Stairstep Kids Photography

We've got a new blog site!

2009-03-05T12:55:00.002-05:00

I've updated the blog and made some changes to the layout...and a NEW ADDRESS!!

I won't be updating here any longer, so for new posts, please check the new site:

Stairstep Kids Photoblog

Cheers-
Alex

Baby D Turns 1!!!

2009-02-16T15:02:00.002-05:00

Check him out! He's a crazy cruiser and talking up a storm. If I get a chance, I'll post the ones from his 6 month session. You won't believe the difference!!

Anyway, here are few for his momma!

For Danielle

2009-02-14T20:22:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful little person this one is! She weighs all of 6lbs (and she earned every bit of it, champion eater girl) and was one week old when I photographed her.

Look at that precious little mouth!!! More to come, but these are some sneak peeks.

Enjoy!

A couple of new ones of the kids...

2009-02-06T14:05:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy with the start of the new year with things like stomach bugs and weddings (not at the same time) that I've not photographed the kids too much so here are a few more recent ones.

Enjoy!

A preview...

2009-02-03T12:48:00.002-05:00

A little taste of what's to come (soon, I promise):

Music by David Gray - This Year's Love

More Wedding Sneak Peeks

2009-01-25T16:38:00.002-05:00

And by special request from Tawni...

Super Hero Kyle & His Super Sibs!!

2009-01-21T17:24:00.002-05:00

This little guy is amazing! He's seen more in his short 5 months than many of us will see in our lifetimes. And he's smiley, and cute, and even tempered...and the youngest of four!! Another set of stairsteps that I had the privilege to photograph on behalf of the Littlest Heroes Project.

This is just one of the set that I did today. More coming soon!

Quick Sneak Peek

2009-01-18T14:40:00.002-05:00

Checking out some space...

2009-01-10T06:31:00.002-05:00

These first two are from a great space around the corner. A converted library building with large windows and vaulted ceilings. I'd have a dedicated shooting space too! It's beautiful...but pricey.

Another great space, nice light, but the ceilings aren't as high. I'd have to drive, but there is a fantastic gym next door in a converted townhouse with a great yoga studio (for shooting, not for yoga...ha!) and a dance room with a very large picture window. If not for the driving...

Sneak Peek: The Siegel Law Firm

2008-12-30T20:35:00.003-05:00

A few for the folks today...more to come later! Everyone looks great!

Two for Tawni

2008-12-20T20:16:00.002-05:00

I'd like to shoot at the Engineer's Club all of the time, but especially at Christmas! So beautiful with all the lights and trim.

Congratulations guys!

Sneak Peek for Joyce

2008-12-14T21:58:00.002-05:00

A few from the other day. What a cutie he is! More coming later...

We did it!!

2008-12-03T22:50:00.002-05:00

These are really quick sneak peeks for Liz who I'm sure was doubting whether we ended up with anything by the end of our session. We did! And these are just a few that I had a chance to look at tonight. I need to come and shoot at your house more often, you have great light!!

Enjoy!

Canvas!

2008-12-03T21:30:00.001-05:00

The newest offering at Stairstep Kids is Canvases!! They are beautiful. The below is a 20x30 1 1/2 inch Fine Art Wrap. It's a gorgeous piece, if I do say so myself. (The little elfin figure in it isn't too bad either.) I'm offering the 16x20 canvases for an introductory price of $115, so if 20x30 is too big for you (check it out relative to the 8x10 next to it), the 16x20 might be the way to go.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I'm too busy to post them at the moment, but I'll try to get some shots from our holiday up soon!

Lisa & Dan: Sneak Peek

2008-11-19T22:21:00.004-05:00

I spent the late morning with this great family and their two little ones. Great house, great light, (and really, Lisa, far neater than a house with two small children has a right to be), and a great back yard. Unfortunately, it was wicked cold so we stayed inside. Here are few sneak peeks since I know I'll be out of pocket for the next week or so.

Enjoy!

These are for Megan...

2008-10-23T19:41:00.002-04:00

About two months late (the photos, not the baby...she was born on time in September). They were fun to take and what a pal for letting me use her to test my ability to shoot maternity. Fortunately, she's a very photogenic subject so even if I had been really been bad at it, she makes me look good. Congratulations guys!

7-Month Sneak Peek From Saturday

2008-10-20T20:06:00.002-04:00

I gave fair warning that it would be a little while before I got these edited, but I did take a look to see (I could not resist the newsboy cap so I had to peek!). This was really our first fall day so far this year and it was chilly! We had to stop to wipe eyes and noses, but this little guy was such a trooper!

Enjoy!

Sneak Peek - More Twins!

