What To Expect in a Calotype Christmas Portrait Session

It’s traditional for many families to celebrate Christmas with an annual photoshoot. I dearly love my faithful patrons who come to Calotype, year after year, to make sure their kids have these childhood memories.

When I knelt down to greet these kiddos as they came in, the youngest put her tiny, slender arms around my neck right away in greeting. It had been a year since she had been to the studio, but she felt right at home.

We start out with a traditional, elegant family portrait.

Naturally, the personalities of the kids come out quickly.

Mama and Dad look fine, so let’s document that…

Next, I photograph the kids together.

And separately ⬇️

Little sister watched big brother being photographed, and when it was her turn she ran up to copy his pose.

But she had a few poses of her own, too

I coaxed them together for one last image.

Ready to make your own family memories? Call the studio at 417-658-8865 or email me.

How Are My Headshots Going To Turn Out?

1. If you’ve seen my work on my blog or LinkedIn, you already have an idea.

   If you like what you see there, we’re a good fit. If you want something different, you’re welcome to reach out and ask- but for the most part, I have a certain style and “way to see the world” that is not going to drastically change overnight.

2. But here’s the catch: your photos will naturally be different—because no two people are the same.

   Every person is different and I can’t do the exact same thing twice. I’m terrible at copying. If you want me to freeze, show me a Pinterest picture and tell me recreate it. I will hyper-focus on things like lens focal length and lighting pattern (even though people are most likely only seeing the outfit or photogenic subject). There’s something inside my brain that always panics about doing something exactly like the source- this is true for my music, my writing and my photography. If I have to play a piece exactly like it’s written, I dread it! (Which is humorous, because I’ve heard many people are the opposite and panic when they have to come up with something on their own. This is a subject I’d love to explore over coffee with my creative-loving friends!) Back to the original topic of this paragraph: “Your pictures will look very similar to work in my portfolio, but a little different because you’re a little different.”

You’re not the first person to worry about your headshots will look.

It’s natural, and I have a plan to help you.

1. First, make sure you like the pictures you’ve already seen. I tend to be classic and more formal, more so with my lighting if not all my poses. If you don’t care for my take on headshots, keep looking around until you find a photographer that resonates with you.

2. If you like what you see but are still uncertain about how yours will turn out, help me by bringing some “raw material.” By this I mean “clothing options.” Different blazers, different colored tops, sleeve lengths, necklines, etc. Three to five should be good. Bring only what you love- if it’s a shirt you hate you won’t suddenly love it just because I photographed it. Don’t bring three things that are exactly alike except different colors- for example, men bringing one suit with one white shirt but three different ties. That won’t make much of a difference.

3. Let me shoot some bad pictures. Yes, I’ll take some pictures that will make you shout, “Heck, no!” And I’ll take at least one that will make you laugh out loud. Do you know what horrible thing is going to happen when I take a bad picture and you see it? We’re going to delete it. And no one will ever see it again. But afterwards, you’ll be left with portraits that look really, really nice. You’ll smile when you see them.

   There’s a story of an art class that was divided into two sections. One half had the goal of making a piece of art every day for a semester. The other half only had the goal of making one incredible piece of art for the semester deadline. At the end of the class, the group that made art every day had produced several beautiful pieces (albeit several crumpled, rejected flops, too). But the group with the pressure to produce only one, beautiful work never did come up with anything. They couldn’t agree on what to create, and the dissension caused by the strain of perfection produced zero results. The group that actively practiced produced far more superior than second class pieces. Nothing bad happens if you let me take my shots while I look for your best angle. It’s my job to show you different perspectives so you can sort through and pick the best of the best!

Now let’s look at pictures. Here is Lacie, who brought me plenty of raw material in the form of clothing AND facial expressions. She gave me the freedom to explore and create something unique for her. Did she have any “bad shots”? You’ll never know! ;)

Girl Dancer in Costume

Dancers put so much time and work into what they do- why not have professional photos taken to celebrate? This young lady dances at Solomon’s Dance Studio in Neosho. Can you guess some of the dances these costumes belong to?

