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 !

Personalize your 'Thank You' cards...

 Ya know, when you buy someone a gift or go to their party its always nice to get a thank you card in the mail...if for no other reason just acknowledgement for your attendance.

Here are some cute ideas to personalize your thank you notes...

On my stepson Jaxson's fourth birthday, I used some of the pictures I had taken at his party and went through shutterfly.com to design a thank you card collage. It turned out adorable and we have it scrap booked as well.

For these fun little pics, I made this handy 'thank you' sign the night before. It took me all of twenty minutes.

Now, I will admit, I had envisioned my cutie cakes son holding this sign out in front of him like all was perfect in the world, but when we got there he was not even a little bit interested in doing so.

We improvised and this was the results. Below you can see he was on board with dad holding one side and him holding the other... and above, we just hung it up and let him pose and do his own thing.

Sometimes you just have to go with it!

This idea is good for much older kids as well... This could either be the front of the card, make a collage with them, or just print the picture and send it with a separate card or a note..

 There are some elaborate things that could be done with this idea... of course this is just a basic thought... run with it.

we'd love to hear your ideas..

or send us an example of something you've personalized. 

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Here is an example of a personalized valentines card..

'Will loves U'

sent in by: Katrina Smith

Something fun and different to personalize even valentine's cards.. I think she actually used this picture in with a collage of some other cute pictures of her kiddos to send family members.

Great idea Kat!  

Balloon Craze

 I personally am loving the balloon frenzy!

Something so simple can add such color and fun to a group of photos.

For this set, I purchased a handful of random colored helium balloons on our way to take the pics.

(note to self: haven't had much luck keeping helium balloons to last longer then a day, so try to buy them the day you need them.)

And I opted to go with multi-colored balloons for the day to really pop the color.. but how

adorable would a grouping of all orange, pink, or lime green be with a few different props that matched?? I am picturing all yellow balloons with a sweet baby girl and some all yellow props out in the field.. presh

 To capture mostly sky as the background for the balloons, try to find a location with an incline. My son is setting at the top of a small hill in these pics, my husband is close by to make sure he is safe, and the camera and myself are down the hill about 15 feet and shooting up. As usual, my son has one of his many hot wheels cars in hand, and we brought along the singing sock monkey to add color.. not to mention he's a singing sock monkey with a funky beat, so if needed we can turn on the jamz in efforts to get my child's attention.. multi-purpose sock monkey! which also reminds me that the sock monkey has also made a HUGE come back lately and its also an adorable prop with kids.

 We did tie the balloon strings around his wrist to make sure they didn't fly away.. it would look classier, I'm sure,  if he were just holding the strings, but on a semi windy day we didn't want to chance it.

Just Settin Around...

Oh baby baby...

There is a span of a few months there, where it seems like all your baby's pictures are looking the same. Chillin on a blanket, head is flat, face looks smooshed, and even if its cute its still just not quiiiite showing off that adorable cuteness you get to see every day and are itching to share with the world.

Try a few of these momma tricks for some variety....

The bumbo seat helped me get some fun snapshots of my son Kellen. I plopped the seat down several times in our backyard with him in it and the results were T-total cuteness.( Of course he may not appreciate me using the 'leg warmers' when he gets old enough to tell me about it, but it was my attempt at popping some color in the mix.)

 Balloons are big right now..  you could blow up some random colored balloons and have them laying all around, or a few helium balloons and zoom out could be fun as well.  

For indoor pictures I used the bumbo a lot also.

Get down on your baby's level with your camera with a window behind you letting in some light.

These give you some incredible close up face shots of your few month old baby.

You can be creative with the bumbo also.. try covering it in shots like this one by using a colorful blanket.

My son had several seats, jumperoos, bouncies, boppies, etc etc the list goes on and on. At different points I used them all as photo ops, sometimes covering them up with blankets and often just letting them be. As long as the sweet baby is the focal point I don't think it matters.

Reflection in the mirror snapshots are fun too, don't forget about those...

                            I am a sentimental momma that doesn't want to miss or forget a thing. So I adore shots like this next one. Extreme close-ups with the right lens and some natural light really capture realness. No photo shop needed type of images are the ones I truly cherish.

We want to hear from you.

Comment and leave some of your own ideas for getting variety in your baby's

BABY PICS

or share your snapshots with everyone by sending them to

mommasnaps@gmail.com

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Wanna!

(This makes me smile every time I see it)

Oooooh the first birthday party pics.

They are quite the grand production, aren't they ?

In fact, every birthday party of a kiddos life is a celebration. A time to reflect on the fact that we've all made it through another year of growth, fun, laughs (hopefully laughs), and above all memories with our loved ones.

If the option is there to hire a photographer for these events, do it!

