Best of British A Royal Concept Shoot

Best of British

Royal Concept Shoot

Did you get Best of British royal wedding fever when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle? I grew up in England and I loved how some people turn into all out, top to toe, 100% committed royal watchers. They camp for days before the event for the chance to see the royal family or hand them some flowers. I know it sounds CRAZY but I still remember the Queen coming to my home town when I was a kid, she was there to open a garden for the blind. It was during her Silver Jubilee year, so 1977 I think, and we lined the streets and waved our union jacks with the best of them! There were street parties and union jack bunting everywhere you looked.

We got the chance to shoot with an iconic classic British sports car. An Aston Martin – think James Bond. Katelyn and Olivia turned into royal groupies for the afternoon. Nothing wrong with that 😉

If you are wondering where the union jack leggings came from…..Amazon came to the rescue with those. And yes, they are now in the Planet Photo closet and available to borrow for your own portrait session!

Best of British

Best of BritishBest of BritishBest of BritishBest of British

 

Faces of Female Entrepreneurs Exhibition

Faces of Female Entrepreneurs

Portrait Exhibition

The idea for the Faces of Female Entrepreneurs project came from a portrait conference in California last year. The leader of the Portrait Masters conference, Sue Bryce, made the first presentation of the day and introduced her team by inviting them to come up on stage. They were each carrying a 5 foot tall black and white image of themselves. The crowd went crazy and those enormous powerful prints stood in the hallway and mesmerized the conference attendees for the next two days. You looked at those printed portraits and you could feel their power and sense the personality of the subjects.

I decided I wanted to do that too! The problem was I didn’t have a team. Like so many small business owners I wear many hats, so short of photographing myself immersed in a variety of tasks, my series of portraits stopped at one. I realized that my position was similar to many of my neighbors downtown and the idea of focusing on my fellow female entrepreneurs was born.

So I did what everyone does these days, and I created a Facebook event. For good measure I even printed posters, and I invited women who had started a business in New Milford to contact me so that I could create their portrait.

I set my initial goal at 20 portraits. That came and went pretty quickly and I ended with 35 plus one of me! Of course there are many more talented business owners in New Milford but time and resources meant that I had to stop. Some of the last portraits were of Rita and Anne. Two local ladies who started Literacy Volunteers on the Green from a park bench on New Milford green. Their group of mainly female volunteers have been teaching literacy skills to local residents since 2005. Some of them have even gone on to start their own business.

I wanted to show these beautiful strong women the look of strength, power and determination in their eyes. I am proud to be part of this network of women. The portraits were shown at the opening night at 19Main and the exhibition will be on display during April at Makery Coworking on Bank Street, New Milford.

Meet New Milford’s Faces of Female Entrepreneurs…..

Maureen Kenny: Nutmeg Olive Oil. Lyn Van Buskirk: Swank on Bank

Female Entrepreneurs

Luisa Amaral: Ruth Chase Flowers. Lupo Passero: Twin Star Apothecary

Karen Ross and Pamela Picheco: Joe’s Salon and Spa
Female Entrepreneurs

Sandra Stetson: Green Granary. Jessica Reis: Reis Learning Center

Rebecca Doring: Massage Therapy. Jessica Bitner: Lasting Impressions Jewelry
Female Entrepreneurs

Lisa Berte: LAB Media Designs. Allison Eng: Ruby Bridal Boutique

Denise Trach: Creating Cadence. Sarah Lopes: The Safari Collection
Female Entrepreneurs

Shannon Powell: A Muddy Paw. Janie Larson: Study Works

Anne Hungerford: AH Yoga. Lisa Lent: Intuitive Movement
Female Entrepreneurs

Monica Harcken: Monica’s Corner. Julie Czerenda: Art Experience

Ashley Ayers: Salon27. Gail Henderson: Functional Rehab
Female Entrepreneurs

Manuela Durre Young: Alpenhaus Restaurant. Kathy Henkel: Kathy Henkel Fitness

Janet Taub: Planet Photo. Marion Cooper Farrell: Mind Body Connection
Female Entrepreneurs

Elizabeth Parkinson: Fineline Theater Arts. Amanda Placeres: Placeres Naturopathic and Acupuncture

Crystal Girgenti: G-Force Coaching. Debbie Bauman: Barkery Bootique.
Female Entrepreneurs

Vanessa Gronbach: Gronbach Law. Kris Stewart: Kris Stewart Photography

Anne Maitland and Rita Guariglia: Literacy Volunteers on the Green
Female Entrepreneurs

Stacey Palancia: Blush Couture. Lacee Yurtoglu: Artist

Thank you to all the ladies who trusted me to take and choose their portrait for the exhibition!

