Salem, Dallas, Monmouth, OR Newborn Baby and Family Photographer | Kellie Parry Photography

What to Wear: Baby & Little Boys Edition

daisysue62 — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:57:47 +0000

I don’t get as many questions regarding how to dress little boys for photos as I do little girls, but I still thought I’d share some of my favorite tricks and tips and places to shop for my son. For the record I have just as much fun and enjoyment shopping for my son as I do for my daughter, boys are fun to dress too! It can take a little more work to plan a little boy’s outfit for portraits, especially as they become more and more attached to tee shirts the older they get. My son would happily live in super hero and sports shirts forever but for photos I can usually talk him into a Mommy approved outfit.

The key to dressing boys for portraits is layers, patterns, and colors. Layering is pretty easy for boys, just have him wear a collared shirt with a non collared one or sweater and you’re good to go. For even more layers consider adding a vest or jacket. I love dressing my son in stripes and since boy clothing manufacturers make striped boys clothes by the truck loads it’s pretty easy to find a shirt or sweater that will work. Plaids are also a great option, and baby boys have the added bonus of all the adorable baby patterns at their disposal. I love to mix and match colors with my son, bold colors seem to photograph really well. Try mixing and matching bold colors and patterns. Don’t forget about shoes and accessories…girls don’t have a monopoly on cute shoes and accessories you know! Check out Etsy for some fabulous handmade ties and bow ties or suspenders. Hats of all varieties are also a nice touch, I have a fondness for newsboy caps myself. I love Converse and especially appreciate the pop of color they can add to my little guy’s outfit to help make it a little more special. Jeans go with absolutely everything and every little boy should have at least one pair. Stay away from screen printed tees (unless the tee happens to fit with the theme) and plain white sneakers.

Baby boys have a few extra considerations. Baby boys that aren’t sitting yet should avoid overalls and shirts with a collar as they tend to ride up and don’t look as good. Onesies and regular shirts are a much more flattering look for a wee ones. Don’t forget about the adorable rompers that are out there, they are a really classic look and only work for a short time!

My favorite stores to shop for boys clothes are Baby Gap, Mini Boden, Janie & Jack, Old Navy, Target, and Gymboree. If you come across an awesome boys clothing brand please share it with me since I’m always on the look out for my little guy!

This little guy is wearing a striped shirt (score for the stripes!) and classic overalls which work well for a baby who is old enough to be sitting.

My son is wearing a puffer vest over a striped thermal shirt in this photo. The spider man shoes aren’t my favorite for photos, but I was in a hurry not to lose the light and didn’t want to fight him on the shoes. The puffer vest is from Gymboree and the shirt and jeans are Baby Gap.

My son actually picked this outfit out for his preschool photos all by himself. The argyle vest and gray polo are both scored from the clearance bins at Gymboree.

Shirts with numbers on them work really well for birthday portraits, I found this “four” shirt for under $4 at Target a year before he turned four!

This little guy is wearing layers really well, there’s a lot of patterns and textures which work really well together.

This little guy is showing off that babies can pull off red plaid flannel just as well as full grown men!

This is an Easter photo of my son wearing a plaid shirt and coordinating newsboy hat that I picked up at Target.

For this fun themed rock n roll photo shoot with my little guy I put a green plaid dress shirt under his Rock Band tee shirt with jeans and bright green converse. We also gelled his hair into spikes which completed his “rock star” look. Themed photo sessions can be sooooo much fun!

This is my son wearing his Christmas outfit from two years ago. We found the vest and white collared shirt at a consignment store, the gray pants and newsboy hat at Gymboree, the tie from Petite Peanut, and the bright green Converse make the outfit!

Two Weeks New: Salem, Oregon Newborn Lifestyle Photographer

daisysue62 — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:39:16 +0000

My friend and fellow photographer Alysun gave birth to her fourth baby recently and invited myself and another photographer friend over to play with her new little guy. I never pass up a chance to spend an hour or two with a newborn, and it’s even more fun when there are multiple photographers involved! Tommy was exactly two weeks old in these photos and already has his Mama on her toes. He wasn’t very sleepy and was very unimpressed with our efforts to swaddle him. We did manage to get one set up with my basket and new green fur while he was asleep and I’m glad we did because I was excited to try it out! After feeding him we headed upstairs to his tiny (but super cute!) nursery to get a few lifestyle photos of him with his Mama. I squeezed between the crib, heater, and slanted ceilings but I’m so glad I did because the photos upstairs are my favorites. He has such fabulous expressions and huge eyes, no wonder he’s got his sleep deprived parents so in love with him!

