Purple Lemon Photography

Workshop Course for Photographers

Nikki Dukes — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 19:09:48 GMT

Effective Communication for Comfortable Clients

brought to you by Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
Taught by Nikki Dukes, CPP
May 16, 2022
St. Louis MO
9:30am-5:30pm
Registration: https://www.ppa.com/events/photography-workshops/find-a-workshop

I'm teaching a day-long photography workshop next month through Professional Photographers of America. This course is designed to help photographers effectively communicate with your clients before, during, and after the session or wedding day.

Having your photograph taken can be a very vulnerable experience. Kids and adults alike need to know the expectations to help set them at ease and know what to do. This will also explain how to let your clients feel safe and prepared, resulting in more natural, honest expressions and genuine engagement in your photographs.

Although it benefits everyone, it can be especially helpful for children with trauma backgrounds, sensory processing disorder, special needs, and even adults with nervous jitters about being photographed.

This course will help you learn to make complete plans for a wedding day, plans both in advance of a session and on the fly⁠—as well as how to express that plan to your clients.

In addition to classroom style teaching, this class will also include a demonstration outdoor photo session with opportunities to practice.

If you photograph people with hands that don't know where to go, people who are nervous, people who aren't sure where to stand, kids who have no clue what's going on, teens who wish they were elsewhere, groomsmen with a poor attitude. In short—if you photograph people, this class is for you.

Photographing Year Round

Nikki Dukes — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 01:07:09 GMT

I often tell people that I’ll photograph year round, but rarely get takers in the winter. It’s been fun over the last few years that families I’ve photographed many times have realized that I’ve photographed them in many nature-driven-seasons, so they reach out to make a complete set. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Maybe it’s the sunscreen I’m smelling on my skin and the heat from the start of summer, but I’m thankful for all the chances to photograph year round. I have been able to photograph under spring blossoms, summer’s carnivals, in the crunch of fall leaves, and folks wrapped in blankets and sipping warm drinks and embracing for warmth.

I remember the hot sun glaring down on us during this family’s engagement session and the cold air on their New Year’s Eve wedding. And countless times with the additions of their sons in between. They reached out midwinter for snow photos to help round out their collection, and we hung in there, watching the weather and touching base every time there was a reasonable chance for snow.

It was so worth the wait and spur of the moment scheduling.

This Season: Nature on my Sill

Nikki Dukes — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 21:56:13 GMT

I focus often in my photography and writing on the idea of the passage of seasons and the details that fill them up. The daily and mundane that become the treasures in our memories. The tiny toes curled under a high chair. The stack of books from the library. The trinkets chosen to decorate a shelf at any given time. Or the jewelry signifying a special connection with a loved one.

This season has been especially trying for me, as I have been enduring a long-term illness and as a result have missed out on my morning walks with my family. As a way to help my kids with sensory processing disorder start their days literally on the right foot, we started taking short walks before school and work a few years ago, and it was a special time for all of us.

My illness has meant that I have to sit out during those walks. In fact, as I write, they are walking.

Being outside is one of my favorite things. MIssing out on those walks is so hard for me. My sons are so thoughtful, that without my asking, they bring me their treasures, showing me the passage of natural seasons during this emotionally and physically draining season for me. I line my sill with blossoms from a blooming tree, the biggest leaves from the tree a few blocks away, or the smoothest rocks. I get mini forests of sprouted maple trees, weed-flowers, and flowers plucked from sidewalks after storms. And an occasional roly-poly.

They bring the walk to me. So whenever I cross the kitchen, I get to go on a walk through the neighborhood, too. The season is displayed on my sill, right next to my full sink, my splattered window. When I look out to check on the kids playing in the backyard, their discoveries and gifts are there waiting for me.

Each season has special details, and that’s exactly what my This Season sessions are designed to highlight. What are the details surrounding you?

Following the Story

Nikki Dukes — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 02:02:59 GMT

I love following a couple’s story as they begin to form a family during their engagement and at their wedding. The chapters begin to unfold, and when their family grows through births and adoptions I love to continue to tell their stories and document these milestones. Seasons often change faster than we can contain their memories. I am so thankful for photographs to engage those memories and remind us of where we’ve been and spur us on to where we’re going.

