It’s the Tuesday Blog Ring!  If you’re a regular, welcome back!  If you have no idea what the Tuesday Blog Ring is, let me introduce it to you.  Every Tuesday(ish), some photographer friends and I all post on a topic we’ve selected for the week.  I’ll link to a different friend each week so you can see their take on the weekly post.
This week’s topic is Freeze Time.

As a mom, pretty much every other moment makes me want to freeze time.  Kids grow up so fast!  One moment they’re little helpless babies, and the next, they’re turning six years old (Alyssa) or they’re becoming potty trained (Emilyn)!  Well, the potty training thing is pretty nice, I’d rather not freeze time a few weeks ago and have to change diapers forever.  But seeing my babies grow up is very bittersweet.

Just this past weekend, we had a super fun trip to Charlotte, NC, for a concert and some family time before my husband leaves to go overseas again.  We rented a hotel room specifically for it’s indoor pool and the kids swam their little butts off.  We were mermaids and fish, swimming away from the mean shark (Daddy) that was trying to eat us.

Someday my girls will keep their little imaginations all to themselves.

We went to see Marc Broussard play at the U.S. National White Water Center, which was a super cool/different venue!  We sat atop a hill where we could see the stage, the white water rapids, and the people going down the ziplines.  The kids found other kids to play tag or frisbee with and we sang the songs we knew and we danced and rolled down the hill.  We watched fireworks in awe.

Someday my girls might think they’re too cool to roll down hills or go to concerts with their parents.

The next day we were again sharks and mermaids for a while before heading to Freedom Park.  Freedom Park was a pleasant surprise, I had no idea it existed or what a good park it would be!  We walked around the pond, climbed trees, listened to a man playing his guitar under the shade of a willow tree, explored a creek, and played on the playground.  We had a great time!

But someday they might be too busy to explore the banks of a creek or climb a tree.

I love this age, when your kids still need you and think the world of you, but are independent enough to entertain themselves.  I already know I’ll miss it when they’re older.

After you check out the photos below, be sure to check out what makes my friend Ally, of Allyson Photography, want to freeze time.

  ]]> http://www.taracolburnphotography.com/blog/freeze/feed/ 3 http://www.taracolburnphotography.com/blog/tuesday-blog-ring-love-letter/ http://www.taracolburnphotography.com/blog/tuesday-blog-ring-love-letter/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:00:03 +0000 Tara Colburn http://www.taracolburnphotography.com/blog/?p=2466 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

It’s the Tuesday Blog Ring!  If you’re a regular, welcome back!  If you have no idea what the Tuesday Blog Ring is, let me introduce it to you.  Every Tuesday, some photographer friends and I all post on a topic we’ve selected for the week.  I’ll link to a different friend each week so you can see their take on the weekly post.

This week’s topic is Love Letter.

Yesterday, I found myself racking my brain to figure out what I was going to do for this week’s Tuesday Blog Ring post.  I had an idea, but thought it was so generic and un-me, so I decided to try and get some inspiration by doing what I am best at; procrastinating.  I shirked my blog writing duties and decided to peruse Pinterest.  It’s funny how all too often, while I’m busy not doing what I should be, I come up with ideas for the duties I’m avoiding.
I found myself reading random quotes people pinned when I came upon one by John Muir that struck me.  Now, if you don’t know who John Muir is, I’ll tell you.  Basically, he was a nature-loving author (or perhaps I should say a writing-loving naturalist) who chronicled his explorations in some of what are now our nation’s national parks back in the late 1800′s.  He was a big proponent of the U.S. preserving its natural beauty through development of the National Park system.
So how does this relate to “Love Letters” you ask?  Well, John Muir clearly was a person who loved nature, as do I, so I felt it fitting to share with you a quote of his and a picture of mine that showcases our love for nature.  This week seems like a good time for that, seeing as we started this week off with Earth Day!  My apologies for not writing an actual love letter, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

Now go check out my friend Karen’s blog post and see her take on this week’s topic!

It’s the Tuesday Blog Ring!  If you’re a regular, welcome back!  If you have no idea what the Tuesday Blog Ring is, let me introduce it to you.  Every Tuesday, some photographer friends and I all post on a topic we’ve selected for the week.  I’ll link to a different friend each week so you can see their take on the weekly post.  This week’s topic is Self Portrait.