2008-10-15T23:41:00.002-04:00

What troopers! Our photo location is in the middle of a ridiculous path of one way streets, and [insert name of gps or internet mapping service here] always takes you to the top end of a one-way street. Not to worry though! Mom, dad, and coordinating babies all made it. (I have a few outtakes where baby girl is watching her brother topple over. In a few months, she'll have pushed him, but for now he just loses his balance.)

Sneak Peek - M & H

2008-10-14T22:04:00.002-04:00

These two were so cute! And the eyelashes! Are you serious? People would kill for eyelashes like these. To top it all off, she brought her own pumpkin! I love it when kids bring their own props.

Enjoy!

These are for Nathalie...

2008-10-13T19:45:00.004-04:00

I quick like a bunny looked at a few from the session on Sunday morning. I had to tear myself away because there were so many fun ones to choose from...but I have to do the mini-sessions first! I think it's called discipline, or something like that.

Enjoy!

Holiday Session Sneak Peek - Little Miss Sunshine

2008-10-13T19:33:00.003-04:00

This little girl was happy from the word go. She gleefully pulled the heads off of many flowers, including the fake ones I brought along to simulate the fall that has yet to arrive here. Enjoy!!

Holiday Session Sneak Peek - C & C

2008-10-13T19:27:00.003-04:00

These girls are hilarious. Deb, don't worry, there are some good ones of the two of them, Celia's faces notwithstanding!

The holiday sessions have started...Sneak Peek

2008-10-09T11:48:00.002-04:00

From Jen & Vic

2008-09-30T21:09:00.002-04:00

Congratulations!

Sometimes I take pictures for fun

2008-09-22T21:13:00.002-04:00

This is my across the street neighbor. She is a sweetie. She has a new baby in the house and was hanging out with her mom outside...sort of. She doesn't really use a paci, and she isn't usually shy...but she was so sweet and seemed so much like a little girl who has a new baby in the house, I couldn't resist the pictures. Enjoy.

Sneak Peek: Baby L Davis

2008-09-22T12:35:00.002-04:00

She was so fun to photograph. She thought that the grass was awesome and was very accommodating when it came to clapping. Anytime she heard a sound remotely clap-like, she willingly clapped her hands together. Smiling, not so much. But, who could blame her? There was so much to look at and put in her mouth that smiling kind of took a back seat. Nevertheless, we got some great shots.

Enjoy! More to come!

And an outtake when baby girl decided that she was completely done with us. And let us know with a huge yawn. We were boring her, obviously.

The baby blues

2008-09-16T12:38:00.002-04:00

Look at the baby blues on this little guy! He was one of the happiest little kids you'd ever want to meet. And, he loved to stick out his tongue. I had a hard time finding some where he didn't look like he was concentrating very hard...or Michael Jordan going in for a lay-up.

Enjoy!

Holiday Card Sessions

2008-09-10T12:29:00.004-04:00

I'm happy to announce that I'll be doing holiday card sessions throughout October. There are three dates, October 6, 11, and 25th. The 6th is a studio session and the 11th & 25th are on-location sessions at Sherwood Gardens in Guilford and at the park on Hughes Street in Otterbein, respectively. Email me to sign up for a session or you can use one of our forms to sign up.

October 6
October 11
October 25

Sessions are 20 minutes and have a variety of packages ranging from $75-$175. To book a session you must pre-pay $50 of your selected package. You can just get your digital file for use with your own cards, or you can use our beautiful custom cards. (You won't find these on Shutterfly!)

Take a look:

Cutest baby mouth!

2008-08-19T14:21:00.003-04:00

I had the opportunity to photograph little Baby G a little over a week ago. Can you believe this tiny little pouty mouth? Is it not the cutest? She was all motion too, everything was curiouser and curiouser in my tiny studio. We slowed her down with some puffs for a second or two but since she's just gotten the pincer move down, she's not quite as good with the in the mouth part...it got boring pretty quick and she was off again.

I thought I'd give mom and dad a quick preview since they are going on vacation. Sue, I'll do my best to get them up before you go!!

In the meantime here is a very small taste of what's to come!!

A few from the wedding...

2008-08-18T21:08:00.003-04:00

These are for the lovely and gracious Joanna & Lonnie whose wedding I had the privilege of photographing this past weekend. What a great group of people and an awesomely fun wedding!

I'm nowhere near done, and to be honest, I haven't even started, but I know that they would love to see a very, very, (I cannot stress this enough) early sneak peek of the wedding.

So here's a little taste of what's to come!

Mini-Session Sneak Peek: The Man

2008-08-12T13:57:00.003-04:00

This little man loves to wear suits. He's rockin a vest and a tie in this shot and doing it quite well!

