Many Bradenton/Sarasota, Florida families wonder when is the most opportune time to take family photos outdoors.

We are so fortunate to live on the West Coast of Florida where there are beaches, parks, trails, you name it, in which to choose the best location for an outdoor family photoshoot.  All these places and more are so photogenic.  However, since this is Florida, the time of day does matter when you want to capture the best and the most flattering natural light, as well as not get too roasted in the heat.

Golden Hour is Our Friend for Being the Best Time of Day

When is golden hour?  It is the time of day about an hour before sunset where the light is absolutely gorgeous and "golden."  This type of light ensures everyone will look fantastic!  I LOVE scheduling outdoor family sessions during the golden hour.  If your family session will include little ones (two months and older), I highly recommend they take a late afternoon nap, if at all possible, and feed them snacks or dinner prior to the session.  This will help them be in their best mood possible.

However, you may ask, "What if I can't be out that late with my little ones?"  No problem.  I will be happy to accommodate you in whatever way is necessary.

If We Can't Do Golden Hour, Morning Time Comes in Second for the Best Time

I can certainly serve your family and still capture beautiful images no matter the time of day.  So, if golden hour won't work for you, we can schedule your session during the morning hours, usually around 10 a.m. when the sun isn't up too high yet and the light isn't too harsh.  The morning hours actually work best for newborns and toddlers.


Let me know when you are ready to capture your lifestyle outdoor family session.  I would love to see you at the golden hour.

​

​Next week, I’ll be able to photograph again.  Yay!  Outdoors only for now. So, you may be wondering what you should wear to your outdoor photoshoot.
 
There is no absolute right or wrong answer to what to wear.  However, there are certain choices that will allow your images to look fabulous!
 
Read on for my suggestions:

​Lifestyle is truth.  It is reality.  It can be a mess sometimes.  It can be beautiful sometimes.
 
Photography has changed so much over the past several years from having to be that perfectly posed, forced “fake” smiles to reality – real connection, raw emotion, natural and authentic smiles.  Those “perfect” portraits were probably very stressful for you, especially if you had little ones trying to get them to sit still, smile when asked or keep their “Sunday Best” clothes clean and wrinkle-free before the photo session.
 
In today’s world, more and more photographers are getting away from those “perfectly posed” photos to real life photos.  Mostly, photographed in your own home – where you and your little ones are most comfortable. Those are moments you want to remember.  What your house looked like at that time.  How your nursery was set up.  What your older children’s rooms looked like – messy or clean.  Families want to remember what they were doing together as a family – playing, cooking, whatever.  Why have another portrait of everyone standing stiff and smiling at the camera.  Why not showcase your real life and invite others in to see your family, just the way you are.  Everyday life.  Those kind of photographs will capture real moments you had interacting with your family as you spent time together.  Those kind of photographs will mean the most to you, your extended family and friends for years to come.  
 
That’s why I have begun to move away from very structured and posed photography to a more real portrayal of family reality.  With just a little guidance and some prompts, I can capture your real and true lifestyle. 
 
You may think your home is too small or isn’t in showcase condition.  Doesn’t matter.  It’s your home.  Your comfort zone.  Your happy place.  You don’t need to have everything necessarily in its place, such as, pillows perfectly straight, the bed “hotel” made.  Your home is reality and there is beauty in reality – capturing your family as you honestly are.
 
These lifestyle photoshoots are very relaxed.  You can be in your jeans, a dress, barefoot – whatever makes you and your family comfortable.  Laugh, play – feel completely at ease, and definitely no forced smiles.  The day of the photoshoot may be capturing the good, the bad and the ugly.  But, that’s okay.  Those fleeting moments were real - ones you won’t get back from that particular time in your life.  Get away from that “picture perfect” Christmas card photo.  Show your family and friends you are human – showing the natural, the connection, the emotion – doing the things you love to do together.  
 
We are not perfect, so why should your photographs try to show you are?  I used to think that way, too, but now I love showing reality in photographs, reminding everyone that life is beautiful, just the way it is.

Are you ready to capture your newborn and/or family showcasing your real life?  Click "Let's Start a Conversation" button below and let's make this happen!

I was able to capture this lovely family while on vacation. They are extra special to me because this is my son and his beautiful family.  Always love photographing them whenever I'm in town.

