Winter Mini Sessions||Gilroy Portrait Photography

San Jose Family Photographer::Alfaro Family

I had such a good time with this amazing family! I'm pretty sure we laughed and talked the whole time. At their ordering session we enjoyed pizza and ice cream sundaes. Um, I could get used to this. Here are some of my favorites!

Happy Thursday on a post that actually got published on a Wednesday! :)

To inquire about a family portrait session with Urban Rose Photography contact deanna@urbanrosephotography.com

Tips & Tricks::Keep It Natural

If your kiddo is anything like mine, more often than not they don't realize when you have a camera in your hand and are snapping photos. I love these times. I shoot hundreds of photos when he's not paying attention. Photos that will probably never grace my wall but will definitely sit in a yearly book filled with photos of Cash's life. I wish I shot more, but I get terrible, terrible light in my living room. Most of the light in these photos is coming behind me from my bedroom, which gets amazing light. 

Today's tip: keep it natural. I didn't do Cash's hair before I took these, I didn't make the toys all nice and I pretty much just sat in the same spot and observed him playing. I took photos of pieces. Pieces of his toys, pieces of his body, pieces of his face. I never told him to turn around and smile, to look at me or tried to get him to pose. I just let him be. 

When you're capturing life don't forget to capture the little things. 

During these times is also the perfect time to explore your camera and settings. Especially if you have a small SLR or your point and shoot has manual functions. Practice your lighting, angles and composition. Take the time to notice all the details and begin to think of starting new traditions with your photos (ie. putting together an annual book for your family to enjoy). 

Have a question you want answered about photographing your family or about photography in general? Ask! :)

Happy Tuesday! 

Friday, ahem, Saturday Randomness

We ate, slept and laid around watching movies and doing absolutely nothing. For the first time in over a year and it was so incredibly relaxing. We surrendered our child Saturday morning to my amazing sister for the rest of the weekend and spent the rest of the entire time with no schedule. We got massages, well actually Mat got a massage and I got something that made me more tense because the pressure was so weak. Its probably mostly my fault though, I was too scared to interrupt the silence to tell the woman MORE PRESSURE! Poor Mat has had to compensate since then with my constant please-rub-my-shoulders-because-she-did-such-an-awful-job request. I'm wondering how much longer I can play out that excuse...

Yesterday Mat came home from work (he works a very early morning shift for a delivery company) with flowers and chocolates. I'm sure I looked totally frazzled chasing around a one year old who thinks diaper changing is a game, but it totally  made my morning! Until I came home and found Mat had dug into the chocolate he bought me. Dude! I may or may not have hid the rest. Especially because I've been eating sweets like crazy trying to abstain from anything fatty before our family shoot this weekend.

Which I still need to shop for. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I've started to stress out about this. To all my clients, I now feel for you. I mean I've done this before but that was before I got on Pinterest and saw all the yummy clothing goodness and options. Makes me feel so....momish. Seriously, I can be wearing something that I think is cute only to find out that I look like I'm wearing Lee brand mom jeans (like the ones in the Saturday Nigh Live commercial) with a tucked in polo. Ugh. I want to look like a mom who doesn't have a pile of laundry, dishes at the end of every night and who dries her Egyptian cotton sheets in the Febreeze scented wind.

Happy Friday all--if you need me, I'll be getting my eyebrows waxed dreaming of Febreeze scented sheets and perfect massages.

Tips & Tricks::What to Wear || Gilroy Portrait Photography

It's the most common question for every shoot. What do we wear? What do I recommend? Here's a little something I put together. I'm totally a skirt wearin' kind of gal so that's what I looked for. This is totally just for inspiration so just switch what you'd like. :) There are ways to coordinate without being matchy-matchy.

There are actually quite a bit of patterns going on it this but you'll notice the majority of them are subtle. If they were all as loud as the girls' tights it would be close to disastrous. The majority of what's listed is from ModCloth, H&M and J. Crew.

