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As I sat down and moved through folders and dropped them into my external hard drive, it was hard not to notice how many images were not of my family. The ones I had taken were left unedited to make room for time to edit client’s images. I had been warned by friends that were also photographers about never finding the time to shoot for themselves or edit their own work but I had dismissed their warnings and pledged to myself that I’d never stop the priceless documentation of my family. Here I was 6 months into my business, faced with the stark reality that that is exactly what I had done. I had become complacent with the documentation of my family. It hurt and it made my overwhelmingly sad; I felt like a trader. I was stuck in reverse.

After much thought, some inspiration and a long hot bath, I decided there was a way to be a mom and an artist. After all, separating the two was not doing me any favors. With some big help from friends, a tiny project appropriately named “10 on 10″ was conceived. The premise of our 10 on 10 project is to choose one day of the month and document it from morning to night. We choose our favorite 10 images that tell the story of our day best and post on the 10th of each month in a blog circle. The images dedicated to this project are not technically perfect like you may expect from a group of photographers. Instead, its a walk through our imperfect days finding beauty in the simplest with our families, friends or simply ourselves.

Forward to almost one year later, 10 has branched out and been adopted by many photographers, both hobbyists and pros. It seems that many of us out there were equally troubled with the loss of the everyday storytelling of our families. I have since stopped shooting professionally to spend more time with my three wee ones and I credit the 10 on 10 project for keeping the relationship with me and photography alive. Given my Type A personality, “scheduling” an entire day focused on the perfect blend of family and photography has made me even more committed to my craft. I now have enough images for my year end family book and then some. Every one of the photos from my 10 project is a treasure to me and had I not designated this day to bring my camera literally everywhere, I would have probably missed them.

We would love you to come check out our last few blog circles to see the different takes on the project. Just click the links below and follow the link to the next project at the bottom of the post. If you participate in this project or plan to, please leave your link below in the comments section so we can follow along!

April 10 on 10
March 10 on 10
February 10 on 10

But then one day. It came. As it always does. My air, as it turns out, is simply removing chocolate from my diet. This turned my exclusively breastfed boy into a nighttime sleeper. & then. Just for a moment, I thought I could survive. Finally I was getting more than one hour of sleep at a time. Three! Three hours! Oh, what a mother can do on three straight hours of sleep with a newborn & a toddler in the house!

So alas. My day in the life.

Life sure looks different right now. It looks chaotic. And tiring. And a bit messy. All of these things completely opposite from life before 2.22.12. The day my sweet baby boy made his grand entrance. But we are surviving & I have two new loves. One, my baby boy, of course. But the second: INSTAGRAM.

Yep. This mama is an iPhone snapping machine…because right now, photoshop & I are most certainly not getting along. We will again someday. & I will get to those fancy pictures that I am clicking on a daily-ish basis. But right now, I’m sticking to keeping life simple. Capturing the memories with the piece of equipment that I most often have by my side. Then sharing it with my family, including my sweet grandma who informed me (while we were face-timing, nonetheless) that the first thing she does in the morning is get up, turn on her iPad & check my instagram feed for new pictures. If that doesn’t make using this app worth it…I don’t know what does.

So my day in the life is straight from my iPhone! I have been so inspired from some of my insta-friends. iPhone images can be incredibly beautiful. & I am striving to make mine as good as I can. I am really surprised that sometimes, I love my iPhone instagram images as much or more than those from my big ‘ol fancy camera. Go figure. So here’s my day. & all our crazy!

8:48 am: I’ll pretend our day started at this time. even though it started at 2am. ;) he’s always so peaceful after his first meal in the glowy morning light!

9:08 am: getting myself ready before I go wake my little miss. it’s an errands & exercise day. But getting ready is important!

9:27 am: rise & shine princess caroline. if you didn’t stay up playing in your room until 10:30 every night, the day would start a lot earlier! (but thank goodness it doesn’t!)

