1st birthday photos, Cake Smash Session Jennifer Tavera 1st birthday photos, Cake Smash Session Jennifer Tavera

Balloon and floral cake smash | Arvada Baby photographer

Cake smash sessions have become a tradition as much as a senior portrait session is for a high school senior. They are a beautiful way to celebrate a baby’s first birthday and to capture a time when they are growing and changing so quickly. One of the things I am most excited about with the new studio space in Arvada is the ability to do cake smash sessions indoor for those who do not want to do them in their home.

Cake smash sessions have become a tradition as much as a senior portrait session is for a high school senior. They are a beautiful way to celebrate a baby’s first birthday and to capture a time when they are growing and changing so quickly. One of the things I am most excited about with the new studio space in Arvada is the ability to do cake smash sessions indoor for those who do not want to do them in their home. This session however is one that I shot in my own home 9 months ago, I cannot believe that I haven’t shared this beautiful baby girl on my bog yet! She is just too precious not to share even if it is almost a year later.

Pink and  gold cake smash with a balloon arch and florals.

Every cake smash session starts with an idea. Sometimes it’s a theme, sometimes its just a few colors. Little miss Ruby’s mom knew she wanted to have a pink and gold cake smash. She saw another smash that I did last year with pink and gold flowers and loved it but I wanted to make her smash even bigger and better than the last and so I suggested the balloon arch with the flowers and vines incorporated and luckily she loved the idea!

When I do a cake smash I provide everything for the session so our next step, after I found the perfect balloons and floral, was to choose an outfit. I already had this adorable little sparkle dressing in my collection that was perfect with this theme so I just hand-made a custom headband to match the décor and complete the look!

The next step was the cake. I found a beautiful image of a cake similar to this in purples and knew it would be perfect. When you choose a smash cake you want the majority of the design to be on the side of the cake because that is the part that gets photographed the most. Luckily my favorite baker Cherry on Top bakery in Thornton, Colorado always takes my vision and makes it even better than I described!

You can expect three types of images from your cake smash session, first, before cake images, typically taken on the smash “set as your cake smash however the studio now gives me the space and freedom to do a second look for your before images if you would like. New we bring out the cake, this park looks in the photos like to take about 5 minutes but in reality I have had some kids take over and hour to get messy with the cake so don’t worry if your baby doesn’t dig right in. After the cake I can now offer milk bath images in my adorable little bath tub!

I would love to help you plan the perfect cake smash session for your baby. I have a list of theme ideas or I can create your vision or birthday party theme! Send me a message to set up a call and get all of the details!

Jennifer Tavera is a Luxury family, maternity and newborn photographer in Denver Colorado who specializes in creating an experience that will make mom feel confortable, papered and beautiful so she will be excited to turn her portraits into art for her home. Sessions are available outdoors all over the Denver and Boulder area and studio sessions in the studio space in Arvada. Ready to start planning your dream session? Click below to schedule a call.

Jennifer

Read More

Wall art sizing guide | Denver Family Photographer

If you are planning on hanging your portrait or gallery wall centered above a piece of furniture like a table, bed or couch the you will want the image to be 50-75% of the size of the piece of furniture. The same rule applies if you are using a gallery wall, you will want to space the images 1-4 inches apart and have the full set be no more than 75% as wide as the furniture below it.

When I started working at the commercial portrait studio 15 years ago I sold prints and wall “enlargements”. In the one week of training, we received before starting as a photographer and “portrait artist” not one bit was about how to help our clients choose the best size of art for their home. Most of our clients came in, bought 8x10 prints, and likely went home and realized they were way too small for their space. After 9 years as a business owner, I started offering my clients wall art and studying interior design. While I still have so much to learn one thing I have learned is that there are rules to choosing the proper size wall art piece, especially if it is going to hang above a piece of furniture. So today I am sharing those “secrets” with all of you.

You may be reading this because you are a current client of mine, or looking to hire a photographer, or maybe you stumbled across this trying to decide what size painting to hang above your couch. Either way, whether you come to have your portrait taken in my Arvada photography studio or a beautiful outdoor location in the Colorado mountains and allow me to design your art for you or you just need to find the right size for the landscape print you are ordering the rules are the same.

The Basics

If you are planning on hanging your portrait or gallery wall centered above a piece of furniture like a table, bed, or couch you will want the image to be 50-75% of the size of the piece of furniture. The same rule applies if you are using a gallery wall, you will want to space the images 1-4 inches apart and have the full set be no more than 75% as wide as the furniture below it.

There are two different rules for how high to hang your images. The rule for hanging above furniture is 6-12” inches above the furniture piece however the general rule is at eye level. Here is how I handle these two sometimes contradicting rules:

For a low piece of furniture that is well below eye level, hang the images at eye level. In the image above it appears that the table is fairly low so when I created this sample I “hung” the images at what I believed to be approximately eye level. You could put something decorative on top of the table (maybe candle sets on either side?) to give the table some height and then hang the art 6 inches above the top of the decorations if you wanted to try and follow both rules.

For higher furniture pieces, go with the 6 images above to hang as close to every level as possible.

And in the case you have small children who may touch your art, either choose a durable option such as canvas or hang just out of reach of your little one!

