Outdoor Newborn Sessions, a Great Non-Contact Alternative for families. Being a photographer during these uncertain times has brought on a whole new challenge to us photographers. We are all trying to figure things out as we go along navigating this new territory. Before COVID hit, I was primarily a studio newborn and child photographer. Despite all the limitations put into place due to COVID, I've found much success in doing outdoor newborn and milestone sessions. Here are a few tips for an outdoor newborn session I've picked up along the way that will hopefully help you.

One of the essential steps in photography post-production is image processing. Processing photos enables photographers to develop consistent imagery and helps develop a specific style to resonate with their clients. While I always recommend getting photos as perfect off the camera, some editing is required to help adjust tones and create recognizable images associated with the photographer’s brand. There are dozens of popular processing styles and trends, but below are some of the more popular ones in recent years. For this processing style comparison, we’ll be showing six edits of the same photograph to provide a visual representation.

As an educator in the industry, I am often asked how much a wedding photographer should charge for their services and how to set up a price sheet. In this blog, I will be sharing what I have learned over my 11-year career regarding figuring out how much you should charge for weddings, creating visually appealing pricing sheets, and other strategies for structuring the pricing of your business that will convert to bookings.

With various poses to consider, props to include, and accessories to use, it's important to plan a newborn photo session ahead of time. This ensures you maximize your time with the newborn, and don't get sidetracked by any unplanned crying or fussy temperaments. If you're just venturing into this genre, or you find you need some planning tips, let newborn photographer Kristeen Waddell, of Kristeen Marie Photography, help! In her first guest blog post for CG Pro Prints, Waddell discusses 5 essential poses all newborn photographers can use to get shots their clients will love. Waddell even includes links to some of her favorite newborn photography products to help get you started.

Whether you remember your high school days or not, chances are you remember at least one good or bad experience from that time in your life; and it's very likely one of those memories is your senior portraits. Today's seniors remember their portraits too, but a lot has changed with this genre of photography over the years. What was once a huge event, always completed by a professional, is no longer. It is not at all uncommon for today's high school seniors to have their portraits shot on an iPhone (cringe!) in their backyard! (Double cringe!) This new trend is forcing today’s professional photographers to adapt. Not only does a photographer now have to compete with other local photographers, they have to compete with Mom, too. Photographers have to show their clients why they should hire a professional instead of ‘Uncle Bob’ with the really nice camera. Theoretically, the answer is simple: you must make your images more than a step above the rest. Your photographs must be so mind-bogglingly wondrous that seniors--and their parents--stand there, jaw agape, wondering how you did it. Soon, the seniors will be the ones telling their parents that they just have to get their senior photos taken by Photographer X (that's you!). However, this presents the real question: How are you supposed to do that? The below tips should help get you started!

When you want to learn more about photography, you take to the internet and rapidly delve into an array of different topics. You can spend countless hours reading articles, watching videos, and scrolling through images. Unfortunately, not many of those articles and videos touch on what, in my opinion, is the single most important thing when it comes to working with your clients. I’m talking about communication and providing positive feedback throughout the entire shoot. It seems like when you search the web for photography tutorials, you find thousands and thousands of topics related to lighting and editing. You can watch videos about every kind of creative lighting technique and retouching method you can dream of (internet tutorials are definitely a fantastic tool that I think everyone should be taking advantage of). But when it comes to actually shooting, I’m here to tell you that those techniques take a backseat to your communication skills.