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Photography 101: What NOT to do

Here's a quick list for all you amateur photographers on what NOT to do when your hair stylist, a former mission companion of your sister-in-law acquiesces to you taking her bridal pictures:

Number One. Do NOT bring your camera WITHOUT a memory card in it

or you will only be able to take 5 pictures before your camera memory is used up

and then you'll have to drive back to the bride's house

so she can delete a bunch of pictures from her Hawaii and Thailand trips

so that you can use the memory card from her camera.

Number Two. Do NOT bring your camera with a dead battery. Enough said.

Number Three. Make sure that the EXTRA camera battery you brought is NOT DEAD

because if you bring two dead camera batteries you'll have to embarrassingly borrow batteries from the bride.

Number Four. Know where your going to take the pictures at.

That way you won't waste forty minutes looking for the American Fork Ampitheater

only to end up at the Lehi Costco.

The steel siding and gigantic shopping carts just aren't bridal enough.

I embarrassed myself so many times on Saturday when Megan, Squire and I got together to take some pics.

I just can't stop shaking my head about it.

The lighting was SO harsh!

and I was worried that none of the pictures were going to turn out.

But Squire (Emalee) was so laid back about it that it calmed my nerves. Plus, look at her!

She's gorgeous! And while I was at my skinniest when I stuffed myself into my bridal gown, I was never a dang size 3 that Squire is! After a little editing to work on the fill light in a lot of the pictures, here are some of the results.

Squire: THANK YOU so much for letting me take your picture!

I had so much fun and I'll do it again if you're up for it!P.S. Does Meg look hot, or what? She's sultry even with them twins just about bustin' outta her.

(It's that ultimate uterus of hers)

When you have your babies, Meg, can I get my picture taken with them like I was the one what birthed them?

The Enabler

Asher is obsessed with Star Wars.
Addicted.
And, I realized, I am an enabler.
You know, a person who, in some way (many ways), supports, validates, or helps an addict to continue in their addictions, sometimes opening "avenues", if you will, to deeper addictive behaviors.
Here's the evidence:
I made him a Darth Vader birthday cake (thanks to Becca's method)

I bought him 2 Star Wars books

I made him a real Jedi robe out of fabulous polyester fabric
If this isn't damning enough, I've introduced a new "user" to this Star Wars Junkie club.

Meet Force of the Blue, or Padawan-Maggie.

Fiver

When Lincoln and Asher were little I went to Target to get their pictures taken. But too often I came away disappointed with scary photographers and less than gorgeous pictures of my cute kids.

For the past two years I've been taking the kids to get their pictures taken at Fotogenix. They do a great job, their children packages are less expensive and the lighting is always flawless. But it's still too expensive.

I want great pictures of my kids, but I've become tired of trying to justify to Joel how I spent about $45 on three sheets of pictures. I took Clara there for the last time last month to get her 2 year-old pictures taken. It went great! There were so many pictures of Clara that were so adorable that I finally decided on a collage 8X10...that cost $60...one sheet.

That was the deal-breaker for me. I finally told Joel I can't go there anymore. I'm tired of the guilt of spending so much money. Now, I'm switching it up.

I bought a reflector so I could take Tia's bridal and engagement pictures last fall. And Joel's been saying for years that I should just take the kids' birthday pictures with my little digital camera. So, I done it.

It was Asher's birthday on Thursday (basically, it was a Star Wars Estrasasanda!) so the next day Joel and I loaded the kids up and went down to the Utah State Hospital (that's where you go if/when you're crazy) for some photog fun! Here are the results, along with my own version of the $60 Fotogenix collage.

After a 10 second tutorial on how to use the reflector, Joel was/is now the resident professional photographer's assistant of the Utah State Hospital.

Cute, huh?

Pictures from Clara's Birthday Party

So, everyone's been awaiting with anticipation pictures from Clara's birthday party, right? Her opening EVERY gift and posing with it, her blowing out candles on her horsie cake, and her face smeared with chocolate. Hilarity! Cuteness! All about the 2 year-old birthday girl.

I would totally post pictures of all that for you here. Except I gave my camera to Cam so he snap some pics of the darling girl while I hosted. I handed this HUGE responsibility over to him so that he could help me out like a good, loving, helpful governess sort of brother-in-law would do. This is what I have of Clara's party:Looks like two more of the nutsies got their little paws on my fine piece of electronica:

Thanks, Cam, Megan and Meridee.

P.S. Didn't I marry into the dang best-looking family ever?