Valentine Photo Ideas {Sarah Elizabeth Photography - Minneapolis Children's Photographer}

Ever since my daughter started school, I’ve been making Valentine photo cards for her to give out to her friends every year.  We start by having a little Valentine’s Day photo shoot and then turn one of the photos into a card.  With the arctic-like weather canceling school 5 days this winter, we had no problem finding some extra time to do this! 

This year, we used some Valentine themed blocks, confetti and also some fun poses where she is pretending to blow a kiss.  

Here are my two favorites. I’m putting the finishing touches on this weekend so I can get them ordered in time for Valentine’s Day. Which one do you like best?

I also love this one that I’m planning on making into a card for Grandma and Grandpa.

Here's a link to a couple other photo cards ideas from past years:

Birthday Questionnaire and Photo Idea for Kids {Sarah Elizabeth Photography - Plymouth, MN}

I've been so behind on blogging lately! Mostly because it's been a busy month of summer sessions and also because I've been busy planning my daughter's birthday party. Her party was this past weekend and was such a blast -  I have lots of fun photos to share with you soon.  

With birthdays on my mind, I wanted to share a photo today of a sweet little girl I photographed recently who just turned 3.  I love this idea of doing a questionnaire every year on your child's birthday.  The idea is to use the same questions every year and see how they change. I started this with my daughter last year.  I've also been creating a yearly birthday photo by overlaying some of the answers onto a recent photo. 

Here's sweet Saira and a few of her answers. I love how this gives just a little snapshot of your child on their birthday and their favorite things that year!

Here's the list of questions that I've used. Feel free to change it or add to it for your own list of questions - this is just to get you started!

1. What is your favorite color?

2. What is your favorite toy?

3. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

4. What is your favorite place to go?

5. What is your favorite thing to do?

6. What is your favorite fruit?

7. What is your favorite animal?

8. What is your favorite song?

9. What is your favorite book?

10. What is your favorite TV show or movie?

11. Who is your best friend?

12. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?

13. What is your favorite game?

14. What is your favorite snack?

15. What is your favorite thing to do outside?

16. What is your favorite drink?

17. What is your favorite holiday?

18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

19. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? 

Photo Session Idea: Invite the whole family! {St. Paul Family Photos - Sarah Elizabeth Photography, MN}

When planning your next photo session, think about inviting your extended family along. It's a great way to get some special portraits with grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, or cousins. Make a day of it by planning a family get together after the photo session.

This family met up for some photos before a family barbecue. I was able to photograph each family individually along with a group shot of everyone. We also got some wonderful cousin and grandparent shots. These were taken at the Highland Park Water Tower where this family sells pumpkins from their farm every year.

BFF Senior Sessions {High School Senior Portraits | Minneapolis, MN}

Everything is better when shared with a friend, so why should your senior portraits be any different? How fun would it be to bring your best friend along for your photo shoot and have your portraits done together!  Besides having gorgeous photographs taken to celebrate your friendship, you'll also have your biggest fan there to cheer you on while having your individual senior portraits taken. Schedule a session today for great savings, beautiful photos, and a fun, memorable time with your BFF! 

What's Included?

• 90 minutes of shooting time
• Combination of poses together and individually
• Unlimited outfit changes
• a 3"x3" mini accordion album for each friend 
• Individual online galleries for additional print and product ordering. 

Session Fee: $200*

*$200 session fee covers two friends. Additional friends may be added for $50 each. 


Contact me today to schedule your session:
612-961-6565 or email: sarahelizabethphotos@gmail.com 

First and Last Day of School Photo Idea {Minneapolis MN Children's Photography - Sarah Elizabeth Photography}

Today is my daughter's last day of first grade and I wanted to document the day with a special photo.  I did this same photo project last year and it turned out so well that I'm going to make it into an annual tradition. 

First I found a photo I'd taken in September on the first day of first grade and had her dress in the same outfit. As you can see, she wanted to add leggings and a scarf this time for a little extra flair! :)   Then I snapped a photo of her holding an empty picture frame. Finally, in Photoshop, I cropped the photo from the first day of school and edited it into the inside of the frame. It's fun to see how she's changed since the beginning of the year!

