MomShots

This is super short notice. Sorry.

TONIGHT at the SLC Library, there is a free mini-clinic called “What Makes a Great Photo”. This is presented by Photowalking Utah.

I’m super excited to go and really, really, really hope that Ben can get home from work in time for me to leave.

If you are in the area I hope you will come out. There’s lots of great info to learn and should be super fun!

Here are the details:

Date: Thursday August 27th, 2009
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Location: Salt Lake City Main Library - 210 E 400 South, Conf. room #4, 4th floor
Cost: Free!
As an added bonus, we will have a swap table set up. I’ve been approached by some members of the group that have photography stuff that they would like to give away (namely, photography magazines). Please feel free to bring along any unused magazines or gear that you’d like to give away to a fellow photographer.

Obligatory MomShot:

CASTING CALL…
I want to put together a post about distracting backgrounds. If anyone any shots where trees, poles, other distracting objects seem to be growing out of your child’s head would you send me a copy? I would love to use your examples in my upcoming post. Email them to momshots@yahoo.com.

Don’t ever leave home with out your camera. Don’t ever think, “Oh, I’m just picking the kids up from school, I won’t need my camera.”

You will.

You will decide to buy burritos and stop at the park to let the kids play. They will find a giant puddle to splash in and the cloudy afternoon light will be perfect. There won’t be any harsh shadows and the children will have wonderful smiles on their faces.

You will be left sitting at the picnic table wishing that you had your camera with you. Trying to think of ways to make your phone take a good enough picture that it will even be worth your time to try. You will be very, very disappointed with yourself.

Very disappointed.

This happened to me today.

Don’t let it happen to you. Take your camera with you always!

One of my personal goals for taking photos of my children is to capture their personality. I want to be able to look at my MomShots and see the joy and love of life that my children exude through every poor in their bodies. I want to look at those shots and be forced to smile because my children’s vibrant delight and love has been captured by my camera.

How do we do this? How do we take photos that help us see through the mud pie smudges and peanut butter smears and into the soul of our children? Or how do we take those great shots that actually capture the mud pie smudges and peanut butter smears? Sometimes we want to remember those grubby little mugs for who they really are and sometimes we want shots that make us feel like fantastic parents who actually can keep our children clean for longer then 2.5 seconds.

One of my favorite ways to do this is very simple. It is quite simple but has made a huge difference in how much I enjoy looking at my own MomShots. This particular trick is to get really, really close. I have found that by filling your camera’s viewfinder with your child’s face makes for great photos.

Variations on this tip can be really fun. You can focus on your child’s eyes and fill the frame with his entire face or you can choose to only have part of their face in the frame. You can experiment with your child looking directly at you or looking away. You can also play with capturing their emotions up close and personal; alligator tears have never looked so pitiful as when they fill an entire photograph.

As the photographer, you have as much or as little creative control as you choose to give yourself. You can experiment to your heart’s delight and if you are focusing on getting close to your subject your shots will often amaze and delight you.

Rachael Bosko Grotegut has recently opened her photography business, called Time Held Photography. I have always been blown away by her talent and fresh eye for capturing the sweet moments of life. I also love that her photos always look clean, polished and colorful but not overly processed, like so many photographers seem to do these days. She’s got mad skillz!

Not to mention, she’s funny as all get out! She never fails to make me laugh by her comments on Facebook and Twitter.

Rachael has two sons, Gavin and Keaton, who she loves to dress up in adorable outfits and photograph. As a mother of boys, I have always been inspired by her fashion sense and ability to coordinate adorable outfits.

When Gavin was two he was diagnosed with high functioning Autism. This was an earth shattering event to Rachael and her family. Suddenly developmental milestones that other children would reach easily were farther away and seemingly insurmountable. One of the ways Rachael found to cope with her feelings was to photograph the little stepping stones and huge milestones that Gavin reached. She was able to document the joy that they shared together in a beautiful and creative way.

As a mother to an Autistic child, Rachael has special insight into the challenges of photographing children with Autism and their families. She is aware of the types of questions to ask you and the time and patience it takes to bring out your child’s personality so their photographs can be something you will cherish for a lifetime.