9:37 am. 9:48 am. 9:51 am.

breakfast. standing. yummy.

11:04 am: fiesta farm with our MOPS group. wouldn’t touch the piggies because they were too “dew-ty.” :)

12:05 pm: self portrait while I nurse in the front seat. she plays with apps.

12:24 pm: happy everett. happy mommy. getting my latte. at starbucks in target. heaven.

12:57 pm: soooooo inspired by Joy. Let the fun begin.

1:15 pm: can’t keep her hands off her brother. who I can’t keep happy out of the moby. ;)

[lunch happened somewhere in here...]

2:08 pm: pre-nap snuggles. gosh, I love my iPhone!

5:02 pm: adoring. contemplating.

5:08 pm: in she goes! smiles for sissy are always the best.

5:43 pm: picture perfect day in South Texas! time to play outside while we still can.

5:47 pm: so perfect…it put him to sleep.

6:27 pm: BOB time. as a fam. a very rare treat.

[dinner happened somewhere in here too...we don't mess around with food! No time to snap any pictures!]

7:25 pm: the only other place besides the moby that he likes to be.

7:29 pm: toesies!

7:48 pm: FuzziBunz OS Elite. Super trim on my 14 pounder. yes. you read that right. ;)

8:44 pm: one of our faves! nite nite for the missy moo.

9:39 pm: ssshhhhhhh. quiet house. time for mama to work.

10:26 pm: now that is a pretty sight. summer infant sleek & secure. love it.

10:33 pm: stylebabyLOGs are shipping again tomorrow. this week they’re headed to four different countries. yea!

11:21 pm: & it’s time to shut down the computer. :D

Eight weeks ago you would have found me easily staying up until two or three in the morning getting all my work done, but these days…well…life it a little different. I’m usually still up until about midnight or so (nightowl for life!) but my computer time is at a minimum these days. I’ll be back to blogging full swing soon. But for now, my babies deserve my full attention. This is such a short season & my last one with a newborn so I am breaking all the rules. Holding too much. Snuggling instead of doing my chores. Neglecting my inbox. I just know I’ll never regret it.

But thank heaven for Instagram. :)

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“The best camera…is the one you have with you.”

I could not agree more.

(& you can find me IGing as miss_shawna; all pics here were processed in IG & some were blogged using either picstitch or picframe)

Well, we totally agree with you.  In fact, we wish that someone would have offered us something like this when we were first learning how to use our cameras!  And so, we here at The Creative Mama are excited to present… our first e-course!

Introduction to Photography: Chapter One is an online course that will last for three weeks, will teach you how to get off the green square and shoot completely in manual mode, and will boost your confidence in capturing photos of your own everyday.  Besides the written course content, you will also be able to watch several videos that show you how to use your camera.  You’ll also get lots of short, fun assignments that give you a chance to test out these settings for yourself.  You’ll even see videos of a photographer (me) shooting and editing from beginning to end, and answering your questions every week.  You’ll have daily prompts delivered right to your inbox, access to a private website just for the class members, and the whole beautiful thing wrapped together in an e-book at the end of the course, so that you can continue to study the content over and over at your own pace.  Best of all, the concepts and principles of photography are explained in easy-to-understand analogies and examples, so that the terminology doesn’t ever overwhelm you.

It’s certainly technical… but it’s creative (of course!).

It’s written instruction… but it’s so very hands-on.

It’s a full explanation of how your settings work with each other… yet it’s all broken down into simple language.

Now that we’ve told you what this e-course IS, let’s chat a little about what it is NOT…

This is not a business course.  We won’t talk about pricing, marketing, sales or profits.  We won’t teach you how to launch your own photography business, whether it be a brick and mortar studio or simply out of your own home.  If you are a professional photographer, then this certainly is not the class for you.  If you’re already quite comfortable shooting in manual mode, then you’re likely too advanced for this beginner’s e-course.

