Fall foliage offers way more than gorgeous background color and lighting for portraits.  It provides the perfect playground for kids.  I get my best shots when my youngest clients and I get to fool around.  When we grab the opportunities as they present themselves, great shots occur naturally.

Made you laugh!

Inevitably, kids make faces in front of the camera.  But playing around during a shoot helps everyone have fun and relax, making the great shots possible.   Although few parents would choose to have prints made of the outtakes, I wanted to share some precious faces from a recent sitting in Old Town, Marblehead.

The cat who swallowed the canary.

You can't be serious.

Et tu, dogus?

The dog was definitely not interested.

All's well that ends well!

Because of variable light reflecting off water and sand, portraits at the beach can have wildly different moods.  Which is best for your sitting?  Have a look at two recent portrait sessions and see if you can decide!

Midday light suffuses the image.

Colors are bright and crisp.

Dramatic late-day lighting.

Colors are warmer late in the day.

Hair and background highlights make the portrait shine.

A beautiful portrait trumps any light!

Beach portraits are relaxed and informal.

Everyone seems to love the beach and it remains a very popular choice for my clients’ sittings.  The textures of beach grass, sand and sea, combined with beautiful light succeed in creating a relaxed and fun atmosphere, perfect for bringing out the best in everyone!

Black and White portraits emphasize light and texture.

Color portraits highlight atmosphere.

An idyllic garden is the perfect setting for portraits!

Do you have a beautiful yard?  If so, it offers many advantages as a location for your sitting.  A meaningful and familiar site, a lovely yard possesses a variety of backgrounds and facilitates quick wardrobe changes!

At your home, everyone can get into the picture!

Or not!

Happiness is a new puppy!

   There is hardly anything as exciting as welcoming a new puppy into your home.   A family portrait sitting presents a terrific opportunity to capture the happy activity and warm interactions so abundant with the arrival of your new pet.  Are you tired of fuzzy shots and red-eye?  This North Shore family called me so they could all get into in the picture and catch that fleeting puppy stage with high-quality portraits.

Larger groups present special challenges in portraiture.  I find it is rarely a child’s idea of fun to participate in a portrait sitting.  When you drag children from their activities and present them with lots of instructions, the result is often resistance.  It takes some humor and patience to make good portraits under these circumstances.  I count on the help of parents and my photo assistant to create a fun and encouraging atmosphere.  With only “carrots” and no “sticks” we always get the shot!

Sometimes getting comfortable in front of the camera lens takes a few minutes.  In the process, we can have fun and sometimes I’ll even pick up a priceless shot or two before we get a more conventional portrait.  Often, when you string these shots together, a wonderful story will emerge, enabling a multi-faceted view of my sitters’ personalities. Here are a sister and brother amusing themselves while giving me some glimpses into their obviously close relationship and, in the end, a traditionally great portrait.

How do you choose between B&W or Color?  Each has its advantages.  Which you choose depends on the purpose of the image and the environment in which it will be viewed.  Is it going to publication?  Will it be hung in the family room?  The portraits below from a recent sitting demonstrate how hard it can be to choose.