{Newborn} Baby B

I took maternity pictures of the lovely pregnant Holly a couple of months ago. On April 17, after an amazing home birth assisted by my doula friend Alyssa Morgan (who was the one who hooked me up with the Pattersons!), Baby B was born at 7lbs 2oz. We scheduled her newborn pics at ten days.

Congratulations Jason and Holly! See you guys in six months!

{Family} The Bellamares

Fourth shoot of the week – and one more to go!

I met Mireille and her beautiful boys through a local moms group. She and her husband Mario moved to our little suburb last year from Quebec, Canada. 

D and S were so smiley throughout the shoot, they were just a joy to photograph. We walked through the beautiful gardens of Marymoor Park near Clise Mansion, visited the windmill and basically just enjoyed a peaceful afternoon in the beautiful, sunny weather.

Little S just lights up when I point the camera at him. Now that’s a photographer’s dream! I swear, one plus is a great age for pictures.

Big bro D was no slouch either, giggling and asking to look at my work from time to time. Someone’s gotta keep me honest!

Thanks Mireille and Mario, it was fun!

{Engaged!} Jennilee+Randy

My third shoot of the week was with Jennilee and Randy, two crazy-fun kids who are getting {hitched!} this May 9th, and guess who’s the photographer?

We did our shoot at Seattle’s Pike Place not only because it’s all photographable hotness with its buskers and tourists, but it’s also Jenn’s childhood haunt. Her parents run a jewelry business right here and she and her sister Michelle grew up here so she knows every inch of this beautiful, busy, fishy place.

Randy and Jenn met in school, hooked up, broke it off and met nine years later and fell hopelessly in love with each other again. Randy proposed March of this year.

“Why wait?” he’d answered my question with a question, looking at Jenn in a way only a man in love could. 

We started with the great Pike Place underground, where the infamously gross Gum Wall is. This is a wall literally plastered with pieces of colorful gum, some as high as a storey.

“People have been doing this for, like, 30 years,” says Jennilee, as she sticks her umpteenth piece of gum in this place. I remind them not to lean on it as we make some pictures in this eerily isolated alley which tunnels under Seattle’s busiest market.

We walked through Pike Place, visited with her family, stopped by a cute little Chinese deli which serves mocha alongside char siew kabob, and then winded our way up through the shops and even stopped by for a little dance and song on the way.

My assistant Amar took this beautiful shot of Jenn and Randy playing around.

We ended the shoot at the park overlooking the freeway and lake with the stadiums Safeco and Qwest in the distance.

And as we mingled around with protesters, street people and tourists on this lovely sunny Sunday afternoon, I can’t help but feel thankful to Jenn and Randy for giving me such a wonderful first engagement shoot. Thanks, guys. I cannot wait to shoot your wedding!

{Family} Tulips in Skagit!

My second of the five shoots was in Skagit County’s yearly insanely popular Tulips Fest, with my friend Meriaten and her kids M and L. The weather was iffy but that did not deter the throngs and throngs of cars and crowds in Tulip Town. Note to self: Next year, go on a weekday!

Here are my faves:

{Newborn} Baby J

This has been the busiest week ever for me because I had FIVE shoots in five days, starting with Baby J.

He is only six days new!

Mom C.

Good luck, C and have a beautiful life with your son.

Family: The Andersons

Jennifer and Joe have been my clients since I started this business ten months ago, and I’ve done THREE shoots for them already (thanks guys!).

When we first started out, Jenn warned me that her older girl L was not the picture-taking type, and would only suck her thumb and twirl her hair. Today, L hams up in front of “Daisy 2.0″ aka my camera (Daisy 1.0 is still around, somewhere…) and is sooo much at ease. Her baby sister K is not as happy about being photographed and takes some time to warm up (she was totally the opposite when we started a year ago!) but in the end, you just can’t take a bad photograph with these two.

L turns three this month. Happy Birthday, baby girl!

Here are some of my faves.

Just Because: Angie Lewis

Angie is Miss Clark County 2009, a personal trainer and a budding artiste. Did a shoot with her in this lovely old house belonging to a client of hers overlooking the sound. The light was lovely through the house and my assistant Amar and me only used a reflector most of the time, with a Canon 580exII on the stairs.

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How to photograph heavier subjects

Being a size 16 myself, I know I absolutely DEPEND on lighting, angles and posing to look my “best” – inverted commas because “best” not just to myself, but to the average human eye that can only appreciate a warped sense of symmetry in slim figures. 

I’ve had to photograph quite a few women with “real” figures, women who may not always have a problem with their form but are often reminded of how people look at them through a camera lens, or rather, a picture. As such, a photographer who makes a living taking pictures must always know lighting techniques and angles that flatter a heavier-set person. 

Here are a few techniques and tricks I’ve learnt along the way:

Lighting: High ratios, low key


If you’re using strobes, use lighting setups with high ratios. This here is a 3:1 Rembrandt setup I learnt at a recent SPA workshop with a soft box key light set at F8 I believe and the fill is at f4. The trick is to “slim” down the subject with shadows so the more low-key, the better. 

Angle: Top down

An oldie but a goodie! Get just a step or two up on a chair or stool or anything to gain a top down angle (add a step ladder to your arsenal when traveling) or go somewhere with stairs. This really does wonders. You can also use a wide angle lens but please read my tip on wide angle below! 

Attire: Always wear black, V-necklines, sleeves
This is a no-brainer. Black is always a good color for heavier subjects, with V necklines, three-quarter or full-length sleeves. 

Lens: Avoid wide-angle unless you know FOR SURE how to use it

A wide angle lens (anything 35 and lower) is a tricky thing. Used right, it can slim down a subject when placed right in the middle of the frame, elongating (and hence, slimming) the legs, shrinking waistlines and adding drama to a shot. It often breaks the Rule of Thirds though, because subjects have to be right smack in the middle of the frame, which doesn’t work compositionally. Unless I have licence (and time) to be creative and know how to handle the lens, a little more practice is in order before taking it out on the field.

Posing: 1/3rd turn and lean towards the camera


This is a surprisingly good angle but hard to pin down because you want to avoid that double-chin from showing as the subject turns towards you but because you’re only seeing 2/3rds of the body, it’s very flattering. I asked the lovely Bethany here to tilt her chin up a little. Having a fence or something to lean on helps the subject to pose comfortably this way.

Do you have more tips on how to take flattering pictures of heavy subjects? Add in comments please!