Four Month Old Newborn

Before my son was born, I didn't think much about photography.  I hired a newborn photographer AFTER he was already born, but luckily she was able to fit us in right away.  Like most new moms, I didn't know that there was a very short ideal window in which to have them done.  One of the things I remember her telling me during our session was no matter what photographer I use going forward, not to let anyone sucker me in to doing 3 month photos, because they weren't really necessary.  I hadn't even thought about that.  I didn't plan to hire anyone again until his birthday, and I didn't. (With the exception of our annual holiday photo.)

After becoming a photographer myself, I came to realize that many moms do like to professionally document their baby's age more than just once a year.  I offer the sitter session as part of my packages because it makes sense to me as a notable milestone.  It's usually about halfway through the year, and there's so much more we can do once the baby is sitting up.  People sometimes ask me for 3-month photos, and I'll always oblige, but I do let them know that unless they (the parents) want to be incorporated into the photos as well.. there's not a ton we can do.  It's too old for the sleepy newborn poses, but too young to sit them up in front of a nice background, or in a cute prop.  I can get them laying down, from above.. or we can do tummy time.  Other than that, there's usually not much else.  But if the purpose is just to document the size and the age, that's totally fine.

Recently I had a mom contact me for newborn photos, even though her baby was already three months.  In the photography world, this isn't really a newborn anymore.  She agreed to move forward with the session understanding that we probably wouldn't get the same sleepy shots as a newborn, but I agreed to still use all the same props and accessories I use during a newborn session.  I hadn't ever planned a baby session that way, but I'm so happy I did!  

Baby was four months old by the time he came in for his session, and he was WIDE AWAKE the whole time.  There was no getting him to sleep.  Honestly, he was so awake I didn't even try.  I still used all my newborn wraps and sets, and I still posed him with mom and dad the way I would a newborn.  But unlike a regular newborn session, I was able to capture more of a connection between him and his parents. And happiness!

And for the photos by himself, he was so jolly.  Look at all the great facial expressions we couldn't have gotten in the first two weeks:

And even though he's a lot bigger than a newborn, he's still just a baby.  So we've still got all those great baby details.

I'm not sure yet if I want to add another milestone session to my package options, but if these kinds of shots are good enough for your newborn session, then bring me all your babies <3

Photo Gifts

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays!  

I don't know about you, but ever since having my son, I've used his cuteness to provide thoughtful, (yet low cost) gifts for the family.  If you're not doing this already, you should!  I've done mugs, Christmas ornaments, ipad covers, blankets, pencil holders.. but this year I decided to do a calendar. (Just for the grandparents, anyway.)

It was a completely last minute idea, and I literally took all the photos in ONE day.  My son was a sport. All of them were done in my house with the exception of December, which we did at the tree farm, since we were going to pick out our tree that day anyway. We used props I already had lying around, and a chalkboard, which I just photoshopped the month names into.  I uploaded these images to mpix.com, and they did the rest to make these amazing, high quality calendars, for no more than $20 each.  I'm in love with how it came out, and wanted to share the images we used.  Enjoy!

Bridges Maternity

Howdy, guys!  It's been a little while since I posted something, so I figured I'd share my most recent maternity session that I'm absolutely in love with.  When I share previews on my facebook, I typically choose one image from the entire session that I love.  But usually, just that one image can't fully represent what the session was all about.  So today, I thought it'd be cool to show a little bit more, to give you a better idea of the variety you can expect during a maternity session.  Thank you to Amber and her beautiful family for letting me share! <3

I typically shoot all my maternity sessions between 32 and 36 weeks.  So if you're interested in a session, make sure to reserve ahead of time!  My weekends fill up several months ahead of time (I'm currently booking into May/June), and during the week I am only available in Chino Hills.

If I don't check in again.. happy holidays, everyone!

Granite

Almost three years ago now, I bought my very first camera.  I wanted so badly to learn how to use it and become comfortable with it, that I brought it everywhere, taking pictures of everyone and everything.  Around that same time, my friend Jordane found out she was expecting her second child. Even though she already had all her photo sessions scheduled with a real photographer, she generously offered to let me use her and her baby as models, so I could practice.  We did a maternity session, a newborn session, and she has continued to let me take photos of her children ever since.  