It's amazing how fast little ones grow.  That's why whenever I visit my family, I always make sure I capture images, especially since we don't live in the same state.  It's so important to keep them "little" in photographs - frozen in time.  These are treasured and cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

I would love to capture your family's memories and freeze them in time.  If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Book A Call" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309. We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

I do photography because I absolutely love to capture babies and families in the moment.  For as long as I can remember, I have always loved taking photos.  I always wanted to have photos to look back on, to remember what I was doing at the time, how I looked (which sometimes I may not want to remember what I looked like) LOL, where I traveled, etc.  I especially love to take photos of my family.  I love looking back and recreating the memories we made, what we looked like, what we were doing, where we were.  Having photos of my own family is so very important to me.  I think that's why I started making photography my profession, albeit later in life, but it's never too late to do what you love, right?

Now, I want to create memories frozen in time for other families.  From maternity, Fresh 48, newborn to families.  Priceless!  I want to create and show the connection and emotion of what's happening at that time.  So, when they look back through their album or enjoy viewing their wall art, they will be taken back to that moment in time and feel the same love, emotion, comfort and contentment.  Or, they may feel sadness or grief because the photo includes parents that may have since passed, but they are so glad they had photos with them so they could remember and show future generations.  

I especially make sure that mom and dad are in the photos.  It is so special to be in the photos with your children.  Think how as they get older, how much they will love seeing you with them years from now - remembering the emotion, the laughter, the silliness, the comfort and, most importantly, the love you shared.

This is why I do photography.  

Let's start creating those memories for you and your family.

​Patti specializes in lifestyle Maternity, Fresh 48, Newborn and family photography. If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session with Patti at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Book A Call" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309. We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Did you know Grandparents Day is fast approaching on Sunday, September 8?  

Grandparents absolutely love their grandchildren and dote on them as much as possible.  I am sure your parents love to see photos of your children when they can't be with them or live far away.  Imagine how much more they would love and enjoy having photos with their grandchildren to cherish forever.  Grandparents usually have everything they need, but having images of their family, especially being in the photos themselves with their grandchildren, well, there's just nothing more special than that.

I certainly wish I had more photos of me with my grandparents.  That's why every time I visit with my grandchildren that live out of state, I always, always take pictures with them.  I cherish them and I hope they will cherish them just as much as they grow older and these pictures are passed down from generation to generation.  

I recently saw a quote that said, "Keep memories alive for generations."  Photos keep those memories alive.

That's why I am offering a special Limited Edition Photo Session in honor of Grandparents Day to take lifestyle photos of children with their grandparents.  This would be such a beautiful gift to give them on Grandparents Day by gifting them this session with their grandchildren.  OR, if your parents do not live in the area, you could use this session to update your own family photo and send them the photo as your gift to them on Grandparents Day.  I bet they will say it's the best gift they have ever received!

​Life passes by so quickly.  Don't let this opportunity pass you by.

Read the details on the flyer below and book your date and time now!

When I first started my photography business, I wanted and thought everything had to be perfect with regard to posing babies.  I thought they had to lay a certain way, wear certain things, be wrapped, be placed in some type of prop, and be posed in usually unnatural type of poses.  Even though, I never perfectly posed in a way that would bring harm to them as safety was and still is always my number one concern when photographing babies.  

However, earlier this year I started seeing more and more natural, lifestyle type of photography that really opened my eyes and thoughts that photography doesn't have to be perfect to create beautiful, lifelong memories for families.  What really turned me around was when I purchased an online lifestyle newborn photography workshop.  After watching and studying that lifestyle type of photography, I absolutely fell in love with it and began to totally change my way of thinking and realizing it was okay to photograph babies and families in their own natural, real-life environment capturing true raw emotion through connecting with each other, with very little guidance from me.

What an overwhelming burden that was lifted from me.  No more cumbersome and sometimes heavy props to pack up, unload, set up and then load back in.   No more "perfect" posing.  It was such a release and a freeing feeling.  Now, all I need to take with me is my camera.  

Since making the change to lifestyle photography, I have been updating my website and have been removing most of my previous posed images and replaced them with a mom looking down on her newborn or children making muffins in the kitchen or playing cards or just babies just as they are.  I am a proponent of baby-led posing now.  

Photographing lifestyle in the home is just so easy, natural, relaxing and fun.  The switch from posed to lifestyle was really a no-brainer.  It's the best decision I have made in my photography business.  It just opens up many more doors, for example, adding families.  Previously, I was only shooting maternity and newborns and sometimes the mom and dad with the baby, but not really the entire immediate family.  Now, it's just so much more comfortable knowing no one has to look perfect, no one has to be put in stiff poses and no more staring straight into the camera and saying, "cheese."  In fact, it will be rare if I ask you to look at the camera.  If I am just photographing the baby at the time and your toddler comes running and jumps on the bed, that's great!  I'll capture it.  That is real life, raw emotion and, most importantly, connecting with one another.  

Lifestyle is more like a storybook rather than a book of stiff poses.

