OUR USUAL TRADITION IN AN UNUSUAL YEAR
Every year we eagerly anticipate our annual holiday card photo shoot. Well, at least my girls and I do - Minoo, not as much ;-) And this year was no different, even during Covid. Perhaps the only question was, masks or no masks?
I’ll cut to the chase: masks on when not in photos, masks off otherwise.
Since moving to California in 2011, we’ve engaged as many as 4 different holiday card photographers, but our favorite by far is Afra Pourdad. Last Sunday was the 6th time, and fourth time in a row, we’ve worked with Afra. What makes Afra so good? Taken straight from her Web site:
Family is truly the most beautiful gift of all. Because we feel honored to participate in the lives of our clients, we capture the magic and joy of childhood, relationships and family in the most authentic way--unobtrusively, honestly, joyfully.
Authentic, unobtrusive, honest, joyful. That says it all.
She has such a great rapport with the girls and makes it so easy and fun. There’s no awkward posing or staged photos, no light reflectors, tripods, or any other unnecessary photography gear. She shoots with two Canon bodies and two prime lenses - that’s all.
Behind the Scenes
For many years, during the photo shoots, I’ve had fun shooting “behind the scenes” videos with my iPhone. Here’s a “classic” that started it all from the 2014 shoot with Afra in Tilden Park’s Botanical Gardens.
This year we met up in the Eucalyptus Grove on the Cal Berkeley campus. This was the same location we shot at in 2013, so it’s been a while since we walked along the noted Grinnell Pathway. It’s a beautiful walkway leading onto the Cal campus, but perhaps not one to walk alone late at night (my Google search just revealed!)
So why do I feel the “need” to be shooting video during a photo shoot? For one, I think it keeps me away from taking photos of the girls. And second, I think it’s a nice addition to the memories we’ll receive once the amazing edited photos come back.
Video gives you another tangible sense of the moment while capturing the fun the girls are having during the shoot. You also get to see how much fun the photographer is having as well - and a little bit about how she works.
I’m still amazed at the quality of video you can get from an iPhone (I’ve got an 8 Plus). In the palm of my hand I can shoot HD video and easily edit it in minutes in iMovie. Here’s this year’s behind the scenes.
you’re making a Holiday Card? Mint!
The upshot of this all is sorting through all the wonderful photos we’ll receive and pulling together the holiday card itself. That’s no small feat. Not just in narrowing down the best ones to use, but also sorting through the scores of holiday card suppliers and designs.
For the past couple of years, I’ve used the pricey Minted. I often have a hard time finding a design I like, but Minted usually has the best designs and flexible options. Not sure if I’ll use them again this year, but here’s the design from last year’s card.
So are you shooting a holiday card this year? Will you hire a photographer? Which photo card company will you use? Would love to hear!