Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! The holidays are officially in full swing. I am heating up my smoker and seasoning a turkey. Thanksgiving marks the end of our Fall photography season. We are thankful for so much this year when it comes to family and friends and great opportunities and experiences. But we can’t get over how thankful we are for this INCREDIBLE photography season!

Over the past decade we have had countless gorgeous photo sessions and weddings, but this Fall was really something special and a new high for our business both on the artistic and business side. Back to back sessions of creative photo session ideas, fashion and loving couples and families. We met so many new people who we vibe so well with. 

Ali & Sam

I had thought that open communication was something we always had, and it was. What I didn’t realize was that it could be taken even further. The inspiration to start this photography blog was a blessing. The response to it has been so powerful. Being able to share photo session tips and fashion advice in a free form way for anyone to read has really opened my eyes. It has put into perspective the vision of what I see for our photography and for our business. People being able to read these posts freely has let them get to know us on a deeper level and I am so thankful for that. 

This past Fall we have seen our clients new and old open up and be creative. They have not only learned about our vision but shared their vision with us. The result has been a unique look to our photos and a growth for our style in a direction that I am in love with. It has been years since I have felt this level of pride in what we're doing. That is so refreshing because as we all know, any job can start to become monotonous after a few years and needs a breath of fresh air to reignite that flame. 

Michelle & John

All of this makes us ecstatic for 2024. I can’t even imagine where this business is going but I am ready to take the ride. We are thankful year round for the life we live together and for the people in our lives. Thanksgiving is the time to put a little extra emphasis on it and even announce what you're thankful for if you are comfortable with it. Take stock this time of year and appreciate all that you have! We appreciate you all so much for supporting us and we are thrilled to have you along on this journey. If you have questions for us or would like to inquire about a photo session or wedding in Ohio or another destination we would love to hear from you. We are still squeezing in a couple more weddings for 2024 and have begun filling dates for 2025 already!

Have a great Thanksgiving. We will be back with more blog posts after the holiday.

Our family

Happy thanksgiving from the Epperson Family!

Why you should always do your photos at sunset!

Family photo session in Springboro, Ohio

So you’re excited to have family photos done. You have gone through all the steps. You picked the right photographer and you are ready to book. You ask for their availability and they send you a list of dates and times. But all of the available times are so late! It conflicts with dinner time, your kids are supposed to be getting ready for bed at this time. It’s just so inconvenient. As photographers we understand. It’s not ideal for us either, but it’s essential for the results we achieve. Here is why your photographer is so insistent on doing your session close to sunset.

What is golden hour?

Golden hour is the last hour of daylight before sunset. It is the time of day when the sun dips low and the light becomes soft and gives off a warm hue. It offers a ton of advantages for photos and gives off those amazing lens flares and golden bursts of light you see so often in photographers’ portfolios. Often people say they want an earlier time of day because the light flares aren’t important to them. What they don’t realize is that there are many other reasons for shooting at this time.

If your ideal time is 1pm and you manage to talk your photographer into this time of day, don’t be surprised when you get photos back and see yourself looking more wrinkly than usual. Or notice everyone is squinting and you can’t see anyone’s eyes. The harsh light of the sun causes shadows under the eyes making them look sunken or sick. The bright highlights can blow out parts of the photo making them nothing more than white blobs. The color of light the sun produces is also different. You probably never noticed before but the light earlier in the day is more blue and this can make skin look off in photographs.

These issues are no big deal when taking a snapshot but when you have professional photos done you expect professional results. We have been talked into earlier shoots many times. We explain the reasons for a late shoot and give out the proper warnings but still some clients insist.

I suggest for just one night you make an exception to your routine. Make it fun. Use it as an excuse to let the kids stay up late. Take the family out to dinner or ice cream afterwords! Your family photos are important and will last forever. It’s worth it to go the extra mile. Take your photographer’s professional advice. That is why you hired them right? Trust the expert and you won’t be disappointed with the results!

Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

Venue recommendation

THE MARMALADE LILY. PHOTO BY EVERY ATOM PHOTOGRAPHY

This is by far the most important article written as of yet. What could be more important on your wedding day than having the right venue? Think about it. The catering could be incredible, the DJ is fantastic and the photographer is everything you dreamed they would be. But None of that matters really if your guests and most importantly you and your spouse have to spend your special day somewhere you hate! A bad environment can easily sour the entire experience. This is a series of articles I have been wanting to write for a long time, and well… here it goes!

