It's the Holiday Season...

 

It's the holiday season...

Looking for a fun idea for holiday cards or festive scrapbook pages ??

This is from last year, but still a fab idea all the same.

For you dslr camera users, pick an open spot in your house that is facing a good sized window, pull open the blinds and let the natural light shine on in!

Now my mother-in-law has me into the Christmas boxes... I reuse (add to) the same boxes each year.. some have presents in them, some don't.. its just a fun way to add character to your tree display and mix them around your other wrapped gifts. the point to saying that is that I didn't have to buy anything for this picture.. I just used our existing holiday decor and you could do the same.. whatever you have will work wonderful if you are low on funds..

This is two white sheets as the background. Depending on the size of your kid/s will determine how high you need the sheets to go for plenty of head room.

and as I always say, this is such a basic example.. you could really go over board with this idea and make some extremely cute holiday cards. Add some text in photo shop and the picture and text could be your own card.

EASY

I'd love to see your ideas!

Share them with us at mommasnaps@gmail.com

 

Patch Pickin...

The craze that is 'visiting the pumpkin patch' seems to be a mix of the digital camera phenom, keeping up with the Facebookers, and every one's adoration for Fall.

Well whatever the reason behind it, I personally think it's GRAND.

We Mommas tend to plan all of these great adventures for our families and then get so wrapped up in trying to get great pictures that we forget to enjoy the festivities ourselves....

LIVE in the moment. Let the pictures be what you look back on years from now and be able to remember how wonderful the moment was.

This post is meant to (hopefully) give you tips, good ideas, and inspiration for your own patch pictures.

Vanzant's Fruit Farm in Lowell.

(Just google Vanzant's Fruit Farm to get directions and info.)

Not only does Van's have my absolute favorite set-ups for patch pictures, but they also have a pretty fabulous selection of apples and homemade fruit jams.. YUM (snag some while you're there.)

The above images were taken right on their front porch.

They have the cutest displays of mini gourds and pumpkins in wheel barrels and wagons.

It's personally my favorite patch if your goal is to get good pictures with good lighting.

And for you stay at home or day time Mommas, if you can go in the morning time during the week, its perfect. no crowds!

For all of you stressers out there, here is my suggestion on pumpkin patch pics...

Try setting the day up to go to two locations. First hit up somewhere like Vanzant's and concentrate specifically on pictures and getting backgrounds set just right for some great shots.

Next, head somewhere like Mcgarrah's Farms. Lots of kid activities and fun to be had there !

Take your camera or leave it behind at Mcgarrah's , either way.. but this way you can concentrate on the laughter and fun with your kiddos rather then worrying about the 'perfect' shots.

I love me some Mcgarrah's Farms but it has been my experience over the past five years that I do NOT get shots like these there...

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However, the kiddos love Mcgarrah's and that makes it worth the trip.

These are some oldies but goodies from Mcgarrah's Farms

(http://www.mcgarrahfarms.com/)

Hayrides, wheel barrel rides, cow train, corn maze etc etc ... love me some Mcgarrah's for the kid friendly activities.

You can get some fun action/candid pictures at a place like Mcgarrah's for sure. 

Kids always have natural great smiles when they are doing something fun like this, so what better time to try and snap a pic or two. My kids love to look back through scrapbooks or albums I've made and see themselves doing something fun. It's exciting to remember the fun times with them and hear their little versions of how the adventure went!

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This next little goody is located a little bit further South of the area.

(google Sequoyah United Methodist Church)

Honestly, I had not heard of this adorable little pumpkin patch until a customer of mine suggested we use it for a session for her girls. Once there I quickly realized its a little hidden gem!

For the tiny amount of space they have for this patch, they have really gone all out.

complete with adorable benches and steps for photo-ops, plenty of tiny pumpkins, rows of large pumpkins, and enough radio flyers to go around!

It wasn't crowded on this particular Sunday afternoon so we got some adorable shots of these two adorable little pumpkins.

and below, Mara is doing her thing and we're just letting her.

Just like every other toddler/big girl her age, she isn't interested in setting and posing so we

let her be active and put the pumpkins from the wagon to a stand and then back... and just tried to freeze frame her natural cuteness somewhere in between. Don't be afraid to move pumpkins around and place them where you need to in order to create your images. Not suggesting you rearrange for them, but a good patch shouldn't mind you moving a few pumpkins around to accommodate your kiddos.  

This would be a location like Vanzants.

 Pick a few pumpkins, great for pictures...

Precious little patch!

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Those are my pumpkin patch 'picks'... Just another fabulous reason to ADORE

FALL !

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If you have any ideas to go along with this feel free to comment or email us thoughts and pictures to:  mommasnaps@gmail.com

In my previous post I painted a couple of pumpkins for some fresh looking Fall pictures of my kiddo. I am still hoping to see someone take it to the extreme.

I'm waiting for it to show up on pinterest where someone has sat their baby girl in the middle of dozens of fab painted pumpkins of all colors and designs. turquoise, purple, yellow, whatever!

