Tip #2: The Sleep Newborn

One of my favorite shoots is a newborn shoot.

A wedding is full, lively, exciting, stressful, surprising, uplifting, romantic and so much more.

A newborn shoot is quiet. The kind of quiet that has me stand in awe of the miracle of life.

I especially love it when we can schedule the shoot for somewhere in the first 10 days of life. I have found that by day 10 the baby already has some head control. So if I want to capture those shots, like Anne Geddes, where I bend them in half and twist them in their sleep it’s got to happen in the first 10 days.

So if you are an expecting mom or an aspiring photographer who has a friend that is expecting, try to get in there and shoot the baby in those first ten days. They’re so sleepy that if you can keep them warm (I always bring a space heater), they won’t ever wake while you shoot away.

When I do these types of shoots, their are always a handful of images I want to capture.

#1 The “Sleeping with Mom” shot. I don’t usually want mom’s eyes in this shot because I want all the attention to be on the sleeping baby. But I like to clip in just enough of mom so we know who is cradling the baby. This little clip of mom’s lips adds such a quietness to the whole shot.

#2 The “Big Yawn” shot. How can we not get this one. A baby’s yawn is like nothing else.

(Little side note if that’s okay. You’ll notice that both these moms have bare shoulders. When you have your friend or husband take your picture with your newborn, try to have a spaghetti strap tank top on or a terry cloth towel. And of course, have the baby naked or in just a diaper. The more skin you can show with newborns, the more timeless it feels. )

#3 The “Baby Hair-Swirl” shot. If dad is available for the shoot, I love to have him hold the baby in front of him, so I can get a shot of his big hands and the baby’s small head with that sweet hair swirl. Do you know what I mean by a newborn hair swirl? They’re the cutest thing!

As I’m doing this I realize there are more than just a few shots I like to get of newborns. So I’ll stop here for today, but check back this week for the rest of the newborn shots I like to capture. Now for the fun part!!…

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Exercise for “The Sleepy Newborn”

1. Plan a time that is early in the day and right after one of your morning feedings. We want babies tummy to be full for this b/c a clicking camera exhausts them.

2. Turn the heat up in the house, or use a space heater so baby stays warm. If baby is warm, they shouldn’t wake up for the shoot. Expect to sweat like crazy. I always wear a tank top to a newborn shoot b/c the amount of heat baby needs to stay warm with no clothes on tortures us. But it’s so worth it!

3. Wrap yourself in a terry cloth towel, or have a white spaghetti strap tank top on. Wear black pants so they don’t detract from the image if they are seen.

4. Have your sleepy little one just rest his head on your chest, look down at the floor and let your photographer shoot away. (The reason I say look down at the floor is because it’s almost impossible to look down at their head and not have this horrible double chin thing happen. But if you’re looking in a downward motion, you can capture the same feeling.)

5. Trade places with dad. Have him hold the baby out in front of him, so baby is facing him. Try and center dad’s hands and baby’s head to shoot the swirly hairline.

6. And if baby starts to cry, don’t stop shooting. Some of my favorite photos is when our little ones would cry out. Take the crying shots and then feed baby. I’m always amazed at what an appetite they work up from a photoshoot, even though they slept through the whole thing!

7. Let me know how it goes! ____________________________________________________________________________________

Later this week, I’ll be sure to post the second half to this blog.

If you haven’t already, you are welcome to subscribe to this blog and be notified of new photography tips by filling in your email in the yellow box. Then hit “subscribe.”

To learn more about me visit About Me Ra.

To find out more information on our photography workshops, visit “Documenting a Child’s Life.”

To see our day job, visit our website.

Tip #1!

In January 2007 Me Ra Koh Photography takes this new turn that I’m so excited about! We start teaching photography workshops for moms! I can hardly wait for the dates to be here! But since it’s still a few months out, I thought I’d start posting “Photography Tips for Moms” every week (sometimes a couple times a week :)) in the midst of our wedding/ portrait posts. This way I can still converse with a bunch of you moms while we wait for the workshops to get here!

So I was wondering last night, ‘what should the first “tip” be?” I got to thinking about a recent speaking engagement I did for a group of fun moms. One of the main things I talked about was approaching your children and camera with the mindset that you are documenting them and their many stages of childhood. What would it be like if we approached our children as observers rather than saying “cheese” while trying to get the perfect smile? Believe me, I know as a mom it’s tough to resist the urge. But I can’t express how rewarding it’s been to take a different approach.

Here’s a couple shots from when I’ve refused to say “cheese.”

