Pinked Out (girl stuff)

The First Newborn

Mommy-ing, Photography/Business, Pinked Out (girl stuff), This Might Make You Cry

One of the most joyous benefits of what I do is that, everyday I get to be reminded of what it was like to bring my first newborn son home from the hospital. So many emotions quickened through my spirit. Joy. Fear. Happiness. Nervousness. Excitement. Incompetence. Everything. Which of these I felt at any particular moment, usually corresponded to how the baby was doing. If Logan was sleeping peacefully, I felt content and proud. I would lovingly gaze down at his sleeping form and think, “I am so damn good. Look what I did!” Contrastingly, when the baby was screaming, had been fed, diapered, burped, diapered again, and fed again, and was STILL screaming I felt as if I had been tasked with the impossible. “How can I do this? How am I supposed to know what he needs?!?!” My “mom” side just wanted the baby to be comfortable. When moms have a crying newborn everything in our being wants to make it right. We seek out the problem, we undress, redress, wipe down, feed, pacify, and repeat until we can find the source of distress. The first few weeks (months) of a baby’s life we do this, until at last we begin to recognize the cry of hunger, we can discern the angry scream, and we run to the howl of pain. There is no one day that a new mom wakes up and says, “Today, I know what I’m doing.” Rather, it’s a slow journey. A journey through many, many sleepless nights and days. A journey through hundreds of feedings and diapers. A journey through emotions she didn’t even know existed. Finally, after bolting upright out of bed and realizing that the newborn (and she) slept for six hours straight, she races to the bassinet to rest her hand on the peaceful rise and fall of the tiny chest. She releases the breath she did not realize she was holding, and thinks, “I can do this.” And she does.

Do-It-Myself Family Portrait {Part 3}

Info Tidbits, Mommy-ing, On Blogging, Photography/Business, Pinked Out (girl stuff)

Okay, now that I’d chosen outfits, and completed lovey shots, it was time for Abby and Thomas’ session. I discovered a new “perfect” location around the big base lake and was so excited to try it out! We dressed the “babies” (they are 4 and 5, but we still call them babies), and packed up the tripods and cameras and headed out just before sunset. As soon as we arrived, I realized that I had forgotten my reflector! I decided to shoot without it, because I wouldn’t have another opportunity to do the session before the big boys arrived. Setting one camera up on the tripod for video, I attempted to capture the images I had envisioned with the other. Instead, the babies took me on a wonderful journey of spontaneity and joy. I never did get my ideal images; but I discovered something better.

Thirty minutes later the sun had set and Ryan and I started repacking equipment back into the van. I had so much fun doing this session, even though I didn’t get the portraits I wanted. Oh well, there’s always next time…

Do-It-Myself Family Portrait {Part 2}

Info Tidbits, On Blogging, Photography/Business, Pinked Out (girl stuff)

The next step in creating the perfect family portrait was getting some good images of Ryan and myself. We had a sitter for two hours, and we went over to the base lake with the tripod and remote shutter. I felt really goofy running back and forth between the camera and the pose, but Ryan is exceptional at making any situation fun and more relaxed for me. He was also the one with the remote, because when I hold it, it is painfully obvious. My face always has the “I’m hiding a remote in my hand” look. He did a great job and we took about 100 shots. I went through and chose 35 of my favorites, then he did the final selection of 9 images. While I think it’s important to have an image of mom and dad in any family portrait collection, the time we spent together creating these images was even more priceless. Below are our favorite images with a little commentary.

“Is the light blinking?”

“Okay, okay… soft smiles…”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING??”

“Making them exciting!”

“Let me see if we can make it look like my head is coming out of your shoulder.”

“Look at that tree and dream about our future…”

“Alright, look like, ‘What is that random camera doing here?’ ”

“The ground is wet.”

“I hope my foot isn’t cut off.”

“For this one, you are a handsome prince strolling through the woods. You see me and are mesmerized by my beauty. As you are trying to woo me, a Far Far Away paparazzi photographer captures our intimate moment.”