However, if you’re frustrated with shooting in automatic mode, and you really want to be able to use your camera to create the photos of your children that you imagine when you close your eyes… why then, you’ve just hit the jackpot.

This Creative E-Course was made for you.

Registration for Introduction to Photography: Chapter One is priced at just $129 and opens on Monday, April 16.  The e-course will run from May 1 to May 18.  To find out more, go here. To be among the first to register, we’d love to have you sign up for our e-course newsletter below.  We’ll keep you in the loop about the class, and we won’t let you forget when registration opens!  Now honestly, what better way to spend that tax refund?

And yes… this is only Chapter One.  Chapters Two and Three (and maybe Four!) are in the works right now.  Stay tuned for more on those Creative E-Courses in the future!

Pssst, come over here.  Yeah, now listen.  I’ve got a secret.  I’m the black sheep of The Creative Mama team.  Yup.  My blog is old and rarely updated.  My business website isn’t linked anywhere.  My Facebook page is incomplete and unpublished.  I have about eight DIY home improvement projects in various stages of completion (or lack of completion).  I’m not exactly the model of the successful creative life.

But in my defense, I do have a condition that is responsible.  Perfectionism.  Whose main symptom is procrastination.  Oh, and fear.

I’m typically in denial though.  I blame motherhood.  I blame my husband’s crazy schedule.  I blame our limited support network.  I blame the weather.

But deep down I know — it’s fear.  Fear of success.  Fear of failure.  Fear of the unknown.

Last year I launched a family and children’s portrait photography business.  I swore I would be kind to myself, and not expect too much or try to grow too fast.  I was determined to pace myself, develop my workflow, cultivate my style and literature for the business.  And here I am, with spring springing, and very little progress made.  I’ve always been one who works best with a deadline.  Now it seems the deadline is here and I didn’t even know it (or perhaps I ignored it).  I have actually had some inquiries already and two sessions booked.  And none of that literature or workflow is ready.  Still no Facebook page.  My site needs updating.  Where did that productive winter go?

I can blame the waves of illnesses that have been ravaging our home as of late, but I know a big part of my problem is worrying that it all just isn’t good enough (darn perfectionism).  Is my logo trendy enough?  But still classic?  Is the language in that email spot on?  Does it really have my voice?   I’m a details person, but then I get hung up in the details.  And then I procrastinate.  I’ve created a logo months ago, but still haven’t instituted using it.

So I’m coming to you, my fellow creative mamas — hold me accountable.  I’m issuing a challenge to all of us.  Let’s spring clean our creative lives.  I pledge to finish that Facebook page and institute some workflow rules for myself.  I pledge to let go of perfectionism, and just DO IT.

Where could your creative life or business use some sprucing up?  Do you need to clean out that supply closet?  Organize your fabrics or yarns?  Do you need to purge all those rejected photos from your hard drive?  Do you need to finally print the good shots?  Does your logo need freshening up?  Should you finally launch that Etsy shop?

Share with us your goals, and I promise next month I’ll have an update and we can cheer each other on.  Let’s blossom together.

I absolutely adore the Texas wildflower season. Sometimes it’s really, really short. Sometimes it’s non-existant. But thanks to a lot of early rain, I think we’re in for an incredible season. For the past 8 years, I’ve taken my kids out into the bluebonnets to get pictures and I plan to carry that tradition on again this year. They’re not in full bloom yet, so I thought I’d capture this once-in-a-lifetime season of yellow flowers with my daughter.

No matter where you live, however, you can take advantage of the wonderful color and romantic look of wildflowers (even if you have to fake it…I’ll explain later) and I’ve got a few tips for you to help you capture the best images possible:

1) SAFETY!!! I have to admit that I cringe when I see little ones sitting in the flowers just a few feet off the highway and mom is out there by herself trying to snap away. If possible, take someone with you to focus on the children’s safety while you focus your camera. Most importantly, you’ve got to find a safe place to take pictures. Even if there’s a stunning patch of flowers in the median, that’s not really a safe place to be. I know it’s tempting, but the best way to get your pictures is to be sure you’re well off major highways and roads. And sometimes that means driving around for hours looking for the safest possible place to go.