Several years ago, while I was deep in the midst of our adoption and unsure with every commitment I made that I might have to break it for my own travel to be with our internationally-born kiddo spur of the moment, I had the privilege of photographing Andy and Allissa’s wedding. They recently had me photograph their growing family with two daughters. It was a joy to celebrate the birth of their youngest and watch them cherish their oldest.

As I looked through the lens of my camera there was an instant when I thought- I’ve been here before. And as so often we see in good story-telling, there are themes and strands woven throughout, perhaps not identical but similar enough to connect us to who we were before and who we still are, but yet somehow- different.

I had photographed Allissa in a mirror as she readied herself for the wedding ceremony. And here she was again, gazing not into her own eyes, but the eyes of her daughter.

Also, just for fun, I was struck by how Allissa’s eyes also reminded me of one of my favorite childhood movies, Anastasia. Just look at those eyes.

2020 Year in Review

Nikki Dukes — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 21:55:52 GMT

I started this year by taking a trip to Nashville with Brian for a Professional Photographers of America conference. We took time, as we always do, at the turn of the year to plan for what was ahead. We are usually pretty specific with the goals and focus we want to have personally and as a business. This year felt different. We let things feel looser and less concrete. Little did we know how valuable that open-handed grip on plans for 2020 would be.

Our youngest son did not have a successful start to the school year in the school where we started him, though I think that trial run was valuable in more ways than I can count. We shifted gears at the semester mark, and he began homeschooling with me in January. That took a lot of time away from photography and writing, which we certainly did not anticipate in August. The transition home for him has been critical to his healing from trauma before he was in our family, but we have also learned that, at this stage, he requires a tremendous amount of time.

The first week of the pandemic, I fell ill, stayed couch bound for probably two months, and have never fully recovered. My kids all also started having peculiar medical issues during that time. We've spent most of this year having tests run on our bodies and our house, and tracking down what in the world is wrong with us. The best we can figure is that we are COVID long-haulers. We've remained at home for work and school (and everything else) since early March, and I've only been out of the house to photograph a small handful of times.

Over the previous summer, Brian and I felt like I would be doing more writing this year and sharing some of the resources building in our home about adoption, sensory integration issues, photography, and how these all interact in our lives. We weren't sure how that would all add up. And though we still aren't sure, I ended up having the perfect solution for this year and into next. I have been guest blogging for Found Families, an organization for which I volunteer as a photographer for fellow adoptive families celebrating the new additions to their families. I'll share links to what I've written at the end of this post.

A friend and Purple Lemon bride texts me occasionally and asks me questions that no one else does, but that I value tremendously. What am I doing to fuel my creativity? How am I expressing my creativity when I am not photographing? When even lifting my camera feels too exhausting and it stays tucked away, I am glad for reminders to use the gifts the Creator has given me. I have been coloring, watercolor painting, and planning out of the box homeschool lessons for my out of the box learner. I have been rearranging countertops, journaling, sketching, and learning how to style my kiddo's ever-lengthening hair in all kinds of ways he dreams up.

I have also been dreaming about a way to record the way I feel every day through color and teamed up with my dad in his woodshop to make a special way for me to incorporate that into my daily life with watercolors. I might share more about that process as I test it out at the new year.

I'm not certain how I'll heal or what I'll be able to handle in the coming days. That makes it challenging as January is rolling around once again, to know how I can plan for photography, writing, and any other pursuits. For now, we'll keep aiming for recovery and doing what I can. For those who have inquired, thank you for your patience and support.

Blog Posts for Adoptive Families and Photographers

What is Purple Lemon Photography? Part One

Nikki Dukes — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 03:02:10 GMT

About a year ago when we were updating our website and giving our logo a refresher, part of that process was asking a lot of questions about what Purple Lemon Photography really is. Some parts of how I used to operate were no longer things I was pursuing, and other things have been added to the mix over time.

So here’s the scoop- the fresh view of what makes up Purple Lemon Photography. Each part is like a little slice of my creative spirit.

Wedding + Engagement Photography | Family Portraiture
Fine Art Decor | Teaching + Mentoring | Volunteering + Serving

I’ll be exploring these in more detail in the next few posts, so you can learn more about why we do what we do.

[youtube:gi-_MOwXom8]

What is Purple Lemon Photography? Part Two

Nikki Dukes — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 03:02:09 GMT

This segment is part two in a series exploring what is Purple Lemon Photography.