The last one is my favorite and is the one that will make it onto my wall. I used two lenses for this shoot, the 70-200 and also an 85mm prime. All of these were taken with the zoom, except for the one showing me slung over Ryan’s shoulder. If you look, you can see that image shows much more of the background range. Prime (no zoom) lenses work well for sprawling landscape shots.

That’s in for the Mommy & Daddy in love shoot. Next up will be Abigail and Thomas. Wish me luck and see you next time! 🙂

Do-It-Myself Family Portrait {Part 1}

Info Tidbits, On Blogging, Photography/Business, Pinked Out (girl stuff)

Ha! I used those little bracket { } thingies! 🙂

Okay, so many of us portrait photographers make a big deal of letting a professional handle your family portraits. For many reasons; we have higher quality equipment (usually), we have a good eye for composition, posing, and exposure, and we can provide you with a high end print product for your wall, a professional can get you a better portrait than a tripod and a timer. The experience a professional provides takes away many stressors. The photographer can worry about taming the kids, snapping the shutter at the right moment, knowing she has the shot. Not to mention the culling, editing, and printing of a Wall Portrait that will have a prominent display in your home. However, many of us professionals ignore our own pleas and we shoot our own family portraits. Why? I think the excuses vary, but for me, I know exactly what I want, and I only have a short window of time to set it up, and it’s kind of become a challenge for me that I secretly enjoy. I’ve been using a tripod and a remote for many years, and I thought it would be fun to take my blog readers on the journey with me. So, here we go…

There are so many factors to consider when I decide it’s time for a new family portrait (usually once a year). Camera, lens, wardrobe, print size and variety, the list goes on and on. I know that I will want to print it large – larger than 16×20. Therefore, I will use my Canon 5D Mark II. The high end sensor used in this camera provides the megapixal type that will allow me to print big. I know that I’ll want the image to be as sharp as possible, I’ll want the subjects (my fam) to pop from the background, so I’ll use my 70-200mm zoom lens, the highest quality (and most expensive) lens I own. This lens will throw some challenges though, because of my family size. I’ll have to take a few test shots to make sure everyone is in focus and in frame. I don’t just want images of the whole family, I want many sets of images, just like I would provide a client. I have five children, ages 16 to 4, and keeping them all entertained and happy while I’m trying to compose images is tough. In order to maintain peace and sanity, I will break the shoot up into three or four mini-shoots. I know that I want the following shots:

Abigail ( age 5)
Thomas (age 4)
Grayson (age 10)
Skyler (age 14)
Logan (age 16)
Abigail and Thomas
Mommy, Daddy, Abigail, Thomas
Logan, Skyler, and Grayson
All 5 kids
Mommy with all five kids
Mommy with Logan, Skyler, and Grayson
Daddy with Abigail and Thomas
The Whole Family
Mommy and Daddy

Whew! It was tough typing that, and I’m concerned about shooting it. It’s been way too long since Ryan and I had portraits done, so we are getting a sitter and going out for a couple of hours to do our portraits. That takes care of one image on my list, “Mommy and Daddy”. The big boys, Logan and Skyler are only with us for a few weeks per year, so we only have a week to do the large part of the list. While I can only do the family shot during spring break, I can knock out the shots of the littlest kids anytime. I think I’ll take Abby and Thomas out sometime this week to do the shots of them. If Ryan can make it, we’ll do the shots of the little ones and us at the same time. That will take a few more items off the list. After the big boys get here, we’ll go out for a couple hours of pain and get the list completed. Sweet, logistics done.

Now, for the portrait planning. My first concern is usually wardrobe. Wardrobe sets the tone for the images. If the wardrobe is very formal, the portraits will have a very regal feel. If the wardrobe is casual, the portraits will have a more relaxed tone. I want casual and relaxed. My goal is to have fun during the entire process, and I want the wardrobe to reflect that. When choosing wardrobe for portraits, I suggest choosing one family member’s outfit, usually a child’s, that has a distinct pattern. Then, using the pattern from this first outfit, select the other family member’s clothing. I followed my own advice and I chose a printed dress for my daughter as the “Inspiration Pattern”.

