Looking for some examples of what to dress your kids in when they come for a photo shoot?

I went around the web to find some cool, hip kids clothes, as well as examples of how best to wear those clothes and listed them below for you to check out.

1) Layers – It doesn't matter what time of year it is, layers are sure bet for making your kids look great. It gives you the flexibility to mix and match, as well as adds texture to the overall picture. Remember , these are still photos that we are doing, so no matter what the temperature, they will all look the same when we are done. Dressing them in layers is always a sure bet for hip, fun portraits.

Photos courtesy of JCrew on-line

2) Accessories – Adding fun accessories is always a sure fire way to add a little something to your kids portraits. This could be something fun like sunglasses, or a parasol, or something as normal as a hat or boots. Accessories are something that add a little extra to your kids portraits. Plus they can be added or removed (see above!) and they can be used as entertainment to keep your kids interested while the photo shoot is going on!

Images courtesy of Little Sky Children's Boutique

Images Courtesy of Servane Barrau Designs

3) Fun & Funky – You can go two ways with this tip. First, go through your kids closet and find the fun and funky stuff that they already own and put them together. I would suggest colors that match, but not necessarily clothes that match. Stay away from outfits, they're boring! Instead find things that you would probably never let your kids wear! (In fact, let your kids dress themselves and see where it leads! It may be a fun exercise, and you may be surprised what you come up with!) Add this with some accessories, and a layer or two and you are all set! Second, there are a ton of web sites around the web that offer eclectic clothing for both girls and boys (although mainly for girls). In fact, there's almost an entire cottage industry of eclectic girls clothes. So if your not sure what I mean, just Google 'eclectic kids clothes', and you will be surprised how many you come up with.Use these are guides for what you already have, of just but one or two of the outfits! Either way works!

Photo courtesy of Matilda Jane

Images Courtesy of Servane Barrau Designs

4) Classic Dress – Finally, if eclectic isn't for you, it's of to go with the classics. Remember, we are supposed to be making portraits that you are going to hold on to forever, so stay away from the Sponge bob t-shirts, and the Poke man tennis shoes. Instead, go the opposite, and do something classic – dress shirt with blazer, or easter dress. These can look great in kids portraits, especially when done outside on location. The juxtaposition of dress clothes in the outdoors makes for a great portrait look. Plus, add an accessory, or two (a hat, a boa, etc..) and you have the makings of a great portrait.

Images Courtesy of My Saurette

Photos courtesy of JCrew on-line

So, these are just a few thought starters for the next time you have your kids scheduled for portraits. They are not set in stone in any way, and if I am doing my job correctly, it shouldn't matter what they are wearing, however these ideas could be difference between average portraits, and exceptional portrait!

If you have any other ideas or kids clothing web sites that you would like to add, please feel free to add them to the comments section – I am always looking for other examples!

Finally, thanks for making it this far, and if you have any questions or comments, please drop me a line!

Why is he so amzing? Because of all the trials and tribulations he has been through already in his short life! He has made more trips to Chicago for specialized doctors appointments than most do in their entire life, and has been poked and proded far more than any little guy should ever have to!

But the amazing thing about him is that at this point in time you would never know! He is an amazing little guy who has a great personality and is just fun to be around!

We took these late last year for some 1 year old portraits. These were taken in studio, and a day or two later we took a handful outside with his brother and sister for a group photo!

Please enjoy! And remember that comments are always appreciated!

Here is the one from the park that mom ordered for the kids picture! What an adorable group of kids!

(I had to throw this one in at the end! As we were setting up the other kids for one of the group shots, I randomly popped this one of his sister, and it's one of my favorites! Just goes to show that you have to be always ready for just the right shot!)

Well the turnout was pretty good considering, and we didn't have any incidents even though the bunny was not as cooperative as he could have been!

Thanks to all the folks who came out to participate, and for everyone else, be on the lookout for other FREE open house mini-sessions throughout the rest of this year!

Thanks again for looking, and please feel free to leave comments!

Met Dee from Elements of Elegance at this wedding. She does awesome work with both floral arrangements, but event planning, too! Here are just a couple examples of her work!

Really, could these groomsmen get any cooler?

The gorgeous bride! (In case the white dress wasn't a dead giveaway!)

 The Felt Mansion was a beautiful setting for the ceremony, even if it did rain just a touch before hand!

 After the ceremony, we headed down to the Saugatuck shore for some fun and pictures before going back for the reception

Another example of some the beautiful work done by Elements of Elegance! 

Thanks again for looking! And as always, feel free to leave any comments!

Once again, these were shot downtown Grand Rapids, late last year!

Thanks for looking, and as always, feel free to leave any comments!

First I finally broke down and joined Facebook and went through the process of setting up my profile, finding friends, and uploading pictures. At first it was fun to just track down old school mates, and former co-workers and see what they were up to. But then it became a bit of an obsession. I know check multiple times a day (I hate to admit how many times multiple times really is!), and find myself spending way too much time looking at others photos, and playing word games – it also doesn’t help that my blackberry keeps me way to informed on whats going on Facebook.

I thought this was all fun and good, until I found Twitter. If you are not sure what Twitter its kind of like blogging, but on a smaller scale. Some call it micro-blogging. You can create an account, and go to town updating people about what you are doing, and what you think about any number of things. At first it seems a little silly to think that others actually care about what I am doing right now, but once you get past the feeling of self importance, and just start doing it, its actually really fun. Some call it micro-blogging because you have to limit it to 140 charcters or less. But thats kinda cool, because you have to learn to keep it short and sweet. The trick to Twitter is to collect followers, and to follow others. Then every time one of your “friends” sends out a “tweet” you can get a text message updating you to what is going on. And vice versa – when you send outa tweet it gets sent to your followers and they can see what you are up to.

At any rate, part of the point of twitter is to have people follow you, so that when you send out tweets, someone actually gets them and reads them! Its no fun talking to yourself! So, as a result, I would like to offer a Free Session to anyone that signs up to follow me on Twitter. First you will need to create an account (if you don’t already have one) and then go to my page on Twitter and “follow me”. After that I will send you a discount code for a free session! Simple as that!

And finally, after you set this all up, I would strongly suggest you start looking up others (friends, co-workers, celebrities, etc..) and start following them! It is really fun, and can get very addictive!

Several months ago I got an e-mail requesting info about wedding coverage. The bride-to-be found me after doing a search for info on The Harbourfront Grand Hall in Grand Haven. We traded e-mails back and forth and finally met to finalize the details – This was last October! Since then we have gone back and forth trying to ger engagement photos done! We originally were going to do snow photos, so we waited and waited, and then when we had snow, we could never seem to put something together. Then 2008 turned into 2009, and suddenly the snow was gone, and those plans went out the window.

So then we figured we would wait for things to get green. I mean, snow portraits would be cool, and spring portraits would be be ok, too. But the muddy brown that is in between – not so much!

We finally settled on a date, and when it arrived, the weather couldn’t have been any better! We met at the park, and had a great session. We got some great shots, and got to know each other better – we even found out that we all worked at the same place at one point in time (although at different times!)

So, here are a few of the portraits from Caitlin and Terry’s engagement session! I had a great time, and am really looking forward to your wedding later this year!

We started with the brothers, so we could get them out of the way first! (I don’t know why but big brothers never want to have their pictures taken!) Then we moved on to the Ally and her big sister Anna. Luckily both sisters had NO problem having their picture taken and posing for the camera! We could have shot for hours!

I love doing Celebrating Adoption sessions – the kids are great, and I totally identify with the parents. For more information about Celebrating Adoption, click the link, or e-mail me at rmsphoto@rmsphotography.net