Many clients want/need one awesome professional image but sometimes our clients want many looks and a variety of posing so they can purchase multiple images.
We love creating lifestyle portraits in a single session for professionals. Normally, these “Lifestyle Sessions” are done on location but we can certainly do them inside our studio location. Clients tend to do a clothing change and we shoot from multiple angles/locations both close up and full length so that the results may be used in various ways.
A “Lifestyle Portrait Session” takes a bit of planning and we would love to help you accomplish your professional goals and have fun doing it! Call Kurt to discuss yours @ 972-335-3686.
For the past twenty years or so, most families desire their family portraits to be taken outdoors in nature for a natural, casual style that look great on display on the walls of their homes. We agree that this is a stunning look that will be popular forever.
In the 70’s, 80’s and before, families went to their local photography studio similar to Olan Mills, and did their family portraits inside a studio on a painted background. Most families dressed in their “Sunday best” with no regard for blending with one another. It’s easy to spot one of these portraits and often they are pretty funny. I’m sure you have some of these gems in your attic or on the walls at Grandma’s house.
Today, there is a healthy blend of many types of family portrait locations both indoors and outdoors. There are some indoor studio family portraits (although these are few and far between because there aren’t many photo studios with adequate space and photographers who understand indoor lighting.) We still do this type of photography and the results can be absolutely stunning. Another style of indoor family portraits is the location session inside the client’s home. This can be a wonderful idea because it documents the family’s life inside their own setting therefore the results looks incredible on display in gorgeous family portraits on their walls. Another advantage is there is no weather to deal with so hair and light is always great. Many clients have said there is no good spot in their home. Some are surprised to see that an experienced photographer can look for angles and areas that photography beautifully!
We absolutely love outdoor photos but indoor family portraits have their advantages. If it’s time for your next family portrait and you want to do something different this time, we suggest an indoor session. Take a look at this recent session at the client’s home. We love the windows providing exquisite lighting and the clothing which blends with their decor.
LIGHTEN UP. Avoid going too dark in your foundation shade. Have your shade professionally matched to your skin tone as close to the day of your shoot as possible. This really matters!
MATTE IS A MUST. Especially for your cheeks, stay away from shimmery powder, no exceptions. For eyelids, keep shimmer strictly to the lids.
PRIMARY FOCUS. Primer is essential for keeping makeup intact! It’s like the base coat of a nail manicure. Oil-free versions are best and also sensitive skin-friendly.
SAY NO TO SPF. Primer and foundation should be SPF-free. Formulas containing sunscreen cast a ghostlike glow with the camera flash or reflector.
LINE UP. When lining eyelids, start in the center and work your way to the outer edge. Lining the entire lid will cause the eyes to appear smaller. Use a slanted brush with a dark (but not black) shadow to line the lower lids.
MORE IS MORE. Camera lighting will wash out colors, no matter what. Don’t be scared off by a dramatic finished look. It won’t photograph that way unless you have gone overboard. Your makeup should be a bit more intense than your every day look. Please avoid too much eyebrow pencil but do fill in your brows for a natural look. Eyebrows frame your face so a delicate balance it absolutely critical.
BLEND, BLEND, BLEND. When it comes to concealer, cheek contouring and eye shadow, a quality set of brushes is key. The camera will highlight and pick up on unblended edges, creating a clow-like look. Unblended concealer will highlight fine lines.
MELLOW YELLOW. To set makeup, choose a yellow based powder rather than a translucent powder Much like SPF formulas, translucent powders cast a white glow when photographed.
AU NATURALE. Always have makeup applied in a natural light. This will be the best indicator of how it will look when photographed. Please wear a little make up even if you do not normally do so because a totally natural look can really make you look washed out in photos. We love natural looks, but a little lip color, cheek color, brow pencil, and mascara will go a LONG way!
10. SAY NO TO SPIDER LASHES. The worst mistake that people make is wearing long, fake, thick eyelashes. Your eyes will disappear in the shadows of the spider like lashes. If you are dead set about falsies, keep them shorter and less thick than normal. I promise you..eyelashes can ruin portraits and no amount of retouching can repair the damage. I wish I could post some of my clients who have made this tragic mistake but I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone. Too much mascara can have the same negative effect. Mascara is great but do not apply it over and over making the lashes stick together and look clumpy.
11. USE COLOR HARMONY. Think about what you are wearing and select lip and cheek colors that blend with your clothing. A complementary nail color is essential too. For example, if you wear pink, do not use coral shades for lips, nails, etc. If you are someone who doesn’t like pink on your lips, you should avoid pink clothing too. It’s probably not your best look!