Most recently, I had the honor of doing her maternity session and newborn session for her third son.  I looked back at some of those photos from a couple years ago, and I'm almost afraid to share them.  I had no idea what I was doing, at all.  As embarrassed as I am of those images, I am also proud, because they truly show how far I've come.  I have a tendency to self-criticize and never seem to be fully satisfied with my work.  Which I think is a good thing, because it is what keeps me striving to do better.  But these images are a perfect reminder that in the last couple years, I have actually learned a thing or two.  Here are a couple of the better images of baby Slate, July 2014.

Cut to 2016, and almost everything has changed.  I only do newborn sessions in my home studio, where I can best control the light, and the space. Plus, I have my whole slew of backdrops, sets, props, and accessories at my disposal.  For baby Granite's newborn session, here is a little bit of what we did.

Before all my newborn sessions, I send mom a questionnaire asking about what colors she wants, and doesn't want.  If they have any specific requests, they can let me know here as well.  Jordane wanted blues, greens, neutrals, and grays.  She also wanted a couple shots with a baseball (a tradition with all her babies), and a little something to show he was born around Halloween.  Granite was super smiley and perfectly sleepy the whole time. 

And of course, we had to do a couple of mom and baby together <3 <3

Thank you, Jordane for continuing to come back to me after all this time, and for letting me capture these most precious moments <3

Train Tracks

Now that it's October, everyone is getting their holiday cards ready and family sessions are in full swing.  My facebook newsfeed has been overflowing with beautiful family photos, and I absolutely love it.  But every once in a while, I come across something that makes me physically cringe, and that is children and their families on train tracks.

Now, I'm not going to lie.  I see the artistic appeal of train track images.  They can be beautiful, cool, and unique.  But it's something I will never ever ever do, and here is why:

First of all, train tracks are private property.  Which means shooting on them is blatantly breaking the law.  You can be heavily fined, or even arrested, depending on the state. Even if the tracks are no longer being used, they are STILL private property, and shooting on them is trespassing. It's illegal.

If breaking the law isn't enough to deter you, here's my next point:  It's freaking dangerous.  People have DIED taking photos on train tracks.  Let me say that again: People have DIED taking photos on train tracks.  If the tracks are active, you can not rely on "cautiousness" and "good judgment" to keep you from getting hit by a train.  Trains are fast.  It takes a long time for them to stop if they need to.  Plus, they move in both directions, so if the train is being pushed, it would take even longer for anyone who saw you at the front, to communicate with the people controlling it in the back. They don't always sound their horns and you can't always hear them as they're coming toward you.  And even if you DO clear the tracks in time, they overhang the tracks by quite a bit, so you could STILL get hit or even pulled under.  A session on the tracks risks the photographer's life, the kids' or family's life, and what about the people aboard the train? You're putting all of them at risk as well.  Not to mention the potential damage you could cause by forcing a train to have to make an emergency stop.  Pileups or derailments could be disastrous, and the photographer would be liable. 

But let's say you or your photographer found a set of train tracks that are completely unused (safe) and for whatever reason, you are able to use them legally. What kind of example would you be setting?  I get asked to shoot on train tracks quite a bit.  And it's not because my clients came up with that brand new idea all on their own.  It's because they've seen it.  Even if I was able to set up a safe and legal session on train tracks, the images produced from that session could potentially inspire someone else to do the same, who may not know the rules and dangers involved.  As a photographer, I have a responsibility to keep my clients safe at all times.  It's my number one priority.  But I believe I also have a social responsibility to set a good example, for anyone else - clients or photographers - who might be watching.

So this is me, begging everyone to stay safe this year. (And every year.) Please stay off the tracks; it's not worth it.

<3 <3

The Adult Cake Smash

Almost two years ago, when I was still just starting out, my friend Gennina asked me to do a cake smash session for her.  Her younger son was almost one, (and we would soon be planning a session for him as well), but what she wanted was a session to celebrate HER birthday: the big three zero. (30). 

