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Digital Photography with Guest Kara Layne

We are really excited to get going really thrilled to welcome back becky becky against two creative life what I'm really sad to say is for the last time but we've loved having you here and I know they're going to love having her again today please welcome back to creative life higgins you doing I'm well how much fun we have on a little bit more that you started the week not feeling one hundred sent the right but I know you you're actually looking great I know you're feeling better thank you thank you staying with us and keeping the energy going has been wonderful thank you absolutely I don't know we've had so many of your fans in the chat room and they die infused to get going so I'm gonna get out of here okay you sure you don't hang out e o if you stay I might make you scrapbook know what's coming anyway well good morning it's so good to be back with you guys this morning and of course our live internet audience and yesterday wass cool right I know that I was really personally looking...

forward to the afternoon the last couple of sessions or segments of the day because we had kevin here who was enlightening us with all things tech related that had to do with our pictures in our memory keeping and then we had kerry here to enlighten us with how to do digital project life and I know from from what it sounds like the chat room was buzzing and there was a lot of learning and we were all really excited about that so yesterday was certainly fun I have to say when it comes to digital stuff there's a reason why I had guessed experts come you guys know that's not necessarily my area of expertise and so it was a comfort to have people who are actually really knew what they were talking about be here but today as we get started with today's activities I'm also very excited in a different way that we're going back tio my own like real love language which is we're going to start the day off by talking about picture taking I almost said photography but I don't want to scare anybody that we're going really technical with in depth settings on your camera and things like that but we're going to talk about photography and everyday picture taking that's how we're starting and I'll introduce our guests in a moment that we're going to go into this idea of getting outside that box and really thinking creatively for those who are feeling like simple is good but I want to do more we've got a whole segment for some creative ideas outside of just quick captions and slipping pictures and pockets okay and then we'll spend the afternoon going into project like three sources and ways to stay inspired and motivated and keep up with this and have a fun wrap up for the afternoon. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce our guests for this morning. I met karen several years ago when our little family of five we meaning me, I decided I made an executive decision that I was I was ready to have an actual riel photographer take our family picture for somebody who loves pictures, and I love documenting our family's life. I never really invested and having a rheal professional photographer take our family pictures because I always figured a tripod would work or I would swap and I would take someone's pictures and I would just hand them my camera and set it up and be, you know, boston about it and say, ok, wait in here and this is what you do, and then you put you click the button, and so I would trade with friends, and that would be fine, and then I was like, ok, I want someone I don't have to stress about the picture, someone who really knows what they're doing, and so that is when I stumbled upon keira and I invited her to take our family pictures, and she did, and she didn't just take our family pictures. He did a phenomenal job not just with the camera but there was a really magical click that happened with us in our personalities she's a true creative she really knows what she's doing with the camera but she really has a vision for how to document not just family portrait but life. So cara has her own photography business really with an emphasis on lifestyle, which is that's my love language right there lifestyle, everyday stuff and so she does that that's that's where her expertise has grown over many years but as a recent I am tickled pink that we have invited carry to be a part of our team and she is now the becky higgins in house photographer for our company and she's just getting started as of this past crazy crazy month or two and we are delighted to have her as a part of our family in terms of of project life and all things that we're doing so I ask you to welcome with me miss cara lane so I know I'm sure a lot of you saw me pacing in the back, so I got to be up here so now I can't get away case and in fact we have a couple of stools that we're going toe planet, so even bringing we'll head back and make ourselves comfortable and then I'm going to turn this over to you, karen and really, what we're going to talk about and where we're going to really dive in with this segment, we're going to talk about more of this idea of everyday photography. We're really not going to go to technical like I said, kerry could talk all day long about technical but there's also ten thousand ways that you can learn awesome technical here on creative live there's. So many great courses and resource is on dso that's, not our focus. Today, our focus is really like knowing you are audiences, which is these ladies are audience watching his learned about project life or already familiars project life. Most of us don't have the big fancy camera, even those of us who do have a big fancy camera I