Pascaline was in love with old Bob, our neighbor’s cat. The summer before Bob died, she would spend hours in the backyard telling him all sorts of secrets (mainly her frustration of this new baby brother in our family). I’m so glad I didn’t have her turn around and say cheese.

I shot this through our dining room window. Pascaline isn’t allowed to be in the driveway without an adult (you can see our car blurred behind her). So when I first saw her down there I panicked, but when I saw her in a princess dress, with her Care Bear dressed up too, and singing her Care Bear to sleep, I couldn’t help but try and capture the moment.

Sometimes my kids protest the whole camera thing. I think it can get a bit overkill having both your parents be photographers. But this shot of Blaze, and his mad little face, will forever be one of my favorite shots. Just think what I would have missed if I asked him to say “cheese.”

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Exercise for “Refuse to Say Cheese”

1. Plan a fifteen minute window in your upcoming week. Have your camera ready and turn the flash off. Make this fifteen minute window happen right after breakfast or lunch when your kids’ tummies are full, and they’re ready to play.

2. Turn on some fun kid music (to mask the click of your camera).

3. Put some favorite toys in a cardboard box and set it next to your biggest, brightest window in the house. Have them sit down, and then give them the box of toys.

4. As they play, move to the outskirts of the room with your camera and shoot away. Don’t get in to close, or you’ll risk being obtrusive and believe me they’ll catch on fast. (My super secret to this one? Food needs to stay in the dining room, but when I do this exercise I let them have a small bowl of cheerios to snack on as they play. For some reason that small bowl of cheerios always takes my kids attention off of me.)

5. Shoot a lot, especially if you’re digital. Check your images every so often and adjust your settings if you need too.

6. Let me know how it goes!

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So there it is! The first Photography Tip post for moms. I’m already working on the next couple for this week and can’t wait to post them up! If you haven’t already, you are welcome to subscribe to this blog and be notified of new photography tips by filling in your email in the yellow box. To learn more about me visit About Me Ra. To find out more information on our photography workshops, visit “Documenting a Child’s Life.” To see our day job, visit our website.

Wow! In the first 24 hour release of WORKFLOW, we had a 100 plus photographers from all over the world purchase it! The photographers come from the UK, to Argentina, to all over the US and Canada. And best of all, the feedback we’re getting is fantastic! Here’s a few comments from photographers already.

“Thank you for this!! Amazing!! Exactly what I’ve been trying to create myself for the past couple of years and just haven’t quite figured it out.” (Delaware Photographer)

“I loooove this Me Ra! You and Brian continue to amaze me! I looove that I can see EVERYTHING. This is how I choose my yearly calendars and stay organized…when I can see it all!” (Florida photographer)

“Thank you so much for your generosity! I am going to look this over. I always like to know how others manage and can look at my flow and make tweaks accordingly. Thank you!” (Pennsylvania Photographer)

We can’t tell you how great it is to see so many of you benefiting already! Keep us updated, and we’ll be sure to post more tools up!

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As promised at PhotoPlus Expo, we’ve got our Me Ra Koh Photography WORKFLOW excel spreadsheet up and available to download. To download WORKFLOW, click here.

Workflow is the biggest issue for digital photographers. How do you stay sane with the intense post process? WORKFLOW, designed by my awesome husband Brian, is our answer.

We showed this for the first time to our Tacoma/Seattle PUG group when we discussed ways to speed up workflow for the digital photographer. Since then Brian has added even more incredible tools to this spreadsheet!

Basically, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Fill in your client’s name, contact info, and wedding date, and you’ll see all the due dates (based on a 2 wk. turnaround time) automate based on their wedding date. Put in the package price, and you’ll see your payments (made in thirds), their due dates, reminder dates, etc. all automate for you. If you need to charge tax or travel expenses just fill in the blank, and all the numbers will automate! It’s AMAZING! Brian is AMAZING for designing it! And we’re so excited to have it available to all of you! We know this will help keep you and your studio sane! It has for us without a doubt!

To order your WORKFLOW application, click here. The cost is $15. Just click on this link “WORKFLOW,” and you’re set!

Enjoy! And let us know what you think! We’re SUPER excited for you to keep your sanity with this tool!

I’m excited to say both the Women’s Photography Workshop, “Documenting a Child’s Life”, for January and February 2007 sold out so fast (in less than 3 days!) that we’re going to offer a third one on Saturday, March 10th 2007!

See below for all the details of our third workshop, “Documenting A Child’s Life”!

Workshop Title: “Documenting A Child’s Life” Session Three

For Who: Women who have a desire to better understand their camera and the techniques in shooting for the purpose of documenting their children, friends and future clients. Beginners to Advanced Levels Welcome!

