Before I was a mom, I thought being a mom looked hard. Now I know it's even harder than it looks. I am tired merely thinking about all of us moms swirling around everyday trying to do anything and everything we can to give our children the best life possible.

This mother's day is the first since my mom passed away and my first mother's day as a mom. Equal parts bitter and sweet. We will be celebrating quietly at home.

This mother's day I wish for all moms to receive all the love they have given and more.

A cute little one year old portrait session at the local conservatory.

Do you know where your belly button is? Let's all be thankful that question isn't for adults!

Happy Weekend!

This one is for my fellow photoshop users. A template for creating a storyboard/collage like this one:

This makes a gorgeous 30X30" storyboard, but can be used in so many other ways. Keep it small and use it as a book template or go extra large for jaw dropping photo display. The template is sized at 10X10" to keep the file size down. It can be easily upsized or downsized using the "Image Size" command within Photoshop.

The template uses clipping masks and there is no accompanying action (I find it easier and more customizable without one). There's a brief explanation on how to use clipping masks in the template but if you still don't get it try a google search.

Download Photoshop Template

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Certainly not required, but I'd love it if you link to your final pieces in the comments. It would be fun to see how others make use of it.

My husband and I have committed to eating healthier for ourselves and for Kendall. Over the past month or so we have found some great companies/products. I want to share them with you in case you are sick of eating chemicals and too much sugar as much as we are.

HAPPYBABY

"HAPPYBABY was born when we saw the need for nutritious and convenient alternatives to highly processed baby food. We believe baby's first meals should taste and look delicious—and nourish baby's body."

Kendall recently starting eating HAPPYBABY organic brown rice cereal. So far this is her favorite. We especially like it not only because it's organic, but it's also made with whole grains. Two thumbs up in our household. We also started Kendall on their frozen fruits and veggies as well. They are a little more difficult to make than simply twisting the top off a jar, but they smell like real food. We couldn't believe how bad Gerber's Organic Bananas smelled when we took off the lid.

We found HAPPYBABY at our local Super Target. It's also available at Whole Foods and the cereal alone can be found at Babies R Us. Find HAPPYBABY products near you.

Kashi

"Making natural food that tastes great is our job. And we love it. When you eat great-tasting all-natural food you won't miss the highly refined sugars, artificial additives, or preservatives. Our food is your ally in wellness, so everything from breakfast to dinner will make you feel healthier and happier."

Of course, Kashi. I couldn't talk about eating better without talking about Kashi. They have a wide range of foods available. My favorite addition to my diet is their shakes. I use the vanilla shake mix in my mid-morning smoothie. That's one banana, 1c of strawberries, 1tbsp of flax seed, 1c of soy milk, 2 scoops of Kashi Vanilla Shake Mix. It's full of protein, so it makes a great after workout snack. They also have a chocolate shake mix which I think would make the perfect chocolate-banana smoothie. Magically delicious! Kashi also has a wide selection of cereals and crackers for breakfast and snacking. My husband started eating Honey Toasted Oats in lieu of Honey Nut Cheerios which has its share of sugar.

Kashi is readily available. We've purchased ours at Trader Joes, Super Target and our local grocery stores (Jewel & Dominick's). Find Kashi near you. Kashi.com also has an online store. I ordered a case of the shake mix, because Trader Joe's is the only nearby place that had it and we don't have time to go there often enough.

Annie's Homegrown

"We at Annie's believe that there's something reassuring about knowing what's in your food and who it comes from. As nourishers, we see the world as one giant system, beautifully complex yet intricately interconnected, that grows organically with the care it is given."

I tried Annie's Homegrown Whole Wheat Bunnies when I was looking for a tasty cracker to have with lunch. They reminded me of the original goldfish. Good. They also come in cheddar which means Kendall will be snacking on Wholesome Bunnies instead of Goldfish.

Annie's Homegrown is another one that we've found pretty easily. Our Target and local supermarkets stock several of their products. Find Annie's Homegrown near you or shop online.

That's all for now, more to come.

Waiting List » In the next two weeks, I'll begin booking June, July and August from the list. I'm putting together a few different types of session packages and I want to make these available before booking any more sessions. Options are good. If there's something you would like to see in a session fee + portrait products package, let me know. Things are still in the works.

Casting Call » After I get through my waiting list, I'll be doing a small casting call for unique looking kids of all ages (curly hair, red hair, dark hair + blue eyes, etc.) to take part in a few complimentary conceptual sessions. These will be to test new locations and ideas I've been cooking up.

Reminder » To those reading along via an email subscription I've set up an options page where you can select what type of email you receive. If you are interested in one of the other options, simply unsubscribe from your current subscription (you can do so at the bottom of each email). Then, sign up for a new one.

There are so many of you currently on the list I can't help but cringe each time I post a new entry. This is especially the case when I'm posting personal entries. I'm thinking who could possibly want to read this. Nonetheless I'm going to keep posting. It's a nice distraction from the everyday and it serves as good therapy.