That way you can focus on being the hostess and the mom and enjoy the event..

for those that want the challenge for themselves, see if you find any of the following to be helpful:

 Attention to Detail
Take a few minutes right before the guests start arriving to go around the area and get some snapshots of the decorations, cake, food, etc etc.
You worked hard to get it all looking so nice, and it will be picked over and messed up within a matter of minutes when the party gets going... I like to take a few aerial shots of the entire shabang.. and then zoom waaay in for some good close ups. These really help capture the little things that might otherwise go unnoticed. If you spent big bucks on that fancy cake or hours putting together the party favors, be sure and at least get a few pictures to showcase your hard work.

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Check out this next picture... 

A customer and friend of mine, Shelley, had this on the display table for her 

daughter's first birthday party. 

This idea is presh!

Have a separate smash cake

If you are big on the 1st birthday smash cake pics, then you might opt to do a separate 'photo shoot' specifically for pictures. This way, if during the chaos of the party the pictures don't turn out quite like you had envisioned, you still have some adorable shots of em tearin into that cake! In this case, Shelley hired me for her daughters birthday bash.. and about a week prior to the party we scheduled a session for her one year pictures. She brought along the smash cake, and at the end of the pictures, we got it out and let little Patience go to town! It also created a fun picture display for her table as you can see. Great idea!

Soooo much fun

Keep in mind every child is sooo different, they really are individuals even at this tiny age.
For instance my son, was walking around everywhere on his first birthday so getting him to set still and eat this cake would NOT have turned out as cute as these.. and some babies are just more into the cake than others.. I will say there is a little trick to getting your 1 year old to do more then just look at the cake or play with it because they don't really know what to do with it.. So just tear off a tiny piece of the back of the cake and let them taste it. Once they realize wow, that's sugar and these people are letting me eat it, they typically dig in!!

The next picture is a fun way to get great pictures for this age, especially when they are learning to walk but just don't quite have it on their own.. They naturally want to be standing up, so let them.
This way, they are comfortable and feel mobile, and even though the adults hands are in the picture, the child is still the center of attention and focal point. Cutting off limbs on edges can be tricky, but with these shots I don't worry about it as much. I try to cut or crop at an angle, down the arm and not just straight across the wrist or any crucial points.

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We just celebrated my sons 2nd birthday with a semi small family party. I had read a while back on baby center that its smart to keep their first couple of parties small. As social adults we often want to invite everyone we know, and some people do. I had already started this blog post a week ago when I ran across this article randomly.. 

Check it out for some extra tips.

http://www.5newsonline.com/lifestyle/parenting/kfsm-parenting-u-birthday-parties-20120206,0,1654548.story

So, lets hear em, what are your comments ?

have any great party tips to add ?

any do's or dont's ?

email any great ideas we can share with others to mommasnaps@gmail.com

Trying our hand at Baby Scenes...

A little while back, a family member sent me a link to this lady's incredible blog. (Thanks Nan) When I finally got around to checking it out I realized it was precious. Long story short, this lady began taking pictures of creative little scenes for her baby by using quilts and blankets to help build the scenic background.

 (click here to view her precious blog)

 I instantly was intrigued and felt the need to try this out myself.

So I called up my friend Brooke, and we tried our hand at this fun idea.

The below are the shots we got of her little man Colt:

'Cowboy Colt'

We opted to use props and things we already had for this group of pictures, but a quick trip to Hobby Lobby for some adorable props could really bring these little scenes to life... and talk about a fun couple of scrapbook pages!

In the next one, cowboy colt has borrowed farmer bobs hat...

the hat was a little tricky. 

These are taken in my living room. We laid out the scene in the middle of my living room floor and opened the blinds of the large window to let in the natural light. I elevated myself with my camera by standing on a wooden chest we use as our coffee table. Very easy, and safe for the baby.

'Dreamin of field goals' 

We used very simple props. Since we didn't have a large enough blue blanket to create the 'sky' background for these football shots, we improvised by making clouds out of our smaller blankets.

Like I said, these are simple. We put these together in less than 12 hours. A little more preparation and thought put into this could produce some really good detailing. The scenes with more detailing really stand up off the page. really come to life. 

...and these next ones were just for fun and in keeping with the month of Valentine's theme.

The blanket is just shaped into a heart. This one could easily have more props to make a cute little baby cupid with a hat, bow and arrow etc etc..  

The scenes are endless. Check out her blog from the link I included above. Great ideas. I plan to get a copy of her book as well.

                                                                        'Baby Love'

Just a fun picture idea for smaller babies.. love it.

Comment and let us know what you think.. We'd love to hear your input and ideas.

also, feel free to email any fun ideas or info to share:

mommasnaps@gmail.com

p.s. share our blog with others you think would find it helpful or fun. thanks :)