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August | St. Louis Newborn Photographers
Posted on September 14, 2010
Kim and I decided that Katie just might be cursed! Her maternity+family session was quite possibly the hottest day of the summer which meant we were ALL hot+sweaty the entire time! Her twins were awesome that day but SO HOT! It was maybe the most uncomfortable I’ve been at a session ever! H.O.T.
So we were SURE the newborn session would be easy peasy but OH MAN! Little August just DID NOT want to sleep! And Kim and I are kind of pretty darn great at getting babies to sleep. But he would NOT be fooled! The second we thought we got him his eyes would just pop open! It was hysterical! And wouldn’t have been a huge deal except of course it was the ONLY day Katie had to be somewhere so the session was limited anyway!
In the end we got some cute shots and made it work! We just couldn’t love Katie more and felt bad that neither session sailed by smoothly!
This last one was a total outtake but so cute I had to post it… I love newborns because they make the best faces! This shot was just testing the light but I love that tiny yawn!
Thanks for hanging in there with us Katie! August is adorable!!! And although it would have been so fun to see Stella & Oliver, can you imagine? HA! It was so great to see you and enjoy these crazy crazy days… I promise they’ll go by fast!
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We are FINALLY announcing our fall mini sessions!
Posted on September 13, 2010
We are SO excited to get these announced!
We will be scheduling 3 sessions an hour which means we have room for 9 sessions that day. If we book solid we may open up more hours or a second day. The $100 does not include any prints but we will have some special holiday packages in your galleries that will only be offered to our mini session clients.
These mini sessions are a great way to get a few great shots of your kids for grandparent Christmas gifts, family photos, a few maternity shots, etc. If you have small children it will be easier to do EITHER family photos or individuals of the kids… 15 minutes will go fast and it will be almost impossible to get both. Deciding ahead of time what you’d like will be best.
We will have a table at the mini session sight with Christmas gift ideas and our Christmas card samples so you can see+feel everything we offer!
There will also be samples of Russ Mohr’s Christmas cards as he’s offering our mini session clients a SPECIAL discount! If you use your mini session images (we will send him the images you want at no additional charge) on his cards you’ll get $20 off your order total! A great savings for custom cards! He has some incredible designs this year and we’ll be doing a full post on his work later this week!
Email jodie@freshartphotography.com to book your session.
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Ella | St. Louis Newborn Photographers
Posted on September 11, 2010
On Tuesday, we had sweet little Miss Ella in to the studio. Her Mommy was at one of our very first newborn sessions together, it was actually at her home, with her best friend and her baby, Bryce! Bryce just turned a year, and now has a sweet new friend! Bridie was in the best spirits, and as sweet as ever, even after a pretty rough birth experience, with her sister along for support.
I also thought I’d explain/clarify a little further about something Jodie mentioned in Jeremiah’s post about newborn photography and having 2 people to do it. We’ve both done it solo, so KNOW it can be done. We also know it can be limiting and weren’t getting nearly the variety and creativity with shots as we can with 2 people who are in total sync. She was also saying for *US* to teach a workshop, it’d be pretty unfair to those who are doing it solo, to teach them tricks we do with two people without them having that second person available.
The Fresh Art newborn experience also is very much about letting the new mom relax and not work at all, aside from nursing a baby we bring right to them. The above shots could absolutely be done solo, but the really nice part is while one of us is shooting simple shots like these, the other is right there making sure every tiny detail is perfect, the baby bits are properly covered, blankets are just right, and even there to shush a baby the extra person can spot is making small signs of waking up. Things that make it easier and the session to go by much quicker.
And then there are shots where there absolutely has to be a second person there, whether that be an assistant, mom, or a second photographer. We’ve both tried it with mom or an assistant, and since they didn’t understand completely the vision, lighting, etc, it just didn’t go as smoothly. Throughout so much of the session, Jodie and I aren’t even talking in a language anyone can understand… a head tilt, hand gesture, or even grunt to each other and we just sort of know what the other needs/wants for the shot.
This is an example of a shot that should not be done without two people.
This chair has a strong sentimental value to Ella’s family and they wanted to have a shot with her on it. We know you can’t just put a baby on a rocking chair and walk away to snap the shot.
Someone had to be right there with a hand on her, so I was able to be there, making sure she was positioned right for Jodie to get the shot, while Mom could just look on and smile at how sweet Ella looked on the rocking chair.
The shots like these can sometimes be accomplished alone with a stronger baby who could hold the position, but even then, I really like that someone is there, hovering just inches away.
