Posts tagged ‘family portrait’

Family Portrait Month is October

Family Portrait Month this year is October

I thought you would want to know about a very special family portrait promotion we will be participating in with an elite group of photographers around the country. For the month of October we will celebrate Family Portrait Month, a wonderful opportunity for you to update your family portrait (or portraits of your children), and support Operation Smile, which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

Along with other studio members of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), we have pledged to contribute your $98 session fee to PPA Charities, which has chosen Operation Smile as its charitable beneficiary. Every $240 will enable one child to have the needed surgery to have a normal smile that the rest of take for granted.

My studio has helped to create 13 smiles since 2007 and changed the lives of these children forever! Please join us to create more smiles this October. A family portrait is defined as one with more than one member of the family! Baby, mother, dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandkids, and even your dogs can quality.

Baby's first photo session.

Read Tips on what to wear for your family portrait on my blog.

Danila-before

What is your reaction when you see a photo of a child with cleft lips or palate? Do you turn away in horror and avert your eyes like I did years ago? I have now seen the transformation which can take place and the real and happy smiles and lives they and their family can enjoy. Join me this year to help a few more children through the national fundraising event Family Portrait Month, the month of October this year in my studio.

Danila-after

Here in USA, children who are born with cleft lips or palete can pretty easily get surgery and live a normal life with a real smile. Katy is a mom and a photographer in Nashville whose son was born with cleft lips, watch her video to see why she supports Operation Smile to help other children.

One of the rewards of being a professional photographer is to help bring families together, to create great memories to cherish forever, and to change lives!

Join me for Family Portrait Month. Email me or call 831-426-1400 to be part of Family Portrait Month this year.

Fun family portraitPhotography by Positive Vista Photography & Art by Portia Shao

What family portrait is all about

Family portrait is about having fun and getting the precious moment on camera to treasure and enjoy for a lifetime!

Family portrait

I just saw this review of their studio experience on Yahoo, which made me so happy! This is exactly what family portraits is all about. Thanks Dana, for letting me and others know what your experience was like at the studio, and that you enjoy not only the experience but the portrait itself in the future!

“I had been wanting to do a family photo for quite a while but never took the time to get it together until I saw a Groupon for Positive Vista. I had never heard of Portia Shao, but then, I didn t know any photographers so I just went for it. It ended up being a great choice for me! My daughter lives out of town and it was a little difficult to find a time when all four of us could be together to even take a picture. Portia was wonderful in helping with offering to work when she normally wouldn’t to accommodate my needs, including honoring my Groupon after it had expired! The photo shoot was amazing, not only did she spend more time than I would have expected, it was a blast! We all were laughing and having a great time. Portia took probably hundreds of shots, in all different combinations of the four of us. I ended up with exactly what I originally wanted and more, I now have a beautiful collage of my two young adult children and the best picture of myself ever taken! Thank you Portia for capturing my family in time that we will all enjoy for many years into the future!”

Santa Cruz photographer Portia Shao loves to create family portrait which captures priceless memories you will love and enjoy forever.

More information about the studio experience can be found in the Studio FAQ page

The art of posing and lighting

I just finished an one week workshop at Texas School of Professional Photography. I studied The Art of Posing and Lighting from master photographer Hanson Fong. Hanson is a world famous wedding and portrait photographer from San Francisco, but we both had to go to Texas for the school! There were more than 50 instructors at the school, and more than 1000 students. Several instructors were from California, and I am the only photographer from Santa Cruz, along with two more from California.

I have seen Hanson present at other photography conferences and trade shows, and have always admired the ease and proficiency he showed in posing groups of people, and his famous flow posing for couples. Even though I do not photograph weddings, there were a lot to be learned from a master. There were more than 20 photographers in my class, and we also learned from each other. Everyone has difference background and experience, height, weight, size and shape. I especially enjoyed the hands on part of the workshop when we had to pose each other, but it was amazing to see how Hanson made it look so easy.

A great portrait does not happen by accident. At least not if you just want to get lucky. Lighting in the studio must be used to bring out the best of the model (the subject in the portrait), and hide anything you don’t want to show. I am reminded of what I learned from another master photographer about how to analyze the face for the best lighting and angle. People have written many books on how to light and how to pose, it is definitely an art to be learned and practiced.

So what are the principles of posing? For groups it is uneven height, blocking or showing the bodies as appropriate, moving forward closer to the camera to appear bigger, further away to appear smaller. These are just the tips of the iceberg on how to pose for a great portrait. I will be applying what I learned to my portrait sessions, and look forward to creating more beautiful portraits of family, couples, and individuals.

Abstract Waterfall from Dallas Botanic Garden

A fun photo of waterfall from the Botanic Garden

A glamour photo from the model shoot-out night

We had a party night at the Red River Dance Hall

Having fun at the studio – photography of children and family

Some moments in the studio are just too precious! Mad and Luke who are cousins were in the studio with their family for their family portraits. They are just the cutest kids and having fun was what they did. If you think this photo was to die for, click here for more photos and a record of them eating some apples and these moments were so precious! Do you know any kids who are as adorable? Ask their mom to give me a call at 831-426-1400 so we can capture some great moments for them.

4 generations of women in family portrait

4 generations of women in a portrait – family portrait

I have to confess, I love to photograph women. If you are thinking about documenting this time of your life as a woman, please, please talk to me!

This portrait of Laurel’s family consists of 4 generations of women (girls) in her life right now. From her youngest 18 month old Read more

A unique family portrait come to life – family portrait

When you think of a family portrait, what comes to your mind?

Most family portraits are portraits of your family looking happy, sometimes looking at the camera, sometimes not. Usually wearing everyday clothes, or something formal or unusual. I especially enjoy it when people come in with ideas unique as this one.

Here is how this family portrait was created:

Start with a goal. Read more

What to wear for your family portrait

Color choices for your family or group portrait

One of the most important decisions to make before coming to the studio for your family or group portrait is to decide what to wear!

The style is one thing you need to decide for yourself, you can choose casual, traditional, formal, based on what the portrait is for and what you are comfortable in.

The other important question is choosing the colors of what you wear. Read more

Before the beginning and six years later – studio history

Before I opened my studio more than 6 years ago, I told my parents about what I wanted to do. This is the portrait of my parents on top left taken in 2006, it is hanging in the studio as many of you have noted when you visited my studio. I will get to the photo on the top right in a minute.

My father told me that they had once driven an hour away to a photography studio for a portrai. I was surprised because I never saw any such portrait, I asked “where is the portrait?” He said he hated the portrait and the experience and the portrait was in the closet. My father Read more

Another signature painted portrait – family portrait

Portrait of a mother and here baby can be so timeless and universal.

Sometimes a portrait calls out to be a painting. This was one of those. When I took the photo I just knew this one is a perfect candidate for a painterly interpretation.

It is hard to see when shown so small on the screen, but the brushstrokes and textures are visible when seen in person, it is more romantic and beautiful than the straight photographic version.

Out of town family portrait

During the weekend of December 18 and 19, despite the rain, Santa Cruz SPCA volunteers and I were at the Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton to take holiday portraits of pets and people to raise funds for the SPCA. Sid from Dallas and his family were at the Roaring Camp Railroads to participate in the Santa Paws fund raiser for the Santa Cruz SPCA. Thank you! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Peace, Joy, Love to all!