hello friends,

are you ready for the weekend ahead? i will be busy continuing my prep for baby three’s nursery design and sewing and finishing my back to school shopping for the other children.

things are a changing….

the last two weeks, i have been offered a seat to sit on while traveling on the train, have received those “she’s about to pop” looks from strangers and have stopped in my tracks by my own glances in the mirror. my youngest swears there really is a basketball in there. i realized i had to snap a self portrait with the iphone. until my good friend and photographer makes a visit in the coming weeks for pregnancy photos, images like this will have to do (and those i have my husband take, while coaching him how to use my dSLR). the changes must be recorded.

while this is the third pregnancy for me, in many ways it feels like the first. other than the few years gap between children, i feel more aware of this one, each day that goes by, each change, each kick. how have you recorded your pregnancy?

with anticipation and a mile long to-do list, joya

p.s. we had a great joyababy sale last week! thank you for all your support. we look forward to all those babies and parents who will be stylin’ in joyababy! please send your fan photos to us to share on our fb fan page!

ah the beach…the ocean… the heat.. the sand and water! the family vacation is finally here.

for our recent holiday to the southern tip of florida i packed my nikon SLR to capture the moments in high resolution and crisp focus. i have some amazing photos from that camera that are so clear you feel like you are there. but that is a carefully planned camera trip, with extra coverage for lens, so as to not get it all wet and sandy. i learned the hard way back a few years ago when i did not protect my camera and was slapped with a hefty bill for repair and cleaning.

but the every day? for the daily walks to the beach and the pool, i found myself reaching quickly to the ever so convenient iphone to snap those sandy, wet moments while frolicking on the beach. like when the little ones come running up to you and say “mommy mommy look what i found!!” as they are soaking wet with sand and water splattering about on your lounge chair, towel and….camera.

i shared in a previous post some of the great camera and editing apps for the iphone. check those out and here are a few more that i have been using as of late: photogene, crop n frame, photo fx and all the latest editions to iphone 4.0!

the best way is to play around. have as much fun editing or snapping photos with your iphone as the moments you are capturing!

ok so i designed the joyababy clutch (obviously) a few years ago when i was spending sleepless nights awake with my newborn son. you can read all about my design discovery here. and yet still to this day, when i see fresh clutches arrive from our manufacturer without the contents for changing baby, i am amazed that it all fits in there. part of the reason is that my baby is four years old and the last time he was in diapers was 2 years ago! i do carry a clutch daily with other toddler necessities like: epi-pen, hand wipes, sunblock, etc. (highly recommend)

this past week i received emails from happy happy customers and it was music to my ears! it made me also recall one of the first comments we received from a dad, who was gifted a joyababy clutch from a joyababy customer. she shared this with us. (see above)

so i decided last week, to get out some baby essentials and pack a joyababy clutch up. three newborn eco-friendly diapers and a small wipe pack that you can refill from your nursery supply. (reduce, reuse, recycle!)

i took some casual photos of the process and voila, it is here to share with you! so the verdict? IT REALLY DOES DEFY THE LAW OF PHYSICS, at least as we moms and dads know it! and you know what else… it’s so stylish that NO ONE, i mean no one will know what you have packed in there. and that my friends was my point many sleepless nights ago.. to actually function how we need it to, but look really really good while doing it!

one of my favorite places to photograph a baby is on the changing table! have you tried it? they are happy staring up at their parents, they love getting undressed (most of the time) and it is a great time to catch their expressions close up. this here is my adorable niece and my sister there talking to her! how sweet, right? that little pink dot bunny is a gift I stitched up for her. soft and just the right size for small hands to hold. makes for a cute and simple photo shoot. happy spring!

my kids are major seashell enthusiasts! they cannot wait to go for long beach walks at low tide to find the treasures of the sea. after a few of these excursions, i came up with this creative and simple way for them to keep their seashells. it is as simple as a visit to your local craft store or a shopping trip online. pick up a wooden hinged box, non-toxic craft paint, a few brushes and these cute photo holders by martha stewart. the kids got up bright and early for low tide (dad took them at 4:45am, while mama caught some vacation shut-eye past 6am!)  and we also took a sunset walk each night. they collected interesting seashells into bags and buckets with their treasure chests in mind. my oldest was loving the local field guide for the seashells where we vacation. after the shells were cleaned and dried, the kids took to their paintbrushes and created colorful wooden boxes. i took many photos of them on the beach and slipped one of each of them in action into these pocket photo holders. my oldest wrote the date and location of our vacation. they have loved bringing these back home to share with family and friends. they are already talking about the next shell treasure box from 2010. oh and the beach photos from above were all taken with my iphone again! because i was taking short video clips of them too.

