Tessa's Cookie Party

**So over the last year after I started and then without explanation stopped the whole Two and a Half Minutes with Tessa video series, I received quite a few emails and comments asking why? Why did I stop doing it? Well... the short answer is, that it felt too personal. With all the sharing that goes on around here, pointing that camera on her while she ate for those couple minutes just didn't feel right. It felt a little too Truman Show, ya know?! So I stopped doing it.

With that said, it's been awhile since I just let the camera roll on Tessa being Tessa and shared it around here. And today there is a couple 2 minutes of video of Tessa being her adorable 2 year old self, pouring over with imaginative play, and creating her own story line. I can't remember the last time I smiled so big, I think it must have been when LB sang us "What A Wonderful World."

Last week Cole and I ended up with a few days off together, and we decided we should finish the kids playroom. We got rid of a bunch of the noisy Christmas toys, and tried to think of play areas that would keep them entrenched in fantasy and imagination, and creating. So this is what we came up with, their finished room. Ta-dah!

At the end of the day, after dinner, after bath, and jammies were on, Tessa really broke this new playroom in properly, and put on quite a show. She threw a good old fashioned cookie party for her toys. Cole noticed her running into the room, and setting up her favorite dolls at the table, and then start setting out pots and pans in front of them, and then Cole yelled for me to get the camera. We sat and watched her play in this room for a good 30 minutes straight. It was amazing to see her go. What a payoff right? We had just finished the room, looked at one another, and thought, are the kids even going to play in here? And then Tessa answered with this performance.

I know this video is probably just way insanely cute to Cole and I, but I wanted to share anyway for the buddies that have been watching Tessa grow up from afar. This one is for you guys.

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Taking Better Pictures of Your Kiddos

**UPATE- AND THE WINNER IS.... Elise who has a blog called Funky and Delightful and apparently triplets!!! Well there you go. Congrats to you Elise. Send me an email (there is a link to it in the about me section), and I will get you a copy of the book. Thanks for entering and checking out the book today everyone. If you still want to grab a copy, do so right HERE

**UPDATE - Rachel has given me permission to give away one e-book to someone today, so anyone here that is interested after reading this post, just leave a comment saying so and you are entered. I will use that random number generator thingy and pick someone at 9PM EST tonight. Good luck to everyone.

It's pictures like this magic below that make me just melt over Rachel Devine's photography. It's not just the nitty gritty technical side that she clearly knows and wields so well, it is her ability to take that photography know-how of light and shadows and she turns her camera into another eye. She plucks these moments out of the air so effortlessly, and her photos are filled with emotion and life. It's one thing to see your kids out in the world and experiencing new exciting sights and think to yourself... "geez this is such a great big moment for them." and it's a whole other thing to put your camera in front of that moment, click the shutter and have that story told in one perfect photo. Her children are going to have a connection to this place, and this time their whole lives because of this photo. I love that.

photo via: Rachel Devine at her blog Sesame Ellis

That is my favorite kind of photo to take. The picture that bonds to the subject, the picture that people hold onto and cherish their whole lives because it is so full of emotion and memory. That is absolutely the number one thing that excites me about kid photography. I don't think about the photo for the parents, I think about the photo for the child when they are all grown up and soaking in these glimpses of who they were, a little moment along the way to adulthood.

So I am really excited to tell you that Rachel has put out a new best friend for any of you with a stubborn shutter finger, a companion, a little buddy that whispers sweetly in your ear and tells you how to get the images to come out of the camera the way you see things with your own eyes. Rachel has put out a brand new E-book called CLICK, and it's designed for people that are struggling with capturing better photos of their kids. She has filled this thing with tons of great examples, and has laid out the lessons in really practical common sense language. I am absolutely telling you that if you are always bummed when you shoot your kids being adorable, if your photos just never look the way you want them to, then this is the great big boost that you were looking for. If you are still trying to stand your kids in a line in their best clothes and saying "Cheeeeeeese!" and surprised your pictures feel stuffy, then this is something you need to read.

Here is a quick look at what's inside of CLICK!


CLICK

THINK: Forget the “spray-and-pray” approach to kid photography, and learn to spot better opportunities to capture young ones experiencing everyday life.

PREPARE: With the right equipment on hand, and an understanding of essential photography concepts—from shot setup, to styling and safety—you’ll be ready to have some serious fun taking fabulous kids photos.

SMILE: Consciously develop your intuitive skills to ensure making photos is fun for kids of all ages and personality types—and for the photographer, too!

