Vintage Motherhood has Arrived!

This fall, through lots of hard work, experimentation, practice, and artistic inspiration, I have developed my signature look to move into 2008. I call it "Vintage Motherhood" and it takes my style of vintage portraiture to a place it's never been before - the maternity photo shoot!



I love doing my own take on classic maternity portraits. But, developing this new artistic look and bringing it to my maternity portraiture has changed my artwork and my life! I am super passionate about creating one-of-a-kind "Vintage Motherhood" portraits for all of the moms-to-be that come to my studio! You have to have a beautiful piece of art that treasures this amazing time in your life.

Giving these gifts to my first "Vintage Moms" this fall has been one of my greatest pleasures. The best part is seeing the emotion when women see how truly beautiful they looked, even when they didn't feel so beautiful! I also imagine their children, looking at the images in the future and being so proud of their moms.

Maternity on the Beach! (In October?)

The answer is definitely, YES! We can do maternity portraits, outdoors, nearly year round in Seattle. Sure, it gets a little cold, windy, and sometimes rainy. But, how's a little weather going to stop a Seattle mom and a Seattle photographer from getting the portraits they want!?



When I met Kristen, a poet, artist, and mom-to-be...it was like fate! She is such a life-loving person that of course she was game for an outdoor shoot on a chilly day in October. Some of my favorite images of the year came from this shoot. You can see them all over on my website and very often on display in stores because I love them so much. Kristen really embodied all of the hope and love that there is in waiting for your baby to arrive. It was a joy to spend the afternoon with her, her husband, and her little dog!

Something Clicked!

Finally, something clicked! I got the opportunity to practice on a real live model, my sister! Sisters are great guinea pigs because they know they have to sit still and cooperate or the less flattering photographs of them will appear in the next family album! :)



We spent August 8th, 2007 on the beach at Golden Gardens and that was the day that I knew I just had to bring this style of vintage photography to life for my clients in Seattle. We talked about what it's like to have a portrait of yourself created in a timeless way. Digital photography is great, of course, and I use it every day - but a portrait taken by Margot (and me!) begins to transcend traditional photography as it's being done today. The subject, the photographer, the vintage camera, the "contraption" I made myself, the moment, the place, and the process all come together to create something completely one-of-a-kind. It results in an unrepeatable, once in a lifetime, work of art.

Testing, 1, 2, 3!

Whenever I learn a new photographic technique, I have to try it out on a willing and patient model. Usually that's me, initially, followed by my husband and my friends and family! Over the summer of 2007, I practiced this vintage technique A LOT, moving up from shoes and other still-lifes to a very funny and complicated afternoon of self-portraits!



If you think pushing the button and running back and forth from behind the camera to in front of the camera is difficult - try it with a 1940's vintage Argus built into a homemade "contraption"!

But, I learned I could create both sharp and beautifully soft edges in my vintage images. The artist in me was awakened and there was no going back!

How do you get that vintage look?

"Is it Photoshop?" is the question I get most often and the answer is "NO!" The vintage look comes from the only authentic place it can come from, this beautiful little baby! Her name is Margot.

I found Margot in the summer of 2007 and began to experiment with her. It wasn't love at first site as I had to learn all about how she works and do a lot of homemade crafting and tweaking to get her to work.

One of the first photographs I considered "successful" with this new method was this one of my shoes...as you can see we've both come a LONG way since July.


Now, she comes along on all my shoots since she (and her friends that I have added to my growing vintage camera collection) is what's behind my signature looks: Vintage Motherhood, Vintage Childhood, and Timeless Women.

Welcome

Hello everyone and welcome to the M. Larson Photo Blog. This blog is a brand new addition to my business! It will be a place to see and talk about my portrait, kids, and maternity photos, get a sneak peek of your proofs, and get let in on special promotions and offers!

To start things off, as I do on my Website as well, I would like to share my absolute favorite photograph from all of my photo shoots in 2007! Not only is it a beautiful shot, with a beautiful Mom-to-be, but for me it is symbolic of my 2007 move to the Seattle area and the new style of photography that the move has opened up to me.

We didn't get the best weather for the photo shoot but Kristen and Kyle were great sports and didn't mind a little rain, wind, and cold! I think their little dog Grover was the coldest of all 4 of us.

Another great thing about this shoot? Kristen emailed a few short hours later that her water had broken and she was in labor! Baby Evan came the very next day.



To see a larger version, go to M Larson Photo.

Best,
M. Larson