Interview with a Mom*tog – Blue Lily Photography
Posted by DrewB on March 13, 2009 · 16 Comments
I am SO excited for the very first interview here on Mom*tog! For the most part I am going to be interviewing photographers who I love who are also moms. But, from time to time, I will also be interviewing moms who love photography who also happen to be great business women or who have an inspirational story. All of the photographers who I will be interviewing are people who I would love to shoot my family someday. I look up to them for not only their talent, but also their devotion to their kids and for being cool people.
And the first interview is with (drumroll please!) Wendy from Blue Lily Photography.
I first found Wendy’s photography when I came across the story of Stephanie Nielson, from the Nie Nie Dialogues (if you don’t know the Nielson’s story you need to go read her blog, NOW). Wendy took the Nielson’s family pictures last summer and it is one of the most gorgeous family sessions I’ve ever seen. Perfect in every way. It totally captured the essense of their family. After the tragic plane crash, Wendy did countless auctions to help Stephanie and Christian and she inspired me to hold my own auction. Besides being an amazing photographer she’s also a great person with a huge heart. And that’s rad.
Wendy’s a super busy Mom*tog who is based in Temecula, California, but she travels all over the country (check her schedule to see if she’s coming to you!). I love her fresh, colorful, and fun approach to every session she does. She’s funny and honest and has cool giveaways on her blog from time to time. Someday I would love for her to do a family session for my family because I just love her work so much.
Without further ado, here’s the very first Mom*tog interview!!!
First of all, happy belated birthday! How’s 30 treating you?
30 feels great! Really, it’s nothing like the depressing milestone I thought it would be. Instead I feel more alive and more accomplished than I ever have before. Doesn’t mean it’s true, but I do feel that way!
How many kids do you have and how old are they?
I have two kids. Isaac is 4 and Isabelle is almost 3. They are crazy.
How long have you been in business and how did you get started?
I started Blue Lily in April of 2007. So, not that long ago. I really only started because my friends said I should. So I did. I started small, just with a few sessions a month for a while, and then BOOM. I could never look back!
You are busy, busy, busy! How do you balance mommy time and work time and still find time for you? Do you limit the number of shoots you take per week?
I do appear to be quite busy, don’t I? I feel like I still have a bunch of free time most of the time, and that’s good. My husband is home A LOT and is extremely available to the children, which is wonderful.
My mommy time and work time only collide when I have a trip or a wedding, and the occasional newborn session in the morning. Otherwise I try to stay away from the computer until my kids are in bed!
My me-time still coincides with work time because I really do love it and feel uplifted by it. It’s not exactly “work”, you know? And I just LOVE staying up at night editing pictures and watching what I want on TV or listening to non-kids songs. I get plenty of ME time!
A lot of people ask me if I limit my number of shoots per week. The answer is no, unless my schedule fills up so much that there is no daylight left to schedule (usually this happens when I travel to other states). I’m of the school of the school of thought that if there’s a paying job, I’ll take it!
What is a typical day like for you?
Hmmm. This is a fun one. I wake up at 8 am to my son’s face directly in front of mine. We go get up Isabelle and eat breakfast together, then take Isaac to preschool or go run errands. Seems like there is a LOT of errand running. We do the nap thing mid-day, then after naps daddy gets home and we’ll usually take a long walk to the park to wear out the munchkins. If I have a shoot, my husband Tyler is very happy to spend time with the kids alone. I am a lucky woman. My kids go to bed really early, like at 6:30. So the rest of the night, Tyler and I cuddle on our couch and watch the TV favorites, or sometimes play Mario Cart Wii. Then he goes to bed and I work until about midnight or 1 AM.
What’s in your camera bag? If you could pick one lens and one lens only, which would it be?
First off I must mention that my camera bag is a shootsac. which I LOVE. It is hands down the best camera bag EVER.
Ahem. Back to topic. I’ve got my Nikon 50mm 1.8, a 70-200 2.8, a 17-35 2.8, a 60mm macro and a 28-70 2.8. If I could pick just one lens, it would definitely be the super inexpensive 50mm 1.8. I love cheap awesome things and that lens definitely fits that description.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I get inspiration from times of boredom. Really! My mind is always running, but when I’m bored it comes up with some pretty cool ideas! Hah. I really do get tons of inspiration from reading other blogs, photo-blog or not. I love
Brianna Graham’s work and whenever I look at her stuff I feel like I can create anything I want. Then I try to be amazing like her and fail. Which means: I just need to try to be my own kind of amazing. Sounds lame, I know.
You travel quite a bit. How do you keep in touch with your kids on the road?
