Christina's Blog

I just adore photographing babies – they can bring tears to my eyes and make me laugh out loud, often at the same time.  Sometimes I feel like I barely remember that first year with each of my kids – it was all a blur of changing diapers and buckling and unbuckling the car seat and training for the Sleep Deprivation Olympics (please don’t tell me that’s not a sport, after all the hours I put in!)  Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos were those magical moments:   watching them sleep in my arms, the smell of their skin after a bath, the tiny hand wrapped around my finger and those eyes that looked at me like I was their whole world.  The 1st smiles, 1st laughter, 1st time rolling over, sitting up, walking… I really wished all that magic could have been spread out just a little more, because that first year just goes by way too fast.

I am so excited to announce our new baby portrait plan, appropriately called “Baby Love“!  It includes four full portrait sessions for your new little one, to capture all those 1st-year changes plus a gorgeous 12×30 Wall Frame with four 5x7s – one from each session.  For a limited time I am making the plan available for only $99 (a $538 value!)  This is such a great way to ensure you capture the milestones, and planning for this now will save you so much time and stress in the long run.  You’ll get a reminder phone call or email from my studio in time to schedule each included session, along with helpful tips and information about portraits for each stage.  Give me a call today and take advantage of the special pricing through June 30, 2010.

Reflection has been a recurring theme for me these past few months, you only have to check out my Project 365 photographs to see that, and most-recently I have been reflecting on my own personal image, or rather the image I am projecting through my photography business – it’s “branding” I guess.  Sometimes it’s hard to look at yourself closely in the mirror, especially as the years and birthdays go by and you watch your children wake up every day and take another tiny baby step towards independence and adulthood.  But when I’ve looked up close lately, I’m not looking for lines and wrinkles and gray hairs (hey, I don’t have any yet, by the way!)  What I’m looking for is that little spark of something, happiness maybe… or maybe it’s just the sparkle of living, not just being alive – but LIVING.  Now before you go thinking this is a post about depression or well, just a depressing post, let me explain…

As you may remember from past posts, I met the founder of Striving for More through a random set of events – you can read more about her and those details in a past blog post.  Anyway, I recently volunteered to photograph the Striving for More team at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation event held at Napper Tandy’s in Raleigh.  When I was editing the images, I found myself really captivated by one of the images of Diane, and so I spent some time editing it and doing some of the art work I do for my actual studio portraits.  In fact, I spent a lot of time – not because the image needed it and not because she isn’t already beautiful, but because something about her eyes really spoke to me.  I eventually realized what it was – they sparkle.  Truly.  On their own.  Just off the cuff this may not resonate with you, but I challenge you to try to look for this in the next few days when you are talking to people, or even looking through your own photographs and portraits.  If you don’t know Diane’s story, you can read her blog here, but suffice it to say that she has endured a tragedy that could easily crush the strongest of spirits, and yet she’s managed to find a path for herself that did just the opposite.  I’ve mentioned before that the eyes are what I’m trying most to capture when I take a portrait, and it’s this “sparkle of life” I’m trying to get.  Everyone has it, but I wonder how often it’s bright enough for others to notice.

So I’m looking in the mirror, trying to see my own and be aware of the things that make it shine brighter.  Photography is one of those “things” for me – just ask my husband, he always comments that my face is just glowing with happiness after I’ve had a great session with a client or even spent the day shooting the trees in the park.  Moms have this look when watching their child take their first steps or hit their first home-run.  Children have this look almost every moment of every day – their eyes just shine! So I encourage you all to take a moment to reflect, and figure out the things that really make your eyes light up – and do more of them.  In all sincerity, we could all use a little more sparkle in our lives, and really LIVING your life will have a profound impact on those around you as well – take a little time every week to live like this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.   Because they all are.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought recently about blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and how these all fit in with my studio and photography and my own personal life.  Social Media is the big theme right now in almost any conference, webinar, marketing class, etc and though I have been enjoying exploring them all, I’ve kind of been struggling with integrating them and growing my business without feeling like a salesperson.  I’ve really wanted my blog to be a way to just be who I am and share in a less formal way with my clients as well as my friends and family – especially since many of those people fall into more than one category!  My blog is almost 10 months old (!) and though I do feel like I’ve been “speaking in my own voice” – I also have felt like every post has to be about marketing something for my studio.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s one of the realities of starting a business – you do have to market it if you wanna survive.    But with the arrival of Spring, I’ve been contemplating some little changes and improvements here and there, and I’ve decided to do what *I* want with my blog instead of following the traditional path.  (Can I even use the words “blog” and “traditional” in the same sentence yet?)  My future posts will be on a much more personal level, and though my photography will often be a part of it, as it’s a huge part of me and my life, I’m going to try just being myself and sharing a little more about what’s going on in my life, my family and my business in a way that will hopefully be more fun and interesting to read.  Let the chips fall…