2019 Fall mini Sessions Wrap-Up

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I recently held my annual Fall Mini Session Event. It was quite a day! When I arrived at Salem Willows Park I found that most of the trees in the large park had been damaged by the massive storm earlier in the week and the trees that still stood had not yet changed to striking New England fall colors as I had ordered. The nerve of Mother Nature! In addition to the End of The World appearance of the park there was some kind of video crew shooting in various spots, and a wedding being performed.

My clients, being the awesome folks they are, took it all in stride. We took advantage of the park’s beach and the lovely afternoon light resulted in some great shots. That and puppies. Pictures are always better with puppies.

Holiday Card Design Advice

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One of my favorite things about the holiday season is when the cards start coming in. I hang the cards on my wall, and thanks to the popularity of photo cards, before long I have my own little gallery up. It’s great!

Here are some thoughts about what I personally think makes a holiday card really pop!

1. In my opinion, card recipients want to see a clear, beautiful portrait of you and your family/kids/dog, front and center. Make your photo the feature of your card by avoiding designs that take up half the card with sentiments. The sentiments are lovely, of course! but even better is your smile. If you do choose a more elaborate card, use very simple photos (like tight headshots) so that there are not competing design elements, creating a busy, un-peaceful mess.

2. If you’d like your family’s photo to be the featured photo, zoom in on the action - your faces! Sure, you may have gone to the beach this summer and want to share that news, but a beach shot where your family is tiny in the frame just doesn’t feature you the way your card-recipients want to see. Save a shot of your guys burying each other in the sand for the backside of the card, which will contribute to telling a little story about your year!

At right is the original crop, which I zoomed in on for the best effect on the card. When zooming in, be conscious not to crowd the subject by coming in too tight.

At right is the original crop, which I zoomed in on for the best effect on the card. When zooming in, be conscious not to crowd the subject by coming in too tight.

4. After you have a well-lit, nicely cropped shot of the whole family for the cover photo (or maybe just the kids, that’s cool too), use the back of the card to share photos that tell the story of your family. Avoid similar photos - four pictures of your kids from the waist-up smiling in the same manner is kind of boring. A shot of your daughter playing a game of soccer and another of your son engrossed in a project are more interesting, and for those who haven’t seen your kids in years or perhaps haven’t even met them, well, they’ve just learned something about your child! Also, if you’ve included a nice cover photo of the whole family looking into the camera, you don’t need a replica shot on the backside, so - go candid!

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Do you like a card that’s more design-heavy? Consider a simpler photo, like the ones used in the below samples. Converting your photo to black and white can help avoid clashing colors too.

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Click on the thumbnails below and roll your mouse over the opened photos to read more tips. Again, these are all made from shoots during my sessions, but I encourage you to add your favorite candid shots from the year to share with your recipients! (I used mpix.com to create these cards samples).

Happy designing!



Love and Music

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John and Peter used to live in my parents’ neighborhood. I was always pleased to bump into them at weddings we were all working at, and at various community events. They moved to the countryside a little while ago, so I was happy to hear they’d won a bid on a photo shoot with me a while back at a local fundraiser before they moved. Now that I no longer shoot weddings and they have moved away, I do not see their friendly faces much at all anymore.

Since their auction win allowed them to use their session in any way they like, we created a smorgasbord photo session. II had a blast making a headshot for Peter who is a practitioner of Structural Integration, in addition to playing the violin, and a headshot for John who plays cello. The minute I saw their cool practice space, I knew I would need to shoot John a bit more extensively, and he obliged. And of course, we made use of the time to get awesome shots of the two of them together too!

Quite productive!


Johnson String Catalog

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If you’ve visited my blog recently you may have already caught a glimpse of the shots I took for Johnson String Instrument . I wanted to share how those images got used in their annual catalog for 2019-20.

The catalog was designed by Pat Nieshoff Design, and you can see the full catalog HERE.

As always, click to enlarge the images.


Strings and Smiles {BOSTON AREA MARKETING PHOTOGRAPHER}

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Just a sampling from a shoot I did recently for Johnson String Instrument annual catalog. Everybody was great to work with, as always. C, in the jeans top, was charming and has the most amazing skin! And E, in the red and white dress (and on the big comfy chair), I mean c’mon! How can you not smile when you see it’s clear that she loves to laugh? (Oh, and the grown-ups were fine to work with too )

And They're Off! {boston graduation photographer}

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Last year I had the great pleasure of following the Boston University Dance Team through their competition season for picture story for BU Today. You can see the story here. I was in my happiest place when I was a fly on the wall documenting their hard work, their camaraderie, their challenges and triumphs. It was one of my favorite work things to happen last year.

Since then, I occasionally see some of the dancers on campus. I would give them a big hug and enjoy a quick chat before they rushed to their next class on campus.

