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I love transformation

I think I am slightly obsessed with transformation!  I love watching television shows with my family about all types of transformation.  Our new favorite is The Deed on CNBC.  Not only does Sidney Torres transform old beautiful houses in New Orleans into fabulous new home, but he also helps transform the people who need his help by teaching them to become better real estate developers.   My obsession doesn’t stop with real estate, although I do love anything on home design, I also love shows that transform food or even transform people.  Another favorite is, The Profit, because I love how Marcus Lemonis transforms business people and helps them become profitable.

For me, March has been transformation month!  My wonderful husband volunteered to help transform my Laguna Beach studio into the studio of my dreams.   He converted my loft space, which was primarily being used to dump old studio props, into a full on shooting wardrobe space that my clients will be able to use to create the photography session of their dreams.  He also utilized the space to build a work station for our fine art printing.  It looks amazing and I am so excited to have it fully functional.

He didn’t stop at the loft.  We have all new lighting, a new professional hair and makeup station, several new gallery walls and he fixed all of the Ikea furniture that I put together to make it now fully functional (I have to admit, the drawers didn’t work on anything).  The cherry on the cake was definitely the new blue roll up door and front door, perfect not only because it is blue, but also because we can now use it as a new shooting area.

March is also transformation month, because we are doing our Mother Daughter makeover special complete with wardrobe, hair and makeup.  Here is a sneak peak at the new blue door with the gorgeous Gill kiddos who can now say they were the very first family to shoot on the blue roll up door.  Enjoy.  More beautiful images of the studio to come, once it has been completed!  

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Exist in Photographs

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Do you have an excuse about why you keep putting off getting portraits of yourself and your family?  Are you waiting to look perfect, have the perfect body, skin, hair, etc.?   While you continue to put it off for one more year, your family is missing out on beautiful images of YOU!  

That is what exist in photographs is all about.  I absolutely understand that there is a lot of work that goes into planning a photography session.  Sometimes it seems like it just isn’t meant to be, but believe me it is.  Take me for example.  My busiest time of year is October and November.  I work an average of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  In the middle of all that craziness, is my own family that needs portraits for the year.  For me, I need to find one of my friends that is a photographer, and also really busy, to agree to take a few images of the whole family together.  I can handle the portraits of my kids and my kids with my husband, but I feel like it is really important for me to also get into the portrait every year.  I don’t want my kids to look back in 10, 20, or 30 years from now and say, “where was my Mom”.  Or, “my Mom was always behind the camera, and looks like she was never around according to pictures”.

I want to make it easy for you to say yes to a portrait session this year by doing the follow:

  1.  Having a hair and makeup artist available for you to look and feel your very best.
  2. By having a shooting wardrobe, that I can mix and match with your own clothing to take the hassle out of planning for the outfits for your session.
  3. Creating a fun environment for you and your family where everyone feels comfortable and is actually having fun.
  4. By guiding your posing to make you look your very best.  I can take off at least 10 pounds with good posing!
  5. By using photoshop to finish your portrait and make your best just a little better.
  6. And finally, by inviting you to our studio a week after your session for a personal reveal of our top images from the session.  These images will be fine art prints, fully retouched, mounted and matted ready to take home that day.  All of the prints also include the digital file of the edited image.  In addition, we will walk you through the rest of our beautiful portrait products to help design wall art and other keepsakes.

Do you have someone you love that you want to capture forever in portraits?  Take advantage of our makeover special this month.  For more details, email us at kristin@blueskysstudio.com.  Have a beautiful weekend and enjoy this unbelievably beautiful mother and daughter duo!

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Your Blue Sky’s Studio portraits as art for your walls

Did you know that there are several studies showing that children’s self esteem is improved by seeing portraits on themselves and their families on the wall?  

A revealing study was conducted in 1975 with a group of fourth graders at a Tennessee school by Tulane University. During a five week period, the children took Polaroid instant photos of themselves with provided cameras in a variety of assigned poses, compositions and expressing various emotions. The children worked with the printed images of themselves and created scrapbooks once a week over those five weeks. Testing of the students and teachers at the conclusion of study revealed a significant increase of 37 percent in the students’ average self-esteem behaviors. This Murfreesboro Study shows some evidence personal photography of children seen and enjoyed in a specific way can help boost a child’s self-esteem.  This according to an article published on Design Aglows blog.

“It lets children learn who they are and where they fit,” says Judy Weiser. a psychologist, art therapist and author based in Vancouver. “They learn their genealogy and the the uniqueness of their own family and its story. When a child sees a family portrait with them included in the photograph they say to themselves: ‘These people have me as part of what they are, that’s why I belong here. This is where I come from.‘”

For some reason, this does not translate for digital images and seems to really be focused on tangible images on themselves and their families.