How To: DIY Valentine Photo Cards {Minneapolis MN Children's Photography}

Every Valentine's Day I love making photos cards for my daughter to give out to her friends. We've had a lot of fun coming up with ideas and making the cards come to life. Here is this year's creation which was very simple to make. 

Materials needed:

• Empty wrapping paper tube
• White wrapping paper (or patterned paper turned inside out works too!) 
• Scissors and tape
• Lollipops 
• Somewhere to print your photos
• Envelopes

1. Wrap your empty wrapping paper tube with white paper and tape down the seam. 

2. Take some photos of your child holding the paper tube like it's a giant lollipop stick. This is the fun part - Megan loved looking up and pretending she was looking at a giant Tootsie Pop!

3. Choose your favorite photo and have it printed.

    

4. Punch a small hole near the top of the stick and insert your lollipop. Viola!

P.S.  Here's our card from last year. Similar idea -  just hold out your hand, make a fist and pretend you're holding the lollipop:

How To: DIY Photo Necklaces and Photo Magnets

In my previous post I gave you a sneak peek at my latest DIY project.  I've made several of these necklaces lately for Christmas gifts and client gifts and I thought I would share the instructions so that you can make them too! 

Materials needed:

• Glass tiles (these come in a variety of shapes and sizes.)
• Photographs printed on photo paper
• Scissors or exacto knife
• Wax paper
• Paper towels
• Toothpicks
• Clear drying craft glue (e.g. Diamond Glaze or Mod Podge)
• Super glue or E6000
• Jewelry bails and necklace chains

I bought all of my supplies through Sun and Moon Craft Kits. They can also be found at local craft stores or online jewelry supply stores. 

1.  Before you make the necklaces, you will need to select a photo or two to use as your image. Once you select your photo, use Photoshop or another image editing software to size the image to the approximate size of your tiles. You can fit several small images on one 4x6 print.

2.  Once you have your materials gathered and your photos printed, you are ready to get to work!  Start by covering your work surface with a sheet of wax paper. 

3.  Cut your image to match the size of your glass tile. It should be just a bit smaller than the glass tile. (about 1 mm smaller all the way around) This allows the glue to seal around the edges. I also rounded the corners a bit to make the images match the shape of the tiles better. 

4.  Next, coat the flat side of the glass tile with a thin coat of glaze and gently place your trimmed image face-down onto the tile. If there is excess glaze, quickly wipe it away with a toothpick or paper towel.  Allow to dry for about an hour.

 

5.  Once dry, put another layer of glaze over the back of the photo to seal it. Let this dry completely, about 5-6 hours or overnight.

6.  Glue a bail to the back of the pendant using a super glue such as E6000. Place a small drop where you would like the top of the necklace to be, and press the bail into the glue. Let dry for about an hour.

7.  Place your chain through the bail and your necklace is ready to wear!

*To make this into a magnet:

Instead of using a bail, simply glue a small magnet onto the back of the finished tile. 

DIY Photo Necklaces and Magnets

Sneak peek of a DIY photo project I'm working on. Stay tuned for the full how-to post later this week!

Back to School Photo Idea {Minneapolis St. Paul Children's Photography}

For many, tomorrow is the first day of school!  New shoes, new clothes, new friends and a wonderful opportunity to document the change and growth of your kids!  Whether your little one is entering kindergarten or 9th grade, the first day of school is a great time to take a special picture to celebrate the occasion.

A few months ago I shared with you my photos from my daughter's first and last day of kindergarten. This year, as she enters 1st grade, I'm planning on taking photos on the first day and last day of school again.  I've also added a little something extra to document her fun personality and remember some of her favorite things right now.  I came up with a list of 20 questions to ask her and then added some of her answers to the photo. 

This is something that could be done every year at the start of school, or every year on your child's birthday.  It will be fun to see how these answers change from year to year!