very rarely used anymore I'm just taking pictures with my iphone and which we'll talk about so that's really, our emphasis is not, you know, not the nitty gritty questions might come up, and I'm sure they probably will they might come through the internet, and like I said, we can probably learn a thousand things today, but with on lee, the short amount of time that we have with care, we're going to focus and stay on the topic, more of just general, creative ways of thinking of what on earth to take pictures out because it's a whole lot more than just ok kids get together cheese say cheese I'll say cheese a little better no stranger tio no way so where would you like to begin with this topic? Well we're going to start really what I want you to take away his ideas tio document the every day I hear a lot of people always saying I want something different than just like what back he was saying say cheese look at the camera we get that picture all the time and it gets redundant especially when we're talking about project life it's away tio include the details of life and so really what I wanted what I want to get down today his ideas to do that ideas to tell the story ideas not only just to get the people but your surroundings and emotion and things like that because I think that's really important and some people don't know where to begin because we all have that in us just say cheese you know so I do want to share this quote with you guys because this is one that I really embrace when I first started ansel adams there are no rules for good photographs there are on ly good photographs and I really truly believe that and I know we're not going to touch on technical today but there's so many out there and I think it's hard nowadays is imagery is so much a part of every day we see it everywhere pinterest is a huge beast in another thing I think when that came out it's an amazing tool and I use it professionally and personally but it culminates all these beautiful images that when you go on there I think some of us feel intimidated like and over why everyday photos don't look like that well of course they don't you know those were done for a certain certain content but I really do believe that a good photograph is because of either the idea behind it the person in it the way you feel about it and so I really want everybody to embrace that that it doesn't have to be perfect I think my technically perfect photographs of the professional are all by accident I really come by you know, just embrace it because it is what it is so I'm led start with ideas to capture the everyday so again we've talked you know we all get that picture everybody looking at the camera and it's great but there are things in everyday life that I want to remember as a mother and I always try and think of when I'm snapping these random pictures what my children are going to want to see later what their wives would love to see later that may seem so insignificant right now but I think are going to be huge later in life so I'm all of these pictures I really wanted to stay put these are all my personal photos I didn't want to pull professional photos for you guys so hopefully it's more relatable but I'm addicted to taking pictures of my kids sleeping I don't know why I think it's funny to see he sleeps the exact same way as his father does so I love seeing that comparison but I'm always taking pictures of them sleeping and so it's probably going to be embarrassing later but as a mother I love it now this is one of becky's yeah and I have to say there's nothing interesting here e nothing there's nothing that you're going what isn't firing photograph but I think the idea here is we want to share we want to show why we took certain pictures to really get those wheels spinning and in this case we had a gathering with friends off location and you know there were it was no kids and it was for four couples and we had a great time and the guys went golfing and I wasn't interested in keeping that piece of paper that you know, it wasn't really going to slip into the album for one reason or another we talked about this yesterday actually so I snapped the picture and for me the story is not just the golf score I actually don't know how to tell what the score means I don't myself maybe one day I'll have time to learn but it also tells the story of everything else I'm writing about with this picture that goes with it which is there was one person designated tio keep score and it was alan because allen has this amazing handwriting on none of the rest of the guys do and so this is kind of a non kid based idea for taking a picture of things that you wouldn't think are really interesting or special or they're gonna be super sentimental later but it's a bit of life it's a piece of life and it's a story and this next one is yours as well oh yeah right what's really fun is my mom my mom has she's kind of a purse girl I never thought of myself as one and then all of us and I have like all these purses I like them and I you know have a collection of them but there's this is a every this is an everyday spot right here is actually in my office that goes I'm the reasons in my office is because it's around the corner from the garage door and so I'm constantly like whatever bag or person taking with me for the day I just grab it from this little stash and I go well that's such an insignificant, non sentimental, unimportant, seemingly unimportant thing but this is such a this is like I touch this spot every single day and so it's a part of my everyday life and it isn't about it isn't about the kids necessarily but it's about me and we have to remember ourselves and our stories and this is this is going to be dated, chevron