When Nina contacted me at the end of this year asking if I would photograph some of dancers from last year who are now seniors, I was so excited to see them again and photograph them! This time was a bit different since they were not pushing their bodies to the limit perfecting dance routines (it was a bit more chill this time around), but I really loved being able to chat with them and hear about where they are headed next. We wandered campus photographing each grad in front of her college, did various group and single shots, and of course, got them stepping on the crest (which i recently learned we’ve been incorrectly referring to as a “seal” for many many years) - a BU superstition.

Congratulations, Terriers!

family Snowball fight! {boston family photographer}

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Heather comes up with great photo shoot ideas for her family sessions. You can find a few shots from last year’s Family Photo session in the wrap up gallery, where her daughters Alana and Nadia are riding bikes in their pretty dresses and showing off their soccer ball skills - also in their dresses (which makes them young women after my own heart!).

A few weeks ago I got an email from Heather saying she had this idea about having the family session in the snow; shots of them sledding and having a snowball fight, etc. We would need to wing it a bit, we both agreed, since the session depended on weather. I was in!

Weather and scheduling worked in our favor and on Saturday I went to their place and had a ball watching them have a ball…while making snowballs.

The highlight for me was when we were setting up a shot of everyone throwing the snowball in my direction and Alana claimed “I have terrible aim!” then promptly nailed me right in the face. It was pretty much perfect!




Boston Family Holiday Sessions!

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Tis the season for holiday photos! This weekend was no different. Both sessions took place in beautiful Boston. The first was Rachael along with her kids, and their cousins which made for a fun and super fashionable cute-fest. Next was Pam’s family who came dressed in their best. Even their pup Murphy was sporting a matching bandana!

The results were fun, charming, and a lovely nod to our beloved city!


How Could I Forget Violet?! {Boston newborn photography}

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To be fair I haven’t forgotten Violet, it’s just that she’s probably old enough to vote by now (make good voting choices, Violet!)

I had a delightful time last year photographing Raymond , who is the first-born to high school classmate of mine, Alison, so I was very happy to hear from Allison again! This time, it’s a girl! Violet was a sweet little love to be sure, and photographing their growing family was something I really appreciate being given the opportunity to do.

On the wall in Alison and Ed’s home was the family photo I’d taken last year - I love seeing that! It’s not just because I took it (though that is a source of pride), but I always hope that my clients will get a chance to actually print their photos after going through all the scheduling and outfit choosing and primping for a session.

It makes me feel good to know that they are actually enjoying the fruits of our collective efforts!

Cindy and Her Family {Boston Family Photographer}

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I’m always thrilled to add a new family to my roster and Cindy, her daughter Mia, age 3, and husband Richard were no exception. Including a charming wooden puzzle into their shoot was a nice touch and I was glad they had it, along with some interesting light and bright spaces in their home. And who can resist some jumping on the bed!



Johnson String Instruments

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I've been working with Johnson String Instrument for many years now. The maker, seller and repair shop for high end string instruments hire me to do many different types of shoots for them. Be it product shots, details of beautiful instruments, shots of the luthiers and staff working, portraits and headshots, images for their annual catalog, coverage of their special events, concerts or master classes, I am always pleased to hear they need me.

Here's a sampling of images taken for them over the past year.

The W Family {Boston Family Photographer}

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Lizzi told me she found me on a random web search, and I feel lucky for that! When I met her and her family at Menatomy Rocks Park, there was something very familiar about them. Maybe it was that their eldest daughter brought Harry Potter to the photo shoot (the book, not the actual wizard), or that when Lizzi contacted me for a session there was a slight sense of urgency because the aforementioned Harry Potter-loving eldest child's front teeth were growing in!  I felt this was the kind of urgency I could get behind. These are my kind of people. 

They had an easiness about them that was a joy to be around. Photo sessions can be stressful, but you wouldn't know it if you were watching them!

• Rumana and Her Family • {Boston family photographer}

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These were shot before Christmas but I wanted to share them because I'm so grateful to Rumana for being a repeat offender to Cydney Scott Photography. Maybe that title doesn't quite work - what I mean is she's hired me many times since Aayan, her oldest son, was six months old. 

Then again at one year old. And then Aayan turned two and Rehan was on the way.

Then suddenly Rehan was one !

It had been a while though when I got a bittersweet email - they were moving away and wanted some photos at their home, and also, they now have a spunky little girl named Samira who was just about to turn two!

Samira kept me on my toes which I love. Nothing better than a feisty girl who knows what she wants, Aayan had the same sweet, gentle demeanor as always, and Rehan, the "middle child" has such a twinkle in his eye.

I'll miss you guys!

• Fall Sessions Wrap-Up! {Boston Family Photographer} •

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Autumn was busy and fun for Cydney Scott Photography! Here's a peek at some of those sessions. We had twins, we had grown siblings, we had extended families, dancing, tree hunting and even a few beloved family dogs! We can't forget them!

• Avery and Will {boston family photography} •

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I love seeing my littlest client grow over the years and Will and Avery have been doing just that! Combine some nice light, the pretty campus of Wellesley College and the promise of lollipops for good behavior, and you've got a fall family session!

(click to enlarge)