utah photography Archives - Page 2 of 5

Create a better story for your family. And photograph it.

I’ve been working crazy hard on the content of the “Tell My Story” intensive two part course. I believe in the message. And I believe in the importance of the message.

The first time I taught a photography class, it was because someone asked me to. Now that I have found the real message of the class, I teach because I feel compelled to share something that directly impacts the course of my family story.

The next “Tell My Story” photography class will be on THURSDAY, MAY 15th. It will begin at 9:45 am and will be over around 2:15 pm (depending on the amount of questions).

The course has TWO parts. The first portion of the course will be completed online where you can work at your own pace before the live portion of the class on May 15th. The theory behind this goes along with the Khan Academy where we’re essentially flipping the traditional classroom model and you will do your “lecture” at home, and then come to class to do the “homework”. (You can see Khan’s TED talk here)

The online portion of the course will cover all things related to “better” photos. Both technical and emotional. We will also talk about CREATING a story for your family. Ways to be an intentional parent. And then how to photograph that story so it is documented and continues to fuel our memory and hearts.

After completing the online portion of the class, we will meet together and use that foundation of knowledge in an interactive, hands on class where you will learn how to be in control of your camera, get consistently “better” photos, and intentionally create and document your family story.

You can read more about what you’ll learn at the “Tell My Story” course HERE.

And as always, e-mail me with any questions! [email protected]

You deserve this! And so does your family.

“Photography fuels memory….

and memory fuels the heart and soul”

Mitchell’s Journey

Photography Sessions

Although I am making some transitions in my business and spending more time on this blog as well as the photography classes I offer, I will still be offering very limited photography sessions throughout the year.

To see more information on types of session I offer and samples of images, you can click the links below.

FUNBOOTH SESSIONS

FAMILY SESSIONS

NEWBORN SESSIONS

I offer sports photography upon request.

I no longer do weddings.

Please e-mail me if you have any questions or you want to book a session.

[email protected]

Project Life

“Cultivate a good life and document it”

That’s the slogan of Project Life. And I can’t believe it has taken me this long to find out about it.

I am NOT a scrapbooker. The thought of designing and even worse, creating a scrapbook page makes me want to cut my fingers off. It does not appeal to me.

Sure, I love the end product. But even then, I always had an “issue” with scrapbooking because it felt like it was more about the “stuff” than it was about the pictures. And I want my displays to be about the pictures. About the people. About the story.

So I’ve tried several different ways of displaying photos. And, unfortunately, I’ve just left a lot of my photos on my computer where no one gets to see them but me.

Until I found Project Life. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Simple. Affordable. And something I can keep current with. And it supports my intent to display photos that will enrich our family’s life. Project life is about the STORY, not about the STUFF.

I listened to a 3 day conference Becky Higgins (the creator of Project life) did online and decided we should probably be friends. Because our mission is the same. Document your life. Tell a story. CREATE a story/life (cultivate a good life). And in the process of doing that, you become more grateful, more aware, and more intentional.

“The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” Donald Miller

Cultivate a good life, and then tell the story by documenting it.

Project Life goes hand-in-hand with the Tell My Story class.

Here’s how it works. You buy a Core Kit, an Album, and Sheet protectors (I use 40% off coupons and get them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels). Select and print your photos. Then it’s simple. You just slide pictures and journaling cards in pockets. And in no time, you have a completed album. (You can watch video demonstrations on the Project Life website)

There are a few reasons I prefer Project Life over an album you design digitally online.

First, I sit in front of a computer far longer than I’d like to for my business. Any more hours in front of the computer and my eyeballs might fall out.

Second, I like to be able to do it while I’m doing something else (like catching up on all my DVR shows, or sitting by kids while they do homework).

Third, it’s FAST. And super simple. Both of which are requirements in pretty much anything I do these days.

Fourth, they look AWESOME when they’re done. More visually interesting than a traditional photo album with pictures in pockets.

Fifth, my kids can get involved and help. They become invested in the project.

Sixth, you can also journal in the albums. There are “journaling cards” where you can write small amounts of information to supplement (note I said supplement as the pictures are the main focus of the album for me) the pictures.

Seven, you can make some killer unique gifts with Project Life. I’ll post some things I’ve done with them so far in a separate post.

But the biggest reason I appreciate Project Life is that I’m able to look through my albums and see what we’ve accomplished and what efforts we’ve made at living a good life story, but it also helps me see what we’re missing so we can be more intentional about our future and live the life we want to live.

The boxes also make a great spot for folding paper cranes. Folded 30ish of those (out of 1000) for a friend fighting stage 4 Lymphoma.

Try it out. I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love like I have.
And your kids will love you!

And for those of you who aren’t really the scrapbooking type (which I’m totally not) check out the Project Life App. It’s a game changer!!

Click here to visit the Project Life website.

And for another idea on displaying photos in your home, click here for a super awesome wall display.

FUNBOOTH. The perfect alternative to traditional family pictures.

