Love.
The ‘you and me. by the sea’ sessions were amazing! I love each and every image that came out of our time at the beach. I have lots to share, but I’ll start with Chloe. She had so much fun with the props, plus her little sundress and red curls. Adorable.
I feel like I may need a t-shirt that says ‘I survived last week.’ Things were humming along and looking great and THEN I got a bee-sting while I was at the beach doing photo sessions on Tuesday. Thankfully, one of my clients was there to help me get the stinger out of my finger. By that evening my finger started to swell. No biggie, just a little bit uncomfortable. I worked away on the computer and woke up the next day unable to bend my finger…every couple hours the swelling moved down my hand, so I decided to see a doctor. Of course this was after the pool party at my house and shooting a line of clothing. So, I got steroids to help with the swelling and went to the next group of photo sessions on the beach on Thursday. Fast forward to Sunday and I had done almost 30 mini sessions at Rascals to Rebels, hosted a few more dinner parties and my finger was back to normal.
It’s amazing how a tiny little bee affected my week so much! I was trying to stay on top of my editing because this week, I’m taking some time off to hang with my family. All that work last week was worth it. I’m all caught up (for the moment!) and loving life with the use of all my fingers. 🙂
Speaking of parties!!! Every so often I get to photograph the birthday parties of one of my clients. I’ve been photographing Chloe for over a year, so when her mom asked me to document her 4th birthday party at the aquarium, I felt like a proud auntie!
This was such a fun place for a party! They kept the kids moving the whole time from one fun activity to the next. Chloe had a blast and with her adorable expressive personality, gave me one fantastic shot after the next!
I’m so excited about this next photo session…I love going to the bay. Last year I went back time and time again. Always something a little different, always something new to explore. This year, I wanted to add a little twist, so I added a few props and I’m smitten. The little hand sewn fish and the romantic white chair are the perfect whimsical touches. (I made them in all different colors and sizes, then accented with a cute little contrasting button! 🙂 Of course, you don’t have to include any of the props in your beach session, but I think they add such a fun to the photos.
I tried a vintage-style editing too…and it also looks great!
And a huge thanks to Addison for being my little muse this morning!
-Kristin
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
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.
My day generally starts with a tiptoe across hardwood floors to the coffee maker. After a big cup of black coffee has warmed my hands and de-fogged my brain, I steal a quiet half hour to myself…trying to start the day out right. And trust me, I need it. I’ll read my Bible and just pray or think about things that I’m far too busy during the day to stop and think about. Most mornings the kids cross my mind. When you have your own children, you quickly realize that your heart is living outside your body. Their best moments are your pride and joy and their troubles are your gut-wrenching agony. I’m so hopeful for my kids. I love seeing their personalities and talents blossom. I’m equally scared for the moments that we all must walk through. Hurt feelings, disappointment, bad choices, general heartache. When I pray for my kids, I pray for protection. I pray they’ll make good choices and that their life will be blessed. But, the other morning, I was thinking about how we are who we are because of pain. We can’t have character without walking through some tough experiences. It’s so hard, because I don’t want my children to experience anything painful…but I know that in order for them to build character, they will. And my heart will get a few more bumps and bruises in the process.
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!
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!
