Last Year I wrote an open letter to my first born son for his birthday to mark his first decade…this year  I’m going to keep it simple and try not to embarrass him more than I already do.

Her are the many faces of Cal at eleven

It is customary in our family that every year you have your photo taken on your actual birthday.  I want a record of what they look like and who they are year to year.  And ever since the birth of this blog I try to write a few words about who each of them are at this moment in their lives.  I took these images in the span of about 20 minutes in the backyard while sitting on a basketball.  He was not overly thrilled to sit and pose but he did not really fuss either.  Instead, it was a a typical conversation with the faces and expressions that are uniquely him.  I am excited to see the young man he is moving towards while also wanting to keep him as the little boy who forever changed our life.

He is an awesome kid and I am so lucky I get to be his mom.

I subscribe to all sorts of blogs in my Google Reader.  I never know when I might run across a seed of inspiration either visual or prose that makes me bust through a creative or emotional rut.  Sometimes it seems like the universe knows exactly when I need something.

This past week was a tough one.  My very good friend lost her mother to breast cancer.  I traveled to Delaware for the service, it was beautiful and heart-wrenching.  A member of my family sent me a very hurtful email; the kind that make you spiral down and changes you.  The kids had two days off from school.  Not a bad thing, just challenging to get stuff done.  And Eli had a birthday weekend, multiple dinners and a big birthday bash.  We took 10 kids to a Caps game – super fun but I spent a lot of energy petrified I might lose one in the crowd.   I know most people would love to have my problems.  None of it was major or that big a deal, it was just one of those long weekends that physically and emotionally drains everything out of you.

And then today I read a blog post entitled Add Love into the World.  It offers a challenge to spend a week being a little bit nicer, a little less snarky, less judgmental and mean and be more appreciative, loving, kind and to lead with love in your heart.

Today is Eli’s 8th birthday.  He is eight amazing years old.  He is the physical embodiment of all that blog post asked of it readers to do: He does not subtract. He does not maintain. He does not hold steady. He adds love to the world.

Eli is this incredible gift from the universe.  His very presence adds love into the world.  He teaches me how to be a better mom, a better friend, a better human being.  I tell him often how lucky I am that I get to be his mom.  To know this child is to know love.

Eli adds love into the world.

At his Big Birthday bash at the Caps game (he had a grin ear to ear all afternoon)

Opening and playing with his last set of gifts tonight: a WWE game set.

As a photographer I approach each and every job as an opportunity to tell a story in photos.  And often times the end product is actual book.  This is one of the key things I provide for the DC Girls on the Run – a photo book that they can show to their board and funders of all the work they do. Regardless if I am charged with capturing an event or just my vacation, the elements of how to approach the task of visual storytelling are the same…at least for me

Let me dive right in and explain my own internal process for telling a story with my end goal of creating a keepsake book.

Remembering that you are there to not only record the event/vacation — but to tell a story is just a different mindset.

Pre-visualize.  I always take a moment to pre-visualize my vacation or event and what it might look like.  If it is a commercial client or event, I will ask for a shot list – a list of specific shots the clients specially wants me to capture.  If not provided a shot list or it is a personal event like my vacation, I might even draft my own shot list of details and things I know I don’t want to miss.  For instance, the kids building a sandcastle, using the super soakers at the beach, getting temporary tattoos, eating ice cream at our favorite shop, riding bikes, etc.   This helps me stay on mission when shooting the elements of my story.

Storytelling.   All good stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  So start there – what do those parts look like, who is there, what are they doing?  In addition think ways in which you can visually explore the setting you are in, describe the characters who make up the story, the plot or action of your event.   Use your pre-visualization to help guide you through the elements of the story.  If you are shooting digital, you are not confined by rolls of film or the cost to develop it.  So shoot away and know that you will pare it down to only the best.

The Details.  The difference between a random photos of family in front of major landmarks and true storytelling books are the details. Details help you tell your story, by showing the viewer where and what to focus on. What does the hotel/house/tent/surroundings look like?  Shoot your surroundings with a wide lens and closeups shots of small telling details. Instead of having everyone pose and mug for the camera, take you camera out and shoot the ordinary everyday things you do on vacation – time spent at the beach building sand castles, riding the waves, throwing the football, riding bikes, reading books, fishing, hiking, etc.  Try to capture a shot of just the sandcastle, the bucket and the shovel, the hands covered in sand, the shells used for decoration.  Those tiny elements help your viewer be in the moment of the sandcastle building fun.

Organize, cull and edit.  The greatest part about digital is that you can shoot and shoot and shoot until your hearts content!  Your only limitation is the space on your hard drive.  So don’t limit yourself, shoot away.  When it is over you never know what shot, which detail, what silly face is the most memorable and captures the vibe and feel of your event.  In the end the photo-book you create is a way to bring you back to the moments that made up your event or vacation.  The photos you select should make you care and communicate how you felt in those moments.  Great stories not only tell you what happened, they make you feel it too.  When the vacation is over look at your images.  Is there a theme that runs throughout?  Is there a natural story line unfolding?  Pick the strongest photos that grab your heartstrings and take you instantly back.  You don’t have to include every single image.  Use the best one.  Gather photos from your friends and relatives to get their perspective.    And don’t forget your iPhone pictures!  They may not be of the highest quality but you can always include them in your story. Your iPhone/smartphone is a great way to capture parts of your adventure when you don’t want to or can’t bring a camera.

