MODEL CALL: half-price concept sessions up for grabs this spring

All year long, crazy session ideas will strike me - usually at extremely busy, inconvenient times.  I've been trying to write them down, though, so that I could pick those ideas back up again when I do have some breathing room.  That time is now!  Well, kind of.  I can't exactly say I'm at a loss for things to do, buuuut at the same time it's a far cry from the craziness of summer, so I'd like to take this opportunity to have some fun. 

So here's my list of Concept Sessions: pre-designed sessions that are ready to go and just need participants!  They're essentially the same custom lifestyle sessions I usually offer - except I've taken care of the "custom" part of it, so to speak.  Every session is definitely going to be unique (I think we'd have a hard time avoiding that), but rather than you & me cooperatively designing a session from the ground up, you get to step right into a ready-made session blueprint. 

Even better?  Because these are ideas on my personal list, these sessions are yours for half price.  Win-win!

The Fine Print: MODEL RELEASES ARE REQUIRED.  Regularly priced lifestyle sessions include 1-2 hours of shooting, a complete set of high resolution images + print release, a custom USB, and an online gallery for a fee of $550.  Concept sessions as offered here include 1-2 hours of shooting, a complete set of high resolution images + print release via digital download, and an online gallery for a fee of $275.  When applicable, gift certificates, coupons, and other promotions may be applied to the regular session cost, and the concept session will be one half of the remaining balance (i.e., a gift certificate of $100 would take the regular cost to $450, and the concept session would be $225).  All concept sessions must be scheduled to take place before May 12, 2018.

Let's start with the biggest one first!

FILLED.  Commercial and Editorial Photography for Small Businesses.  I am seeking a local business/businessperson (sole proprietors are fine!) to 'model' for a truly custom, editorial business package.  I would like to work with you to design an authentic portrait of your person and your business, no matter how big or small, from top to bottom.  This is highly variable depending on the nature of the business, of course, but the work could include shadowing a typical day or relevant work process; studio stock photography; environmental portraits; studio headshots; and lifestyle "action" sessions to show endproducts in use. 

FILLED.  Maternity Photography.  I am seeking a mama in her second or third trimester (30-35 weeks is ideal) who is expecting baby number 2 to participate in a mother + child themed maternity session.  The older child will ideally be under the age of four.  This session will take place in the studio and will in part require a bare belly.  

Lifestyle Parent + Child.  I would love to document a bathtime routine with a mama or papa and a bubble bath.  At least one child should be two years old or under.  The big requirement here is that the participating family MUST have a bathroom with a tub and at least one window.  

Breastfeeding Portraits.  I am seeking a mama and nursling set (multiple nurslings ok; any age of child/ren ok) to participate in an intimate nursing session.  This session will take place at home in your bedroom.  Mama must be ok with tasteful toplessness.   The most important requirement is that you MUST have a window in your bedroom.  (I also may ask for permission to move your furniture so your bed is closer to said window - just a heads up!)  

Lifestyle Family / Parent + Child.  This session would be lovely with either the whole family, or just one parent having a special day with the kiddos.  I would like to document a family in the kitchen working together to bake something.  I was thinking cut-out cookies because they are so visually rich during the decorating stage especially, but I'm also open to your ideas!  This session will take place on location in your kitchen.  Windows are a huge plus.  

FILLED.  Lifestyle Family / Parent + Child.  This session would be lovely with either the whole family, or just one parent having a special day with the kiddos.  I am seeking the indoor-blanket-fort-building-champions of Fairbanks.  I think you can see where this is going.  :)  This session takes place in your home; windows are a huge plus.  

FILLED.  Newborn Photography.  I am seeking a newborn (under three weeks of age at the time of the session) for an in-studio newborn milk bath mini-session.  Mama's hands and arms will also be photographed.  

FILLED.  Herbal Bath Session.  I am seeking a mama + baby pair to participate in an herbal bath.  Tasteful nudity a possibility.  Nursing relationship preferred.  This session takes place on location in your home; you MUST have a bathtub and a window in your bathroom.

