Monday, April 25, 2011

Document your world.

I'm sure you've all heard of Vivian Maier by now - the nanny who was secretly a photographer. So I've been thinking about her, and how she documented her life and the world around her. I don't know about you, but I love looking through old photographs that tell a story, especially those that I somehow have a link to (my parents, their parents, etc. etc.). My world may not seem as cool right now as my grandparents world, but my children (or their children) may think otherwise some day.

So for the next couple of weeks I've decided to focus my "photo a day" challenge on photographing the world around me. Not just my kids, or what I'm doing, but what is going on around me that I may not be personably involved in. AND I'm going to do it all in black and white. I love black and white photos - they have so much character and some elements become more visible in black and white than in color.

So here's one to start the week out...

Monday, April 18, 2011

You would think newborns are easy to photography...

...but think again! There is so much work and patience that goes in to getting a great newborn photograph. Baby [preferably] has to be sleeping, arms have to be posed nicely, no frowning, no pooping, no peeing, no spit up, change up positions without waking baby. The list goes on!

And not to forget the noise machine, heating device and clean up towels. After all, baby needs to stay comfy, cozy and warm! Most newborn sessions take a couple of hours, but some can take more depending on baby.

This recent newborn session that I did took about 2.5 hours - mostly because Baby didn't want to sleep. (I was more than happy to hold her and rock her to get her to sleep). I definitely got my baby fix!

All in all, Baby Sadie cooperated beautifully. I think I captured the best photos in the end, when she was finally sleeping. Here's a couple of my favorites.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Daddy's Girl

Those of you that have a little girl (or two, or more) know how special it is to see a bond between your daughter and her father. My little girl loves to play with her dad, whether it's wrestling, playing "horsy," or just snuggling. She especially loves to be tossed in the air and swung around.

I couldn't resist snapping these photos while we were at the beach last weekend. (I have many more but will just show you two of my favorite!).

So here's to all the little girls and dads out there!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sometimes things don't go how you hope.

For two weeks I waited for the sun to come out so I could do a photo session for a local children's boutique. The day finally arrived and the sun showed itself! I had my models all lined up and was super excited to get the shots I had planned. The models were brother and sister, age 3 and 5, with the most adorable strawberry blonde hair.

The plan was to photograph a few different outfits and a few products from the children's boutique. All was going as planned as we set out for our first destination downtown. UNTIL...

Go Wrong #1: 3 year old model falls asleep in car. (I don't know about your kids, but when my kids fall asleep in the car only to be woken up in a short amount of time = cranky, non-cooperative kid.)

Go Wrong #2: Wake up 3 year old - does not want to get out of car. Does not want to put on "planned" outfit. Does not want to be photographed.

Still remaining positive, I photograph his sister. She does a beautiful job and is the best model EVER!

Go Wrong #3: Offer 3 year old candy. Wants MORE, MORE, MORE!

So we decide to move to a new location and let the kids play a bit.

Go Wrong #4: Ask 3 year old to put on hat. MAJOR meltdown!

I take more photos of his sister. Again, she works the camera.

Finally, I decide 3 year old is not going to cooperate so I just take a few photos of the kids playing in the water. I got some amazing photographs of the 5 year old girl... and one [good] image of the 3 year old boy, and one [semi-good] image of the two of them together.

Sometimes things don't go the way you hope... but you just have to go with it!