life. photos. scrapbooking.

Thoughts on newborn photography safety....

As many of you are well aware by now... photographing newborns is definitely my passion.

It is truly an honor to have a family choose me to capture those first amazing days of their new son or daughter's life.

Those first few days - by two months down the road - seem like a total blur for mom and dad - are miraculous in and of themselves..... As parents, we all end up thinking - was our baby really ever that tiny? It's hard to imagine.

Their growth in that first year goes at an amazing and feverish pace. Doubling in size in just a few months. Tripling in just a year.

Could you imagine yourself as an adult tripling in size in twelve months? Sounds crazy, right?

But it's the truth. And that's why I feel so lucky to do what I do.

The window is so small... and therefore incredibly important.

In my humble opinion - capturing the birth of your newborn baby - particularly in those first few days is every bit as big a deal (if not bigger) than photographing your wedding day.

And for all of you newlyweds out there reading this - I mean no disrespect. The very moment you hold that little bundle in your arms for the first time - and realize that baby is ALL YOURS - you'll know exactly what I mean.

:)

So... even though I have a great deal of fun - I also take my job very very seriously. And that means taking great care of my miniature clients when they come to see me. Their safety is always my #1 concern.

I would never even consider attempting a pose that I felt would ever endanger them. I always have an assistant or second set of hands in the studio, sitting just inches away from my little subjects at ALL times.

And I always allow plenty of time during the session to keep them comfortable. We pat bottoms, we change lots of diapers, we take breaks to nurse or bottle feed. I usually get pooped on. :)

A happy baby makes for an excellent subject. That's just the way it has to be.

So many of the complex poses you see out there on the internet are nothing more than fancy post-processing tricks. Photoshop stuff we like to call "composites." Where we take a few different photos and then merge them together after the session to achieve a desired result.

I'm happy to show you what I mean.

A pose like this for instance...

is really just a combination of these two photos merged together in Photoshop.... Daddy is sitting right next to his baby girl... supporting her the entire time.

or a photo like this one...

is a combination of these...

And by the way - that hand under her head is my assistant Shelby's. She's sitting cris crossed on the floor right next to this little sweetie with her legs under her - mere inches off the floor.

I take this shot while laying down flat on my stomach. :)

Here's my Shelby giving one of our "supermodels" a little cuddle time...

This one... the ever-popular potato sac.... :)

is handled this way...

Here's another...

Pretty neat, eh?

This little love-bug looks like she's floating out in space, right?

Nah - not not so much.

Dad is just sitting in an EZ chair with some black non-reflective fabric wrapped around him barber-shop-style.

Now that I've shared all my secrets....

Just kidding.

Anyone with a computer can basically Google how all this is done... they're nobody's secrets.... And should be nobody's secrets!!! Every person out there who calls anyone one month or younger a client should familiarize themselves with proper safety techniques when working with these tiny little subjects.

I only say all of this because sometimes I hear about people attempting to try these poses in unsafe ways. Not good. Not good at all. So - if I put this out there - and just ONE someone reads it and is then encouraged to adopt a safer routine in their business - I'll feel like I made a small dent.

Here's a link to two more excellent articles on this topic with more supporting photo examples...

READ HERE

AND HERE

Shoot safe out there everybody! Getting some crazy pose isn't worth putting a baby in danger!

Have an awesome weekend!

:)

 

Some things are worth repeating.

It's watermelon season y'all. Thought you might find my chopping method helpful.

Bringing it back... from 2010.

Can't believe how awesomely cute my Macho was back then. He still is.

:)

 

Better late than never, right?

Yesterday was a great day.

I got myself a new card reader...  Woot.

I photographed the most amazing 6 day old little girl... double woot.

The backordered top to the retro polka dot bikini I ordered from Anthropologie came in the mail (just in time for us to go on vacation next week). Woot woot woot.

It was goooood.

And since I got my card reader thing all sorted - I thought I'd go ahead and show you some of the images I'd intended to yesterday.

There was an amazing display of patriotism near our home for the Memorial Day holiday. I saw some boy scouts setting these up on Friday and decided I had to return with my camera and peeps.

