St. Louis Family Photography: Reis and Family

Sara and Andrew (see their Lafayette Square maternity photo session if you don't remember them) had their baby on June 23. They decided to not name him "Angus" after all; instead, they chose Reis.

As a gift to Reis's grandmother, they asked me to shoot a family session at Tower Grove Park earlier this month when she and Reis's cousins were all in St. Louis visiting. We had a blast!

St. Louis Baby Photography: Baby Elliott

Ian and Gabi, Elliott's parents, asked if they could reserve me for a baby photography session with their three month old while they were in St. Louis visiting family. Ian and Gabi moved to California from St. Louis when they heard there was gold out West, then they had Elliott, and now they've gotten quite comfortable with the high cost of living and constant tremors in the state voted Most Likely to Fall Into the Ocean. I keep telling them they can move back immediately without incurring any shame, but so far I think my comments are being ignored.

Anyway, Elliott had some fantastic expressions during our brief visit together at Laumeier Sculpture Park:

It looks like we wore Elliott out!

It was great seeing you (and meeting Elliott), and we hope you make it back soon - permanently. In the meantime, feel free to market my services to the other gold miners!

St. Louis Newborn Photography: Baby Charlie

Megan and Rob contacted me about a newborn photography session of their baby, Charlie. He's brand new! Take a look:

While in utero, Megan and Rob called Charlie "Glo Worm". Appropriately, he has a Glo Worm stuffed animal to play with:

There were some dicey moments during our session...

...but Charlie quickly recovered with help from Mom and Dad:

Megan and Rob requested some shots of Charlie with his furry siblings:

Thanks again to Megan and Rob for having us out, and I hope I get to come back and take more pictures as Charlie grows up!

St. Louis Newborn Photography of Baby Marchesa

Megan and Ryan contacted me looking for a newborn photographer in St. Louis to take pictures of their baby, Marchesa. They wanted organic shots rather than staged ones. I pictured that when I arrived (I tend to envision the scene, setting, or circumstances ahead of time - that's my mental preparation for the job), the baby would be sleepy and really cooperative.

I'd capture that cute sleeping baby look that everyone loves, right?

I got to capture the cute, wide awake look instead!

Even though she was squirming all over, I got some adorable shots of her little baby toes, expressions, and interactions with Mom and Dad.

Here are some of the funnier shots from the newborn session:

Congrats to Megan and Ryan on their new arrival!

3 Quick Tips to Help You Take Better Photos Today

People constantly ask me what they can do to take better photos. While it's true that you will be able to be more creative with a good DSLR and wide-aperture lenses, neither of those are required to improve the quality of your photos today. With your current camera - whether it's a vintage Holga or a brand new Canon EOS 5D Mark 2 - using these three tips will dramatically improve your photos.

I'm going to use edible subjects to illustrate these tips; you can click on each photo to go to its individual recipe from my wife's wonderful blog of cupcake recipes.

1) Take advantage of light.

You need light to take pictures (that's what your film or camera sensor records, after all), so give some thought to the kind and quality of light you want to use. While direct flash tends to yield harsh, unnatural shadows, the sun at noon is equally harsh and unpleasant. The best conditions for shooting with natural light occur late or early in the day or on overcast days when shadows are soft. If you want to be more creative, think about how light should fall on your subjects and make that happen with lamps, reflections from turkey roasting pans, or any other do-it-yourself solution.

The glass of almond custard seen on the right is lit from the upper left of the frame by bouncing a flash unit off the ceiling.

2) Don't center your subject.

It may be tempting to press the shutter button as soon as you have your target in the middle of the frame, but more often than not, that will yield a photo that's uninteresting and lacking context. Why is your son's head right in the middle, and what's going on above him? Try taking a photo with your kids playing on one side and all of their toys strewn about on the other. Stand back and capture the whole room as Aunt Helga walks through the door to her surprise party. Putting your subject(s) elsewhere in the frame can create tension and release and set the mood for a photo (see the Wikipedia article on the rule of thirds for some good starting points).

I decided that moving the delicious chocolate cupcake pictured here to the left side of the frame would create some good negative space on the right, which helps to draw the viewer to the dessert.

3) Focus and recompose.

If you plan on using the tip above, recomposing your shot should become part of how you shoot. Assuming that your camera is set to focus on the center of the frame, don't press the shutter all the way as soon as it registers focus. Instead, press the shutter halfway to lock focus, keep it held there, and pivot the camera to give you the composition you want; the camera should remember the focal distance as long as you keep the shutter held halfway. When you have the composition you want, finish pressing the shutter completely to take the picture.

I focused on the orange cupcake itself, then pivoted the camera to the right to include the fork and some more atmosphere.

Did you find these tips helpful? Do you want to see more? Please let me know in the comments!

You Don't Need a Studio To Take Great Family Portraits

Professional studio photographers can produce great results due to the control that they have over lighting and backgrounds. The downsides of going to a studio for children's photos are that you have to dress your family, get them loaded into a car, drive, unload, and then pretend to look natural instead of frazzled. Good luck doing this if you have cranky kids or babies with acid reflux:

I don't have a studio. Instead, I operate on your schedule and come to your house with my camera and lighting equipment. We'll use blankets, pillows, objects, and surroundings that look, feel, and smell familiar to your children.

Thanks to Meagan and Jamey for having me out to photograph your wonderful family! Here are a few of my favorites: