Six years! WHAT? 😯 I was very surprised to see I’ve photographed the covers for Lexington Family Magazine for that long! It really has been a privilege.
Katie Saltz, (Deputy Editor, Marketing and Events) and John Lynch, (Editor), do a fantastic job and I’m happy to help make LFM shine!
And just recently, I was photographer, as usual, but also PARENT TO THE COVER MODEL!!
A bit about the cover model experience
At LFM’s yearly Camp Fair, one of the cool things they do is have a photography booth where ANY child can be photographed to be a candidate for a cover model. A bunch of models are chosen from that fair, and the rest are chosen throughout the year by LFM staff and me. Last month my very own daughter got to be on the cover!
The whole experience was so fun! John had been saying for some time, “Hey when’s Cori going to be on the cover!” 😆  Together, we settled that she should be on March’s cover. Being a Spring-themed cover, shooting outside was ideal, but alas, January scarcely has anything green outside! In her genius, Katie suggested shooting at Michler’s. They’re a florist, greenhouses, and garden design located near downtown Lexington. They were so gracious to allow us to shoot there. (John never likes for the cover to be old, impersonal, or outdated, so it’s important that we shoot the upcoming covers relatively shortly before their debut. Also, they pride themselves on not using stock images of porcelain children who no one knows. These are real, Kentucky kids!)
I chose a casual, fun little dress for Cori, and fixed her curly red locks in to two big pom poms. John was at the shoot this time, in Katie’s stead, and the whole thing took all of 15 minutes for me to make a photograph that was cover-worthy. Cori had fun giggling and posing for me. I will say I understand parents’ stress when they’re nervous if their kid will cooperate, or not.  AND if they’ll somehow find the only mud puddle within a mile and splash in it right before shoot time. Never the less, Cori was just as cooperative as the other kids, and she found no mud puddles, so it was a success!
Fame for a month
Perhaps more fun than the shoot itself was the random attention Cori got after so many different people from around the community recognized her on the cover! I was getting texts from everyone saying, “I KNOW HER!” And if that’s not cute enough, her friends at church were asking for her autograph!
I felt like a huge dork stopping in the middle of the busy Kroger entry way to snap this pic of Cori with the magazine, but who could resist when you hear a loud, boisterous, “Mommy look! That’s ME!!!” I have to admit, embarrassment in the moment aside, I was beaming too!
I know our story isn’t unique. Every kid (and parents!) who get recognized on the cover of a magazine walk a little taller!
Pardon my iPhone snap in this picture at the left. I promise I use my “real” camera on shoots! 😆
When its YOUR KID’s turn
Obviously in a magazine shoot, I shoot more than just the cover. I usually make nearly 100 images. In that body of images there are bound to be dozens of cute ones that mom and dad don’t want to let go un-loved on my hard drive only to be forgotten. They should be enjoyed by the kiddo’s family, right!?
Absolutely. So there is a special collection available to cover model clients. Find it HERE if your kiddo was a model for LFM!
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