I LOVE FALL! I LOVE HALLOWEEN! As September and October inched closer and closer, I could not get those two things off my mind and I had a gazillion ideas running through my mind about a fall and/or Halloween photography mini-sessions! I researched and I brainstormed for weeks. Finally, it hit me like a ton of bricks - I should have a Fall/Halloween mini-session in three towns over a weekend in limited quantities.

Now that I had a plan, I still had a lot of preparation in putting it all together. I had to find a "set-up." I envisioned hay bales, mums, pumpkins, possibly a scarecrow and maybe a few other items...and LEAVES! Leaves are a must if you are going to have a fall mini-session, even if you live in Central Texas! I climbed into the attic and scoured through the storage shed to see what decorations we had. I made a list of items that I needed and went shopping.

The set-up was complete after a quick shopping trip. I think it actually took me longer to dig through what I already had at the house! Next, I needed to put together a flyer, but before I could do that I needed to find two models. Typically I just use my own kids for these things, but they just don't give me the excitement anymore for some reason. I thought and thought about who I could use and then I had another revelation! I could do a model call to find some terrific models with fresh faces that would actually be excited to be in front of the camera!

The ad I used to find my two terrific models.

I posted this ad in two places. I posted it on my business Facebook page and I also posted it in the Limestone County Sway N Shop Facebook page. I received several inquiries and was only going to take the first two children that met the requirements. The children had to be a certain age. I wanted kids between the ages of 3 and 6, as they are generally able to concentrate for the amount of time I needed them to and they are just plain fun to work with. Another requirement was that they had to be able to have a cute costume by mid-September for the modeling session. The final requirement was a signed model contract and a $25 deposit to secure the modeling session that would be returned to the parents in the form as a credit to use towards prints from the session.

The first two models that met all three of these requirements were....Miss Dani and Miss Genesis!

Miss Dani's modeling session was first! She bounced out of the car and was so excited to have her picture taken (or at least I'd like to think that was why she was so excited). She had the cutest curls in her hair with a gorgeous blue princess dress. She was the blue Cinderella :) She cooperated so well and did everything I asked. You can tell that she felt so incredibly beautiful in that adorable dress.

Dani also brought a candy corn dress to wear for some of her photos. This dress was way adorable! It came with a necklace and head band that coordinated with the dress. Again, you could tell that Dani felt so beautiful wearing that dress!

Dani feeling pretty in her candy corn dress!

The second model was MIss Genesis and she arrived just as excited as Dani. She hopped out of the vehicle wearing an adorable cheetah costume complete with beautiful curls and whiskers painted on her face! Genesis also cooperated so well and did everything that was asked of her. She looked so stunning in her costume and again, you could tell that she felt like the cutest little cheetah EVER!

During the session with Genesis she posed a variety of ways and we were able to get some great shots. When I began looking at the images on my computer one photo in particular caught my attention. It was an ordinary image of a beautiful girl standing on a bale of hay in the park. The more I looked at it, I realized that it would make a beautiful creative image for fall. I decided to turn it into one of my Signature Edits.

Photography is my passion...like cake :) Signature Edits are like my cake with a TON of frosting! I start with a beautiful image that for whatever reason makes me wonder, "I wonder what this would look like with..." I start putting the vision together piece by piece. Signature Edits take a great deal of patience and time to put together. It is not uncommon to spend over two hours working on a Signature Edit.

With the help of these two terrific models and their parents, I was able to put together an ad that I love to advertise our upcoming Fall/Halloween mini-sessions. I pre-released the details to my newsletter subscribers for early bookings. I have limited sessions - 3 in Buffalo, 3 in Groesbeck, and 6 in Waco during the weekend of October 17th and 18th. Due to the pre-release, 3 of the sessions are already booked so far! The public release of the mini-session will be October 1st.

I have recently fallen in love with creative photography! Creative photography can be defined as many things. It can be as simple as just being creative with props, poses, and location, but it can also be a completely altered image. Simply put, it is defined as, "altered reality."

“Creative photography is an extension of conventional photography into creative art. Its purpose is to stimulate creative thoughts and encourage experimentation with new ideas going beyond a simple photograph.”

— http://www.ncp.org.au/creative.htm

I discovered creative photography by accident. I stumbled upon a Facebook group with some amazing artists! These artists assisted the members of the group by creating challenges. They would supply several images and we had to combine them as we envisioned.

I love all forms of photography! Capturing a moment in time is absolutely priceless to me. Creative photography allows you to add elements into an image which can make it more fun and playful (as above) or it can give extra meaning to an image which is otherwise impossible to capture.

A creative photograph that enhances an image to add emotion.  This little boy was sick and passed away.  He always wanted to climb a tree, but was unable to do so.  A member in the group mentioned above asked us to create a photograph… — A creative photograph that enhances an image to add emotion. This little boy was sick and passed away. He always wanted to climb a tree, but was unable to do so. A member in the group mentioned above asked us to create a photograph of the young boy climbing a tree. These photographs were impossible to capture, but have a lot of meaning for the family.

This summer I took advantage of my six children being home and had fun with creative photography! My younger girls were my models and the older kids helped with the setup, posing, and ideas. We turned our living room into a sea. We turned an ordinary sunset into a painting. And I currently have plans for the puffy clouds in a bright, blue sky! The possibilities are endless with creative photography!

The living room became a sea with boats!

An ordinary sunset became a canvas for the girls to paint the night sky!

From time to time I have "Imagination Mini-Sessions." I typically have two themed Imaginative Mini-Sessions per year which are specially priced and have a very limited availability. However, I am toying with the idea of adding a Christmas themed Imagination Mini-Session.

If you have a certain theme in mind, just let me know and I can put together something special for your family! The sky is the limit with creative photography!

A Tale of Two Terrific Models

My Niche - Creative Photography!