Category Archives: Photography

All About Cotillion

You may have heard of cotillion but wondered what it entails. It came to America around 1772 and is alive and well today.

We photograph our local Cotillion spring balls each year. There are seven balls with approximately 130 participants at each ball over the course of two days. The balls are the culmination of a six week course where students are taught how to be respectful, polite members of their communities.  It’s about looking someone in the eye when you speak to them, holding the door for the person walking in behind you, and asking someone who’s standing alone at a party to dance.

The word cotillion was first used in 18th-century France and England to describe a dance choreographed for four couples at a ball. Today, cotillion is typically a season of etiquette classes for middle-school-aged children that ends with a final dinner dance where they get to show off what they’ve learned.

Most of the attendees are around twelve years old in our area. They learn the waltz, fox trot, cha cha and other ballroom dances. They also learn how to greet others with a handshake and a proper “hello.” Table etiquette is another subject covered in the course. Using good manners is a continuous theme throughout Cotillion.

The first rule of cotillion etiquette is to abide by the dress code of your local cotillion class. The dress code usually requires a dress and gloves for girls and jackets ties for boys each week. Boys must have their hair combed, shoes polished, and fingernails clipped. Chewing gum at cotillion is a cardinal sin.

Check out this link https://nljc.com/ to find out more about Cotillion in your area.

The formal pics below are a sample of those that were taken by Kurt Nelson, Innovative Images, during the recent Dallas area Cotillion Balls.

Skin Tone and Color Selection for Headshots

Are you contemplating what color(s) you should wear for your headshot session? You are not alone! One of the most time-consuming parts of preparing to be photographed is deciding on the outfit you want to be wear. Below, we have outlined how to get started with the most important part: choosing your colors.

First of all, check with your company to make sure they don’t require a certain color. It is wise to select something that will look great with your company logo. For instance, if your company is red and navy, a poor choice for your clothing is pink because it will clash. In addition, you may want to identify which skin tone category you fall into — warm, neutral, or cool.

First, take this quiz!

Then, do the vein test!  Check the veins around your wrist & palm:

  • If they appear greenish, you have warm tones
  • If they appear blue or purplish, you have cool tones
  • If they appear colorless or match the skin, you have neutral tones

Also, you can determine your skin tone by recalling the way your skin reacts to the sun:

  • If you tan easily, you have warm tones
  • If you are able to tan or burn, you have neutral tones
  • If you burn easily, you have cool tones

Complementary Colors for Warm Skin Tones

Orange, Honey, Amber, Gold, Olive, Turquoise, Cream

Avoid vibrant tones like Deep Red and Indigo. Some of these colors are quite harsh for headshot photography (bright orange) but  could look great under a jacket as a camisole for women or in a tie for men. Do not confuse the turquoise for royal blue!

Complementary Colors for Neutral Skin Tones

Light and soft colors like Rose, Jade, Gray, Sky Blue

Avoid Neons, Yellows, and Reds.

I see the above color choices as a secondary color selection under a jacket, etc. Gray is ALWAYS a better choice that white as the secondary selection. AVOID WHITE no matter what your skin tone is!

Complementary Colors for Cool Skin Tones

Emerald, Ocean Blue, Purple, Lavender, Cherry Red

Avoid Orange and Yellow. Who would want those colors anyway in a professional headshot?

Evoto

What Should I Wear for my Headshot Session?

What should I wear for my headshots?

Bring a few options to your photo shoot. We will take a look at them and help decide what will look best.

  • Always bring clothes that match your style and personality and make you feel and look professional.
  • Stay away from clothes with busy patterns. Solid colors are best. No logos. No stripes!
  • Try to stay away from black and white. If you are a person who relies heavily on black, think about branching out to some colors that flatter your natural coloring. White is one of the worst colors you can choose.
  • Any color is great for tops, but remember that very bright colors like lime green can draw away from your face, so pick something slightly more subdued. There are even colors of clothing that are so bright that a camera has trouble reproducing them and they look completely different in the final image.
  • Bring an undershirt or camisole if you are shooting in multiple outfits. It saves time to be able to change tops quickly in the studio for more headshot looks. For men, wear an undershirt with a v-neck if possible as it is less likely to show up in the photos that way.
  • In a headshot session, your lower half will not likely make it into the photos, but make sure that whatever bottoms you have are clean, pressed and match your tops. You never know what we might be able to get out of your session. If you are wearing a suit, be sure to bring the pants. In addition, more than one choice of tie would be helpful.
  • Undergarments. Make sure to include the right undergarments for the tops you bring. You might be disappointed if you bring that super cute tank top or strapless dress but you forgot a strapless bra however, WE DO NOT RECOMMEND SLEEVELESS OR STRAPLESS CLOTHING FOR MOST HEADSHOTS!
  • Make sure any clothes that you bring are clean and neatly pressed. This goes double for collared shirts and suits. Smoothing wrinkles can create a major problem in the retouching process.
  • If you want to bring jewelry, make sure that it matches. Gold earrings don’t look great with a silver necklace, etc. Bring some options that you love but keep in mind that a headshot is about your face. For entertainment, unless you are shooting specific character shots, keep jewelry to a minimum. Simple studs or hoops and simple necklaces are fine, but nothing that will take away from your expression.
  • Before you head out the door, make sure to grab a unique article of clothing or two. Do you have some cool fedoras? What about a really great leather jacket or a scarf you love? You never know what might come out of a shoot so grab that item and bring it with you. Do you play guitar? Golf? Do you kick-box or collect swords? Bring something that’s unique to you and we might just be able to fit it in to the session and create something really cool.