Hopefully one of these sessions sounds PERFECT for your family!  If so, give me a holler.   Only one session per concept is available at the special rate, so jump now.  If you are interested in one of the in-home sessions listed that requires a window, please send me a snapshot of that space with your inquiry so I can get a general idea of what we're working with.  

Oh, and if you'd like the exclusive first peak on stuff like this in the future, be sure to sign up for my email newsletter!  They got this list a full 24 hours before it hit the blog, just sayin'. 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you! 

Breastfeeding Art & the Fairbanks Breastfeeding Coalition's 2017 Art Show

This April marks the third annual Breastfeeding Art Show & Competition put on by the Fairbanks Breastfeeding Coalition.  It has been such a lovely event.  I love seeing Fairbanks come out to support the cause, but even more, I've been incredibly impressed by the quality and variety of artworks that have been submitted for the show.  It's just been so much fun, and I've enjoyed being a participant all three years.  

This was my entry for the 2016 show, which won second place.  To date, it's still one of my favorite images ever:

For the 2017 show, the FBC allowed each person up to three entries, and I took them up on it.   

The Landscape of Brothers

Business as Usual

The above image, "Business as Usual," won second place in the 2017 Competition. 

It was sooooo hard to pick the images to submit.  Here are a few more of my favorite breastfeeding images from the last 12 months: 

To keep up with the Fairbanks Breastfeeding Coalition, you can find them on Facebook here!  

Shiway, Leo, Max, & Noah: Mother + Child - Fairbanks Family Photographer

One of my favorite Mother + Child sessions.  Ever.  

Mama+Baby: Ashley & Maddox - Fairbanks Portrait Photographer

I'm a little bit in love with this set of images.  I'm lucky enough to have friends and colleagues within the local photographer community who are willing to be guinea pigs for ideas I want to work out; in this case, the lovely Ashley of Applegum Photography let me monopolize her and baby Maddox for the morning.

Mother+Child sessions are a real love of mine on any given day, and this particular set of portraits was designed to capture a specific bond in a specific way.  My youngest child is just a few months older than Ashley's Maddox, and I just absolutely revel in his babyhood.  I could eat it with a spoon.  I love his plush cheeks, milky breath, and downy hair; the coos, the smiles, and even the squawks.  And the cuddles.  There is a palpable oxytocin rush when he intentionally leans his face into mine for kisses, or nuzzles into my neck, or reaches out to touch my cheek.  HEART MELTED.  

It got me to thinking that I really wanted to design a session that could document this particularly sweet paragraph in the chapter of the mama-baby story.  I wanted images that look like the moments feel.  

And if that makes any sense to you, well, I just may be the photographer for you.  :)  All kidding aside, I really do think every mama deserves to have such a beautiful portrait of her love for her baby.  There really is no more powerful thing.    

Paige, Austin, & Dylan: Mother + Child

To see this complete Mother + Child session, click here.  

Carrie, Kaelin, & William: Mother + Child - Fairbanks Lifestyle Photographer

The only good thing about being so behind on blogging is the opportunity to rediscover how much I love these sessions. This one in particular – I had forgotten how precisely lovely it was to watch Kaelin flirt with and ultimately embrace her new identity as a big sister in this Fresh 48-turned Mother + Child session. If memory serves me, William was about a week old when we did this session. I love the real and intimate feeling of these images: there are no pretensions of perfection, and yet, they capture a beauty far greater than “picture-perfect.” A time capsule of their family.

Only a few 2015 Mother + Child sessions are available – if you’re interested in one, please drop me a line!

Baylie & Freyja: Maternity Mother + Child - Fairbanks Lifestyle Maternity Photographer

At the time we shot this Mother + Child maternity session, I didn’t think there could be anything cuter. But then, Freyja met her little brother…wait until you see that session. Just wait. : )

But for now, feast your eyes on this.

If you are interested in a 2015 Mother + Child session, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line!

Signe, Hamish, & Saskia: Mother + Child - Fairbanks Lifestyle Family Photographer

I’m lucky to have such lovely friends who agree to let me photograph them incessantly. : ) Signe and I wanted to do some babywearing portraits, and luckily, she let me turn this into a Mother + Child session with her two little ones as we played in the botanical gardens. It was just beautiful (as you can see).