I have to admit, I slacked off on this week’s topic and am posting an old(ish) self portrait.  It’s only from a couple months ago, but I really should’ve taken a new one just for this project.  My apologies if you’ve seen these already!  In my defense, I did re-edit them!  Does that count for something?

While I may have slacked off and am showing you old photos, I bet you haven’t seen my friend and fellow photographer, Christine’s self portrait for this week.  Go check it out!

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing an engagement session with Brandon & Sarah in downtown Lillington.  Their love for each other and the Lord is so evident and beautiful to see.  I can’t wait to be a part of their big day this summer!  Wondering where they’re getting married?  One of my favorite ceremony sites, Butler Chapel at Campbell University.  Here’s a photo I took of the inside of the chapel for a previous wedding.

Yep!  It’s that time of the year again.  The time when we get the house looking respectable and go through all our junk to see what we can sell, donate, or consign.  I also tend to clean the area of the house that have been quite neglected and do random chores that rarely get done.
Some of the things I work on:

Dusting ceiling fans. Ugh. One of my least favorite things to do.  Inevitably I will get dust all over my bed or my children’s beds, giving me more work to do!
Change bed sheets.  See above. :(
Switch the direction the fan rotates.  In the winter I have them set to turn clockwise in order to redistribute warm air, and in the spring I change them to rotate counter-clockwise in order to provide a breeze in the warmer months.
Replace batteries in the smoke detectors.  There is literally nothing that irritates me more that a smoke detector beeping at me to tell me the battery is dying.  If I don’t stay on top of it, this is guaranteed to happen at 3am.  UGH!
Pack up the winter clothes.  I can’t totally get rid of my very favorite sweaters and boots, you never know when you need to make a trip to Canada or something, but I’ll store the rest in a container I hide under the bed.
Rotate & flip mattresses and wash bed skirts.  Rotating and flipping the mattress is like sleeping on a whole new bed!  My back thanks me when I do this!
And my most dreaded chore: cleaning the baseboards.  Yes, I hate it more than anything.  I don’t know why, I just do.

What are some of your favorite (least favorite) spring cleaning chores?

Before you go, hop on over and check out what my friend Huong has to say about spring cleaning!

We have been slacking off a little bit in the last few weeks.  We’ve all been so busy!  So this week was a good opportunity to do a quick and easy post that’ll help you get a little inside scoop on us.

While I am a photographer, I am also a stay at home mom who attends school.  Typically my working morning looks a little like this:

• Hop out of bed and almost immediately get breakfast.
• Check and respond to business emails and check the book of face.
• Tidy up the living room that is surely still a mess from the night before.  (I’m too lazy by the time the kids go to bed, and all I want to do is relax.)
• Wake the kiddos.
• Get the 2 year old dressed.
• Prepare breakfast.
• Pack a lunch for my kindergartener.
• Redress the 2 year old who is notorious for taking her socks and pants off minutes before we must leave the house.
• Drop Alyssa off at school and take Emilyn to daycare.
• Hydrate.
• Come home and work out.  Mostly weight lifting.
• Hydrate and refuel.
• Lately I’ve been working on exercise prescriptions/workout plans for a handful of people I personal train.  But I limit these.  (I was an Exercise Physiologist and personal trainer in my past life and still do it from time to time.)
• Handle my business!  No, not that kind of business, my actual photography business.  I’m culling sessions, editing, designing albums, etc. all morning until lunch when it’s time to eat, work on school work, and/or prep for afternoon photo sessions.

This is how it goes 3 mornings a week, otherwise I’m taking care of the little one, getting work done as I can.
Things get a little more serious in the afternoon, perhaps we’ll tell you about that at a later date.  Now that you know a little bit more about me, go check out what my friend Ally’s mornings look like.  Visit her photography blog here.

Do you know what the number one question is that my Fayetteville photography clients ask me during our pre-portrait consultation?

“What should we wear?!”

Ahh, the age-old question!  In an effort to calm your pre-photo session nerves, I’ve written this cheat sheet to help you fake like you’re an always perfectly dressed family straight out of a J. Crew catalog!

White shirts and jeans are so 1998.

