Harrison is Two | Lake County Child Photography

Posted on by

I took my son out on a beautiful October day shortly after his 2nd birthday. I had been slacking on my personal photos so I made sure to carve time out of a weekend as close to Harrison’s birthday that I could.

We got to the location (a little walking trail in our neighborhood) and settled-in, but what happened when I lifted my camera lens was unexpected…. “No pictures, Mommy” and “No, Mommy, NOOO”chanted this tiny little voice. Little man refused photos… So over the course of the next 30-minutes I did the best job of “distract-and-shoot” I could muster.

I left our session a little discouraged and immediately began racking my brain for the next available date for a reshoot. Do I try at a different time of the day? Can I get back out for a session redo quickly? Will the weather turn cold before I have a chance to get back out? I wanted his pictures to be as close to “newly 2” as possible. Ahh. So many logistics that I would have to figure out – again…

But after uploading my photos that evening and getting some sleep, I woke with a different perspective. No reshoot. Good or bad — these photos are reflective of Harrison in all his 2-year glory. His growing independence. His expanding vocabulary. His likes and dislikes. The photo session may not have gone as I had planned — but that’s life. I would rather remember our walk on the trails and his desire to stop and visit with every dog or point out every squirrel (over looking at my camera lens). I would rather remember his reluctance to part with his new favorite dinosaurs, even if only for a minute, than follow some basic instructions for a more “traditional” shot.

So happy #2 to my sweet baby boy. May your year be filled with joy and wonder…. and maybe, just maybe, learning to like the camera a little more? Pretty please.img_3661retouched_simplematte_logoimg_3740retouchedmatte_editedlogoimg_3686retouch_aces_editedlogoimg_3713retouch_blythe_editedlogoimg_3768retouchmatte_editedlogoimg_3746retouch_brightmatte_logoimg_3708retouchblythe_logoimg_3744retouched_matte_editedlogo

Reflection – 2016

Posted on by

In true New Years spirit I’ve done some self-reflection and there seem to be two re-occurring themes when I think of 2016: marathons and planning. What do these two things have anything to do with photography? Read on:

In October around the Chicago Marathon I tune into one of the Chicago-based radio stations. Every year they talk to marathon runners who decide to take on those 26.2 miles, without training. The radio station interviews these runners the day before the race and the day after, and it always gives me good belly laughs as I listen in disbelief. I mean, who thinks they can take on a marathon WITHOUT training?! How can that possibly be a good idea? I find such amusement in this idea because it’s the furthest thing from what I would ever do.

I am a planner to the fullest. I am a lover of lists — and have been known to even create lists within lists. Walls of my house are real-life Pinterest boards filled with colors, furniture, DIYs — and just inspiration for renovation projections. My inspiration ideas go up on the walls and come down, until things feel “just right” and then the renovation project can begin. My grocery lists are organized by “like” items and grouped by aisles in the store. (See – list within a list!) These are just a few examples of things that are crazy to many, but to me it just makes sense.

So when reflecting on 2016 and all that I’ve tackled, I have no doubt that I was training for my marathon. (Metaphorical marathon of course, because let’s face it I hate running…)

I have so many plans and hopes for my little plaid & paisley photography and while so many times throughout the year I wanted to say “I’ll figure things out later” and just GO…GO…GO and run — like those untrained marathon runners, I always grounded myself from that 15-minute daydream high. I knew to go the distance, or have any chance in crossing the finish line, I needed to take my time and do things right. So 2016 was all about the basics and establishing a solid foundation: website, blog, social media, pricing, business cards, online seminars, reading, following amazing photographers, and of course playing with my camera. My year wasn’t glamorous or sexy, but it was necessary. And being able to tackle all those “to do’s” in 2016 has me so looking forward to this upcoming year.

So “bring it” 2017 – this ultra-planner, non-runner, photo lover is ready.

And if you made it ALLLL the way to the end of my blog entry, here are just a handful of images from 2016 that make my heart happy.2016mixup_1logo2016mixup_2logo2016mixup_3logo

How to get more use out of your photos

Posted on by

If you’re like me you have SOO many digital photos everywhere — on your phone…. on your computer ….. still to be uploaded from your camera. The images pile-up quicker than laundry! And with all that image surplus it can be overwhelming to figure out exactly what is the most print/frame worthy. While I can’t tell you which photos you should print from your collection, I did want to share one fun way I’m able to get more “bang for my buck” with my photos and keep them feeling fresh-and-new. By thinking of them like…..drumroll please…..seasons!!

If you are like me once the holidays start rolling around you are in-and-out of storage unloading your favorite HomeGoods finds, are trying to one-up Martha Stewart and out-craft Pinterest. Gently tucked away in my storage boxes I have frames filled with my favorite holiday-specific photos. For Halloween I take full advantage of plastering my tables and ledges with my wee ones in their sweet costumes through the years. During the Christmas season I’m spreading cheer with my most-beloved Santa-visit photos, and the same goes for Easter with all that egg hunt and bunny ear galore. You could do the same with Valentine’s Day…..4th of July…. the list goes on-and-on.

The nostalgia it adds to the home is priceless. My kids love looking at themselves, and for me —- well my heartjust bursts reliving the memories year-after-year.img_3840_updatedimg_3859retouch_edited-1img_3862update

Cheers from Lake County

Posted on by

I’m parked at my kitchen table, sipping a cocktail to celebrate the “launch” of my website and my very FIRST blog post. As I get oh-so-close to hitting publish, I can’t help but be filled with a mixture of emotions:
· Jubilation – The website is up – finally. It’s finnnnally up! I feel like I should be playing Kool & The Gang “Celebration” on repeat. Loudly. It may look pretty basic as it’s just a start-up web page, but a lot of blood, sweat and curse words went into getting the page live and it’s a huge relief to be able to promote plaid & paisley and to finally  have an outlet to express my photography POV (point-of-view).
· Frustration – One of the major roles of my “day job” in advertising is to set and adhere to schedules. I missed every (single) milestone I set for myself…..and then reset for myself….. My Senior Account Executive self was often disappointed with my DIY web developer self, but at the same time I’m giving myself a pat on the back for stepping outside of my comfort zone to chase a dream.
· Anxiety – I so often found myself ending conversations with “if only I had a website”. Now I need to make good on that statement and do all the things I planned in my head —- hoping, just hoping people like me.

So on that note I’m going to sign-off from my first blog post and get working on all those things I dreamed-up in my head. I hope you’ll spend a few minutes getting to know me, and stop back from time-to-time.

Until next time. (Note to self, put blog sign-off on my to-do list!)
Andrea