As I said in my last post on Mother + Child sessions, I have a real passion for these “little sessions” (40 minutes). I think it’s just wonderful to design an activity that mother and child love to do together, to pull mom out from behind the camera and put her in her family’s spotlight for real. It’s so important for mom to be in the picture, and I believe it so much that there are several putting-my-money-where-my-mouth-is posts in the works. : )

For now, please enjoy these lovely images!

Lucy Sue's Herbal Bath - Fairbanks Newborn Photographer

In the interest of full disclosure, let it be known that I LOVE herbal baths.

LOVE.

I will admit, I first fell in love with them for reasons that were other than pure. I mean – they’re beautiful, visually. There’s pretty much nothing better than a serene little baby floating in mama’s hands. But after I had my second baby, I came to love them for much more practical reasons. I won’t go into them all here, but my oh my, they are wonderful.  (Let's just say - VERY soothing for tender tissues!)

Mostly due to my profound love of herbal baths, I’ve long wanted to incorporate them into my Fresh 48 sessions for families who were interested – after all, I feel they’re a “productive” use of postpartum time, since they are so soothing and promote healing, but also because they’re a visually stunning skin-to-skin cuddlefest.

I’m thrilled to have finally had the chance to photograph a few herbal baths, and I’m so excited to share the first with you. Lucy Sue was only a few days old when we took these pictures – and, as you can see, her older siblings were so in love with her, they couldn’t help but climb into the bath themselves.

For more information about Fresh 48 Sessions, check out this post!

Alaskan Earth Mama: A Spring Harvest - Fairbanks Commercial Photographer

Sometimes, one session can be the “stone” for several birds at once. You see, Monica is THE mama behind Alaskan Earth Mama, which is Fairbanks’ source for locally-made holistic goodness, body care, and custom essential oil aromatherapy sessions. Monica wears many hats: in addition to being an independent mama, Monica is also one of the smiling faces that will greet you daily at the Alaska Family Health and Birth Center. Alaskan Earth Mamas’ products are prepared in her kitchen in her “spare” time (a story every mom knows too well, I think!).

Alaskan Earth Mama makes a range of herbal products in addition to its other services (which include essential oil education, customized aromatherapy bodywork, and a growling line of other offerings).  AEM's products include balms and salves that aid in postpartum mamas' recovery; soothing sprays; and mama’s milk tea, to name a few. Around Fairbanks, AEM’s Soothe & Heal balm has a cult following, and every spring AEM’s all-natural mosquito repellent is pretty much the interior’s Most Wanted.

We’d wanted to do some photos to document her business in action for a while, but of course our lives were both hectic enough that we talked about it for a lot longer than we should have. When we were finally in a spot to do something about it, luck would have it that it was just time for Monica to be out harvesting cottonwood buds – a crucial ingredient with healing properties that is used in many of her products. And of course, if she’s out harvesting, the odds are that Matthew, her son, is harvesting with her – and so I floated my idea for Mother + Child sessions by her.

I originally began offering Mother + Child "little sessions" only during the month of May in honor of mother's day, but I've come to love them so much that they're now a permanent, around-the-year offering.  These aren’t your everyday mini-sessions – instead, these are 40-minute sessions custom-designed and shot on location to document the special relationship every mother has with each of her children. My vision for these sessions was to find an activity that mother and child love to do together, to basically open the floodgates of everything that’s there already. The good *and* the bad – the eye-rolls, tantrums, or disagreements, but also the smiles, connection, cuddles. A real life – beautiful and raw.  

I have a real passion for these sessions, not least because it’s so important for mom to get in front of the camera. Too often moms are hiding behind the lens, choosing to be the ones doing the documenting of everyday life – and even the moderately big events, sometimes – and are leaving themselves out of the picture.

Mamas, get in the picture. It is so important.

But back to cottonwood buds!

We gathered in North Pole in the streaming sun of early spring (and the slush of breakup) and it turned out that indeed, documenting an Alaskan Earth Mamas harvest session and coordinating a Mother + Child session was the perfect marriage. Mmmmmmmmmagic.

You can find Alaskan Earth Mamas products at Gulliver’s Books, Fireweed Boutique, Heart Stream Yoga, and many other places around town.