Photographed in the studio.

Anniversary Portrait Session in the Studio

One Year Birthday Portraits

…but it didn’t take him long to warm up for the camera

Warm up complete!

Timeless black and white

Somebody just saw his Mommy looking through the window :)

This little guy’s face may look familiar on my journal. His parents are in our First Year Baby Club, and they have graciously allowed us to share many of his images. Their favorites from all six of his Sessions- newborn, six weeks, three, six, nine and twelve months will be collected onto one piece of canvas wall art for their wall. Keeping a heritage like this for your child is a precious gift to yourself and them. Call me and I’m happy to discuss our exclusive Baby Club options!

Eleven Year Old Girl In Studio

Dark blue background

Light blue background

Or black and white…

Which one do you like best?

Four Boys Photographed In Studio: Fall/Winter/Seasonless

You call it chaos, we call it art. Enjoy these meaningful, real portraits of four brothers that share a special bond.

Group hug!

My favorite- if you don’t have ninja kicks in your family photos, you might be missing out. :)

Family of Three In-Studio/Winter

Right before Christmas, I photographed this family of three. Missionaries to Myanmar, they are home on furlough and I am honored they chose Calotype for professional family portraits. You can read more about their missions adventures here.

It’s something that lurks inside a seven-year-old! It just comes out in front of a camera!

Winter Engagement Session

Even though I don’t do weddings, I still photograph couples for their engagement portraits. This particular day was extremely cold and rainy, leaving us unable to go outdoors for portraits like this couple had originally planned. They decided to go ahead with indoor portraits.

These first two were photographed just inside the studio foyer, where our window display faces Main Street. The windows were foggy and the street lights were on, giving a sweet romantic feel. The reminder were done inside the camera room, and the back lounge. Do you like the color images or black and white? Please feel free to email with comments or questions!

Family of Six In the Studio: Winter/Dressy

This family has waited a long time for family portraits. Why do you think they waited?

1. Couldn’t find coordinating outfits in everyone’s sizes…

2. Dad works every evening and kids have school in the daytime so there was no time for an appointment…

3. The youngest cut her bangs down to the root and unless she wore a sock hat, there were NO FAMILY PICTURES taking place until the hair grew out…

Of course, it’s number three!!

The hair is growing out, and this family went with dressy clothes for portraits. Scroll down close to the end- NOBODY was as proud to wear his suit as child #3… can you tell by looking??

Doesn’t every man feel like this when he knows he’s looking fine? :)

Dancing to a tune only she can hear… (This pose is her idea, FYI)

You can watch this Portrait Session on IGTV on Instagram. This is my sister-in-law’s family and they graciously allowed me to film the whole session, unedited and as-is, so others can get an idea what a Family Portrait Session in the studio might be like. Enjoy!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Julie Stephens (@calotypephotography)

Extended Family In The Park/Late Fall, Early Stages of Winter

Are you wanting to get the family together for outdoor portraits, but concerned how it will look now that leaves are off the trees?

This family was photographed on November 16th. The previous weekend, Neosho experienced a cold, heavy rain storm that stripped the final fall leaves from trees. No matter- there’s a beautiful bluff in Big Spring Park that never changes. Its deep gray/brown colors look great with skin tones and clothing. Plus- when the finished pieces of wall art hang on the client’s walls, the natural gray backdrop will blend well with most current home color schemes.

At Big Spring, there’s frequently an occasional duck that wanders by. Can you find it?

Nine-Month-Old Baby Boy/Christmas Portraits

DON’T MISS baby’s first Christmas!

These images provide solid support to the theory that the six/nine month range is a WONDERFUL stage for professional portraits. This age looks great in all the outfits- and they can’t go anywhere yet so they HAVE to stay there and grin at you. Merry Christmas!