This last shot I decided to put my flash on and see what would happen if I dialed it back a bit and used it as a fill flash?

Anyone else ever done this? In harsh overhead sun when you are dealing with a lot of shadows on peoples faces -  you can always use the flash to "fill in" the light where the shadows are.

So even though your camera when set to "auto" may not wanna pop up the flash because it's bright and sunny - try manually popping it up and having a go at it.

You just might like what you get.

 

This has been a public service announcement.

Over and out.

Getting organized is half the battle.

As promised (below) - here's the video footage. :)

 

_______________________________________________________

Oddly enough. Having the boogers in preschool twice a week has kept me pretty caught up with the photography business as of late. Woot.

So caught up - in fact - that last Thursday - I granted myself reprieve on "getting ahead" on things and instead used the peace and quiet - to exercise my piece of mind.

Yes... I got down and crafty y'all. I scrapbooked.

And I was efficient.

You see...  I've developed a new system for helping me to dive in more quickly.

Sometimes I sit down and look at my "TO SCRAP" pile and I just get a little paralyzed. Where to begin? How to flip the creative switch and get busy on-demand? I only have an hour here people! That's what usually goes through my mind.

Usually I start combing through photos on my computer waiting for a great story to come to mind.... or vice versa.... I'll have the story written on scrap paper and I'm hunting for an appropriate photo.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Time's a wasting.

Then there's the process of sifting through supplies... Looking for just the right things that will help the layout sing. Finding those that will help tell the story more completely. The right patterned paper - the right embellishments... finding that bit of life ephemera to staple on.... Just, where did I put those concert tickets... Right?

Any of you suffer from this too? Sound familiar?

And finally -  just when I have everything at my fingertips and I'm about to start cutting and glueing - I'll get interrupted. The phone - the kids - the washing machine.

Derailed.

Fun time - over.

Layouts completed?

Zero.

Mamma puts up a big FAT goose egg on the scoreboard.

Knowing this was the way of things and I was determined not to let myself waste this afternoon in my empty workroom. I had a plan.

In order for me to scrap with speed and efficiency - I lift. I scrap lift. I take a sketch or idea from a layout I've seen somewhere - magazine - Pinterest - blog - book - advertisement... and I run with it. It may be the layout design... or just a color scheme I like... or maybe it's the way the person used some patterned paper that I own in my stash. Something to get me going.

SO! On Wednesday evening, knowing the kids were gonna be in preschool and that I was gonna use a bit of the afternoon to be a naughty little scrapbooker... here's what I did.

I compiled my "TO SCRAP" stuff and started sorting the stories and photos and put each coordinating thing into a simple page protector. Then I started combing through the various scrapbooking magazine tear outs that I keep at my desk.

I subscribe to "Creating Keepsakes" and "Scrapbooks Etc." and when I get them each month insted of dog-earing the pages to the layouts I like and saving the entire magazine (as was my old routine) - I've recently begun just tearing out the pages with layouts I find inspiring and throwing the rest in the recycling bin. I clip the whole stack together and then I would flip through it when I sit down to crop.

But not this time.

THIS time I unclipped that stack of inspiration and tried to find layouts that would pair nicely with either the photos or the amount of journaling that I had already in those page protector sleeves. When I felt I had a match - I slipped them inside the plastic as well.

In addition - I have a few books on scrapbooking (some of which I've written about here) - namely the ones by Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske.

I leafed through those too looking for inspiration. Since I didn't want to rip anything out of these "reference materials," (or as I like to call my two SIGNED copies of Clean & Simple I & II - "my holy grails") instead I simply tucked the photo and/or paper containing my handwritten journaling inside on the appropriate page.

Organize.... divide... conquer.

I was ready for the day ahead.

Did it work?

Indeed it did.

Come Thursday afternoon - I opened one of those books to the first page I had marked with stuff stuck inside and I got crack-a-lackin'!

And I finished 5 - yes that's right  F-I-V-E layouts in a single afternoon. And completed two more the following evening.

I was on a roll.

Mamma's got a new system - and it's working baby.

