Marten’s Family
The Marten’s are an amazing family, and their session was so much fun. A year and a half ago I had the honor of photographing their son for his newborn session; the kids have grown SO MUCH since that time! We went out to the Riverbed Trail in Merrill, Wisconsin and jumped in puddles, explored the fields and picked wildflowers.
Playing in puddles!
If you’d like to book as session for your own family, feel free to send me a message. I can’t wait to help plan a super fun session with you!
Fall Family Session
Fall in Northern Wisconsin is always such a gorgeous time of year. And I just love when clients invite me out to their properties to capture the beauty. This family lives out on a couple of acres of land just a bit North of Merrill, WI - and boy did it not disappoint! There were several wooded trails, a pretty little creek, and even some animals that the boys couldn’t wait to show me.
T and A couldn’t wait to show me all their favorite spots to explore. We had tons of fun seeing who could throw the biggest rock, and who could throw the rocks the farthest into the creek. Within minutes the boys dissolved into giggles!
And what family session wouldn’t be complete without a few wild runs under blankets manned by Mom and Dad?
Here’s a few more of my favorites from this session!
One fun fact about this family - young man A was actually my very first newborn session ever, back in 2019. I’ve since photographed their wonderful family pretty much every year since. I can’t describe the appreciation I have for them, and the faith that every year I will have grown more and more as a photographer.
Interested in scheduling your own session? I’d love to hear from you!
Is Photoshop Magic? What Can You Edit?
Is Photoshop magic? Sadly no, it’s not. But it can do some pretty cool things that seem like magic sometimes! Even Photoshop has limitations though. It’s a common misconception that anything and everything can be “edited” out or fixed with this program. Here’s quick (not complete) run down of common things Photoshop can and cannot do!
1.) Distractions from the background. Most of the time additional people, signs, houses, or other distractions can be erased from the background. There are some exceptions, if the program can’t find enough data to replace the object/person that needs to be removed you might be stuck with it in your final picture. There are some tips and tricks photographers can use to “outsmart” Photoshop, but it’s not appropriate for every image. Photographers will do their best to choose locations and setups that are clear or easily editable.
2.) Skies. During sessions we don’t always get lucky and get beautiful skies with lots of color or big fluffy clouds. But that’s one thing that can usually be fudged in Photoshop. This can be done in one of a few ways. Sometimes the beautiful sky is “hidden” and we can bring it back and make it pop with a few setting changes. Other times, we need to take a sky from another image and overlay it over the image. Things to remember - not every sky works for every image. The lighting of the sky you’re overlaying the image with needs to work for that photo. For example, if you took a picture on a grey, cloudless day, adding a beautiful sunset to that photo will look out of place.
3.) Blemishes and other minor skin fixes - This is especially important for newborn photos! Most newborns are not blessed with smooth, clear skin. When you bring your newborn in for a session they have usually scratched their face, have milk crust on their face, they may have baby acne or other irritated skin. All of this is totally normal! But most parents don’t want to remember those types of details. Photoshop has the perfect tools for editing skin. And it’s not just for newborns either. Senior sessions can often require quite a bit of retouching. Some adults ask for skin smoothing to remove acne or soften wrinkles as well. These are all easy edits!
4.) Logos on clothing and other clothing fixes - Sometimes logos and images on clothing can be edited out. However, this is NOT something you should expect your photographer to do. It takes a significant amount of time to fix clothing in Photoshop (and can even be beyond the average photographer’s expertise). Wrinkles, patterns, and ill fitting clothing are outside the photographers control and will not be corrected by the photographer. Minor stains on children can be edited out, but only if they are small.
5.) Hair and makeup! Your photographer may make minor adjustments or corrections to hair. This would include things like small fly aways. But Photoshop cannot change your hair or makeup. Your photographer will not be able to edit out grey hairs, or add lash extensions for you during the editing process. During the session we will do everything we can to catch any hair, makeup or wardrobe issues but at the end of the day it is the client’s responsibility to come ready for their session.
If you’re unsure if something can be corrected during the editing process, just ask (before the photos are taken)! If something is easily editable , we are more than happy to do it for you! Have more questions? Feel free to contact me!
What time should I schedule my family photo session?
What time is the best time to schedule my family’s photo session? And why does my photographer always want to schedule so late during summer? What are some tips for scheduling a session? All great questions! Find out more here.
What time should I schedule my family photo session? What’s the best time to take pictures? Or why do we have to do our session so late? Are all questions I get asked when families are looking to schedule their sessions (especially in summer). I’m here to answer all these questions and MORE!
The short answer to what time is the best time for photos is about an hour to an hour and a half before sunset. This is called golden hour, and it makes for beautiful, dreamy photos like the one directly above.
But that’s so LATE! Is a complaint parents with young children commonly have. And that’s true, at the height of summer sessions often don’t start until after 7 pm. With littles that can be super tricky, and here’s some suggestions.
