Its that time of the year again. It’s hard to believe its the 6th year of our annual holiday tradition of “feet” Christmas cards. It has become quite the tradition.

What started as a 10 minute, simple portrait session, has now turned into a full blown different-destination-each-time-pick-your-clothes-six-months-early-highly-anticipated-published-in-a-photo-magazine-photo-session.

Can we say stress?! Well, to date we have survived each year and although it takes much planning, it has been so worth it.

Things worth noting:

1) It has been SO fun to see our kids grow through the series. We started when Gray was just 6 months old. She is now 5-and-a-half and Campbell turns 2 in January. Tears!

2) The photo destinations! We used to live in Orlando, then we moved to Chattanooga. I am from Charleston, SC, and Asheville, NC, was a random choice. Hmmm, where should we go next?

3) Our photographers! Long time friend, Paul who lives in FL. And wedding clients turned friends, Brandy and Sticky, who we also photograph their session. Both have been so patient with us and lots of fun!

4) Our change in style. Someone told us they noticed the change especially in Garrett’s shoes. Hehehe.

For years people have asked what and where do we buy Gray’s clothes for the session (part of the inspiration for the out & about series on this blog) as well as many of our portrait clients ask where to shop and what to wear for clothes for THEIR holiday family photos. So, in addition to reminiscing over our 6 year card tradition, I will also mention some of the clothes info.

out & about family!

2005 in Winter Park, FL (Photo by Paul Martin)

Graycen’s coat and pants: Gap Kids

Garrett’s jeans: Gap

Garrett’s shoes: Kohl’s

Joy’s pants and shoes: Banana Republic

2006 in Winter Park, FL (Photo by Paul Martin)

Gray’s coat, jeans, and shoes: Gap Kids

Garrett’s shirt: English Laundry

Garrett’s jeans: Diesel

Garrett’s shoes: we can’t remember!?!?!?

Joy’s top: Modern Grace Boutique (College Park in Orlando, FL)

Joy’s jeans: Diesel

Joy’s sandals: Marie-France Boutique (Thornton Park in Orlando, FL)

2007 in Winter Park, FL (Photo by Paul Martin)

(Note: Just came back from visiting Europe: Paris, Aberdeen, and Lake Como, Milan. We had to go shopping!)

Gray’s hat and dress: Bonpoint (Paris, France)

Gray’s shoes and leggings: H&M Kids (Aberdeen, Scotland)

Garrett’s shirt and jeans: Zara

Garrett’s shoes: Bagatt (Milan, Italy)

Joy’s dress: Zara

Joy’s shoes: Bagatt (Milan, Italy)

2008 in Chattanooga, TN (Photo by Brandy and Sticky Rammel)

Gray’s shirt, shorts, tights: Zara Kids

Gray’s shoes: Gap Kids

Garrett’s shirt: 7 Diamonds

Garrett’s jeans: Guess

Garrett’s shoes: Steve Madden

Joy’s maternity dress: due maternity (Buckhead in Atlanta)

Joy’s shoes: Michael Kors from Nordstrom’s

2009 in Charleston, SC (Photo by Brandy and Stick Rammel)

Gray’s dress: bebe children’s boutique (Park Avenue, Winter Park, FL)

Gray’s headband: crewcuts

Gray’s shoes: Gap Kids

Campbell’s dress and sweater: Gap Kids

Campbell’s tights: crewcuts

Campbell’s hair clip and shoes: Pediped shoes, WiggleWorm children’s boutique (Chattanooga, TN)

Garrett’s sweater and blazer: Banana Republic

Garrett’s jeans: Guess

Garrett’s shoes: Robert Wayne

Joy’s dress: Anthropologie

Joy’s sweater: Express

Joy’s shoes: Aldo

Stay tuned for our 2010 photos in Asheville, NC!

A friend recently posted on Facebook, wondering about the length of time and planning required for a holiday portrait session. Garrett responded after a few fun comments so I wanted to include it here below:

You should start in the summer sometime. This is assuming that you update your wardrobe on a somewhat regular basis. Don’t go out specifically looking for holiday picture outfits, or you will be angry and frustrated. Months in advance, keeping in mind the ages/sizes of your children, when the right outfit jumps out at you get it and don’t look back.

