Brayden’s Birthday Shoot – Behind the Scenes
For Brayden’s birthday shoot this year I really wanted to make it fun for him. No one ever believes me when I say this, but he really doesn’t like getting his picture taken. Or, I suppose I should say, he really doesn’t like it when I take his pictures!
He can be really shy so I thought about doing an indoor shoot where he would be most comofortable. Plus, we were really limited on time so I thought indoors would be best in case we get bad weather.
I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was really cool, but too similar to what I did last year. I decided to adapt it and tape the balloons to the wall in my studio instead. Brayden loves rainbows and I knew the color would pop really well. We blew up the balloons with a balloon pump (don’t use helium!) and simply taped them along the wall. I wasn’t sure the tape would hold, but luckily it did. I didn’t want to have to put that many holes in the wall!
I also saw these streamers on Pinterest and loved them. They are really easy to make and took no time at all! I used construction paper that was bigger than your normal 8.5 x 11 (maybe 8.5 x 22?). We hung all the streamers the night before and that ended up working out really well. They stretched out a lot overnight and looked even better!
Lastly, I bought a confetti gun, which was SO much fun. Except, it was really loud and Kennedy did not like it 
When Brayden walked in and saw the set up for the first time he said, “Wow, I love this party mommy! It’s so cool!”. And you know if Brayden says it’s cool, then it must be really cool! I just wanted him to love it and I think it shows in the pictures that he really did. It was simple and fun and no tears on this shoot! Yeah!
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 1.2
F 2.0, 1/200, ISO 320
Happy Birthday, Mom*tog!
3 years ago Mom*tog started as an idea. A fun place to blog pictures of my boy and connect with other moms who had a passion for photography.
567 posts, over 11,000 comments, 1.3 million hits (whoa!), almost 600 of you blogging on Real Mom*togs, and 1 baby later, Mom*tog has become more than just a blog. It has become a place where we can encourage each other as moms and photographers, a place where we can relate to one another, and a place where friendships are made. I so appreciate each and every one of you coming to my little blog, looking at (endless amounts of) pictures of my kids, and reading my words. You all are such a great support system to me and I hope you have learned a little here along the way as well. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Mom*tog would not be what it is without each and every one of you.
For the birthday of Mom*tog I always like to release a new project. This is one I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time. But, I’m no graphic designer so I approached the girls over at Photo Card Boutique for their expertise.
Each year when I make my own personal family albums I can never find album templates that work. I end up buying several templates and then piecing them together to get the right look for my family album. It’s very time consuming and also costly. I wanted to come up with a line of templates for moms and by moms.
The first template is the ABC Line, which is inspired by ABC board books. I wanted an ABC album for Kennedy that could be personalized to our family.
The entire album can be customized for your pictures and your text as well. I can’t wait to get this ordered for Kennedy. She will love it (and so will Brayden!).
The second line was inspired by the letters I write to Kennedy each month. People always ask me what I do with them. Well, this is what I’m doing with them. Each month I insert the letter into this template and add pictures. I plan on giving it to her maybe when she’s 18 or she gets married. Or maybe I’ll wait until she has her own kids. I wanted the album to be an heirloom piece and have a timeless design. There are places for letters, stats, memorable moments, and pictures. And of course all the text is totally customizable.
And don’t worry, there will be a boy design coming soon!
There are also corresponding invitations
blog boards (love these)
and much, much more!
You do need Photoshop to use these templates. Intimidated by Photoshop? Don’t worry, the templates are user friendly and we’ll be adding some video tutorials to help you out soon!
As a birthday present to you all templates in the Mom*tog line are 25% off for the next 3 days! Yeah!
I can’t wait to get more designs up. It’s so fun working with Angie and Katie to come up with templates for moms just like us. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Mpix
If you’re already on Mpix’s mailing list, you may have recognized some super cute kids on their recent Valentine’s Day email. Oh, and you might have spotted me too
You’ll be seeing even more of us in the coming months on Mpix. I’m SUPER excited to be working with them and introducing you to their fabulous products. I’ll also be doing some guest posting on their blog. And maybe there will be some giveaways here and there too!
Let me tell you, people. I’m picky when it comes to my prints. I always get asked where I print my prints and Mpix is the only place I will recommend. See, they have a professional lab as well. So you know you are getting the same quality as a professional photographer (if you’re a pro photographer check out Mpix Pro!). I also love how cute their templates are. Super modern, fun, and not cheesy at all! You simply drag and drop your photos into their templates. No Photoshop needed!
Not only is Mpix an amazing lab, but their customer service is top notch. I think it’s because they are from Kansas. And all people from Kansas are nice, right?
Be sure to check out Mpix if you haven’t already!
Out With The Old…
Exactly one year ago I did something spontaneous and crazy. Well, not super spontaneous because I had been dreaming about it since they day I decided to become a photographer. Exactly one year ago I signed the lease on my very first studio. To say it was bad timing was an understatement. I was pregnant with Kennedy, I was crazy busy with DrewB Photography and with Mom*tog. But, I saw an opportunity to grow my newborn side of my business and I took it.
I was never really able to invest the time in that studio to make it what I really wanted. I think maybe I knew in the back of my mind that I wasn’t going to be there for long. I loved it and it worked for me, but I guess I just knew something better would come along. Before I renewed my lease I decided to look and make sure there wasn’t a better space for me. Low and behold I found the most PERFECT space. It’s amazing. AND it has EXPOSED BRICK! That’s not something that you can find very easily in Orange County. The building I’m in now is almost 100 years old. It has character, charm, and gorgeous light (and a ghost, apparently).
Yesterday I went back to my old studio to pick up a couple of things that were left behind and I got so sad. It was my first space and I loved it. It wasn’t perfect, but it was mine. I worked hard for it. And it is fun to see your dreams become a reality.
I snapped these shots early the morning that we moved out. The light wasn’t ideal (so don’t go Pinning these, people!), but I wanted to remember my first studio.
This is my client meeting area / hanging out area when I’m shooting.
I tried to have a cozy and kind of private place for moms to feed their babies. This is the comfiest rocker. It’s from Target and was cheap!
This is where I shoot my newborns (Kennedy says hi!).
And this is all of my props. They are tucked behind a curtain, which you can kind of see in the first picture.
I wanted to go back and get a picture of me with the kids in front of my window, but my landlord took it down before I was able to do that 
Here’s an iphone picture I took right after it went up last year.
I promise I won’t wait a year until I post pictures of the new place. It already looks so great. Everything fit perfectly, which I took as a sign that it was the right move for me. Can’t wait for you all to see it!
Happy 5 Month Birthday, Kennedy!
Dear Kennedy,
Can you slow down? Please? 5 months went by in the blink of an eye. I want to freeze this stage. It’s my favorite. The “super happy, content baby” stage. The “I can give you a million kisses stage and you won’t smack me (like your big brother)” stage. The “I laugh at anything” stage. The “Mom, you are the coolest person in the whole, wide world” stage. The “non-mobile before the chaos of crawling and walking starts” stage.
I want to bottle you up right now. Your cute babbles and your chunky thighs. Your HUGE gummy smile and your sparkling eyes.
I know you can’t stay like this forever. And I’m okay with that. Because who is going to be my shopping and mani/pedi partner if you don’t grow up. I’m just doing my best to cherish every, single second of this stage. My favorite stage.
Love,
Mama
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