REFINE: Learn the photo processing tricks and techniques that’ll ensure every photo in your album, and on your wall, is truly unforgettable.

RESEARCH: Experiment with different styles and equipment, so you so you never miss a chance to capture a special moment, at any time, in any setting.

PUSH: Expand your creative boundaries with a series of practical challenges, each of which shows you new ways to make more evocative shots.

LOOK: Get inside the heads of five extremely innovative kids photographers, and benefit from their personal tips and advice.



I was really honored to be invited by Rachel to contribute some words and images to CLICK, and am still scratching my head in disbelief seeing it all finished. She has made a great resource that I feel lucky to have as part of my arsenal for taking better photos.

While I am still on my own journey in photography trying desperately to see where I want to place my energy and passion this has certainly nudged me in a direction that I seem to keep finding myself.

If you want to hear more about this E-book, read testimonials, see some more samples, then you can CLICK here.

Enjoy this book if you get it, I will be using it all week and turning my camera on the kiddos.

And a HUGE thank you to Rachel for putting this out.

**UPDATE - Rachel has given me permission to give away one e-book to someone today, so anyone here that is interested after reading this post, just leave a comment saying so and you are entered. I will use that random number generator thingy and pick someone at 9PM EST tonight. Good luck to everyone.

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My Fashion Week

This was my first stab at capturing some of Fashion Week, and since the moment I got on the plane to fly home, I wanted another stab at it. It felt like right when I shook all the nerves, and felt my hands and feet for the first time, it was over. Just like that. Over. I am already making plans for next season. I can't wait.

Diesel







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Reed Krakoff
**I had to catch my cab to the airport home and missed the show, so I lost the chance to shoot this collection, you can watch it HERE.













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Ports 1961




















P.S. In case you didn't get enough Fashion Week, and you want to see a really stunning batch of photos from another perspective, I invited the insanely talented Jason Hudson to join me and focus on shooting stills while I blasted away at video, and he delivered a group of really beautiful images. He even managed to sneak a couple shots of me working. Sneaky Sneak :) It was also the first time the two of us had ever met, and he described that meeting just perfectly so I will let you read all about it from him. I will just say it was the closest I have ever come to screaming OH MY GOD YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND NOW, ever. Ever. Thanks for looking. This was a huge mess of fun and a great experience to be around all of this. His post is HERE.

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The Last Days of Summer

We made the most of our summer that's for sure, we lived in swimsuits most days, and smelled like sunblock and chlorine, and ate watermelon, and fresh berries, and something off the grill almost every dinner. I have been scanning in Polaroids that I didn't post and figured I would put up a collection to officially say goodbye to this summer. It was easily the most fun I have had in this Florida heat in years, probably since I was a kid. I'm actually bummed it's over and I can't remember the last time I could say that about a summer. Bring on the Fall, we are ready for you.

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It's Here: Design Sponge at Home

Just by chance while I was in NYC shooting this week, I noticed that Grace Bonney from Design Sponge was having her official book launch party on one of the nights I had free for her new book Design Sponge at Home. I made it a point to drag my sorry tired butt to the party, and support and celebrate the book. I was so excited that I got to go and see the finished book, and hold it in my hands. It's real, it's beautiful, and it's so great to witness Grace and Amy welcoming this book.

**If you are not familiar with Design Sponge, take a look HERE, and prepare to become addicted. AND if you are new reading around this blog, a few months back I got the chance to work with Grace and Amy from Design Sponge and I made the book trailer for them. Which I have conveniently embedded right here for you to play.

If I did my job right, that should have made you want to buy this book immediately. If that's the case, go ahead an click HERE and make that happen. Unless of course Grace is coming to your hometown and throwing a book event, then you should just wait, go to the party, meet Grace, and get her to sign you a copy :) Her tour schedule and book event info is HERE.

I was in great company that night for the party-- I had been shooting a show that day with Jason Hudson from one of my favorite blogs These Roving Eyes, and so of course he came with me. Jason was excited to go and meet a blogger he loves named Amy Merrick, and we met up with my long time IRL and blogging buddy Chloe. So it was a big mess of internet comes alive and loads of fun.




The pictures above come from the always impressive and adorable Smilebooth folks. Grace had them on hand, and it was obviously a hit, if it even managed to lure me into posing for pictures. The vodka helped.

It was a great party, I am so excited for their tour, and please, if you are lucky enough to be in one of the cities they are hitting, make it a point to go. You won't be disappointed.

Huge congrats to Grace, and to Amy, and to everyone at Design Sponge.

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