is going be so two thousand thirteen and give us a few more months and we're all going behavior chevron but I love my chevron bag and I used all the time and I love the other bad to have the other one with me here a creative life so you know, it's, just another example of really capturing things that are things that you touched every day could be your steering wheel, it could be your persons that could be, you know, opening the mail box, but it's a part of your everyday world, and it changes over time, and so we're capturing history well, I think it's also something to connect with, just like you mentioned, you know that his mom was a purse collector and now you become one and your kids are going to be saying when they see this photograph remember, hold month bags, you know, and it's just one of those objects that is just really need to look back on, you know, for your children, so this next one totally random picture, but this is a toy that we have back at home that my little two year old is terrified of he is absolutely terrifying this dog and it makes a little bit of noise and it walks a little bit but he is loving what he's petrified of it but I thought the you know, a couple months ago I thought, you know, I want to remember that at two years old how instant that he's scared thiss toy and I know that his children are going to love hearing that their father I two years old this is what his fear wass and this is another one in backing a kid's this's, this is tape way have a sudden crew who is obsessed with tape and the reason why I took this picture first paul knows how I took the picture, not just I took a picture of tape, but notice how I literally if cara's arm is the tape thank you for like, I don't want to just snap it I want to really get my camera right here and I was going I touched my screen so it was focused right here and the rest was blurry. I did that for a reason. I did that to really show the effect of this just mess no, why did I think a picture of tape besides the fact that cruz obsessed with tape I wanted to capture that this is a very poignant part of his personality not just because he's being creative and messy and being a kind of a typical five year old but crew is very fascinated with how things were, how they're built, how they're put together and he he has this very like kind of artistic and engineer brain you know, kind of working and that's so sentimental to me I have a brother who was an engineer and he's not with us anymore and to see these little sorry to see these little connections between my own children and my family whether it's just me and my husband or its other family beyond grand parents, aunts, uncles, whoever to capture that is one thing to capture it and explain it and tell the story of this is what I'm noticing about you and it's really special crew and you need to know that you have this gene and it's awesome and do something with that causes it's special you know like that that to me is that's what project like this for you take that picture you add that journaling you put it together and you tell your story sorry no way they're real wreck that this'll be emotional for sure and this is you know you and your hubby yes and I actually touched on this I touched on this yesterday but um but I think it's really important for any married couple to have a picture of their wedding day or something from their early married years on display in their home and so again it's one thing to have the picture in our home but I took it a step further and it took a picture of the picture because that's part of our story is that we prioritize this display of our marriage and our relationship and you know us together and we were the start of our family unit so so I'm going to go home and make sure I do this thing yeah please karen would you go home and do that I e that you are if you're married you know, have that picture of it mine again yes don't look too close, you know, this is this is again it's another non kids face but it's a it's a piece of me and why is it a piece of me? Well, I mean, if I look back and read the details, I would definitely see a lot of his story in there because whenever that was taken probably sometime in the last couple of months in fact all of the pictures that I was showing you are really from the last few months of my life, I didn't even go further than that they're all very every day typical convinced this is a story of becky becky is a list maker through and through I can't help but put pen to paper and making my list, and I do it a lot through my phone, but when it comes to my to do was forgetting my not my grocery list so much, but my two duis are always in a notebook and that's part of my story, and I don't save all of those notebooks, and I'm not saying you should throw them away or you should keep them that's up to you. But for me, I just have a picture once in a while to capture that piece of history, absolutely. And then I really let them go and get the clutter out of my life, but definitely tells the story of my habits. Yes, okay, so this one is my two year old oh, and my husband he's the one that's afraid of the he's, the one that's afraid of the dog? I'm so this was a sunday morning and we were ditching church that day and we just were hanging out, and what I love about photos lately is I don't need the whole scene, I don't need the whole picture, obviously some of you aren't going to know what room in the house this is or things like that, but when I'm there to show this picture my children, I can tell them but what I love is that I didn't have to get all of my husband. I didn't have to get the kids that were screaming behind them to get him to smile. I didn't. I just wanted to get