With Lady Gaga everywhere you turn, I have those lyrics in my head. Not that that’s a good thing. But, as I was going through Baby Jax’s pictures, I was amazed at how he was smiling in so many of them. I love babies with a happy temperament. It’s like they enter the world ready to melt hearts. I know the technical answer is that it’s not really a smile, but I choose not to believe that. I believe their tiny little personality is showing itself…even at days old.
My cousin, Kyle, just graduated from film school. We were chattin’ it up at my grandma’s and he was telling me all about his underwater housing. I’d heard of housing for cameras, but I thought it was just for surfers. Then, I saw an amazing underwater maternity shot on pinterest and an idea was born. Originally, Kyle and I wanted to have my friend Laura model for us. She’s that perfectly tiny and stylish pregnant girl. But, we missed the boat, because the baby came early. Sooo, plan B was to use my kids as subjects.
Let me just tell you…this was the most fun I’ve had in AWHILE. I swear we were in the pool at least 2 hours just having fun and trying ideas out. I think this is the most I’ve been in our pool all year. See family picture below and you’ll know why. 🙂 Kyle did all the technical-ish stuff and just let me try out some creative ideas. It was A LOT harder than I anticipated. Maybe it’s because I had a hard time staying under the water for long, maybe it was because pushing the shutter was 50 times harder than normal. I don’t know how surf photographers do it!? Kyle’s a pro and taught me all the tricks of the trade.
I should also note that our pool is perfect for this. The funny thing is that our house was bank owned and when we bought it the pool was a literal swamp. We had no idea if it even worked or that the bottom would look like this. After it was drained and cleaned, we were so excited to have such a unique pool.
I also really liked some of these images in black and white. There’s just so much contrast!
Okay, so our family picture. Kyle thought it would be fun to do this. He forgot that I can’t submerge for longer than like 2 seconds. Oh and I wear contacts, so I was squinty-squinterson. I also learned through this experience that Brent is EXTREMELY photogenic underwater. Like freakishly able to open his eyes and be all relaxed at the bottom of the pool.
And here’s Kyle. He calls this one attack of the cousins.
We were thinking about offering underwater sessions as a special promo in August. Of course this is for swimmers only. Unless a parent wants to get the pool too! If there’s enough interest, we’ll put something together…so give me a holler if you’re interested!
-Kristin
I think once people have their own children, it connects them in ways they could not have imagined. Brent had a friend over yesterday and even though we hadn’t met, the first thing he did was notice that my kids were watching Spy Kids. He immediately started talking about the new Spy Kids that was coming out (he has his own children in similar ages to my kids) and boom. instant friends. I feel the same way when I’m on a photo shoot. First some small talk, maybe some high-fives and the next thing you know I’m singing the theme song to Dora.
I’m telling you, kids are the universal language of all parents.
After enjoying a nice long weekend, we head into the home stretch of school. The last three weeks. How in the world is that possible!? I simultaneously like and dislike summer. I like the warm weather, the lazy days, no homework, no packing lunches. I dislike the feeling of being a cruise director (planning activities for every day), hearing how bored the kids are and the generally unstructured days. But, mostly I love it. And thankfully it’s only 3 months. So, by the time the we’ve had enough lazy days, school is ready to focus everyone’s attention.
One of the activities I have planned this summer is another collaboration with Rascals to Rebels! We have 3 days booked for the 2 stores and I think you’re going to love this backdrop! It’s made from century old barnwood (found by my awesome brother in law) and handmade bunting. The bunting is red, turquoise and blue…perfect summer colors! It can be easily taken on and off, so if you’re into the distressed wood and want to keep it simple, that’s always an option.
The sign ups will fill fast, so head to the Rossmoor store or the Huntington Beach store to pick up your cute outfit and sign up for a photo session! Here are the details…
The other day I found ‘how to become a famous guitar player’ typed in my google search box on my computer. Maybe Brent is thinking about a change in profession and forget to tell me. 🙂 OR, one of my three is dreaming about life as a professional guitar player. Isn’t it fun to think about how we can do anything we want! We can create a life out of doing what we love…AND GET PAID FOR IT! The other day someone asked me if I still love what I do. In a word, YES. I get excited about ideas I dream up and families I get to meet.
If the 16 year old me could meet the 34 year old me, she’d be really excited about this life! Being creative day in and day out. It might be a lot of hard work, but that teenager that liked to take pictures would grow up to be a professional. I hope that one day I’m attending a concert of my ‘famous guitar playing’ child. I did just watch the Justin Beiber movie…I could be his mom. Literally.
Just had to share a few more of the sessions from the Botanical Gardens in Oahu. These families are so stinkin’ cute!
I photographed these guys last year and it’s amazing what a year can do! Everyone was shy and not so sure about how they felt about me, but this year these cutie pies were my best friends and showing me exactly how cute they are!!
Another adorable family…. I love when mamas get in some of the pictures. I love capturing that connection!
Little Hawaiian Baby!
I’m so excited to share more photos from my time in Oahu! All the families I worked with were as sweet as can be. I feel really blessed!
The botanical garden where we did the photo sessions was amazing! Equally as stunning as the crystal blue beach that we shot at last year!
And a huge thanks to Berit for putting this whole event together!!
-Kristin
As promised…a few sneak peeks from a photo session in Hawaii! I’m in the middle of a busy week of photo sessions…or I guess at the end of it. But, I’m hoping to find a little time this weekend to post some more. They all turned out so good!
My poor blog has been a little neglected, but it’s all for good reason! I’ve been out of town…and it’s just been so nice to get out of the humdrum of my daily activities that it just fell by the wayside.
I have lots of pictures to share…between the jobs I did here in Oahu and the personal pictures from my iphone. I’ve fallen in love all over again with Instagram. I downloaded the app a long time ago, but to be honest, I’m just to busy to play around with my phone. I re-discovered the app because I don’t like to take my ‘big’ camera with me if I’m not working. I want to just enjoy life and not worry about shutter speed and ISO. Sooo, I pretty much always have my phone nearby and decided to document the personal pictures with the instagram. It’s been so fun! I promise to share some with you when I get settled back at home.
Speaking of home…we are getting on a plane and I CAN’T WAIT to see the kids. It’s been so nice and wonderful to have some time with Brent. And we are so lucky to have his parents that love our kids as much as we do…and are willing to take such good care of them while we’re away. BUT…once your conversations start turning to how cute the kids are and wondering what they are up to…it’s time to go home!
I did put together a few pictures from a play date awhile back. When I was doing the play dates, I loved how the playground equipment naturally lent itself to framing the subjects…in a quirky little way.
Guess what!?! I’m featured today on Tiny Oranges! It’s such a great website for moms of children living in Orange County. I love the it highlights everything from local events to tips from other moms, amazing products and everything in between! Jen is featuring my Mother’s Day special. I have a few more spots left…so if you’re thinking about it EMAIL ME! (info@kristineldridge.com) I also have beautiful gift cards, so if haven’t hinted yet for Mother’s Day, let your guy know this is what you want! 🙂
Click here to check out the details for the Mother’s Day Special. And I thought I’d share another session of a mama with her kids. I love when moms take the time to do this. It’s something you’ll always cherish!
