Happy Anniversary to US!!!

A year ago today I walked in to a particularly cute little Starbucks to meet my friend Jessica. She had an idea for a new photography company and wanted to talk to me about it. I was all dressed up. I had on a really cute denim bubble skirt and my adorable yellow shoes. I had my laptop and smartphone all ready to do SERIOUS BUSINESS with my SERIOUS PHOTOGRAPHER FRIEND Jessica.

I'm pretty sure she stifled a laugh when she saw me. She just wanted to talk about this idea, for this specialty photography company that wasn't like anything else in Atlanta children's photography. And she wanted to have fun.

And we did have fun. A lot of fun. But we also started to do some serious work on this little portrait party idea. Within a month we had a business plan, a name, and a logo, plus a party on the schedule.

We launched SweetSnaps less than two months after that first meeting. We started booking parties and got so much support from businesses like Chocolate Pink and Greene's Fine Foods. We merged our wedding businesses under Sublime a month after that. We were on TV. We were published. And published. And published again. We traveled. We got coverage in Daily Candy and, well sort of all over the place. Amazing.

In short, we've been blown away with how well-received this idea was, this idea that barely existed a year ago. And how much support we've gotten from family, friends, and cheerleaders we didn't even n. And how happy people are to have beautiful memories of their children.

So today we celebrate out anniversary, sort of.  The paper anniversary--maybe the photographic paper anniversary?  It's been a GREAT year.  And there's still so much more to do--so many more people who need SweetSnaps in their lives.  So, onward!

And Jessica, it's okay if you still laugh a little when I'm overdressed. It happens alot, so I'm used to it. And I still love you.

Dolcemente,
Lindsay

Cole, Sophia, Diana and Cash

Last week I got to play at Stone Mountain park with some of my favorite repeat clients, Diana and her family. I love having had the opportunity to document these kids for over a year now. They just keep getting cuter!!!

Last year, Sophia was NOT keen on the camera at all. This year, though, she was just so charming and smiley. I'd be smiling if I had on that cute button dress, too, Sophia.
What a gorgeous child. I mean, seriously.
The other switch up was Cole, who was super-agreeable last year, but now at 2.5, was not too hip on the whole camera thing. Still, I love this picture cause you can see he's still got some baby-ness about him--check the pouty lips. I suspect that next year, at 3.5, he will be much more little boy. Sorry, Diana. :(
A nice moment between Cole and his daddy Cash.
And another nice mother-daughter moment.
And I really love this one, this time of just the Diana and Cash--I suspect this one will go in Cash's office... aren't they a beautiful couple? And I adore how loving they are--definitely showing that love can survive having young children.
Thanks for letting me document another year for you and your family, Diana!
Lindsay

Daddy's Girls

I had the chance last week to photograph one of my favorite families. Amy and Vinnie often put me up in their adorable house, cook wonderful homey meals for me, and keep my kids entertained with their children, chicken, and toys. In return, I try to take a few pictures of their beautiful family. Here are some I took during my recent trip to see them.

Their baby Claire has grown sooooo much since I last saw them. She is still a cutie, though.Emma doesn't love the camera, but she does seem to like me, so we had some fun.
I love this one of her... it shows the sweet mischief behind that angelic face.
Sisters. And goofballs.
Even goofier-balls.
Catherine, on the other hand, is a complete ham. Here's her serious face.
Hiding...
And just looking gorgeous.
Vinnie needed a couple of pictures of himself, but Claire wanted him to hold him, so they put on twin grins for me:
And here's just Vinnie... You can tell where the girls learned to make mischief, right?
Sadly I did not get any pictures of Amy while I was there. She's beautiful, inside and out, though. I promise.
Lindsay

Lindsay has a Riddle

Li'l Engineer

I had a private shoot yesterday for baby Luke. Not a SweetSnaps party, but he's so cute I thought he was incredibly blog-worthy. He's a chunked out 6-month-old with plenty of chins & sweet baby rolls, but not a lot of smiles for me yesterday. Luckily his grandma and grandpa came along and lightened up his mood. Here are my two favorites:


I hope you are out there brightening some little one's mood today, too... or that some little one is making YOU smile!

Dolcemente,
Lindsay

5 super easy steps to print-ready photos

photo by Jessica Scheufler.

So, your little one just made the cutest face and you want to immortalize it forever. Without hesitation, you grab your camera and snap away. You just know that these shots are frame-worthy. Instead, they just stay on your card. Sound familiar? I know how easy it is to take a zillion pictures, and not a one makes it into a frame. Here are a few easy steps to get those photos off the card and on to your mantel:

1. Download your card
   This can be the toughest, but most important step. After every shoot, be sure to connect your camera to your computer and just drag the folder to your desktop. It might be a pain, but if you get into the habit, your photos will be right where you need them. Label the photo with the date and a short identifier. For example, create a folder called 030109-Jacks birthday.
   
2. Edit out all the bad shots
   I know, I know. There are no bad shots of your child. Believe me, I've been there. I know what you might be thinking, "if I delete, I miss that shot that was almost there." But by getting rid of all those blinks, blurry or badly exposed photos, you leave room for all the shots that make your heart swell. Here is a good test, if you don't say "awww" when you view an image, throw it out. It will be so much easier than searching for that one photo you loved. A program that can be a great help is JetPhoto.
3. Make minor adjustments
   By taking a minute or two to adjust the exposure, you can make a decent photo into a winner. You don't need to spend loads of time tweaking (that's what we professionals are for), but if your photo looks like it was shot in the dark, up the exposure a little. A couple of great programs to get you started are Photoshop Elements or the opensource (read: free) program Gimp.
4. Back up those files
   Once you have chosen your best shots, be sure to back up. This means keeping one folder on your desktop and another on a separate hard drive. This might seem like just another annoying step, but if your hard drive ever goes down—and it will if you don't back up—you want to be sure you have extra copies. A good drive to start with is the Passport. It is not only cute, but also portable, a good thing when you want to take your camera on vacation.
   
5. Print your favorites
   I always know when I take a great shot. I feel it in my bones and I know that I want to get it printed. I often set aside a folder labeled "photos to print" on my desktop and copy my favorites into this folder. That way, once the folder gets full (about 10–30 images), I have them printed. You can copy the folder to a thumb drive or upload them to your favorite lab. When you are ready to print, just head over to Costco—which has been known to produce some nice prints—or you might want to invest in a photo printer like the Epson Picture Mate.
   

So there you go. That wasn't so painful, was it? Oh, and don't forget to email and print a few for Grandma. Happy printing.