An adult cake smash? I had never heard of this before.  I tried google and pinterest to find some inspiration, but all I found was one cell phone quality image of a lady in the grass chugging champagne, and a couple super awkward studio images of middle-aged women sitting alone eating cake, and for some reason, cake was on their face.  For babies, a cake mess makes sense, but those images to me, did not. I didn't get it, and I wasn't quite sure yet how we'd make THIS session work.

But, we did it.  And we had a blast.  I went to Gennina's house, we blew up balloons, decorated her spare guest room with streamers, mardi gras beads, banners.. She dressed up in a cute dress and birthday crown to top it off. When it was time for cake, we did a few silly photos of her alone, but then her two boys joined in for the fun.  Here are a couple images from that session two years ago.. 

I posted a preview on my facebook page, and right away my cousin, Kristine, texted me to tell me how much she loved the idea, and to pencil her in for her 40th birthday in 2016.

And that is what brings us to today, October 20th, 2016: Kristine's 40th birthday. NOW when you search "adult cake smash," you'll actually find a lot.  It's becoming quite the trend these days. While there are a rare few that I do like, many of these sessions still seem a little odd to me. They are often either really awkward and cheesy, or borderline narcissistic (in my opinion). 

But for Kristine's session, the most important thing for her was that we include her girls. And I think this makes all the difference. Because it's real. And I'm a fan of real. Now instead of just an adult dressed like a baby in a tutu smashing cake into their own face, we have a party, an actual celebration. A celebration not just of the number 40, but of who she is at 40: a mother.  We turned on the music, brought out the cake and the confetti and everyone had a genuinely good time. The fun in these photos is real. It shines through, and that is why I love them so much.  

And by the way, this is not to say that adult cake smashes without children cannot be tastefully done; they absolutely can!  I've seen it.  But including them, for me, just makes them all the more joyful.  I am a children's photographer, after all.  Here's a small handful from her session.  Hope you're having a very happy birthday, Kristine!

That's all for today :-)

Prints, Prints, Prints

As a client myself, the most important thing I look for when I'm choosing a photographer is digital images.  I don't do much printing, and all I really want is to have my images so I can look at them whenever I like.  And sometimes, I (my husband) may decide to print a few to update our frames around the house. So when I started this business, I wanted to serve moms like me, and make sure all my packages always included all the best digital images.  I do not offer prints.

This model goes against what the best, most experienced photographers tend to do.  And they have good reason.  When a photographer gives or sells their digital images, they risk giving up control of their work. Which explains why some may charge such a high price for them.  I myself have had the unfortunate experience of seeing my work posted online, after clients have added their own filters, or tried to turn it B&W on their own. (It's not as simple as just pushing a B&W option.)  Photographers spend a lot of time editing their work to make it look a certain way, and the finished product is their art.  Altering their work in any way not only butchers it (in their eyes), but it also misrepresents their talent and their style. 

Another way to unintentionally misrepresent a photographers work is to have them printed poorly.  WHERE you get your images printed matters, a lot.  And forget about the photographer for a second, don't YOU want to get all your session's money's worth? 

Before I got into photography myself, I was guilty of printing at some of the terrible places I'm going to discuss below.  They always seemed fine to me, but I never actually went back to COMPARE them to the original image.  And I obviously never had the same image printed at multiple places.  Until now. 

Below, you will see four different images, each with something different to represent.  I chose a mostly white-ish studio image, a colored-background studio image, a beach image, and a sunset field image. I printed all four at the following places: Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Shutterfly, Mpix, and Nations Photo Lab.  

Keep in mind: these are pictures of pictures, so they may not look EXACTLY like the physical print, but they are close enough to make an accurate and effective comparison. Just LOOK at how different they all are, and how much a difference the printer makes.  Even I was shocked at what I got back.  Secondly, I often refer to something known as "banding."  This refers to the digital noise that can sometimes occur in digital images, showing up as patterns of lines.  They are most commonly seen in the images with solid backgrounds (the studio shots).  First up is the white-ish studio image:

Here is my original digital image I provided to the client.

Walgreens

Oh my gosh. Awful. Look how different the color is from the original.  It's green. It's dark. The background has visible banding and more easily seen in person, it's got streaks. Just awful.

