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!

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!

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

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!

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.

I’m back!  While I wouldn’t say that I’m actually refreshed (it was a busy weekend!) I am definitely more appreciative of my little man and how flexible my schedule is to be able to spend time with him.  I will be doing my best to not take that for granted anymore!  And thanks for all of your kind comments.  I was feeling a little sorry for myself if you couldn’t tell

This post is for you pro Mom*togs out there.  During my very first solo wedding I had a camera malfunction.  Right as the church doors opened for the bride and her father to walk down the aisle my camera malfunctioned!  A huge “Error 99″ came across the screen.  I had no idea what that meant, but after a half of second of panicking I went for my other camera that was safely resting on the church pew next to me.  Granted it had a fish eye lens on it, but a fish eye shot is better than no shot.

Ever since that wedding I have always carried a backup camera on me (and I actually carry it on me during all of my sessions).  And thank goodness I do because I had another camera malfunction during my wedding on Friday.  During the toasts I was changing my lens and the mirror fell out!  Who even knew that could happen?  And it’s not like I could stop the toasts and say, “Excuse me.  My camera broke and I need to go get my backup out of my bag”.  No, that wouldn’t work.  It’s not always convienent to carry it on me, but for the two times I’ve had a malfunction in 3 years it’s been very worth it.

If you are shooting weddings please, please, please have a backup camera and lenses that can serve as backups too.  I see so many photographers that only have one camera and it’s very irresponsible.  People are trusting you with their weddings!  For a long time I had the 20D as my backup.  I bought it used for $400.  It worked great for what I needed it for!  Now I’m fortunate enough to have the 5D Mark II as my backup, but it’s not necessary to have anything that fancy.  Buying used is great, but just remember to buy from a reputable dealer!

And I would also suggest that portrait photographers have a backup as well.  How embarrassing would it be if you couldn’t finish a session because something happened to your camera?  It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but you would probably have to do redo the session for free and it wouldn’t be the best thing for your reputation, right?

Happy shooting!

I’m writing this blog from a hotel room in Las Vegas.  Alone.  All by myself.  No Brayden.  No Chuck.  No Hauggy.  Just me, myself, and I.  I’ve wanted a break for months.  20 months and 4 days to be exact.  But, now that I’m here all I want is to be at home.  With my boys.  I cried when I left them at the airport.  It broke my heart to hear Brayden ask for me over the phone, “Mama?  Mama?”.  It’s only 2 days, but it’s 2 whole days away from my baby.

It’s my busiest time of year and it’s very easy to get wrapped up in deadlines.  I hear myself saying over and over, “One more minute, Brayden” and “Brayden, please don’t touch Mama’s printer.  Put my lens down.  Don’t play in my office!”.  I’ll admit it.  I’ve snapped a few too many times lately.  It’s impossible to get anything done when I have Brayden by myself.  I’m tired.  Chuck’s tired.  It’s been a rough couple of weeks.  

But, sitting here in my lonely hotel room makes me realize that I need to prioritize.  Work when it’s time to work.  Play when it’s time to play.  Try to have more patience.  My little boy will only be little for so long.  He’s learning new things everyday.  He put two words together for the first time the other day.  I’ve never been prouder to hear someone say “Bye bye Dada”.  I seriously screamed I was so excited.  Today he said, “Uh oh” for the first time.  And he said it over and over and over again.  But, the way he says it is hilarious.  He says “Uh” and pauses for a few seconds and says “Ohhhhhhhhh”.  That boy cracks me up.

I guess I will take this opportunity to get some quality “Drew” time in and rejuvenate and be a better mommy when I get home.  Which will be easier because my wonderful husband surprised me with a massage the morning after my wedding.  By the way, I have the best husband in the world  I don’t say that to him enough so I will tell the world.  143, Chuck.

I have a whole bunch of old pictures on my laptop.  This one makes me smile.  

Have a great weekend, friends!

