52 on Fridays (48/52) Woods

Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, you can find my Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, and Pooh.

Can't you just hear Tigger now? "Turn that frown upside down!"

Pooh's sweet words seem so right here. "If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you."

"I used to believe in forever, but now I think forever is too short." That's right, Pooh. A forever with my fun kids would never be enough!

I can see that my kids are getting older. Next year I will have a kindergartner, a 4th grader, a 7th grader, and a freshman in college. Right now I'm teaching my last kid to read using the same book I used with the older ones. Sometimes I feel like Pooh and wonder, "Can't we go back to page one and do it all over again?"

Please visit my friend, Liz, to see what she found in the woods this week. I know it will be beautiful!

52 on Fridays (45/52) Black & White

"When you photograph people in color, you photography their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls." -Ted Grant

For one of the sweetest black and white experiences you'll see this week, please see what my friend, Krista, has shared. It is precious! 

52 on Fridays (41/52) Shadow

We are all feeling a little moody around my house this week. Maybe that's why this week's picture for shadows seems so dark to me. This is my little Annie hiding in one of the many shadows in the corners of my house.

Please visit my friend, Krista, to see how she captured shadows this week. I love the fun, light, loving quality to her posts and just know she has something great for us!

52 on Fridays (38/52) Childhood

On matters of childhood, I often look to see what Fred Rogers had to say. I wasn't surprised to find this quote from my childhood leader in imaginative play: "Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood." In honor of this quotation I want to defer my real post on childhood until after October 6, the Global Day of Play. Until then, enjoy a picture of three of my favorite children. 

To celebrate the Day of Play, the girls are going to build something out of cardboard. They don't know yet what it will be, but I'm betting it will fabulous. We have all been inspired by the story of Cain's Arcade. If you haven't seen the video and heard the story, please take a minute to click the link and learn how one boy's summer of making his own fun turned into something much, much bigger. 

For more images of childhood, take the journey around our little circle by first visiting Chay.  I love her images today. They are a perfect peek into childhood for most kids right now. I know my kids could be captured like this on any given day. 

52 on Fridays (36/52) Motion

Capturing motion is no easy task. That's the lesson from my fun afternoon session with two fabulous skating brothers. Of course when they were kind enough to stand still for me, it wasn't hard.

But once those wheels were moving, I didn't know if I wanted to try to freeze them or just let them fly in the images.

 In the end the best thing to do was to just let them do what they do so well.

Of course, we did have time for a little brotherly fun.

Thanks for stopping by. Now won't you move on down to my friend Jodie's post at Shooting the Carsons? I am so happy to see her back in the circle this week. Be sure to comment on her snazzy new blog!

52 on Fridays (35/52) Feet

I have a little girl that is going to do great things with her feet one day. Annie's love of classical music, structure, and stretching are beautifully combined in her chosen art.

And even if she never dances across a stage as the star of a major production, dance will take her far. These words from Martha Graham's essay for NPR's "This I Believe" explain it best.

Now move your feet over to my friend Chay's blog to see how she captured this week's theme!

52 on Fridays (33/52) Water

It's not fancy this week, but we are in the midst of trying to get homeschooling off the ground, so it is what it is! I wanted to try to push my 8 year old to do something silly. Last week's laughing post was a bust for her. She was miserable trying to fake smile because real smiling is something she does with thought and only when truly entertained. This is what I usually get:

So serious! But something about bubbles and the promise of a coconut oil hair moisture treatment after got her in a good mood. She takes her hair seriously, too. I got some rare goofy moments from her on camera.

Maybe she will even let me take pictures of her with the shower cap on? While you wait in suspense to find out, go visit my friend Sarah at Ozarks Fare Grounds. She has some very sparkly water in her post.

52 on Fridays (32/52) Laughter

"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."
-Audrey Hepburn

The girls made me so happy that I had to change my Facebook timeline!

