photos for profiles - did you have any "done"??

JanieJones

we don't get photos taken often. ?I never remember to bring along a camera, and most of what we have are party shots with drinks.

Is it unheard of to have some pictures taken for our profile? ?We have some nice engagement shots we can use... but not a lot of current stuff.

Our profile is for a public CAS, so not even the primary method we will be matched, but I want to be ahead of the ball on this one.?

mcmann05

I've wondered this myself. It appears at my agency that they take the inital front shot for our BM letter but I don't know. I have a shot I'd like to use from 2 years ago....the pic in my siggy actually.

Alicia_22

We didn't have any done especially for the profile book but I guess you could. I don't know that I would have some professionally done but maybe just take your camera EVERYWHERE with you and have someone get some pictures of you and your DH doing different activities or in different places. 

JanieJones

Alicia_22:

...maybe just take your camera EVERYWHERE with you and have someone get some pictures of you and your DH doing different activities or in different places.?

?

I have been trying hard to do this lately. ?But two weeks ago we were all done up for a wedding, and I didn't take a single picture.

I am going to track down a girl we sat with on FB to see if the picture she took of us is any good, but we may have had drinks in hand.?

mcmann05

Well, I take my camera EVERYWHERE with me so the "unprofessional" ones I've got covered. lol Although, I normally take it everywhere I have now become obsessed.

Good luck figuring it all out and tracking down the girl from FB!

Alicia_22

JanieJones:

 but we may have had drinks in hand. 

 

That's what cropping is for! We don't drink but I had a picture of my DH with some friends and some of them had drinks in their hands but I wanted to use the picture so I put a button or something on it to cover it up! ( I used mixbook.com and you could use "buttons" and "stickers" for accents) I also cropped another friend picture that had drinks in it! 

Dr.Loretta

Our agency discouraged professional shots. Posed, yes. Professional, they felt it looked too staged.

crystalpopcorn

I would stay away from professional shots.  BMs generally want to see more candid photos that tell your story and give them a better feeling of what life would be like with you.  They pick up a LOT from the pictures you choose.  Ask a friend or two to take pictures of you guys when you are out and doing normal activities (just try to avoid having alcohol etc in the picture).

TiffanyBlue927

I worked with a private attorney and actually have done some profiles for others ( not soliciting here and I did use some pics done by a pro. I am not ever happy with the pics my DH takes of me and I really wanted to look my best and there is nothing wrong with that! I even had my hair and makeup done beforehand, simply because that is the way I am in real life. We had white shirts on and jeans so we were casual and not overly formal, actually the photographer manged to get some very sweet playful shots. I used one for the front of our book and used the others for gifts for our parents and wallet pics for my DH and I. We spent only about $180 and had them done at Sears and they gave us the DVD so I was able to do whatever I needed to do. It, to us, was WELL worth doing, as our Birthmom LOVED our book. I even used a wedding pic or two, again, trying to remain low key and casual, but it was a special part of our story and we rolled with it! I do understand that agencies may have different policies, but from my own experience, it was a good move for us! Good Luck!

babywisher

We didn't have any "done" because our agency said they wanted pictures showing the real us. We started a while in advance getting pictures that we knew we would put in like holidays and vacas. 

mrsdrkwaver

Also remember that every picture in your book does not have to have you or your hubby in it. we put pictures of people we hang out with and family that we were not even in the pic. I tried to make  sure we were on every page but not in every picture. i have trouble bringing my camera places too so i tried to remember to do so . i also went on facebook and stole them from friends and family in order to beef up our book. 

if you want to see it here is the link 

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EZN2zJszZs3kA

mrsdrkwaver

Also remember that every picture in your book does not have to have you or your hubby in it. we put pictures of people we hang out with and family that we were not even in the pic. I tried to make  sure we were on every page but not in every picture. i have trouble bringing my camera places too so i tried to remember to do so . i also went on facebook and stole them from friends and family in order to beef up our book. oh the cover picture is a formal shot we had done specifically for the agency

if you want to see it here is the link 

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EZN2zJszZs3kA

gstf344

We didn't have any done either because the agency discouraged it.  They said they would want to see us during our day to day lives.  I think it gives a clearer picture of who you really are.  I agree-crop the drinks out if you can, they could still be great shots!

JanieJones

Thanks for the feedback. ?We may still have some taken, and request that there is not editing or "tricks". ? Then we can use one or two pro photos and the rest candid. ?I would never use all pro though, I can see how that would be too much like a catalogue family.

LadyRed7

Can you have a friend or family member go to the park, zoo, etc. with you and have them take a bunch? We had a ton, but so many had a cocktail in them that we had to crop out. When it came time to put our book together, we had our camera everywhere.

Take photos of you and DH cooking, doing housework, decorating, hanging out. A variety of activity and representation of our life is what our agency wanted.  

alisonemma

Yes!  We just had a professional photographer (a friend of ours) come to our house and take some headshots.  I know they'll be great, and that we'll use at least one of them. 

We also will be using pictures from our vacations and such...