Mikki Simmons Photo

What to Wear in Portraits

2009-11-20T09:55:00.003-05:00

So, already it looks like my tip of the day is never going to happen every day, since I missed my first day. lol. Almost everyone getting their portraits taken asks the same question, "What should I wear?" Well, the answer is pretty simple: wear something simple. I usually start with the always dependable answer of "something dark and long sleeved".

But now I have the chance to elaborate. If you're a family, the most important thing is to coordinate. For indoor portraits, I would still stand by dark, long sleeved shirts but outdoor portraits allow you to bend the rules. For outdoor portraits, it is perfectly acceptable to mix up the attire a bit and wear lighter colors. It still remains important to coordinate. I know you may be sick of everyone wearing white shirts and khakis (I'm still not; these will always be classically good family portraits in my opinion), so choose something different. Everyone doesn't have to wear exactly the same color but it should at least be in the same color family. For example light blue and a darker blue. You should stick with the same bottoms (all denim, khaki, black, etc). There are exceptions to all of these things but these are some basic guidelines to those who really aren't sure what to wear.

Seniors are obviously a little different situation as well. This is your time to shine and sadly it probably won't come around again until your wedding day. Make the most of it; bring in your favorites, regardless. Show off your personality. However, even for seniors there are some items that will make better pictures. For instance......hooded shirts for girls (1 would be plenty), collared shirts for guys, scarves, hats, long sleeves still make great pics, and solids help cut down the distractions.

Couples: it is perfectly ok not to match but you should coordinate. If he is wearing a striped or checked collared shirt then you should wear a coordinating solid to offset and blend.

The reasoning behind all of this is simple: my focus in photography is on your beautiful, unique and interesting face that is all your own. The less skin that I see elsewhere in a portrait keeps me from being distracted from what is really important: your face. When I look at a picture, I don't want to miss your eyes because I'm looking at the flowers on your shirt.

New Idea

2009-11-18T13:39:00.003-05:00

On Monday, Sarah and I (Sarah being Sarah of ido Signature Events in Monticello) had the pleasure of having lunch with our friend Allison Sobieck at Life is Sweet in Somerset. Allison and her husband own the Doolin House Inn in Somerset, Kentucky as well as 2Chefs Catering. They have INCREDIBLE food and their place is awesome.

Anyhow, we met to discuss something specific which turned into nothing more than a marketing meeting. It was a blast. We shared all of our ideas about what we were doing to generate traffic within each of our own businesses. Sarah said that she was getting a lot of traffic from her blog and told us how we should be blogging (if you're reading this, it is because of Sarah). I'm going to try and make a serious effort to do this on a more regular basis, which brings me around to my next point. Allison said that she was publishing a "tip of the day" on her facebook page status. I thought that was an EXCELLENT idea, which brings me around to my next TWO points. First of all, if you're not a fan of the Doolin House on facebook then you should go add them so that you will receive her tips because their pretty darn good tips. Secondly, I'm going to start doing my own tips. Most likely I will just kill two birds with one stone by blogging my tip of the day that will hopefully (both hands, fingers crossed) tie into my facebook page(s). So, here is my test run. If it works, look for my tip tomorrow. Hopefully you'll get a photography tip, but some days it may come down to the old standby, "don't eat yellow snow."

Oh, and Life is Sweet is a great place to have lunch. It is located on the square in Somerset, Kentucky just beside the pharmacy and across from First & Farmers Bank :)

Ashley & Brittany

2009-09-30T10:03:00.004-04:00

I've been doing a lot more senior pictures lately and I'm thrilled. To me, seniors are the most fun. They listen, they're usually fun and happy and most of all they WANT their picture made. It is a chance to spend a little extra time with the client and their mother (usually) and learn about their lives. And hopefully, it is the start of a lifelong photography relationship.

I'm going to be posting pictures of a few other seniors over the next few weeks, but I wanted to share a couple from the sessions I had last week today. Ashley and Brittany are great friends and I'm thrilled that I got to do both of their senior pics. Brittany is an allstar basketball player (seriously) and Ashley is seriously smart. They both were seriously fun to work with.

2009 Foothills Festival

2009-09-11T13:42:00.003-04:00

If you're from Albany then you are probably already starting to feel the excitement in the air as everyone is gearing up fo the annual Foothills Festival. This year is a big one for the festival that started out as a balloon race; they're celebrating 30 years.