Mini-Session Sneak Peek: Baby J & Her Dog

2008-08-12T13:54:00.000-04:00

Sneak Peek: Baby O

2008-08-09T19:55:00.001-04:00

Rockin' Guitar Chic

2008-08-08T22:29:00.002-04:00

I've caught her on camera before:

But this time she was in the studio, complete with her guitar. A quick sneak peek from her session. Tons of great shots and even more personality with this future...Joan Jett? Angus Young? Eric Clapton? Sheryl Crow?

How to make a game of not smiling...

2008-08-07T21:04:00.003-04:00

and still end up with a fantastic picture. These two were my last session today and both photographer and subjects were feeling a little worn out. But, I'm sure to their dismay, I did manage to get some great shots. It doesn't hurt that they both have fabulous brown eyes and, while not smiling, at least looked at the camera which is more than I can say for some of my sessions today.

Sneak Peeks: The M Sisters

2008-08-06T14:57:00.001-04:00

Getting the studio ready...

2008-08-02T20:45:00.000-04:00

Working to get ready for the grand opening mini-sessions next week. It's a lot of fun! Some of the kids from today.

It's Official

2008-07-29T20:58:00.003-04:00

Stairstep Kids has a new studio. It's in the Gallery 211 Building, on the third floor. We are hosting some mini-sessions to celebrate. We've booked our first day of mini-sessions, so we are working on our second: August 6th. You can sign up here if you are interested!

Stairstep Kids Could be Getting a Studio

2008-07-24T10:15:00.000-04:00

We'll still do on-location shooting, but for days when the weather won't cooperate or it's too cold/hot, we have other options. Stay tuned for more news. I should know something really soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

A few more from Artscape

2008-07-23T21:58:00.002-04:00

Sandy's Memoir

2008-07-20T21:55:00.003-04:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph an amazing local jazz musician the other day. She was performing at Artscape in support of her new CD "Sandy's Memoir". Check her out, she's pretty cool!

These are just a few I've done so far. More to come so stay tuned.

Contrasting Views

2008-07-14T21:37:00.003-04:00

When I'm taking photographs, one of the things that I look for is contrast. A sharp difference in tone and colors always catch my eye and improve the look of my photographs. I think this is particularly true with floral shots as there is often such a huge contrast between the foliage/leafy parts of the flower and the flower itself. I'm particularly drawn to florals that have multiple hues in the array.

I don't have any idea what kinds of flowers these are, but they are blooming right here in the city and I love them!

Getting great pictures of your kids

2008-07-10T14:05:00.002-04:00

People often ask me how they can get great pictures of their kids. In all honesty, I tell them that another person should take them! It's true for the most part that your own kids are your worst subjects. In the event that you can't get someone to photograph your kids, here are a few tips that might be helpful.

Get close. Not up their noses, but close enough that the background is not the subject of the photograph.
Check your surroundings. Look to see what is in the line of your picture. It's nice if your daughter is in the photo and smiling at you, it's not nice if she has a telephone coming out of the back of her head.
Move around and get down. I've not seen too many successful photos of children that were taken from the height of a full grown adult. It's an awkward angle. Get down to their level and you will improve the photo and your ability to perhaps get them to work with you.
Keep them out of the middle...but maintain balance. That's a little trickier. We've all been taught that centered pictures are desirable. That may be, but they are also flat and lack dynamism. Try moving your subject from the center to the left or the right; this will begin to incorporate the rule of thirds.
Light, light, light. This is probably the most important basic element in a successful photo. Go towards the light. It separates a good photo from a great one and will help improve your camera's ability to focus as most cameras look for contrast to guide their auto-focus mechanism.
Can the cheese. It's often one of the worst faces made by children so I try not to say it in any of my photo sessions. I try to capture them doing what they do and being who they are, even if they aren't looking at me or the camera. Eventually they will and it will be a great shot, but until then just capturing them being kids is often as great a shot as any cheese shot could ever be.

Recent Session with a Handsome Little Guy

2008-07-10T12:42:00.003-04:00

Baby with a flower in her hair

2008-07-05T21:28:00.001-04:00

The Fourth

2008-07-04T21:40:00.000-04:00

Sleeping Babies

2008-07-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

On the water

2008-07-02T21:35:00.000-04:00

Camping & Zoos

2008-06-30T21:17:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the new Stairstep Kids Photography Blog

2008-06-01T13:26:00.000-04:00

The new home for the images from sessions that we do here at Stairstep Kids Photography! We are looking forward to posting many, many images from our sessions as sneak peeks. In addition, we will be posting tips for working with your images and your own kids to get the best out of your snapshots and candids! Come back and visit us often to see what's up.