that he was playing around with dad, but I think sometimes we feel like it's not going to tell the story unless it shows everything and that's not sure this, I think, captures more of the emotion and the playfulness than it would if I showed all of dad nor would not have let me shown him and I I'm sure dad was grateful for wait there's another one of mine. This's a picture that tells the story because way we're up in flagstaff, arizona. If any of you no arizona is it's, the desert were known. You live in arizona with me with me. Although certainly our families could you know, for sure have a lot of fun together. Yes, but arizona is known to be very hot. Very desert. He, you know, and yet a lot of people forget that if you just drive a little bit north, we have these huge mountains. Seven thousand. You know, my elevation, flagstaff we enjoy spending time there. The family and we were just there actually were there, and kara came up to take our family pictures for this year and before she came that morning and this is this is back in october yeah, like early to mid october and we woke up to snow, which is really rare yeah earlier, yes, for that really in here and so we were just of course, you know, mesmerize and excited and let's go out barefoot and let's make snow angels and everyone was really excited, but my one of my favorite ways thinking hampshire the snow, whether it's the first snowfall or you know, in the middle of the winter was I had my friend who is visiting with us also describe a chunk of it, and I just was kind of like it caught my eye that there's this detail, these snowflakes and I could see it, and I knew that I wasn't only going to see it but my iphone because the camera built into its just so phenomenal these days was going to capture that as well. So again I had my friend just hold it up I had her hold it not down here but up here, so I could see see and you could see there you can see even through to the trees and see all that blanket of snow and that way captured this. I had the rest of story happening here, and you see the little details in those crystals. Yes, this is I'm this is a photo of my two oldest kids, and what I love about it is it was it was a school morning. Actually, they were up before me, which isn't hard to do. I'm not a morning person, but I just I heard some talking back in the in the back of the house, and I walk in and they were just having this conversation together. And usually, I mean, we you know, those of us who have kids know that there's fighting and there's, you know, attention sometimes, but just to walk in and see them in in my daughter's bedroom was just as a mother, it was like like, I want to remember that they did have these moments. The's do exist here and there, and I just love I mean, it's a grady photo. It was from my iphone I had on me it's a grady photo, but it's the one that I just love, it really shows their relationship thiss point that you're bringing up, and I want to really make sure that we drive home is that there are going to be pictures that that when you look at these moments and you kind of captures moments in your life that just really go right here and they really speak to you and they mean something to you for one reason or another don't get caught up in which camera you're using and how am I going to compose the shot? Is there enough light are my settings they're you know, just let that go if there's something that speaks to you that you know you want to capture and hang on to capture it, you can hang on to it, don't let that slip by. So you had this moment you wanted to capture, and as a photographer with all the proper equipment, kerra was like, that doesn't matter, I have a camera, I'm getting this moment and now it's one of your favorite? Well, anything, teo, I mean, when you're dealing with kids, there are a whole different beast and they have a mind of their own. So is soon as I would have gotten my camera. Yeah, properly that I would have the moment we've been gone, but I think tio, while we're on the subject, is I think a lot of people feel I can't have those type of photos because I don't have x y z, I don't have the dslr I don't have, and I truly think that it's all about the person taking the picture and how you're feeling about the photo and that's what's going to come out I think some people get intimidated that they don't they may not you know have the professional equipment which who does if you don't do it professionally I mean you're not expected tio but I think the photo is beautiful because of the reason it's being taken absolutely so hopefully we can inspiration when that moment happened yes, absolutely here's okay, yeah so this is this's our son porter he's our oldest and he's turning eleven okay, so he he is figuring out how to do his own hair on dh where I'm actually going I'm going I'm going to talk more about this story and the next segment I think but for me it was really important to capture this for several reasons some of which I'll explain later but the fact that you know whether your child is three going on sixteen and she or he is all about doing themselves, you know, like their own hair and getting themself dress or they're older and like kind of late to the game this far is figuring out how to do certain things I think it's really important to capture those milestones for me it seems silly it's a milestone that porter's like ok awkwardly tryingto do you know make himself look cool without mom's health and again I got to come back to that story a little bit in the next segment there's a reason why no this's this is mine also this is you know I cannot put the pinewood derby cars in the scrapbook and so they just they don't fit I can't figure out