love notes

"I want to give this to my boyfriend so he can come over for a playdate. Do you think it has too much lovieness??"

"Yes, sweetie, I think that it just might"

I am no six year old boy, but I am guessing he might not want to come over if he thinks he will have to walk arm and arm through a field carrying a basket?

Just guessing here.

And also guessing that she is going to scare off a number of boys in her day.

*****

also, some recent baby cuteness over on the photography blog

from our home to yours!

it's official!

On this hot August morning, hours after my husband left for work in the big city, I was woken by the sweet face of a three year old, inches from my own.

I made pancakes from scratch with blueberries from our recent blueberry picking adventure. Bate, Bate, bate chanted my two helpers as they mixed (that Dora... so educational).

I got dressed, tended to a lovie emergency and boo-boos so serious that they required multiple band aids. Dora band aids of course.

Finally, I made it over to town hall with my two assistants in tow.

Did I have my EIN number from the IRS? Sure, right here in my bag between some dried playdoh and an extra diaper.

And so it was that this stay at home mom officially got her business license.

There it is in Abby's hand, with an official stamp on it and everything.

Photo taken with Fuji point and shoot camera. Heh.

Beth Miga Photography is officially.... official.

To celebrate we had lunch at McDonalds, chosen because 'they give you a toy mama!!', followed by a little pre vacation shopping spree at Target.

In addition to the above piece of paper, there is also an official website:

bethmigaphotography.com

A blog and a fan page are in the works. So much done and so much yet to do and learn!

I can honestly say that when I left my corporate job just over three years ago, I had no idea that I would end up here. Turning my passion into a real business. And yet here I am. I can't wait to see where life goes from here!

i ♥ faces- hats-- feet

It was been a few weeks since I participated in the weekly challenge over at i ♥ faces, but when I saw that this week was feet week and that the amazing Rachel Durik (who I first knew as the American Mum) was the judge, I simply had to post an entry.

I know just posted this shot a few days ago, but seriously, aren't these the cutest little summer feet?

so it turns out starting a business is hard

Has it really been over two weeks since I wrote a post? Yikes. Why is it that the longer you go without posting the harder it is? I can't write about the funny thing one of the kids said today because I still have not posted our 4th of July pics. But seriously? It's July 18th. What is the point of writing about the 4th of July now? And so it goes...

The biggest reason for the lack of posting? All of my free time lately has been devoted to my growing business.

Back in January, when I boldly announced to my husband that I wanted to start my own photography business, his response went something like this:

That's great. You do realize it's going to be a lot of work?

Ha.

I knew I had a lot to learn. And I have learned a ton. About camera settings. Lenses. Photoshop.

I have also learned just how much non photography related stuff that there is to know and do to get a business up and running. Website design, logos, packaging, props, how to collect money, taxes... and on... and on.

I have learned that editing 400 client photos takes a lot longer than you think it will. And that it is not really as fun as editing pictures of your own kids. Even simple things like throwing together a story board and scheduling sessions take longer than I expected.

I have also learned that beach sessions are really and truly fun and being a photographer is a great way to make new friends and become better friends with the friends you have.

So basically, my husband was right.

It is great. It is a lot of work. Harder than I expected, but also better than I expected.

I am up late into the night with ideas buzzing around my head. Patience is not my thing. I want my sessions all edited. I want a fabulous website and blog. A portofilo that reflects all the amazing pictures I envision taking. Beautiful packaging. Gift certificates. I want to get it all done now. If only I had more hours in the day. Or did not need to sleep. Oh, what I could do with those eight (okay, six) hours.

But alas, I am only human. And a mother first. So I am doing the very most I can in those few precious hours when my precious children sleep.

All of which has left my poor blog here a bit neglected. So in an effort to catch up and get back into updating more regularly, here is a quick recap of our recent activities...

The 4th of July. Parade, Cookout, Fireworks. And balloon hats.




Beautiful beach days...


Pool days...


And backyard days...


More summer fun to come!

a little dose of sunshine

What is that up there in the sky? That bright thing?

And am I ever going to see it again?

Just a little dose of sun flare from our day and a half of sun this week, since it looks like we are not going to be seeing much of it any time in the foreseeable five day forecast.

spring is...

dandelions and dirt...

...and a warm breeze in your face...

******

For those of you who were wondering what was inside the little blue box, it was a beautiful pair of earrings selected by my even more beautiful girls with a little coaching from dad.

Mother's day was a wonderful and relaxing day from start to finish. Daddy let me sleep in and then handled all the cooking, cleaning and entertaining, allowing me to sit in the sun and enjoy the day with my girls and my in laws.

But as always, I think the best part of the day was the break from the ever present feeling that I should be doing more with the kids, more for my husband, more around the house, etc, etc. A day when all you are supposed to do is relax truly is a treat.