Beautiful & Pregnant with Baby #4! Salem, Oregon Maternity Photography

daisysue62 — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:38:46 +0000

My friend Ashley bravely modeled for the photography group I am involved with at 37 weeks pregnant with baby #4. She looks fabulous and in no way resembles a tubby & crabby pregnant woman like I did when I was 37 weeks pregnant with baby #2. Color me jealous. I had a great time and laughed through most of the session with the great group ladies we were there with. Maternity sessions are something I really enjoy doing because I think it’s important to have photos to help you remember such an important but short lived season of your life. And speaking from a woman’s perspective, I also know how important it is to have photos that make you feel beautiful and not like a tubby pregnant woman! Photographing Ashley was a pleasure and I wish her easy and early labor vibes (preferably with time to get to the hospital!) and I can’t wait to meet her newest little man

First here’s a peek behind the scenes and what it’s like to face down several cameras at once! Certainly not for the shy!

And onto the portraits I managed to snag. By the end of the session I had completely soaked my Converse, socks, and six inches of my jeans from standing in the foliage to get far enough back. Worth it!

Afternoon in the Park with the Girls: Salem, Oregon Child Photography

daisysue62 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:50:59 +0000

I had the pleasure of spending an hour on a beautiful Saturday afternoon photographing two adorable sisters at the Dallas City Park! Both had birthdays in the last few months but we were waiting for some decent weather (read: not raining!) and for our schedules to coincide and I’m so glad we did because we couldn’t have had a prettier day to work with! Mckenna is seven and has the cutest gappy smile due to several missing teeth. Believe it or not she donated to Locks of Love not that long ago and her beautiful long curly hair transformed into beautiful straight hair. Next time she said she wants to donate ten inches, such a giving little girl! Kayla turned five in December and is super sweet. She is also a world class pro in posing and I may enlist her to teach my children how it’s done. The girl is a natural!

Happy Easter!

daisysue62 — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:15:08 +0000

I took advantage of a rare dry moment last week to snap a few photos of my kids in the cherry blossoms across from the capitol building. I try to go every year, but some years the weather and our schedules just don’t work so I’m glad this wasn’t one of those years. It was a last minute decision on my part, but I figured I could have the kids wear their Easter outfits and kill two birds with one stone which made it even sweeter. I even brought along my kids’ bunnies for props.

Surprisingly the cherry blossoms were pretty quiet and I didn’t have to dodge too many people to get our photos. Usually there are zillions of people and it’s hard to get a background without someone’s neon green coat clearly visible. We ran into a friend and her girls taking photos which was fun if not a little bit crazy. Getting one child to focus and cooperate is difficult, let alone four of them. I didn’t wind up with any photos of my children together that turned out, mostly because they only wanted to twirl each other in very fast circles and/or look super bored when I asked them to look my direction. Since I take photos of my children often I have learned to keep our time together with a camera as short as possible and I don’t make a big deal out of absolutely getting a particular shot. Since I happened to get some nice photos of the two of them together not that long ago I let it slide this time around in favor of discovering a lovely flower variety that we dubbed the “Gracie flower” because they combined all three of her favorite colors (pink, purple, and pinkish purple).

Spring Special!

daisysue62 — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:15:18 +0000

Now that the sun has peeked out a couple times I am feeling the urge to get outside for some spring portraits! As an incentive to book this spring I am offering the first three clients to book a session with me before the end of June a complimentary 5×5 leather photo book ($150 value) that features 20 of your favorite images. Photo books are a great way to preserve your memories and are super easy to store. These photo books come with your choice of 13 leather cover colors, featured here is the lavender that I chose as a sample album. Each album comes with 10 pages which feature one image on each side with a clean white background.

Contact me to book your spring session today!