Costco

Yikes.  I had heard a lot of good things about Costco and I know a lot of my clients print here, but look how dark and gray it is. I would not be happy with this.

Target

Ack! It's yellow. It's super grainy (more easily seen in person), and the banding is so bad you can actually see the blue/gray marks in the background. Seriously awful. 

CVS

Not quite as disastrous as the first few, but it's still very grainy, and the color is still off. The hue is still way more green than the original. 

Shutterfly

This one's a little better, especially the lighting. But the main issue I had with this one was the visible banding in the background, like the others though, it's a little harder to see on the screen.

Mpix

I actually use and recommend Mpix myself.  Without comparing to the original, the quality is significantly better than all the rest. There's no grain, and the smooth baby skin of the original is still in tact. It IS a tad on the dull side compared to the original, but I'd still recommend Mpix for sure. 

Nations Photo Lab

I thought this one came out the best.  Not only did it have the same smooth quality as Mpix, but I thought it retained the original colors the best.  I'd recommend Nations Photo Lab as well.

Next up: the colored-background studio image.  Here is my original.

Walgreens

Omg Walgreens, you make me want to cry. It's yellow. The lighting looks so harsh there are bright spots on their faces. Plus the clarity has been increased so baby's face is no longer baby smooth, and mom's face almost looks blotchy to me. Once again, Walgreens is the worst.

Costco

Yet again, Costco disappointed me.  At first glance this might not look dreadful, but scroll back up to the original.  In comparison, this one is dark, and super gray.

CVS

CVS. Again with the pumped up clarity, which takes away the smoothness of their faces, and shows some harsh banding on the background. Plus, this is yellow. Yuck.

Target

Gosh, why is it so hard to replicate color correctly?  Again, this one is yellow/green. And just like CVS, the clarity is increased making their faces look super rough.  It's much more visible in person.

Shutterfly

I'm not sure you can see it here, but there were a couple gray dots on baby's face, on her right eyelid. What the heck, Shutterfly? The banding on this one was also a little too much for me, especially in the shadows on the right.  But the coloring is getting a little closer.

Mpix

Mpix again impressed with quality. Nice smooth faces. Minimal banding on the background.

Nations Photo Lab

Good job, Nations Photo Lab. Good quality just like Mpix, but again I think NPL got the colors a smidge closer.

The beach photo.  Here's my original.

Costco

Oh, Costco. You're the worst this time.  It's so dark, you actually lose the detail in the waves on the right. You look nothing like the original.

Walgreens

Not quite as dark as Costco, but the color is green. Look at that sand, yuck.

CVS

In addition to being grainy, look at those streaks on the right side of the image. What's going on, CVS?

Target

Again Target seemed to pump up the clarity, making it look super grainy.  I think this issue is better seen in person. Not good. 

Shutterfly

Shutterfly seemed to have the opposite problem as Target and CVS.  Instead of extra grainy, the focus is soft, so much so that her face now looks blurry, when I definitely worked hard to get it in focus.  Boo, Shutterfly.  At least the coloring is better.

Mpix

Definitely not as vibrant as my original image, I'm not sure any of them are.  But looking at this physical print, making no comparisons, it's still very good quality.

Nations Photo Lab

Just like in the others, Nations Photo Lab is great quality, and does the best job matching to the original color. 

Last but not least, sunset in the field.  Here is my original.

Walgreens

Congratulations, Walgreens.  You've turned my gorgeous, glowing friend into a zombie.  Her face looks dark, and greenish gray. Ew.

Costco

Again, this doesn't look awful if you're not making any comparisons. (Probably why a lot of you are usually satisfied with Costco prints.) But scroll back up to the original.  All of my original vibrance is gone, and this just looks drab and gray.

CVS

Oy. The color is super yellow/green, plus the clarity has been increased so it looks grainy, and her face doesn't look as smooth and perfect as it did in my original.

Target

Just like the other Target images, this is again super grainy.

Shutterfly

This isn't super terrible, but it's definitely lighter, and less vibrant than it should be.

Mpix

Once again, Mpix impresses with quality and is pretty close to the original colors.

