susan sabo photography

hey, you! yeah, you there...the one with the mom!

While I'm working on my brand spanking new site/blog, I've got a Mother's Day offer to share. Yeah, you know your mom loves photos of you, or you and her, or, maybe her and her dog :)

From now until June 30, I'm offering a 1-hour portrait session for only $150. Way better than flowers...although flowers are really nice they do get that stinky smell when they're a few days old. I guarantee you that the pictures you get from a session with me will never start to smell.

Since Mother's Day is coming up soon, you can also get this for her as a gift certificate.

And don't worry, even though your mom really loves her dogs and/or cats, I'm sure she really loves you too, and will want you in at least a couple of shots.

3 reasons you're not so special

Everyone thinks about getting a professional portrait session at one time or another; really, no matter how many pictures you've taken on your point & shoot, you know it would be awesome to have some really nicely done shots of you, your family and/or pets.

But even though so many people want to have their portrait taken, very few actually take the step and do it. Why? It's always the same three objections, and for those, I have these three basic answers:  

    1. Nobody's kids listen

    2. Nobody's pets behave

    3. You look way better than you think you do.

A long time ago, after my first kids' shoot, I called a good friend of mine who had been doing that for years, and I asked her, "how do you get the kids to do what you want?" and she laughed and replied, "you don't!"

So now you know the truth. You're really nothing all that special (in the behavioral department, that is). Ok, with that being said: most professional photographers have a bag of tricks they use to get kids and animals to listen, and pretty much all of them involve bribery. I keep a baby bottle, a sippy cup and kids and pet snacks in my studio. I also keep baby cold medicine and Benadryl (no, you're not the first person to think of that and no, that doesn't make you a bad parent).

Kids grow up so quickly--as the mother of a 28-year-old, I can tell you it really is the blink of an eye--and pets are with us for such a short time; I always encourage people to get professional portraits done at least every couple of years. It's totally, 100% worth it.

So book your session and don't be afraid. Ask your photographer how to prepare; he/she should give you a list of do's and don'ts for the day. And don't go into it thinking that everything is going to go smoothly and your 1-year-old is going to think, "yeah, um, I'm going to sit my diapered fanny down right here where they want me to and I'm going to let this person stick this thing in my face and let all these lights go off around me and dang it, I'm going to love it!"

So you take time to play; you take a time-out; you take a walk around the block; you and your photographer do whatever it takes to get everyone comfortable, including yourself, and get the shots. Remember, when you're looking through a photographer's website or portfolio, you're seeing the best of his/her work. You're not seeing the shots it took to get there.

So for your information and enjoyment, here are some of the shots that it took for us to get there this past weekend.

  

  

  

 

the baby effect

This is Danielle, Mike and Jacob. I know, I know, Jacob makes you want to run out and have a baby, doesn't he? (Jacob is the baby in these photos, btw) :)

I thought Danielle & her family would make a great post for Mother's Day, but there's no way I could sit on these photos for another month, so here you go. Lots of chubby cheek goodness and tiny finger adorableness to remember the days when your kid, who's now almost thirty and doesn't want you to tie her shoes anymore, was like Jacob: basically some clothes full of lovin' baby playdough.

About 10 years ago, I stopped over at a friend of mine's house. We were really more of work acquaintances, we didn't spend time together out of work, but we considered one another to be a friend.

Anyway, she has three children. About 10 years ago, her youngest was just a baby. I remember this feeling so completely, you'll just have to bear with me while I get it off my chest.

She was getting her kids out of her mini-van when I pulled up, and she asked me, offhandedly, if I wanted to hold her baby. Now, at that time, I hadn't held a baby since my daughter was that age. I know, how could that happen? I was a very young mom and I didn't know other moms my age and my friends didn't have kids. So, as it happened (but not on purpose), it had been probably 15 years since I'd held a baby that size.

At first, I just said "No!" I was terrified. I couldn't remember how to hold a baby. But she poo-poo'd this and placed her daughter in my arms.

I instinctively remembered to hold her bottom with one hand and cup her head against my shoulder with the other. Her daughter just sort of gelled into place against my chest, and I began to cry.

That talcum smell, the skin that was so soft there isn't even a word to describe it, the tiny fingers wrapping around mine; all of this combined caused a rush of sensory memories to come flooding over me, and it was just like I was back in Florida, standing in the sunlight in the middle of an ordinary day, holding my baby girl.

And it was so wonderful, I cried.

With Mother's Day coming up, it would be nice for us all to remember those moments; either as a parent, holding our little brand-new people close to our chest and feeling their heartbeat against ours; or as a child, being frightened in the middle of the night and having mom and dad's hands hold us tight and make all the bad things go away. 

I don't know which is better: parents or babies. Since most of us eventually reach a point in our lives where we have been both, I'd say it was a toss up. 

Oh, and that baby I held ten years ago? The one who made me cry? Her name was Danielle.

my crazy cool nephew

So my nephew Al flew out last week for a senior photo session, and we got to hang out for about 24 hours. He's so rad, very low key and a really talented musician. He and I are the only ones in the family who are musically inclined, so I feel a sort of kinship with him even though I've not really been around while he's grown up. Now he's 18, and for some reason it's just cool to chill with him. He's my crazy cool nephew and I'm his crazy cool auntie (cause, you know, everyone needs a crazy cool auntie).

With no direction at all on what to shoot for his session, I took him around Long Beach to some cool locations that I thought would fit his quiet, Deadhead sort of personality. I love the way these turn out, I know that one day he'll be famous and I'll sell them all out to Rolling Stone :)

Kim & Riley

 

  

 

This is Kim and her rescue dog, Riley. Kim contacted me a few weeks ago and told me that for years, she's wanted a portrait of her and Riley, but her kids always thought she was kidding, and so she never got one. Well, her last birthday passed, and no portrait, so she emailed me to set it up. Yay.

Riley was a great sport about having his picture taken, and he did pretty well with the commands (with lots of help from the beef liver treats) :)

Kim, I hope that these shots are what you've been wanting all these years -- and more! And tell your kids to listen to you more! :)