Choosing the proper size for above a bed

This is a quick “cheat sheet” for creating art galleries above your bed based on the size of the bed.

The program I use to show my clients their art, which is also what I use to create these sample galleries, shows me the total width of the full gallery set so that I can make sure I create the correct size for your home. So having a cheat sheet to check those numbers against is really helpful to make sure that when it arrives it will fit perfectly like this set that I created for a client last fall.

Sizing “cheat sheet”

If you are hanging your art above the headboard choose this size for the best fit:

Twin bed- 22-30” inch art

Full bed - 30-40” art

Queen bed - 34-45” art

King bed - 42-56” art

Crib (above the long side) - 30-40”

Hopefully this gives you a start in choosing the correct size. I would love to design portrait art that fits perfectly into your space. When I plan your session with you and create your art I take into account the colors and design style of your space as well to make sure your art looks at home in your space! Ready to get started? Click below to schedule a call and get all of the information about your session!

Jennifer Tavera is a Luxury family, maternity, and newborn photographer in Denver Colorado who specializes in creating an experience that will make mom feel comfortable, papered, and beautiful so she will be excited to turn her portraits into art for her home. Sessions are available outdoors all over the Denver and Boulder area and studio sessions in the studio space in Arvada. Ready to start planning your dream session? Click below to schedule a call.

Jennifer

Read More

Studio Christmas sessions | Arvada Colorado Portrait Studio

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Truth Photography!

I was so honored to be able to celebrate with families in a new way this year with studio sessions in the Arvada photo studio located off of 80th and Wadsworth. The studio was beautifully decorated for the Holidays including this beautiful bed set. This was one of a couple of holiday sets that were available. I am so excited to be sharing this gorgeous space with two other photographers over the next few months and hopefully beyond!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Truth Photography!

I was so honored to be able to celebrate with families in a new way this year with studio sessions in the Arvada photo studio located off of 80th and Wadsworth. The studio was beautifully decorated for the Holidays including this beautiful bed set. This was one of a couple of holiday sets that were available. I am so excited to be sharing this gorgeous space with two other photographers over the next few months and hopefully beyond!

Here are some of my favorite images from family and milestone baby sessions in the studio last month. I will be offering this space for newborn, baby, kids and cake smash sessions as well as the occasional family or maternity shoot. Each season there will be a limited edition holiday set as well as staples like the bed and couch areas perfect for newborn family shots, milestone sessions and kids portraits. To see more of the studio visit my last blog post using the button below.

This bed has already been redecorated for spring and summer sessions! We also have the Valentines set ready for sessions in January and February so contact me today to book you spot!

Jennifer Tavera is a Luxury family, maternity and newborn photographer in Denver Colorado who specializes in creating an experience that will make mom feel confortable, papered and beautiful so she will be excited to turn her portraits into art for her home. Sessions are available outdoors all over the Denver and Boulder area and studio sessions in the studio space in Arvada. Ready to start planning your dream session? Click below to schedule a call

Jennifer

Read More

Welcome to the studio space | Truth Photography Arvada Colorado Photographer

I am so excited to announce that I now have a studio space available for winter sessions!

Introducing the Arvada Studio! The Studio is located off of 80th and Wadsworth in Arvada and is perfect for newborn sessions, baby milestones, cake smash sessions, and even family and maternity shoots.

I am so excited to announce that I now have a studio space available for winter sessions!

Introducing the Arvada Studio! The Studio is located off of 80th and Wadsworth in Arvada and is perfect for newborn sessions, baby milestones, cake smash sessions, and even family and maternity shoots.

The Arvada studio, which I am currently sharing with two other local photographers, offers a lounge area with a changing table and hair and makeup station. A fully equipped newborn room with a newborn posing bag and additional props, wraps and outfits beyond those in my own collection. A seasonal room for limited edition seasonal sessions, cake smash sessions and baby milestones sessions. The final room, the “bedroom” features a bed for newborn family shots or baby milestone sessions, and two couch areas perfect for families, maternity or kids!

Now booking!

I am now booking for the following types of sessions, space on all sessions is limited.

Studio newborn shoots. January-April ONE slot available per month. Newborn only and Newborn family sessions available up to 3 hours time as needed.

Cake smash session. January-April TWO slots per month. Choose from dozens of ideas from my inspiration board or previous sessions or choose your own theme and I will design you a custom set. Cake smash includes the cake, outfit, and decorations, before cake images, the cake smash, and an after cake milk bath shoot. Please book a minimum of 3 weeks in advance to ensure that I can order your cake, décor, and outfit on time.

Limited edition Valentine’s sessions. Ages 3 months to 10 years. 3 dates Monday, January 17, 9 am to noon, Monday, January 31st noon to 2 pm, or Sunday, January 23rd, 1 pm-4 pm.


Jennifer Tavera is a Luxury family, maternity and newborn photographer in Denver Colorado who specializes in creating an experience that will make mom feel confortable, papered and beautiful so she will be excited to turn her portraits into art for her home. Sessions are available outdoors all over the Denver and Boulder area and studio sessions in the studio space in Arvada. Ready to start planning your dream session? Click below to schedule a call.

Jennifer

Read More