.
  1. How about the viewing session? – What did you think or feel when you saw your gallery of images? What did your husband think?
Oh my goodness! I laughed when she offered me a tissue (Note from Natascha: I often say that “I make moms cry, because a lot of the time a mom will get teary-eyed when viewing her family’s photos for the first time). And then the slide show of my family portraits started, and I started to cry tears of love and joy. Needless to say, the viewing session was very special. for all of us. Natascha is a true professional, making her clients (including the little ones) feel comfortable, and making the session incredibly special, with lots of laughter in between.
  1. What do you hope your children will say/feel/think years down the road when looking at these images?
That they were little, and sweet, and innocent, and believed in Santa Clause… Most importantly, that we are a close family and we love each other so much.
  1. Any advice to other families before their photo sessions?
I would honestly say to them: “Natascha is so talented, and does an amazing job at capturing the moment. She listens to your vision, and then perfects it on a whole new level. Her attention to detail is represented in her work. You can trust that your pictures will be perfect.”
  1. How did you feel/what did you think when received your final order/had your products delivered?
Absolute amazement. And we received so many compliments! I especially appreciate all the details – from the pictures being wrapped in beautiful boxes with ribbon, the homemade tray holding our pictures, to the custom wooden USB – the presentation was beautiful.

Thank you Jade! It was my pleasure to create your family portraits!

Broomfield Family Photographer

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Denver Urban Photography Studio Tour 2- Natascha Lee Studios – Denver Baby, Kids, Family and Highschool Senior Photography

by | Dec 16, 2016 | Broomfield Children's Photography, Broomfield colorado Baby Photography, Broomfield Colorado Family Photography, Colorado Baby Photography, Colorado Children's Portraits, Colorado Family Photography, Colorado Family Portraits, Denver, Denver Colorado baby photography, Denver Colorado Family Portraits, Denver Headshots, Denver Model Photographer, Denver Photographer, Downtown Denver, Featured Post, Holiday Portraits, Lafayette Baby Photography, Lafayette Children's Portraits, Model, Modeling Porfolio, Outdoors, Portfolio, Studio, Style, Urban, Urban Portraits, Where I Shoot

model portfolio done by you. Do you have any places you shoot with red brick walls, kinda distressed?” And that will become an inspiration to do a blog posting….I can answer that photography client’s specific question with images, and then I have it available anyone in the future who asks. Today, I’m sharing a few iphone videos taken this Fall @ one of my satellite studio locations. This isn’t far from my Denver Studio, but it’s a totally different Urban space and feel.  For one thing, it’s mostly outdoors – so not so great on sub-freezing days. But the variety of background make for fab photos. I did a senior shoot here in the fall, and the space helped us get truly unique photos to celebrate Bella, the Cherry Creek Highschool (CCHS) senior during this special time in her life. The videos below help you get a feel for the place, and I’ve included photos taken in each of the spaces (like my other studio tour posts here and here).

First up is this great red brick barn, with sliding doors on one side and it is just flooded with natural light from the sliding doors:

Denver Urban Photography Studio Shooting Space Video 4 from N Lee on Vimeo.

We can make photos like this: #CCHS Senior Photos - CCHS_ClassOf2017_IMG_7637_NataschaLeeStudios-eal-sfw

And the cool metal staircase in the corner can be used like this: Cherry Creek Highschool Senior Portraits - Denver Family and Model Photographer

This one shows the barn and the outside:

Denver Urban Photography Studio Shooting Space Video 1 from N Lee on Vimeo.

Then there’s this great corner with lots of plants including grape vines climbing an arbor, a super cool metal table, vines climbing the walls, and yummy light:

Denver Urban Photography Studio Shooting Space Video 1 from N Lee on Vimeo.

We can do photos like this:

Denver CCHS Senior, Beautiful Brunette, Denver Senior Photographer

Finally, the part that is probably my favorite – the huge sliding doors.

Denver Urban Photography Studio Shooting Space Video 1 from N Lee on Vimeo.

And we can use those doors, and the diffused light as a background to make photos like this. I just love, love, love this image:

Denver Model Photography - Natascha Lee Studios

So that’s the tour. This space is a special place, and available as an upgrade option to your photo session!

Finally, I’ll include some photos I used in a previous post. I was going to link to them, but I might as well just include them here:

Denver Model Portfolio Photographer Natascha Lee Studios - IMG_0339-(2)-eal-sfw

Denver Urban Portraits by Natascha Lee Studios - IMG_5865-eal-sfw

Natascha Lee Studios - Urban Outdoor Private Shooting Space - Denver Family Photographer Denver Headshots - Urban Shooting Space - Natascha Lee Studios - IMG_5867-eal-sfw Broomfield Kid and Family Portraits - Urban Shooting Space - Natascha Lee Studios - IMG_5869-eal-sfw

Wouldn’t this be a great place for your child’s Highschool Senior Photos? Or a Modeling Portfolio? Or for family portraits for an urban feel?  Let’s do it – Contact me today!

