I am pleased to present the Blume family. Mom was a bit worried about matching the wardrobe, but when I saw what she had come up with it turned out to be just perfect! This is the perfect example of how to match colors and tones in wardrobe without the entire family having to wear the same exact clothing (which never happens in real life, right?) Click on the image below to view their video slideshow.

My favorite thing about being a senior pictures photographer is getting to meet such great people. Meet Yoani, technically she’s from Olympia, but attends School in Yelm. As you can see, Yoani has one of those smiles that just lights up a room

When we had our consultation I learned she has three years of experience doing floral design! Definitely a passion of hers. As a result I had her bring in a flower to incorporate into the session so people could not only remember what she looks like, but also what she loves.   If you know of any florists looking for a floral designer… I know a girl who’d be perfect!

Give Leavitt Photo a call (360) 628-8815 and we’ll set up your free consultation to talk about what you want YOUR senior pictures to look like.

****Attention High School Juniors****

Your senior year is coming! Senior pictures are due for the yearbook shortly after school starts so summer is when you get them done. Now is the time to schedule your senior portraits. Shop around and find a photographer you love (this photographer, for example) and get them done sooner than later. You have been warned

On that note, meet Darian. She’s a class of ’11 Senior from Fort Lewis. She was one of the unfortunate Seniors who ran out of time to do portraits for the yearbook, but she still knew the importance of taking her senior pictures for herself. During our consultation I learned that Darian loves simplicity and so we decided to do a gray seamless portrait session to cut out any background distractions. I love this type of background because it focuses the attention on the person and gives the portrait more of a fashion model feel.

Like what you see? Well give me a call (360) 628-8815 and we’ll set up your free consultation to talk about what you want YOUR senior pictures to look like.

Leavitt Photo is takin’ it to the streets!

While on vacation a couple weeks ago I did an impromptu fashion photo shoot in the hard streets of Spanish Fork, Utah.

Here are a few of my favorites:

When was the last time you had a portrait done?

If it’s been too long just give me a call (360) 628-8815 and we can fix that for you

You heard it here first folks! The best Super Monday course in Western Washington is going to be here in Olympia on May 16th, 2011!

In fact, it’s the only one in western Washington!

“What’s Super Monday?” you ask?
Super Monday is a nation-wide education event sponsored by the Professional Photographers of America. Two times a year professional photographers all around the country open their studio doors to offer all-day classes on various subjects related to the business of photography for a mere $99.

The photographers volunteer their time and all the proceeds go directly to PPA educational programs.

I have teamed up with my good friend Kari Blunck of Studio K Portraits to teach a class on location lighting. This will be a class intended for intermediate to advanced photographers (aka people who know how to operate their cameras to get a normal exposure.) We’ll cover the use of light modifiers and strobes to create stunning portraits with both artificial and available light. If you’re like me and love strobe lighting then you can follow my group. If you’re like Kari and love the soft, natural feel of available light then you can follow Kari’s group (but then you’ll realize how awesome strobes are and run back my group. Right Kari? )

Click here to register for a class.

Click here for more info on Super Monday.

Meet Megan Casto, an independent associate of a great company named Aflac… ever heard of it?

Basically, if you’ve ever wished you could get paid CASH for getting sick or injured, then this is the company you need to sign up with! (and Megan can totally help you with that signing up part.) Aflac will help you pay for everything else your medical insurance doesn’t, such as groceries, fuel, bills, etc. and the best part is they give you the money and you can spend it on whatever you want! (Like family portraits! hint, hint.)

During our consultation, Megan informed me she needed a standard business portrait and possibly some other fun ones for personal use.

The standard portrait was a piece of cake…dress nicely and I’ll push the button, done! On to the fun stuff!

Aflac has a blue and orange color theme in all of their marketing, as well as a duck mascot named, …well, I can’t remember. We decided to incorporate the Aflac blue into the portrait as well as a duck element. Megan had the wonderful idea of bringing in one of her stuffed animal ducks for the shoot, but in the end we took it a few steps further than that. The session quacked me up, I was laughing so much, mostly because I wasn’t the one with a freakin’ LIVE DUCK on me!

As an excuse to put Megan in a neck brace and bandages we came up with a “Get Well” card idea showing the frustration of being hurt, and then the confidence of knowing that Aflac has your back through the ordeal.

This last shot is my favorite outtake of the session

(Note to self: Never pick a fight with a duck.)

If you like Megan’s portraits, please “Like” her Aflac page on Facebook and tell her how cool she is for doing this session.

She’d also be more that happy to answer any and all Aflac questions you may have as well. Don’t be shy about asking, she’s awesome and totally fun!

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If you would like a customized business portrait your friends will actually talk about, call me at (360) 628-8815 to set up your free portrait planning session. Call me, I double-duck dare you.

p.s. For those of you who are wondering, (and I know there are a lot of you) no, the duck didn’t poop on her! I can’t guarantee the same outcome for your duck portrait though

Hello everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Reza,
She had modeling images done for an upcoming audition in L.A. and is shopping for the right agency to represent her.

Thinking about becoming a model in Seattle?

When applying to an agency they’ll want some portraits of you for reference.

These portraits must have:

• Personality
• A plain background
• No retouching
• Not much make-up
• A close up of your face
• A full body shot
• Clothing with no distracting patterns

When it comes to choosing an agency, remember this:

A legitimate agency will take  20% of your earnings. This is how they make their money.