And sometimes the baby just really needs the support, and so it only takes a second for one photographer to be ready, and the second to pop their hand out of frame.
All that to say, do you HAVE to have two people to do great newborn photography? No. We just believe it’s a nicer experience for all involved, and how we have chosen to brand our Fresh Art experience. The session goes by much faster, which is nice not only for us, but for mom and baby too. It was not unheard of for me to spend 5-6 hours on a newborn session, and that wasn’t including the unpacking and packing back up. Our average time now is around 2-3 hours. We can also do some really creative things, that safety concerns would prevent you from doing without an extra person with a hand on the baby at all times.
When we joined together our goal was to bring our own newborn photography to a higher level (that having two people allows) while at the same time giving our clients a more relaxing experience. So far it’s working great for both of us and our clients. We’re not saying it’s the best for every photography business out there, it’s just what’s best for us!
And to Bridie… thanks for bringing sweet Ella over! We loved seeing you again and will be praying for a quick recovery for you!
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wow this post got out of control tonight!
Posted on September 8, 2010
Today I decided I would take my camera with me to capture our day.
But then my day got busier and busier and I only took a few shots. And none of my own kids! This little cutie is the daughter of a friend of mine who’s kids go to the same elementary school and preschool as ours… so today while waiting the 20 minutes between dropping the kindergarten kids off and taking the girls to preschool we were at the playground just chatting while the kids played. Her youngest kept trying to crawl across the table to me so I turned my camera on!
Could she be any cuter? I mean seriously.
But that’s not really what this post is about. Although it should be because I’m about to get pretty darn whiny!
Is anyone sick of driving yet?
Oh my gosh!
Here is where I drove today.
Take Bailey to school. Take Parker to school. Run by a job for my dad. Get a soda. Go work at my parent’s house. Run home to grab a sandwich and a Fresh Art order. Pick up Parker. Drop off order. Go to my parents to work. Pick up Bailey. Back to my parents to get the other two. Home for dinner. To church for choir. Get a soda. To my parent’s one last time to see my sister who just got in town. Home for baths+bed.
And most of those places force me to drive on the same road ALL DAY LONG. Back and forth. From Kirkwood to Webster. OMG.
Kim is ALWAYS in the car and I’m not sure how she does it! It drives me insane. The voices get louder and my patience gets thinner the second we close the doors!
Is anyone else burnt out on driving to and from school yet? It hasn’t even been a month!
In other news I have to tell you how proud of myself I am b/c I’m on day three of a C25K (Couch to 5K) program that’s run by an ap on my iPhone. This morning was the best and I woke up at 5:45am to go! I NEVER thought I would wake up excited to exercise but after just 3 days I feel awesome! In 9 weeks I should be ready to run a 5K so I’m starting to look for some in the area this fall! Great motivation to keep going!
We also have pretty darn big news that although is ultimately our private life, I feel compelled to share it here. And since I’m on a writing roll I thought I might as well keep going tonight! HA!
I recently read “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey and it changed our lives. Chris and I are lucky in that we have no credit card debt. The only debt we have is our car payment, C’s student loan and some medical bills. None of it is really a big deal. But for us it’s a big enough deal that paying it down plus paying rent+utilities makes saving for our house hard. And we REALLY want to buy our first home. Like tomorrow.
One of Dave’s biggest things is to make a RADICAL change. With gazelle-like intensity. Because you see, gazelle are hunted by the fastest land mammal (the cheetah I think) so you’d think they’d get caught every time, but in fact they are only caught 1 in 19 tries because the although the gazelle can’t out run the cheetah, they can out manuvuer him! He talks about having to make this radical change with gazelle-intensity so that you actually do it… that if you chip away in tiny bits you won’t ever finish. Like with dieting. If you lose a few pounds right away it gives you the motivation to keep going… if you don’t lose for the first month it’s easier to give up!
Anyway, after reading the entire book, taking notes, going through all our bills and looking at where we want to be, tomorrow (you know, in our own home!), we decided to get radical and make things happen!
So for 9-12 months we are going to live with C’s parents in Kirkwood. We will be attacking our debt and savings with every cent we can so that by the end of our time there we can become debt free home owners with a big safety net of savings under us! We are super excited to make this change for our family and truly believe God is leading us in this decision! We just feel that to keep saving bit by bit is silly when we can attack it with a radical change and become home owners the fastest way possible!
