Classic Kids Photography. The Next Best Thing to Time in a Bottle.

What is it about fall, about back to school that has me misty eyed and sentimental? Every year. Maybe it is the inevitable back to school, front step snapshot. Followed by the comparison to last year’s pictures. There are the visible difference in number of teeth, the obvious growth spurts, the loss of softness in someone’s cheeks that signals the end of toddlerhood and beginning of kid-dom. Whatever the case, it is the time of year that I resolve to preserve memories, capture the moment, and finally arrange for the professional photography I have been longing to do to remember my kids as they are today – toothless and chubby cheeked. Before it’s too late!

I’m ahead of the game, for once, this year. Over the past summer my family was treated to a portrait session with Classic Kids Photography. It was an amazing experience. Finally after four children I managed to get (nearly) newborn pictures of one of my babies. And Michelle, our photographer in the Newport Beach studio, captured so many gorgeous shots of my three oldest that I was nearly moved to tears.
Classic Kids Photography is different from most portraiture studios because they are old school photographers. They only shoot in black and white and they always use real film. Their method of capturing your family is as much an art as it is science. Why does this matter? As practical and immediately gratifying it is to play with a digital image, there is something about real film that can never be approximated by a digital camera.
Where digital images have a photoshopped and “perfected” appearance, real photos are more natural, and perfect in their imperfections. There is nothing like an image shot in natural light, without flash – the grain of the film coming through on the print. Classic Kids Photography is especially well known and lauded for their spectacular natural light photos. Of course the beauty and artistry is only enhanced by their insistence of only printing on the highest quality papers. The process of capturing the moment does not end in the studio – the film is processed by master printers, who know how to bring the real magic out of light and shadow. There are ten Classic Kids Photography studios nationwide. It’s a small and elite group of artists. And what better art to invest in, than pictures of your own?
One of the things that made an impression on me during our session, was how much fun it was for our whole family. The instant we got to the Newport studio, Michelle was engaged with our children. It took her no time to figure out their personalities, and to get them to open up. Her assistant Farah mugged like a gorilla, chased our four year old, and rocked out to Hannah Montana tunes with our tweens. Even when tummies started rumbling, the kids were having fun. All four of them. And much as I would like to say they are the most cooperative bunch, they are not always!
We were anxious to receive our proofs from Classic Kids. When the day came we were overwhelmed with too many choices. We chose our favorites to print and frame, but the story may not end there. Classic Kids is keeping our proofs in their files so we (or our relatives) can always order additional/different prints in the future.
If you’ve never done professional photography of your children, what are you waiting for? It’s never too early or too late to start capturing time in a bottle. For the most timeless and positive experience, I would recommend checking out a Classic Kids Photography studio near you. It’s a gift to your family that you will never regret.
Want a little peek inside a Classic Kids photo shoot? Here are some of the highlights of our session.