14 Days New: Salem, OR Newborn Photographer

daisysue62 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:53:31 +0000

I’m always excited to work with clients more than once and watch children grow, but it’s even more exciting to watch families grow! This little guy is the youngest of three adorable little boys and I did the middle brother’s newborn photo session almost two years ago. It was fun to pull out some boyish blankets and hats I’ve collected but haven’t had a chance to use since I’ve been on a baby girl streak.

And now to introduce little Nathan!

Behind the Scenes Peek

daisysue62 — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:00:17 +0000

I thought I’d share some behind the scenes shots and explain a little bit about how I set up for newborn and studio sessions. I know a lot of clients are worried that they do not have enough space in their home for me to work in and I hope by sharing some photos of my set ups I can show you how little space I actually need to work in! Newborn sessions require the least amount of space and I’ve set up in many different types of rooms including bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and even a hallway. When I arrive at your home for a newborn session I usually look around your home to gauge which room or space has the best lighting and go from there. Occasionally I may ask permission to move some furniture (dining tables and couches usually!) but not always. I bring a large bean bag for posing and use either two dining room chairs or my studio background stand behind it depending on how much room there is. I bring several large totes full of supplies with me full of blankets, wraps, gender appropriate accessories (hats, headbands, etc), extra receiving blankets, and cloth diapers. I also bring a large round reflector, a space heater, and a few baskets and other props. I do bring portable lighting equipment that I can use for newborn sessions in case the natural light isn’t going to work so if you don’t have perfect indoor lighting that’s ok.

This first set up is from a newborn session I did with natural window light in a dining room with the dining table pushed back a bit. The sun was surprisingly bright for a November morning so I actually had to adjust the window shade several times during this session. The large round white thing is my reflector, and you can see various bags and baskets full of wraps/blankets/cloth diapers that I keep close for posing and clean up. It’s hard to tell but there are several blankets layered under the gray ruffle fabric which is clamped to the back of two dining room chairs. Below the pull back photo is a finished image taken a few minutes later using this set up.

This next pull back photo is from my kids’ Christmas photos taken in December 2010. This was taken in my kitchen using my studio lighting in addition to a little natural light coming from the sliding glass door right behind me. You can’t see my lighting equipment but it is on camera left right next to me. The white thing on the right is my reflector and you can see one of the background stand legs on the left. I created a fake “wall” using my background paper and a piece of baseboard set up in front of my stove and refrigerator. The paper is only 53″ wide so you can see I didn’t need a lot of space!

The last pull back is from a few weeks ago when I did my children’s Valentines photos in my garage. I really had my hopes set on outdoor photos with the quilt the heart banner but the weather just wasn’t going to cooperate! So I pulled the van out of the garage and made do with my studio set up and natural overcast lighting from the open garage door. You can see my silver backdrop stand and my pink paper backdrop in addition to my fabulous garage in the background. I didn’t want to tape the heart banner to my paper background so I borrowed some of my daughter’s hair ribbons and tied it to my background stand. The fake wood floor is paper and I put the quilt on top of the paper and you can see the back of my reflector on the left. I took this at the end of the photo session which is why my children look so sticky and enthused.

8 Days New: Monmouth, Oregon Newborn Photographer

daisysue62 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:07:31 +0000

I met 8 day old baby Brooklyn and her parents at the end of the snow storm a few weeks ago and I’m certainly glad I braved the slushy roads to do so, she was an absolute gem! She has perfect baby skin and a healthy amount of hair that sticks out adorably. She slept through the entire session, only opening her eyes briefly now and then to see what I was doing and then promptly closing them again. Newborn photo sessions are definitely high on my list of enjoyable ways to spend a morning!

Pretty in Pink | Salem, OR Child Photographer

daisysue62 — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:02:33 +0000

I met this little cutie just before the weather turned to constant snow and rain and I’m so glad we eeked out an hour of sunshine for our session together! With kids this age it always seems to work better to take them outside rather then coop them up inside for a studio session. When we’re outdoors I can chase them around and let them interact with their environment naturally. Of course usually I don’t have the added bonus of an overly affectionate bovine to help me out!

I had a hard time narrowing down my favorites from this session because Megyn is so expressive!