If I had the time and the money, oh there is no limits...

sigh

Cutie Little Pumpkin

Cutie Little Pumpkin

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Setting and thinking of our Fall decorations this year for our annual Halloween party and realized that plain orange pumpkins up against the color of hay was descriptive of Fall, yes, but bland on so many levels. That's when I pinterest searched some decorative pumpkin ideas and ran across the above picture.. (I have no idea how to give someone credit for this off of pinterest so for now I'll just copy and paste the image.) This image was one of hundreds that are available for your copy cat pleasure.... Pinterest clearly rocks!

So last weekend Jon and I bought some pumpkins and set out on our driveway and got to painting.. and Saturday morning we got up early and put our newly decorative props to work.

Other than buying the 3 orange pumpkins this photo op didn't cost a thing. We used paints we already had and the other 2 smaller pumpkins are plastic and we reuse each year.

I spray painted one yellow, and then went back over it with orange paint dots... well , those are supposed to be dots. :)

(disclaimer: drippy dots and non round circles... my trademark style when it comes to painting.)

 

We just picked a field close to our house. Makes for easy access to the location and toting the props.

We went early in the morning because our Saturday was full of other plans, but afternoon/evening lighting would be ideal for this set up.

People ask me often how I get Kellen to 'pose' for so many pictures... um, we don't.

We try hard to make it natural for him... Jon is good about getting him to laugh and sing.

Picture perfect poses would be wonderful, yes, but they are not realistic of any family or any child.

Just let the kiddo be themselves. If you take tons of pictures chances are you will get at least a few cute ones.. snap snap snap

 

And since we broke out the paints Friday night, Jon even painted this old bench for me.

I have used it a few times as a photo prop during sessions, but it needed a fun change.

(Think twice before throwing stuff out as junk.. could it be painted and used for a fun photo prop???)

ha

We decided why not mix the two.. after I got these home and went through them I realized how adorable this would be with even more colored pumpkins. some blue ones, red ones, striped blue and red ones.. Is there any limit to how over the top you can make scrapbook photo shoots ???

NOPE  

and just be mindful of tree placement if you work with a field like this one.. The trees in the back ground don't bother me at all, but I just have to make sure to use good placement so the tree trunk doesn't end up looking like a 5th limb protruding from the kiddo.. For me those are just basics of what I try to watch for in my viewfinder while shooting.

 

...and I love this picture. loved it in both color and black and white.

Natural expression on children truly is the best.

About 15 years ago I would have looked at this image and immediately critiqued the cut off feet and hand that is barely showing from the sleeve... but lets face it, rules have changed..

 this is classified as 'artsy' now 

and maybe I'm just a partial Momma to this cutie little boy but I happen to think this little pic 

ROCKS

:)

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 Nothing drives me crazier than when people have their pictures taken and you cant even see what color their eyes are because rather than seeing eye balls all you can see are black sunken in holes where eyes should be. Its caused by improper placement in sunlight or in some cases just the really tacky overuse of contrast in photo shop editing. It's a major pet peeve of mine and something I've had to work on over the years to improve in my own shooting.... now where was I going with that rant.... hmm.. lol 

The above and below pictures are from the same image taken. I always make it a point to take close-up shots on faces when I'm shooting, especially with kiddos, but they rarely set still and sometimes my close-ups don't turn out.. So in this case I cropped in to one of the images and created the close-up.

It's cropped and obviously photo shopped.

 I went a little loud on the brightness to really put the focus on his eyes and the expression on his sweet face. You do not have to have Lightroom software or the latest greatest etc etc to create fun images like this one.. I use CS5 now, but I started YEARS ago with a software I cant even remember the name of.. then it was Picasso to Photo shop Elements and now work with CS5. Whatever you have access to, just play with it. I believe there are some free photo shops online if you do a google search...

Learn to crop into your pictures. In this particular one, I cropped down and also slightly rocked it to the right a little. This helps with eye placement in pictures where the subject is not looking directly at the lens. I do this a lot with kids, like I said because they tend to move around so much that its hard to line up the background and props and placement etc etc. So rather than waste a great capture of the child, I play with it in photoshop and see what I can come up with.

The painted pumpkins are just a fun idea for kids.

My little guy is close to 2.5, but I a baby setting among some fun pumpkins clapping and smiling would be adorbs. even in your own back yard.

Who knew pumpkins could be so fun!

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Please feel free to comment or add your thoughts and ideas.

The point of this blog is to share ideas and a few tips along the way.

If you have an idea you'd like me to try or pictures you'd like to share

email them to me at mommasnaps@gmail.com

and I'll add them to the blog.

thanks for reading, have fun with your kiddos and your pictures!

:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artsy Fartsin Around...

I wouldn't expect to win any 'most creative' awards with this one... However, it proved to be a fun Saturday morning activity for our family, and offers some colorful snapshots for the ol scrapbook!