We are also more than happy to communicate with you about the clothes you are planning to bring. You can text us pictures of your ideas before you arrive and we will give you advice, 972-335-3686. 

Hudson

Hudson is a 2024 Senior at McKinney Boyd. He is a two sport athlete, playing both basketball and baseball for the Broncos. The highlight of his high school years have been reaching the playoffs in both sports.

Hudson has unbelievable blue eyes that absolutely shine in his photos. He is very tall and you might be surprised to know that he wears a size 16 shoe!

We love photographing Hudson and have no doubt that his future is very bright.

Daylin

Sometimes during a photo session we realize that the subject is truly “PHOTOGENIC.” Daylin was a complete natural in front of the camera and could pull off both fun and dramatic looks. Take a look at some of my favorites! There are so MANY more amazing pics of her – too many to share! A good portion of these were taken at our home studio in McKinney, TX in the month of June.

This is Us

Every year around Christmas, we do family portraits to put on our cards. This was a weird year and we waited too long to get our grown kids together, so we did our own thing and had a blast doing it.

We fretted about what to do. It was Tana’s spur of the moment idea to capture our love of golf and photography by doing a nostalgic golf session. Believe it or not, we already had the clothes in our closet to pull this off. We went across the street to the Stonebridge Golf Course at 8:00 AM to pull this off. No one was with us. Armed with a self timer and awareness of what we wanted the results to look like, we embarked upon taking these photos. We had so much fun together and loved the results. Not only did we do our Christmas cards with these photos, we printed a cool portrait and collage for our home so we can enjoy them year round. Here’s to 2023 and teeing up lots more joy! Kurt & Tana

Karsen, Senior 2022

Personality +++++ describes Karsen perfectly! I asked her to tell me about her style and she said, “New York high fashion.” I love it!

Her goal after high school is to become a “Big Hollywood actress.” I can envision it easily. She is charming, kind and ambitious. It was a blast photographing her and seeing the many looks she has.

Her inspirations are Marilyn Monroe, Margot Robbie and Judy Garland. Her favorite movie is “Starwars Empire Strikes Back.” I can see her starring in this type of movie!

Karsen enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping and riding the jet ski at the lake.

Her sweet side!

We hope your dreams come true!!!!

Nicole, Senior 2021

Nicole was one of the first of the Class of 2021 that we photographed this year. If the experience for both her and us is any indication of what’s in store for the year, things are going to be absolutely amazing. Nicole seems like an “old soul” with an outgoing, compassionate and tenacious spirit. She was absolutely a delight to work with and we are in love with her casual, beautiful results. Check out a few pics from her session…..

Nicole’s future plans are to attend college, obtain a Master’s in athletic training and Doctorate in physical therapy. Her ultimate goal is to become a trainer/physical therapist in the NFL.

It hasn’t been easy going into a senior year with a pandemic and uncertainty everywhere but Nicole says that the whole experience has “Taught me to look at the positives in a bad situation.”

Good Luck Nicole. You make the future seem as though we are all in good hands!

Senior Model 2020 – Haley

Haley certainly lights up the camera! She is a beautiful, mature girl who is passionate, caring and kind. More than anyone else in the world, she is inspired by her parents because they are “great people!” Her parents have raised an awesome young women with a bright future ahead. She is undecided on her career path but has chosen to attend The University of Oklahoma next fall. She is going to love cheering on the Sooners and settling into her new life in Norman.

Haley’s favorite thing to do is spend time with her friends and family AND her fur babies which include her lab Boomer, and chihuahua Emma. She also has two rag doll cats named Max and Juliet. Haley also has a job at a local restaurant AND is president of the student council at school.

A bible verse that Haley loves is “Let all you do be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

We loved photographing and getting to know Haley……Boomer Sooner!

Senior Model 2020 – Kierstin

I’ve been photographing Kierstin and her sisters for a VERY long time. It has been fun watching them grow into beautiful young women. She is the FIRST of the girls to be a senior and is certainly setting the bar high!

Kierstin has two dogs named Baylor and Raider. The names come from her parents’ alma maters – Baylor (Dad) and Texas Tech (Mom). Maybe one day she will have a dog of her own and name it “Cowboy” because her future plans are to attend either Texas Tech or Oklahoma State and major in public relations/marketing/advertising.

“Start each day with a grateful heart.” Those words inspire Kierstin.

Kierstin is a ray of sunshine and she loves murals so the pic above is so PERFECT! She also loves music by Harry Styles and working at Bahama Bucks where she is a shift lead.

Good Luck Kierstin!