Ok, folks - it's pretty late right now - and so I'm gonna hit the hay and get this post scheduled to publish.... but tomorrow morning I'm going to film a very short video showing you this great new system and I'll post it here by lunchtime....

So all you AM readers - come on back for a look-see. :)

And because I wholeheartedly believe that every post needs at least ONE photo... I'll give you one.

"Whassup wich U?"

"Awww. I dunno. Same ol' - same ol'. Whassup wichu?"

Say wah?

:)

Oh yeah almost forgot - ACTUAL fruit of thy labor (the layouts people) will be posted tomorrow! Stay tuned.

xo

Tutorial :: Embossing | Appointment Cards

Last week I rolled up my sleeves and created another batch of the little appointment cards I mail out to clients when they book their session. I was running low. Since the process involves stamping and embossing - I thought it would make for a dandy tutorial.

Ever embossed anything? Well... I can say it's seriously mind blowing. The first time I ever embossed something I stamped - I was all.... HECK this card is fancier than the ones at Hallmark! Running your fingers over the raised glossy image I stamped made me feel like I had made something really special.

I was super impressed with myself.

But that don't take much.

I'm uber goofy.

-----------------------

The process is simple really.

Stamp - sprinkle embossing powder - tap excess - heat with a heat gun. That's it.

Here are a few photos to illustrate.

Gather supplies ::

Stamps...

Embossing Powder and spoon... (and I use tweezers to hold the paper while I heat it)

Heat gun...

The few essentials to get started... Craft ink pad, paper, stamps, powder, gun.

1) Ink and stamp paper

2) As quick as you can (before the ink begins to dry) sprinkle the embossing powder over the surface of the stamped area.
3) Remove excess powder...
Tap, tap, tap.

4) Evenly heat the surface with a heat gun. This tool is like an extra hot hairdryer that doesn't blow the air too hard. Soft air - high heat.
This photo is meant to illustrate the raised effect you get from embossing. Once you remove the heat - the whole thing is dry in less than 5 seconds. It's like putting an extra fine layer of candle wax on top of your stamped image. A soon as the heat is removed - it hardens up.
5) Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This pack of cards had twenty five in all...

Next I started on the envelopes. Different stamp - same process.

The packs of envelopes only have 10 in each - so I did two colors.

Now everything was ready for assembly. Appointment cards, envelopes, mini business cards and a little chevron ribbon.
I mark the session date and include a little note on one side...

Staple my business card with a bit of ribbon to the other. Then place inside the little envelope.
That's all folks!

Leave me a comment with any questions.

 

Oooh - I should add - for this project because I wanted the white to be EXTRA white - I used white craft stamp ink AND white embossing powder.

Every other color ink I have I just use clear embossing powder on top.

Ok - Happy Monday!

DIY: Measure Me Stick Tutorial

For some time now I've had a hankerin' to make a piece of art that would serve the purpose of chronicling the heights of the kids as they grow.

I didn't wanna just do the old pencil mark on a doorway - just in case we move someday. I'll wanna take it with us.

My sister in law, Liz made a very cool one for her house - and I've seen a few examples on Pinterest and in catalogs (Pottery Barn Kids, i think?).

At any rate - when I finally got my act together and went to Lowes to purchase some supplies - I kind of went without a set plan in mind, except for knowing approximately how big I wanted it to be. I figured - I'd go - see what kind of materials I could score - and the design would just roll from there.

Let me just say this - it was EASY AS PIE to do this. One piece of wood... some leftover oops paint from the baby's nursery (I can't believe I painted ALL 4 walls this yellow color the first time around. It's beige now - thank goodness!) some Frog Tape, black acrylic craft paint and a small brush and some el-cheap-o aluminum numbers also from Lowes.

The taping off part was the most time intesive thing about it - but still - super easy. A monkey could make this.

Here's how ::

Get some wood - I wanted mine to just fill the side of the bookcase - so I measured the width and bought a 1x8x8. Clark trimmed it down so I would have a nice bit of equal margin on all sides.

Slap a quick coat of primer and color on it - whatever you like. I had some yellow - so I used that. :)

He hung it up with a single screw, drilled through the opposite side of the bookcase.

