I’ve always been a fan of a laid back approach to photography. There should be no stress, but somehow it always creeps in…even just a little. That’s why these play dates have been amazing. Moms hanging out and chatting while their kids play away. I just HAPPEN to be there with a camera when they are laughing it up and having a good time. 🙂
Everyone walks away happy…with great pictures in hand! 🙂
-Kristin
Introducing PLAY DATES…a new concept for children’s photography. Here’s how it works: invite 4-6 friends to meet at the park with their kids. I show up with my camera and capture priceless moments of each of the children. No posing, no ‘cheeeese,’ just kids being kids. Each family will be presented with an online gallery of images of their child/children from our time at the park. The approach will be photojournalistic…truly showing who they are at this stage of life. This isn’t a time to get all gussied up and take them kicking and screaming to a ‘photo shoot.’ This is a time to play with friends and be a kid!
The details:
You choose the park that your children love to go to…I will stay for approximately one hour photographing the children.
*This is for weekdays only…during the day or after school for children that are school aged.*
Your friends each pay $25 for the session. Your session is free.
Your will receive access to special digital packages if orders are placed within a week of proofing.
**Offer is valid until February 28. Email or call 562-980-6480 to reserve a date.
This week just flew by…I was wrapping up my Valentine mini-sessions and working a new promotion called Play Dates. I’ll post tomorrow with all the details! I also tried a few new recipes. If you follow me on facebook, you saw that the highlight was black bean brownies. I was secretly blending black beans for a brownie recipe that included no sugar or flour! I served them to the kids first and they loved them and asked for them every night after dinner! Brent says they taste like a ‘healthy’ brownie and when he found out they were mostly black beans he was skeptically examining everything that came out of the kitchen. 🙂 I also made a batch of blueberry muffins with no sugar. The recipes for both are on my Facebook page. Anyway, the busy-ness of the week had me neglecting my blog, so I thought I’d update with a sweet little family that welcomed a new baby brother a few months ago.
Jack and Matt had a By the Bay session this summer and they had me cracking up with them. They are TOO cute!
Then at the end of 2010, they welcomed a new little brother and they are already introducing him to the world. I love his expressions in these photos!
Welcome to life with big brothers!
I don’t have 3 boys, but I do have 2 boys and a little girl. When Jillian was a newborn, I had her laying on a blanket and the boys (toddlers at the time) were playing around her while I made dinner. I heard a little cry and looked up to Cooper dragging Jillian (by the head) or at least attempting to, saying ‘MOMMY…YOUR BABY’S CRYING.’ That third child has to be TOUGH!!
-Kristin
Okay…on a totally random tangent…I’m obsessed with making banana ice cream. Trust me, you’ve never made ice cream like this before! You just slice a very ripe banana and lay it out on a tray. Freeze for 1 1/2 hours and put the slices into a food processor. Pulse for about a minute until it literally turns into ice cream. It’s super healthy, except when you put in a scoop of nutella, but we won’t tell anyone about that. 🙂
Speaking of random! Here’s a mish-mash of cute kids I photographed over the last few months!!
When I photograph my three children, they inevitably end up on the ground. A simple hug gets a little drawn out and the next thing I know everyone ends up in a huge giggling pile. I’ve come to find out my kids are not unique. 🙂 When siblings get close the lines of affection are blurred…and I say this from my own experience!
Let me show you what I mean…
I love how the younger siblings are usually just along for the ride. They look up to their big brother or sister and ‘okay if this what a hug feels like, I’ll take it.’
And here we go again…
I jokingly say a hug from a toddler is also known as choking. 🙂 But, I was the older sibling, so I’m sure I did my fair share of ‘hugging.’
-Kristin
There’s not much else to say about these super cute girls in their super cute dresses, so I’ll just leave you with some super cute pictures!!
It was actually pretty chilly the day we did this photo shoot! I’m so blessed to have really sweet models that are so easy to work with and enjoy this whole girly process of trying on dresses for the camera. 🙂
I had fun with all the props and this is when I tried out the idea of pinning hearts into the trees…which showed up again in my Valentine mini-sessions. I’ve been using them in various colors and they are just so whimsical and sweet.
Book a session on one of the promotion dates and receive a complimentary digital image with your 20 minute session.
Details: $100 includes a 20 minute session at a Long Beach location, complimentary digital image
Dates:
Long Beach
January 17 | 2:30-4:30pm
Huntington Beach
January 22 | 9:00-11:00am
Long Beach
January 27 | 2:30-4:30
Long Beach
January 29 | 2:30-4:30
Like the idea of props? I will help you style your shoot. Like to keep it simple? Great…this location is gorgeous on its own.
Email me (info@kristineldridge.com) to book your session!
I thought I’d switch gears a post a birthday party that I photographed awhile back. My friend Laura knows how to plan a party. She loves details…don’t we all! Her little guy was turning two and is currently obsessed with trash cans. If you’ve had a 2 year old, you know how they get onto an idea and it’s their absolute favorite thing. He loves going to throw things into the big bin and moving them around of course.
All the neighborhood kids brought their trashcans and Laura had a craft table with supplies for the kids to decorate their trashcan and have a parade for all the adults. Such a clever idea and Hudson loved it!
The party decorations were simple and quirky cute. Lots of bright colors and galvanized buckets or trashcans.
I love planning food for the kids at a party and this adorable packaging for the pb&j sandwiches had the adults grabbing them!
I also love decorating the water bottles and this just a simple duct tape on mini-water bottles. And a colorful straw doesn’t hurt. 🙂
The birthday boy was really into moving around the trashcans!
I bought this galvanized tiered serving platter from Crate and Barrel after I saw hers. I love the way the cupcakes pop on it!
The photo booth was set up on the side of the house and Laura made the tassels, etc. from tissue paper to go with the bright poppy party colors.
Such a fun party filled with some really great ideas!
Another adorable family that I’ve been photographing since the twins could barely sit up on their own. I love watching them grow and their big sister is just as sweet as can be.
This was the first time the whole family participated in the shoot and I love the way the photos turned out. We got a bit of everything…my personal favorites were of the girls laughing. Once one started giggling, they all couldn’t help but join in!!
Here are the twins together…it’s amazing how they can look so different, yet be so similar. (Although as they’ve gotten older I feel like they look more alike. 🙂 Twins intrigue me…it’s so neat to see the bond they have.
These eyes are killing me!