This week the party preparations are in full swing for Claire's third birthday, which will feature cat decorations and a homemade orange cat cake (or possibly a store bought cake frantically purchased on Sunday morning).

My husband is also bringing home a new toy for me to test out for the next two weeks. A Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 toy to be specific, for those of you that that means anything to. So look for lots of beautiful birthday pictures and excuse me if I am not around much for the next two weeks as I spend every waking minute with my new love.

a promising start to the day...

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to All !!

i ♥ faces- hats

I really was going to get off my butt and attempt to take some fun hat shots this week. Because truly, I love hats. Hats are fun.

But the reality of the situation is that I am sick, one of my kids is getting over being sick, one of my kids is getting sick and I am up to my eyeballs in other people's photos that I am supposed to be editing.

So I am going with another old favorite this week, enhanced with the CoffeeShop Golden Vintage action which is a look I am loving right now.

like mother, like daughter

In our day to day life, when it often seems like I am saying the same things over and over again and no one hears me at all, it is easy to forget just how closely my girls are watching me. How they take in the tiniest of details and store them away in their developing brains for future use.

French fries dipped in tarter sauce? Must be good if mommy does it.

Or, say, how to run a baby photo session.

"Oh, you look soooo cute Bitty" Abby cooed, as she took shot after shot of her favorite doll posed in my baby basket recently.

My budding little photographer.

her shots

my shot of her

And in other somewhat related news, here is a sneak peek of the tiny little beauty (yes, that tiney, for those of you that know her) that I photographed this past week.

Would you believe that this little beauty happily posed in not one but three outfits? And, oh, those eyes! She has me totally spoiled when it comes to working with babies. Not to mention the fabulous lunch that her mom made.

Perhaps next time I will bring my new assistant!

i ♥ faces- reflection

This weeks theme over at i ♥ faces is reflection, as in the reflection of a face.

I love this picture because to me, the reflection in the mirror looks like an older version of Abby. Kind of like those shots were a little girl looks in the mirror and sees a grown up bride, except there is no Photoshop magic involved here.

I took it about a year ago and it is still one of my all time favorite shots.

i ♥ faces - kids self portrait

For a couple of months now, I have been admiring all of the wonderful and creative entries each week over at I ♥ Faces and, finally, I have decided to join the fun.

This week's theme is self portraits. The rules are that you must take the photo and you must be holding the camera when you take it (no tripods).

As the family photographer, I am rarely in pictures myself so I thought it would be fun to take a shot of myself and my girls to enter in the kids category. I originally planned to do them laying in the grass but even in the shade, even on an overcast day, the sky was to bright so we ended up taking this shot inside on the bed.

As anyone who has ever taken a hand held self portrait knows, they are very much hit or miss. I took about 30 shots and this one turned out to be my favorite. I like that the three of us are smiling real smiles and that the focus is not sharp, adding a feeling of motion and emotion. It just feels like us on any given day.

project 365, a year in review

So I did it. An entire year, 365 days, documented in pictures.



Did I miss some days? Absolutely. Several times throughout the year there were days when I just had absolutely no inspiration or desire to pick up the camera. Or I did, but the pictures were so boring or just plain bad that I could not bring myself to post them. Thus, my Project 365 began on March 5, 2008 and ended on April 5, 2009.

That said, doing this project absolutely inspired me and changed the way I take pictures. I have come to love documenting the little details of our day to day life. I got my first SLR camera in my twenties, and began taking pictures like mad when my first daughter was born, but generally I photographed occasions, with people posed and dressed nicely.

When you take a picture a day, you wind up with a lot of pictures of your kids dirty and/or in pajamas doing lots of ordinary everyday things. And strangely enough, these are the pictures that I have come to love the most. Yes, I will still do the posed shots from time to time. In fact, I have big plans to get some nice shots of my girls looking clean and pretty in their Easter dresses this week. But I also hope to continue documenting the day to day reality, because now, looking back, I am very glad to have these details documented in pictures.

I also learned soooo much about my camera over the course of the year. In fact, I recently bought a shiny new Nikon D90 and two new lenses, a 50mm 1.8 and a 18-200 mm, both of which I love.

Prior to starting this project, I shot most of my pictures in Auto or maybe, maybe, one of the program modes like Portrait or Sport. Spending so much time with my camera with no particular pressure to get a great shot of a special event really helped me to learn exactly how Shutter Speed, Aperature and ISO work together. Finally, I GET IT. I feel like I have made great progress as a photographer.

And editing? A year ago I had no idea how to use Photoshop and now I could not live with out it.

It is funny, but after a year, taking a picture a day has become a habit. Sunday was my last official day, but I just automatically think about what I am going to get a picture of each day. And I do hope to continue to document our day to day life, maybe not with a picture every single day, but pretty close.

