Photographing super-cute kids makes it easy

I've been loving photography the most these days. I haven't been sharing a lot, as I wasn't sure about how much I would want to pursue it, but it seems it is a new-old love that is here to stay. I actaully took these photos of my best friend's kids a couple of months ago. I loved how easy it was because a: they are super stinkin' cute, b: Dayna and her husband were super laid back about the entire shoot and c: it was really pretty cold out so we were all in agreement to make it quick.

I am a fan of being brief, not only with photography but with lots of things. But, especially when shooting kids. They best photos usually come out in the middle-beginning of the shoot as that's when they're warmed up to the idea AND still not over the idea (which happens about 5 minutes later). So, jump in, click liberally, and get outta there! Oh, and enjoy!

Today's walk...puddles

We are having a super-warm day here today! It was 48 degrees when we went out this morning before school. It was wet from the rain and the girls held hands the whole way. I had to insist the girls didn't take a huge leap right into the biggest puddle, but Natalie was ready for school and so we couldn't just throw caution to the wind. I think we could go farther and do more, but I also think the key to the success is for me to know how quick and easy 20 minutes really is. And that in this case less is more. It leaves us wanting more...looking forward to tomorrow's walk, and itching to get out again.

Did you take a walk with your kids today?

#seethegood

So have you seen them? Everyone's Facebook posts promising one thing a day to be grateful for in November? It is a cute idea, and I even created a crafty approach to giving thanks this month for my KC Parent blog yesterday (photo above). It is a quick and fun way your children can participate in learning about gratitude, too. And it even works all year long.

But, my new favorite way to show gratitude is through photography. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. I am planning to take a photo a day to show what I am grateful for. I hope it'll inspire me to be more focused on seeing -- I mean really seeing -- all of the beauty and the love around me. While at the same time, I can expirement more with my camera, and feel like I have things to shoot that aren't my children. I love taking photos of the girls, of course, but my interest in photography goes beyond that. And without a specific project in mind it is sometimes hard to grab the camera and just go!

Will you join me? I am creating the hash tag #seethegood for Twitter, and would love for you to tweet your photos (or links to where your photos are published), and add #seethegood so that we can all have the opportunity to see what we're grateful for, not only at Thanksgiving time, but always! I can be found on Twitter @laurenau. Won't you follow me? I'd love for you (and others!) so see all of the good you have to offer the world!

Ethan the Great!

I'm sort of a minimalist when it comes to photo editing. It is sort of like hairspray -- a teeny tiny amount goes a long way. But, tonight I started playing in photoshop, and well, I am guessing I crossed the line from a spritz to a sticky mess. So, here it is. What do you think?

Annabelle Molly

So my first shoot from this morning highlighted two things: 1. Our new dog is super cute. 2. I have a lot to learn. I need to find a community of photographers (or create one!) to really get to the bottom of this. I do think I might sleep with my new camera under my pillow tonight. Again, two reasons: 1. I love it. 2. I think I will learn everything about it by osmosis while I slumber. That's how it works, right?