A Happy Mother's Day

In honor of upcoming Mother's Day, I would like to share some of my favorite images, from this past year, that include mom.

Being a mom is a wonderful thing. Of course with the good comes those moments we wish we could forget. Like the temper tantrums and rolling eyes and my personal favorite - the outright defiance that seems to only happen in public places. But those precious moments in between are the reasons we all do what we do.

If you'd like to see/hear something very funny, check out this video where a mom puts all the mom clichés into a nice little three minute song.

Having kids of my own has made me realize how much my own mother put up with. Although, there have been many times when I just look at her in disbelief when my children are acting like madmen and say "did we do this when we were this age?" She just laughs at me, so I'm not exactly sure what that means.

No matter what stage we are in, I think we can all appreciate how much our mothers have done for us. Take a moment this year to let your mother know just how much she means to you.

And, Happy Mother's Day to my mother. I love you.

Confronting your fears

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of photographing Dianne who wanted to give her husband something special for Valentine's Day. She was pretty sheepish about the idea, but she wanted to go outside her comfort level and do something that he would never suspect. I suggested that she buy some lingerie items for the photo shoot. She was a bit hesitant at first. I guess she envisioned something a little less bold. Nonetheless, I convinced her to at least check out some sexy items. Boy am I glad she did. She got some great stuff.

I also found a great makeup and hair artist, Annie, to come and take care of the beauty aspects for the session. Annie did a great job, and I know that after she was done, Dianne felt like a supermodel. She looked great!

It took her a little while, but as the session went on, Dianne relaxed and we were able to get some really great images. When Dianne saw the final images that she was going to give her husband, she was truly shocked at how good she looked. I am so pleased that she was able to overcome her nervousness. I could really see her confidence level change when she saw the photographs and she told me how great she felt about it all.

This experience made me think, "What can I do to step outside my own comfort level?" One of my biggest fears is speaking in front of a group of people. For some reason, I become flustered and can barely tolerate the idea of all those eyeballs focused on me. Perhaps I can learn from Dianne and take some small step to confront my fear of public speaking.

What are you afraid of?

Unsung Heroines of Massachusetts

Did you know that each year, the state of Massachusetts seeks nominations for women residents, from each town, to be named an unsung heroine? I didn't either until today.

I happened across something online and did some digging. The MCSW, Massachusetts Commission of the Status of Women, was created in 1998. The goal of the groups seems to be advancing women of all backgrounds to promote rights and opportunities.

This is very interesting to me; I have never even heard of this organization before. Have you? If you would like to see who was named the unsung heroines of 2007, click here.

Personally, I think this is a nice way of recognizing the women in our community who go way above and beyond. I just wish more people knew about this. I'm sure we all know a fellow mother, teacher, nurse, or daughter who would surely qualify for this in our own town whom we could nominate. I encourage you to check out more information on this interesting organization.

A case of the Sillies

What is it about a camera that has such an effect on five year olds? It's like someone turned on a switch. While attempting to photograph my daughter the other day I was faced with the same situation that most of my clients face when they bring in their five year olds to be photographed. The dreaded silly face. All of you with a child this age knows exactly what I'm talking about.

It seems that a five year old just cannot resist the urge to make every silly face known to man kind. The puffing out of cheeks, the sucking in of cheeks, and my daughter's favorite - sticking out her tongue. But of course this only happens just as I'm about to press the shutter. This is typically the point in our sessions when the mother lets out the really big sigh of frustration and begins to lose it with her child. She knows they can behave better. After all, doesn't this kid understand that we're trying to get a "nice photo for the grandparents . . . "

Well, after becoming very frustrated with my daughter (I was in Mom mode), I remembered some of the tricks I use to get my five year old clients to cooperate. I asked her who her favorite Disney Princess was. Well that did it. I was able to get about ten very nice images while she smiled and told me about all her favorite Princesses.

Here's my tip for the day. If you are trying to get your child to stay still for a photo-op, try to remember to ask them about something they are very interested in. It really does illicit a great response.

Gloucester

Welcome! This is my kickoff blog. I'd love to hear from you so please let me know if you are enjoying your time here.

The family and I went up to Gloucester, Ma (northeast of Boston) over the weekend to visit some friends. They live on a hill that overlooks Ipswich Bay. It is simply beautiful and such a relaxing place to be. The kids enjoyed playing on the rocky terrain and they were excited to take a walk down to Lighthouse Beach to dig for clams. While walking down we noticed the clouds rolling in and realized we had limited time before the rain came. We were probably at the beach for about 5 minutes when it started to pour. Isabelle was so upset because she hadn't had the chance to dig in the sand. Tom ended up carrying both children back to the house, which is a climb let me tell you. I was huffing and puffing by the time we got back. I really don't know how he mangaged to carry two thirty pound children up such steep, rocky terrain. Overall the trip was a huge success. It was great to visit with our friends and catch up. It was also great to see the children having so much fun.