An LA Temple Wedding

I keep thinking I'll find time to blog the shoots that filled up my holiday season... but instead I decided to start with this wedding from the tail end of it all... because weddings are extra pretty... and so are Megan's freckles.

Prunty Family- Lillie Biesinger, Coachella Valley Photographer

 Some more of this family and their PERFECT LITTLE TWINS over on the other blog.

2 0 1 2 H o l i d a y C a r d s !

  A  M o d e r n  a n d  S i m p l e  H o l i d a y  C a r d  C o l l e c t i o n

A little more info over here.

It's that time of year.

 Here are a few from a recent shoot.  More over here.

If you know any High School Seniors in need... let them know!

A regular session with me is $300 without any prints included...  So if you know anyone in search of a photographer for their High School Senior photos, let them know I'm offering a special right now!  

I've got a few spots open for seniors in the Fall, but am also booking for the beginning of 2013.    

Ali and Josh

 Been working on this gorgeous pair of love birds lately.  LOTS more on the other blog.

Still Taking Pictures

It's rare in the summer out here.  But every once in a while, you meet a family that can handle the heat.  It's not mine.   More on the other blog.

A New Photo Post

Posting here used to be such a regular event... I'm missing it.  Life is busy! Fun/crazy/summer busy.  When did my kids get so old and demanding?  

Even more rare is a post on my photo blog.  It always feels a bit silly that I have a'nother' blog when I long to have time to update this one.  But when I first got into photography it seemed like it should be separate.  Who knows.  But for the record... there's a new photo post over there.

A sort of 5 minute prom shoot

MAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

 

 

This is Mary.... one of our favorite babysitters and generally just a girl I absolutely adore... 

She went to prom the other night and ended up meeting at a house in my neighborhood beforehand... so we thought-- let's take a few pictures!

Ross was gone to the Laker game and I was in the middle of making bread and Finn was in his highchair so we had like 4 and a half minutes.... but when you have skin like peach yogurt and Sid (our friend the make-up genius) does your makeup and gives you extra eyelashes--- four and a half minutes is all you need.

Love you Mary.

The Guarinos

Just posted this cute little family on the other blog. 

summer

  This was my first official senior I think. ?? I don't know why I don't do more of these.  One lovely girl who's not sneaking fruit snacks between shots and does everything I ask!? This was fun.  More on the other blog.

PINK

So I taped a big piece of seamless paper to the wall in my garage and wanted to see how the light would turn out out there.  Then I grabbed the kids off the trampoline and asked them to come help me for like five minutes.  They were already playing a game on the tramp involving these hats?? Judging from the picture above, I'm thinking something with aliens?  Also judging from the picture above, I think Mila will be an uber famous actress someday.

Have I mentioned that Sawyer lives right behind us (or to the corner of us) and climbs over the wall to play every day?  They don't have any fun together.  Clearly.

Working on photos of this gorgeous baby girl right now...

Collage Template... still waiting for some genius to tell me what to do...

So I still haven't figured out how to make something available for download-- so anyone can just grab it whenever... (isn't that possible?!) But in the mean time, I'll shoot out an email for you girls who said you'd want a template for an "instagram" collage. I'll include a 20x30 template and a 19x27 option (which is what I ended up needing for my new ikea frames.) You could obviously make it bigger or smaller, but if you need different proportions, you'll have to do quite a bit of maneuvering. Unless you don't mind the edges getting cropped in the frame etc... hopefully it helps somebody else with a little project!

Just send me your email address here in a comment (*updated since I've realized it's a lot easier to not miss you if it's in a comment instead of an email.)

Also, I posted more of sweet Will with his amazing head of hair over on my photo blog. Check him out.

*UPDATE* I think (thanks to Ainsley!), I finally figured out how to make the file something you can just download. Let's see if this works! I think it should just download right away for you when you click on it. Watch for it in your downloads. You might not see anything happening.

There are a few people that I haven't emailed with it yet, and a few who for some reason, the email didn't go through for. Hopefully you see this and it works! (Someone let me know if it doesn't??)

instagram collage 19x27.psd

instagram collage 20x30.psd

Tips for instagram collage.docx

Collages framed ??

So I really like them--- but I really wish they could be crazy big like the pinterest inspiration. They look even smaller than I thought they would. And even SMALLER in these photos for some reason. They still make me so happy when I pass them since there are so MANY fun moments and memories tucked in there. But I'm thinking I should print them larger and take out the mats.?? Which I'd thought about, but Costco doesn't print any larger than these 20x30's and the price goes WAY up to do a 30x40 at the printing labs I've used. Hmm...

I've had a few people ask about how I did the collages. I made the template in photoshop and then plugged in my photos... of course I've saved the unmerged file without my photos. If someone can tell me where to upload it so others can download it, then I could get on that-- in case anyone else could use a simple grid template for their photos. You'd have to have some understanding of layers in photoshop or elements. I think it would work just fine in elements too??