In choosing outfits, be sure to dress for your body type. Believe me, it'll show in your photos if you're uncomfortable in your outfits. Even if you didn't "lose enough weight," don't try and squeeze into clothes that are too small. It's just not good. ;)

Hope that helps someone. It helped me get ready for our family shoot this weekend...I think I need to take a trip to H&M. I'm a bit in love with their little boy clothes.

Happy Tuesday!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner (minus the chicken dinner)

And the winner is...

LINDSAY!!! Congratulations! You were up among the top sharers during that past week. I'm so happy for you and thank you a million! Email me so we can get you all set up! Thank you to EVERYONE who helped share the launch of my new site. I wish I could at least give a mini session to everyone who helped. If you did help out, please accept a $25 credit towards a regular session or art purchase. Just let me know you helped (I have the records to verify) and I'll make note. I am so excited for the things to come the rest of this year!

Giveaway Day Five Grand Prize

Its been quite a week and I am so INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for your support! I can't wait to announce the grand prize winner on Monday! After the weekend. That I am so looking forward to. This weekend I'm getting away with my main man. Well at least for Saturday and Sunday. We still have no idea where we're going, but we're definitely digging the idea of sushi and massages. At different times. Hopefully at different places. The other day I tweeted that I had a dream that I went to a combined sushi and nail salon and that there was a hair in my buffet sandwich.

...

Makes you kind of sick, right? I woke up feeling nauseous. So, moving on. Holla! Day 5 and it is grand prize time! Up for grabs is a $200 gift card to use towards an Urban Rose session!

Okay here's how to enter:

1. Go to my website and select the Galleries option on the left. OR JUST CLICK THIS LINK.

2. Select a gallery

3. You will see a comments bar that pops up linked to Facebook. If it doesn't pop up you'll see the comments box in the bottom right corner.

4. Tell me your favorite photo in that gallery and post your comment.

5. That's it! :)

Don't forget to send out a tweet (make sure you mention @urbanrosephoto) or share with your friends on Facebook (tagging @Urban Rose Photography) about this giveaway. If you leave me a comment with your weekend plans in this blog post I'll add an extra entry in for you. ;)

Good luck everyone--can't wait until Monday!!

GIVEAWAY DAY FOUR

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment of failure...just fall away in the face of death. Leaving what is truly important." --Steve Jobs, graduation speech


When I heard this quote from Steve Jobs, a man who so undeniably changed so many things for our future generations, it helped to affirm what I'm doing. Risking failure and my pride. I want to leave a legacy for my kiddo. I want him to be proud of his mom. Every day this week I've posted a picture of him. It reminds me. Reminds me to never forget the little things, while I try for what seems like this huge thing.

Now on for some giveaway details! Today's giveaway is especially fun. Read on for details!

1. If you go to my Facebook page and click the Photos tab on the left you will see an album called Giveaway Day Four. 

2. There's only one picture in that album. :)

3. Tag yourself! 

4. That's it! Easy, peasy lemon squeezy.

Ah, the giveaway! Teehee. It is...a mini session! You'll get a 30 minute session (totally perfect Christmas photos to go with the gorgeous Christmas cards) and a $25 credit that you can apply towards your art purchase. Yay! If you live quite a bit aways you may want to give it to a local friend or be willing to travel.You can certainly always upgrade it to a full session also.

Keep sharing, keep tweeting! The next giveaway will be the grand prize! Holla!!

Happy Thursday. Go squeeze your kiddos and take a leap of faith into something you've been waiting to do.