Nations Photo Lab

NPL again has the most accurate portrayal of my vibrant colors. Woohoo!

Whew!  If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time.  After all of that, here are my conclusions:

1. If you are lucky enough to use a photographer who offers prints, use them.  A professional photographer will most likely be using a professional lab, yielding results better than anything you've seen here.
2. If you use me, or another photographer who leaves the printing up to you, Nations Photo Lab and Mpix are your best bets.  Their quality is undeniably better, ordering is simple, they are reasonably-priced, and can be done right here:

Nations Photo Lab

Mpix

     3. Don't ever use Walgreens. Actually, I wouldn't recommend using any of the other places I            showed you here, but they were by far the worst. Oy.

That's all for now!  Please share this with anyone you know who orders prints. #FriendsDon'tLetFriendsPrintAtWalgreens. ;-)

Grow With Me

So I have only been doing photography for a couple years.  But especially in the life of a baby (my main subjects), so much changes within that time.  And I've found that although I love so many things about my job, my #1 favorite thing about what I do is being able to observe growth.  Growth of babies. Growth of families.  Growth of my own work.  And because of this, (and my extreme good fortune), I have been lucky enough to be able to narrow down the focus of my business to just where I want it to be: baby's first year.  

The four main types of sessions I offer are maternity, newborn, sitter (6-9 months), and the one-year cake smash.  It is amazing to see how much changes within just that first year.  When I have the honor of photographing a newborn, and then later get the pleasure of playing with them and seeing them experience the joy of cake for the first time, it makes my heart truly happy.  Happy to witness the miracles of life before my eyes.  Happy someone was pleased enough with my prior work that they wanted to come back to me.  And cake. I'm happy for the cake that I may or may not dig into once they leave.  Did I just say that?

So for today's blog, I wanted to share some images of one of my favorite little girls: Reese.  We just finished up her one-year cake smash session, but I first met Reese back when she was only days new. Here she is during her newborn session, in September of 2015.

Reese came back for her sitter session in March of this year.  She was right around 6 months old.  I love the sitter age because they can sit up, but they can't crawl or run away from me yet.  How stinking adorable is she??

And lastly, the cake smash.  My cake smash sessions are completely custom, and Reese's momma wanted a purple and gold color scheme with stars.  It loved it because it was original; I hadn't done it before.  It took her a little while to warm up, but we got lots of fun shots in the end.  But look how much she's grown! She has the same sweet face, but she's WALKING.

Happy birthday, sweet Reese.  That's all for today <3

My first blog

Well hello there!  My name is Morgan, my business is Morgan K Photography, and this is my first blog.  It took me an embarrassing amount of time just to figure out where the blog portion was on this website.  Truth-be-told, I didn't even realize it had one.  It is times like these when I am reminded I am not quite as young as I feel. 

Anywho, when I first began presenting my photography online, I used Facebook.  I created a Facebook business page mainly because I wanted a place separate from my personal Facebook profile to keep and share the photos I was taking.  It soon began to grow into an actual business, and became my primary way of connecting with potential clients.

A year later, I created this website, only because I wanted to be able to include a real web address on my new business cards.  That was a year and a half ago, and I have not touched this page since.  Because I never went back to it, I assumed no one else ever looked at it either.  My Facebook page is active and current, and so I assumed my clients only followed my work there. 

But at a recent session, a client pulled up my website to show me some examples of mine that she really liked. Yikes. Not only had my work improved greatly from what I had originally shared, but my style had significantly evolved as well.  I had also included categories of sessions I no longer typically offer.  It was a complete misrepresentation of what Morgan K Photography is now.  

So from now on, my goal is to keep this website current.  And part of that, is the creation of this blog.  While I will continue to post my regular one-image previews on my Facebook page, this blog will allow me to share more.  If I have a session that I really want to share more images of, I can do that here.  If I have a session I really want to share more information about, I can do that here.   If I just want to share thoughts instead of images (and I have many), I can do that here.

And that leads me to the end of my very first blog post.  If you made it this far, thanks for reading.  Stay tuned, friends.  More fun stuff to come <3

Me and my inspiration. Photo by Alicia D. Photography.