Anyway--- anyone know how I make a PSD file available for download?

UPDATE--- I learned how! here are the links--- someone let me know if it doesn't work.

And PS. There are easier ways to make a collage through picasa for picnik... etc... I like being able to customize and have a bit more control. But it is a lot more work.

instagram collage 19x27.psd

instagram collage 20x30.psd

Tips for instagram collage.docx

A New Project

I've been loving this idea I saw on pinterest. (Here's another.) And while mine won't be nearly as dramatic with much smaller frames. I just brought home these two new collages I printed at Costco as 20x30's. Hopefully they'll be cute and I'll take a picture of the real thing tomorrow on the wall. If they're not cute... then I'll just pretend it never happened like my walls and my cabinets. (The painter is coming back tomorrow, I think, to see if there's anything we can do btw.)

I know... this is a whole lot of us. I did a combination of bw and color obviously... some quality photos and some iphone photos. Some even with the instagram filter. I couldn't decide which way I wanted to go, so I just did a little of everything.

My Mr. Clean

From a recent baby shoot. This sweet little guy's just four months old. Look at his hair.

And here is my sweet Finn. Poor guy. He's been doing a bit of this lately. He's a year--- and still working on a teeny, tiny, subtle mullet in back. On a good day.

Upon finding out we were having a boy, I may have said prayers expressing how grateful I was for no more girl-hair to have to "do" every morning. If you see my girls' hair most days, you probably said those same prayers of gratitude. Sometimes we hide knots under pony-tails. Maybe this is what I get? Sorry Finn. At least you have a deliciously round head.

Life is Good.

A few from one of the shoots I just finished up...

Life's been busy. I feel like I say that every time I take a minute to write anything on here, so I'm sure it's getting old. I know it's busy for everyone. But I find balancing everything to be getting trickier and trickier for me.

Maybe it's just hitting me hard right now since I'm still trying to get through the last few pre-Christmas shoots. And I'm finding it hard to fit anything extra into a day besides the essential. And I haven't quite put photography into the essentials category.

What me-time things should be sacrificed because that's what you do as a mom? And which ones are worth prioritizing for your sanity and health? I'm sure it's different for everyone? But I think sometimes it's too easy to say "you need that! It's important that you take care of yourself!" ... to others.... or yourself--- the whole world tells you that. And I think it's totally true. But I also thing too much of that thinking can be dangerous. And unfair to your children. I'm trying to find the balance.

This is sounding familiar.... I just remembered I blogged a quote that touches on this...

ok ... so I just found it from this old post.

"Selfishness in any form or degree weakens the bonds that hold families together. The rise of selfishness in our society is the fundamental underlying trend that undermines families and makes successful marriages so difficult."

So I know I need some excercise, and some grown-up time, some hobby time, and some study time, some time for cooking, and cleaning, and organizing, some time for maintaining relationships, time to serve in my church calling, and serve in general, time to be CREATIVE, and be inspired (this is how I make pinterest sound less petty).... time for Ross, time for friends, time to be ALL ALONE..... and yet before there's time for most of this....

Time for my kids. Time to play with them, read to them, make food for them (which could consume almost my whole day if I let it... they are my children and love to eat), time to help THEM be creative, time to photograph them, time to kindly discipline them and teach them, time to bathe them and snuggle them and make memories with them and and take them to the park-- time for fits (this can really put a wrench in any time-table I think I've got)...time for homework and chores, and friends and sight words, and teeth-brushing, and scripture reading--- time for comforting and bandaging and rocking and tickling and apologizing --- time for forgiving... ...... BREATH......

Is it even possible that there could ever be enough time in a day? And then you see (or read) women who truly seem to do it all. And maybe that's where I'm an idiot. I know better than to compare myself to super-women. Some women are just insanely super. Maybe they need less sleep, or work way more efficiently, or don't waste time on the computer, or got hit by a giant meteor, or have just been blessed. And I'm happy for them and grateful to them--- they help us to strive a little harder.

I'm like 90% happy for them--- 10% hoping they're actually secret hoarders.

Ok maybe like 80/20.

SO--- my main and all-encompassing resolution for 2012 is to find a happy balance in my life with all of the extras... so that I can focus more energy on being a fabulous mom.

Another quote I believe firmly:

"No other success can compensate for failure in the home." J. E. McCullough, Home: The Savior of Civilization [1924]

Here we go.

A few more of our family photos...

ooh la la.

Thank you LIZZIE for taking these! You were amazing and made me want to step up my game when I'M the one trying to get the kids to smile. You were magic. It's the best feeling to know I've got beautiful photos to fill the frames in my home!