Spoiled Rotten Photography’s Personal Project Challenge

SRP encourages our franchise owners and photographers to grow their talent with our annual personal project challenge. One of our core values is excellence. One way to continually grow as a photographer is to continually look for inspiration you can incorporate into your own work through the work of artists of all mediums, nature, and other photographers. It takes getting outside of the style and comfort of the lighting, posing, and styling that you typically do to create a piece of art that speaks to you personally. We believe we are more than just a warm body behind a camera snapping pics of children, but rather artists who are trained to connect with the soul of a child and capture memories for parents with excellence.

This year’s body of work is amazing as usual! I hope you enjoy each of our projects and give some love to your favorite image by voting for your favorite on our Facebook and Instagram page.

Vote for your favorite project on our Facebook Post!

For FUN, the winning photographer will receive and a year’s worth of bragging rights. So without further ado, here are the projects. Please vote for your favorite by Monday, July 31st at 10pm!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Presenting our 2023 Personal Projects…

Photographer: Melissa Guarino
Location: Birmingham, AL
Inspiration for this image: This portrait is of my niece. Her name is Rose! And she thinks she is the queen of our family! I knew I wanted to use her as my subject, so when I came across the image I used as my inspiration, I was immediately able to re-create it to match her spirit! She LOVES to have her picture taken at any time, so she made this session so much fun!
Title of Personal Project: Regal Rose

Photographer: Cessie Neufeld
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Inspiration for this image: I chose this image because I like how dreamy and whimsical the horse and rider look.
Title of Personal Project: Equine Dream

Photographer: Kat Hodges
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Inspiration for this image: Lighting the umbrella inspires a creative option to photos. I chose the little girl since my granddaughter is my summer model. Umbrellas add a dramatic and/or fun emotion to a photograph and lighting it is another impactful option.
Title of Personal Project: Umbrella

Photographer: Kara Kellner
Location: Birmingham, AL
Inspiration for this image: I have always wanted to create this image! I have seen several versions of a girl with an American flag, but this particular one I loved best. I used my niece on the dock of our family lake house during the July 4th gathering with my family! I thought it was the perfect timing for an image that has always inspired me!
Title of Personal Project: Let Freedom Ring

Photographer: Kristen Posey
Location: Birmingham, AL
Inspiration for this image: I am new to the industry of photography and I have always had a desire to photograph on the beach. My family always takes a summer trip to the Gulf Coast beaches, so I thought I would test my new photography skills. This portrait is of my pre-teen daughter. She is a natural red head with freckles and she loves the beach! The image that inspired me to create this portrait of my daughter is an image I have always loved. It makes me feel so peaceful. Now having my daughter as part of this image, makes it even more meaningful to me.
Title of Personal Project: Coastal Cutie

Photographer: Steve Haden
Location: St. Louis, MO
Inspiration for this image: On our family vacation to Paris, we went to the Musee d’Orsay & saw some of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings, including one of his self portraits. My four year old daughter, Hannah, thought he should have smiled for his picture. We decided to make a brighter happier version using finger paints & a big smile.
Title of Personal Project: Vincent Van No!

Photographer: Morgan Adams
Location: Colorado Springs
Inspiration for this image: I just got my first camera and I originally wanted to photograph my daughter. Instead my kitten, DaVinci surprised us both by crawling from under my blanket. It was a spur of the moment and I didn’t think anything of it until later that evening when I was looking through what I had captured. I was in awe of the catch lights and his expression. I wanted to use this photo once this was mentioned to me. The photo I got my main inspiration from was also another B&W photo..
Title of Personal Project: Undercover

Photographer: Carrie Fischel
Location: San Antonio, TX
Inspiration for this image: I was looking up different water effects and photography when I came across this image. It was actually an image used in marketing for homeowners insurance but I thought it would be fun to recreate with my own playful spin on it.
Title of Personal Project: Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Photographer: Amanda Day
Location: Kansas City, MO
Inspiration for this image: I love all of Allison Wolen’s work, as it’s light and airy and very minimalistic art, only focusing on the subjects.
Title of Personal Project: Atlas

Photographer: Christie Tamburello
Location: Birmingham, AL
Inspiration for this image: I saw this image online while searching for a new project to do over the summer. I thought this image reminded me of my youngest daughter! So I re-created it with her…and it turned out to truly reflect her personality! It was fun to be inspired and be able to emulate something with my own talents and skills.
Title of Personal Project: Gypsy Soul

Photographer: Jill Reese
Location: Huntsville, AL
Inspiration for this image: I, along with some others, have been following so photographers on social media who do a lot of creative things with lighting to invoke various moods and emotions. In researching poses and styles I came across a lot that use a play on silhouette. We had a dancer in the studio whose costume reminded me of one I had really liked so we played a little. I liked that it was a beautiful portrait but yet didn’t even show her face.
Title of Personal Project: Little Silhouetto of a Dancer

Photographer: Tracy Sisson
Location: Huntsville, AL
Inspiration for this image: When you think of NYC, typically the Statue of Liberty comes to mind. Several months ago my family had the chance to visit NYC. One of the most exciting new architectural landmarks that I saw is the Oculus (completed in 2016 by architect Santiago Calatrava). It is located in lower Manhattan and is the World Trade Center transportation hub and part of the 9/11 Memorial. The exterior ribs curve out and continue skyward to create asymmetric fins. Calatrava says “it is an image of a bird released from a child’s hands” and intends it to be “a witness of belief that we can overcome this tragedy.”
I believe a dancer’s movements and poses can create beautiful architectural elements. I was inspired to recreate the Oculus with the human body through dance. I chose a measure of dramatic lighting and not a full face with a smile of the subject to represent the feeling I experienced at the 9/11 Memorial and the awe and wonder of the creativity of the Oculus.
Title of Personal Project: Oculus

Photographer: Melissa Tash
Location: Huntsville, AL
Inspiration for this image: Floofy Studios!
Title of Personal Project: Pug Love

Photographer: Sarah Long
Location: Huntsville, AL
Inspiration for this image: The inspiration image I have selected, “Water in the Forest,” conveys a message about nature and its innocent beauty. It is a watercolor capturing a young girl immersed in light and independence. Like the subject within this painting, I also feel my inner child emerges when I am in the forest. I find that the overall impact of this image is uplifting, peaceful and colorful. My imagination led me to visualize the painting in different seasons and brought memories of places I’ve traveled throughout the years. There was a connection!
Title of Personal Project: Eden