We have loved our time in this house. If we could afford it we’d buy it in a heart beat. We brought two babies home here, all three learned to walk and talk here. We struggled and laughed and cried and celebrated birthday’s and Christmases. We started our own family traditions and became better parents. We lost sleep and gained weight and learned so so much about being a family. But ultimately it’s not our home. And although we love our landlords (they are literally practically family) we are so so ready to be in our own house. Our home. Our first home.
Are we nervous to cram our five person family into his parent’s house? Nope. They are so incredibly welcoming and are encouraging us in our quest to own a home. We literally couldn’t ask for better families. My dad keeps saying he’s not sure if they won or lost since we asked the Allen’s to move there instead of in with my parents! I love that! HA! I work every day with my parents so we just thought living there too might be too much! We just feel so so so blessed that we have family and friends willing to help us pack, help us move, help watch the kids, take us in and support our decision to GET RADICAL so that hopefully in a year we’ll be home owners. We moved home from Spokane the day before Bailey’s first birthday because we wanted our family close by but we never could have known just how essential they would become to our life.
It takes a village. And our village rocks!
I am sharing all of this because although it’s a pretty big life change, I know a lot of people struggle with choices like this. And I HATE how secretive people are about money. It’s JUST money. It doesn’t define who you are and I hate that people get all freaked out by talking about it! We’re saving up for a house. We’re moving in with family to help this time of saving go faster. Big deal. Am I embarrassed? No way! I’m crazy proud of us for making this radical decision and am so excited to get started! I just think we should all support each other and understand each other and be able to talk about money if we want to!
I ALSO want to invite you to our yard sale this Saturday! HA! Come buy our stuff to help us start saving! It’ll be at my parents house… 755 E. Monroe | 63122. My sister, my mom and I all have things to sell and let me tell you, we are DOWN SIZING to get our savings started! BUY OUR JUNK!
The last bit of news for this incredibly LONG blog post is that of course this effects our studio sessions. Right now we don’t have one on the books until October and we’re hoping to set up the studio at my in-laws in their massive basement. If not it might be at Kim’s house. And if not there, well, we’ll figure it out and let you know! Until then, if you want to book a newborn email me and we’ll work something out!
Wish us luck b/c we’re outta here in three weeks! We have SO much to do starting with the yard sale this weekend! YAHOO! I LOOOOVE a good purge!
Thanks for indulging me in this crazy long blog tonight! Off to bed early since I have a 5:45am wake-up call, a newborn (our LAST newborn here) in studio and a yard sale to prep for tomorrow!
It’s been a long time… but this calls for a big fat GO don’t you think? HA!
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Jeremiah | St. Louis Newborn Photographers
Posted on September 6, 2010
Last week we got to hang out with little Jeremiah! His awesome mom is another St. Louis photographer so it was great to be able to give her a break from being behind the camera all the time and do some work for her! And he couldn’t have been a more perfect subject! Curly and tiny and sleepy… just how we like them!
We’ve been asked a lot recently if we’re ever planning on doing a newborn workshop for other photographers and the answer, right now, is no. And one of the main reasons is because we feel REALLY strongly that you can’t do newborn photography justice if you are alone. To get babies into these poses and not make mom or dad help out when they should be relaxing, we work together! One of us is always shooting and the other one is always posing. For the shot above Kim was right next to him the entire time with a paci, the heater and the sound machine right next to her!
I was ready and as soon as she stepped away and yanked that paci out I clicked!
He woke up for one second and we were able to capture his beautiful eyes! Isn’t he gorgeous?
Thanks to Raquita and Jerry for hanging out with us and a special thanks to Jerry who DURING the session had to help me unclog the toilet upstairs! HA! Some kid used too much toilet paper and he saved the day for me! If you want to see Raquita’s work go HERE! Thanks again you guys, it was a blast!
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Reflections on Motherhood | St. Louis Newborn Photographers
Posted on September 5, 2010
Loved this! We have had quite a few first time mommies recently, so thought it was so perfect to share!
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my soundtrack.
Posted on September 4, 2010
I’ve gotten more emails about the music I listed below than about the images of sweet Landon! And you can’t get much better than that baby boy so I guess people love knowing what other people listen to! It has inspired me to show you a piece of my life soundtrack. Enjoy!
Grade School: Rockin’ Robin by Bobby Day… in the car with Abbie and my mom singing at the top of our lungs to her “oldies” mix tape she won from a local radio station. The tape that embedded all lyrics from songs sung in the 50′s or 60′s permanently in my head… a talent that amazes my husband constantly as he’s never heard any of those songs!
