Denver Children's Portraits

Just a quick posting today. As we leave behind the warm summer weather, and head into autumn, I am already missing summer.

So, just have to share one of my favorite Denver Children’s Portrait sessions, shot during summer:

Summer July 4th Concept Portrait Shoot for Children’s Photography by Natascha Lee Studios in Westminster, Colorado from N Lee on Vimeo.

You can see more Denver family portrait videos over on my video page.

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Denver Baby Photography

Denver Baby Photography

Denver baby photos – some with props, and some just pure newborn baby goodness!
(BTW, if you are looking to have newborn photos taken of your baby, I always recommend booking in your 6th month, about 3 months from your due date. We’ll put a date on the calendar approx 5 days after birth (but always before 10 days old!), and I’ll keep some flexibility in the weeks before and after, so make sure we can slide the date around to accommodate your actual delivery date. )
Denver Newborn baby with colorful knit hat - Baby Portraits
Denver Baby Photography - Gold Crown
A quick word on baby skin – newborn baby skin can be quite splotchy, dry, red, etc. I do a little skin smoothing, but I don’t want your baby to look like he or she is made of plastic. I prefer a more natural look – or perhaps we should call it a “slightly optimized” natural look. 😉
Denver Newborn Baby Photographer - Natural Photos
Denver Newborn Baby Photography by Natascha Lee Studios
Denver Natural Newborn Photos
 

Artistic Denver Baby Photography

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6 tips for Yoga Maternity Photos

Yoga or Dance maternity photos:

  1. Pick a photographer who has experience photographing both maternity and yoga or dance photos. They will understand best how to pose you. Bonus if they themselves are a former dancer or yoga teacher.
  2. Book your photographer for your 8th month of pregnancy, and plan to book about 3 months out – meaning, when you are 5 months pregnant. At about 8 months, you’ll have a big beautiful baby belly, but won’t be so far along that you may have to cancel because you are delivering!
  3. Discuss with your photographer the types of images you want. Indoor? Outdoor? Both? Posed? More natural and relaxed? Bare belly? How comfortable are you with moving and doing some yoga poses during the session?
  4. Bring a variety of clothing and accessories (like this super cool belt below).
  5. Treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure the day before your shoot. Your nails will look great, and it will relax you.
  6. Have fun! This is a great treat you are giving yourself, and your future baby who will LOVE to see photos of themselves in Mommy’s belly.
  Denver Yoga Maternity Photos

Denver Maternity Yoga Photographer

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Waterproof Cameras – should you get one?

Waterproof cameras – should you get one? In my last post, I talked about getting a pocket camera to carry around in your pocket/purse to take family snapshots. I will admit that we have several of these “pocket cameras” sprinkled all over the house. That may be overkill for a non-professional photographer family, but it’s nice to have one handy when you need it! And the whole “handy when you need it” concept it what I want to talk  about today.  Specifically, waterproof cameras.  I have found that you can get an affordable waterproof camera. Let’s call “affordable” in the $150 – $300 range. But then the quality of the photos is lower than in a similarly-priced regular camera. That is, unless you go up in price to the $250 – $450 range to get a similar quality level of images with the waterproof feature. You can also get a waterproof housing for many of the cameras….for about $200.   Those are great b/c they are usually waterproof to about 100 feet which means you can dive with them. Still, waterproof housings can be a pain to use. So, if you will use your camera in lots of wet but not deep water situations (kid’s swimming, beach trip, soccer games in the rain, etc), then go ahead an consider getting a waterproof one. They are also often more rugged and can handle a few falls. I use this one, because I wanted something very rugged….but I would probably pick something different next time. Something with better image quality – like this one by Nikon.   As a loyal Cannon shooter (you should see how many Canon cameras I have bought over the years), I feel disloyal recommending a Nikon – but I think their waterproof cameras seem better.

That said, I did make this image below with my current waterproof camera. And if I didn’t have a waterproof camera with me that day, I would not have had any camera with me at all – as I was in the pool at the time that I saw this great scene and just HAD to capture it. There is a saying, “The best camera is the one you have with you.”
Pool Image by Natascha Lee Studios
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Top 3 Tips for Making the Most of Your Family Photos

3 Tips for Making the Most of Your Own Family Photos


Don’t loose your memories!

The New Year is a great time to make sure all your digital images are backed up – either to the cloud from your phone, and/or to a backup service from your computer.  Your photos should always be backed up in at least one place, preferably two. You can use the autoback up feature on your phone (b/c chances are, most of your photos are there – right?), as well as an auto back up for your computer like Carbonite or Backblaze, or even Dropbox.

The power of touch:

Speaking of your digital images, how often do you print them out? January is a great time to review your photos from the last year, and print them out. Some people do books, and others make framed prints. Even if you don’t often print your images, at least print a few for your kids. They LOVE having physical prints of their family, parents, friends, pets, themselves. Print out a few small sizes and let your kiddos use them as bookmarks.

Gear up – Top 6 things to look for in your pocket camera.

I love my iphone for convenience, but a good pocket camera will take much better photos than your camera phone. Esp in low light situations like indoor, early morning, and dusk. (One exception – the new iPhone 7 Plus really does take decent everyday snapshots.)
If you don’t have that specific iPhone,  I suggest a pocket camera like a Canon Powershot . Rather than recommend my favorite model (which changes frequently), that link will take you to a search function on Amazon.
You want a camera that: 1) has at least four stars from reviews AND has at least 250 reviews, 2) is available Prime (which means it’s fairly current) – even if you aren’t a Prime member, you can use that as a selection criteria 3) does video in 1080p, 4) has “image stabilization” for taking non-blurry photos in low light withOUT a flash. A flash (usually) just ruins the mood when you are taking low light photos, 5) has “wireless technology” to connect to your phone, so you can send/share/post the images right away, with just a few extra touches, 6) is between $200 and $400. This puts you in the sweet spot for decent quality, but not so expensive that you are a sad panda if/when it breaks or gets lost….and pocket cameras, if they are used frequently, do eventually get broken or lost. 7) optional: is a fun color! Although honestly, it seems the really good quality ones only come out in black, silver and white.
  Watercolor Cameras Image credit: FreePik
 
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