I hope you have your own miracle laughter cure today. I know I have mine, and I love every ounce of it. For more great laughs, please visit the talented Bri at Brianna Wallace Photography.

52 on Fridays (29/52) Summer

Summer is wonderful for so many reasons, but one of the best reasons to love the season is that it gives us time to visit old friends. I met my friends Tricia and Kim on a Gymboree message board 8 years ago. We each had a pretty new baby to dress so we had a starting point for conversation. Within a year of first talking online, we met up and found that we had a lot more in common than clothes. Our girls became great friends, too, despite the distance between us. They may even look forward to our summer meetings more than we do!

For more summer fun, please visit my friend Leslie. You might want to send some cool, positive thoughts. It looks like she is in the heat of things!

Enjoy Life

Being the big nerd that I am, I wish I could diagram the title of this post. If had that diagram, you would see the title as a command, and the implied subject, YOU, would be the very first part of the image. That's what this post is all about. I want YOU to remember to get out and find some joy. I want people to remind me to do the same. But since I'm afraid that sentence diagrams on a photography blog would be a bit off-putting, I'll let this image serve as a reminder that we should take time to enjoy life.

52 on Fridays (26/52) Once Upon a Time

Many of our earliest memories of books and stories being with "Once upon a time..." I believe that somewhere in the magic of those fairy tales we learn the joy of reading. Not everyone has a passion for words, but my dear little friend, Olivia, does. She loves to escape to lands of fantasy, valor, bravery, and myth. It is very unusual for her to not be reading something great, so when her creative mom suggested this  book themed image, I knew it was perfect.

Please take the time to click and see the story my talented friend, Kathy, is weaving this week. I can't believe she had the chance to work with one of my favorite photographers!

52 on Fridays (24/52) Passion

I had big dreams of getting amazing shots of passionate baseball fans this week. Unfortunately, I got to the game just a little too early for the big crowds. The ball field looks nice though, doesn't it?

 I did manage to find a few enthusiastic fans. I'm not sure if they were there for the game, the mascot, the ice cream, or just for fun with friends.

Now go see the passion in my friend Renee's life! Visit her at  Renee Bounccelli Photography.

52 on Fridays (23/52) Candid

If you are a current or potential client, please stop reading at this time. Seriously. Go play on Pinterest or do something else productive. Once you are gone, I can tell everyone else a little secret about how to get some natural, fun shots of people. I can tell people that the secret is to lie. Tell subjects that you are just setting up your camera and testing the lighting when you first start a session or when you change locations. Then snap away. When people don't know the camera is really working, you can get some honest images of people like the one below.

Doesn't it just perfectly capture how a teenage girl can feel about affection from her younger sister? If I had asked them to be natural, it wouldn't have happened. Do we really know how to "act" natural? Don't be afraid to lie to people to get a good image. And if you are a current or future client, please believe me that I would never do this to you. If I tell you I am adjusting my settings, I promise I really am during your session. Okay?

Please visit Leslie at Week by Week to see how she captured candid.

Just Us 12 Times May

Just Us 12 Times is a new challenge I have accepted to capture my family once a month for the rest of the year. I love my first image for this challenge for many reasons. It captures so much of the uniqueness of my four children. You can see Maggie's adoration for family, Morgan's quiet protection of his sisters, Ella's exuberant joy, and Annie's reservation for public displays.

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But what I love even more is that it illustrates that you do not need to over plan when taking pictures of your kids. We took this one at a Steak Escape in a strip mall. I didn't tell anyone what to wear that day. It truly was a "come as you are" kind of image, and I love it!

Let's all take some time to relieve some of the stress related to location, wardrobe, hair, and props for children's portraits. Yes, sometimes the perfect hat or a field of flowers can make an image that is wall-worthy, but often it is just letting kids be themselves that makes for the ideal portrait. After all, isn't that what you really want? Don't you just want to remember you kids as they really are?