I've designed the annual book published by the Foothills Committee for the last three years. Last year's book even won an award on the state level in a competition for festival literature! I think that is pretty cool. The committee places these publications at all advertiser locations as well as other high traffic locations, so you can pick one up there and flip through it. Who knows, you might even find yourself somewhere in the pages :)

Build Your Own Website

2009-09-07T10:56:00.002-04:00

I was surfing the web this weekend in search of web design information when I ran across Wix. Wix is a free online editor that allows you to do photoalbums, headers, etc. for myspace, Blogger, Wordpress, etc. BUT, the cool thing about WIX is that they have templates to build entire websites from and starting at only $4.99/month you can host it without any ads or ties to wix.com. You can build flash galleries, have unlimited pages, change all of your text and button, and have total control over styels and colors. For additional $, you can even add shopping carts and the works. Best of all, you can do all of this on your own without having to hire someone and pay them mega bucks :) I was pretty impressed by the versatility of this website. If your looking for an easy way to get your own domain and have a pretty cool website to boot, check it out: www.wix.com

Tom Being Sworn In

2009-08-27T09:43:00.002-04:00

Swearing in- Wayne County Outlook

Monticello — Tom Simmons was sworn in as Assistant Commonwealth Attorney on Tuesday,August 18. Circuit Judge Vernon Miniard, Jr. administered the oath of officeto Simmons, who was accompanied by his son, Grayson, and his wife, Mikki.

Cumberland Weddings Unveiled Winter 09

2009-07-05T15:45:00.004-04:00

So, I've been working my fingers to the bone trying to get the next issue of Cumberland Weddings out to press. It's going to be even better than the first issue and I can't wait to see it in print. We did the photoshoot a couple of weeks ago for the cover and had a blast. I'm including a couple of photos but there are tons of great ones. I have no idea how I will ever pick just one shot for the cover. But I'm going to include several pages inside so that I can showcase all of the really great ones.

The models were great; they were Patricia Crockett from Albany, Shannon Keeton (recently wed) from Monticello, Whitney Alderdice from Somerset, Djuan Trent who attends college at Berea and is competing in the upcoming Miss Kentucky pageant and Jonathan Speck from Somerset (and my very first male model). I must also send out a very special thanks to Burton Farms; they were so gracious in letting us use every beautiful thing that surrounded their home to create the stunning backgrounds in all of the pictures. Also a very special thanks to Nicole Stinson who does an amazing job as a makeup artist and to the hair stylist who did a tremendous job on the girls' hair, despite the heat and humidity that worked against it all afternoon. I can't wait for you to see the upcoming publication!

Dale Hollow Dawgs

2009-06-26T12:20:00.005-04:00

I took these pictures in Albany last weekend or was it weekend before? Time has a way of slipping by. Regardless, these guys were so cute. They are the Dale Hollow Dawgs, a team of traveling baseball players from Albany that was assembled by the parents. I think that is such a wonderful idea. The parents have put a lot of work into restoring and reviving the old VFW field in Albany and it has really paid off. It looks terrific. What a lucky bunch of kids to have parents like that and what a lucky bunch of parents to have these great kids. Can you imagine how good this team of guys will be when they get to high school? Thanks parents for letting me take these pictures; I had a great time!

Getting Back in Shape

2009-04-19T13:59:00.003-04:00

Well, I must admit that since Grayson got here that I've not had the passion for exercising that I did before. I still love it and I still want to be fit; it is just a lot harder to find the time. And discipline goes out the window when your 8 hour nights turns into 6. But anyway, with summer just around the corner and the looming thoughts of swimsuits and Lake Cumberland, I've forced myself to get back with the program full force. My wonderful husband installed Grayson' s seat on the back of my bike yesterday. We took a ride around and he seems to really enjoy it, so this could become part of our new routine :) I wish you could see it better, but those are cute little dinosaurs on his helmet. What a cutie. A special thanks to Bruce Orwin for the sweet seat.

Program Photography

2009-04-11T15:48:00.004-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to do the photos for the 2009 graduates of the Practical Nursing Program in Clinton County. These girls were fun to work with and it was a good morning of pictures. I love packing up my stuff and taking it on location and doing photos. It allows me the opportunity to meet so many new people and talk with them. Here are a couple of the pictures from that day. Good luck girls and Congratulations!

