How can you look at little Julian and not smile?  Have a great weekend everyone!

The holiday season is, for photographers, one of the busiest times of the year.  At the moment, my calendar is booked pretty solid and we're having to turn people away and put people on waiting lists.  It's challenging because I want everyone to be happy and get everyone taken care of but there are limits.  I am bad about limits.  I have a hard time saying no.  I always think that I can just push a little harder and work a little more and it will all be okay.  Sometimes I think this personality feature is a great thing and sometimes, well, not so good...

As it always happens, when things are stressful and time is tight, something else happens to just make it all the more tight and stressful.  This week that came in the form of a sick child.  I have been at home with Sayer for 2 days this week and have had to cancel a bunch of appointments and move things around.  I start to get all uptight thinking, I don't have enough time as it is and now I have less!  That is how it begins but as the day goes on and I've gotten to spend all this one-on-one time with one of my favorite people on the planet the stress starts to dissipate.  It's the little things for me that wipe the stress slate clean.  Monday we drew superheroes.  I sat back and watched him work with little legs dangling, his alien socks on, his intent concentrated stare and his very methodical choice of markers and colors.  It hits me like a ton of bricks that one day his feet will touch the floor and, unless he likes weird socks like I do, he will likely not be wearing alien socks.  Today we made a special trip to the video store to buy Wall-E.  We snuggled up on the couch and watched it together.  I love the movie by the way and think everyone should see it.  It is a beautiful film about love and connection so it was perfect for us today.  Anyway, there are a few parts that are so sweet that I literally feel myself tearing up.  It was at one of those parts that my sweet boy leans back, touches my hair and says "this part almost makes me want to cry".   In that moment, I want to pull him out of kindergarten, close my business and just freeze time.  It's then that the sick day becomes this incredible little gift- wrapped up in alien socks and topped off with shaggy brown hair.

It reminds me that it is about about balance and that balance is very hard to find.

and that I do what I do because I love it.  It's about finding little moments and freezing them.  My job is to help parents remember it and celebrate it because it goes by so fast that it just isn't fair.

That family is one of the best things going...

And that, certainly for me, what makes me good at what I do is my family.  So, in the blur of the busy season, I have to remember what I am doing.  I need to be in the moment.  Many thanks to my sick little Sayer for reminding me of that today.

Do you remember making mix tapes for people?  It was one of my very favorite things to do.  I remember carefully pausing and starting the cassette recorder and trying to time the drop of the needle on the vinyl and the space between the songs.  I am just thinking that I may be revealing my age too much at this point with words like "vinyl" and "needle".  Anyway, CD's made it easier in some ways and now playlists and itunes make it really easy.  I have to admit that I do miss the old days sometimes.  It seemed more heartfelt when you had to write out all the songs on the little cassette tape, gather up loads of records or CD's and sit for hours making it all happen.  I would get deep into my music collection, consider all the songs and their order on the tape, make a cool insert with the song names and create something special for a specific person.

Of course, the mix tape also has its not-so-pretty side when it is like the break-up mix tape or the you just broke up with me mix tape.  My personal favorite mix tape is the I like you and I am flirting with you via this mix tape.  A few weeks ago, Steven and I saw Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist.  It's great and it pays homage to the mix tape in a big way.  Another movie that did that was the John Cusack flick, High Fidelity.

So, because I love that you guys keep up with me and what I am doing, I am creating a playlist for you today.  Here is a list of songs that in some way define me, songs that I love and songs that I think you will love too.  I wish that I could make you all cool handwritten cassette inserts or groovy collaged CD covers to complete this little playlist but, alas, we are all so far away.  Use your imagination, fill in the blank spaces and enjoy...from me to you.

