Bringing a baby into the world is a wonderful life event that should be captured. It’s a time you are going to want to remember and share with your little one once he or she is a bit older. If you are thinking about or have recently booked a maternity photo session then the below tips should come in handy as your prepare for your session.   Spring is around the corner, and the stores and malls will have plenty of pretty spring clothing that you'll want to have for your maternity portrait session.

The love and happiness is written all over this Dad's face.  This Dad was so excited about having portraits taken with himself and his new son.  We met at Quantico Marine Base in Virginia for their portrait session. 

Regardless of your political beliefs or political party, a valuable statement was made yesterday by Senator Chuck Schumer.  "That's when I learned though that nothing's official until there's a photo of it", and he present Mr. Trump with two wall portrait size portrait of him during the inauguration.

As a photographer, I hear on a continual basis, "I just want the digital(s)".  I understand we live in a digital age, but in the wise words of the Senator, make sure you make your event or portrait session official be having it printed and framed.  

#printwhatmatters #printwhatyoulove #printwhatyouwanttoremember

Which one will you show your grandchildren?

The cyber world is quickly transitioning the way we share and show our friends and family our most prized accomplishment – our family.  We have so many friends and family across the nation and across the world, so the internet has made it so much easier for us to load our images to social media.  The unfortunate irony is we live during a time in history, where we take so many images within a week (sometime a day), but there is little to no visual documentation.  The disastrous outcome is that our children will have no tangible documentation of their childhood, because we’ve uploaded their history to social media or iCloud platforms.

Technology changes so quickly!  It’s the paradox of the time we currently live.  There is a technology shift every 3 to 5 years.  Have you lost your phone or had a technological glitch and had to rush out to get a new phone?  Computers use to have CD and USB drives install as a standard; now it’s an additional fee to have those included.  Or additional hardware has to be obtained to get access to those forums. 

Our children grow up with thousands of photographs being taken during their childhood, yet so few of them will have a copy to look at.  Printed photographs help us fill in the voids of our fading memory. 

I remember growing up as a child, my mom would keep boxes of photographs stashed.  So I could go back and look at how I used to look.  Now those photo boxes have been replaced with social media and our smartphone camera rolls.  Thumbing thru pictures on your phone or social media is vastly different from holding a physical print. 

Today, people don’t value their picture enough to print it out!  One of the biggest resistance, I hear about printing portraits; “What if they catch on fire, and I lose them all?”  The truth is, if there’s a fire, the computer, USBs, and CDs/DVDs are susceptible to be burned as well.  However, with Tamieka Smith Photography, all purchase portrait prints are guaranteed.  If you experience the devastation of a fire, we will happy assist with a replacement. 

If it’s been more than a month since you’ve last printed a part of your history, make it a goal to have a print made today.  This simple action will help to preserve your family’s history.

Our newest portrait box is made of black walnut wood.  Crafted for my clients who wish to show off their family's portraits.  Our walnut portrait box is sanded smooth on each side, and finished off with a clear coat for quality and durability. It can fit 50 or so of your beautiful family portrait prints.  This product comes in sizes that fit 4" x 6" or 5" x 7" portraits.