Let’s plan your session for earlier in the evening! We can choose locations that are shaded and still capture beautiful images. Note, we don’t get the sunset/golden hour images - they will still be beautiful but they will have a different tone and feel.
Wait until later in summer or early fall to book your session. As the days shorten golden hour comes earlier as well!
Wing it! Plan the session anyway - I will help keep the kids engaged and active during the session. Feed the kiddos supper a little later than normal and give them an extra snack or treat before the session to help keep energy levels up.
The season, time of day, weather and location will impact the images you receive during your session. For example - the wooded image on this page was taken during the morning in late Spring (with rain threatening the whole time), the field picture with the little kids was taken mid summer at golden hour, and the picture below was taken in the afternoon during fall. All these sessions were amazing, and yours will be too! Each of these families had a different vision in mind for their session, I’d love to hear what yours is! :)
How to pick outfits for your family photos
How to choose the perfect outfit for your next session. Tips and tricks on elevating your photoshoot. Photography by Brooke is a photographer based out of Merrill WI, that services the Wausau, Mosinee, Weston, Antigo, and surrounding areas.
How do I pick outfits for our family photos? What colors go best together? Should we all match? Should we wear clothes with words or images? These are all very common questions I’m asked before every photo session.
Picking outfits for you and your family is one of the more stressful aspects of preparing for your photo session.
I’m here today to offer some guidance, and hopefully help remove some of the stress for you.
“Let’s talk color!”
I know you’re all just reading this to find out how to pair colors! That’s alright! And I have a super simple trick for you!
Head to (you can also just Google color palette ideas):
https://www.canva.com/colors/color-palettes/
This site offers tons of color palettes for you to view. You can search things like spring, autumn, rust, blue, etc to get inspo.
Once you’ve found a palette that you like (like the example below) you are ready to start shopping! These colors go together well and you can start basing your outfits off this color grouping.
Such a simple trick, but so effective!
“Layers, Layers, Layers”
Beyond colors, there’s a lot of other aspects to take into consideration! Being in Northern Wisconsin the temps can swing wildly from day to day. Should you plan for short sleeves or will you need a winter coat?
I suggest to families that have their sessions in the spring or fall months to plan on layers. Layers you can take off or put on as the session goes on. Photo sessions aren’t stand still events, you’ll be moving most of the time. So you might start out cold, but get toasty!
Cardigans or zip up sweaters are both great options! A blanket that’s big enough to wrap around you, fashion coats, or a shawl are good alternatives.
“Keep it simple”
Here’s a few general rules to follow when getting ready for your shoot.
Matching family outfits can be fun (Christmas jammies!) - in the right setting. In general though, simple is better.
Avoid graphic t shirts, especially those with really bright colors. Solid colors photograph better, and fit in everywhere.
Steer clear of shirts with a lot of words. They are difficult to read in photos and often get cut off while you’re moving around. Think simple.
Refrain from choosing bright colors (anything in the neon family) and busy patterns.
“Pro Tip!”
Don’t forget about your shoes. You can have a killer outfit, but the effect can be completely ruined with shoes that don’t match. Guys tend to be the bigger offenders on this one. Ladies, I recommend doing a double check of your hubby before you leave.
“Always here to help you!”
If you’re really struggling on your outfit, it is perfectly ok to reach out to your photographer before the session and ask for advice. The last thing we want is for you to be uncomfortable at your session.
A couple of things to keep in mind -
Your photographer is not responsible for you hating your outfit. They are also not responsible for clothing that is wrinkled, creased, or covered in pet hair. Photoshop is amazing, but it’s not magic - it also takes a lot of time to edit (and not everything is fixable).
As always, if you have a question or need help, reach out! Photography by Brooke wants you to love your photos for years to come and is always happy to help!
Molly’s 6th Birthday Session
Photography by Brooke is located in Merrill Wisconsin and is a full service photographer servicing the Merrill, Wausau, Mosinee, and greater North Central Wisconsin area.
It’s Molly’s 6th birthday! What better way to celebrate than with a session? Molly is a very girly young lady. She loves everything that has to do with sparkles, makeup, unicorns, dresses - she loves it all! So I just knew I had to get Molly some over the top, beautiful, princess-esque dresses to celebrate. We had three distinct looks.
First up was this gorgeous pink number. It’s really everything a little girl could ever wish for. It has a lacy overskirt embroidered with flowers and leaves. The back is corseted so it’s very adjustable. This dress turned out to be a little too big for Molly, but we clipped it for the photo session.
The second dress is a lacy blue butterfly babydoll type style. Molly’s favorite color is blue, so we had to incorporate it! We finished our 6th birthday session with a boho style for some variety. Happy birthday Molly! We hope your 6th birthday was an absolute blast and 2022 is your best year yet!
All of these dresses are available in Photography by Brooke’s client closet. Children’s clothing in the client closet ranges from newborn outfits up to sizes 7/8 with new items being added throughout the year.
Photography by Brooke is a photographer specializing in newborn, maternity and family photography servicing the Merrill, Wausau, Mosinee and North Central Wisconsin areas.