Gaver by grotegut, on Flickr">

Project Gavin is a service that Rachael and Time Held Photography offers to our community; families with Autistic children are given free photography sessions. She understands that many families are faced with large medical expenses and this is a way that they can have beautiful family portraits done without impacting that budget.

Project Gavin sessions are limited to families with children on the Autism Spectrum. To apply for a session send Rachael an email at timeheldphotography@gmail.com. Enter your information and mention you are applying for a Project Gavin Session. Or go to her website and click on the Project Gavin link.

I have to say that I am really impressed with the generosity of Project Gavin. I think it is an awesome gift that Rachael is giving. In fact, I was so moved when I first found out about Project Gavin that it brought tears to my eyes. Ok, I’m a big softy anyway, but still it is a pretty fantastic opportunity.

If you have an Autistic child in your family or are aware of others who do, I really hope you will point them in the direction of Time Held Photography. This would be a gift that will be cherished.

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Do you know what movie that quote is from? I’m much good at remembering movie quotes but this is one of the few lines that I do remember and it totally dates me.

If you don’t know you can find out here.

Anyway, “greetings, my Excellent Friends…” I wanted to make a quick post to let you know that I want to get back into the swing of things here at MomShots. I have enjoyed my summer off but now it is time to get back into learning photography. Who is with me?!

So I have a small list of topics to discuss and experiment with. I want MomShots to be a site that helps you get the most satisfaction from your own camera and your own MomShots.

So the question is : Do you have any questions? Is there anything that you want to know about? Are there any buttons that you don’t know what they do or do you have any ideas but aren’t sure how to execute them? Whatever. Let me know if there is anything I can help you to learn and then we can learn together.

A few of the things on my list are:

All of these ideas are open to suggestion, participation, self-promotion… you name it. If anyone is interested in participating by writing posts for MomShots, writing tutorials or if you have any other way that you would like to share your knowledge of photography, especially when it comes to photographing children, I would love to hear from you. Send me an email if you are interested. It doesn’t have to be a major time commitment, it can be a one time thing, as detailed or as short as you’d like.

So don’t forget to leave a comment below with your questions or shoot me an email. Let’s start learning how to take great shots of our kids together!!!

So I just found out that there is a photography competition at the Utah State Fair, held in early September. I am thinking about trying to find an image to submit. Any suggestions?

If you are in Utah and are interested in participating click here to find out all the rules, regs and to find an application form you can download.

If you are not in Utah, I urge you to find out about your state or county fair and enter one of your shots.

I don’t think entering the competition is about winning but about stretching yourself and putting yourself in situations that help you to grow and become a better photographer and person. Who knows, you may really be inspired by the other entries and learn something new.

You don’t have to have a fancy camera to do this either. It is about your results not the equipment you use.

This shot is not my entry, it just reminds me of fairs. It was taken on an afternoon where my mom, my sister and I were making chili and putting it in quart jars to preserve for future quick dinners. It was my first pressure cooker experience and was a ton of fun.

At our recent family reunion I was able to spend some time talking photography to my extremely talented uncle, Eric. He has been shooting for years and years; since before I was born. One of my favorite shots of myself as a toddler was taken by him. He has kind of always been an inspiration to me.

Lucky for me, he shoots Nikon too. This is nice for me but not nice for my cousin Kristina, who shoots Canon. Nice in the sense that I have a general knowledge and familiarity with the equipment he uses and he even lets me try some of his lenses (a.k.a. glass) on and play with them.

I always feel like I am bragging when I tell Kristina, “Check out this lens Uncle Eric is letting me try!!!”

He brought his Nikon D90 with his 500mm lens to the reunion. His lens was as long as my 2 year old’s arm. Literally. I was surprised when I held it how light it was though.

The funny thing is that I didn’t realize until after I got home that I never actually looked through his camera with that lens attached. How silly is that?!? I can’t believe it didn’t even cross my mind. Strange!

He brought a few lenses for me to play with. Lucky for me I brought both of our cameras just in case of this situation. If Eric brought some glass for me to try it was very likely that it wouldn’t auto focus on my little D40x so I also brought the D100. I’m so glad I did. I ended up using the D100 exclusively with a 70mm-210mm lens from Eric. I had so much fun playing with it that he sold it to me for a great deal. He won favorite uncle status that day!!!

