​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 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.

From the very beginning, I have always traveled to the client's home for their session.  To be real, when I first started, I didn't have the resources to rent, let alone own a studio of my own anyway, so to the homes I went and still do.  

Now, that I switched from strictly posed to lifestyle photography, home is where the heart is.  I wouldn't even want a studio now.  Even though studios certainly can be set up like a room in a home to make it feel "homey," to me it still isn't "real."  I love real, authentic and the intimacy of being in the client's home; in their own environment where they are most comfortable and love the best.




Additional benefits of having the session take place in your home:
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1. You don't have to pack up everything to come to a studio.  No long commutes.  You get to stay right where you are and I come to you.  No worries about forgetting to bring snacks for the children or extra diapers.
2. Each and every family member will be really comfortable in their own home.  No outsiders staring at you watching the session.  Children tend to me more comfortable as this is where they live and are usually excited to show a "stranger" (me) their rooms.  This tends to allow them to get comfortable with me faster in their own environment.
3. You will have items you may want to include in some of the photos right there on hand in the home, such as a book, chair, and even your fur baby.
4. Finally, the session could include your own special space.  We may be in your bedroom, nursery, children's rooms, living room and maybe even the kitchen.  This is a great way to create that connection between everyone in your most comfortable and happy place.

Ready to make that connection in your most comfortable and secure happy place?

​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 "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.

I am so excited and happy to announce a new service DreamWorld Photography will be offering - Boutique School Photography!  What exactly is this, you ask?

Boutique School Photography captures children in a very relaxed, natural way.  No awkward, stiff, boring poses like standard school photos – just the real and authentic child.  No more bright flashes and busy backgrounds.  Smiles are never forced.  I photograph the children just as they are.  I create a relaxed and fun environment during the short period of time of photographing the children.  

These kind of school photographs are artistic and capture those genuine expressions.

Since this will be the first year of my offering these different kind of unique school portraits, I will only be providing this service to pre-schools up to elementary schools at this time.

If you are a parent or guardian reading this blog and are interested in this type of unique school photography service for your child's school located in Manatee or Sarasota counties, please direct your school administrator to this blog post or our website.  I would be happy to meet with them to discuss this in person.

I mean, look at these faces?  

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!

Choosing the right time of day.

I will always ask if there is a specific time of day that will work best for your children.  I don't want to shoot during their usual nap time.  Otherwise, no one will be happy, am I right?

I Don't Say "No."

Meaning, children hear that word often enough.  So, if they hear it from me, they very well may have a meltdown.  If the children won't take direction from me, I will ask you, the parents, to redirect your child's attention instead of telling the child or children, "no."  Usually, a small distraction is enough to get the children happy and willing to work with me.

I Let Them Have Fun!

Children love to explore, learn and observe.  It's fine if they are running around while I am taking pictures of maybe just mom and another child.  Sometimes, I'll quickly turn my camera to get a shot of them happily playing and get great candid shots.  They are in their element and that's what lifestyle photography is all about.

I'm Not Afraid to Play and Act Goofy

Sometimes I might have to dance or make funny noises in order to get the children to loosen up, play and get those genuine smiles.  As you well know, children laugh at the craziest things.

...and sometimes your children are just not having it.  They get in those moods and there is no turning them around.  Therefore, we may just have to reschedule the session.  This usually happens if we are shooting on location somewhere.  That's why I prefer to have all my sessions take place in the comfort of your own home - where children are familiar with their environment and surroundings.

Ready to book your lifestyle family photo session?  Click on the link below and let's get started!

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 "Book A Call" box above 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.

​How many times do you take photographs of your children?  If you are like most moms, your answer is tons.  But, usually, one thing is missing - YOU!  Where is mom in the photos?  Mom is most likely the one behind the camera and never in the pictures.  

How sad to think when your children look through their childhood photos years from now and only see them or them with dad but ask, "Where's mom?"  

Sadly, that's true of my family photos from when I was a child.  There are very few, and I mean, very few photos of my sister and I with my mom or even with my mom and dad together in a photo.  So, when I grew up and had a family of my own, I always made sure I was in several photos when taking pictures of my children.  Photos have always been important to me and I wanted to be in them with my children.  Also, when my parents were still living, I made sure we always took photos together.  The tripod is my friend!  

​When you are not in the photos, your history as a mother isn't being documented.  You are everywhere in the lives of your children as they are growing up by playing with them, helping with school projects, going on family vacations and cheering them on at sporting events, but usually not present in their documented history.

I would have loved seeing my mother in pictures with my sister and I.  However, she told me she didn't stand being photographed.  When I became an adult and started taking pictures at family gatherings, it was always a struggle to get her to be in them.  But, I made her because she knew how important it was to me to have those memories to look at years later and to show them to my own children as they grew older.  Now, that I'm a grandmother, I always make sure I take photos with my grandchildren - memories for me and memories for them.

Today, the majority of moms want to capture everything that is happening in the lives of their children, yet are the ones behind the camera and never with their children in the photographs.  Don't be "that" mom.  Be in the photographs with your children.  It is so easy to do so now with cameras having self-timers and using a tripod or even just using your phone and taking a selfie.  Be in the photos with your children!  Don't worry that you may not look "picture perfect."  Motherhood is never perfect and capturing raw, natural moments will be cherished because it depicts real life - what was happening right then and, therefore, will bring back wonderful memories as you and your children go back and look through that album or box of photographs.

It's great to have professional portraits taken, but it's also just as important for you as the mom to capture those everyday moments with your children and be in the photos with them.  Capturing the good, the bad and the ugly of everyday life will represent a true life story of their childhood.  That's reality - in its rawest form that should be documented.

Believe me.  You will cherish these portraits forever as will your children and generations to come.  The photos you take of just your children, are for you.  The photos you take of your children with you, are for them.  

They will always remember how much they were and still are loved.

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 "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.

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.