How to Shoot a Holiday Card

Holiday Season is upon us! I’m currently taking bookings for family sittings for holiday cards, but don’t wait until the last minute – the later you wait to get cards printed, the more expensive it becomes. I’m happy to travel to your home for a shoot, or can accommodate clients in my home studio. Contact me for information and with any questions.

My friend Aldythe Beltane recently commissioned a holiday card for her business, All Creatures Healing Network. Aldythe is a former vet tech whom I call the ‘cat whisperer’, because she has such an amazing connection to the animals she cares for. She’s also a tireless advocate for rescues, and every season torments her friends with a fresh batch of kittens and adorable rescues who need adopting. I hire her to do our pet sitting when we’re away, and relax knowing that our little monsters are going to be spoiled well cared for.

After a discussion of her vision for the card, we settled on a ‘winter’ theme, but I’d already decided how I wanted to shoot this.

Step one. Build a Set.

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Step Two. Give your models a bit of time to adjust to being on set, as lighting can take some getting used to.

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Step Three. Get the whole family together for a heartwarming group photo.

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More steps and the end result, below the cut…

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Trip report – Cambridge, Uk

Phew. We got back on Thursday and I’m just now starting to feel the jet-lag subside. My partner David and I flew to the UK for a couple of software conferences in Cambridge, then spent a few days in London, followed by Paris! I was looking forward to returning to Cambridge, we visited there three years ago and this time I was going to have a few more days to explore the city.

The first day it rained, but I was undeterred (and had remembered to pack a couple of umbrellas); I headed out for some wandering and shooting in the moody weather.

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I stopped for lunch at the Rainbow Cafe, which is located right across from Kings College. Finding vegetarian food isn’t a huge challenge in the UK, most every pub has something (usually a veggie risotto for some reason), but I always try and track down restaurants which are entirely veggie. The food was delicious; I warmed up with soup and some hot tea, and ventured back out.

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