The Usual » Since I haven't posted portrait session images in a few days... check out this adorable one year old. She is just as sweet in person as she looks here.

You had to admire my blissful ignorance when I so enthusiastically said to bring your camera to your next doctor visit as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

Today was Kendall's 6 month wellness check.

It was quite different from her 4 month in that the exact second I put her down on the table she started to whimper. We are having our bit of separation anxiety these days! The whimper escalated to a cry, I soothed her, back to whimpering, crying, soothing. Repeat. Very different from her last visit. I nixed the documenting idea within a minute of walking into the doctor's office. A record for me, I think.

We still tried. We had to at least try. I'm so happy we did. My heart melts into a pile of mush when I look at those two images of daddy and Kendall. I could look at them together like that all day.

People are often surprised that I take photos that don't have kids in them. I actually take photos ALL the time of just about anything. Take today for example. I was sitting in my office plugging away and I saw some special light coming through the window. I had had to grab my camera and capture it.

I got up close and personal with a micro lens. No method to my madness it just happened to be on my camera. The first shot I aimed my camera towards the sun. That big bright circle? The sun. Love it. The second shot was seconds later shot towards the grayish blue sky and technically underexposed a tad for effect.

Nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but enough to keep the photography juices flowing.

Can you believe it? Before we know it Summer will be here and then Fall and then ... I won't even say the "W" word. I'm still sick of the last one.

Yesterday I was bemoaning the fact the our magnolia which bloomed last week was already losing its flowers. They leave so soon. Then this morning I was pleasantly surprised by new blooms from our plum tree. This is what is so great about this time of year. Everything appears to be continually refreshed. It gives me an unheard amount of energy. Look out world!

Over the past few weeks I've received a few emails regarding whether or not I would be doing mini sessions this year. The short - no, I'm not.

The long - I had planned on doing mini sessions last year, but I booked up faster than I thought and then my pregnancy complicated things. It simply never worked out. I apologize to anyone who was anticipating these sessions. At this time, I don't have any plans for 2008 mini-sessions.

There are still some doubts in my head about having these types of sessions in the future at all as I'm not entirely sure they fit into the way I shoot. I thoroughly enjoy developing a connection with your wonderful children through the course of an hour or two. I think that's what gives my work that extra bit of "heart".

I've photographed adorable "N" three times since he turned 1. It is so amazing to be able to witness a baby turn into this fascinating little person.

And if you think this session looked like fun, you have no idea. There was running, jumping, peeking and booing. I was in desperate need of a nap afterwards. Where do these kids get the energy?!?

This door is famous ... I photographed it so many times. That deep green and urban texture is irresistible.

Went location scouting today for an upcoming high school senior portrait session. Very excited! I've had these spots in mind for a bit, but I've been holding them in my back pocket for the right session since they aren't necessarily toddler friendly.

Nearly forgot to mention my location scouting accomplices, Mr. Dawn M:

And, our little darling Mini Me (she already has two cameras, toys but still!):

Somewhere between late night feedings, frequent diaper changes, going back to work and thinking I couldn't take one more day of Winter, Spring sprung! Just in time too. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been feeling cabin feverish for far too long.

The other day I took a few minutes to photograph some gifts from Spring in our backyard.

One year olds are among my favorite age group to photograph. They take a healthy amount of energy to shoot right, but the rewards always outweigh the effort. These were shot on a very cold day in February, so we stayed indoors and played for a few hours.

I fell in love with her tousled hair. So fun and playful just like her!

Most of you know that I work out of my home office or car depending on the day. What you probably don't know is that I have an extremely loyal and trusty assistant. Right now her number one job is to make me smile first thing in the morning. She hasn't missed a day yet, so I'm not too worried about the 3 or 4 nap breaks she takes everyday. She'll come around eventually.

Ok. This one is for photographers. I've amassed quite a collection of photoshop actions, but I tend to use the ones I've created myself the most. Why not share'm? There's nothing crazy impressive going here, just a simple color and contrast boost.

This action creates two layers one to increase contrast (without affecting color) and the other that boosts overall image color. I often use it on my color images to add a bit of pop. The default setting with the opacity of both layers set to 50% adds a nice subtle contrast and color enhancement. In my humble opinion, that's really all a well exposed image needs. Looking for a little more pop? Simply increase the opacity of either layer.

Download the Action

If you like this action, please say it out loud by either leaving a comment or noting as such when you use it. This will help me decide if these "shares" are worthy of being shared!

Here are a few samples with the action applied, color set to 75% opacity (maybe a bit too much, but I wanted to show the effect). Mouseover to see the image straight out of camera.

This action was created using Adobe Photoshop CS3. I think it will work with most modern versions of Photoshop, but I'm not sure. Remember this action is complimentary and consequently I won't be providing any support for it. That means if you don't know how to install actions or use them, please don't email me for help. Try a google search instead. Google is your friend.