The Marmalade Lily in Loveland, OH is the first venue I want to recommend on my list. In fact when thinking about what I wanted to say in this post I realized I just had to jump over to their google business page and leave a glowing review. Over the past few years Sarah and I have enjoyed photographing many weddings here. Seeing how happy the couples and guests were and how beautiful the grounds are kept always makes for a great day at work for us and an amazing wedding day for the Bride and Groom.

The Marmalade Lily sits on 9 acres of beautiful grounds and flower gardens. The owner Laura, Like my own beautiful wife Sarah has a deep passion for gardening and flowers in particular. Season to season the grounds grow and change, Setting a wonderful vibe that really tells the story of your wedding day in its time and place. Along with Laura their clients get the pleasure of working with their awesome staff who come off more like a family than a group of co-workers. They have great wedding coordinators and multiple floral designers! Being a flower farm they offer floral arrangements included with their wedding packages which is so convenient.

Flower bouquet by The Marmalade lily. Photo Every Atom Photography.

Why do we love The Marmalade Lily?

Over the past 10 plus years Sarah I have shot hundreds of weddings at dozens of venues. We remember and look forward to going back to the ones with a personal touch and a positive vibe. They inspire us as artists because negativity stifles creativity and these people are always positive. When a bad customer service experience impacts the bride and groom, well… It can be hard for them to shake that off and get on with a happy day. Much less fun, playful and romantic photos. The Marmalade Lily has always offered us everything we could ask for and more importantly given the bride and grooms we have worked with a more than positive experience and a beautiful place to celebrate the beginning of an amazing journey together.

The Marmalade Lily is a place with a great outdoorsy energy, tons of scenes to pick from for photos. The staff are helpful and not high tense and all of this is fueled by a true passion for beautiful flowers and love. What more could you ask for? If you want to visit the grounds and see this beautiful venue for yourself you can schedule a visit or stop by when they host one of their pick your flower days! You can check them out on Instagram at @themarmaladelily or on their website by clicking the button below.

Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

Do you have the right house for a baby session?

If you’re reading this it’s likely because you have seen gorgeous photos from a baby session that look like they were done in the families own warm and loving home. Oftentimes they were, and often times they weren’t. Gone are the days of fake backdrops and cheesy prop photo studios. In todays modern times photographers have access to an array of studio options. When clients book a studio through us for the first time they are always taken aback. Believe it or not I had a client during a shoot who once took me aside to tell me they were concerned I had broken them into someone’s home! That’s true by the way.

The Benefits of an at home session!

More about studios later. In home sessions are fantastic and have tons of benefits. Just to name a few let’s start with travel. Babies are moody. You never know how they are going to act and the littlest things can upset them. Being in the comfort of their own home is more stable for them. You don’t have to pack them up, interrupting their sleep before you absolutely have to. If you need to feed them during or right before the session it’s a simpler task. Another huge benefit is the memories. Wouldn’t it be special to look at those photos on the wall years or decades down the line in a new home and remember back to where it all started! That last point is huge, and I think it’s what draws most of our clients into picking an at home session. Lastly let’s talk about the cost. Some photographers own their own studios but the vast majority rent a space on a session to session basis. An average price for 1 hour in a studio is $100.00. That will be an additional cost to you. Saving a little money and doing the session at home is always nice.

Is your house right for an at home session?

A couple of years ago when our son turned 2 we decided we wanted some family photos done. Doing them in our home was the first thing we thought of for all the reasons above. Especially for the sentimental reasons. The photographer was excited and so were we. But as I started to ask myself the same questions I’m going to talk about, I realized that our house just wasn’t right. It’s a beautiful house and we have so much love and great memories in it. It’s just not right for professional level photography. Here are a few things you need to consider before you make the choice to go with an in home session.

Window light!

Yes, any worthwhile photographer will have his or her own lights. However they are no substitute for natural light. Big windows are important. What is also important is how much light gets into those windows. The sun, as you know rises in the East and sets in the West. So if your living room faces West you will have gorgeous light flooding in at sunset. The same is true at sunrise if your living room faces the East, but lets not talk about 6am photo sessions. I don’t want to manifest that into my life. I recommend choosing a room in your house that you would like to be the main focus of your session. Then remember to peek in on it through the day and see when it seems to get the most light.

Floors.

What are your floors like? Hardwoods? Perfect! Tile? Depends on the pattern. Carpet? Probably not. Hardwood floors are ideal because they give off a natural earthy vibe and go with almost any outfits you pick. Carpets and patterned floors can be distracting. That doesn’t mean they are a definite no. It just means you should consider what it’s going to look like on camera. Photographers will most definitely want to take many photos on the floor. An option to consider is large blankets to put down that match the theme you like!

