meghan orud photography & design » Photo shoot ideas

Where do you get those ‘cute’ little outfits?

admin — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:50:06 +0000

For years I have been asked where I get ‘the cute’ outfits I photographed my boys in, that is when I set out to find cute little outfits to have on hand for those clients that want a classic photo shoot. Realizing that is much harder to find classic boys outfits I stocked-up on everything that I could get my hands on. Some are antiques and some are new, but they all have a vintage look to them.

Here is the first of my models to help me showcase these outfits. You might recognize him if you follow my blog. I have had the pleasure of photographing him since he was born. Now three, he was so much fun to chase around with the camera. We started at my in-home-studio with the first two outfits and then moved onto an alley that made us feel like we were in Europe. I was going to show just one photo of each outfit, but he loved the Jack-in-the-box so much and we got so many great shots with it I really couldn’t choose just one.

What inspires me

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:15:21 +0000

I am often asked about what inspires my photography and how I would describe my photography. I have decided that I can sum it up in two words …Vintage Inspired. I love classic baby and toddler photos. To create something Vintage Inspired, from the perfect background to the perfect outfit – even going as far as the perfect toys as ‘props’- tickles me pink with the perfect outcome.

Where do I get my inspiration? Everywhere from old books, photos, and movies, to pieces that I find in antique stores. I also have a father that loves to browse estate sales. He has found so many wonderful things over the years that I have been able to use, and if I am looking for something he is the first one I call.

I have also found many wonderful options for the perfect outfits. Some of these sites have antique clothing, but most have vintage inspired options:

Grammies Attic                     http://www.grammies-attic.com
The Baby Gardner                http://www.babygardner.com
Little English Clothing          http://www.littleenglish.com
Smock It To Me                    http://www.smockittomeonline.com
Rags Land                            http://ragsland.com
Jolly Rompers                       http://www.jollyrompers.com
Blu Pony Vintage                  http://www.bluponyvintage.com

If you shop the Clearance or Sale items you can find some great deals! I keep tabs on all of my favorite shops that have a Facebook page. If you ‘Like’ my page you will get updates from me with great options for sale items as they are posted.

Here are a few of my favorite vintage inspired photos over the past year:

Inspired by 100 year-old photo

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:40:32 +0000

Christmas came and went so fast that I didn’t get to share this last pre-Christmas photo shoot with all of you. I received a call a couple weeks before Christmas from someone that wanted to do a photo shoot with her little boy to ‘match’ a 100 year-old photo that they had of his great-grandfather. I was more than happy to help her out with this. I love vintage inspired photo shoots and I am more than happy to help with the props, perfect location and/or the clothing. This mom had it all under control… she had already contacted the Guthrie and rented a costume, figured out a collar to match the outfit in the photo, gathered a stool similar to the one in the photo.

I started out with some color film figuring that I could always have it printed black and white, but I also brought along my medium format camera to take some true vintage looking photos.

Here is the Christmas Card I put together to pay homage to the 100 year-old photo of this little guy’s great-grandfather.

Our historic carousel

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:26:20 +0000

It is never too early to start thinking about Christmas photos. Many families take full advantage of their photo shoots and use the photos for their Christmas cards. This mom thought ahead and got matching outfits for her three cuties and we took advantage of our historic carousel. I have to say the employees were accommodating to our mini-photo-shoot, but the music was so loud that the kids couldn’t hear a word I said. It really didn’t matter for the individual shots because I caught them enjoying the ride. We then walked down to the pond to finish the roll and let the kids check out the ducks. It was a chilly day, but perfect sweater weather!

More options…

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:49:29 +0000

I have a new camera, and with a new camera comes new options!!! This Hasselblad is a classic medium-format camera. It can tell a different story thru the photos it produces.

Here is my first try at it.

All in the Family

admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:04:54 +0000

What does 90 plus degrees + two six year olds and one three year old =? Potential disaster. Thank goodness kids are resilient! I was drenched with sweat by the end of this photo shoot and these three hardly showed any signs of the heat! I had fun with this one. These three are cousins and grandma B wanted photos of her and the grandkids. I was able to capture some cute moments. The three year old is totally enamored with his big cousin. And even though it isn’t ‘cool’ to smile already at 6 years old, I caught a few moments that showed he liked the attention from his little cousin. And as for big sister, I didn’t even have to work for her. She already had poses practiced that she wanted me to capture! Too cute!

Classic little boy in every way

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:34:44 +0000

Admittedly I have been trying to get a cover shot of a baby with my logo for a couple of months now, but my personal model was a little too fast and opinionated! (I have recommendations for milestone shots for a reason!) This little guy was happy to oblige. He turns one tomorrow and is the perfect age for some standing shots… while he still can’t go anywhere! Of course we took more photos than just the one’s I wanted. He came with an adorable little classic outfit and train so we had to fit them in to the photos!

Once and a while I do an antique photo finish for cards. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to show my blog readers what this finish looks like. Isn’t he cute!!!

Back to a normal color photo…

Kids love trains!

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:16:42 +0000

I did this shoot a couple of weeks ago for a father’s day gift. Great idea right? I love getting creative with the theme, but I have to hand it to these girls mom… She found this wonderful little classic train station with a push pull car, an old mail cart an best of a an old red caboose. Great location! AND we had it all to ourselves.

White Pickett Fence

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:30:27 +0000

Last Saturday turned out to be beautiful. I was ok with the sun not coming out but I was hoping that it would warm up a little. I had a photo shoot in the morning, it could of been a little warmer for the little tykes that I was shooting.

The sun did come out Saturday afternoon and it lit this setting just perfectly. These photos were to celebrate big sisters birthday. We even went out for ice-cream after because they were so good!

Taking advantage of a location

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:12:35 +0000

Needless to say the farm ended up being a beautiful background for this little guy’s photo shoot. Not only did it have a beautiful old red barn, it also had a tire swing, (which he was afraid of), a little playhouse and a rustic chair for him to sit on. I wish I had this at my disposal close to the twin cities! I do travel with clients, so maybe I’ll get to use it again!