Date: Saturday, March 10^th 2007

Where: Me Ra and Brian’s Home, Seattle, WA (I’m so excited about this because the home is so often where you’re shooting your little ones.)

Time: 9:30am-4:30pm

What to Bring: Notepad, Pen, Warm Clothing for Shooting Outside, and a Digital SLR camera if you have one (don’t hesitate to come if you don’t have one b/c I have 8 cameras and a number of lenses, so we should be good! J)

Meals: Catered Lunch provided, as well as yummy snacks and coffee/tea in the morning and afternoon.

Workshop Cost: $349 (a couple women are making this there Christmas or Birthday gift! Maybe even a Valentine idea! Great idea ladies!)

Lodging: Five blocks from our home is a new hotel on the waterfront called The Silver Cloud Inn. They are offering us a group discount of $144 per night (Friday and/or Saturday). Without the discount, the room rate is $159 plus tax. This rate comes with a water view from every room (the whole inn is literally over the water :)), complimentary breakfast, King Size bed or two Queen Size beds, Free Parking and Free Internet Access. The Silver Cloud Inn is only two miles from the Chihuly’s Museum of Glass, the Tacoma Art Museum, Point Defiance Park and Zoo. There is a beautiful boardwalk right outside the doors of the hotel that follows the beach (a 3.5 mile jog my husband and I often do! :)). One block away is the center of Old Town, filled with coffee shops and tea houses, and a couple quaint restaurants. There are also bigger restaurants all along the waterfront boardwalk (The Lobster Shop, The Ram, Katie Downs, etc). I’m telling you, you might want to stay an extra night so you can enjoy how sweet this part of the country is.

To obtain the hotel discount, let them know you are with the Me Ra Koh Photography Wkshp. group. And you must also reserve your room before the last thirty days until the wkshp.

Workshop Topics Include: Mechanics of Your Camera, Understanding the Artistic Possibilities Behind Your Camera Settings, Composition Techniques for Shooting Your Kids or Clients, Indoor and Outdoor Lighting, Processing Your Images, Hands On Shooting with Me Ra and Brian, Taking the Next Step: Pricing! J

We’ll spend the first half of the day going over the mechanics of your camera and learning about indoor lighting so you can get great shots of your kids in the kitchen, living room and bedroom. The second half of the day we’ll do some hands on shooting of children (hopefully a baby too!) and talk a bit about pricing and marketing yourself for those who may a have interest in taking the next step.

The class size is limited to 10 women to maximize your learning experience. (Since a number of women have called and emailed for info about this event we may do a second workshop! J)

Terms: A retainer (non-refundable fee) of $249 reserves your seat. The remaining balance of $100 must be paid in full 14 days before the workshop date. You can pay by check or credit card. Give our studio a call or email, and let us know what you’d prefer. 253-468-8913.

Short Bio: Me Ra and Brian started Me Ra Koh Photography four years ago. They shoot weddings and children worldwide. Their work has been featured in national magazines, and they have also won numerous international awards for their children and wedding images. This winter, their studio will be featured on VH1’s Fabulous Weddings. Me Ra and Brian keep a busy schedule full of speaking engagements nationwide, shooting together and raising their two beautiful children. To read their bio and see their work, visit http://www.merakoh.com/. For the latest news, visit their blog at http://www.mkpstudio.com/. To see the trailer for the upcoming VH1 wedding visit http://mkpstudio.com/2006/09/11/destination-maui-trailer-release/.

I don’t spend enough time showing off our associates work. They are simply amazing, capturing beautiful images in every shoot! This winter, I’m going to be putting up a handful of posts so you can see some of the great work they are shooting. You’ve got to see why Brian and I feel so lucky to have them on our team.

Gina Sook is our Lifestyle/Family/Senior Portrait photographer. She has this amazing eye and captures the most creative shots and angles. If you haven’t seen her Senior Portrait gallery, you’ve got to check it out on Me Ra Koh Photography.

But Gina’s not only great at working with high school seniors, she’s also great at capturing the innocence in little ones. Check out these images Gina shot on a recent photo shoot.

If you’ve ever tried to shoot an 18 month old, you know how hard it is to capture them when they aren’t moving a million miles a second! I love the images Gina captured of this little busy body. Congrats to the Hempstead family! Your daughter is beautiful! And Gina, you’re eye for photos is amazing!

As many of you know, Brian and I flew to Photo Plus Expo in NY last week to speak on behalf of Pictage.

We had the most incredible three days! How can you not when you’re hanging out with a handful of amazing photographer friends from all over the US…and the very cool Pictage team (Lisa, Barbara, Raquel, Michael, Dave, Michael Caro, and Jeff :)).