I keep in touch via phone calls and video chat. The kids are funny about talking to me… it’s boring compared to the exciting activities going on with daddy at home. But when they do have a moment to spare from their exciting schedule they love to make funny faces at me in video chat, or pretend they are shrinking by slowly lowering themselves below camera level, which makes me laugh. It’s a whole new side of my kids I don’t get to see when I’m there.
Do your kids get sick of having a camera in their face all of the time?
No, really it’s quite the opposite. I should take more pictures of them, but it’s hard to get candid shots because when I bring out the camera they hug one another and strike perfect pose. Hilarious! Poor kids are destined to be models of some type.
What is your favorite image you’ve taken of your kids recently?
I love this photo because they did this all on their own during a mentoring session. You see what I mean? They are total posers. They learn a lot by what they see in my pictures of other children.
Do you have any tips or secrets to share for all of the Mom*togs?
Just yesterday I gave a lecture to local moms with tips on how to make their photos more interesting. I think the tips the audience liked best were the tips about making a more creative picture- like getting a bird’s eye view of a room or getting down onto children’s level. I used this picture of my daughter in her crib as an example.
This picture is really special and if I hadn’t taken it from this angle it wouldn’t have meant as much to me. But since I got way up high to take it, it reminds me of so many things: like how I loved to come in and get my daughter up from her nap, and see her standing at the rail waiting; or how my son always wears underwear around the house; or how both of my kids use a fan or noisemaker to sleep; or the ugly color of carpet we used to have that is now so endearing to me.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
MY iPhone! It’s definitely my security blankie.
Favorites
Place to shop for kids clothes:
for boys, Crewcuts or Gap or miniboden
Place to shop for your clothes:
Target or Anthropologie
Blog to stalk:
Vacation spot:
Man…. we really don’t take vacations. I’d have to go with Hawaii even though it’s been 18 years since I’ve been there.
Activity to do with the kids on a random weekday:
We love to head to Disneyland randomly. So close, and so fun!
Food to cook:
toast.
Thing about your job:
Traveling. Hands down, it is the best perk of this gig.
Thank you so much, Wendy! I appreciate the time you took to answer these questions and I’m sure all of the other Mom*togs out there do as well!
About DrewB
I’ve started this blog as a way to connect with other moms who love photography. Whether you are a professional photographer who is looking for advice on how to manage your own business and your family or if you are a mom who is looking for tips on how to take better pictures of your kids, I hope that you can find some good information and be inspired!
I love bluelilly photography! Thank you for that great interview… will she ever be in Oklahoma????
katherine’s last blog post..Sip n See
What a great interview. I love her and her blog, I check it every day. Thanks for having her!!
Tracy’s last blog post..mitchell family follow-up
I love bluelily and the nienie dialogues. I can’t wait to become a momtog one day! I absolutely adore this blog and drewb of course
she is to blame for my nie nie obsession after all 
Great post!
I loved this! Thanks Drew and Wendy!
Bobbie Brown’s last blog post..Aaaahhhhhh….
Wow drew, thanks for doing these.. how fun it is to read about other mom photographers just like me. How the heck does she get her kids to bed at 6:30 and get to wake up at 8:00am… that sounds WONDERFUL! Love her pics and I would love to hear more about the shotsac camera bag. I am in the process of trying to find a cute and fun camera bag.
I have loved Blue Lily since I found her blog. Such awesome images and a hilarious style of writing. Love your blog too!
AWESOME!
I heart Wendy and her wonderful photography! What a perfect choice to have on your blog, Drew!
I came here because of your interview with BlueLily (whose work I love), but also really enjoyed checking out your blog. I’ll be back.
What a cool blog idea!! I myself am a mom who loves good photography. I wish I had more of the talent in me. I’m sure at some season of my life I can work on it and get good at it. Wendy is one of the most talented photographers I’ve ever met. The best part about her family shoots is how FAST she is AND she gets the kids to be so comfortabe around her that they’ll do anything for her. I’m excited to keep up on your blog!
Krystal’s last blog post..Call me crazy…for cookies.
Wendy is such an amazing success. She is inspiring to know.
This was a great great interview! And I’m so so glad I found your blog! What a perfect mom-tog to start with! Love it!
You said it all when you said she is an amazing photographer with a big heart. Her big heart is what I love most about her but her photography is a close second. She is inspiring to me as a mom because she is such a wonderful mom. I see the things she does WITH and FOR her kids and it makes me want to be a better mom.
I am constantly impressed with the artistic talent that Wendy has. She has taken the most wonderful pictures of my grandchildren.
I think I might cry. THANKS GUYS, you are too nice.
Wendy’s last blog post..verbology (giveaway below)
Great bonding with the mother and their son
it looks like wonderful photos..
I really like it ..
Thanks