So to anyone who is looking for a way to grow as a photographer I would definitely recommend that you start your own Project 365. Now. Just do it. You will not regret it.

i can't wait

In the car this morning on the way to school for yet another delayed start after yet another snow storm, the three girls in the back seat played a little game of I can't wait.

"I can't wait until it is warm again."

"I can't wait for water balloons!"

"I can't wait until we open our pool and our shed and everything."

"I can't wait for treats from the ice cream truck!"

"I can't wait to just be warm, even really warm. Even really hot."

Yes, we have officially reached that point. The point when everyone says enough already. Enough snow. Enough colds. Enough days stuck inside. Enough darkness. Enough.

And me? I can't wait to get outside with my new camera. We are enjoying a lovely honeymoon, my D90 and I, but there are only so many things to photograph inside. Well okay, there are actually about 200 things a day to photograph inside, if anyone is counting. But still, the outdoors. The green grass. Sunlight. The beach. Oh, the glorious possibilities.

But for now, we have sundresses indoors...

...two year olds in wedding dresses (part of what might now be my all time favorite Claire series)...

... and fifty or so cupcake eating shoots. Thrilling, no?

In addition to my D90, I am also loving my new gold reflector which is responsible for the warm, sun like look in the first two pictures above. Guess it will have to do until we get more of the real thing.

the art of photographing a two year old

Claire, can mommy take your picture?

Can you look at mommy?

Can you please stand over here?

Can you just stand still??

Claire, if you come stand over here and let me take a couple of pictures, you can have a Dora candy cane.

Bribery. It works.

photography do's and don'ts

Tip #1: Do ask your kids if they can see themselves in the lens of the camera (if you have a DSLR camera). They can in fact see themselves in the mirror, and they will scoot together and look directly into the camera long enough to allow you to get a few shots.

Tip #2: Don't put your kids in stupid hats, thinking it will make for a fun and festive picture, then cut off the top of the hats in your picture. It will ruin your otherwise cute picture.

The quest for a Christmas card worthy picture resumes tomorrow...



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

the halloween recap, a photo tip and a contest

They got into costume and posed for a Halloween portrait.

They partied.

They enjoyed the pizza.

They hopped on their broom.

And finally hit the neighborhood.

Then decided it would be easier to ride.

And finally, they enjoyed all of their loot!!

Halloween is a tricky holiday to photograph, since most of the excitement happens after dark. This year, I was quite pleased with the results I got using the night portrait mode on my camera (the one with the picture of a little man standing in front of a star in the sky).

Basically this mode combines a flash with a long exposure, so instead of white faces and a black background, you get light on the person being photographed and a long exposure to fill in the background details. The problem of course is that you should really use a tripod to prevent blur due to camera shake, which is not exactly practical for trick or treating.

All of the outdoor pictures above, with the exception of the first one, were taken using this night portrait mode after it was dark outside. Although they are blurrier than I would like, I love the color and the fact that the background is not pitch black. Overall, I think they capture the mood pretty well even if they are not technically perfect.

In the end though, I have to go with the last shot of Claire enjoying her candy as my entry for Best Photo in the Halloween Photo Contest sponsored by Parent Bloggers Network and the fabulous folks at Blurb (where you can import photos, artwork or even your blog and turn it into a bookstore quality book, which is a prize I would so love to win).

While I am at it, I will also enter this shot of my little kitty cat in the Cutest Costume (age 2 and under) category. Personally, I think her annoyed expression just makes her that much cuter.

And this shot in the Cutest Costume (age 3 and up) category.

ms. september

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Every year for Christmas I make photo calendars for my mother and my mother in law. Twelve months of pictures of their granddaughters pretty much guarantees it is a hit every year.

Now you would think with the amount of pictures I take, finding twelve decent shots would not be a problem, but you would be wrong.

You see, I like my pictures to match the month of the year. Beach pictures for August, Christmas pictures for December, etc. You don't know how excited I will be if it snows in November and I am able to capture that perfect January shot.

So you can imagine how excited I was when Abby was outside at the end of the day (perfect light) in this cute matching outfit that looked rather back to school-ish and agreed to pose for a picture. Hello, Ms. September!

while the cat is away, the mouse will play

Shhhh... don't tell Abby...



Check out more wordless wednesday here and here.

fall follies

Crisp air, warm sun, beautiful colors everywhere. This weekend was the very best of fall in New England, which of course means I had to drag my children out to every possible fall activity.

First there was apple picking...

...then a train ride...

...a carousel ride...

...and kiddie rides followed by bright red candy apples, hot dogs and fire works...

Sunday featured a hayride with Oma...

...pony rides...

... a petting zoo and of course the pumpkin patch...

But both girls agreed, the very best part of the weekend was the giant, candy filled pumpkin falling from the sky and the mad dash for candy that followed.