Anna Elliott Photography Blog

family session in owings mills

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:04:39 -0800

amanda contacted me a while back to see if i was available for a family session: she, her husband, their son, her sister and her sister's fiancee. she wanted to get some photos for her parent's anniversary (how sweet is that?) so we met up on sunday for our session.

so one of the sometimes cool/sometimes not cool things about not meeting clients ahead of time is that you never really know what they're going to be like. i've been lucky and have almost always had great clients who i got along with. but this clan? holy crap. i didn't stop laughing - mostly due to amanda's husband, ari, who is a complete cutup. we were freezing cold and battling strong gusts, but we kept laughing and talking and it felt like i'd known them for a while; i could be my naturally sarcastic self and they could dish it right back. my kind of clients.

thanks, guys! can't wait to show you the rest of the photos.

top 100 on photoblogs.org

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:29:42 -0800

check it out: the anna elliott photography blogsite is ranked 92 out of the top 100 blogs on the photoblog.org site!

if you've never been to the photoblog site, definitely head over there. you can spend hours surfing all types of blogs - they have over 32,000 listed.

facebook

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:44:11 -0800

so two things about facebook:

first, anna elliott photography now has its own facebook page. what's the difference between the blogsite and the facebook page? you'll be able to see photos on the facebook page that aren't on the blogsite and also get to read my comments and occasionally a 'how to' on how i created the photo. so head on over to facebook, do a search for anna elliott photography and become a fan!

second, i've had a few clients ask if they can use their photos on their facebook page. i don't mind if you do it but please give credit for it (you can put it in the caption). i know lots of photographers are funny about letting clients use their images on facebook and myspace but it doesn't bother me. just spread the love and let people know where you got your fab photos done :)

spy lens

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:06:30 -0800

i saw this on a photography forum i'm a member of and just ordered it; i am beyond excited to get it!

spy lens

i have always wanted to do street photography (taking photos of random people in the streets) but i'm too shy to do it. legally, i can take a photo of whomever i want on a public street but i don't really have the balls to do it; i'm scared someone is going to get in my face and get ugly about having their photo taken and the last thing i want is to piss someone off. plus, people just *know* when they're having their photo taken and then you can't capture the candid moments that make street photography so interesting.

i should get my lens in about a week; can't wait to post all my stealth photos.

command performance

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:39:15 -0800

the butlers are another repeat client (you can see their previous sneak peek here). i was excited when jen called to schedule a holiday session because her family is gorgeous and her boys are so much fun. their oldest son has babysat for my kids (they adore him) and their youngest son is a ball of energy. truly.

we walked around our neighborhood and tried to find trees that still had a few leaves on them; not much luck with that. seems like the leaves are gone earlier this year. but we made do with a few evergreens and a basketball court, instead.

yep, another one

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:30:47 -0800

i know. how many more times am i going to blog about a family that i had a great time with? who were totally fun to hang out with and who had a great family connection? trust me, i wish i had some more adjectives besides 'great' and 'fun' and 'wonderful'. but it's the truth. i have amazing clients and i love taking photos of them. take a gander at the chappell family in the field behind my house (gawd. i'm dreading the day they start building houses back there):

side note: the first thing harrison said to me when his family showed up was, 'where's the blue beanbag?' apparently he'd seen the photos on my site where another family used it and that was the only thing he wanted to do - have his photo taken in the blue beanbag. if you're looking for one yourself, check out the ones from land of nod. the covers are removeable and washable and they're practically indesctructable.

family holiday session at lake kittamaqundi

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:56:41 -0800

how cool is this? becky asked for a holiday session as a hanukkah present from her husband and kids. i thought that was a really good idea - and it proved to be good leverage for making the kids cooperate when they wanted to throw leaves ('hey guys! this is mom's hanukkah present!')

i love all my clients. i really do. but sometimes there is a family that i really connect with and who really connect with each other very naturally in front of the camera. the fischbein's were that family and the photos show it:

thank you

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:51:00 -0800

i'm nearing the end of the holiday photo session rush and as i sit here downloading the photos from this morning's session, i am overcome with gratitude. i'm grateful that i can earn money doing something i love, that there are people who appreciate my art and that i get to work with some fantastic clients. i mean, really. does it get any better?

