Amazing Place for an Amazing Family

I felt like I was in a novel. I could literally smell the scent of wild blackberries in the air when the breeze picked up as we walked down hiking trail. With the sun shining on my face, I followed the path until a beautiful clearing was soon discovered. And not just one beautiful place, but many breathtaking places were waiting just around the corner. I need to come here more often.

I’ve known this beautiful mama for almost 20 years. And it was such a treat to be able to take photo of her and her two handsome sons.

Thank you, Karrie, for inviting me to this beautiful spot! It’s amazing, inspiring and I’m really, really glad we didn’t run into the mountain lion that was spotted the previous day…

www.jenparkerphotography.com

A Valentine’s Day Oldie but Goodie

I have to confess. I’m a little bit behind. I realized the other day that it’s already the beginning of February and I need to start working on the boys’ Valentine’s Day cards. Oops.

So after school, I dragged them out to the brick wall behind a local elementary school and started snapping some photos. With snacks in tow. And after what felt like 6 hours of, “Are we done yet?” and “Can we go play now?” I was able to get some decent shots of my boys (I guess it was more like 25 minutes.)

I got silly shots.

And more silly shots.

And just sometimes, a serious shot snuck in. Just kidding. All silly all the way.

Although I wanted to do something different for their Valentine’s Day card this year, for some reason, they always want to do the lollipop card. I suppose I should give in, since it is their Valentine’s Day card (maybe next year, I’ll do my own card, and pass it out to my friends. Okay, relatives. Okay, the mailman.)

If you don’t feel like clicking on this to see my post on the lollipop card from years past, I’ll show you how it’s done.

First, take a photo of your child with him holding a fist in the air, making sure it isn’t blocking his face. After snapping a picture that will work, print it out or have it developed (I chose a 4×6 size.)

Glue the photo to a piece of card stock (I’m able to fit 3 photos on one piece) and let it dry overnight.

After cutting out each photo, take an Xacto knife and carefully make two small cuts above and below his fist (I place the photo on a piece of thick cardboard before I cut, so that I don’t cut into my table!)

Take a lollipop and slowly insert the stick in the two cuts, and voila!

Good luck, and Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

www.jenparkerphotography.com

Bump Envy

Yes, I think pregnancy is a beautiful thing. Yes, I love babies.  But no, I did not like being pregnant. At all.

Maybe if I looked as good as my gorgeous client, I would have liked it more.

I love this family. They are so incredibly beautiful, down-to-earth and genuine. Really.

http://www.jenparkerphotography.com

Silhouette

Summer. It’s right around the corner. I can feel it.

Literally.

When it’s 90+ degrees, I can’t believe it’s still technically spring. I do love summer, but I’m dreading the days when it’ll already be 80 degrees at 8am.

On the other hand, I define summer by long days filled with playing outside, popsicles dripping down my kids’ arms and enjoying lazy mornings that aren’t consumed with rushing around in order to get the kiddos to school on time.

My favorite time of day? Twilight. I love it when the sun has gone down over the horizon but it’s still light. The moments right before twilight is my favorite time to shoot. Right before the sun sets, everything is blanketed with a warm, golden light.

I had the opportunity to take photos of a dear friend on the beach as she and her husband were expecting their first child. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful sight for these two beautiful people.

If you’d like to see more silhouette photos, please visit www.rocktheshotforum.com or click on the button below. Enjoy, and have a good summer (oops, I mean spring!)

Nothing Says, “Thanks!” Like a Bottle of Soap…

I can’t believe the end of the school year is already here. I still have Christmas wrap I need to put away. Sigh.

Anyhow, being a photographer, I feel the need to incorporate photography into everything I do. That includes the little things, like thank you gifts for the boys’ teachers.

And even though I did this last year, I wasn’t able to one, take photos of it (hanging my head in shame right now) and two, blog about it. So here’s my chance to redeem myself.

I started off purchasing liquid pump soap from the dollar store and used Goo Gone to remove the labels. And really, this is the toughest part since it seems as if industrial strength glue is used for these labels. I found that soaking the side of the soap with the label on it in a shallow pool of Goo Gone and leaving it for a couple of hours was the best way to remove these.

After I got the labels off, I measured one side of the soap and created a template that was a wee bit smaller than the actual dimensions (I wanted to be able to stick the shape into the bottle of soap.) I made as many trapezoid shapes on a piece of paper that will fit.