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An 8-Step Recipe for Finding an Internship, Mentor, or Apprenticeship

by | Nov 29, 2016 | Highschool Senior Portraits

In honor of Giving Tuesday (in addition to doing some microloans on Kiva), I prepared this little helpful reference sheet for HS Seniors looking to land a great internship/capstone/mentor/etc. I’m so honored by the frequent emails I get from high school juniors and seniors, looking to intern with me, or have as a mentor. It takes courage to reach out to someone and ask them to share their expertise. Unfortunately, I have to turn almost all of them down, and here is why:

  • Internships are a gift you give to the student. They are 95% give, and only 5% take (for the business owner) Meaning, most of the time you spend with your intern/mentee/apprentice is a gift from you and your business. They are not free labor and should never be viewed as such. Indeed, in 2010, we had “new” Federal rules about what counts as an internship.
  • I believe deeply in giving, and I also believe deeply in life balance. (Which is why I take every December off, to focus on my family and friends and enjoy the holidays!) So, while I love mentoring and donating my time/money/expertise, I already have commitments in those areas that I need to and want to honor.
  • Even if I did have the time, most emails I receive don’t provide nearly enough information for me to know what is being asked of me. It feels awkward to ask for more info, and then turn them down.
This gave me the idea to write a little recipe (for the query email) for high school students looking to get an internship or apprenticeship with a local business owner/professional in their chosen career.

An 8-Step Recipe for Finding an Internship, Mentor, or Apprenticeship

  1. The first sentence talks about you and something unique about you.
“My name is Sally, I’m 17 years old, and I have visited all 50 US states.”
2. Tell them why you are writing to them. Give them sincere praise that makes it clear that you know what they are about or what the focus on. A good way to do this is your general passion, something you generally like about their work, and then something specific.
“I love photography, and especially love the way you use natural setting and natural light to capture your subject’s true personality. I especially love that shoot you did with the two dogs in the park.”
3. Write a sentence that establishes your “ask” – the general thing you are asking them for.
“I attend XYX Highschool and need to do an internship in my chosen profession, photography.”
4. Tell them why you are so interested.
“I have always found photography to be magical, the way you can freeze a moment in time and relive it forever.”
5. What you specifically hope to gain from the internship with them.
“I hope to learn about the art of capturing family portraits, and also the business end of things on how to run a profitable photography studio.”
6. Very clearly state what they are getting themselves into. Break it down to the things they can do in the course of their own business, the things they would need to do that would take them away from their business and the total commitment. Be sure to specify any time window constraints.
“The total commitment is 20 hours total over 4 weeks, about 5 hours a week. I need to do the work between 2-5 pm on Monday and Fridays.  Most of that time would be spent with me watching and asking questions while you work. About 5 hours would be outside of your business hours, where you attend a 2 hour training at my school and fill out a post-internship form.”
7. Here is the part where you can really sell yourself – talk about what they would get out of it, besides helping you. This establishes that you are interested in giving as well as receiving.
“I am great with websites and can help you write and post blog entries”, or “I am happy to help with all aspects of your business, from organizing gear to even sweeping the studio.”
8. Close with a commitment and a request for a phone chat.
“I promise you that I will be responsive, responsible and will help in any way I can. I will also very much appreciate your sharing your knowledge. Can we chat on the phone discuss this further? You can reach me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
Hope that helps! Feel free to share this with the high school students, and your fellow parents of high school students. And, click on the image below to go to Kiva.org, and do your own microloan. Happy Giving Tuesday, ya’ll! Kiva Giving Tuesday]]>

Denver Family Photography – New "Explainer" Video

by | Nov 11, 2016 | Boulder Baby Photography, Boulder Children's Photography, Boulder Colorado Senior Photography, Boulder Family Photography, Boulder Family Portraits, Boulder Headshots, Broomfield Children's Photography, Broomfield colorado Baby Photography, Broomfield Colorado Family Photography, Broomfield Colorado Parks, Broomfield Family Photography, Broomfield Newborn Photography, Broomfield Senior Portraits, Colorado Children's Portraits, Colorado Family Photography, Colorado Family Portraits, Denver Children's Photographer, Denver Colorado baby photography, Denver Colorado Family Portraits, Denver Headshots, Denver High School Senior Photos, Denver Model Photographer, Denver Photographer, Featured Post, Golden Baby Photography, Golden Family Photographer, Headshots, Highland Family Photography, Highlands Ranch Photographer, Highschool Senior Portraits, Lafayette Baby Photography, Lafayette Children's Portraits, Lafayette Colorado, Lafayette Colorado Portraits, Littleton Colorado Baby Photography, Littleton Family Photography, Louisville Children's Portraits, Louisville Family Photography, Modeling Porfolio, Westminster Children's Photography, Westminster Colorado Baby Photography, Westminster Colorado Family Photography, Westminster Family Photography, Westminster Senior Portraits

Here is mine, hot off the presses. Well, the digital presses that is:

Natascha Lee Studios 2016 Explainer Video from N Lee on Vimeo.

  If you are looking for family portraits, that video gives you a super quick overview of me, the kind of photos I create, and my style. Below are a few more key links that people like to have, when they are looking for a Denver family photographer and considering working with me. Feel free to check them out. And, if you aren’t in the area looking for a Denver family photographer, ask your local photographer if they have similar links available for you to check out. In addition to pricing and their gallery, be sure to see a video or a sample of a full session – I always recommend seeing an entire session by your photographer. Because anyone can take one or two good photos, but you want a photographer that will deliver and entire gallery of great images for you to select from. Not all photographers have a studio, but if they do have one, you’ll want to ask where it is and what it is like. Their studio is a great meeting place, you can see their product samples and it also provides a back up shooting location if your outdoor location gets rained/snowed out. (Although it can be very fun to shoot in the rain and snow! 1. What people say about working with me 2. My photo galleries, (one for each of my specialties so you can see my photography style) 3. Videos to see what an entire session would look like  4. Pricing Overview 5. A bit about me 6. My N Denver Studio Tour Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save]]>