From that love comes the idea that bigger is better.  Bigger is clearly more dramatic, and if you’re looking for a statement piece, a 20×30 print (especially with mat and frame!) will achieve that look in no time flat!  Don’t believe me?  Let me show you.

As photographers, we love these dramatic comparisons.  I could have put up an 8×10 to make the difference seem even more stark, but even the 11×14 looks a little silly hanging by itself behind a standard sized couch.

That said, I have clients who truly value the photography I produce for them, and yet still don’t want a 20×30 canvas hanging in their living room.  Some just don’t care for such a statement piece.  But as much as we as photographers might cringe at the thought of printing 8x10s (this is our art!), everything — and every size — has its place.  Perhaps you have a small space on your office desk just waiting for that updated 8×10 of your children.  Or perhaps, you just want to put together a collection of many images.

I am personally a huge fan of a collection of images like this.  It’s more flexible if you ever want to move pieces around, allows you to display more of your favorite images, but is just as dramatic in its own way.   Here’s an example of what I mean.  (And yes, I know, a 20×24 is still on the larger side, but it’s just so pretty!).

This, by the way, is modeled with a king-sized bed (and doesn’t your bedroom just look exactly like this? ).

Collections offer storytelling possibilities that a single image just doesn’t offer.  Does that make a collection a better choice?  No.  Each of my clients has a different lifestyle, different tastes, different needs, and I don’t consider our session complete until those needs are met.

(My one word of caution — collections do not just mean a grouping of random images.  Here, the images are from the same session, and carefully edited to ensure the color is consistent in each of them, so they naturally work well together. Further, images were chosen so that leading lines draw the viewer back to the center.)

If you’re looking for family portraits or an engagement session, I would love to work with you to create wall displays that will work in your home!

- Danie

Thinking about clothing for an engagement session?  Ignore the kid’s clothes, or just look at the colors for inspiration!

Here’s an example of a package I just finished wrapping for another soon-to-be client!

If you’re too far away for me to deliver or you to pick up the package before Christmas, I can still email you gift certificate you can print and present.

Gift certificates can be for any denomination, though I always recommend a certificate for my Simplicity Session; the $95- value of the session can be applied by the recipient to any other session or product I offer as well, or redeemed as a quick photography session including the image file for the client’s favorite image and two desk prints (8×10 and smaller) of that image.

Should you choose a gift of $200 or more, you and the recipient both qualify for my referral policy as well — in other words, your $200 gift becomes $250 AND you have a $50 credit as well.

For more information, or to verify for updates, please see my referrals and gifts page!  And Merry Christmas / Happy Hanukkah during this exceptional year when the two overlap!

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda MD child and engagement photographer

In the end, I always end up with a few pictures that just don’t make the cut of the absolute best.  They might be a little snap-shotty, or the focus could be a little soft.  But nevertheless, there is something compelling about them.

These are a few of the outtakes from my photo shoot this past weekend.  The unsteady walker, with parents looking on.  A break for a yoga pose.  Chasing down vehicles at the park, and stopping to pet a doggie.  And of course, the ever-classic “I can push the stroller myself!”  Since I try not to rush little kids, these little moments represent the majority of the time we spend shooting, waiting for the gems….

Hope these brought a smile to your face, M Family!  They sure make me happy when I look at them.

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD lifestyle family photography

Notice that these clothes don’t match, per se, but rather the colors all coordinate, and reflect the time of year — summer!   Great inspiration for a family photography session, with seasonally appropriate clothes for our rather warm Bethseda, MD summer; these suggestions are also a great starting place for what to wear for an engagement session or simply a children’s photography session.

- Danie Smallwood, Photography by Danie in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Chevy Chase, and more….

Wishing everyone a happy Passover, Easter, and most importantly SPRING, which appears to have arrived at last here in Maryland!

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD family and engagement photo sessions

Brought to you by Photography By Danie.  Happy Spring!

8x10s are a beautiful size print for a gift or to display on your desk, but if you’re looking to make an impact, you may be shocked to see just how small it really is up on a wall by itself.  Prepare yourself — here it is!

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In contrast, this next view shows the greater impact a large print can have.  Still nothing wild, featuring a 20×24 image in the center, with a 3″ mat and 1.5″ frame; with a framed 8×10 and a 5×7 on either side.

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Of course, smaller prints may feel more versatile (and more comfortable, since that’s what we’re used to), and together as a collection, they can still make a crazy impact.  But that’s for a later post — stay tuned! 

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD family photography

I hope to include this as a regular feature each month on (or around) the 15th.

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD Engagement Photographer