So, you've booked yourself in for a family photos shoot, and then you think, "oh no, what do we wear????"
What to wear to your photo session is quite important and also can be a dilemma, do we wear all the same or wear our casual clothes, dress up like we are going to a ball??? 
It doesn't need to be quite that hard, you have to make sure first of all that you will all be comfortable, forcing a child to wear something he or she isn't comfortable in will make for a few unhappy photos as they won't enjoy the session.

I usually say to wear something dress/casual, something you might normally wear, so the photos will look like you, not stiff and informal.

Things to consider, is your shoot outside, is it hot, dress to match the season. Are you in studio, then the room will be warmed up or cooled down and comfortable.

For some great inspiration visit my Pinterest saves, here you will find plenty of options and advice.
https://www.pinterest.nz/smilebabynz/family-clothing-for-photography/

View on Facebook to comment :)

Time for some mini sessions, I don't do too many of these so the spaces will go fast.
15 minute sessions, 10 digital images for $85
Just in time for those Xmas cards and presents.

Whoop Whoop.... Finally got my car signed up today, I've been wanting to do it since I bought this car a year ago LOL and I'm really happy with it, thank you so much Ryan from www.signed.co.nz #signedgisborne, you made it so easy, I'll be recommending you to everyone

Please enjoy my little booklet on what to expect for your newborn session :)

I've had the pleasure of learning a lot of my craft with Creative Live. My specialty is newborn, maternity and family portrait photography which has been perfected by these amazing classes and bootcamps on Creative Live.

At the moment I'm enjoying a class from Sue Bryce and Kelly Brown, Bumps to Babies which covers some great posing techniques and tips for getting the image just right, using correct angles and lighting, techniques of posing baby with parents, maternity posing, and each monthly stage of baby over 12 months which is a fantastic idea to market with your business.

But not only do you learn the technical side, there is some great ideas for marketing  which is so important to our businesses, the ideas will keep you busy for a long time but the real bonus is the amount of tools that come with this class, Photoshop templates, marketing cards, posing guides, birth announcements, session reminders to name a few.

This course covers a lot of aspects of your business, for example; branding, how important your name and branding is to your business, this is the first thing your clients will see to  get to know you and your work.

How is your website performing? What are you specialising in? Pricing, marketing, blogging, social media...... I know I'm going to watch this class many times to let all the information sink in and keep me inspired. Learning from such successful business creatives has to be a "win win" for my business.

Creative Live is not only for photographers, the subjects and tutors are so varied. Anything you can do creatively you can find further knowledge from this site.
Something for everyone.
Channels are;

• photo & video
• art & design
• music & audio
• craft & maker
• money & life

Check it out for free with their free live classes which change every day,

I just adore photographing the blossoming beauty of an expectant mother, although uncomfortable, she is glowing, she has an aura about her, she should be so in love with her body right now, it holds a child, a living, moving child that will need and want her love and nurturing for the rest of its life.
In just a few weeks this child will be born, and will become a huge part of her life, extending her family, this child will be a son or daughter, a grandchild, a cousin, a nephew or niece, a great grand child, adding to the generations before them, a new story is beginning.
Who and what this child will become has a lot to do with the history before they arrived, the lessons taught by parents and grandparents to be passed on to this new child, add to this the amazing inventions that are to come in this child's lifetime.

It just astounds me.

And you dear mother are a goddess!

Cake smashes are just so much fun!
But I have found that probably 75% of the cake smashers aren't really keen on the cakes being offered.
These new 1 year old toddlers are just not used to too much sweetness.

Now you can spend around $70 on a specially made cake (that I see often the little ones don't like much) or you can spend just a bit of time to make a cake that they will love to eat and smoosh around. Little ones lose interest very quickly if the cake is too hard, it needs to be soft and collapse really easily
The cake in the above picture was just a chocolate sponge from the supermarket and iced at home, totally perfect as it fell apart and went everywhere, he loved the texture and the taste. (It actually cleaned up well too as it wasn't all gooey).

There are plenty of healthy options, sugarless and with fruit juice or bananas and yoghurt or cream cheese icings.
For a healthy options and ideas I've come across a few good recipes:

1. Healthy Sugar-Free Banana & Apple Smash Cake
2. Healthy First Birthday Cake
3. Banana Baby Birthday Smash Cake
4. Baby’s First Birthday Cake -“Healthy Smash Cake

Man I love doing maternity sessions, 'Mama to be' looks absolutely glowing and is so ready to be meeting her beautiful little bundle.
Hair, skin and eyes are at their healthiest and 'Mamas to be' all have a look of pure contentment and are ready to nurture.
I love being able to capture that look, that moment in time that all her children in the years to come will look at and know how much their arrival meant to her.

Click the following link for the full story.
 Smile Baby Wordpress blog