Project 52 weeks...

I am so in love with the idea of documenting our lives. I've done a 365 for both of my children's first years, but it's so difficult to keep up with.  I find a 52 week project much more do-able.  It's really stretching me, and reminding me of why I love photography so much.  Here are some of my favorites from the last 2 weeks.

Are you photographing your family regularly? Are you doing a 365 or 52 week challenge? I'd love to see it! Feel free to share a link in the comments!
xo,
Kristen

light and shadow

Just a quick photo from last week of my girl.  Just hanging out in front of a window, and I asked her to do some posing for me.  Now that she's 6, I feel like she's learning to model for me.
:)

xo, Kristen

Fan Photo Assignment #1

I decided to try something new, and ask my friends and family for some help.  I asked my friends and fans to give me a photo assignment, which I needed to complete by this Saturday.  I got lots of answers, and someone jokingly said I should try to incorporate everything into one photo.  I thought that would actually be quite a fun challenge.
The suggestions were as follows: love, hope for kids, spirals, yellow, things that swim, a rainbow, and age. The suggestion from my friend Mike, "hope for kids" really got my brain working.  What do kids hope for? What do they dream of? And two things immediately popped into my head:

1.  I have been quite inspired by Adele Enerson, who I think is brilliant.  Have you seen her Mila's Daydream blog? You must.  Go now.  I'll wait.

2.  Peter Pan.  There's a short story here.  I have to read my 6 and 3 year old to sleep every other night, and I'm getting really bored with the normal children's books.  Ugh, especially those awful Barbie books. (Have you read those? Utterly Un-readable.) So, I decided to download a free version of Peter and Wendy by JM Barrie to my iPhone. The kids LOVED it.  Well, the three year old often fell asleep during the chapters, but he loved what he heard.  Anyway, after we finished the book, we watched the Disney movie, and the house has been filled Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tiger Lilly,and all the other scally-wags ever since.

I had this picture in my head, and thanks to some help from the hubby and two very willing participants, here is what we made.

 There is no rainbow (it's in Neverland, and they haven't gotten there yet...) But I think everything else can be seen from my list.  Love, Hope for Kids, Spirals, Yellow, Things That Swim (swim through the air?), and age. Can you spot them all?

Thank you friends. This was so much fun!!! This was my very first "styled" shoot, and I'm going to attempt another in a few weeks!
xo, Kristen

back to life

I know.  I'm not much of a blogger.  I realize this needs to change.  I'm not someone who enjoys writing, so I'll keep this brief.  I'm updating my contact information, and I have a few places that you can visit to see more work. I hope you come visit me soon!
xo,
Kristen.
ps- this image is for sale at my Society6 shop.

Minty Fresh Monday: Rain, rain, go away!

Mint (adj.) meaning new, fresh, sweet, brilliant, awesome.

I actually LOVE rainy days.  Every photographer is overjoyed when the weather turns cloudy. Believe it or not, these are the perfect lighting conditions.  An overcast day = pure joy.  Unfortunately, I live in sunny southern California, where rain is fairly scarce.  But, I got a few great rainy day photos this year because we had more rain than usual.  Looking through these photos gave me an idea...

This week, your tip is also a challenge.  Use rain to your advantage.  Go out and play in it! Let your kids get muddy! (Hey, there's always a nice, warm bath afterword.)  You can look for reflections and really play those up in your photos.  A really great umbrella can add serious fabulousness to a photo as well.  If you live in a place like I do, then make your own rain!  
Whatever you do, have fun.  Let your kids have fun, and capture it.  Please share any photos with me, either here or on the fanpage.  I would love to see!

Have a brilliant week!
xo,
Kristen
ps- if there is anything in particular you'd like more help with, just leave a comment below! :)

Fabulous Friday: A super birthday party.

I seriously can not believe that my Jack is turning two tomorrow, and that my twin's baby turns one!  I have been scouring the internet for party ideas, and one of my favorite tools to use is Pinterest.  It's a great tool for keeping all of my favorite ideas in one place.  Through Pinterest, I found some great ideas for scooter parties, dinosaur parties, and cowboy parties.  And the party I definitely want to try (next year?) is the Superhero party!  Hey, it gives me an excuse to dress like Wonder Woman. 

I think this whole party is amazing. You have to go see the whole thing on her blog! 

Have a fabulous weekend.

xo

Kristen

Feeling Cheeky

Happy Wednesday!  
I'm on summer vacation, which means I have more time to blog, but it also means that some days my brain is working better than other days.  This shot is an outtake from my trip to New York City.  I think this horse had a message that he was hoping to convey.  Could he be a little tired of the purple feather?
Anyway, have a fantastic Wednesday.
xo,
Kristen