I first met Alana during summer of 2019 when she showed up to our tiny tea party and snuggled with a baby goat. The joy she felt being around animals was infectious and I was thrilled when she signed up for horseback riding lessons in the fall with Soaring Dreams Ranch, LLC. When I received her application to join our 2020 Spokesmodel team I was ecstatic to have such a kindhearted animal loving child join our team.

Picking an equine session for A was a no brainer. Just read what her mom has to say about her passions.

“She LOVES unicorns and horses. She keeps asking for a horse for our backyard. If she could ditch school for a day she would go horseback riding along the beach”

Why I love Alana:

She is kindhearted: “Alana is caring. She wants to make sure she is doing the right thing. She will donate her toys and clothes”
She values her family: “First and foremost, we just love being together. We play games, family movie nights, and pool time. She loves doing my (mom’s) makeup and nails.”
She loves animals of all kinds!

Happy (almost) Birthday Alana! I’m looking forward to capturing you as you grow this coming year!

<3 Katie

Love Alana’s horse session and want to book one of your own? Click here to get started

Why under the blanket? It’s a simple one to start with and it creates a solid backdrop so you don’t have to worry about the state of your house ( I understand, my living room has a fort and toys everywhere!). However, it is a great way to challenge yourself to pay attention to the light.

Tip 1: Find a light source

The start of every great image is great lighting. For these under the blanket images I wanted a large light source, but not one that would directly light my subject. So I placed my son by our large back patio window.
For the white lace blanket I placed his back to the sun as it came through the window so the sun would light the white blanket and hide all the items in the background. However, for the blue blanket I turned him to face the sun so I could light his face under the dark blanket.

Tip 2: Choose your blanket wisely

I chose two completely different materials for this challenge to demonstrate the difference. The light lace one allowed light through and worked great as a cell phone image. The darker blue blanket completely obscured the light despite having some spots in the material that I thought light would come through and was a struggle to capture even with my professional camera.
If you only have heavier blankets to use try going outside in the full sun.

Tip 3: Don’t sweat the small stuff!

This challenge is meant to be fun and help you learn a little about composition and lighting of images as we go!
I tried to lead the way by not worrying about what my child was wearing or the fact that he has toy story tattoos all over his arms.

Introducing Alana: 2020 Spokesmodel//Arizona horse and child photographer

Photo Challenge//Week 1- Under the blanket