Utah Photographer

If you are a Beehive State resident, you know that family relationships are one of the most important aspects of day-to-day living in Utah: and in a state where large families are the norm, this can hardly be surprising! Every family has important milestones: births, graduations, reunions, weddings, anniversaries- that it wants to remember for years and even generations to come. Even those in-between events such as having periodic or yearly family portraits taken are important. These are times when amateur photography simply won't do. When it comes to choosing professional Utah family photography, here are three things to look for.

 

1. Experience

 

No doubt about it: experience matters when it comes to professional Utah photography and Utah wedding photography in particular. The more experience a photographer has, the more familiar he will be with all of the best or even unusual settings for portraiture. He will know how to make the most of natural light in all seasons, and use the mountains to best advantage for outdoor shots. In addition to understanding the ins and outs of Utah-specific photography, an experienced photographer will have the artistic know-how to capture more subtle moments in every single context and freeze that moment into an intimate pictorial memory.

 

2. Passion

 

A really excellent Utah photographer will have a passion for his art. Taking pictures is not just a job: it's an opportunity to help families safeguard their precious memories. He will listen closely to your wants and needs, then use his talents to capture exactly what you're looking for. He will understand that he is not just capturing moments in time: he is creating valuable heirlooms, and he will be passionate about doing his very best during each and every photography session.

 

3. Extensive and Varied Portfolio

 

Every Utah photography artist will have a different aesthetic and a different sense of style: does it match your own? If you just pick a name at random out of Yellow Pages directory or Google search, you have no way of knowing if the photographer's tastes will match your own. The best Utah photographers will each maintain an excellent, easily-navigable website that will display an extensive and varied portfolio for potential clients to look over.

 

 There should be sections for engagements and weddings, family portraits, teens and seniors, infants and children, and many more. Take the time to look over these portfolios and decide if you like what you see. Does he pay attention to the right details? Does he do heirloom-quality work? The photographer should also offer a variety of different looks: color, black and white, sepia; along with a wide spectrum of different cuts and finishes to suit customers' needs and tastes. It's a gut decision, really. After a few minutes perusing a website, you should be able to determine if the photographer's style is compatible with your own.

 

There really are differences among photographers in Utah, so take the time to carefully research possible candidates and thereby make a wise choice: after all, you only have one chance to effectively capture that once-in-a-lifetime event.

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Categories: Utah Family Photography | Utah Photographer | Utah Photography | Utah Photography Locations

I love holding sessions in the mountains in Utah.  Here are some of the families I have had the privilege to photograph in the beautiful mountains across the Wasatch Front recently.

I held a session with the Wood Family with their beautiful little boy, Sam, up Big Cottonwood Canyon. 

 

 

I love family portraits with paths.

Sam was a trooper in the cold mountain air!

  

Of course, he had his Halloween costume to keep him warm.

I then got to spend some time with the Williams family near East Canyon, Utah.  It was windy but we still had a blast.

 

We hit a few remote locations.  And really enjoyed the drive. 

 

I then enjoyed some time in Little Cottonwood Canyon with a couple different families.  Again, I know I am giving away yet another answer to my contest, but that's okay!

The Ferguson Family fist enjoyed the rocks!

  

And again, more paths!

I really liked this session with the Watson Family! Can you believe that they are avid St. Louis Cardinals fans and they were missing the final playoff game to take pictures in Utah?

 

It turned out to be worth it, since the Cardinals lost.  Hey, there's always next year!  At least they had a good time taking family portraits in the beautiful scenery.

 

The Walker Family liked the Utah mountain air as well for their family portraits.  Imagine that, a path. 

 

I could go on, but I'll end with this cute little father daughter combination.  Family pictures come in all sizes and these two were definately a cute family!

  

I'm not ready for the Utah snow just yet.  There will be plenty of time for that later.  I want to squeeze a couple more weeks out of this Wasatch fall while we can.

Tags: fall family portraits, family pictures in the utah mountains, photographer utah, photography locations, photography utah
Categories: General | Utah Family Photography | Utah Photographer | Utah Photography | Utah Photography Locations

Utah photographers love the Fall.  I'm no exception.  In fact I think it is my favorite time of the year.  School pictures, graduating Senior portraits and, of course, all the fall family portraits.  The canyons surrounding the valley provide so many options.  I frequently love to hold fall portrait sessions in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, East Canyon and in the Oquirrh Mountains.  By mid October, however, many places right here in the valley begin to pop with color.  This week I was lucky to spend some time at Wheeler Farm, right here in the valley, with an adorable family, the Baileys.

