Family Posing Made Easy Course | Cover Contest Top Ten

Being a photographer can be a lonely endeavor. Suddenly you are spending hours behind a computer screen editing, marketing, and learning.

One of my biggest joys is bringing community to the photography community. My educational offerings also grant my students access to private Facebook Groups where they can learn from and be inspired by their peers.

Each month we have a friendly cover contest competition. It inspires students who are otherwise quiet to share and allows us to grow as a group.

Below are this past months top ten contributions from my Family Posing Made Easy Alumni. Be ready to be inspired by these family photographers form all over the world!

Elena S Blair Photography Education | Cover Contest Top Ten

As you all know by now, I’m obsessed with educating photographers and women in the industry. Whether it’s a family posing webinar or my online school portrait photography course, my goal is to cultivate a meaningful educational experience. To do so, I have various Facebook groups and one big, extremely active group dedicated to my students.

Each month, we hold a cover contest and members are encouraged to like their favorites to decide who graces our cover. This month, we had over 170 submissions! WOW. I wanted to share the top ten photos with the most likes from our latest cover contest with you.

Want to join the group? Click below! We’d love to have you.

Chelsea Isley Photography

Bridget Wood

Sarah Ellen Photography

Cara Jane Photographics

Kristen Pay Photography

Karra Lynn Photography

Liz Binder Photography

Whitney Coudray Photography

Claire Mayo Photography

Amy Louise Photography

Busting Through Your Fears to Have a Successful Year | Elena S Blair Photography

I know you have heard this so many times but I am going to go ahead and say it again.

You are your own worst enemy.

You may not even realize it, but fear is probably holding you back from so many things you are trying to accomplish.

You might be thinking, “woman, I want to make six figures, I am not afraid of that.” or “I want to book out months in advance, there is no fear there.”

But I invite you to explore this concept a little.

For example, say you do have some big monetary goals but for some reason you aren’t reaching them. Perhaps you want to make six figures. You may actually be afraid of this. Afraid of what people will say if you are asking for significant money for your photography services. Fear that having a lot of money may change you. Fear that you don’t have what it takes to bring in that kind of money. Fear, fear, and more fear.

Or let's use the bookings you want for example. Say you want to book 2 shoots a week. You may actually fear this. Perhaps photography is your side hustle and you are worried you won’t actually have time for this. Or maybe you are afraid that there aren’t enough people in your area to even make this booking goal a reality. Perhaps you are afraid your competition is taking these bookings from you. Maybe you are afraid that you will be called a fraud and that you won’t know how to handle these sessions. Again, fear, fear, and more fear.

The reason I am sharing this with you is because it happens to me all the time.

I often get in my own way of success.

The very first step in conquering your fears is to name them. Sit down and think about what you want to achieve and ask yourself what fears might be getting in your way. Write them down. Then, explore where those fears are coming from, what they are rooted in. Now, bust through those fears. Tackle them one by one. Call them out.

Nobody can get you to your goals but you. Take a look at this concept, kiss fear goodbye and invite abundance.

You got this.

Xoxo,

Elena

P.S. if you’re looking for motivation and accountability, won’t you join my community on Facebook? We’d love to have you <3

How Photography Has Brought Me Real Life Connections | Seattle Maternity and Newborn Photographer

I fall in love with all the families I get to capture. I mean that. They’re not just “clients” to me. I see most of my families at least once a year (if not several times) and have been seeing them for YEARS. They are absolutely my friends. So when they move, I legit feel like a friend is moving away. 

This family announced they were moving to NOLA right after I captured their littlest guy a few weeks ago.

Well as it turns out, I’m actually going to be in NOLA for The Family Narrative in March and I realized I needed models for one of my classes. I emailed them and they said YES!! I can’t wait to take their photos again. As you can see, I’ve had the honor of capturing a few milestones for them so far and I’m looking forward to many more sessions with them.

Photography has brought me so many opportunities and so many wonderful friendships. I will never take it for granted! 

If you’re curious about my upcoming workshops, classes and speaking engagements, click the button below. :)

Newborn Led Posing | Baby Led Posing | Natural Newborn Posing | Seattle Newborn Photographer

The journey of an artist is a long one.

There was a time when I brought a newborn posing bag, a stock pile of props and hats, and a space heater to my newborn shoots. It took a lot of trial and error, self discovery, and facing my fears to realize that I didn't enjoy posed newborn photography. It really wasn't in line with my "why" and my overall values as a human.

“Baby Led Posing”

Now, I practice what I call "Baby Led Posing." This means that I don't ever put a baby in an unnatural pose, that I don't spend countless hours calming or posing my babies, and that ultimately, I don't really pose at all.

Sure, I do place my newborns for portraits, however I don't "pose" in the way that many traditional newborn photographers do.

Four reasons I don’t pose newborns:

1. I don't believe that babies should be out of their parents arms for any extended amount of time. You see, I used to be a Newborn Intensive Care Nurse. During those years I learned that a newborn needs to be held, nourished, and ultimately with their parents and in their arms as much as possible. It doesn't make sense to me to have a baby on a beanbag or an surface away from their parents for an extended amount of time, even if in the name of photography. During my sessions, babies spend most of their time in their parents arms, where they belong, in my humble opinion.

2. I think babies are beautiful as they are. The natural unfolding of a newborns limbs when the stretch, the way they curl up when placed on their belly for a moment, they way they look when comfortably swaddled, all of that is so simple and beautiful to me. That is how I want to remember my babies so that is how I capture them.

3. Frankly, I don't think major posing is safe. If a baby has to be molded into an unnatural position, I believe their safety is at risk and that is not worth it to me, even in the name of a pretty photo.

4. I don't want my photo sessions to be stressful. When I used to pose babies, I would spend up to four hours at a session, trying to make the baby sleep, trying to get the poses just right etc. I know what it's like to have a newborn. It is already so stressful. I want my families to know that I think their babies are perfect as they are. Awake or asleep. Placed on a bed or in their parents arms. I have no expectations. I am in and out of my families homes in under two hours now that I don't pose. I don't wan to invade their precious time any longer than that.

The Takeaway: Babies are perfect.

There you have it. My top 4 reasons why I don't pose newborns, mostly, because I think babies are absolutely perfect as they are. You can check out more of my Newborn work by clicking HERE if you are curious.

Xoxo,

Elena