Next, I had my son draw a picture (well, it’s a smiley face…he IS only 4) on all four trapezoids with a black Sharpee (you want to make sure that the drawing/writing is bold and dark.) I also had him write his name on another piece of paper. And because he would rather play Mario Kart than write his name four times in a row, I scanned his name and placed it on each trapezoid.

I also had my older son write a thank-you message to his 2nd grade teacher on another template.

Then I went to Staples and made copies of the templates on a transparency. You can do this at home, but you want to make sure you use a laser printer and not an ink jet printer. Using an ink jet printer will cause the picture/words to flake off in the soap, and you definitely don’t want to use soap with black flakes swimming around in it.

Afterwards, I cut out each shape, rolled it up lengthwise and inserted it into the soap, using the pump as a tool to push and guide the transparency in.

Lastly, I replaced the pump and voila!

Valentine’s Day is a Ninja

Valentine’s Day is quite sneaky.

I just put away the Christmas decorations (well, most of them) and here comes Valentine’s Day, creeping up behind my back, ready to jump out and scare me. I’ve been told that if I visited Costco or Jo-Ann, I’d be more aware of Valentine’s Day coming around the corner since both places already had their heart-themed merchandise on the floor the day after Christmas. 

Anyhow, I wanted to do something fun for the boys’ card, but not the lollipop card, since we did that one three years in a row (would’ve been four if I actually had them choose!) So I took the initiative and worked on something else. Step one was to take the photos.

My boys and I ventured to a nearby park-like area and I was ready with my camera. A mixture of bribery and threats ensued.

Two hours and 729 shots later, we were done.

We took photos for only 15 minutes. The rest of the time was spent wrestling, throwing rocks into the bushes and rolling in the dirt. Did I mention that I have boys?

So of course, I got a bunch of photos that look like this:

And some like this:

And this:

Sigh. Boys, right?

But finally, I got some like this:

Ahh. Serenity Now. Okay, onto the card making fun.

I’ve seen cello bags with personalized toppers and liked that idea. I also saw some snack-sized sandwich bags instead of cello bags and favored that idea because one, it gives me yet another reason to go to Target, and two, I will actually use the leftover bags! It’s a win-win situation!

I designed a bag topper so that I can utilize all the space. I am a photographer, you know. I need all the space I can get…so that I can cover it up with photos.

This is what I came up with:

I took the photos and arranged them in a layout that I liked. The topper measures 5″ by 7″ and I folded it over (not in half) to create it. I intentionally made the front of the topper longer than the back because I wanted more room for the photos in the front. The edges of the topper do not line up and I’m okay with that. No OCD issues, here!

I filled the sandwich bag with candy, zipped it up, then taped it to the inside of the topper. I used glue dots to adhere the front of the topper to the bag.

And voila! Done! Now I just have to do some folding, filling, zipping and taping. Try saying that 10 times fast.

I also realized that with the both of them handing out Valentine’s Day cards to their own classroom, I’d have double the work if I did their treats individually. So I combined them…just like their birthday parties…{insert evil laugh}

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ahhhh. Fall.

How I’ve missed you…

37 weeks

Being a mother is definitely amazing. It’s rewarding, stressful and joyous all at the same time. For me, being pregnant was more of a challenge, but my friend Susan makes it look easy. With a toddler in tow, she makes 37 weeks look absolutely beautiful.

 

 

 

 

Fun Families Rock!

I had the pleasure of combining a senior session and family session. And I say pleasure because the family was so fun. I meet a lot of families and see many personalities and I can definitely say that his family is super-duper wacky. Oh, and the mother of the family was also my high school classmate. So I can say that. So there.

I am slowly getting over the fact that I’m old (ish,) and that I have high school classmates who have children who are graduating from high school themselves. Another sign that I’m old (ish?) I’d rather go to Trader Joe’s during the week versus the weekend. I’m just sayin’.

Anyhow, I want to thank the R Family for a great day, being open to my crazy ideas and going with the flow. You definitely rock.

A New Beginning

Waiting. Expecting. Growing.

This couple is expecting their little one later this month, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve known the soon-to-be-mommy for quite some time. She was my best friend in high school.

When you’re a senior in high school, you have so many plans, so many dreams. I remember thinking how great it will be when all of my friends and I grow up to be parents together, living in the same neighborhood, having barbeques every weekend. Reality? Everyone goes their own way. And even though we don’t live in the same neighborhood, I’d like to think that having the chance to see my best friend become a mommy is pretty darn close to what I thought would be my reality.

Congrats, Kristi and Brent. I love you both!