Service Highlight • Custom Wall Design

We are continually adding to the services we offer. Custom wall design is one of our newest services. If you have a wall in your home you'd like to dedicate some beautiful images of your family to, one fee covers your photo session, cost of the collection, delivery and installation in your home. You can even see the collection on the wall before you hang it with our virtual wall design service, which is also included in the fee. All you have to do is send us a picture of the wall you'd like to design (or we can come in and do it for you!), with a piece of 8.5"x11" paper taped to it for scaling purposes and we will provide you with a mock up of what your selected collection will look like. All of our framed prints and other types of wall collections are from our amazing lab, White House Custom Colour. The collection we are using as an example is our Classic Black & White Collection. It's a clean and simple, classic way to decorate a wall with beautiful high-key black and white portraits we took in-studio.

This is an image captured of a wall in my new office I'd like to see some sweet pictures of my kids on. I took the picture with my iPhone 5. Note the letter-size piece of paper. That is a key element in getting an accurate mockup of your collection. Your wall picture doesn't have to be fancy...it just needs to show the whole wall and some of the surrounding space. 

We never pass up an opportunity to rave about our lab, WHCC, and the products they offer. From traditional framed prints to metal prints to canvas float wraps and everything in between, we are proud to provide our clients with their products matched with our work to create beautiful custom decor to fit any aesthetic.

So remember that TPD Studios is your one-stop shop for decorating your home with portraits (we do fine art, too!). We shoot, design, frame, deliver and install!

And, of course, any opportunity I get to showcase my two favorite little people, I will take. :)

Katie M. • Acting Head Shots

I was recently contacted by Thumbtack to let me know that I had been chosen to be featured on one of their landing pages as a Spotlight vendor. I have been active on Thumbtack for awhile but had never actually pursued any of the leads I received. It was time to try it out. When I got the lead from Katie that she was looking for a head shot photographer for some acting head shots she needed ASAP, it stood out from the crowd. She wanted indoor, studio-like shots with something a little unique. I love being challenged by client requests!

Of course, I don't have a studio so I had to get creative. After some thought, I called Sacred Heart Church in Bellevue to see if I could use their space. They graciously said yes. I got there to scope it out before the shoot and the room that I was originally told I could use was full of people. It's okay, I thought. I can work with this. So, I asked to see another room that was suggested to me and it was not well-suited at all. No big deal. I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason. The hall outside the room was very dark but had this incredible stained glass window above a staircase. I had my lightweight lighting along for the ride (thanks, Kevin Kubota!) so it was an instant studio!

I spent an hour with Katie, a musical theater actress, and her lovely and very helpful husband, Jordan. We laughed the whole time and it was a blast. Looking forward to seeing where Katie's auditions take her. Break a leg, Katie!

Oh, and while you're at it, go check out my listing on Thumbtack and tell me what you think!

Thank you, Kevin Kubota!

So, for the last few days, I've been watching Kevin Kubota's lightweight lighting workshop and oh em gee. It is EXACTLY what I needed. I have been experimenting with off-camera flash for a couple of years and so having a reference point for what I've already been doing is so valuable. I bought the course, of COURSE! In case you were curious, my set up is using my on-camera flash in commander mode with a Gary Fong Puffer over it, set to "--"...super low-budge, but effective until I get the PocketWizard system.

Yesterday, I got out my 3-in-1 (best $60 I've ever spent), removed the metallic cover and shot my SB-900 through it with a smaller 3-in-1 on the silver side for a kicker and got some cute portraits of my 5-year-old in our living room. The challenge is balancing the flash with ambient light! Wow...it is SO HARD. And I'm an intuitive shooter. Settings are daunting to me so I go with my gut (I'm usually pretty accurate) and test. I've even got some neutral density filters on hold at Tall's for my 50 and my 85. Can't WAIT to test with them!

Thanks so much to Kevin for his incredible talents and teaching and for creativeLIVE for making him available to the masses! I've enjoyed the last few days immensely and have learned SO much. I feel more able to use any space and the rainy season here in Seattle doesn't seem as ominous because I feel I've been opened up to any indoor space. I fell more confident in asking permission to use spaces in my area and I'm not afraid of the answer anymore!