A BLOG BY LINDSY READ

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Photo Tips for Toddlers



I've done quite a few family photo sessions that involved toddlers and after posting our own family photos yesterday (taken by "Auntie No-No", Dan's sister Noelle of 2 Sisters Photography in Chicago, IL) I thought I'd give a few tips about portrait sessions with a toddler.
  1. Lower your Expectations - If you go into this, expecting to get perfect portraits of your child smiling sweetly, you're going to be hugely disappointed.  Even the most well-behaved toddler cant sit through a portrait session the way that an older child can.
  2. Don't take too long - You cant expect a 3 hour shoot with multiple locations and wardrobe changes.  30 - 45 minutes is long enough.
  3. Choose the location wisely - Go somewhere fun!  Choose a location where your toddler can explore and play in between shutter snaps.  A park, a field, a quiet area of the city.  I recommend somewhere new.  If it's a park your child has been to before they might go ballistic when they cant play or do the things they normally do at that location.
  4. Wear comfy clothes - Choose darker colors (in case you end up sitting in the dirt or crawling around in the grass) and don't get too fancy.  You should all look comfortable, not stiff, and expect to get dirty. 
  5. Plan an activity - For our photo shoot, we didn't really know what to expect because we were in a town we weren't familiar with.  However, we improvised.  We let our kiddo play with sticks and throw rocks in the water and have some fun!  We got some great candid shots because of it!
For more photography tips, click here:  What to Wear to a Photoshoot.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Just the Three of Us

My very talented sisters-in-law, Noelle and Terra are 2 Sisters Photography in the Chicago area.  Noelle took some family photos for us while we were visiting.  BB was in a particularly bad mood so we just tried to go with the flow and let him throw rocks and use sticks as swords.  I think she captured some wonderful moments.  Do you agree?












Thank you so much, Noelle!  We love them!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Stuck in Traffic



I was stuck in traffic this weekend but since we turned BB's car seat around for the recent trip to visit family in Vancouver it wasn't so bad.  The reason:  Car dancing and front-facing cameras.  We were crawling along the Interstate, stop-and-go at about 10mph, so I cranked up the Adult Contemporary radio station and turned on the tablet.  The BeeBs joined in on some lip-synching and hasn't stopped since (cutest ever).

Right around 00:13 was when I realized the guy next to me was watching all of this.  Nice.  And, yes, I know this isn't the safest thing in the world.  KTHNXBYE!



Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Vacation to the Midwest : Camera Fail

I did have my camera with my while on vacation but when Dan attempted to upload them something happened to the SD card and it went blank and we lost everything.  This happened to me once before - with a client's photo shoot (!!!) - and I paid about $20 to have the card recovered and I got all the images back.  I have yet to try that with our vacation photos but I really hope it works.  In the meantime, here are a few cell phone shots.  


I finally got to meet my nephew, BEAR.  They live in Boston and he was born in November.  He's the newest baby and he's just so sweet!  We helped Papa build his patio.  It was so hot and humid but we drank sweet tea and ice water and cranked it out.  Even BB "helped".


Going to Wisconsin Dells was amazing!  BB loved the water park and all the attention he got from his cousins and aunts and uncles and, of course, Meema and Papa.  





I woke up VERY early to run 10 miles in the humidity.  Dan's parents live near a great walking trail and I saw deer and lakes and it was so tranquil.  Quite a bit different than the city running I'm used to.  

So, pray that our SD card gets fixed and we can recover our vacation photos.  There is a scene from go-carting in the Dells that you just have to see!  We also got family portraits taken by my talented sister-in-law!  I cant wait to share those, too!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Endless Summer Garden Party


Miss Lana by LMRphotos on Grooveshark

Do ladies need a reason to dress up and get together?  No. But it does help when you have an awesome theme.  Our lovely hosts, Sarah (Lady Go Lightly) and Lana put together an Endless Summer Garden Party. A tribute to Lana Del Rey complete with flower crowns and quite a spread of treats! Donuts, Nutella and pretzels, chips and pesto-cream-cheese-dip and hot dogs (served on a crystal platter, of course), bottled sodas and PBR (a Lana Del Ray reference) and plenty of photo ops. Because that's what girls do.  If you're going to throw an adorable party and get dressed up extra special you simply must photograph the "H" out of it. And, for anyone following any of us on Instagram that is precisely what we did! Check out #esgp if you want to see what I mean. 




Photos of me by Jaquilyn Shumate.





It was a good night.  New friendships were made and I hope for many more parties just like this!  Thank you to our great hosts, Sarah and Lana.  XOXO!

Super Fast & Easy Milkmaid Braids


About a year ago I spent about an hour trying to put these darn braids in my hair.  I looked at about 10 different tutorials and I could NOT figure it out. Then a couple weeks ago I tried it - without tutorials - and it was a cinch!  It takes about 5 minutes to do it and it is for real the easiest thing in the world.  Easier than a top-knot if you ask me.  With the warmth of summer and all the running I've been doing for my half marathon training I have loved getting my hair off my neck and out of the way.  It's also a great style for mama's with babies.  I dont think I have any super secret special tips.  I just thought a video might be easier than a 15-step-photo-tutorial. So.... here ya go!


The song on this video is "The Fearless" by Sleep for Sleepers.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Inspiration

Dan and I mentored teenagers for many years and we saw a lot of hurt and confusion.  I was searching for inspiring quotes earlier this week and I noticed on Pinterest that many of the most popular quotes were a little dark, a little hurt.  They were inspiring but they were about facing opposition.  Things like:  The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow." "Dont let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life." "I'm sorry I cant be perfect."... and many, many more.  Some that are just too crazy to even repeat.  

I found some inspirational quotes and layered them over some of my instagrams. I love the way they turned out.  So, enjoy these little messages of hope.  Meditate on them and spread them around the internet!

 photo inspiration1copy_zps46cbe37e.jpg





Some other inspiration from this week --
  • Casey Wiegand started saying "yes" to her children and loved it.  I need to do this more.
  • Ruthy shared her thoughts on being an older mom.  While I'm not an old mom, I'm not young either. But, I just started this mom-business and if we have/get more kids I might be in my 40s when I'm taking a child to their first day of kindergarten.  I love Ruthy's honesty in her posts and I was inspired to reflect back on my almost 30 years of life and realize that this is a great time to be a mom!
  • I loved that Jami Nato took her first born out for some alone time with mom and dad.  Being a first born myself I think she nailed it and her words to her son are so sweet!  Kids need individual attention.
  • Lauren (The Little Things We Do) and Mona (Hey Mona!) are trying to lose weight and I am inspired!  Follow along because it's always nice to have people looking at pictures of you in your workout clothes accountability and support. I want to lose a few LBS before my birthday pool party and a few more before our 10-year anniversary Mediterranean cruise.  
  • I became a contributer on Liberating Working Moms

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Danny Brock Goes HARD.

The world just has to see this. This is my "introverted" husband, ladies and gents. The verdict is still out on that one. #PartyAnimal

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

I Have Loved you for 4,302 Days

Here is a simple way to say "I love you"... by counting the days!  I used this Date to Date Calculator to figure out how long it has been since Dan and I said "I love you" to each other.  I think it was the Saturday before Canadian Thanksgiving in 2001.  So, approximately 4,302 days ... Or 11 years, 9 months, 11 days excluding the end date!  Simply print the message and deliver it to your loved one.  How sweet!





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