The Story, Brandi Carlisle (The Story)
Step Inside this House, Lyle Lovett (Step Inside This House)
Better Together, Jack Johnson (In Between Dreams)
I Don't Like Mondays, Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats (Great Songs of Indifference)
Angie, Tori Amos (Crucify EP)
Dream Lover, Bobby Darin (The Ultimate Bobby Darin)
Stop This Train, John Mayer (Continuum)
Tonight I Wanna Cry, Keith Urban (Be Here)
Into The Mystic, Van Morrison (Moondance)
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out, Cat Stevens (Gold)
Be Mine, David Gray (Greatest Hits)
Lenny, Stevie Ray Vaughan (Texas Flood)
On The Nickel, Tom Waits (Heart Attack & Vine)
Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley (Grace)
Spanish Eyes, U2 (The Joshua Tree Deluxe Edition)
Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House (Recurring Dream)
Head On, The Jesus & Mary Chain (Automatic)
Death or Glory, The Clash (London Calling)
Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run)

Go listen, tell me what songs are your favorites and maybe even send me back a "mix tape" of your own.

Objective- learning to think outside the box when it comes to photographing kids and find new ways to make them smile.

The best way to get a great picture of a child is to make them laugh.  I've talked about it before, kids can't fake a smile.  It just looks terrible.  When a new child comes to my studio I am always trying to figure out what makes that kid (at that moment) smile.  Parents know that "that thing" is often something you stumble upon.  It may be weird, gross, silly or just plain out there.  I've seen the weirdest things work.  The other day, I had a little girl in my studio (who I have photographed a handful of times) and I could not make her smile.  She was busy too and did not want to sit still.  I tried all my tricks to no avail.  Then, when it looked grim, Dad moo'ed like a cow and she fell out laughing.  Who'd have thought?!  Mooing?  That's exactly how it goes.

So, what's the thing that gets your kids/subjects going?  Sometimes it is a game of peek-a-boo...

Sometimes it is just giving them something to play with

Parents are the best asset in a session.  They tend to know the little idosynchratic noises and gestures that get their kids laughing but sometimes even they are powerless.  One of my little tricks that works a LOT is my ladder.  On a side note, I really like old ladders.  I know, it's sort of a weird thing to like but I really do like them.  If I thought Steven (my husband) wouldn't freak out, I'd collect them.  So, when a friend of mine called me and said "I found the coolest old ladder!  Do you want me to buy it for you? It's the small kind that you were looking for!" I jumped at it.  I thought it might be a cool thing to have at the studio and I was right!  It's perfect for the busy kid who can climb but can't sit still.  Sometimes it is the only thing that will get a kid to stay in one place.  It's a wonderful thing.

A week or so ago, a little girl came to my studio.  I had never met her and she was a little bit shy.  She only wanted to be on Mom's lap.  I tried everything...every puppet, every noise, every goofy trick up my sleeve!  Nothing worked!  We got close with the bubbles...

When it seemed like all hope was lost, I thought about the ladder.  Truth be told, I had thought about it earlier in the session but I thought she might be too young and that it would be too dangerous.  It's not a big ladder mind you but it is a ladder after all.

interject ladder safety tip: keep parent close by!  I have the parent stand right next to the ladder if it a younger climber and tell them to be watching.  I also have a carpet under the ladder.  My ladder is also only about waist high.

So, back to the story, what happened you say?  It worked!  She took to it right away.

The trick with the ladder is that when they get to the top, you have to be all excited, clap and cheer! "You did it!" and "Look how high you are!" and so on.  It's so cute to see them beaming at their daring accomplishment.  It looks like this:

We all love a big smile.  It's wonderful for sure and I always to try and get great smiling shots.  But wait!  the smile is only half the picture (so to speak).  When we photograph children, we should be trying to photograph them, the real "them".  Sometimes, as was true for this little one, they are a little shy.  Maybe the big smile is not always so true to their personality?  If your child or subject is a shy, reserved child then maybe what is more accurate is something like this:

This little girl was beautiful with and without a big smile.  Meet your child where they are and you will get better pictures.  So, if they need something crazy to make them laugh then do your best to deliver.  If they would rather be quiet and look at you with their big baby blues then maybe that is your more accurate shot.  When we put aside our preconceived notions of what we think our children's pictures should be like (what we want them to be like), let go of the idea of the perfect shot, look at who they really are and try and capture that, we become much better photographers.

So, go out there camera in hand and make some ridicuous noises, let them climb and be crazy!  They will usually reward you with a big smile!