Hang it up before you mark off the height. Makes it easy - just use a tape measure and start at the floor. Make a bunch of tick marks on the side of it with a pencil - then use a contractors "square" to draw your lines in.

I drew a 5" line on every "foot" mark and a 3" line on every 1/2 "foot" mark. And just kept the little ticks on the side for all the inches in between.

this is what I got...

then I taped off some really skinny stripes and went to town with some black acrylic paint (gloss) from my local craft store.... ya know - the 99 cent job.

Of course - what would a project like this be without a little art direction from my main squeeze - Macho.

I let that dry and removed the tape and learned my first lesson in painting straight perfect lines....

See how yucky and messy? Well - the trick is... after you tape it off - you have to put a coat of your base color on FIRST (in my case the yellow) - right over the tape... THEN the black next. This seals up the edges and anyplace it's gonna bleed through. So I started again - I taped off some thicker lines every 1/2 a foot and went back at it.

First with a coat of yellow...

and then with black... and it WORKED!

Woot.

Looking MUUUUCH better.

Time for the numbers I bought. Turns out I didn't need the 7 after all... but heck - they were just over a $1 each.... so no worries.

I just loved that these were metal and had an embossed effect...

Still... I felt like they needed something - so I went to my scrapbooking stash and tried out some of my colored brads in the little holes at the top and bottom of the numbers. And since I had a hard time deciding which color to go with - I chose 6 different colors.

Once I was happy with that - I broke out some two part epoxy and glued them in place.

Alright - we are cooking now...

And then I took a step back and realized that the little tick marks at the 1" lines were just getting lost - now that I had those bodacious big stripes and numbers on there...

So that meant - more tape and more yellow paint -

A coat of yellow and two coats of black later... it was DONE and hung and looking great!

Again - learn from my mistakes here - and it will take you even LESS time. Seriously folks, this was a snap to do. Just a piece of wood - some paint - tape and some metal numbers.

Now GO!

xo

 

 

 

Vitamix In Action :: My Favorite Green Monster Smoothie

As many of you already know. I'm in LOVE with my Vitamix machine. I'm utterly endebted to my brother and sister-in-law for turning me on to it.

After many requests - I decided to just shoot a very quick iPhone video of myself making my daily greenie. At first - there weren't this many ingredients. Only about 3 really. But as my palette has adjusted to the taste I've slowly been adding things that I felt would be great in rounding out the smoothie as an all-in-one-cup meal. I'm talking about extra greens in powder form, coconut water for extra antioxidants, flax oil for omega 3's, and whey protein - in addition to the fresh fruits and veggies that account for the bulk of it.

Lately Clark and I have upped our game a bit and have been drinking one of these as a meal replacement DAILY (v. weekly)... and the benefits are just huge. I feel like my body is just "cleaner." Like my blood is clean or something. I know that makes no sense at all. Sounds freaky, really. But I mean it.

Seriously - my skin looks healthier - my digestive system is operating with good "turnover" and I have the peace of mind knowing that I've had loads of veggies each week - and loads more over the course of a month.

So - here goes... my favorite green smoothie.

Filmed, in the middle of REAL LIFE... My apologies.

 

Enjoy! :)

And  - because I forgot the BEST PART of the Vitamix... here's a very brief P.S. on that...

 

And because I love y'all so so much. And I think that everyone should own one of these. It's an investment - but one that is utterly worthwhile....

Here's a code you can use to get free shipping on a machine of your very own. It will save you $25/US or $35/CAN.

Simply visit www.vitamix.com and use this::

 

CODE :: 06-006644

 

In case you are interested - I purchased a refurbished model 5200. It has the same exact 7 year warranty as the brand new ones!!!

 

And also in case you want to make yourself a grocery list - here's a list of the ingredients in the smoothie ::

 

Katie's Green Monster

Kale (3 large leaves)

Apple (cored, skin on)

Blueberries (handful)

Strawberries (6-8)

Frozen Banana

Carrots (peeled)

Red Bell Pepper (1/4 to 1/2)

Cucumber (1/2)

Flax Oil (generous drizzle)

Coconut Water (1/2c. to 1 c.)

