Happy Halloween!
Normally this is where I would post a super cute picture of Brayden in his Halloween costume. Brayden smiling in his costume next to his pumpkin or posing with his trick or treat bag. No. Not this year. My child refuses to wear a costume. I thought for sure he would love the lion costume because all he does all day is “roar”. So, fine. I get it. He doesn’t want the lion head on. It’s constricting. Fine. So, I bought him a train conductor outfit. Because when he’s not “roaring” he’s “choo chooing”. About a week ago I started to get him used to it by dressing him in it in the morning. Not even mentioning that it’s a costume. Just pretended like it was his normal clothes. No. He wants nothing to do with the train conductor costume. I’ve tried. For a week. It’s a no go. So, instead of posting a super cute picture of my Brayden. I’m posting a picture of his two Halloween costumes that will not be worn today. How sad is this.
I’m hoping that when he sees his friends in costume tonight he will want to put one of his costumes on. We shall see. I’m not going to hold my breath. If worse comes to worse he will have to be a UCLA football player. Or he’ll just be super cute Brayden. Will he grow out of this phase? I hope so! I love Halloween too much!
I hope your Halloween is great and that all of your little ones look super cute and let you take pictures of them! Happy shooting!
Great Ages For Baby Pics
People often ask me what are the best ages to photograph babies. For new babies you must have them photographed within the first 10 days. I personally won’t photograph a newborn who is older than 10 days. Why? Because they don’t sleep and curl up as well and because they start to develop baby acne. After that my favorite age is right around 8 months. Or, right when they learn to sit up, but can’t crawl yet. They are so fun at that age because they are happy, smiley babies who can’t run away from you 
Case in point. This little cutie, Saige from my shoot yesterday. She was happy as a clam the whole time!
That was my most favorite stage to photograph Brayden. Now he can say no and run away from me!
And while shooting babies when they are walking can pose challenges it’s still fun! You just need to find a photographer who is good with kids and has a lot of patience!
Get On Their Level
One of my favorite things that Brayden has been doing lately is laying on his stomach and pushing his cars, trucks, and trains around. I just think it’s so cute and I love seeing his imagination at work.
A good tip to getting great pictures of your kids playing is to get down on their level. For the pictures below I was laying on my stomach while I took them. When you’re on their level you capture what they’re seeing. And remember to get in close and focus on the details like their little hands on their toys.
PS I swear my child has clothes! He just ate mac and cheese and I take his clothes off when he’s eating something messy like that
f 2.2, 1/200 ISO 500
f 2.2, 1/200, ISO 500
f 2.2, 1/320, ISO 500
Color Wonder
Crayola Color Wonder markers are magic. Seriously. These are the best invention ever. They still leave a mark when he draws on the table (and I imagine they would leave a mark on the furniture as well), but when he draws on himself (which he loves to do) there is no mess to clean up. Genius! Thanks Crayola!
f 2.2, 1/160, ISO 500
Such an amazing artist already 
BTW, are you a fan of Mom*tog on Facebook yet? If not, you should be! Special announcements are going to be posted there soon!
Canon Professional Services
One more post for you pros out there. If you’re a professional photographer and are a Canon user you must sign up with Canon Professional Services. You must be a full time photographer (the majority of your income coming from photography) and need to have two pro bodies and three pro lenses to qualify for the service. There’s three levels of membership and the first one is free! With each level there are different precentages off of repairs, equipment loans when your equipment is being serviced, faster service times, free shipping for those of you who aren’t near a repair center, technical support and a whole lot more. Check it out to see which one is right for you!
My mirror repair was going to cost me $600, but I got the gold membership and it saved me $180. The membership was $100 so my savings paid for the membership. And it only took 1 day to repair! $100 for a whole year? Totally worth it to me!
And I’m sure Nikon has something similar. Well, I’m not sure, but I’m guessing they do so check out the Nikon website for more info.
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