Photo Books.  I love to end my summer with at least one photo book that represents our vacation.  Being a pro I have access to a number of fantastic labs and I design all my own books in Photoshop.  However there are great options out there for those with no skills in layout and design.  Here are my picks of book photo book makers for parents.  The best part is each book maker has pre-designed templates to help you layout your story

1. iPhoto.  Of course you must own a Mac to have access to iPhoto and sadly I have yet to find a PC program that is similar.  But if you do own a Mac, iPhoto is fantastic.  IPhoto does it all right on your screen.  It takes your images and helps you create a layout based on the number of photos you have.  What I like about iPhoto is that it makes it easy, no extra software to download and just enough options to customize but too much to overwhelm you.  And like everything Mac related – it’s easy, simple, and clean.  Just what you expect from a Mac.  I don’t even mind the “made on a Mac” on the last page.  But if it really bothers you, cover it up with your own label or sticker that gives you (the photographer!) credit.
2. MPIX.  I send all my clients to MPIX for all their personal photo printing needs.  MPIX is the consumer lab or one of my pro labs and they have a range of great products to chose from.  I think their quality is heads and tails above some other more well known online photo labs. MPIX books gives you multiple options and allows for more customization with their per-designed templates.  Upload your images to an album and you can drag and drop  into the layout you like.
3. Blurb.  This is a great resource for those who want a little more control and and have a little more design savvy.  I know a number of photographers who self publish their own photo books using Blurb.  They have three levels of design control based on your skill set.  For parents designing their first book I recommend the first level because you can do it all online.   A great feature is that you can integrate your photos from you Flickr, Smugmug, Picasa, and Photobucket accounts – which makes sharing and uploading simple and easy.  You have simple layout options, multiple fonts for text and when your masterpiece is finished you can upload your finished book to your Facebook account or your family blog to really show it off.

To give you some inspiration Here are some layouts of the book I have designed in the past:
The Girls on the Run 5K in June 2011

Some spreads from various summer trips to the beach with friends.

And some spreads of my kids in 2011 using the images from my 365 Project

Happy book making!

I am behind on highlighting past sessions…so here is the first of several sessions I loved in 2011

I love when I get to see children other than my own grow up.  It is such a privilege and and honor.  If I met them the first time when they were really little, it is fun to see how they have grown and to see their personalities come alive.

Mom called and asked if I could do another shoot with her kids she said, we added a third and he is a “wild man”.  She was right.  I had to really work for it!

He was so fast I did not get much of his sisters.  So we scheduled a second shoot and I got a whole morning with just the girls and I LOVED every single second of it.

Mom and Dad ordered a custom Album for themselves.  I love these Albums.  The cover is all leather.  Each Album comes with 20 pages featuring one image per page.  They are simple and elegant.  Each Album also comes with a beautiful slip cover to protect it thru the years.  Once again a product photographer I am not, but here are a few images of their beautiful album so you can get an idea of what they look like.  This is a great alternative if you don’t have the room on your walls.

My 365 project is over and I want to jot down my own personal lessons learned from this project.

If you are just tuning in here is a brief recap: Every year I decide on a personal photo project.  Shooting for myself helps me keep my creative spirit alive and open.  For 2011, I chose a 365 project: to shoot a photo every day for a year.  I tried to keep it simple and easy – did not matter what kind of camera or what the subject was just to shoot one photo every day no matter what.

I did not plan it this way but it seems appropriate that I ended up with 12 thoughts, confessions, personal lessons learned, and tidbits of advice for anyone else attempting a 365 photo project.