From there, I went to the little boys clothing and found the perfect shirt for my four-year-old. While it pulled out the gray in the flowers of Abby’s dress, I fell in love with it because it has airplanes!

The big boys’ shirts were a little more complicated because I didn’t want them all in green, and they are not really into wearing pink. Dedicated to the mission, I kept looking until I found shirts in green and gray. There was not another color in Abby’s dress that was not pink or green, so I was stuck. I stood in the store, staring at the options for big boys shirts. My eyes kept returning to a blue/green/aqua color. It coordinated with the coral on the dress amazingly! Inspiration struck! I would add a shirt of the same color for Abby to wear under her dress.

Perfect! The kids were done. Choosing for myself and Ryan was not too big of a deal. I tried on a couple of shirts that were funky and fun, but, alas, I am not funky or fun, so I settled on a simple coral sleeveless sweater. I chose a muted lime green polo for Ryan, and I was finished.

Wardrobe is ready to go. Now to get all of the images on my list without losing too much hair. First up… “Mommy and Daddy In Love”… stay tuned…

Happy Valentine’s Day, Ryan!

Pinked Out (girl stuff), Random Life Stuff, This Might Make You Cry

I get flowers, you get a blog post. 🙂

Everyday, I prepare lessons, teach lessons, shuffle kids, clean the house, feed the kids, and try to run a business. It is exhausting and sometimes overwhelming. At times, I feel that I just can’t do it all. (So, I stay in my PJs all day, and skip the ‘cleaning house’ part.) I think of putting the kids in public school, or closing my business. Perhaps, I tell myself, I’ll just run away. I used to be somebody. I was a manager in IT. I was accredited in my field. People would desperately run to me and ask me to fix a down server, and I would, then I’d be hailed as the hero of the day! I’d get yearly pay increases, daily praises, and constant feedback. I had three kids and I saw them twice a week and every other weekend. I lived in an overpriced duplex that I loved. I was a stone’s throw from a six figure income. I was rocking the single mom lifestyle. I was miserable.

Then I met you. You rescued me from my stable life of quiet grief. You were so direct, so honest. I had never before had a conversation with someone who had absolutely no filter. If you thought something, you said it. There was no analyzing how it was going to make me feel. What seemed to others abrasive, to me, was a great comfort. You were absolutely sure of yourself, and secure in who you were. When you told me you loved me, I knew it was true. When you asked me to marry you, I was confident that you meant it.

Yes, my life is crazy. But I am at home with my kids. I am working in my passion. I feel overwhelmingly loved by my knight. Though the shining armor is a green flight suit, and the white horse is a C-130, you are the love of my life. You made me believe in fairy tales, in romantic movies, in life. I am happy. (Crazy, but happy.) The past nine years with you, have honestly been the happiest years of my life. I feel safe, I feel loved, and I feel whole. You… complete me. 😀

Improvement – My Second Film

Film, Mommy-ing, Photography/Business, Pinked Out (girl stuff)

I have resolved to introduce film into my business, and by the end of this year I hope to offer a film option to every client. Beginning with an interview, I have coaxed a couple clients into allowing me to practice, but I have not completed a finished product for them – yet. The first attempt should be ready soon. I also have a few models lined up to allow me further experience at combining portraiture with film. Alas, my main subjects for practice are (and always have been) my kids. My daughter’s love of the new Lego Friends line inspired me to produce this film. I love that I am able to capture my own family’s memories in this new and unique way.

Someday, I hope to look back on this film and see the flaws in editing, shooting, sound, and story. But today I love it. Today it is my best work. Enjoy!

Thanks to:

Shade Tree Films – I watched a 30 second clip from one of their wedding films and was so overcome with emotion that I immediately registered for their film workshop. I thank them for being the inspiration to use my camera to it’s fullest.

LensRentals.com – I rented the 50mm 1.2 lens used to film Abby. (Of course, I loved it and will own one soon. 🙂 )

The Music Bed – Alleviating my main concern with film and slide shows – music licensing – The Music Bed offers a wonderful selection of moving songs, including the one used in this film – “Crazy” by Stars Go Dim.