I love my annual tree farm mini sessions at the Friendship Tree Farm in Friendship, Maryland, but often the photos I take never make it to the blog or social media because so many of my families want them to be surprises for Christmas cards or family gifts.
My next round of tree farm mini sessions are right around the corner on October 3, and I still have five slots left, so e-mail me at teresa@tcjdesign.com or through my contact page you are interested in one of the remaining slots!
For all of my clients attending this year, I have a styling service for you to use, but I also decided to go back and revisit my favorite tree farm mini sessions to help you get ideas about outfits. My most important advice is to coordinate and not match; you’ll see that in my favorite photos, my clients are not in identical outfits. They weave in pops of color and pattern and combine neutrals. These families look comfortable, and they styled hair and accessories to match the vibe they are going for. It’s also really important that everyone looks the same level of dressiness. I know this will be a REALLY long blog post, but I hope you at least scan through it for tips and advice! It’s the easiest way to show off highlights from my past sessions. You can see a bit, too, how much I have learned and invested in my photography education over the years!
This first set is from my 2017 sessions. As you can also I like getting a lot of combinations of people at my sessions. I love the way blues and neutrals pop off the green trees. This is from my very first year at the farm.
I also love how red looks. Keep in mind you can get a lot of different shades of red, so make sure you don’t clash. Red and blue look great with neutrals. Note how she used pattern and texture. If you have little kids and are moving a lot, make sure your outfits work for that, too!
Bright reds and buffalo plaid also can scream holidays. It’s always a good idea to mix in those neutrals!
I love the way reds look with the trees. The only color I would really steer away from is true green… you will blend in too much if it’s the primary color of your outfits. These sessions move really fast… so be prepared for that! I love movement, games, and action. I also like throwing a few black and white images in each gallery.
I love the unique styling this family session; their color palate was more neutral, but they had a lot of texture. If you come with a baby, you’ll see I will try to get some shots that are closer up of the baby, too! I also love getting detail shots if I have time.
I love the use of texture here! Mixing patterns isn’t bad! I’ve won awards on photos of this cute girl from the session below!
I loved the cute vest that this little girl wore… texture and layers are so great to combat the crazy Maryland weather and they look good in photos. You’ll see I will have some crates for kids who can’t stand yet, and I may have my wagon available, too… we just need to clean it between uses.
My holiday minis aren’t just for families. I have had a number of couples over the years who come to my tree farm sessions, too. And pets are allowed; I just recommend having someone with you who can help take care of them if you want photos without them.
This is the beginning of my sessions from 2019. This was sunrise, and you can tell that I have a different angle for their session because the sun is in a different place. I’ll be moving you around the fields to get the best light for your session. I love how they went formal and it worked! The kids were warm (and it was freezing that morning), and they seriously looked like the stepped out of a magazine. I also love to get a photo of my couples at the end of each session. Wedding days shouldn’t be the only professional photos they have in the house!
I’ve had families that want only photos of the kids, and that’s OK too! I do have this sign that will be available for use at my sessions and can be reused if we can sanitize it between uses.
I have had many repeat clients come, too. I love seeing their outfits change from year to year. In the second year, this family wanted me to concentrate on a different look than just tree photos, so we used the barn and logs for some of their session.
These sessions are great for large families, too… and believe it or not, I usually can get the same amount of variety in if everyone is bribed properly! I usually have fruit snacks that I give out to my younger clients (I love them since they don’t mess up clothes), but it’s also great when mom and dad have already planned a treat.
Again, if you want a mix of a fall vibe with the tree farm vibe, just let me know prior to the session! The maroon is such a pretty option, too, if you don’t want red!
I love movement, especially walking. I love directing you to look at each other, a specific person, or me. In just a few minutes, I can get so many different looks.
And note, where we go will depend greatly on lighting. The key is you always want to see your shadow. Remembering that is a huge help!
