Family Photos 2016

Seems like just yesterday we were taking our family photos in our backyard at our old house (see here)--this year we took them in the backyard of our new house. We don't even live in the farmhouse yet, but we pretended we did last night. Copying my mother-in-law who expertly brought dinner for us at the farm the other night, I brought a folding table, extra chairs, a pumpkin spice candle, blankets, my rice cooker, my crockpot with chicken enchiladas, and some store bought cookies. Chris started a fire in our fireplace and it almost felt homey among the rubble of sawdust, drywall crumbles, and hanging electric wires. I'm sure Ceci agreed as she sat strapped to her stroller the entire time to avoid all the exposed nails all over the floor.

We got there at 5 and finished most of the pictures right away. Met our charming neighbor who stopped by to push the remote control button a couple times for us, and then settled in for a couple of hours of working. The kids are acclimating to country life a little too quickly. They played outside until it was too dark to see and came home covered in dirt, grass, and enough energy to keep me up all night.

This past weekend my parents came out to help with the house. Chris's parents helped again too. I got a lot of great photos of the wallpaper tearing party we had. And then I promptly deleted my ENTIRE photo library last night in an attempt to make space for uploading our new family photos. I assure you I did not realize what I was doing. I would explain to you how this happened but it would just make me look even more like an idiot (yes, that's possible). You ask why I didn't just recover it all from trash? Well, I permanently deleted it all from trash too. This is one time when I'm so grateful I've posted so many pictures on social media, because hopefully the best of what I had in my library is floating around somewhere on Facebook, Instagram, or this blog.

And without further adieu, here are some of the shots from last night (saving the best family shot for our Christmas card, of course).  

He kept posing like this - he didn't want a "smile" picture since he's a manly almost-ten-year-old now.

Eucharisteo

Life around here lately has been so good.  I'm celebrating the small things and looking for beauty in everything around me. 

I'm reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. She looks deeply at Luke 22:19 which simply says, "And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them . . ." The Greek word for thanks she found to be eucharisteo, which when broken down means grace, joy, and thanks. My mom's support group who gave me Voskamp's book, challenged us to journal 1,000 things we were thankful for. During my morning quiet times, which honestly aren't very consistent, I've been accepting the challenge and taking time to think of all the little things that I'm thankful for. And not just list my thankfulness, but revel in the joy in thinking about them and then accept the grace given to receive it. 

My new designated devotion time spot is the window seat on our staircase where I can look out the window at the fall colors. It's a calm place in our home that feels almost private even though it's in the middle of everything. It's usually there in that little nook that I've been meditating on these small little things that I am so thankful for, and it's as if my eyes have been opened and I'm seeing the small beautiful details in life that I never saw before. 

Lying down on our family room floor, allowing my daughter to brush my hair, this was my view. So peaceful and beautiful to me. This is something I'm thankful for.

I look down from the window and onto my couch. There is my new pillow I got at TJMaxx for only $10. So trivial, but makes me smile. It is exactly my style and looks perfect on my couch. I snap a photo quick. Eucharisteo.

And how sweet that my daughter loves to pamper me. I'm trying to cherish these moments and actually live them. I've used my iPhone and Canon for photos even more as I try to capture these little moments to remind me forever that I was there and actually lived that moment to it's fullest in true thankfulness and joy.

When I wake up in the morning to sunshine peaking through my bedroom window instead of the alarm . . .

When I walk up to my front porch and see my fall wreath . . .

When I get the privilege to cheer my son up after a rough day by taking him and his sister out for cookies . . .

When I get to use all the colorful leaves my children collected a day earlier in my dining table centerpiece .  .  .

When I taste the creamy goodness of pumpkin soup and hear the affirming comments from my family that I did good tonight . . .

When I look up in the sky and the clouds have formed a majesty that I cannot describe . . .

And each time I look up the cloud formation changes to form more magnificent beauty . . .

And when the view outside my staircase windowseat where I'm jotting down these moments shows me a rainbow that reminds me of a promise from God made thousands of years ago . . .

And the beauty is so great that my camera can't even capture it all . . .

And a little downtown church steeple is covered in beautiful Fall sunlight . . .

So I have to park my car and hang out the window snapping photos of it's grandeur . . .

