Michael seems to have taken a love of photography. He likes to steal my camera and take pictures of everything. For almost being 3, he can get some pretty good pictures.
Let's face it, getting your children's picture taken even at the cheapest photography studio is still pricey. Michael's first year alone, we spent several hundreds of dollars getting the milestone pictures. The best way to get photos done is by getting someone who does it on the side or just starting out to take them. We had our family pictures taken a year and a half ago by someone like that. They were wonderful! We got them all on a CD and didn't pay nearly what we had at a photography studio.
I decided that even though going the way we had the last time would be cheap, the cheapest way was for me to take the pictures myself. Now, I don't have the best camera out there, but I have been able get some great shots with it. Here's how we did the photo shoot with Michael, our almost 3 year old.
Once Michael woke up, we got him dressed in his suit and added the stuffed animals and started taking pictures.
We got a total of 64 shots! As you can see by the pictures below, too much can be seen that shouldn't be there. So off to my computer I went and did the long process of editing all the pictures. I used my fairly old copy of Adobe Photoshop for most of the editing, but also used PicMonkey. Here's what we got, the first will be the original and the second will be the edited.
Even before I became a mom, I've always had a camera with me. I love taking photos. It's a great way of capturing the wonderful memories and keeping them forever. So, it's not really that strange to me that I have probably over 3,000 pictures of Michael already. It does help that I'm blessed to be able to stay with him and capture all these wonderful pictures.
I also decided that I wanted to capture the age milestones professionally. The first one, we couldn't pass up on. He was only two days old and still in the hospital. We put him in the outfit that we were going to take him home in (a West Virginia University onesie). It was amazing how they took the pictures. Just put my pillows from my hospital bed to the foot of the bed, put a white bed sheet over them, and then placed Michael on it and started snapping away. The photography studio that took the pictures, posted them on Mom365.com so that we could share all the pictures with everyone. We placed our order the day after the pictures were taken and a few weeks later our pictures were in the mail. I will definitely do this with our next baby.
When I was home visiting my mom, I scheduled for Michael to get his three month pictures taken by one of my oldest friends who was working for PictureMe Portrait Studios (no longer open) in one of the local Walmarts. Had some adorable pictures taken. We even had a picture taken with him holding a football! I ordered a package deal that included a CD of all the pictures taken. Love those kind of packages - great way for everyone to see all the pictures taken.
Since Michael's six months ended up around Christmas, we decided to do our first family pictures to put in our cards and Christmas pictures of just him. I scheduled them to be taken at PictureMe Portrait Studios in my hometown since we we're in visiting. This time, Michael just loved the camera and it was extremely difficult to pick which ones to have printed out. We also got them all on a CD so even though they aren't printed out, we still have them digitally. Everyone loved them - my mother-in-law had a hard time choosing which ones she wanted, that she had me make her a photo book of all that she liked.
Michael was born at the perfect time, because nine months was around Easter. This time, we tried a photography studio (Portrait Innovations) near were we lived. I absolutely loved the place when we walked in and Michael seemed to as well. He was great and we got so many wonderful pictures. They had so many great props! I made my own package that included a CD of all the photos. One of the great things about Portrait Innovations is that they print your pictures right there and are ready for you within 30 minutes.
For his one year pictures, we went to Portrait Innovations here in town. We were lucky to have the same photographer and she did a great job, again! We didn't get nearly as many shots as before, but I think it was more because of the time of day they were being taken. I made a package that included a CD of all the photos.
With our next baby, I'm not sure if I would go the same route. It was very pricey and most of the pictures that we had printed out weren't the ones that some family members wanted. Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad that we had them done, just wish that it didn't cost as much as it did.
If I had a more professional camera, I would more than willingly take them. I've gotten some ideas on how to create a "studio" in your house and what kind of props that you could use (check out my Photography board on Pinterest).
Another way I might go about doing this with the next baby, is by searching on Facebook for local photographers. I have found that there are great photographers out there that are not charging the amounts that a studio charges. We had family pictures taken at a local park last year by a photographer that I had found just by going to our local Chick-fil-a family night. She was taking pictures of the event for them. When they were posted up on our local Chick-fil-a's Facebook page, I knew I wanted her to take our family pictures. I was not disappointed with her at all. They're one of my favorite family pictures so far. She did a wonderful job with editing the pictures and put them all on a CD for us. No actual pictures were printed - only a CD. Just the way I like it!
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| 2 days old. |
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| 3 months |
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| 6 months |
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| 9 months |
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| 1 year |
For his one year pictures, we went to Portrait Innovations here in town. We were lucky to have the same photographer and she did a great job, again! We didn't get nearly as many shots as before, but I think it was more because of the time of day they were being taken. I made a package that included a CD of all the photos.
With our next baby, I'm not sure if I would go the same route. It was very pricey and most of the pictures that we had printed out weren't the ones that some family members wanted. Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad that we had them done, just wish that it didn't cost as much as it did.
If I had a more professional camera, I would more than willingly take them. I've gotten some ideas on how to create a "studio" in your house and what kind of props that you could use (check out my Photography board on Pinterest).
Another way I might go about doing this with the next baby, is by searching on Facebook for local photographers. I have found that there are great photographers out there that are not charging the amounts that a studio charges. We had family pictures taken at a local park last year by a photographer that I had found just by going to our local Chick-fil-a family night. She was taking pictures of the event for them. When they were posted up on our local Chick-fil-a's Facebook page, I knew I wanted her to take our family pictures. I was not disappointed with her at all. They're one of my favorite family pictures so far. She did a wonderful job with editing the pictures and put them all on a CD for us. No actual pictures were printed - only a CD. Just the way I like it!
ABOUT AUTHOR
I'm a stay-at-home mom in the DC Metro Area who is always looking for new and exciting things to do with the family without breaking the bank. I write about kids, meal planning, DIY, crafts, holidays, recipes, and good old family fun. Follow me on this journey called life!
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