My Go-To "Posing" Trick for Newborn Photography

One of my favorite things to do when posing newborns is to use the parents' hands.

Now I use the word "pose" loosely as I do very minimal, newborn led posing.

But I do like to get some shots of the baby alone on the bed, awake or asleep, if the baby is okay with it.

Simply ask the parents to come and hold the baby firmly in the position you desire. This allows you to capture the newborn with their parents loving hands on the baby, which is a beautiful shot, then allows you to capture the newborn alone. The baby is usually very calm after he or she has just been comforted by familiar hands.

Parents' hands:

Calm baby:

Try it out next time you photograph a newborn. Let me know how it goes.

Xoxo,

Elena

Meet Chelsea Macor | ESB Associate Photographer

For the past few years as Elena S Blair Photography has become busier, I've been thinking about bringing on an associate photographer so that we can serve more and more families in Seattle. Over the past month, my assistant and I interviewed and met some amazing family photographers in the area and decided to hire Chelsea! She's funny, sweet and super talented.

Chelsea describes her artistic style as "intimate, romantic, filled with life, love and connection." She loves "light and movement, tenderness and realness." When she told us her drink of choice is a margarita, we knew this was going to be a good fit ;) 

We're excited to have her on the team!

Work Smarter, Not Harder | Tips For Your Photography Business

I get asked about time management literally every day. Listen, I don't have more hours in my day than you do.

I am a single mom. I have a full time business. It's a lot.

But what I have learned is that you have to streamline your work and develop systems in order to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.

This past year I signed up with Honeybook. Honeybook is a super easy to use studio management software that has so much power. But my favorite thing Honeybook does is that it allows me to quickly respond to inquires with click of the button email templates.

I made a little video to show you this feature and why I love it so much. If you sign up with Honeybook using any of the links I have shared in this email or in the description on the video you will get 50% off your first year. That is a HUGE saving.

Work smarter, not harder! 

You can see the video by going to the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NNXLfujTRI&featur...

I hope this is helpful for you. :)

Xoxo,

Elena

Try Honeybook now and get 50% off of your first year! Click HERE to check it out! 

Create BEFORE You Consume | Entrepreneur and Photographer Tips

We live in a magical time where we have access to entertainment, art, and friendship literally in the palm of our hands. I will be the dork here and say that the power of the internet still blows my mind.

However, this instant access, instant gratification, instant everything has many downfalls in my opinion.

I could bore you and go on and on, however I won’t do that. Instead I am going to share with you one major downfall that I feel can be detrimental to your creativity, your confidence, your mindset, and ultimately the growth of your business.

This downfall is the comparison game. I play it EVERY SINGLE DAY and my gut says you probably do too. Am I right?!

You scroll through Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc and you are flooded with so much beauty and talent. You are flooded with people showing themselves looking absolutely gorgeous doing epic things, creating incredible art.

Cue inner narrative:

“Wow, my photography is so boring. Why can’t I use light like that?”

“I need that lens. I need that camera.”

“I look like a slob. My kids look like ragamuffins.”

“I don’t travel enough. I don’t spend nearly enough time in bed with gorgeous lattes.”

“I suck at all things and will never be able to be half as much as these bad asses, I quit.”

Yeah, you know what I mean don’t you?

Here is the thing. Inspiration is a beautiful, wonderful, motivating thing. But it can also bring you down to a place that is hard to get up from. And it can also suck so much time out of your life that you don’t get half the things done you were capable of.

But here is the good news, my friend. I have a very simple solution, a practice really, that I have been implementing and it has changed my life.

I now have a hard and fast rule. Create before you consume! Create before you consume!

It is almost meditative and I will admit it was hard to implement. It took some major self control to not roll over, grab my phone, and start binging on all things social media.

Now, I wake up, make my coffee, meditate for 5 minutes (that is it) and then I create something. That can be as simple as writing a blog post, writing an email like this one to you, editing an old personal photo, writing a note to my best friend, scheduling my own Instagram feed or facebook posts, culling a session, working on one of my upcoming talks or retreats…. ANYTHING BUT CONSUMING.

Then, when I do start guzzling social media (because I absolutely do) I come from a more firmly rooted place. I feel more sure of my own abilities to be a creator and I look at others from a more subjective place.

I urge you to try this. Create before you consume. See how it changes your mindset. And let me know if it helps.

Xoxo,

Elena

Seattle Beach Family Photographer | Elena S Blair Photography

I adore sun drenched images, however there is something so special and beautiful about a cloudy sky. It brings a depth and beauty that is so unique. I believe as a photographer it is important to be able to photograph in any type of light. I only cancel a shoot if it is super rainy. 

I have had the privilege of capturing this Seattle Family a few times and it is lovely fun time. We played in the sand, threw rocks in the water, and enjoyed a cloudy Seattle spring evening together.