And our downtown courthouse is covered in a warming glow of light, making me feel so blessed to be apart of this town and community . . .

Isn't this what life is all about? These little moments?

Then I step back in awe. This is worship. I can't help it. I have to stop and worship my Creator. Thank  Him for all the beauty around me and treasure these moments that I do not deserve - acknowledge His grace and walk forward in peace and joy.

The Colors

We collected leaves last week down the road from Grandma's house. Trying to take in all the beauty while it lasts.

How to take exceptional outfit photos - by Guest Blogger, Jenni Marie

I met Jenni several years ago through work. We've since made several life changes, but recently reconnected via the blogosphere. Jenni is an amazing photographer, with plenty of tips and tricks on photography! Check her out over at www.jennimarie.com!

How to take exceptional outfit photos

To channel Audrey or imitate Marilyn, a fashionista spends valuable time shopping for the perfect pieces (whether at thrift shop or department store) then combines elements into clever outfits before marching out into the day's foray. Learning to skillfully document your fashion triumphs mimics the process of creating those fashion triumphs. 

1. Choose the camera as carefully as you would choose the outfit.

Planning to photograph an outfit is only the first part of the battle.  How often do you decide to wear the first outfit you try on in a morning? If you're like most women, it takes several options, many minutes, and a pile of clothes on the closet floor before the decision is made:  "on average women spend 16 minutes every weekday morning deciding what to wear and around 14 minutes on a Saturday or Sunday morning."   [Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5783991/Women-spend-nearly-one-year-deciding-what-to-wear.html]

Why, then, would you expect to be able to purchase and use the first camera you find? Walking through a camera-shopping tutorial such as I wrote on JenniMarie.com will help you decide what you need for life & fashion photographs, save you money avoiding features you will not use, and be properly equipped for a photographic endeavor. 

2. Be the master of the camera. 

Regardless of which camera you choose to purchase (or already own): Learn your camera.  Learn your camera forward and backward, inside and out.  Whether it's an iPhone or a DSLR, KNOW IT and OWN IT until it's as comfortable as an old shoe. 

You know to wear the clothes instead of letting the clothes wear you, and the principle applies to your camera.  Oscar Wilde said it succinctly:  “You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”  Embrace your inner nerd and read the manual, research specific problems you're facing and embrace the solutions,  practice practice practice your photography to master the camera and hone your skill set.  

Learn what the camera sees and how it reacts to what it sees (this will mostly relate to lighting's direction and intensity and will affect what is shadowed and what is overexposed).  Your job is to either learn to manipulate the camera so the automatic settings produce fabulous images or to manipulate the settings of the camera so the images are exactly what you envisioned.  You probably won't have time for adjusting every setting manually (though that's the ultimate goal, if you have the capability) and many cameras don't allow for manual adjustment.  But if you're able to be smarter than the camera, wiser than the technology that you use, you can let the camera do the work for you but manipulate it within the boundaries you set.   This could mean ISO, it could mean changing position and paying attention to light, it could mean adjusting where the camera is focusing. Each camera is different, but the principle is the same: KNOW YOUR CAMERA.

3. Compose for success.  

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous,” says Coco Chanel. For most of us, that means crafting outfits carefully and with an eye for detail.  Why photograph those classy and fabulous outfits any differently?  You've dressed for success, now compose for success. 

Pick a relevant location.  Let the background of your photographs complete the story of your outfits.  Wearing heels and pearls?  Probably not the best time to photograph in front of the neighborhood swing set.  (If, however, you're showcasing your best mommy-play-date outfit, the swing set would be completely suitable!)   Similarly, avoid background distractions in your photographs.  The WalMart sign?  Probably not helpful.  A pile of dirty laundry?  Likely what your viewers will see first! 

Keep an eye on the light.  An easy way to showcase your outfit will be to shoot in shaded areas with the main light source behind the camera.  Whether that inside a doorway or against a wall opposite a window or under a shade tree, the goal is to avoid the harsh shadows that deepen under-eye-trenches and add weight in unseemly places.  Too much sun in your eyes will make for a squinty mess.  Too much sun behind your outfit will require outsmarting the camera (a good skill to have, but not necessarily for beginnings). 

To paraphrase Coco Chanel:  "[Photograph] shabbily and they remember the [photograph]; [photograph] impeccably and they remember the woman."