Wall Displays | Southern Maryland Family Child Photographer

So, you've invested a lot of time and money into your recent photo shoot with your family and you receive a custom made disk with your loving memories.  Now what?  Do you do what most people do and put the disk in storage and forget about them?  Maybe you share a few of the images on Facebook with friends and family.  But beyond that, what happens?  The images sit on the disk or USB drive and collect dust.  You think about the blank wall space you have above your couch but you have no idea how to fill it stylishly.  Or the walls in the nursery or hallway that desperately need to be decorated.  

Instead of filling your walls with decorations from Target or Pier 1 Imports that don't have any special meaning to your family, why not fill them with prints and canvas of the memories you captured during your photo shoot of your family!  By all means, I'm definitely not saying to fill every corner and inch of wall space from basement to bathrooms.  But strategically placed, well styled prints in frames and canvas prints of your family will not only fill your walls and add some style and pizazz, but they will also make your house feel more like home.

Take it from someone who has painted her walls 6 different times in the 4 years I've lived in my house...the thought of choosing prints and canvas can definitely be a daunting and scary experience.  And if I have any advice for someone seeking out prints and canvas for their home it would be to sit down with your photographer and speak about your options.  There are many different types of printed products, paper options, finishes, sizes, frames, and grouping options.  No wonder someone can look at a blank wall and get so frazzled that they decide it's much easier to leave it blank!  

Three canvas print grouping.  Large 20x30 canvas print, framed by 2 smaller 10x20 canvas prints.

  
When choosing canvas or prints for your home, trust your photographer when they say 'bigger IS better'! Because it really and truly is much, much better. Can you imagine a lonely little 8x10 print on this wall? Neither can I.

Choosing to frame prints is also a great option!  Large 20x24 print with 4" mat and 1.5" frame molding, with three smaller 5x7 prints in 1.5" mat with 1" frame molding.

My prices for canvas and professional prints are highly competitive. And the professional quality of the print is 100% guaranteed!

10 on 10 | Southern Maryland Lifestyle Photographer

So, there's this project called 10 on 10 that I've been seeing a lot of really talented photographers participating in and I thought I'd jump in on the fun.  I know today is the 12th and that 'technically' makes me two days late on this project, but that's ok!  But if there's a reason to capture more images of my family in addition to linking my images to other super talented photographers, then I'm doing it.  :) 

morning toes

the endless chore

waiting on the bus

lived in

fresh air

 caffeine boost

dry those tears

 giveaway!!

imagination

musical books

To complete the circle, click to view Susan Gray Photography's interpretation on the 10 on 10 project, now showing on her Facebook Fan Page.  :)

This is Our Life: This Makes Me Laugh | Southern Maryland Lifestyle Photographer

This week I've been working hard (with my little helper, of course) to try to get out from under this huge, growing, massive pile of laundry that seems to be never ending.  I usually take the baby into the laundry room with me, sit her down on the floor and begin sorting and loading and drying.  Once the washing machine is started and it fills up with water she'll usually start pawing at me and climbing up my legs.  She's actually deathly afraid of the washer.  But for some reason, this day was different.  

I sat her down, started another load and turned away to sort the rest of the laundry.  The next thing I know I turn to pick her up and find her with her face pressed against the machine watching the clothes tumbling around.  She was hopping up and down excitedly and since this was the first time she wasn't crying for me...I HAD to grab my camera.  

I laughed pretty good while I watched her being a little curious.  

This is Our Life - Project 52 | Southern Maryland Lifestyle Photographer

2012 brought along a ton of challenges.  But I'm happy to say that 2013 is here and I'm tired of looking behind me thinking of what I could have done better.  This year I've committed myself to participating in two 52 week projects.  One of them is a lifestyle project documenting our lives, as they are right in this moment.  This project is near and dear to my heart.  My family is growing and the years seem to slip past me way too fast.  So with the help from Paint the Moon Photography I'll be doing my best to make sure I capture something - at least once a week for a whole year.  

This past week's prompt was "nightly rituals".  This is my take...

 Bath time.

Use What You Have! | Southern Maryland Photographer

The holidays have come to a close.  The new year has just started.  And with that, people are probably running on tight budgets.  I know I am!  

If you're like me and would love to still take a variety of images of your kids and you don't want to spend any extra money on backdrops, then keep reading.  I hope that I can help offer up a few tips that inspire you to look everywhere for new ideas.  

Aside from being a photographer, I'm also a mom.  My husband has blessed me with the opportunity to stay home with our daughter while she's still young.  And these moments are fleeting!  I always have my camera within reach (even if it's my phone's camera) and looking for backdrops in my home that we already have on hand has become a necessity.  Here are a few examples of images I've taken of my children using items I had laying around.  

If you have blankets around your home that are special to you in some way, use them!  Choose fabrics that have texture to them.  Or use a patchwork quilt that has lots of color to add interest.  Here's a tip: when using a patchwork quilt, have your subject wear a solid color shirt so the patterns or colors aren't distracting.

In the image above I used my yoga mat!  This actually happened by total accident.  My daughter was playing with it and I just happened to notice that her shirt matched with the color of the mat.  Because my camera is always within reach, I snatched it up, rolled her on her back and started dancing around and making faces.  It turned out to be the perfect backdrop for this photo!  Not only does it offer a nice pop of color, but the mat has added texture. 

This is a holiday photo that I did of my daughter, inspired by my door wreath.  Yep!  That's a wreath that I purchased at Lowe's two years ago!  I took the wreath off of my front door, grabbed a furry rug that we had and I set her in in the wreath in front of a blank wall.  The lights you see as the background were added digitally in Photoshop.  I didn't even have to have a set of lights laying around!  You can find the digital lights at Modern Baby Photography's store.

This last image was taken using the same rug I used in the holiday photo, above.  And I did actually use a seamless paper backdrop for this.  However, something like this can EASILY be recreated using other items in your home.  Think of using a solid wall you have at home.  Do you have a solid colored sheet you can tape to a wall?  Use that!  (Make sure you iron it first though.  Editing out wrinkles are a PAIN!) 

Take a few minutes to look around your home and take note of what you've already got.  Be inspired to try new things!  Once you get bitten by the creativity bug, you might find that it's tough to see things the way you used to.  :)