So I spent our reunion running around with this 70mm-210mm lens taking pictures of everything. The thing I love about that range is that you can kind of be sneaky and take candid shots of people. You can be so far from them that they don’t know they are being shot. Here are a few shots that I took with that glass.

My cousin Tara was talking to my sister Sariah. I loved the way the shadow and light were playing on her face. I love this shot. It’s a great candid moment courtesy of the 70mm-210mm lens!

My cousin’s daughter was sitting on her lap in the sun. It was a too much to pass up. Especially since I was about 15 feet away! Thank you 70mm-210mm!

Just a candid moment of my niece Cora sitting on a blanket looking adorable. Thanks again 70mm-210mm.

My adorably handsome nephew Matt. This was not candid. He knew I was pointing my lens at him. He’s just so handsome. How can you not photograph that kid? My only regret is not getting more shots of him. There is never enough time…
Do you see that bokeh (blurry background)? Thanks 70mm-210mm.

My uncle Tim brought a paddle boat to my Grandma’s house. It was such a fun water toy. All my sons loved it but Magnus was especially partial to it. Here he is with his two cousins. I was probably about 30 or 40 feet away when I shot this. Thank you 70mm-210mm!

Another shot of Cora. I can’t get enough shots of her. It’s such a bummer that I can only see her once or twice a year. When I see her I have to take lots of shots. She’s got those big blue eyes and blonde hair that is so different then my boys. I love the green bokeh in this shot; rich green.

Here’s a great candid shot. Cora and Uly were playing Photoshoot. Cora was directing Uly. She was telling him, “Sit here”, “Put your arm here”, “Move your legs over here”, “Smile big”, etc. It was so cute. But it was one of those instances where I didn’t want to get too close and ruin their moment. Thanks again 70mm-210mm!

This is one of my favorite candid shots. My uncle Randy has his grandson on his lap. I think it is such a sweet moment and I am very excited to have captured it. Hooray for the 70mm-210mm!!!

I lived my life just fine without a 70mm-210mm lens. I would continue to do so if I didn’t have one. But now I do and I think it is my favorite lens so far. Well for this week anyway…

I like being sneaky!

Really? How did that happen so fast???

Waaaaaa!!! I want more!!!!

Ulysses, my first born, starts kindergarten in just a meager 11 days.

Waaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

How is Gar going to cope? I hope he thrives and enjoys the time we will have together in the mornings without his older brother. I plan on working on lavishing him with attention. We are going to have fun.

This has been a wonderfully busy summer; we’ve had multiple birthdays, family visits, exciting job prospects for my husband and a new baby for my baby sister.

We were lucky enough to be able to go to North Idaho for a family reunion at my grandmother’s house on Lake Pend O’reille (pronounced Lake Ponder-ay). That was a fun couple of days. It was wonderful to see all my sisters and to witness the growth of our family since the last reunion, just two short years ago. However, I am really looking forward to the next reunion when my youngest, Magnus, will be a big 4 year old and not a 2 year old. He’s one tough cookie to attempt to keep an eye on 100% of the time! Thank goodness for my wonderful niece and nephew, Jessica and Matt. They were HUGE helps in giving me a break here and there.

Gar & Mag both had birthdays (on the same day). Gar turned 4 and Mag is now a full fledged 2 year old. Oh-Boy!!! Gar got his favorite thing in the world; a Spiderman costume. Which he wears daily. Magnus got a life size push pedal Brum.

Watch out or he’ll web you!

Magnus was so surprised to see a life sized Brum (if you don’t know who Brum is check out the the video on Youtube) in our living room. He didn’t know what to think. It was brilliant!

Holy cow a lot has happened!

A much needed hair cut for my fluffy headed 4 year old.

(Before)

(Half way through)

(After)

I even was able to squeeze in my first ever weekend away from my children. Ben and I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico with my cousin and her husband for his gallery opening at the Blue Rain Gallery. It was a wonderful weekend full of great sites and sounds. Honestly I could have used a few more days there! But I’ll take what I was able to get!!!

I have so much more to tell you about but I think you might be experiencing MomShots overload about now. That is, if you stuck with me through this huge long post! I’ll try to post some more in a day or so. I have some really fun MomShot thoughts for you.