 

By mid October the leaves are just beginning to fall here in the valley. This is wonderful for fall family pictures. The browns begin to dominate, but hints of red and yellow still remain.

 

I like Wheeler Farm for the variety of colors, textures, and props like in the family portrait below.

There are no shortages of wagon wheels at Wheeler Farm.  Ooops!  I just gave away the answer to one of the locations in my current contest.

 

 This little guy, Ayden, was so cute and full of life.  It was so fun to work with him. I thouroughly enjoy the opportunity to work with children.  Click here to see a gallery of childrens photography portraits. 

Just look how active and curious he was.

    

 

BTW, another tip for photographing children outdoors that I left out of my other post....put children on rocks.  It keeps them in one place and makes it more difficult for them to run away!

As he explored animals, treehouses and terrain, his curiosity made me think of this saying from Albert Einstein...

 

 

Tags: fall family portraits, utah photography locations
Categories: Children Photography | General | Utah Family Photography | Utah Photographer | Utah Photography | Utah Photography Locations

One thing Utah is known for is lots of children. As a Utah photographer, working to get a priceless image of a child can be very rewarding. When a child is uncooperative, it can bring frustration. Some of the most rewarding moments are when you have awkward, hyper, cranky or otherwise difficult children and you end up with a precious image that amazes the parents of the children. I am often asked how to get a good image of a challenging child (or group of children). Here are a dozen thoughts to keep in mind for the photographer working with kids, especially challenging toddlers:

1. Help the child feel comfortable.Utah has such a wide range of temperatures from 100+ temperatures in the summer to below freezing winters. Keep temperatures appropriate. Cool in the summer. Warm in the winter, even warmer when working with infants.
2. Avoid telling the child no. Giving the children freedom to roam around, touch things in the studio, climb on chairs or hold their toy, keeps them in a good mood and prolongs the window of opportunity. Parents often get nervous when their toddler is curious and less than cooperative. Help the parents know you are comfortable with children who are less than ideal.
3. Remember there are a wide range of emotions and a smile is just one. Although most parents want the traditional smile and say "cheese" portrait, often it is the candid image that best captures the child's personality or that connects with those viewing the portrait.
4. Bribe them with candy or other appropriate snacks that the parents approve of. Talk to the Mom before to make sure she is ok with candy. Have other snacks for those who don't allow sugar. Don't give them the candy until they are done with the shot. At times you may use a small candy to create a focus point by placing it in a location you want all of the children to look, like in a book, flower pot, or on the camera.
5. Get down on the kids level. Kneel, and be eye to eye with them.
6. Use stickers. I often place the sticker on the lens hood, out of the way of the lens, this gets the kids looking where you want them. Try to only give them the sticker once they have finished their session.
7. Do your best to keep parents out of the way. Parents in Utah want to help. They will stand to the side and call their child's name out, yelling to them to "smile". This usually only makes the child look toward the parent. If the parent insists on helping, ask them to be directly behind the camera. Sometimes it is good to have the parent leave the line of site of the child altogether.
8. Engage with the child. Tell stories, and use silliness appropriately. Ask them questions. Many photographers think they need to have dozens of gimmicks to get the child to smile. Often, if you can connect with the child, your own eye contact and smile work better than the most creative gimmicks.
9. When photographing groups of children, get the older ones set first, bring in the restless movers and the infants last.
10. Don't push it. If you got the shot-move on. With digital cameras these days, people often overshoot because it is so easy to just delete the image. There is usually only a limited window of time that the child will focus. Usually this is 2 minutes on the short side and 20 minutes at the most. Know when to say when.
11. Focus on the eyes. If the child squints when you make them smile then get their attention and shoot the shot either right before or right after the smile's peak. This usually allows the eyes to open up more. Portraits with peaceful smiles (or no smiles at all) often have the most engaging eyes.
12. Remember: Patience, Patience, Patience

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: utah photographer, utah photography, family photography
Categories: Children Photography | General | Utah Photographer | Utah Photography | Utah Family Photography