2) Comfort – Mosquitoes are no fun and don’t make for very good pictures. Here in Texas we also have to worry about fire ants and lately, mud. Be prepared for critters and I advise everyone to wear boots and just find a clever way to make sure they’re not seen in the pics.

3) Go out on cloudy day or close to sunrise/sunset for the best lighting for your images.

4) Use your most telephoto lens and shoot wide open…if you just have a kit lens, zoom out as far as it will go. This makes the flowers look more plentiful, even if they are not. All of the images in this post were shot with a 70-200mm as close to 200mm as I could get and at f/2.8.

5) Embrace mistakes. I kind of like the painterly feel of this out of focus image below:

6) It doesn’t always have to be in color. Loved the mood of this image when I turned it into black and white:

7) Fake it if you want to. I see nothing wrong with investing in a few potted plants and setting some in the foreground and background of your image. Shoot through the petals to create a look like you’re in wildflowers:

There’s one wall in my house that makes all the other walls turn green with envy. It’s the show stopper whenever someone new comes into our home. It’s the one that gets the oohs and aahs as the other walls roll their eyes.

It’s this one…

Okay, so the walls are actually yellow. But you get the point. ;)

As a photographer it’s difficult to narrow down images of my own family to display. It’s also difficult to find the time to actually print all the things I want to enjoy everyday.

About four years ago I decided the solution to this problem was a photo collage that showcased bits and pieces of our life as a family. I wanted each family member to get equal time (yes, even mama!) and I wanted the images to be a celebration of who we are not what we look like.

I started with a 36×36 gallery wrapped canvas that included nine 12×12 images. After a few years our family had grown out of the images on the wall and I decided it was time to update.

But I just couldn’t bear the thought of taking down those memories. So instead, I added to it. I created a new 36×36 canvas with a new set of nine images that celebrated our evolving life as a family. I hung them side by side so they appear as one piece.

And call me crazy, but I don’t think I plan to stop at two. The way I see it, that wall has room for six 36×36 canvases when it’s all said and done. And the neighbors may think I’ve gone cuckoo for cocoa puffs but I can’t imagine anything that will make me happier in 10 years than seeing the growth of my children from babies to toddlers to children to teens on that same wall.

Of course seeing my husband and I change from 20 somethings to, well, 40 somethings won’t be as much fun. But it sure beats the alternative, right?

If you’re interested in creating your own wall o’ canvas, here’s what to do:

- Open a blank Photoshop document in the dimensions of your finished canvas at 300 dpi. Mine is 36×36 but you can create yours in whatever size you’d like.

- Figure out how many images you’d like to place on your canvas, and how you’d like them to be divided up. My piece has nine 12×12 images.

- Open that many images and crop to the determined size at 300 dpi.

- Using the move tool, drag each image individually onto your large blank Photoshop document and position where you’d like them to be. It may take a bit of playing to hit upon the arrangement that you like.

- If your canvas lab allows you to create your own edge color (mine does) you can do that right in PSD. Start by flattening your finished canvas piece, and then creating a new blank Photoshop document at the size of your finished canvas PLUS the depth of your edges. If you’re planning to print a gallery wrapped canvas with a 2 inch edge wrap then you’ll add four inches to each length of your canvas (two inches on each side). So for my 36×36 canvas I would create a new document at 40×40 at 300 dpi.

- Change the color of your new Photoshop document to your desired edge wrap color.

- Drag your Photoshop document with pictures onto your Photoshop document with the edge color. Hint: View > Show > Grid and View > Rulers will help to make sure you have your image file positioned correctly on your background layer.

- Now flatten, save as a JPEG and order from your favorite canvas lab!