a wayto national down and so this is a this is a way for me to capture those pieces that are port into my son and capture them in a way that is very environmental that's a that's a term that I use a lot you probably isn't allah and lifestyle photography but as a non professional photographer I think environmental that means yesterday we talked about how to photograph things how tio photographs things so that they are straight down you know busy background and keep it really simple so that you capture that object and you could put it in your scrapbook environmental means that you place that object in such a way that has a little bit more of an environmental fits in an environment it tells a little bit more of a story if I took a picture of just porter's pinewood derby cars with the white background that's cool because it's informational I have the information I need it's a car I know what it looks like we have memories associated with it but because I shot it next to the previous years and it's also showing what kind of clutter is on his dresser, which every bit of that clutter, sentimental and special and has a story that to me, is that environmental shot that I want and care. I actually have something on the ground to some of the basket yesterday forgot to bust this out, but I have with me a little dress that with mine when I was a little girl and I don't have any sentimental stories about this dress, but I brought it yesterday I was going to show how easy it was just to take this, and I was going to get on top of a charon, she's straight down and show you, but this is an example of how informational lives I can put this. This is actually a really nice point background. I could lay this down and take a straight on picture, but to make it environmental shot much like the one that we're talking about, I would think leave it on the hangar and hanging on like the corner of a piece of furniture or something to have any other thoughts on the wall, okay, like that, but I would want it when I'm when I'm documenting pieces for my children, I always want to show the whole thing I always want them to be able to see how about the information, exactly so. You know, for instance, I love that you can see more on his dresser. Another thought is I love photographing my children's bedrooms, they don't have to be in it even, but I would and I fully decorated either no, don't take that shot, you know, looking like one way ever, fully decorated way the work in progress always or it's done and destroyed idea, but I would love to go back to my childhood and see what my bedroom looks like, and I don't have that picture I don't have, you know, I can't show my kids, you know, hey, I had this poster on my wall or, you know, I can tell them about it, but it's so much of a better story when you can show it and see it visually. So I think pieces like this I love to see them as a whole. I love to see them in their environment and things like that absolutely and care I do have pictures of my childhood bedroom do u s so no, I shall check I'm sure never to share that on social media. Somebody from my team can remind me later to share that because it is so telling, yes, it is so telling how I wass as a teenager, I have a couple different kinds with a couple different you know styles that my bedroom was at the time but you can see you could see you could learn a lot about a person I think of their bedroom and absolutely I agree completely uh all right really quick I miss when this's crew he's our youngest I mentioned he's five years old right now and I'm noticing something about crew I mentioned his little brain it's kind of creative and kind of engineer and kind of he likes to figure out how things work and he of of all three of our kids he sees mom working the most because he's my little guys and preschool just part of the time and so he's he spends time with me and he sees what project life isthe and you know, all those old grid cards that we have for project life he calls mbeki cards and I didn't teaching that way keep becky cards with us in our purse everywhere we go and he always says get the becky cards like just just you know, I don't want people to think that I trained him to call them by my name, but he sees my name on the packaging so he causing becky cards well, if you look at this picture, can you see what's going on here? Crew is making his own grid cards he's he's he's uh he's imitating mom he's doing what he sees moms d'oh dan down, and he even wrote, if you can make it out like project life, mom and that's really, really sweet to me, because as a as a full time working mother and somebody who happens to run my business out of my home, just much like you do, karen, there is that constant balance, constant balance of being being a very devoted and loving and nurturing mother and being a very professional and, you know, professional fill in the blank, whatever it is that you d'oh, and if you work from home, it's even trickier. And so, for me, this captures not just his personality, but it's part of the story of me and crew in particular figuring out our balance and it's a reminder just this image alone is a reminder to me when I say, see it to make sure that I do keep that balance and that it isn't multi back. Teo, you know, my my son all the time, because I don't, I don't want it to ever be that way. So and he also made his own bracelet there's always tape on through somewhere. So this next line, this is my oldest. And I know becky, I think you touched on this for say, or was it yesterday, what on their hands on their belongings and things like that. And becky and I share a brain in that. Anyway, respect and that's. Why I had this slide follow the last one is because this