Pandemic Porch Portraits in Charleston, South Carolina

Last week I offered FREE Pandemic Porch Portraits to all my past Wedding and Family Portrait clients in the Charleston area. I had an overwhelming response and my schedule filled in one day. I decided to do this over my children’s spring break as a way to get out of the house, connect with old friends and entertain my kids.

I would love to continue these in the near future. Send me a FB message if you’re interested. https://www.facebook.com/kate.c.thornton

The Kasack Family, Happy 10th Birthday to Sadie!

My children Claire 8 years, Mary 7 years, Sadie 5 moths is asleep in the car.

The Hoffman Family, I photographed her Bridal Portraits around 15 years ago and have photographer their family portraits too many times to count.

The Lainhoff Family

The Kreminski family, I photographed Maternity Portraits for them on Folly Beach with both kids.

The Lummus Family, I photographed their Engagement Portraits and Wedding around 3 years ago at Wingate Plantation. The baby is due May 2nd!

The Colins Family, I photographed their wedding at the River Course on Kiawah Island 12 years ago.

The Jeter Family, I photographed their wedding 12 years ago at the Mills House and have photographed bth family and newborn portraits for them.

The Berge Family, I photographed their wedding at Pepper Plantation around 9 years ago.

The Hawkins Family, I photographed family portraits, her bridal portrait and wedding at the Carolina Yacht Club around 8 years ago.

The McQuade Family, I photographed Amanda and Preston’s wedding at the River Course on Kiawah Island 2 years ago.

The Young Family, I have photographed their family photos too many time to count.

Tips for Photographing Young Children

Young kids usually do best at sunrise. They are fresher and have not had any mishaps or skipped naps. It's always tougher on the parents who strain to look good that early but worth it for the smiles. You have your whole day ahead of you, and you're not stressing to schedule everyone, so they are in a good mood later that day. 

Bring a surprise juice box and bust it outright when they start to meltdown. Especially if they never get juice at home, this is a big treat, and it's nice to take a break halfway through the shoot and get sugar in their system. They tend to go an extra 20 minutes! 

Sometimes it's better to plan the photoshoot around the child's sleeping schedule instead of the light. I usually like to photograph at sunrise or an hour and 1.5 before sunset. These times vary throughout the year. If you know your child gets grumpy at the ideal time, let your photographer know, and we can work around that. Maybe more photos in the maritime forest on the way to the beach or in a nearby park with shade. 

Leave the M&M's and goldfish at home. Promise them after the photo shoot and not during. When they have a ziplock bag of treats nearby, they tend to focus on that or even want to hold the bag and panic if it appears and then disappears. 

I always bring a ball or noisemaker with me to engage children. This works well because it is a totally new toy for them to focus on and I hold and toss the ball near the lens. Another trick is singing songs or asking about animal noises. If your child is a "Baby Shark" fan let us know and we will break out into song for a smile. 

HOW TO DRESS FOR YOUR FAMILY PORTRAIT

If you are conflicted on how to dress for your family portrait below are a few guidelines.

Wear solid colored clothing so that we see all of your faces and no one person stands out. If you wear stripes or flowers, you will stand out from the rest of your group.
        
Choose muted tones that are a bit subdued so that you are the subject not your clothes and you don’t stand out from the group. Bright colors project (especially reds, oranges, and yellows), which also makes you look larger.
        
Choose similar tones for your top and bottom (both dark or both light) so that one doesn’t look bigger than the other.  White top, dark pants will make your top look bigger.  White pants, the dark top will make your bottom look bigger.
        
Choose 1-3 colors for your group portrait, ones with similar tones that go nicely together and have everyone work within that color palette. For example dark green, navy, and burgundy – all dark jewel tones or a great option for the beach is pastels colors: pink, light blue and light green. So that we see the people first and your portrait looks stunning. Wedding group photos look so good because they’re all wearing the same colors and the people stand out!
              
Choose long pants for men/ladies or a skirt below the knee for ladies so that your legs don’t take attention from your faces, and you will be able to sit and bend without showing too much leg
        
Keep jewelry simple and minimalistic because too much draws attention from your face.

Some of my favorite local Charleston, SC clothing stores are:

Style Dwell - a women's clothing store on James Island
Tres Carmen - a women's clothing store on Kiwaha Island and James Island
Half Moon Outfitters - a men and women's clothing store in West Ashley, Downtown Charleston, and in Mt. Pleasent
M. Dumas & Sons - a mens clothing store in downtown Charleston
Angles and Rascals - a children's consignment shop in Mt. Pleasent. They usually have a healthy selection of smock dresses and name brand clothes. I always pop in when I'm on that side of town.