I find myself reluctant to want to drag out the paints every week when the boys are asking to set at the table for arts and crafts, so this particular week when they asked to draw we opted to give them an outdoor larger canvas! There are so many different ways to make this a photo op. Thinking large canvas with overalls and a couple of bright paint colors and let them finger paint.. adorbs.

We kept it simple by taping up colored poster boards.  

 We also just used things we had.. I think those are left over Halloween party cups and some transformer birthday plates! but how cute could you make it with some mason jars.. could even color the water for added affect...Rolled paper from a teachers co-op or somewhere would be a fun canvas as well.  You can tell that we didn't get out side as early as we needed to for sun placement as well by the harsh shadows in the images, but make it an early activity or later afternoon as the sun is going down and you're golden :) 

 Shooting down the fence helps you capture those little painters in action, plus get full 'story telling' shots.

 I drew this lovely dog head you see below and Jon decided it needed a body.. Poor dog.. he'd take one step and topple over.

Stressing a perfect smile 'group shot' is not something I worry about anymore either. There is so much more personality when they do their own thing anyways. The above would be me saying 'Kellen, copy what daddy's doing and lets take a picture'.. so he did!



PROPS -- Paint those Jars!

Whelp, mason jars are making a come-back!

I'm borderline infatuated with them right now... the idea of porch sittin out on a summer day, sippin lemonade or sweet tea out of a mason jar just makes it sound all the more refreshing.. and more...southern!

Painting them and sticking flowers out of them has caught my eye recently as well.. centerpieces for wedding receptions...decor for summer parties... so fun!

They can also pop some needed color into some outdoor Spring or Easter pictures.

(Kellen also helped me paint the jars. Kids love when they can 'help').

Some amazing big ol fresh cut flowers would really stand out in this little setting here, and so would some elaborate blooms purchased at Hobby Lobs, but for this little session I opted to pick these fancy yellow wild flowers(weeds) off the side of the road on the way there.

:)  

       Fun props like this can be intriguing for the little tykes as well. Have them 'check it out' and stand back and snap away. Don't be afraid to try your props on different days or at different times based on the sun placement and 'mood' of your kiddo.

I also try not to miss out on great shots in a session, even if it is no where near the props or has nothing to do with what I've set out to get pictures of for the day.. Kids are on the go and not likely to stay stationery while your out shooting... Kellen wasn't all too interested in being still on this particular day so I just got down on his level and started snapping while he moved around and socialized.

...and of course these two were more interested in pointing out non existent airplanes they were hearing through the trees... sigh. KIDZ

    Fun use of colors and fun snapshots to scrapbook...

Happy Spring!

Easter Peaster

With Easter around the corner...

Is anyone thinking outside the box this year.. the studio pics are classy, the live bunnies are great. love it all...but what else.

The emergence of pinterest has my mind thinking colored easter eggs and mason jars.. hmmm

to be continued...

(if you have any fun ideas, lets here em! )

comment or email them to us:

mommasnaps@gmail.com

An Incredible Opportunity for you... Blessings Unlimited

Ladies, whether you are staying at home with your kids, wanting some extra income, or just looking for a wonderful outlet with great friends and fellowship this could be a wonderful opportunity for you!

I recently started back to work for the home office of this growing company, and I am already excited to share with you how fabulous I think it is!

Blessings Unlimited is a DaySpring company with the goal of honoring God in all they do.

The idea is for christian women to be able to encourage one another through fellowship...and being a consultant is an opportunity to fellowship with other christian women, experience growth in your relationship with the Lord, and provide extra income for your family.

Here is the website and info... don't miss out!

http://www.myblessingsunlimited.net/

Check out this T-total Cuteness sent in...

                                                         How cute is this little princess?!?!

Sent in by Jessica C.

in response to the 'Just Settin Around' previous post.

 

Just a fun way to get some sweet pictures of your tiny little ones.

Great job Jess!

If you find any of our MommaSnaps posts to be helpful, please

a.) share with other mommas!

b.) email your pictures to mommasnaps@gmail.com

DIY indoor session for your baby

I've discovered this is a fun and easy fix for those times when the weather is just not cooperating.

The above is 3 yards of material. I picked a fun pattern for these, but a solid color or less busy pattern would be adorable as well.  

For the 'hanging lantern' effect, we were lucky to have two dads handy for the job, so we asked them to stand one on each side to help us hold the lanterns. They would just as easily hang from something, or one person could probably handle the job. Just make sure the person standing closest to your window isnt blocking your light source or casting any shadows over the setting of your shot.  

 Zoom/set your camera and get ready for the shot before setting the baby down. A smaller baby might set still with easy, but this little on the go tyke was eager to get up and move so we only had seconds to take each picture before she was off again! :)

We were also simple with our props, but you could really get carried away with this and it would look adorable.

 The above standing baby is a 'go-to' pose I use often for babies this age. She is almost one and right on the verge of walking, but just not quite. Just showcases their cuteness and size and allows them to stand freely. Again as I've mentioned before, just be careful not to 'chop' the adults hand.

 

Just have fun with it.

We would love to see your pictures and ideas.

Send them to mommasnaps@gmail.com

and share !