1. This was way harder than I anticipated. When I started this project I honestly thought “how hard could this be”?  After about two months I realized it was going to be a long year.   I knew I would get bored and that some of the day’s images would be complete crap, but I did not expect my perfectionist ways to bolster my already resistant tendencies.  Some days it would be 9:00pm before I realized I had not shot that day and would scramble to find something, anything that was interesting.  Often it was not.
2. It’s OK to take a break.  In the middle of the summer I stopped.  Not really sure why but I did.  There is a three week gap in my photos in July somewhere.  I needed that break.  When I picked the camera back up I was able to approach it differently and without as much angst and anxiety over this project.  Sometime you fall down and its not necessarily a failure you just needed a break or to change course.
3. Some days I cheated.  I’m not proud of this fact.  But I also recognize that this is reality of my busy life.  I always had a plan to shoot and sometimes even an idea to shoot, but somehow between two kids, a husband, my business, boot camp, the house, the laundry, my husband’s businesses, the dog, our social life, the kid’s social life, the hockey games, volunteering at the school, cooking dinner, etc…the day would just escape me.  That’s my life; it’s busy and messy and often “the plan” falls off the track.
4. Figure out a way to count down the days.  Which clearly I did not do.  And clearly I can’t count, add, or subtract.  Of course it did not help that midway through I changed the way I recoded each day on my blog and internally on my computer (DOH!). However, I did discover (way too late) that Google calender has a function that shows you the day in relation to the 365 days of the year aptly called “Day of the Year”. I recommend using it or something to help you know where, in the year, you are.  And also figure out a way to store and record your image files by date on the computer…especially if you are math “challenged” like me
5. My kids HATE my camera.  Maybe it is their ages, maybe they are sick of having it shoved in their face, or maybe they would rather just have me be present in their lives without trying to record every waking moment. I hope that now the year is over and I’m not trying to “shoot for my project” and we take a break they will get over it.
6. I cant create awesomeness every day.  There were some days that I was hit by creative lightening, and others where my creative streak was no where to be found.  And its normal.
7. I know my camera like the back of my hand.  I knew this would be the added extra bonus of this project and I was right.  My camera was relatively new when I started this project.   I learned how my camera functions in all sorts of conditions, what its limitations are and how to make it sing.
8. Having a journal of ideas would have helped.  I thought I would be clever and creative enough to always find something.  But now looking back if I had jotted down ideas for the days when I was too exhausted to think it might have helped me when I felt totally and completely uninspired.  I suggest anyone attempting this kind of project to spend some time coming up with projects, ideas, or exercises when one does not present itself naturally.  That way you have something to fall back on.
9. I need to shoot more film.  Film is like the creative outlet I did not know I missed until I started shooting it again.  Shooting film is not the hard part, affording it is. So I am making a conscious effort to shoot more film, finding a way to afford it and to integrate it into everything I do.  It is so rewarding and so beautiful and so different.
10. My iPhone opened an unexpected door.  I love my iPhone camera. The latest version of the iPhone has as many mega-pixels as my very first DSLR I bought 7 years ago – which kind of blows my mind.  I have heard the argument that there is no art in iPhone photography but I disagree.  I view it as yet another tool in my bag to help me hone my vision.  Sometime when you strip away all the gear and the fancy gadgets it forces you to really look and really think.  I defiantly used it as a crutch when I had nothing else.  But I also know that it helped me see things I would not have seen if I had been using my big fancy expensive camera.
11. I need to lean into my discomfort more often.  I think this is the hardest lesson I am still working on and in every part of my my life not just my photography.  I notice when I lean into the uncomfortable spaces and the uncertainly – that is where the really good stuff is hiding.  Someone once said greatness is often on the edge of destruction.  I need to remember that when I feel discouraged and broken. Getting uncomfortable forces you to take risks and push past the familiar, the easy, and your comfort zones and often produces a great result and/or a great lesson.
12. Sometimes the journey IS the destination.  When I started this project I assumed that I would end it with some great work for my portfolio that was definitive of my style.  And maybe even hone my style more than I already have.  Looking back through my images, I can’t say the work I produced was stellar by any means.  There is some good stuff and a lot of work that is just “MEH”.  As the months were winding down, I’ll admit I started to panic.  Was this whole year a waste of my time and effort?  And then it hit me.  It was never about the work itself, it was always about the journey.   I needed the lesson of slogging through the trenches of mediocrity so I can come out the other side, hopefully better.  I do this because it feeds my soul unlike anything else. And this journey I am on is fantastic. I love it.  Already it has given me so much and I cant wait to see what else it will bring.  I feel so blessed that I get to do what I love.

It has been an interesting year, both personally and professionally.  As I get older (and hopefully wiser) I have noticed how more in tune with my gut and my senses I have become.  I am noticing that when I listen to my gut it rarely leads me in the wrong direction.  So I’m tuning in and listening to what I think are my next steps and the next photo project. Lots of new clients and new projects are on the horizon and I am really excited for the year ahead.  Cant wait to see what it will bring me.

If you are still reading…thanks for sticking it out and wading through it with me. I would love to hear your thoughts about what you liked, didn’t like, or anything else!!

If you have been following along today is the last day of the year and the last day of my 365 project.

If you are really paying attention you can see I screwed up my count down.

Tonight, after over a week of sick kids and a pretty shitty Xmas vacation, we are having good friends over to celebrate the old and ring in the new and will sit outside by out new fire-pit.

Cant imagine a better way to end/start the year — surrounded by some of my most favorite people in the whole world.

This was the sickest Cal has ever been, he was literally catatonic on the couch for 6 days straight.  And finally today he got up, went outside, and played.

There is no harder, more trying time for a parent than when your child is sick.

And took Eli out.

Opened this months Washingtonian Magazine and saw an ad for the British School of Washington, featuring my photo.   I still get a thrill when I see my work in print, and I think I always will.

After four days of a high fever, sore throat, vomiting, upset stomach and not any better, I finally scored an appointment with the pediatrician.

Streptococcus, aka strep throat, is the nasty little bugger that disrupted our Christmas and our vacation.