My husband introduced me to the pleasure (albeit time-consuming) pastime of reading blogs. His favorite blog, Fat Cyclist, sucked me in with it's humor, and it gave me the chance to see a whole new side of my husband as I read his comments on the blog. It turns out he's a pretty funny guy!
After a few months of reading Fatty's blog off and on, I started checking out blogs of other photographers and I was totally hooked! One of my favorites is Audrey Woulard's blog . It's so inspiring to see what other photographers are doing, what their challenges are, and how they balance work and family life. I'll read a blog and think, "Ooh, I need to try a composition like that" or "I really need a 2.8 lens!"
I'm in the process of redesigning my website. When I first launched my website in April 2006, I chose a pretty limited interface because I was so new to the website thing and I wanted something pretty simple to set up. Well, I have outgrown that website and am now working on a site that will essentially have 2 working websites, complete with galleries, multiple text sections, proofing, and product galleries. I've been debating about whether I want to push my wedding photography or just focus on children and families. Weddings are very time consuming and for a mom that works at home, it's much more manageable to edit and work on baby and family shoots than it is to edit whole weddings (digital photography has made me way too snap-happy!) or retouch whole albums worth of reprints. On my new website there is a splash page that allows you to go to three different places. One will be a link to my blog and the other two I have to decide if I want weddings on one and kids/families on the other or something else.
I've really been wanting to do more with my children and family photography, more than just traditional portraits. I want to start doing lifestyle photography, where I go into people's homes or accompany them to their favorite activities and really document them in their natural environment. My dear friend and fellow photographer Cami Nelson that I have worked with for the past six (holy mackerel, six!) years, really opened my eyes to the impact of this type of photography. Her Reflections albums are nothing short of amazing! In the past when I have done my newborn shoots I always just used a simple backdrop with window light. A few months ago I tried doing some photography in a baby's nursery and I was thrilled with the results.
Now I want to start photographing children playing in their rooms, doing their favorite sport, families making pancakes together, or grandparents working in the garden together. As I watch my children grow, those are the things I want pictures of, not just portraits of their darling faces. There is a place for both types of photographs, but having both really tells the story of a family.
Speaking of my girls, they are so beautiful that I put them on a purse!
I've started selling photo handbags by Gina Alexander. I am in love with them! The quality and craftsmanship is so awesome and I always get tons of compliments whenever I'm out. I just had my first client order (Thanks, Brooks!) It's a classic tote with a collage of 6 children. When it comes in I will post a photo.
It's now 12:45am and I better get to bed! I'm sure Amelia will wake up to eat just as soon as I drift off to sleep. Aahhh, to be a young mother!