Are you ready to create your own storybook?  Great!  Click on the button below now so we can get started on telling your story and creating an heirloom of your visual history that will be passed down from generation to generation.

DreamWorld Photography is so excited to announce we are expanding our services.  In addition to capturing your maternity, fresh 48 and newborn photos, you can now include your family portraits, all in the lifestyle setting of your own home and/or even outside if you love your front or backyard.  

I absolutely love the lifestyle genre of photography.  Families don't have to feel awkward in traditional, stiff, look at the camera posing.  With lifestyle, you never have to worry whether you or your children are looking and smiling at the camera.  I probably won't ask you to look at the camera at all except for a very few shots.  Lifestyle is all about connection - connecting in a natural way and, of course, having fun while doing it!  Those will be the best and the most memorable images we will capture.

Below is a lifestyle example of a family with children baking and playing cards with their mom.

Are you ready to capture your real life and make lifetime visual histories of your family?  In celebration of this new service, we are offering a limited edition session on Saturday, July 6, 2019 with only six slots available.  You must live in Manatee or Sarasota County, Florida to take advantage of this offer.  Follow the instructions on the flyer below and let's get you and your family booked.

Patti specializes in lifestyle Maternity, Fresh 48 and Newborn photography and now families.  If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session with Patti at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Let's Start a Conversation" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309.
​We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

​The other night I had a dream where I was attending a social gathering with a friend at a wealthy woman’s home whom I had never met.  After the proper introductions, this wealthy woman, whom I’ll call Elizabeth, asked the standard, what seems to be the obligatory question when meeting someone for the first time, of, “so, what do you do?”  This is how the conversation unfolded:
 
Me:  I’m a portrait artist creating beautiful, lifelong visual histories for families.
 
Elizabeth:  Oh, so you are a painter?
 
Me:  No, I’m a photographer.  I create art by taking images and have them printed as beautiful pieces of artwork for my clients’ walls or tables.  Just like your beautiful painting of a landscape hanging over your mantel. 
 
Elizabeth:  So, do you take pictures just as a hobby, then?  What's your real job?  
 
Me:  Actually, it is my real job.  I own my own photography business.  I create original pieces of art that will be passed down from generation to generation.  Now, take your painting there above the mantel. Does that happen to be an original?
 
Elizabeth:  No, it's not.
 
Me:  Well, you see, it is just a copy from an artist that painted a scene of a place you probably don’t even know or have ever visited.  It really carries no memories for you other than you liked the painting, so you bought it.  That painting most likely will not be passed down to your children, grandchildren or even great-grandchildren.  They may not even like it because it’s not their taste or style of painting.  However, if you have an original piece of artwork that showcases your family frozen in a moment of time, don’t you think those pieces of photography artwork most likely would be passed down to your children and future generations as they are family?  They would want to keep it to show their children and grandchildren one day that would give a visual history of your family and tell a story through all the years to come, long after you are gone.  Don’t you just love it when you look at old photographs of your family?  What if you didn’t have any visual history of the past?  That would be so sad.  So, I am rich.  I am rich in knowing I have created professional, gorgeous artwork of lifelong visual histories for families to display and know they will be carried on to future generations.  I don't think your painting here would carry on those same memories.  What story does it tell?  It told a story to the artist, but most likely not you.
 
Elizabeth:  Oh, I see.  Well, when you put it that way, I guess being a portrait artist is a real job and something to be very proud of.
 
Me.  Most definitely!

End of dream sequence.  :-)

​

​This picture shown here is of my grandfather; my mother’s father, taken in 1941.  I value and cherish this photo.  He died when I was just one year’s old so I never got to know him. If I didn’t have this picture, I would never have known what he looked like.  However, through this photograph, I was able to, at least, make some connection with him.  Isn’t that what family is all about – making connections?
 
Therefore, I am running a limited edition session to make it easy and convenient for you to get those family photos, whether it is maternity, newborn or your family as they are now.  Let's do this!
 
Are you ready to create your family connection with an original piece of artwork that will spark memories of frozen moments in time of your family and for your family?

Contact me.

In honor of Father's Day, I am offering Daddy and Me limited edition sessions.  I believe dads need as much recognition as moms.  I usually don't see too many photographs with just dad and his children, so I would like to change that.

Moms, if you are reading this, consider gifting this to your hubby as a way to show how much you appreciate him on Father's Day.

See the flyer below and contact me to discuss details and to book your time.  

Patti specializes in lifestyle Maternity, Fresh 48 and Newborn photography and now families.  If you are ready to book or chat about your photo session with Patti at DreamWorld Photography, click the "Let's Start a Conversation" box below or call Patti directly at 941.405.3309.
​We only take a limited number of clients each month. Will you be one of them?  We hope so.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.