is this is a drying my son did, and they I buy them just those composition, composition book. Yes. And they just kill him. They fill them, and I don't have decided I'm going to keep every single one because they do go through them pretty fast. I'll have tio talk to betty. That what you think? Yeah, but he did this. He told me it was a typical look and I've never seen him draw something like that. But I wanted tio instead of I could have ripped that page out. I could have saved it, and we still do have it. But I love that his hands are holding it. I love that he's looking at it, I love that he is a part of that. I think it just shows so much more than just the picture I agree and it's something he can look back on. And who knows if he's a professional artist later, he can say, well, that's, where I started, I tomato beef framed and video absolutely beginnings, yeah, speaking of kids in their art, as this is certainly a stash of kind of current stuff that's hanging out I think I've cleaned it up and organized it by now, but it took this probably a couple of months ago but this is a this is a picture that shows the stash of you know what what's waiting to be organized I touched on this a little bit earlier but my purpose and taking a picture like this is to show the messes of our life. Now this isn't the disaster obviously I took my angle here's the stack and I didn't take it like this. I took it like this because then you could see all that stuff right there and that really tells the story first about how creative my kids love to be they love to just make stuff whether they're in school or not, but the second part is that this is part of our our own little family batch processing that we dio we all know that there's this this home base for stacking up all of the things and then it's up to me to go through and sort and organize and and do my thing and what ideo but this goes along with the picture of if your kids in the better in which is don't just take pictures of things because they're pretty and put together by all means I would encourage you to focus more attention on the not so perfect the unfinished product projects the mess in the corner the thing that you still need to get to from five months now five years ago you know these are the things that we see and our everyday life I doubt any of us in this room have everything totally put together and beautifully decorated well actually you don't have any kids at home and you've got that whole scott okay okay okay good. I felt a little bit of relief with that but we all have this we have our little clutters and our messes and is story well I think it can become a bad habit in my line of work I'm always having I'm styling a photo before it's taken I'm styling the set before it's taken on the problem with that is is that I want my kids to look back and I don't want them to stay home that is not how it was you know that's a totally fake photograph I want them to look back and say I remember that stack of artwork that you had to being in your office and so I realized this several months ago when I was getting ready it was just you know we had our youngest on the floor she was playing and I want to take a picture and my son goes wait mom and he started moving a blanket out of the background and a toy out of the background because he's seen me do it and I thought, oh no I trained them to be these perfectionist when it comes to photos and that is well and good when I'm photographing certain things I don't want that clutter in the back but when I'm photographing everyday life I want it to be real and I think someone made a comment I remember hearing a comment from one of you ladies that that's what project life is it's just allowing you to be riel and allowing you to really photograph life and show it off in a beautiful way so one of our global audience rachel weather tin says she has photos of her childhood bedroom and she loves that her parents with pictures of it for her yes so yes, something to keep in mind which I have just now gotten good about I wish I had my heart appreciate that really until our time yeah it takes time to appreciate I totally agree absolutely hey that's waiting I saw him in their this's such as this was such a silly thing for me I I I was I had just done a workout imagine that right now that's not happening I got the boot camp I was a good girl and had to stop by walgreens for something and you know, completely empty store because I don't live in you know the city where this time the traffic and there it was amongst thousands of skews our products and this big empty store and my and my you know my workout attire just run into grab something and I caught that glimpse everybody gets of themselves and walgreens because of it angled mirrors and I thought you know what it just kind of popped to my mind like if this were my mom or my grandma or somebody that I love from many years ago selfie is the term that we use these days like like that just kind of it just kind of got to me like that's something that I would want to see that's what drives me to take a lot of pictures is what so I think I would want to see later in life you not only later in life but from my own right like past uh I would say ancestors but mom and grandma sounds too close friends people I mean this is my daughter blake and she was just at the kitchen table doing homework but I love the way the light was hitting her face it was something we do every day homework and I think you shared a picture of your own of you doing homework is a child on its photos like that this is everyday life but I want her to remember I want and she's not like her brothers her brother stick out her their tongues when they're concentrating so it