You’ve got personality and a sense of style, let’s see it!  It is possible to coordinate without being matcy-matchy.  Let’s see colors and patterns.
Be bold, be fun!  Check out my What to Wear posts for some ideas.

Be comfortable

This goes for both the style of clothing you’re comfortable in as well as the comfort of the actual piece of clothing.  If you’re not comfortable in high heels and dresses, don’t wear them!  And when you’re selecting your clothing items, keep in mind that we will be sitting, standing, walking, and sometimes hiking. (But that’s up to you and your location choice!)

Choose your base and build.

Have your eye on a super cute outfit for your daughter?  Start there and select everyone else’s outfits to coordinate.  If you want baby Emma in a cute pink and green floral jumper, have dad wear a coordinating shade of green and mom wearing a shade of pink.  Or heck, have dad wear the pink if he’s up for the challenge!

Large logos are a no-no.

Please, no large logos or wordy shirts.  You pay good money for these photos, so you want them to have a lasting, classic look, not fall victim to looking dated.  Of course a small logo is fine, a classic polo logo never goes out of style.  Instead of logos and word heavy shirts, try adding texture and layers instead.

Give props to accessories

This is your session, so personalize it!  Are you into gardening?  Bring some flowers from your garden (or fake it and score some from the store.)  Does little Noah have a favorite stuffed animal?  Bring it!  Do you and your man love to ride motorcycles?  Have him ride to our session location and we’ll photograph you on the bike. (You might want to drive your car to avoid helmet hair!)

It’s the Tuesday Blog Ring!  If you’re a regular, welcome back!  If you have no idea what the Tuesday Blog Ring is, let me introduce it to you.  Every Tuesday, some photographer friends and I all post on a topic we’ve selected for the week.  I’ll link to a different friend each week so you can see their take on the weekly post.  This week’s topic is What is your wildest dream (in business and/or in life)?

I, at times, can be a pretty imaginative person.  But I don’t think that my “Wildest Dream” for my photography business or personal lives are all that ‘wild’.  As far as my photography business goes, I don’t have dreams of being some hugely famous ‘rockstar photographer.’  I’d just like to be able to make a decent living at it.  I’d like to be respected for my craft in my town and that’s about it!  Honestly, I am puled in 2 directions: creatively through photography, and as a philanthropist (for lack of a better term, it’s early and I can’t think) through Occupational Therapy.  So while I do love photography, I also want to do more to help people than the occasional charitable photography session or event.  And that’s where a future career as a Occupational Therapist comes in to play.  Ideally, I’d like to do both part time.

Now as for my wildest dream in life, besides working my TWO dream jobs, I’d love to be living somewhere tropical, Hawaii, perhaps.  If only Hawaii was not a billion miles away from the mainland.  Maybe the U.S. Virgin Islands?  Anywhere warm would work for me!  I’d be photographing tropical brides in tropical rain forests and this would be my backyard:

Actually, on second thought, there’s not much of a music scene out on the islands.  My wildest dream is going to need to involve a winter home on an island, and a summer home in Nashville, TN or Austin, TX.  Gotta be somewhere super musical during all those summer concert tours!  I don’t need a big fancy mansiony house though, that’s not in the dream.  Maybe a little shack on Kauai and then a little house in Nashville.  Or maybe bigger, cause I’m kinda in love with this house.  Bigger than I’m used to, but not a mansion and I love the neighborhood.  You know what, I’d take a single wide trailer on the outskirts of Nashville, I just love that city that much!

Enough about me, what would your wildest dream be?  Check out my friend Karen’s Blog and see what her wildest dreams are!

Hi friends!  I recently met with one of my brides I’m photographing next fall and as we discussed her wedding I found that she wasn’t sold on her choices of wedding colors.  She knew she wanted one particular color, but didn’t know what would look good.  So I showed her some websites I’ve spent a ton of time on while trying to figure out my branding colors.  (I think I’ve finally figured it out!  Coming soon!) Then I thought that maybe others might benefit from color ideas.  So in our first edition of wedding color post ideas, we’re starting with the super on-trend color, coral.  Check out the color pallets below and be sure to check out my Wedding Colors Pinterest board dedicated to all things coral for some great ideas on how to incorporate coral into your wedding day!