It's time to do away with the traditional boring album.  Are you always looking for ideas for family pictures and how to store and showcase them?  Well this album is a great way to store your family pictures for Christmas or any family portraits. 

​As a family photographer, I am thrilled to share this new album with you and the families that trust me to photograph their pictures.  This Velvet album is luxurious and gorgeous.  It is one of the most recent album additions to Tamieka Smith Photography product line.  I can't sing the praises of this album enough. Once you see and touch it you'll understand why.

​Touching this album, you'll become memorized by the softness and smoothness.

I always get excited when it's time to design and create an album from a military ceremony.  This heirloom album was designed for a promotion ceremony that was held in Washington D.C. at Fort Lesley J. McNair for Col Perez-Marsden.  This album is so luxurious by sight and touch.  It has two leathers/materials combined into one to create a unique and custom album.  

​There are so many things that go into preparing for professional headshots; posing, lighting, clothing, and even the location for your headshot.  However, did you know makeup plays a pivotal role in your headshot?  Yes, it does.  So I have written this post to ensure you have the best makeup tips possible so your headshot is far from boring.  You want a headshot that's a freaking rocking portrait. 

Before someone hires you or your company, more times than not, your prospective client will look for a portrait of you; either by looking at your website or social media.  What will you client see if they discover a portrait of you?  You want your headshot to be the best image of yourself; as your face is your name – right.  First impressions are crucial!  That why it’s important to ensure you have the very best makeup tips and photographer when taking your professional headshots.
 
When preparing for your headshot, you want to ensure you start with a clean slate.  Yes, having a freshly washed face is the thing to do. 
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BEFORE:

Are you leaving your clients with a lasting and memorable experience when they receive their family’s portraits?  As a family photographer once the portraits are taken and ready to be delivered to your clients, this is when you have another instance to stand out and deliver beautiful family portraits.  Have you seen an unboxing video lately?  My youngest son is fascinated by those videos and tend to spend hours watching them.  Unboxing videos have become a popular trend in recent years and with custom branded materials, you can give your portrait clients an unforgettable luxurious unboxing experience.  

​As a small business owner it's difficult to stand out from bigger established companies; however, it can be done, and your clients will thank you for it.  When your clients receive their portraits are they mesmerized and blown away by your packaging? 

​The branding of your portraits and how they’re delivered is another way to illustrate to your clients why they hired you as their family, wedding, or headshot photographer.  It also establishes your value as a professional in the industry and making your portrait studio stand out from the rest.  Packaging is a significant component in communicating your brand to your portrait clients, therefore it’s vital to invest in a great design.  Creative packaging is more than just putting your portrait studio’s logo on, it needs to be creative and send a message that gives your clients the feeling of being special and important...because they are.  

Have you started thinking about your family's Christmas card and what picture you want to put on your card?  Well, it's that time of year many families are starting to think about this as well as photographers coming up with creative and unique ways to make a memorable Christmas portrait. 

​If you were on Facebook last week you may have seen many family photographers advertising Grinch portrait sessions. What a cool idea; right.  It’s perfect for the holidays – it would make the best Christmas card and it’s unusual and unique.  It seems like everyone could see the great possibilities as well.  Within days of posting the theme session on her business Facebook page, an Arkansas photographer was getting so many calls for her theme portrait session she booked out quickly and had to initiate a waiting list for next year.  

Do you have a cell phone?  I do and they are popular and convenient to use especially for taking a quick picture of your child or something that may be happening around you.  It doesn't matter if you're located in Los Angeles or Washington DC or anywhere in between, Moms are universal in wanting to get that little smile or quirky facial expression...myself included.  Now that we're in a selfie generation, even business owners are resorting to taking selfies and using them as headshots. 

​I beg with you, don't rely solely on your mobile device to photograph your family's special moments or your headshots if you're a business owner.  Looking at the pictures below you can see why?

This is a beautiful heirloom album created for an Air Force member who had his promotion ceremony at the National Archives Museum in Washington D.C.  Following their ceremony, the member and his spouse chose Wedgewood leather as the base and Stone Cold Grey as the accent on the spine.  The leather is soft to touch and a truly luxurious book to hold the keepsake portraits from his military ceremony. 

A few weeks ago, Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Perez-Marsden contacted me to determine my available to photograph her promotion ceremony in Washington DC at Fort McNair.  We schedule a time to talk, so I could learn her wishes and vision for the upcoming promotion ceremony.  Thankfully, I was already scheduled to be in Northern Virginia for another event, so I was thrilled to be a part of her ceremony by photographing it.
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I am in love with this beautiful 10x10 Heirloom Album.  It was designed for retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Hook.  A few weeks after Col Hook's retirement ceremony at Andrews AFB in Maryland; we meet to discuss how he would like to remember his last official military event and the heirloom album was the number one choice; as each album is custom designed.  Therefore, Col Hook was able to give his album the Air Force treatment.

Col Hook selected Wedgwood and The Saturday Night Special.

When a military member first enlists or receives a commission, retirement isn't the first thing that comes to mind.  It's usually how am I going to get through Basic Military Training (BMT) or Officer Field Training.  However, retirement seems to sneak up on military members; especially when you're having such a great time and enjoy serving and protecting the country you love.