Spirulina Algae Powder (1t.)

Wheat Grass Powder (1t.)

Crystallized Ginger Slices (4-6 pieces)

Whey Protein (1 serving scoop)

 

 

Making the Envelopes...

Hey guys! Had a few requests on how I made the envelopes for Macho's yearly letters... so I went ahead and did a little video for ya.

Yes - I totally used masking tape to mount my little Flip Camera to the shelf while I was gabbing away. I'm THAT crafty.

Oh yeah - and here's the link for the envelope template thingy that I use here.

Any questions on this just leave me a comment! :)

 

And - here is the finished product. Thank you iPhone for the lickety split - oh no its getting dark and I don't wanna pull out the big camera tonight - shots.

Photo Mosaic

By: Elizabeth Martin

In an attempt to continue decorating my house, I recently decided to put my own spin on a project I saw on another blog: Paisley Press. This particular blog post is where I got the initial idea. I liked the project, but decided that I wanted to put the least amount of holes, marks, and adhesive on my walls as possible - so I came up with a plan. I ended up making this.

Here’s how I did it:

First, I went to Lowes to get some supplies. I bought four, 1 x 4 x 6 boards, and one 1 x 6 x 2 (I think) board to hold it together. I also picked up the following (since they are items I don’t have just laying around my house): wood glue and 1-1/4” drywall screws.

And then I was off and away. I started off by painting the boards the color I wanted to be sure the sides were fully covered with paint before putting them together. Once the boards were dry, I was ready to assemble my project. Here are all the tools I needed:



(1) saw (this is a very puny one, but it works for little projects like this); (2) drill and drill bits; (3) tape measure; (4) wood glue; (5) drywall screws; and, most importantly (6)



wine in a water glass (with ice cubes)...classy, I know. But I have broken too many nice wine glasses over the years (including, just recently, one of Katie’s Kate Spade crystal ones), and I’ve learned my lesson. I am just too clumsy (yeah, let’s go with clumsy) to be trusted with the good stuff.

The assembly process was as follows:

(1) cut the 1 x 6 x 2 board in three separate pieces (20 inches each);

(2) measure and pre-drill four holes in each support board;



(3) apply wood glue to the support board and screw the board into all four painted boards; and, finally

(4) attach two more small pieces of wood to the back and then attach two jaggy teeth wall-hanger thingies (very technical…right?).

Once the board project was complete, I focused on my pictures. I chose my favorite 36 pictures that I recently took of Mr. Personality and Baby Girl. I opened each one in Photoshop Elements and cropped them down to 5 x 5 images. I decided to make them all black and white (everything looks better in black and white) because the other pictures hanging in my bedroom are (surprise) black and white. After selecting and resizing the pictures, I ordered them from Scrapbookpictures.com. Once the photos arrived, I arranged them out on the floor. And then finally I attached them to the boards (with some 3M poster stickers) making sure they were all evenly spaced.  



I have already replaced one picture (a stink bug found its way into our house while we were on vacation and pooped right on my baby’s face) and am glad to report that the 3M stickers work great and come off easily.  Because of the ease of replacing the pictures I plan to update the mosaic pictures at least every year or maybe I’ll do it a couple pictures at a time…haven’t quite decided. That is the beauty of this project you can either make the collage and leave it or frequently change it around.

So that’s my interpretation of someone else’s project/idea. Please feel free to improve upon my ideas and make this a project that would work for your home. 

Video Tutorial: Embellishing Photos with Text and Digital Brushes

Welcome to a brand new week people!

Remember THIS POST I did where I shared with you my first-ever digital brush - the word "inspired" ?? Well, I got to thinking that some of you might not know what the heck to do with it - so I thought I'd show ya in a quick tutorial.

P.S. Disclaimer/Warning : Again, this tutorial will have an distracting watermark over it because I haven't yet sprung open my wallet to purchase the full version of the software. I'm lame, I know.

I will be accepting donations in order to remedy the problem from any of you who are thoroughly annoyed by this.

Enjoy :o)