You may have to invest more money than you wish. But you will look back on these pictures for your entire life, and when children are young, they change and grow and develop every year. In a portrait, often the subject’s personality is revealed in their outfit as much as it is in their face. In our family (my current immediate family) the holiday picture is a standard by which we look back upon. Of course I realize my perspective is different.

Once you have identified that “it” outfit for whomever is the lucky person, you can begin looking for outfits for the rest of the family that compliment. As a photographer my suggestion is to compliment, not match. People often make this much harder than it really is. If you want the children to stand out, put them in something that will stand out against what the parents are wearing.

Last year I found a great knit dress for Gray when I was working in Orlando. We dressed the rest of us around it and everything came together quite easily. This year was a little bit harder. We had a great dress for Gray from France that we got several months back, but we weren’t  sure if it was the right one for the holiday picture. A few weeks ago in Orlando I found a really chic little dress for Campbell and it compliments Gray’s dress perfectly. It also provides good contrast, so they should photograph well together. Joy and I were a bit harder to outfit, but it’s more about the kids anyway. Of course it’s important to pay attention to shoes and accessories, as they can make a huge difference in making the scene look “finished.”

If you’re struggling try reading magazines. Sad to say, I read Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire on a regular basis. Hey, it’s part of my job…kind of. Vogue Bambini and Milk are also great kids fashion mags. When you look at their editorial shoots you’ll see how easy it really is to coordinate subjects. The obvious constraint is budget, which we all have to consider. It’s easy to go overboard….don’t!

Final suggestion, hire a good, patient photographer who “gets it.”   ;-)

And don’t forget the fabulous giveaway (which ends TONIGHT at midnight ET) from Envelopments here on the blog. All you have to do is comment and you get a chance to win 3 beautiful sets of notecards! Details HERE.

I grew up working at a golf course. As far as golf courses go, it was pretty middle class. There were three golf courses in my hometown. One was a country club, and the other two were public courses. I worked at one of the public courses. Mowing greens, changing pins, cleaning golf carts, picking up driving range balls, working in the pro-shop, tending the snack bar, or whatever else they needed me to do.

Ever since I was old enough to understand the sport I’ve always been a golf fan. And one of the things that has always stuck me as interesting was the relationship of golf and fashion. In most sports, athletes are required to wear a uniform: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, cycling, swimming, track, gymnastics, etc. Golf is one of the only sports that allows participants a little bit of fashion freedom, if you will.

Several years ago Ian Poulter, a young British golfer burst onto the scene. With his loud outfits and even louder personality, Poulter has risen to the top of the game, and he’s been fun to watch, especially a couple years ago in his run for the British Open crown, in which he fell just short. He is currently ranked as the 6th best golfer in the world. And recently he launched Ian Poulter Design: Look good, feel good, play good. He also made a guest appearance last evening on Jimmy Fallon.

Now I’m not quite as bold as Ian, but when it comes to wardrobe, there’s nothing I love more than a good pair of comfortable patterned trousers. As the title of this post suggests, Ian’s slogan is “Leading with the Legs.” When it comes to wardrobe, he says, “Chose the trousers first, then coordinate the rest of the outfit around them.”

When I’m at the studio or out on portrait assignments, I’m usually pretty laid back in a pair of jeans. But if the opportunity presents itself for me to dress up a bit, I’m happiest ‘leading with the legs’. Yes, of course, in a pair of patterned trousers.

Here are a few of my favorites that I pulled from the closet this morning.

I was actually speaking at a convention a few months ago when someone came up to me and asked, “excuse me, where did you get your trousers?” I was wearing the pair just above from Distilled. I was a bit surprised, but I told him I purchased them online and unfortunately they were the last pair left. I could see the disappointment in his eyes. Then his expression changed and it was as if a light bulb came on in his head. He came a little closer, lowered his voice and asked, “would you be willing to sell or trade that pair?” Hahaha…seriously! I thanked him for his interest and respectfully declined.

Call me thrifty, but one of my favorite things to do is hit the stores between seasons. That’s the best ways I’ve found to score some killer fashion deals. As Spring is right around the corner (yeah, I’m being optimistic, I know), I’ve been looking a lot lately at jackets and coats for next year.

Check out some of my favorites. I found all of these online at pretty substantial savings.

From left: Monarchy on www.bluefly.com, Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole

And of course one of our all-time retailers is Zara.

www.zara.com

Besides the great finds, the best thing about shopping for outerwear in the Spring is that it gives you something to look forward to in the Fall. Happy shopping!