I get it. Getting family pictures can be super stressful. Finding the right clothes. Getting everyone ready. Finding a location. Getting there on time. Making sure the kids don’t still have ketchup on their face. Trying to act calm and happy while your kids are being terrors.

I get it. Trust me. I do.

But. Family pictures are SO important. So so important. One of those things you’ll always be glad you have and never regret that you did.

I also realize sometimes the stress is too much. Too overwhelming. And you have a kid that simply will NOT cooperate during family pictures. So you just never get them done. Even though you want to.

Which is why I came up with Funbooth sessions.

They’re fun. They’re FAST. They’re easy. And they work for kids with all different types of personalities.

The point is to be casual. Crazy. Fun. Like a photobooth.

Low stress. No weather elements. Sessions only take about 25 minutes. And you end up with a bunch of photographs with your family, your kids, and their personalities.

I’m doing a Funbooth sale during the month of April. Book a funbooth shoot in April for only $150 (normally $225). That includes the session fee as well as a disc with about 50 images in color AND black and white and a print release to make whatever prints you want.

Here are some samples of a session I did recently.

And here are a few I did with my own little family. We did these on a whim on a Sunday afternoon. We just wore the clothes we already had on. Simple. Easy. These are my favorite sessions to do with my own kids. The pictures I am in were taken by my husband. I know he’ll want proper photo credit. 🙂

Here’s how I displayed them in my own home. This is the first thing people see when people walk into my house. And people LOVE IT!! So do I.

Maybe I should have moved the vacuum. Oh well. Not taking it again. 🙂

So if you’ve been feeling guilty (or better yet, excited) about getting family pictures but haven’t done them for awhile, this is a great option.

Or, if you get family pictures regularly (GOOD FOR YOU) this may be a good alternative to change things up a little bit.

To book a Funbooth session, e-mail me at [email protected]

Sale runs until April 30th, 2014!

Where should I print my pictures?

I get asked this question alot.

My answer: It depends on what you’re using the pictures for.

I know most professional photographers will say to only get your photos printed at a professional lab. The only time I disagree with this, is based on your answer to the question, “What are you using the pictures for?”

If I am printing pictures 5×7 or smaller and they are intended for an album, like Project Life, I print my photos at Costco.

I did a test print of several different photos at four different printing labs: Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, and a professional lab. The photos at Walgreens turned out a little green because I forgot to uncheck the “auto-correct” button on their site (I always recommend turning OFF the auto-correct). The quality of the 4 different places was comparable but the coloring and “brightness” of each photo varied a bit. The key is to do a test print first and make sure you like the “look” of the printers there. It’s hard to see a comparison accurately over a computer screen since all monitors show colors differently. But this gives you an idea of how the photos can look a little different from place to place. Some people who are looking to decorate their homes might look into getting printed wall art to had that extra bit of art to their walls. If you are interested in finding out more about about getting your photo printed on acrylic to add your wall art, there are some companies out there that could help you to achieve this method.

Keep in mind when printing anywhere, what you see on your screen isn’t necessarily what you get from the printer (unless your monitor is calibrated to that specific printer). I have learned that Costco prints tend to be a little “dark”. So before I send them to Costco I lighten them up a little (bump up the exposure) through some editing software. All of the photos in this wall collage I did are from Costco.

OR I print my 4×6 photos at York Photo online. If you google “free 4×6 prints” a code for 100 free prints to york photo should pop up. You can use that the first time you order prints from them. They also have sales on their prints all the time so I have a folder on my desktop with pictures I want to print and I wait until there is a sale and then send a batch of those pictures in to be printed.

If I am printing bigger than 5×7 or printing anything large that will be hung on my walls, I use Pixels Foto and Frame (for the Utah readers, it’s on 90th S. and State Street in Sandy) or Persnickety Prints (in Orem, Utah)–Persnickety also ships for a flat rate and their customer service is unbeatable. Online I use Persnickety Prints or Mpix. These are all professional printing labs with affordable prices.

I use Persnickety for regular prints (they’ll do custom sizes which I love to do) and I also use them for matboard prints like this one:

Mpix has a bunch of novelty photo items like calendars and photo books and cards along with regular prints. I also use them for printing stickers and business cards.

Any photos I print I use a matte or lustre finish instead of glossy. Makes them look better in my opinion.

If you have never printed somewhere before and don’t know what the prints will end up looking like, just send a few photos to be printed. Then if you like how they look, you can send a bigger batch for prints.

I have been using Persnickety Prints the most lately. They do printing for Instagram pics (square photos) as well as Project Life album sizes (3×4’s). I also love their polaroid type prints and various sizes of square prints. They specialize in 12×12 prints (that work great with the Project Life app) and they make 5×5 mini photo books that work perfect with Instagram prints or as a custom book.

For some ideas on an incredibly easy way to document your family story, check out the Project Life App. It’s “scrapbook” cheating in the palm of your hand.

And for ideas on how to display photos in your home, you can check out several ideas of Wall Displays using photos here. And for even more, you can follow my Pinterest board “Photo display ideas”.