to all my clients: thank you. thank you for trusting me to take photographs of your family. i know there are other places you could get your photos done and i'm grateful that you've chosen me. thank you for the positive feedback, the referrals and the repeat business. without all of you, i'm just a mom with an expensive hobby.

holiday session in river hill

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:35:17 -0800

the first thing missi said to me when she scheduled her session was, "i hate to have my picture taken."

um, ok.

i wasn't sure what to expect. usually it's the dads who are grumpy and don't want to do the session but jeff was a ham and kept the kids laughing with his impression of some guy on a dentures commercial.

despite her hesitation, missi was great. she laughed and went along with the session and i dare say she looks great. i don't know why she wouldn't want her picture taken; if i looked like her i'd be strutting my stuff all day, every way.

marty and marilyn in maple lawn, md

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:47:50 -0800

over the weekend i got to do a joint session for marty and marilyn. they both live in my neighborhood (you might remember my post about marilyn's unreal interior design talents). marty also has artistic talent oozing from her pores as a graphic designer. i love hanging out with these two woman because they are both so talented and they totally get - and appreciate - good design.

so we decided to all meet up in the field behind my house for the session. marilyn and her family went first and then marty and her family. marty, aka party marty, saw fit to bring along a bottle of wine and wine glasses. it was lovely: i took photos while the kids played in the field and the adults not having their session done sipped wine and hung out. most definitely one of my favorite sessions.

here's a sneak peek of marilyn's family:

and marty's family:

joint holiday session in maple lawn, md

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:44:52 -0800

this is the third year in a row i've done holiday photos for the hefner family. this year, michelle told me her sister wanted to get in on the action so they drove up from arlington, va to join in on the fun.

michelle and necolle should get a shiny gold star for doing such a great job coordinating the kids' outfits. clients always ask me what their kids should wear and sometimes it's hard to tell them because clothing is so personal. but take a look at these kids: the girls are each wearing bright, colorful outfits (which don't MATCH but coordinate. you can totally have polka dots and stripes together!) and the boys are in simple, coordinating colors. it's brilliant. we kept saying the kids should be in a gap ad - not just because of the clothing but because all four of them are good looking kids.

here's their sneak peek:

holiday session at OBGC

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:06:50 -0800

yet another much adored repeat family: the chandlees. i did a session for them last year (you can their sneak peek here) and was so glad to get the email from lydia that she wanted to do a holiday session this year.

two great things:

1. when i went to lydia's house, i saw three of the images from their last session blown up large and hanging in their living room. they looked *fabulous*. so many people are scared of putting large photos on their wall (8x10 is *not* a wall photo, people!) and i love it when clients are bold and go for it. lydia chose three great photos that all relate and they look awesome.

2. lydia suggested going out to the olney boys and girls club which i'd never been to. i love it when clients suggest new places to shoot. the OBGC is a park with lots of sports fields but just past the last baseball field was a great outcropping of boulders. it was a fun place to shoot and the resulting photos show it:

mother of the year

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:58:24 -0800

the other night, my daughter (kate) threw a heinous temper tantrum because she didn't like her options for dinner (it was leftover night). i warned her several times that she would go to her room without dinner if she didn't stop but she didn't. so i put her in her room without dinner.

when i went to check on her later (she was asleep, of course), i found this:

i believe those are tears in the upper right hand corner. and the writing underneath the people with the slashes through them? yep, it says mom.

another holiday session

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:23:45 -0800

this was my second session with the gick family, only last time dad wasn't there (ginny wanted to surprise him at christmas with photos of the kids). this time i had the whole family and they were so easy and totally game for anything. dan was a little nervous when i told him to nibble on his wife's neck but the resulting photos (which i promised him i wouldn't post on my blog) were definitely worth a little embarassement at nuzzling his wife in the middle of the woods in front of his three kids.

family session in columbia, md

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:42:13 -0800

had a mini holiday session with the bloom family this past weekend; we were supposed to meet up on saturday afternoon but it was *pouring* rain so we pushed it until sunday. it turned out to be a beautiful day and we got some great photos down by lake kittamaqundi: