The Wanna-be Photographer

It's not surprise to the few readers I have out there that I love photography and love taking pictures...

In the past couple of years I've had a few select friends ask me to take photos for their Christmas cards...nothing gives me more of a high than getting a card in the mail at the holidays and MY picture I took for them on is on it!  Maybe that sounds conceded, but it's not intended to be...it just means I'm very prideful in my "work" and get so happy to see that others enjoy it too!

Now, I am starting to have people I don't even know asking me to take their families pictures because they saw the ones I did for their friends or whoever...what a cool feeling.

I received a text yesterday from a good friend of mine asking if I could take pictures of her WHOLE family in December when they are all in town for Christmas.  We are talking at least 10 kids, 10 adults and a few dogs!!  I have done her own little family of 4 the last couple of years...so this is a little bigger of an ask than in years past.  Of course I told her I'd be happy and honored to try. Am I nervous?  Hell yeah, but I can't wait at the same time!  I know most of her family very well, so this should be pretty easy; easy as in comfortable for me...but getting 20 people (6 under the age of 7) to look at me at the same time??  That is going to require a lot of wine (after the pictures are done of course)!

Anyway...to try and track my photos that I'm doing for my own sake and to show those who want to see some of my "work" - I've started a separate blog and I wanted to share it with you all if you'd like to follow the bouncing ball along too.  If not, I totally get it...but that's where most of those pictures will show up...not on here so much.  This will be saved for our regular family shenanigans.

Follow the journey here: http://capturingthesmallstuff.blogspot.com

I'd love for you to leave me comments to tell me what you think...but only if you can be nice! Remember I am still learning everyday...

A Year in Review...Flickr Style {Project 365}

December 1, 2014 - November 30, 2014 I completed an event in my life I like to call "Project 365".

Everyday for one year I had to take a picture (preferably {my rule} with my DSLR and not my iphone). This project was two-fold, first - it was a great excuse to learn my camera and to teach myself new tricks and second - it was a fun way to document our lives for a year.

I.loved.this.project!  Some days it was hard to figure out what the "photo of the day" would be, but I was always able to figure out something (even if it was just a sleeping husband or folded laundry)! The boys loved doing this with me - everyday Zane would ask what the "picture of the day" was - the boys loved to try and out number their pictures for the project!  Zane asked me to download the app on his ipad, so he could check out my pictures anytime he wanted.  Another great thing about this project was doing it with a friend of mine.  Once I had decided to do this, I roped my friend Lori into it as well and thankfully she was on board right away!  It was fun to have someone to bounce ideas off of and learn new tricks with.  She then coaxed her sister-in-law to do it too, so the three of us would check out each other's pictures and comment on the ones we loved etc!  This project was a big secret though for the last year to most people because in the end our goal was to make a book of our pictures to present to our parents (in-laws in my case) at Christmas.  Thankfully, we were able to pull off the project as well thankfully our parents all loved their books!  Phew - that was a lot of hard work and had they not liked it...well, that would've sucked :)

I contemplated doing another one this year, but I needed a break - that was a lot of hard work!  I'm really hoping to get a new DSLR in the next year and if I do...that will be my excuse to start another one!

So now that the cat is out of the bag if you'd like to check out my photos yourself...here is the link:

(it starts with #365 and counts back...if you want to see it from #1, then scroll to the bottom and start there and work your way up): https://www.flickr.com/photos/78603004@N00/

And for funsy's...my book:

Photo Dump

While waiting for our neighbors to show up for their pictures yesterday, we walked around and I snapped a few photos...

Playing Photographer Again...

Our neighbors asked me to do their family pictures again this year (I did them last year too) - mainly for their Christmas cards.  But last year they liked them so much, they had one of the pictures of their girls blown up to a canvas...I'd be lying if I said I didn't kind of get excited when I learned that!  So off we went again this year - new location and hopefully some improved photography skills...

I love that Megan snapped this photo of me taking pictures of the girls!  Nice action shot!

Keep Practicing - Photog Skills

It's no secret that I'm a wannabe photographer!  I love taking pictures of my own kids and even enjoy taking pictures of my friends and their kids.  I always feel a mix of anxiety and excitement when a friend asks if I'll take family pictures for them.  I'm not a professional and they know that, but they are nice enough to let me practice and maybe, just maybe in the end they get 1 or 2 pictures (out of over 200, ha) that they actually like!  And besides, I'm cheap...what else can you ask for?!

A few weeks ago my friend Lisa asked if I'd take family photos for her - I was happy to oblige! Turns out, she liked a few of them - win, win!  I had a great time with them and was so happy that Josh came along to be my make shift assistant!  He has a way with getting the kids to smile - although Andrew was a tough code to crack at times, but regardless, both kids are adorable and heck - the whole family is adorable!

Kabota Gardens {Photoshoot}

One of my good friends asked me if I'd take family photos for her and I never pass up the chance to do a "Wannabe Photographer Photoshoot" - so we set a date and crossed our fingers for good weather! Apparently we crossed them just enough, because the weather was gorgeous this past weekend!  I picked Kabota Gardens for the location.  Zane's 18 mos pictures were done there and I remembered it being gorgeous.  It was very nice this past weekend, but I know in a month or two it will even be more beautiful once everything is in bloom.  This place is huge...we walked around for a long time and didn't even see half of it.  I highly suggest checking it out!

I purposely got there a little early so I could scope out some good spots to take photos...thankfully I had my own personal models there with me to practice on before the real photoshoot.  I'm so thankful that my boys are such good sports about my endless picture taking.  It takes some bribing at times and more often than not it takes me allowing them to say gross bodily function type words to get them to smile/laugh - but it is usually worth it in the end!

I couldn't chose a favorite of them, so you get to see a few - you're welcome!

After the family had all of their shots taken - I took a couple of Zane & Brooklyn together...

Practice and a Mentor {Make Perfect}

I am a classified wannabe photographer.  I love it.  I love everything about photography.  Problem is...I don't know everything about it and probably never will...but I can surely learn a lot more!  I have a serious passion for photography; I want to just get better and better at it.  Slowly, but surely I will.  I know the best way to learn how to take good pictures is to practice, practice, practice and trust me, I do. Ask my husband and children...they will tell you - I'm in their faces with a camera every.single.day (no joke).  But along with practice you need knowledge and that is where Amy comes in.

I had never actually met Amy before Sunday, but through the good ol' 6-degrees of separation I came to know her! Amy is a wonderful photographer; I love her work - I seriously stalk her (which I fully admitted once I met her and thankfully, she is fine with it).  Amy does mentoring sessions and mentoring is exactly what I need.  Thankfully, my friend Lori is also a lover of photography and wants the same kind of help I do - so we tag teamed a mentoring session with Amy in Olympia on Sunday and it couldn't have gone any better!  I learned so much and cannot wait to put it all into practice!  I really hope that I can soon take an editing workshop with her, so I can turn my 'ok' pictures into awesome pictures!  Ultimately the goal is to not have to edit much, but reality is a bugger and lighting isn't always good, your subject(s) aren't always cooperating (see 6 and 3 year old boys) and sometimes, you just need to make things better than they actually are - that's why they invented editing software people!

Our new best friend Amy.

My big girl mocha - so pretty!

After some mentoring and coffee it was time to head out to practice, practice, practice!

Rain was a bummer - but we made the best of it.

Lori in action!

Thanks Lori for capturing me in action!

Best cupcake I think I've ever had came from here!  A must-do when in Olympia.

Next two photos were taken by Amy - thank you!

Love this!

{My birthday and Christmas are pretty far away, but if you need any ideas for what to buy me - I have a whole list of photography must-haves that I'm happy to pass on to you!}

After our trek to Olympia, Lori was nice enough to bring me back to my car...my car was not nice enough to start!  Dead battery...as in D.E.A.D - not "I left the lights on dead"...we're talking "must replace now dead", ugh.  Thank God for AAA, Olive Garden and great friends.  Lori was so sweet to stay with me while I waited for AAA - I was told 1-2 hours.  I pulled the "I'm a single female in a dark parking lot" bit with the dispatcher who said she was sure to note that for me - yeah right.  Lori and I went over to Olive Garden for a nice dessert (so yummy) and sure enough AAA shows up about 30 mins later.  I guess my single female bit worked :)  One new battery, a $125 later and I was on my way home!

Lori and Amy, thank you both so much - you will never know how much that one day means to me!

{Three} Year Pics

We finally got around to getting Landon's 3 year pictures done today - (don't mention the fact we still haven't done Zane's 6 year ones - I debated on doing them since he now gets school pictures...but after Landon's today - I decided that I DO want to have some of Zane done...).

Its really hard to get Landon to not say "cheese" and to stay in a "cute" pose - definitely a toddler!  But I think a few turned out pretty cute - what do you think?