Please visit Julyssa at Julyssa Schenk Photography to see how she has captured her family this month.

52 on Fridays (21/52) Eyes

It's not surprising that Ella's eyes don't get noticed very often. Most people are quite taken with her attention-grabbing hair. But I always see Ella's eyes first. Those eyes are the gateways to the massive joy she holds inside of her. Every day is holiday with Ella!

Speaking of joy, please visit my friend, Leslie, to see whose eyes are gracing her blog this week. Leslie has much to celebrate. I believe she has at least one newly crowned state tennis champion in her household!!

52 on Fridays (17/52) Weather

When I don't feel like I have the right words to describe a moment, I like to stand on the shoulders of giants. And when it comes to poetry for children of all ages, it doesn't get more giant for me than Shel Silverstein.

I'd like to offer a very special thank you to my favorite assistant, Maggie, for helping me get this perfectly perfect capture of her sister's personality. If you know my little Ella, you know that this picture sums up her love of life just about as well as any image could.

And please visit Renee at Renee Bonuccelli Photography to see more great images of weather. I adore the pool picture Renee posted recently. If that's what Renee is getting with an iPhone, I really think I need some camera phone lessons from her. WOW!

Happiness

When you have a big sister that is vibrant, creative, mischievous, and always ready to include you in your fun, you have something to smile about. I could not script or pose the kind of happiness my Ella has for her big sister, Maggie. Her look says it all.

This month I Heart Faces is sponsoring a Happiness challenge.You can click on the link below to learn more about the challenge and see other entries. Everyone who enters has a chance to win a Canon Rebel T3 camera kit. Go out today and find a little happiness in your world!

52 on Fridays (13/52) Moody

When the list of topics for 52 on Fridays was first presented to me, I was quite intimidated by a few of the entries. But this week's theme was a no-brainer. I knew right away that I would be taking pictures of the beautiful Moody family! Meet an adorable family that laughs far too much to live up to their name. I love that they were willing to have a session at home in the middle of major renovations.
One of the great things about living in a bit of construction chaos is that your mom sometimes lets you make your own fun in ways that she normally wouldn't. Jumping on the bed was no problem for this photo session!

I wish I could say that momma Moody was really stressed about having a photo session in her unfinished home, but honestly she was relaxed and the perfect hostess. These images may express something she was feeling inside, but her gracious demeanor certainly never revealed this kind of frustration. I'm so glad she agreed to play along for this scene.

In fact, the only family member that even came close to being Moody was little JM. He was a bit camera shy for most of the session. He finally warmed up as I was leaving and decided to ham it up at the door. How could I resist capturing a few of his fun window faces?

 Please visit Sarah at Sarah Jo Foodography for more moodiness. You will love Sarah's blog because not only will you get to see beautiful images, but if you look around you will also find delicious recipes and food ideas. Yum!

Beautiful Black and White

Few things are more beautiful than that moment when you can finally share with a friend the secret you've been keeping all day.

52 on Fridays (4/52) Frame It

Frames. Specs. Glasses. No matter what you call them, these Dollar Tree gems are classics for a good laugh. When I learned one of our themes for 52 on Fridays would be "Frame It" I immediately thought of a picture full of giggles featuring these frames. My girls certainly delivered.

Like any good theme, this one is open to interpretation. My Maggie saw the results of our impromptu session and said she understood how my pictures fit this week. She said that these are the kinds of pictures I would want to frame, so they had to be the right ones to use. Once again, she has the kind of wisdom I need. Yes, these are the kinds of images I would want to frame, because they capture who my girls are. We didn't take the time to dress up. We didn't go anywhere special. I didn't even try to tackle the monster that is Ella's hair. But every pixel is full of the reality that makes me love my girls so very much, and I wouldn't trade that reality for the best styling in the world!

My friend, Melissa, at Melissa Noste Photography also took the time to frame a little bit of her life. Please take some time to visit her and share some love.