Space…

Having enough space for the photographer to get down on the ground and have a few feet between them and baby is crucial. Portrait lenses need some space to work their magic. Otherwise the photographer will have to switch to some wider lenses and the finished product probably won’t have the look you were hoping for. One more thing, and this ties back into the floors section. Make sure to clean the floors well, and even do under furniture as the photographer will likely want to move some furniture around.

Diversity.

It’s great to have a handful of diverse options for the session. What Sarah and I do in an ideal situation is shoot in the living room, on mom and dads bed “Playing with baby/holding baby” on the stairs with mom and dad, in the light of the best window, laying tummy time on a large wooden floor or rug and lastly we head to the nursery. Usually the nursery is a very special spot for new mom’s and dad’s. If your home is limited on spots to shoot this could definitely effect the number of shots you get and of course the diversity in those shots.

If your house isn’t right for an in home session please DON’T FEEL BAD! Like I said above ours wasn’t either. And that doesn’t mean we don’t have a beautiful home. You can still get that look you’re going for by searching local photo studio’s or asking your photographer for advice on a location. We are available for recommendations if you want to shoot us a message, we are always happy to hear from our followers!

Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

If you enjoyed this post please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

Should you pick your own location?

A huge part of what we as photographers do involves deciding the best spot for what the client is hoping to get out of their session. But very often we get the request to shoot the session in a place that doesn’t make for the best possible photos.

Just because its sentimental doesn’t mean its going to look good!

So… This is awkward but its true. Your husband may have proposed to you next to a beautiful oak tree in the middle of a grassy field on a gorgeous day. That is a preciouses memory and lives on as a perfect moment. It would be amazing to do your family photos there. What you don’t realize is that the field was surrounded by a sub division in the distance and the natural looking country photo session in your mind will be littered with houses in the backdrop of every photo. Or let’s say you have special memories as a child with your grandparents at a park in Cincinnati and you want to do the shoot there because they are coming to the session. What you might not think of is that it’s largely over crowded and every beautiful spot has a group of people lounging in it or three other family shoots in line before you with other photographers. Most of the session time is spent waiting and a number of the photos that were captured have strangers lurking in the backdrop.

Sarah and I are always happy to hear suggestions from clients and often that’s how we find new favorite spots to shoot. Our clients introduce us to hidden gems frequently.

How do you know if your choice is a good one?

After over a decade of scouting out locations my wife Sarah and I have developed a keen eye for a good environment. Here are a few tips to help you tell if your pick for a photo location is ideal.

Different looks

A good location for any photo session should have more than just one pretty backdrop. a waterfall definitely has potential for some awesome photos but whats next? an hour long photo session can yield dozens of great shots and having diversity between them is what we are looking for. It’s great to have a location with creeks, hiking trails, and an open area for sunset where we can can get that amazing golden light before it falls behind the trees.

Secluded

Your area is great! It has everything you want but you didn’t think about all the other people who might come flocking in with the same idea. If your area is a popular one you might want to make sure you schedule your session on a day when it’s not so busy.

Shade

Like most photographers we schedule our sessions about an hour before sunset. Sunset is the best light of the day but it can take a while for the light to be right. If there isn’t cloud cover the first 20 or so minutes of the session can still have pretty harsh lighting. It’s good to have the option to take the family into a shady spot like woods or a conservatory if available.

Reasonable distance

An hour is a good amount of time to capture fantastic looking photos, however it goes by fast if half of your time is spent walking and talking. Especially if you have small children in your group or God forbid its 95 degrees. When picking a location remember the walking distance between each location should only be a couple of minutes. For example if you have five spots you want to visit in your session and they take just five minutes to travel to that’s 25 minutes of your 1 hour session. Some locations will offer a golf cart or something similar to get from spot to spot.

Has a theme

Finally, ask yourself this question. Does the location have a look that speaks to you? Does it fit your dream idea of how your shoot will look when you receive your gallery? There are thousands of shoots to look through online. Take some time to go down the rabit hole and see which images inspire you. Save them to your device and even send them to your photographer. This will help you get a clear vision of what you want. Like making a dream board.

Sarah and I love collaborating with our client’s and we are always open to ideas and inspiration. If your curious about if your idea for spot is right you can always reach out and ask what we think. Fall is coming up quickly. We are so excited to visit some of our favorite locations as the leaves change and capture some beautiful memories!

Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

If you enjoyed this post please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson