Greg and Veronica came in to have their family portraits created and chose to wear all white with a white background. Mom and the girls just look so heavenly in all white! Having portraits created with a theme or end result in mind makes a much greater statement and more impact. Planning does take time, but what a great result. If I can help you in the planning phase in any way, I have had over 20 years experience on what looks will work and what won’t. Please give me a call with any questions you may have.
Category: Clothing Suggestions
Beach Buttercups…
Ok, so I do know that all the pretty little yellow flowers that you occasionally see at the beach are NOT buttercups! But it does sound better, doesn’t it? These two cousins came down to the beach with their families to spend some time together. The older girl comes from out of state and the younger one lives here locally. The two families and the grandparents all were spending time at a condo on Treasure Island and chose to have me create beach portraits for them. Of course we did some of the entire family together, but they also wanted a special one of the two cousins together. The older one was so sweet to her two old cousin and did everything she could to help her cooperate. This image tells the story of discovery and sharing between the two. Personally I feel that this would make a great art piece in a 20×40 on the wall in the grandparents house as a memory of the week spent down here together. Just a lovely feeling is evoked by this image. And even though yellow is not something that I usually recommend for a beach portrait, it just works so well with the beautiful blue – green color of the water to offset the yellow. Good choice of dresses! Call me today to schedule a beach portrait of your little flowers!
Choice Clearwater beaches…
One of my clients recently booked a portrait session on the beach and let me know she was coming from out of town. The beach that was closest to her vacation condo was not as “portrait worthy” as one that she would have to travel a bit to get to. Since she was from out of town with some younger children, I happily emailed her some beach suggestions in town so that she could visit these on her other vacation days. I’ve included it here for your information as well.
Fred Howard Park (Tarpon Springs) – Nice wooded area for picnicking and a beach that I would rate about a 7.
Sunset Beach (Tarpon Springs) Very small beach, not crowded, lots of shall
ow areas for wading and a playground there as well. The beach? Well, really a 2 or 3, but last week I saw two dolphins swimming only about 50 feet offshore!
Honeymoon Island – State Park in Dunedin – pay to get in, nice area, bird watching and shelling, beach can be quite rocky.
Clearwater beach – very pretty, more crowded, lots of tourist things, shops etc., if you want to do that. 20 to 30 minutes to get there from the Palm Harbor area. Clearwater marine aquarium, with the dolphin Winter – they just made a movie about him. Beach -8-9
City of St. Petersburg Municipal Beach at Treasure Island, 112th St and Gulf Blvd. Beautiful beach! This would be at least a 9, maybe a 10! It doesn’t look like much from the parking lot, but just go beyond the fence and WOW! Drawback – restrooms only open 10:00 till 4:00, why, I do not know! Refreshment area and play area for the kids.
Ft. De Soto Park – absolutely beautiful. About 1 hour drive south from the Palm Harbor area; take U.S. 19 south, follow the signs. Takes a while to get there, but voted one of the top ten beaches in the U.S. Dolphins, sand dollars, wide sandy beaches, fishing pier, picnic areas and usually not crowded at all because it is so large. Yes, the beach really is a 10!
The portrait above are from the Treasure Island beach. This family was staying at a large, very nice hotel on St. Pete Beach that was very crowded, due to a convention. The beach was very nice, but way too busy for a lovely family portrait. Treasure Island beach was only a few minutes drive for them and they were quite happy to make the short drive. The final results are fabulous!
If you have one that is a little Bohemian…
I caught myself saying this during a phone call lately. Luckily the lady was my age and knew what I was talking about. The conversation was about clothing options for her family portrait. She had done the white shirts and jeans at our last session and wanted something different. So what I told her was this. Just stay in the same color family. Perhaps you want neutrals, cremes, taupe’s, etc. Stay with those color choices and dress everyone for their personality. Maybe you have one child who is more tailored and classic. She could be in a soft creme button down with chocolate pearls and bracelets. One child is a little Bohemian and she could go with a darker taupe and wear a fabulous chocolate scarf, around her neck or even her head! The third one is more country/western and wants to wear her dark brown leather cowboy boots and a sundress with a brown leather belt! You see how this can go together. Keep with one color family and use accents appropriately. Think about the room you are going to hang it in, lay all the clothes out in that room to see just how well they go together. The main colors of your walls and your furniture should be considered as well as the accent pillow colors and other accent items. If you are really stumped, check out the ads for furniture stores. Haverty’s or Herman Home in St. Petersburg are two to look at. Also, online clothing stores can spark ideas. Anthropologie is a great one, I love the clothing there. Or Land’s End. Two very different looks, but they both do color well, just in different ways. The one thing I try to stay away from always is the patterns. Patterns look good when you are moving around, but in a two dimensional portrait, they draw the viewer’s eye away from the face – which is the most important area of the entire portrait. If you really want a pattern, keep it small and keep it confined to one of the accent pieces, the scarf or jewelry if possible. That’s it for today. Check out the two images below to see about patterns. Which portrait is stronger? Cover up the patterned area of the portrait with your hand to see what I am talking about.