19Main and Makery Coworking for showing the portraits

Crystal Girgenti for believing in and sponsoring the project and delivering a keynote speech

Joe’s Salon for donating refreshments

Ruth Chase Flowers for donating flowers for the opening night

Mitch and Mike from Charisma for music

Bank Street Investments for support and sponsorship

 

 

Photography Exhibition Female Entrepreneurs

Faces of Female Entrepreneurs

photography exhibition

A black and white portrait photography exhibition

March 29th | 7-9pm

19Main, New Milford, CT

Dessert and refreshments will be served

When I opened the Planet Photo studio on Bank Street at the end of 2016 I realized that so many of the neighboring businesses had been established by women. Starting your own business is not for everyone. It takes strength, determination, and of course, a lot of hard work.

I chose to celebrate these powerful women with a portrait project. I wanted to capture their strength, but also their feminine side. So the Faces of Female Entrepreneurs project began. Over the course of a few months I met with quite a few of New Milford’s women who had started their own business. I am so happy to share these portraits with our community. Meet them and other local entrepreneurs at 19Main on March 29th. All are welcome to attend!

Sign up to receive updates and information about the exhibition here

Connecticut Senior Photography – New Milford Senior Julia

Connecticut Senior Photography

New Milford CT Senior – Julia

Now that my kids are in high school I am starting to photograph more and more high school seniors that I first met in the pre-school library program or the school playground! How can it be that these little people that I first watched learning to ride a bike are preparing to go to college?

I recommend professional make up for all my seniors. Julia arrived at the studio for styling with her mom and a bag full of clothes. She doesn’t normally wear a lot of makeup so we kept it simple, enhancing her naturally pretty features without overpowering them.  She was hoping for snow for her session and the snow gods obliged with a light dusting the day before.

I can not always guarantee the Connecticut weather 😉 but I can do my best to create and style the look you imagine none the less. Your Connecticut senior photography session starts with a consultation; styling, location, goal for the images are all discussed and we hatch a plan. I do a little location scouting  so that on the day of the shoot we can hit the ground running and let the fun begin!

I had a blast hanging out with Julia and her family and I am excited for the next phase for all these kids.

Make up – Blush Couture

CT HS Senior Photography – New Milford High School Abbi

CT HS Senior Photography

Meet Abbi!

Planning a senior photo shoot around the crazy schedule of marching band, varsity volleyball, college visits and college applications is not easy. But we did it!

I always try to plan locations and styling around each individual client.  I knew back in the summer that Abbi wanted to shoot in the classic New England fall colors, so our date was on the calendar way before senior year started to get super busy. We chose Steep Rock Preserve in Washington Depot as our start point but we were on the lookout for road side locations. CT109 didn’t disappoint and we were climbing into the weeds before you know it!

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Steep Rock has been a favorite destination for my family for many years and I felt just a tad guilty for not having our dog with us. But what an amazing warm fall day…. we couldn’t have wished for better light.

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Abbi is long and lean (hence the varsity volleyball and basketball….) and she has the most amazing strawberry blond curly hair so I love to pose and photograph her. Her mom had a huge selection of outfits in the back of her car so that we could mix it up and match outfits to the different locations as we went. She didn’t wear it all, but we gave it a good college try!
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I absolutely LOVED the purple with the colors in the meadow, we didn’t even really notice the purple undertones at the time, but as soon as I opened the files in photoshop I knew I had found the winning shots of the shoot. Did I tell you recently how much I love what I do?
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A quick stop at a deserted barn on the way home and our shoot was done. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for beautiful Abbi but I know her family will treasure these portraits of her taken during that crazy senior year.

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Do you wish that you had portraits of your High School Senior or college freshman? Let me know and I can design the most amazing portrait experience for you!

Janet xo

 

Candlelight Farm Airport New Milford – Models and Planes

Candlelight Farm Airport New Milford

Models Photo Shoot with Planes

For the second part of our Planes, Trains and Automobiles shoot we headed over to Candlelight Farms Airport. Nestled in the mountains on the northern side of Candlewood Lake the airport is a green haven for airplane enthusiasts. With a grass runway and planes parked in the shade of the trees, it was also s an idyllic location for our next New Milford models photo shoot.

May your dreams fly high!

new milford models photo shoot

Styling for our group shoot was on the glamorous side, harking back to the Golden Age of Flying. The days when people dressed up for flights and airplane travel was only for the rich and famous. A short flight would have cost the equivalent of a months salary for a secretary in the 50s. You would have a lot more room than on a modern flight though and lines at security were non existent! To be an airline pilot or flight attendant immediately propelled you into the glamorous jet set category.

Thanks to Planet Photo Tribe members: Nora, Sydney, Katelyn, Taylor and Maggie for modeling for this. I wish we really were “leaving on a jet plane”

Janet xo


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new milford models photo shootnew milford models photo shoot

 

Vintage Truck Group Photo Shoot New Milford

Vintage Ford Truck

Group Photo Shoot New Milford Connecticut

Take a blue/green vintage truck and five girls from the Planet Photo Model Tribe and drive out to a scenic road in the Northville section of New Milford. What do you get? A totally AMAZING group shoot with Nora, Katelyn, Maggie, Sydney and Taylor.

Country Roads. Take me home. To a place I belong.