We took the red eye Wednesday night and decided to stay up since I was speaking at 3pm. I think I was half delirious when we showed up at the Pictage booth (and what a crazy experience). All sides of the booth are open with Canon, Nikon, Lenbabies, etc. all across the way. And you’re just supposed to start speaking and draw in a crowd. Talk about scary! But honestly, I think those types of settings gets my adrenaline going.

You’ve got to love this shot of Brian smiling in the front row! Every time I speak, whether it’s about our book Beauty Restored or photography, he’s right in the front row smiling up at me. I’m so blessed!

We joined Pictage 2 1/2 years ago, and I can honestly say we would not be where we are today without Pictage. They have the most incredible staff, and they are working around the clock to find ways to make a photographer’s life easier. Are they perfect? No. But I don’t know that good things are ever meant to be perfect. Are they good for our studio and business? Yes, hands down! In fact, they feel more like family than a company.

Here’s me and Dave Luebke taking a break in between speaking sessions! He’s my pro plan consultant, always helping me with any thing and every thing. There is no way Brian and I could do what we do without amazing guys like Dave and Michael Caro.

And a special thanks to Sofia Negron for taking these great shots! Sofia is a beautiful person and photographer from Philadelphia. Check out her website! (It was great spending time with you Sofia! Can’t wait to do it again!)

Wow, this last week was AMAZING! Our speaking trip to Photo Plus Expo in NY was such a success! I can’t wait to tell you all about it. But first, I’ve got to share this recent engagement session with you.

John and Lauren booked Me Ra Koh Photography for their upcoming June 2007 wedding. Brian and I fell in love with them because they’re so kind and incredibly cool in their unique taste.

As many of you know, Brian and I only accept twelve weddings a year. Bleu and Ginger, our wedding associates, book more, but Brian and I like to keep it at twelve. How do we decide on what twelve weddings to shoot? Since we send our weddings to various magazines, we want our twelve weddings to be different in location, style and taste. And most of all, we want to feel a connection with the couple.

Well I spent over an hour with John on the phone in our first phone call. He said that it was the longest he’s ever talked to anyone! When we found out their wedding was going to take place in a funky garage in Southern CA, we knew this was a perfect wedding for 2007. Not to mention how great John and Lauren are! Check out their garage wedding site!

For the engagement shoot, they wanted it all in an alley. So Brian and I flew to Santa Monica, and we all went hunting for the perfect alley. Can you believe we found it?! It had ivy growing on brick, funky doorways, two cafe chairs!, a grocery cart and awesome graffiti. All in one alley!

To see all their photos, check out John and Lauren’s Slideshow. Here are a few of our favorites!

Can you believe this wall! Loved it!

I thought the below shot was fun. Brian caught me laughing with them in between shooting. They were such fun!

John and Lauren are also starting their own photography business, so you can imagine how much fun we had talking!

Here are two more favorites. I loved their glasses!

Brian and I find that most our clients have a personal connection to photography. Whether they had a grandfather who was a photographer, or parents who collected photography, or they themselves are in the business-they all have a personal connection to their wedding photography. Some of our clients have a budget of $600K plus on their wedding day. Some have a quarter of that but they put their money into the photography b/c they know this is what they care about most in the end. With this being true, we can’t help but fall in love with our clients since we all share the same passion on some level.

I’ll be sure to keep all the rest of you updated on the unfolding of their new business. They’re going to be great! Congrats John and Lauren!!

Tonight we take the red eye to New York for the Photo Plus Expo!

Brian and I are so excited, even though we’re far from being ready to leave in three hours. Me Ra Koh Photography has been given wonderful speaking opportunities this year. And we have loved all of them. Each one makes me that much more excited for our Women Photography Wkshps. in 2007!

Below are a couple fun shots from some of our recent conferences taken by my great husband–of course. We’ll try to update our blog while we’re gone, but we’ll have fun stuff to share when we’re back if we don’t get it posted over the weekend!

I was just laughing at how much my daughter talks with her hands. Wonder where she got it from?

One of the best parts about going away for work is Brian and I get to have some fun time without the little ones. We’re so excited to have a date night in the Big City!

And how could I not include a couple shots from Halloween last night.

The “Choo-Choo Superman”!

Brian, the wizard, me as a queen (outfit designed by my daughter), Blaze, and Pascaline as Cinderella who is borrowing Little Red Riding Hood’s cloak.

If you’re attending PhotoPlus Expo, we’ll be speaking at Pictage’s booth from 3pm-4pm on Thursday and Friday. Be sure to stop by and say hi!