Middle School: Any Beatles Song… 6th-7th grade when I was crushing hard on Phil Merker. He liked The Beatles so I would get out my parents CD’s, lay on the living room carpet listening to them while doing homework. Luckily I have a crazy ability to memorize songs quickly so I could pretend like I LOVED The Beatles AND knew all their songs by heart. Didn’t win me Phil’s heart but did help me fall in love with this band!
Summer before High School: The Samples… I was hanging out with Alison Hagan (now Alison Berry of Initially Yours) and she listened to The Samples so, well, as any 14 year old girl would do, I copied her! She made me tapes and I listened to them non-stop in my bedroom. I remember sitting on her bedroom floor making tapes and spending endless hours sleeping over at her house. I actually got my first period at her house! HA! TMI? Whatever. Anyway, I still love this band although my CD’s and mix tapes are long gone! Their song, “Indiana” is still one of my favorite road trip songs.
High School: Every spring our church had a retreat down in Potosi, MO and our junior year my best friend Betsy Feldmann and I were allowed to drive down by ourselves… a new freedom to have a car at Potosi! She came with a mix tape and we sang Jolene by Dolly Parton at the top of our lungs all weekend! Every time I hear it I think of Betsy and I driving to town instead of playing softball with our families… breaking a lifetime of tradition and having the time of our lives!
End of High School: Windmills by Toad the Wet Sprocket… the summer after our senior year was when Chris and I fell in love. We spent hours in his third floor bedroom laying around his room listening to music and talking. Getting to know each other as more than just pals, which is what we were all through high school. This song was one that was played a lot but the two biggest memories that happened with it playing in the background were our first “real” kiss and the night he asked me to officially be his girl friend. His parents of course just thought I was his friend and the second they found out we were dating I wasn’t allowed up in his room anymore! HA!
Summer before college: Fallen by Lauren Wood… the night before I left for college, completely heart broken to be leaving Chris who was going to a different school, his family had me over for dinner to say goodbye. As a surprise they sat me on the couch and all stood before me to sing me this song! I still have the print out of the lyrics C’s brother Matthew typed out for them to follow! To this date one of my most cherished memories was watching the Allen’s and knowing I had found my family… and 6 years later at our wedding we played this song again!
College: Hangin Around by Counting Crows… I played lacrosse in college and for my first two years (I dropped out midway through my junior year and transferred home) were all about road trips for lacrosse games. My BEST memories of that time in my life are driving my little Acura with my BFF Cathy in the front seat with me singing to mix CD’s at the top of our lungs! She loved 80′s music and I loved everything else! HA! She put up with my music choices since I drove her ass around I guess! Still love Counting Crows!
Post college: Christian worship songs… I lived with my best friend Jessica Busse and found Christ. Again. My faith was renewed and although it was a tough time in some aspects it was also some of the most peaceful. That’s when I dated THIS guy, attended a different church and just tried out life. I quit school all together and lacrosse+baby sitting became my career. Nate and I broke up, I moved back home, Chris and I got engaged and life changed yet again but forever those two years gave me a heart for the Lord that although has grown distant at times, has never wavered. Christian music is what I play in the car and house the most often still and my kids love it!
Our wedding: If I had a Million Dollars by Barenaked Ladies… if you asked my mom today her favorite memory of our wedding she’d tell you it was when our best man and good friend Tony played this song live at our wedding! All the “kids” (us and our friends) were right in front signing and dancing but all the “adults” loved it too! This was the moment when my mom leaned to my dad and begged him to pay the location for just one more hour… but when my dad went to ask the guy told them to leave them wanting more! So the wedding ended, we were married and Tony singing this song which was such a huge part of our memory from college was one of the highlights!
I’m going to stop it here b/c although Chris is still napping and I’m having a blast thinking about old songs that mean the world to me (I have a MILLION more songs I could add to this list!), there is a lake outside that is calling my name. Not sure if I want to walk around and take photos, go swimming (it’s warming up!) or go outside to read a book. Either way, I am closing this laptop and putting it away for today!
Have I mentioned that we’re having a BLAST on our weekend away so far? The best part of my marriage? Laughing hysterically with my husband. Something we’ve done too many times to count and we’re not even 24 hours in on our time away! Tonight we’re treating ourselves to dinner (thanks to the cash given to us by C’s parents!) and a photo shoot at an abandoned drive-in movie theater! I traded him yard sales this morning for photos this evening! A good trade I think… if he cooperates like he promised he would!
Hope you’re having an awesome Saturday!
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