wasn't telling as much as theirs would be but I just love the idea of it it's simple and it's something they'll probably look back and say why did you take this month? But as an adult when they're raising their own children it's going to be something that's priceless to them at least that's what I'm gonna tell him yeah what so ordinary yes I recently had a, uh an opportunity to just spent some time with girlfriends we gotta look we have little getaway to celebrate a friend's fortieth birthday we all got together and and we exercise every day that we were together we were together for a few days because that's part of our story as a group of friends there's it's not my choice but I am dragged into it it's good for me and I need it but it's led by a couple of them who are more athletic than the rest of us to say late that girls were going on that we were able to hit the trail we went and that's such a part of the story of our friendship it's a friendship I'll be talking about later today because of how it ties into project life even more but to take the shot and this action of us walking are exercising maybe maybe we jogged a little bit as well but instead of turning around cause my cameras on me always like my iphone, I brought it with me how could I not? And I took a picture turned around and got one of them and then realize that really what I want to capture is this this movement you know this hitting the ground and that's why I just ran ahead of from a few feet and they if they don't even bat their eyelashes it's me they know you know it was going to know what is going on they know it's going to end up in a scrapbook and probably a video as well which is it? And so I just simply got down I'm literally on the ground I didn't have the land my belly I just took the phone and touch it to the ground and took that picture so I love ground shots there's something about getting the camera down here and looking up and capturing it from nine a go so angry hey that's going to yeah flute you put a lot of pictures and I did I did because I'm going to start talking about myself a lot didn't want for anybody wait a friend's house not too long ago and her daughter I wanted to show me her flute and so say these like here's my flute I'm learning how to play the flu and they think she brought it out because her mom carolyn mr mention that I used to play the flute so I was back in the day a musician of sorts I was in the band and so I played the flute and this ride back ton of memories for me and so much that I didn't want to just like see the flute we put the flute together and I did not want know what I was doing any more I remember a few notes and I played a few notes and it became this moment for me like that was yesterday I was in seventh grade learning to play the flu and you know, here all these years later I I don't have that talent anymore and I've evolved so much as a person in other ways, but how need to remember that that was a piece of me that was a part of me? And so for me it was just taking a picture of the flute was my flute that's not my story, but that moment kind of brought me back so that's why I took the picture now this next one I'm addicted to hands I'm addicted tio this was when we were decorated christmas tree again a grainy photo the light was so low but I'm just my son holding an ornament in his hands tell so much more about christmas and what it means to us then the entire christmas tree justus itself ever could and I think I'm one thing to keep in minus I I also don't show faces a lot I hope nobody in my family takes it personally that I cut heads off all the time on pictures but I think because it's so much more telling when there's a connection with an object you're photographing so keep that in mind when you're photographing your children it's okay chop off heads I absolutely think that several years ago from your style and others doing it and I really that has really captivated me and I agree with you that it captures a little bit more of a connection to something that we're all gonna plenty of pictures of faces it's inevitable they're going to show up everywhere so I think it's actually you know, I was kidding and not at the same time it's okay to chop heads off like really like bringing topic here you know? You bring it down lately right example happens to be on my block right now it does you know that had to tap into my library I'm sorry you're seeing this second time everybody okay now this is an idea I'm we have made it a tradition I do birthday shoots with my children I'm so it's it's our kind of thing they know that they're going to go out with mom and we're going to a photo shoot what I have learned to make this an enjoyable experience for both me and my children is we don't put us into it I'm not having them d'oh a cake and get messy you know those air super cute but for my children I want that I wanted to show their personality for that year for that age so this is a shoot I did when my son was turning six and again this was what I had this was just the arizona desert this was out somewhere completely I had nothing else to photograph but him and that's what I love about this shoot and I kind of just let him be a boy, you know? And I just said do whatever you want and I just shot and we barely spoke the whole time I was just kind of stepping back and letting him do his thing and again see no face, no face but it's so boy, you know, the cloud of dust and what he decided to wear for his photo shoot, which he did a pretty good job a lot worse, but I mean, and as a mother like I see just an image of him no fuss, it doesn't have to be the birthday party it doesn't have to be anything but just to see him as him it's I'm going to start