Wedding + Engagement Photography

When Purple Lemon Photography was begun, it was out of a love for wedding photography that had developed as I worked as an associate for a wedding photography company in college. I discovered that I love wedding photography. It appeals to my love for creating and organizing events, celebrations, and relationships. The varied, long, fast-paced days are thrilling for me, and gives me much creative inspiration. I love working with the families and blessing the couple in every way I can.

Photographing engagements gives me time to build relationships with the couples I’ll be spending the day with on their wedding day, and find ways to visually represent their story.

Portraits

Alongside weddings and engagements, I also photograph many babies, children, and families. I love using the skills I’ve developed as a parent of children with sensory integration issues to engage children in fun and meaningful ways with their own families during their photography session.

Miss the other parts? Check them out:

What is Purple Lemon Photography?
Fine Art Decor | Teaching + Mentoring | Volunteering + Serving

What is Purple Lemon Photography? Part Three

Nikki Dukes — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 03:02:08 GMT

This segment is part three in a series exploring what is Purple Lemon Photography.

Fine Art Decor + Etsy

Since I was young, I have always photographed the world around me. After having a couple of gallery shows in a local coffee shop, we added the ability for people to purchase these prints and others through Etsy or in person (during classes or events).

I’m also dabbling in using these photographs in stock photography.

Teaching + Mentoring

Small, light-hearted classes and individual mentorships are the primary ways that I love to teach photography skills. I offer classes periodically. Also, when I have some interest, I’ll pull together a class to suit those students. Keep an eye out or request a class!

Mentorships are also available upon request, and I’ve also worked with the mentorship program at Webster University.

Volunteering + Serving

One of the main reasons PLP exists is to serve, bless, and celebrate those around us. We’ve done that in many ways over the years. Sometimes, it is through our profits that we support people doing good work, solid ministry, and encouraging things in our world. Sometimes, we are able to use our profits for disaster relief efforts or other challenging situations.

When we were adopting internationally, we used various photo-based events to help us earn the money we needed to unite our family under one roof.

I have also volunteered my skills and time for many local organizations that help with homelessness, newborn advocacy, refugees, families with children in the NICU, Safe Families for Children, and others.

Currently, the most consistent way I am volunteering is with Found Families. It’s an organization that helps adoptive families like our own receive photographs of their new family through either portraits or documentation of airport homecoming events or courtroom dates. It’s often been a long, expensive road, and this is a gift to those families. It’s really critical for adopted kids to see themselves in pictures of their families to help them gain a sense of permanency and belonging.

We don’t often have sales, but if we do, they are often fundraising based, letting people know that they are participating in serving others.

Miss parts one and two? Check them out:

What is Purple Lemon Photography?
Wedding + Engagement Photography | Family Portraiture

This Season: Silvers Family

Nikki Dukes — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 02:10:34 GMT

One of my favorite ways to photograph a family is in a This Season session. This style of photographing results in tons of details, variation, and a series of photos that in traditional portraiture are eliminated to show the “just right” moments.

This Spring I drove a couple of hours to visit a family I have been photographing for a few years to photograph them at their new home. Since I had seen them, they had a new baby, a new home, and big brother had grown up so much. They are in the thick of rock piles and squishy baby legs, singing the ABCs and soft-fluffy animals, and decorating a new house (with tons of PLP photos!). Their new home is near a special grandma who loves to snuggle her grandbabies, and that is certainly part of this season to share.

One of the special parts of a This Season session to me is that we can include so many of the moment we might otherwise neglect, like those quiet moments when a toddler is feeling shy and needs some comfort from loving parents.

These are tender, special moments, which for a parent are precious memories, and for children help them view their preciousness in strong imagery. These send powerful messages to our children about their worth.

Having photographs of details and moments are such a gift as we have them to look back on and remind us of little things so quickly forgotten.

St. Louis Bridal Session

Nikki Dukes — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 01:56:28 GMT

I've been photographing my dear friend Janele for 15 years, since we met as freshmen in college. Do you know that my heart loves it so much that I even dream of photographing her? This year she's celebrating a milestone of 10 years of marriage, but last year she joined me on a bridal session, allowing me to photograph her in her dress again.

Would you like to get gussied up and join me for a bridal or trash the dress session? These are casual, fun, sessions designed to create artful celebrations of your marriage. Send me an email to schedule one today: nikki@purplelemonphotography.com