One of the reason I am so passionate about photography is that our time with our children is so fleeting and really it passes in a blink of an eye.  I really can’t believe my son is already out in the world on his own.  It seems like only yesterday he was crawling into my bed in the middle of the night pleading with Bob and me to let him stay with us.

That is why we want to show all of our clients what their portraits will look like as art on their walls.  Believe me, it is easier than you think to have an actual picture mocked up on your wall with our software

  1.  Take an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper and take it to any wall you think will work for portrait art.  

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2. Take a picture of your wall with your iPhone and text it to us.  Just make sure you are standing straight in front of the wall and not at an angle (that makes it more difficult to line everything up).

 

 

blueskysstudio_13.  Select a picture, or two or three and we will mock up several examples on your wall with everything at the appropriate size to show off in your home!blueskysstudio_3blueskysstudio_4blueskysstudio_5blueskysstudio_6Order the product and we will have it shipped directly to your home.  We will even come and help you install your wall art.  So now there is no excuse not to have beautiful walls covered with your amazing family!  To book an appointment email us a kristin@blueskysstudio.com.  

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2016 Blue Sky’s Studio Holiday card inspiration guide

We’re busy preparing for the holiday season at Blue Sky’s Studio (already! Can you

believe December is just around the corner?), and want to introduce you to our new holiday card

inspiration guide. Our gorgeous new options–including cards with vintage botanical

prints, sleek, minimalist designs, and traditionally festive sentiments– mean that we have a

card that will perfectly frame your holiday portraits. Take a look at Blue Sky’s Studio

Holiday Card Catalog directly below, to peruse your options and start making your holiday card

plans. Unlike many card templates, our designs are completely customizable, so colors, text,

and design elements can be easily tweaked to your specifications!  AND if you order a Blue Sky’s collection, you will

receive 20% off our holiday cards, through November 30, 2016.

We’d love to help you create your 2016 holiday card. Ready to schedule a complimentary

custom design appointment with us?  Call us right now at949-439-6079 and speak with Deseree or email

her at dez@blueskysstudio.com

Can’t wait to see you soon,

Kristin

 

 

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Ladies, What to Wear for the Best Head Shots

What might look great in real life, might be a disaster for your professional head shots, (or Model for a Day photos).

For the best head shots, let’s go over what women should wear.

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Keep Your Personal Brand in Mind

What image do you want to portray?

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Smart, sophisticated, strong, in charge, feminine, classic? It’s important to keep this in mind when choosing outfits for your shoot. Maybe you love how sexy you feel in that low-cut black dress, but perhaps it’s not the style you’re trying to portray in your head shots. Or perhaps you love that turtle neck, but don’t want to come across as too conservative in your shots. I often include the advice of our stylist in our photography packages and she is great at helping you select pieces from your own wardrobe.

 

Keep Your Options Open

You’ll want to pick out 1-2 outfits (for headshots) and  3-5 outfits (for Model shots) for your session; this way you can evoke a different feel in each style.

 

headshots-jacketYou Don’t Have to Show it All

In Orange County we don’t have to stay away from short sleeves, or tank tops as much. However, if you are going for a highly professional look you may consider showing less skin. Three-quarter to full sleeves look most professional. And while a great V neckline looks fabulous on many women, be careful that it doesn’t dive too deep in the neckline–it’s a head shot, not a cleavage shot. ;)

 

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Classic Beauty

One of the secrets to a great head shot, really any great portrait, is to keep it timeless.  It shouldn’t be blatantly obvious what time period your photo was taken in (picture the big shoulder pads of the eighties), so stick with a classic suit jacket or shirt styles–timeless styles that always look good.

Checkers are for Family Game Night

If you must wear patterns stick with simple thin stripes, subdued small patterns and subtle variations.  Checkered patterns, big stripes, tight grids or herringbone patterns can obscure in photos, and become a distraction from your natural beauty.

Bold, but Not Too Bold

Bold solid colors can work great for head shots, but be careful not to have too many colors, shiny fabrics, or eye-burning patterns.

Vanilla is Better for Ice Creamwoman's heashots

You may want to avoid plain white unless it’s a part of a layered ensemble; wearing only white can sometimes cause an ethereal or glow effect in photos.

Simple Adornment

Jewelry can be a great way to express a little more of your personality, but avoid flashy, big pieces. They can be distracting, but can also quickly date the photo.