How could I not title the post “baby balls” when this little guy has been collecting them just about his whole life!

It was really cute to see the whole family helping him look on the trail and I bet that years from now, looking at this photo will bring them right back to his toddler years. 🙂 And what a cute time of life!

For a few short moments, these two were hugging and gave me a window to give their mom some great pictures!

And this little gal was on the go…she helped me get my workout in!

And here’s a few more of these cuties having fun with their family.

Thanks for letting me spend the afternoon with you!

-Kristin

This morning I had a chance to talk to the lovely ladies at Bethany MOMS group.  They were super gracious and kind…especially considering I was working off a few hours of sleep and had a few extra gray hairs.  Last night Cooper took a dive off one of our retaining walls and spent the evening in the ER.  He’s OK, just down a few teeth.  Even though I HATE the thought of a child being hurt, it did take my mind off being nervous!

For those of you that don’t know, I’m a self-taught photographer.  I started out as a mom that loved good pictures and was dying to learn how to get from point A to point B.  Point A being the digital camera- Point B was an amazing photograph.

I read as much as I could, asked lots of questions, watched my friend Shannon and then just practiced a ton.  Then practiced some more.  Of course I’m still learning, but I wanted to share some tips that I picked up along the way.  Tips that any one can try…you don’t have to be a professional and you don’t have to own a fancy camera.

I’ll be sharing the list of those tips in the next week on a friends blog…more on that to come!  For now I want to share some pictures that I took today.  After I gave the talk, I asked to borrow one of the kids so the moms could see the tips in action.

Hayden was kind enough to let me take his photo…so off we went to the doorway.  Perfect lighting situation! This first picture was taken with my rather cheap point and shoot camera.

This next one is the same image, but I edited it in photoshop…adding contrast, warming it up.  Pretty basic things.  You can do this!

My encouragement is that as a mom with a fairly simple camera, you can take a good picture of your kids.  It’s as simple as using light to work for you instead of against you…like I said more on that to come.

The next few pictures were taken with the big gun…my Canon 5D.  The pictures are sharper, crisper and have better coloring.  So, yes there is a big difference when you are hiring a professional photographer.

I told the MOMS group to check on my blog to see the images I took while I was there.  Hopefully they’ll be able to notice some of the tips that we talked about.  And a big thank you to Hayden for letting me photograph him in front of all those people!

-Kristin

I promised that today would bring more news about a new favorite location…so here’s the deal.  I found a railroad track.  Not just any…but a railroad track that dead ends into grass (so it’s not a dangerous place to do a photo shoot!).  It’s perfectly vintage.  What a find in the middle of the CITY!

I also previously mentioned that I wanted to spend a photo session every month doing something a little experimental.  My kids are only up for so much…then they draw the line and start calling their agent!  Anyway, right now I’m looking for a toddler boy to do a photo shoot at the railroad track.  Any age between 2 and 5…email me if you’re interested!  The photo shoot itself will be free, prints can be purchased a la carte.

In other news…I made it over to Anthropologie today to photograph the girls for their Carolina concept.  The girls totally brought it!

Good luck, girls!  I hope our version of Carolina knocks their socks off!

-Kristin

Yesterday overflowed with peanut butter and jellies, first graders, editing, driving and more editing.  The good news is I’m ready to blog today AND I found a brand new location that I’m really in love with.  More on that in my next post.

Emily had her head shots done for an upcoming audition- Musical Theatre West.  It was so much fun to hear about how bright her future is.  She has so much ahead and so much to be excited about!

I mentioned that Emily brought along her sense of adventure.  She was totally up for the grunge of an urban shoot.  The juxtaposition of her fair skin and intense blue eyes with the grit of the city is amazing.  Of course we have to work around dumpsters and a little bit of stink, but the result is worth it. 🙂

It’s harder and harder these days to find the grungey bricks and unique doorways.  They’re paved over, stuccoed on top of and “prettied up.”  The location we shot at with Emily feels untouched for many decades.  It has so much character…and that’s what I love about it!

Best of luck to you, Emily!

-Kristin