Our 2018 Christmas set was something we thought could never happen. Neal has had the idea to have a vintage Ford pickup for so many years and we were just unable to do it. We were so busy with wedding season, that our annual christmas sessions kind of got pushed on the back burner for 2018 and we were not sure we could do them. We had so many families already contacting to see what the set was and when they could start booking. We had to make something happen. Low and behold, Neal finds this truck out in Pittsburgh, PA. He contacts the owner and says we are interested. Apparently there was another buyer interested too. We ended up putting down a deposit and driving four hours, two days later to look at it. My thoughts were, if we were driving that far, we were coming home with this Ford. We went on a Wednesday and that Sunday, the truck was delivered to our home! Did I mention the Ford did not run?We would be pushing this truck into the set, but we were ready to get the Christmas ideas posted!
We were hosting the 2018 "Photos for Toys", with donations to Cradle Beach again. This year would be a little different as the sessions would all be outside. This was a first for us. We would have to shoot in any weather that was happening. There was no indoors or rescheduling. We were also able to add in some night time sessions. Those were the first slots to book! Everything in this set was vintage and from antique stores. We even cut down 5 christmas trees to use in the set. Thank goodness the tree farm delivered those to us too!
We had a lot of props we could take in and out very quickly. Sessions were twenty minutes and we wanted to do as many combinations with families as possible. This image was from our first night session that had snow. We were hoping for snow every scheduled day, but that did not happen. This couple got exactly what we were hoping for! We always give outfit ideas and this year it was to dress warm for the weather. Any hats, gloves, scarves, coats, plaids would be perfect! Since the snow was falling for this night, we brought out more lighting so make the snow really pop. It was gorgeous!
We had around one hundred and sixty families book slots for the 2018 Christmas Sessions. We scheduled for 5 days for sessions. We wanted to add in a few more, but we also needed to make sure everyone got their images in enough time to get christmas cards sent out. Every year we come up with something different. I wonder what the 2019 set will be?
Location: Neal Urban Studio Buffalo NY.