I was trying to make a phone call (easier said than done, right?) in my office and I heard some rustling in the pantry.  Brayden rounds the corner back into the living room with these:

f 2.0, 1/80, ISO 1000 (VERY dark, cloudy day outside.  That’s why my ISO was so high and shutter speed so low).  Settings the same for both pictures.

At least he’s eating something.  That boy hardly ever has an appetite!

Hey!  Did you know Mom*tog has a Facebook page?  There’s not a whole lot on there right now, but sign up and be the first to know about the cool stuff that is going to be happening on Mom*tog!

Dear Brayden,

This month you’ve learned to much I can hardly keep up with you.  You’re talking up a storm and repeat everything we ask you to say.  You’re a true boy and love playing with your cars and trains.  My favorite is when you get down on your stomach and push your cars around.  You have such an imagination.  It’s so fun to watch. Some of my favorite things you’ve learned to do this month:

-  Put your finger up to your mouth and say “Hmmmmm” like you’re trying to make a decision.  You like to do this in the pantry while looking for food.

-  Pinch your nose when something is stinky.

-  Put your hands up to your mouth when you want to yell.  Your favorite thing to yell is “DADA!”.  Usually in places like Target when Daddy isn’t even there.

One bad thing you’ve learned to do this month is to climb out of your crib.  Well, you’ve known how to climb out of your crib for awhile.  But, now you do it all the time.  Every night to be exact.  This has led to two weeks of sleepless nights for us.  Not cool.

Not sure why we rewarded this behavior, but we bought you a Thomas train table.  All you talk about is Choo Choos so we thought you would love it.  And you do, but you get so frustrated when the trains go off the tracks.  I think you are going to be a stubborn little perfectionist.  Hmmmm, I wonder where you get that from?  You got Daddy’s looks, but Mommy’s personality it seems.  I apologize

But, my most favorite times with you are still our snuggle times.  When you hold my hand and give me big smoochies.  When you say “I love you” by blowing me kisses.  When you hug Daddy with one arm and me with the other and giggle as we give you kisses on the cheeks.  I love your sweet voice.  When you say, “Mama” it melts my heart and I love the way you say “Byeeeeeeeeee!”.  You are growing up way too fast.  I’m doing my best to slow down and take in every second of you being so little and needing me.  

I love you, my B.  Daddy and I are so proud of you for the little man you are growing up to be.  Can’t wait to see what next month bring.

Love,

Mama

PS  I’ve been trying to take my point and shoot with me and snapping pictures everyday.  Easier said than done.  Here are some of my favorites from this past month.

We thought long and hard about what Brayden should be for Halloween this year.  After much debate we decided on a lion.  He loves lions and I thought it’s not too much costume so it won’t scare or overwhelm him.  It will also keep him warm when we’re out trick or treating.  Well, Brayden didn’t agree with me.  When it arrived I showed it to him and he shook his head no.  So, I gave it a couple of days.  When we finally tried it on he threw a fit.  I mean a FIT!  Crying so hard he couldn’t breathe.  So, I guess Brayden doesn’t want to be a lion for Halloween.  And I can’t even return the $50 costume because he drooled all over it during his crying fit.  Now we’re on to costume number two.  I’m going to keep it a surprise though.  I think B will really like this one!

My friend Julie facebooked that people are asking for Halloween costumes for their kids on Craigslist.  With the economy as bad as it is a lot of people aren’t able to afford costumes for their kids this year.  If you’re in a position to give, why not check out your local craigslist page and see if you can help a kid have a happy Halloween?  I’m extremely fortunate to be able to afford not one, but two costumes for my picky trick or treater.  I will definitely be trying to find a local family that we can help this Halloween.  Thanks for the great idea, Julie!

And because I don’t like to post without a picture, here’s B as a sock monkey last Halloween.  I had another costume for him, but I tried it on a few days before Halloween and he had outgrown it!  I ran to Target and all they had left was the sock monkey.  He ended up loving it though!  These are two of my most favorite pictures I’ve taken of Brayden!