The Weekend

2009-03-30T00:09:00.004-04:00

I had a great time hanging out with family and friends all weekend. Saturday afternoon, I took pictures of my little sis while she was in town. We had big plans to practice on some outdoor shots but the weather just was not going to cooperate. I have some fabulous new ideas for new sets, props and locations but we didn't get to try any of them out :(

Maybe next weekend or the next or the next........It seems like we're so busy. Thankfully I wrap up my practicums this week that have tied up so much of my time for the last month. I am so looking forward to new projects and green trees. Tom didn't like the one in the blue but I did, so I'm posting two because everyone sees things differently. There were a ton more, but I've only been through about half of them so far.

New Pictures

2009-03-25T23:14:00.003-04:00

So, I've uploaded more pictures to my portrait gallery that is on my website. You may notice that this same baby boy is in there frequently. Well, that is because he is so darn cute that I couldn't pick "a very best" picture to put on there so I just put them all. Plus, he's mine and I want to continue to show him off properly. And....its my website and I control it so I can do whatever I want ;)

In the future I will try to narrow my selection down. Tom and I just took the new picture a couple of weeks ago and they were too cute not to share. We took a lot at once, so I had more than usual to choose from. He is such a little trooper when it comes to getting his picture made.

Cumberland Weddings Launch

2009-01-28T23:20:00.002-05:00

So, the magazine has been printed and is en route to me as I type. I'm getting so excited to see the final outcome. I did change the cover last minute and it is shown to the right.

We are planning a "Launch Party" for the magazine on February 12th at the Carnegie Community Arts Center in Somerset. This is a wonderful opportunity for brides and vendors to come in and mix and mingle with wedding related vendors and suppliers. Not to mention the perfect time to check out the newly renovated Carnegie. It is a really neat building that is serving a really great purpose: to showcase local talent in the arts.

We'll have hor d'oeuvres and refreshments catered by the Doolin House Inn for you to enjoy while you browse about and chat with others. Stay for a minute or stay for hours. We'll be there from 4-7pm and hope to see you there. If you have questions, contact me at 606-307-3226 or Sarah Burton with ido Signature Events at 606-307-0156. We're so excited to share this magazine with you!

2009-01-01T16:29:00.002-05:00

2009; that is hard to believe. I'm looking forward to a brand new year full of new and exciting things. I'm working hard on a new wedding publication for the Somerset area called Cumberland Weddings Unveiled. This is something we hope to make a semi-annual free publication to serve as a guide for brides in the Lake Cumberland area. And most importantly, I hope to wrap school up by the end of 2009 so that I can student teach in January of next year and be oh-so-close to getting a job that will pay my health insurance again (I plan to keep running the studio though; after all I won't be working in prime picture taking times :)). Yay! health insurance. I hate insurance (sorry Jess).

2008 was a very eventful year. It proved to me exactly how much can change in one year's time. I quit my job in January, started back to school full time, had a baby and opened a studio. If this year is that eventful, I'm going to have my hands full. But hey, that's the fun of it!

So here's to a new year, with new goals and new adventures: let us make the most of it.

Finally Finals

2008-12-11T21:13:00.003-05:00

Well, after taking my last final yesterday (in Physics) I finally feel like I have my life back. I can't begin to explain how happy that makes me. School has really took up a lot of time and energy from me this semester. Thankfully, I'm in all graduate classes from here on out, so I can now devote my entire attention to what's really important. I've got a lot going on and am excited about everything coming up. I hope to take the time to keep everyone updated. Here's a picture from last week. He's happy that finals are over too!

2008-11-06T11:30:00.002-05:00

My little cutie.

Yay!

2008-11-06T10:52:00.002-05:00

Yay! I have finally secured a studio location. After months of looking and trying to find a building that suited my needs, I have found the perfect location. I will be on the square in Monticello. I hope to be up and running by November 15th. I look forward to working with everyone in a more spacious and comfortable environment. Check back for more information.

Also, I've just returned from New Orleans. There were a few good pics.....I hope to have some posted within the next week.

And lastly, I am now booking appointments for Christmas pictures beginning Sunday afternoon, November 16th. Call me to secure your place. I hope to have several different types of Christmas cards and unique designs this year.

2008-09-17T12:32:00.001-04:00

There are absolutely no words to describe how much I love the new man in my life. I think about him all day long and I'm always trying to figure out ways that I can make his life better, happier, and more fun. It's my son! I had a very easy pregnancy but I found it impossible to get excited about being a mother because I was so scared that I would be a terrible parent. But now that he is here, it just seems to come natural and I wonder why on earth I spent all that magical time worrying about something like that.

I hope that I can give Grayson everything in life that he deserves. I'm going to strive to be the best parent that I can possibly be and give him all the love and attention that he needs.