tearing that yes, cameron he trust mom acceptable gotta question julie p and I recognize this absolutely what do you do with an eleven year old boy who does not like his picture taken will not could cooperate and actually sometimes upset of certain photos or writing is included. Now I as a child I still do actually I hated having my picture taken on virtually ruined every family photograph by by attending, but I recognize this from, you know, a particular eleven year old boys don't know exactly cooperative, but you know, the great first of all, I do love the photos that show them upset thinking spouse later on, I thinking children, look at what your father pulled when he was eleven, but I also think I've learned not to make it a big production, which I can get out of control is I come from a family who they love, the photos that I take at our gatherings and things, but I get the rolling of the eyes and who can blame them? I mean, a camera in your face nobody likes to be in front of camera there's a reason I'm behind the camera professionally and personally, and so I think it's important to remember that not everybody is our camera people, and if this is one of your children, I think what I've learned with my own kids is tio have it be more of a conversation just talk to them, I'm talk about their day talk about, you know, is talk about their birthday or something like that get them comfortable and I just kind of well, pop up my camera, take a picture and then let it rest I don't make it a full on production because that can be overwhelming and especially when they're at that age where they're like mom, this is so not cool I don't want to be a part of this, but for me, I know that later on they're going to appreciate it, so my whole goal is I don't want it to turn into a fight, so if I pull out my camera there still not feeling it, then I put it away, we'll wait, we'll put it off because if it gets bad, it gets really bad when you want to be sensitive to that. Absolutely absolutely too I think you can take pictures of their things or, you know, their shoes right would tell their story, right? But they don't have to physically, they would be a lot more comfortable with that, right as they remember these dirty old pair of shoes that you want all the time and you loved right and still telling their story, but they don't have to be either and that's, not an issue and I think they're going to go through phases there's going to be a phase where they just don't want me in front of a camera and that is what it might be a lifetime phase, right thinks you I'm you know, people there's a big assumption that as a professional photographer my kids are always camera ready and they're just you know, let's do this, you know, I have the eyes the worst time I think before you advance I'm really, really glad this question came from our friend on the internet there's a long time ago when I was in college I was in a class it's a family science class that was actually my major a real major on dh the instructor said something that I have never forgotten it's something that I relate to so much my life and it relates so perfectly to this and she said the purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship and I will never forget that because whether my husband and I are doing dishes or I'm working with my child for homework or I'm photographing somebody in my family the purpose of the task isn't to get the dishes done or to get the homework complete or even to get the capture on camera it's to strengthen the relationship ok, so my husband and I working together or my child and I working together or whatever it is this activity is so when it comes to being a scrapbook er or a parent is taking pictures and documenting life the purpose of you capturing this is to strengthen that relationship so if if you are tempted to cross that line and do something that makes the other person uncomfortable that's not strengthening the relationship you really do like we're talking about have to step back and recognize the boundaries recognize that that really does make somebody uncomfortable, respect that and focus more on that relationship, and there are ways like lisa's is destined to get around that and like you talked about to get around that, and I think that it's really ok to get pictures quietly turn the sound off on your phone if you're taking it with your phone so that they don't know and get annoyed, but capture pictures from behind from office side when they don't really notice it, don't do it in a creepy like cop arrives to find a way, but one. So why you can't not document life just because somebody is uncomfortable with it? I really feel like this is still a way to do that, but be respectful of the relationship. I'm going to say it one more time because somebody's taken notes out there, the purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship. Great question, I've got it! I've got some great answers as one of their echoing exactly what you two have been saying because laura in cairo also is saying she encourages her six year old to take the camera. Let's, take pictures of mommy said. That makes him much more relaxed in great great I body, saying, I've talked to my ten year old son to let emotion behind important photos after me and he's, a lot more responsive. And also how that show your kid's pictures of yourself as a kid. Yes, like, how often are we doing that we know that most of us don't have our childhoods scrapbook, and they're probably tucked away. A lot of mine are tucked away. The more we bring our own childhood pictures out, the more they're going to go. That's. Really cool that you need to see, you know, my mom or my dad looking so young once upon a time.