Monday, March 24, 2014

Hand over the camera!

My friends have often heard me say, "There is little to no evidence that I actually exist in my own family."  That's because - 1) I am the mom and in most families, moms tend to be in charge of any and all picture taking.  2) I am a photographer.  So, naturally, I take most of the photos.  Combine those 2 things and I'm pretty much never in pictures.

HOWEVER, we've reached a new milestone!  My kids not only want to take their owen photos but they can now handle my camera.  I'll be teaching them a little bit at a time...for now, I just set the settings for them and they make sure the focus is correct before they push the button. So yay!  Looks like I'll have more of a role in the documentation of our family now.  That makes me happy.

Moms/women out there tend to strongly dislike having their photos taken, right?  But, take a moment to think about how much you love seeing photos of your own parents/grandparents when they were younger. What if, every time someone wanted to take their picture, they said no for any number of reasons (their weight, their hair, their clothes or just any excuse in general to avoid the camera). I'm also going to guess that, when looking at those old family photos, not once did you say to yourself, "oh she should NOT have had that photo taken because of xyz reason."  You are just happy to have the memory to see!  I'd be so sad to be deprived of those images that document my family.

On that note, Friday night, my son had a Cub Scout event which my husband took him to. So, my daughter and I got some girl time together.  After dinner, as a surprise, I took her to a really cute frozen yogurt store. They have this awesome topping called Boba which I honestly cannot get enough of! They are these little balls of liquid that you can pop in your mouth that taste really good.  I put both flavors on my frozen yogurt - passion fruit and mango.  Mmmmm.



We had a great time hanging out, eating our frozen yogurt and giving our opinions on each of the toppings we chose.  (Both of us agreed that gummy bears don't belong on frozen yogurt, fyi).  I took a few shots of her, of course sitting in this really cool window with the pillows surrounding us.  Then she asked to take my photo. So, I let her. Now, I'll be honest and tell you I'm not in love with how I look here but it's a shot she took that captures this fun night we had together so I'm posting it anyway.  I'm looking past the things I don't love and enjoying the fact that I was looking at my daughter as she held the camera and took a photo of her mom.  That's what matters!





After a bit, she got chilly and decided my coat would be warmer than hers. So, she put it on...and tried to keep it.  That forced me to put her coat on.  I must say, she looks FAR better in my coat than I did in her coat. And again, I love that could give her my camera so we could both be captured.  Once she saw how poorly her coat fit me, I got my own back, thankfully!


Make sure you hand over your camera from time to time - to your kids, to your spouse, to your friends so you can have a place in your photographic history too.  Now, if you want to be IN the photos WITH your kids, call me!  We'll capture some great moments together and no one in your family has to hold the camera.  Perhaps a "Life as it Happens" session would be perfect to create a snapshot of this point in time for you and your family. You can see more details on that kind of session HERE.

Monday, March 17, 2014

To make you laugh!

My sweet little girl got her hair cut yesterday. Neither one of us could remember the last time she got a real cut, beyond trimming her bangs.  So, when she got 2 inches cut off and her hair shaped up, it was quite a difference and she absolutely loved it!


Of course we had to go and do a quick little photo shoot in our front room. I've been blessed with kids who are always willing to be in front of the camera and have fun right along with me. Fingers crossed it lasts...

Anyway, she had on her favorite jeans...which you can't see in the picture above. But, you can see them below.


As you can imagine, it's rather easy to spot when she's trying to wear them 2 and 3 days in a row.  I don't love her hole-y jeans but she does, so we compromise.  She just can't wear them multiple days in a row or I'm afraid they will start standing up on their own.  :)

She decided the holes look like eyes so she wanted to create a smiley face. This was our first attempt.


However, it was a little close to the ground for her liking so we did another one.  She wanted to give the feeling of a full face. So she got up on her toes and we took this one.


As soon as she saw it she said, "Oh, now he looks guilty." What?!?!  I love my girl who keeps me laughing and who will always have fun with me and my camera.

Happy Monday!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!




Friday, March 14, 2014

When March brings you snow, take snow pictures!

This polar vortex has really been something else this year!  We've had more snow than I can remember in the recent past but temperatures that far too cold for the kids to play outside to go along with it.  I do have faith that we'll see Spring one of these days, though, since a few higher temps have peeked through lately.

Two days ago, we received yet another dumping of snow. While we are all so ready to be done with winter, the positive to this snowfall was that it was the prettiest one of the season.  When I got up and looked out my window to see all the snow clinging to the branches of the trees, my first thought was that I had to go out with my camera and capture it. So I did!  I went to one of my favorite places, Cantigny, followed by a visit to St. James Farm.  Beauty was everywhere!













Here's hoping my next blog post is full of colorful Spring flowers!