11. PRACTICE RUN. Don’t let the day of your photo shoot be the first time to try new products. Trial runs are essential to creating the perfect final look!
Senior photo shoots at Innovative Images start with a decision regarding what type of session a person desires. We base our sessions on how much time and travel needed to achieve a client’s goals. We offer a 1 1/2 hour session which normally allows for three clothing changes and no locations other than our studio setting which includes indoor and outdoor areas. The session fee is $100. and must be paid in advance to schedule a date/time. We also offer a 2 hour session which allows for another clothing change and a location within a few miles of our studio, if desired. This session fee is $150. Our final offering is a 2 1/2 hour session which includes 4-6 clothing changes, studio areas and locations. See the link at the bottom of this posting for online booking.
During the session, Kurt will help determine what a client should wear and the best background for the outfit. We do have a dressing room where clients can place their clothing and freshen up between changes. If multiple clothing options are being used on location, we find a place to change or use our vehicles. It always works out! Kurt does all sorts of poses in each clothing choice allowing for lots of creativity and options. He will do close ups, full length, smiling, serious looks, etc. Clients love the way he takes charge and helps them look their very best.
Depending upon the session, you will see between 50-100 images at the order appointment which is typically 2-3 days after the session. Prior to arrival at the order appointment, Kurt will review the pics and narrow the choices down to the best ones so clients will not be overwhelmed. He will delete those in which eyes are closed, etc. In addition, Kurt picks his very favorite images and does a little retouching so clients can see what the end results will be.
Check out these photos of a Super Safari session done in February, 2024. You would never guess it was in the middle of winter! Part of this photoshoot was at Adriatica Village in McKinney and the others were done at our home studio.
Back in the 70’s and 80’s, almost every professional family photo was taken indoors. Popular portrait studios like Olan Mills and JC Penney had a corner on the market. There were many individually owned brick and mortar photo studios too. At that time, the photographer had to have an understanding of lighting and posing in order to be successful. Many photographers had their own darkroom for film processing. Retouching was possible, but it was a process! Most of the time, the photographer would send his/her film to a professional lab for retouching specifics. It was a lengthy process but the results could be absolutely stunning when it was done correctly.
We opened Innovative Images in 1992. We did all of the things detailed above, but we were young and open to change. We started using Photoshop from the very beginning and it was definitely rogue. We remember the very first time we saw a digital camera at a professional conference. It was incredibly expensive and the results were VERY POOR. We knew the digital technology wasn’t up to our standards, but we watched as things progressed rather rapidly. We ended up buying our first digital camera a few years later and used it specifically for business headshots because the images were not good unless they were very small. In 1998, we rented a very expensive digital camera to use for a family portrait session of a high profile celebrity. The client ended up ordering beautiful, large wall portraits from indoor images we created and our journey into digital photography was off and running.
Never could we have imagined the introduction of the cell phone camera. This invention allowed everyone to have a digital camera on them all the time. Many people decided they no longer needed professional photographers or printed photos. Family photos shifted to almost exclusively outdoor settings and the lines of what constituted a professional photographer became blurred. Today, digital cameras are everywhere and many “pros” actually use a cell phone during their sessions. Believe us when we say that there is a difference in the output of digital cameras but mostly the difference in high quality work is still the result of a high degree of understanding in lighting, posing, and retouching.
Our goal is to provide a true professional experience and unbelievable results. We are always learning and growing within the profession and we hope to continue creating gorgeous, meaningful family photography no matter what changes in the world of photography occur. While we love outdoor family portrait sessions, we do offer indoor sessions and the results can be stunning and dramatic when done right. In fact, there seems to be a resurgence of good, quality indoor photography reminiscent of what was produced 50 years ago but better. In addition, clients are loving beautifully done printed, tangible portraits instead of bunch of digital images that get lost and unappreciated. More on that in a future blog post!
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.
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.
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
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.
Meet McKinney Christian senior, Hudson Cross. We have known Hudson since he was a toddler and it was a treat to do his senior portraits. He is the perfect handsome blend of his Mom and Dad and is the youngest of three boys in the Cross family.
Hudson is a one of our SENIOR MODELS this year and he did an absolute great job during his session. He can pull off both the perfect smile and a serious looks alike.
I love Hudson’s style!! He looks awesome in his suit and shoes!!!! WOW!
Hudson loves sports and you can find him playing golf in his spare time. He also loves dogs especially his 13 year old Springer Spaniel, Tex, and his 9 year old Lab. He plans to buy an English Bulldog in the future.
An inspirational scripture that Hudson leans on is, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
When God is for you, who can be against? GO HUDSON!!!