An illegitimate agency will ask you to pay them money up front to “make you a model.” This isn’t standard practice, and you don’t necessarily need to be trained on how to be a model.

If you’d like to know a bit more, check out this interview of Kristy Petersen from the Seattle Models Guild.

Apparently I’m a pretty big deal. Check out these photos I got off the internet the other day.

That guy in front of the brick wall is REALLY in to me… kinda creepy.

I got all these photos done at a fun website called Photofunia.

All you need is a head-on picture of yourself and you can start making yourself a star with just a couple clicks!

Enjoy!

When was the last time you had a family portrait done? Too long ago?

Well, now is the perfect time to call Leavitt Photo (360) 628-8815 and schedule your family portrait session today! Not only will you be getting some of the best family portraits in town, you’ll also be helping a very worthy cause at the same time.

Starting this October through November, Leavitt Photo will be donating a portion of each session to Operation Smile.

Helping such a worthy cause is now as easy as deciding to have your family portraits done by a Family Portrait Month participating Studio.

(Preferably Leavitt Photo, of course!)

If you’re still not convinced, listen to these gorgeous celebrities talk about the cause. You can be just like them by donating to Operation Smile!

Call Leavitt Photo (360) 628-8815 and schedule your family portrait session today!

Family Portrait Month is sponsored by PPA Charities

I’m doing some retouching and jamming to some Shakira tonight and thought I’d post an update for my adoring fans.

Anna is an artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She flew out and had a portrait session with me a couple weeks ago.

Yes, she’s gorgeous. Yes, she’s smart, and yes, I’m proud to say she’s also my sister

If you’d like to purchase some of her artwork for billions upon billions of dollars, or at least tens of dollars, then check out her Etsy Shop!

Can you believe it’s already September?!?! Time to start thinking about family portraits and Christmas card ideas!

Give me a call to schedule a free consultation and we’ll brainstorm some ideas together.

(360) 628-8815

I agree with this cartoon whole-heartedly! As far as I’m concerned, it’s HARD to take action shots with a point and shoot camera. If you want your camera to actually take the picture the second you push the button, make sure you buy a digital SLR camera, or go back to film. (I wouldn’t recommend the film option) What’s the difference between a point and shoot and an SLR you ask? Check out this previous post for the answer.

A common question I hear is “Can I scan my portraits?“

The short answer is: No, it’s a federal offense.

Although some may justify this action by saying they already paid for the portraits, this is equivalent to buying a movie and making several copies for your friends (which, by the way is illegal too). The same laws that protect musicians from having their music copied and directors from having their movies copied are the same copyright laws that protect photographers. These copyright laws are federal laws and breaking them is consequently a federal offense. Images don’t need to have a (C) logo on them to be protected by copyright either. They’re actually covered by federal copyright law as soon as they are created.

So next time you take a picture of your cute children playing at the park, you can say to yourself, “This picture is copyrighted by ME! WOOHOO!”

If you want to reproduce portraits for your website or any other use, Leavitt Photo offers a legal means for you to do so. Costs vary depending on the usage.

Hello Everyone!

I’d like to introduce you to the future Sophomore Class President of Timberline High School.

**UPDATE **** HAYDEN WON THE ELECTION! WOOHOO! ****UPDATE*****

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Well, we hope he’ll win at least.

Being an accomplished student, violinist, triathlete, and great older brother, Hayden seems nothing short of super human.

If you’re a future Sophomore at Timberline, you would be wise to vote for this guy. He’s the man for the job!

For those who are interested, you can also follow Hayden’s campaign on Facebook.

Good luck on your campaign Hayden!

It’s that time of year again! The 2010 Baby & Child Portrait Contest has begun.

Categories for this year’s contest include: Color, Black & White/Sepia, Special Needs, and Humorous. The online contest will consist of four different qualifying rounds and one final round. Each round will last for one month.

First, Second, and Third places, as well as two Honorable Mentions, will be announced for each category!

Cash prizes for these winners include:

$5,000 for Grand Prize

$2,000 for First

$1,000 for Second

$750 for Third

$500 for each Honorable Mention.

All cash prizes will be given to the families of the winning portraits.

• All portraits taken by the Leavitt Photo Studio January 1- June 21, 2010 are eligible for entry into the 2010 Baby & Child Contest.
• Participants may post one image per child from each photography session.
• Children age 12 and under can be entered into the contest.

Don’t delay, call to book your child’s portrait session today! (360) 628-8815

Well, it’s that time of year again. Print competition entries will be due soon for the PPA International print competition and I don’t know what I’m going to submit yet. If you have a cool idea for a portrait you’d like to do with me just send me an e-mail and I might just take you up on it

For those of you who care, these are the elements the judges are supposed to consider when judging the prints:

• Impact
• Creativity
  
• Technical excellence
• Composition
  
• Lighting
• Style
• Print Presentation
  
• Center of Interest
• Subject Matter
• Color Balance
• Technique
  
• Story Telling

If I do really well, my prints will be on display in a traveling gallery and you’ll hear about it on the blog

If I do badly… it’ll be a sad sad day and heads will roll. jk

Wish me luck!

Click the following link for a more in-depth explanation of the 12 Elements of a Merit Image.