Welcome to the Piper + Claire blog.
It’s been a little quiet here—but not behind the scenes.
This space is evolving into a place for guidance, insight, and everything you need to feel prepared for your session.
For recent work and imagery, visit Instagram or the portfolio.
MEet gina
There is no doubt that this is the busiest time of year. Days and nights fly by as we go to school Holiday programs, attend numerous holiday parties, shop for the perfect present, address and mail out Holiday Cards…the list could go on and on. While you’re making your to-do lists and checking them twice, you might find it’s easy to forget the little things that make this time of year so magical. That’s why I’ve put together a checklist (yes, another list) for capturing the details of this holiday season. Bust out your camera or smart phone. These are the things you’ll want to remember.
The Decorations
Decorating the Christmas Tree. Have your kids help put on the ornaments. Sure, they may put them all on the same branch, but that’s what will make this year’s Christmas tree special.
Stockings. If St. Nick stops by your house, take pictures of the stockings hung by the chimney with care – before the kids find them. Then take pictures of your kids discovering the goodies.
The Food
Baking Christmas Cookies. Focus on the little aprons. Mixing the all the ingredients while standing on tippy-toes. The frosting. The sprinkles. The mess. Then focus on your family enjoying the cookies. Or, putting together a plate of cookies for Santa. Delivering all those toys on one night really works up an appetite!
Christmas Dinner. It takes hours to prepare the feast, but only minutes to eat it. Photograph the chef(s) in action. Take pictures of the table before everyone sits down to eat. Capture the moments before the food coma sets in.
The Action.
Opening Presents. Get down on your kid’s level and enjoy their reactions as they rip off the wrapping paper and their eyes light up as they open up the new best-thing-ever!
Holiday Parties. Be a fly on the wall and capture friends and family interacting with each other. You’ll get natural smiles and genuine laughter vs. having them stop what they are doing to look at the camera and smile.
There is so much magic in the details. You’ll be glad you took the time capturing the details of this holiday season. Take a deep breath, exhale, and enjoy them.
Christmas is such a magical time of year. The anticipation of Santa Claus, baking numerous batches of Christmas cookies, driving around to look at all the lights, Elf on the Shelf… It’s a time of year full of traditions. Maybe it’s time to add a new tradition into the mix – taking pictures of your kids by the Christmas tree! Add a little sparkle while seeing how much they’ve grown year after year. It’s a little trickier than it seems, so here are a few tips on how to take pictures by the Christmas Tree.
Your tree is trimmed and it’s gorgeous. It’s the perfect “backdrop.” But, before you bring your kids into the room, take a few practice shots to make sure the settings on your camera are correct. It’s a perfect time to move a couch or coffee table out of the way, too. These may seem like pretty minor things to pay attention to, but they are major details. The window of opportunity is pretty small with little ones and pictures, so it’s best to have these things taken care of before you tell them to say cheese.
One of my favorite things about Christmastime is all the lights. I love Christmas lights. They add so much to the atmosphere, but they don’t always give off enough light…unless you’re Clark Griswold. If your pictures are turning out a little too dark, turn on a lamp. It probably won’t give off the magical vibe you were hoping for, but you might need to show grandma how her grandchildren look in the holiday outfits she sent them. In this case, grandma’s happiness trumps the magical glow. If you do want that magical glow from the twinkling lights, it may be too dark to see the faces of your little ones if they are looking at the camera. In this case, I suggest trying for some “action” shots. Ask them to put tinsel on the tree. Ask them to look for their favorite ornament. By having your children do something, it will show the warm glow of the lights on their faces as well as their excitement and wonder of the season. Have them wear Christmas pajamas for extra cuteness.
If you want the blurry Christmas lights background for your pictures, you can do this in a couple of ways. One way is to adjust the aperture on your camera. I suggest checking out your camera’s manual to see how to change this and then set your aperture to the lowest number possible. Your lens may be different than mine, so while my setting is at f/1.8, your lowest setting could be f/3.5. Once your aperture is set, focus on your child’s eyes. Your little ones will be in focus while the background will be blurry. (Using a wide aperture (low number) will make anything you are not focusing on blurry.) Another way to achieve the blurry lights look is to create some distance between your Christmas Tree and your children. Having them step a few feet away from the tree will blur out the Christmas lights. If your room is large enough, have them step away as far as they can while you still have them and the tree in the picture.
Taking pictures by the Christmas tree is a great way to add in a little magic to family pictures. I hope these tips help make this a new tradition for you and your family.
Here’s why you should consider booking a Tween Uprising session to document this time in your child’s life:
1. It’s the last time your kids are children before they become young adults. Pretty soon your sweet baby’s face will change as they hit puberty and they will start to look like the young adults they are growing into. As a mother of a tween myself, I know there’s only so much time left before they are full fledged teenagers. Right now, they will still be silly and act like a kid. Soon, they will be seeking their independence and freedom.
4. As kids get older, they get more irritated with their siblings, and mom and dad can become dumb and annoying. Get them around their friends, and they are happy and silly. It shows an entirely new side of them, free of eye-rolling. If you have a child that struggles at family sessions, schedule their own session. No competition with siblings, no one annoying them ….. for whatever reason, when they are in front of the camera alone, they tend to relax and be themselves when no one is there watching or bugging them.
canon 5d mark iii – two bodies
canon ef 85mm 1.2L – my favorite portrait lens
canon ef 50mm 1.2L – another favorite for smaller spaces
canon ef 24mm 1.4L – a storytelling lens I use to set the scene
canon ef 35mm 1.4L – another favorite wider angle
canon ef 100mm 2.8 macro IS – for the close-up details
canon ef 70-200mm 2.8 IS
(2) canon 580 ex speedlite flash (just in case!)
a handfull of 32gb and 16gb sandisk extreme pro CF cards for quick shooting in RAW