Giveaway Day Three

Happy Wednesday peeps! Yay for another day of giveaways! Today's giveaway is for a set of gorgeous custom boutique Christmas cards. These cards are amazing! They are so unique and will have all your closest friends and family talking. I am so excited to print some of my very own for my family after we take our family photos next week. Speaking of which, I need to do some shopping. H&M and I...we have an appointment. I found the cutest pair of pants for Cash. So excited to dress him. Way.too.excited. actually. :)

Anyway, back to the giveaway. These cards are beautiful and die cut into custom shapes (there are many, many other shapes and sizes available). This giveaway is for 25-4x8 Christmas cards. This giveaway is suuuuuper easy. All you have to do is leave a comment IN THIS BLOG POST and let me know your absolute favorite Christmas tradition or memory.

I remember one year my dad said we couldn't open presents until 11:00pm on Christmas Eve. While he was in the shower everyone snuck around and changed all the clocks in the house to be an hour ahead. We opened gifts before laughing our heads off about the joke we had played on him. That was a good year. Good friends, good laughs. This last Christmas was my grandmother's last Christmas and my son's first. It was really bittersweet but such an amazing Christmas. It was the first Christmas in years and years that we got to spend with my mom's side of the family and the pictures I have of my grandmother sitting at the pantry door while Cash hopped in his swing are some of my favorites.

So what's yours? Tell me, tell me!

Happy Wednesday!

Giveaway Day Two

Day two, here we go!

Oh but first...the winner of yesterday! Thank you all so much for either following me on Twitter, becoming a friend on our page, staying a friend on our page and leaving a comment or two here and there. I've entered all the names into a random drawing and the winner is...Lindsay. Yay! I'll be emailing you to send you that Target gift card.

Now onto today's giveaway. Today I'm giving away $25 to Evy's Tree. If you have never before seen their stuff you MUST go check it out! There is something for everyone! Her (and her being Amy, the owner) hoodies are ah-mazing and so perfect for the coming season! Even more perfect for your fall family shoot. ;)

To win this there are two things to do:
1. Make sure you're a friend on our fan page (you have to like our page in order to win)
2. Check out Evy's Tree's site
3. Leave a comment on this blog post, letting me know which product is your favorite

That's it! Good luck!

P.S. Everyday that you share my site or blog with your friends and family on FB or Twitter you will be entered one more time for the grand prize. PLEASE make sure you tag me in your posts though so I know you shared.

P.P.S. If you've won before, you can win again!

Happy Tuesday!

Giveaway Day One

Hi friends!

Yay for giveaways! The next five days I have some really fun giveaways! Giveaways include a set of customized Christmas cards (and these aren't like your regular everyday kind of cards). These are set of 25 gorgeous boutique styled cards ($125 value) that are being offered this season. Believe me, your cards will be the talk of the bunch! I also have some gift cards a certain hoodie boutique, my favorite place to shop and I'm trying to get a hold of another prize so I'll keep it secret for now. Of course there is a grand prize of $200 to Urban Rose for some of your very own custom artwork! You can keep it for yourself or you can give it to a friend you think would enjoy some new artwork for their home. I am so excited for this!

So let's get to it.

Monday. Day #1. Prize: $10 to Target. Why? Because I love it there. What to buy? Well, I could use some diapers...but you buy whatever you want. :)

Monday is simple. Mondays should always be simple. 1. Like my Urban Rose page. 2. Follow me on Twitter. 3. Leave a comment on my blog under this post. 4. Let me know you did it on FB or Twitter! :) Leave me a comment on my page and/or send me a tweet. Just let me know you did it! You'll be entered in a drawing that will be announced the following day.

MONDAY'S BONUS: Share my blog and/or site with your friends on FB or Twitter for another chance to enter you name. Tag Urban Rose Photography in your posts so that I get notice and I will enter your name again! :)

For every single day you enter, your name will go in again for the grand prize so don't forget to participate all week!

Again, thank you all so much! I am so excited for this week!!

5 Days of Giveaways

Hey friends! I am so excited about launching my site that I've got some really fun giveaways for the next five days. So keep your eyes on the blog, Facebook or Twitter to stay updated so you can participate. It all goes down starting Monday. Details will go up first thing in the morning each morning. Thanks so much. Love you all!!