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OK, I know New Milford Connecticut is not really the typical setting of a good old country song but you get the idea…. there is nothing like a truck on a warm late summers day on a beautiful country road. The girls in the Tribe totally rocked the styling for the shoot and we were all so envious of the vintage Ford truck.

photo shoot new milford

Styling a family or senior session is a great way to coordinate what everyone should wear and help to “tell a story”. Does your family love camping? Sailing? The beach? We can design your shoot around a theme and I can help you to style it.

CT Family Photos – Alex and Abby in Harrybrooke Park

CT Family Photos

Alex and Abby in Harrybrooke Park

Abby turned one last month so we got together to celebrate! We started at the house so that Oreo could be part of the action (there’s a saying about kids and dogs but I can’t quite remember how it goes…..) Oreo was a super star and we got what we needed there in no time at all.

CT Family Photos

We headed over to Harrybrooke Park, New Milford’s beautiful hidden gem and we took the wagon for a walk. There are so many studies done on birth order and sibling personality traits that I am sure you can find scientific date to back up almost any theory. Let’s just say that Alex and Abby are pretty close in age and big brother Alex is social and extremely verbal for his age. Abby was as mellow as could be and clearly loved EVERYTHING her big brother did and said. And he has a lot to say!

It is always tricky to know what is going to work for a photo session with such little children. The wagon was a hit and kept Abby in one place and Alex busy taking his sister for a ride. Sunglasses were cute props to wear and to hold and snacking on pirates booty wasn’t too messy (and the pirates booty smiles cracked me up!) Remember if you bring a toy, snack, cup or prop then there is a chance that it will end up in every picture. Pick a small traditional toy or something fun to hold, keys distract for a few minutes but don’t really add to the end result. We played music and sang songs but if your child likes to hold the phone and dance then be prepared to see that phone in the photographs!

Are you thinking about CT Family photos? This is the busy season so call soon for availability!

Woodbridge CT Senior Portraits – Tory

Woodbridge CT Senior Portraits

Meet Tory!

I loved Tory’s senior session. No, seriously, I LOVED Tory’s senior portrait session. It was so FUN getting to know her and, of yeah, she was a dream to photograph.

Tory and her mom came to visit the studio and we talked about her interests; who she was, what made her unique, what will trigger memories of the high school years and we came up with a plan. Now, the planning stage is one of my favorite parts. It’s not just about what to wear and where to go, it is all about who you are. What makes you YOU? And how can I capture that in a few hours in a portrait session?

woodbridge senior portraits
Tory has a danced so we had to incorporate that, I thought the hip hop might be better outside so we picked the outfit and I started to pick the locations. Ballet was in the studio, can you believe Tory’s mom saved her first pair of ballet slippers?

woodbridge senior portraits

She used to ride all the time so we wanted to incorporate that somehow and she LOVES fashion so that crept in throughout the shoot. She was a model for the day and boy, did she bring IT! Thanks to Candlelight Farms for letting us shoot at the horse barn, it was a beautiful evening and the horses were very welcoming.

Tory had loads of great clothes, and I don’t really believe in going out and buying an entire new wardrobe for your shoot, but what girl can resist a little shopping before a portrait session? She found this perfect dress and I am so glad she did!

Tory, I am excited to see what the future holds for you. Good luck in your senior year!

Janet xo

How do you want to be photographed? I would love to help you plan your unique portrait experience. Contact Planet Photo to set up a free consultation!

 

Water, water, everywhere…. a CT Teen Photo Shoot

Water, water, everywhere….

a CT Teen Photo Shoot

So all good concept shoots start with an idea, I sit on it for a few days and then it develops into a Pinterest board where I gather all kinds of inspiration images and start to narrow the focus of what I want to shoot. A message goes out to the Planet Photo Tribe and this time Nora, Olivia, Taylor and Avery answered the call and we set the date.

In a week of sun and almost 90 degrees temps, of course we picked the day when the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the rain started. So the debate began… to reschedule or not?

On the plus side; I had four tribe members ready to go, there was a gap in the rain right at our shoot time and the weather would probably mean that we would have the place to ourselves.

On the other hand, the weather was supposed to be hot again all weekend but that would probably mean that the river would be teaming with people…..we decided to go for it.

I am so glad we did!

CT Teen Photo Shoot

Thanks to Avery, Nora, Olivia and Taylor for getting into the river for our water shoot. Judging by the images we got on our concept shoot, I really think that every portrait session should end with a dip in the river – what do you think?

Do YOU dare?


Taylor’s dress and Avery’s outfit came from Forever 21
Olivia’s pants were from American Eagle
Nora’s dress was her own 😉

Taylor helped with make up for the shoot and she rocked it – I think I see a future there….

If you are thinking of booking a teen or senior portrait shoot then we can incorporate multiple locations and concepts into your shoot. I personally plan all the sessions to be as unique and individual as we all are. You let me know if you are more of a wall art person or an album person, that helps to compose shots and make sure you get lots of choices. Don’t worry, I help with that part too. I can design a collection of portraits for your wall or a beautiful press printed album.

Portraits should never be boring!

Janet xo