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT OF JOYABABY 2010.

mommy and baby, 2006

every once in a while mommy (or daddy) needs to hand the camera to someone else. i was reminded of this recently after i sorted through holiday photos and i (cameraholic) was not in a single photo, anywhere. then i came across this lovely photo of me with my youngest (a few years back) and remembered that my husband took this photo. the babies and i were piled in my bed and we were lounging. i remember getting up to grab the camera to take a few photos of the boys when my husband came in and took the camera from me.  my husband captured this moment perfectly.

do you hand the camera over enough to allow yourself to be part of the moment in time?

ps. this photograph shows my poor babe with his chapped, red face from food allergies. we have come a long way since then.

i once took a photography class in my summer abroad program in college. it was in the “film” days, where you had to actually develop the photographs in the dark room to see them. i still think it may be best to learn in that fashion. the class was for photojournalism while traveling through Europe…and there was definitely a lot of “content” to work with. we had a little photo gallery at the end of the course in a flat and i was given a B. it is definitely more skill than one likes to think with all the talk of aperture and shutter speed. what i learned most (other than the need to clean my dad’s vintage SLR prior to the class) was how enjoyable it was capturing a memory or something beautiful.

fast forward to the present. i am, like many of you, a busy parent. shuffling my children to and fro all the while running a new company. and like many of you, i am not always inspired by my surroundings (although i am more inspired recently with the move to a new city). so in a sense we need to rethink the content that inspires us. when i say “inspire” i simply mean “something that brings us joy, something that catches our eye, something that inspires us to think or feel in a certain way.” what inspires me? my children first and foremost- their faces as they grow and change, their silliness, their creativity. also inspiring: nature, old buildings and vintage details, cooking, new surroundings, emotions and people in general.

i do own a fancy digital SLR with a few extras and know photoshop. i wish i was better with my SLR, but honestly if the lighting isn’t right, i usually am not satisfied with my outcome and rely on the professionals. i just can’t wrap my brain around all the settings that i could control. i also am a minimalist while toting my kids around the city and am not known to carry a large bag (hello joyababy clutch) to accommodate the big camera. so how do i capture all the simple moments in my day to day? the iphone. there are many creative apps that allow you to highlight your daily inspiration and essentially create art. i use and love the following apps: camera bag, old camera, toy camera, shake it photo, camera flash, camera zoom and crop n’ frame. here is a sample of my own images all taken with my iphone:

a new coffee cup, vintage bottles, birthday cake for my husband. apps used: toy camera, camera bag

portraits. apps used: old camera

rainy day walk. color. nature. apps used: camera bag, lolo

this old house. vintage, architecture. app used: old camera

color. emotion. new surroundings- little india. apps used: toy camera

you have your camera, you are inspired, now what? tips from a professional! i called on friend and photographer extraordinaire, Dave K Cooper, (also a father of two) and asked him to share some expert advise that would help amateur photographers like me, and you perhaps. Here is what he shared:

As a professional photographer, I get lots of questions from friends and family about camera gear. What I almost never get asked, is how to take better photos. If I had a nickel for every time someone saw one of my photos and commented “Wow, that’s a nice camera!” Let’s say I’d have enough nickels to retire. I promise you it’s not about the camera—or at least it’s not ONLY about the camera.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when taking photos of your kids and family.

PHOTOGRAPHING KIDS
Get low. When shooting kids, get down on their level. Go ahead and bend those legs! Most people take all their photos from the standing position. This not only doesn’t make for a particularly interesting photo, it also means that all your photos will look the same: boring. So get down on your knees and snap away!

Widen the angle. Using your camera’s widest angle (what you might call “zoomed out”) provides an interesting perspective. Make sure to capture some of the environment around the subject to tell a better story with your photo(s).

Stop the motion. Use faster shutter speeds to capture children that are running, playing sports, or just bouncing all over the place. 1/200 of a second and faster should do it. If you’re using a point-n-shoot camera there are usually settings for action.

PHOTOGRAPHING ADULTS
I have yet to meet someone who loves having their photo taken—OK, maybe my daughter. Adults, almost universally hate it. Here are two tips that upon seeing the photos of themselves, may have them feeling less anxious about it.

Zoom in, stand back. Wide-angle camera lenses really will add 10 lbs. Maybe more. The reason is basically that a wide-angle lens is distorting reality making the objects stretch horizontally in the frame. However, when you zoom in, it can have the opposite effect of making a person look thinner than they are. Almost no one is going to complain about that!

Don’t say cheese. Rather than give that same cheesy grin you’ve been using since you were a kid, try this. Don’t smile with your top and bottom teeth touching. Separate your teeth by just a bit. Maybe a 1/4″ or so, as if you were photographed mid-laugh. The result will be a much more natural look. Who knows? You may wind up having a new profile pic for Facebook.

And finally, you don’t need a professional level camera to take great photos. There are several sub $500 cameras out there capable of taking amazing photographs. What may need improvement, is you. With a little effort and practice, you can make vast improvements in your family album. Remember, it’s not the arrows, it’s the archer.

Happy Shooting!

to find out more about dave, and to view his work visit www.davekcooper.com

now go get creative and take some photographs! maybe even make time to print them and  put together a personal coffee table book? What inspires you in your day to day?

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT OF JOYABABY c.2010

a tribute to red, part four

you have decorated the home, celebrated the meal, shared the traditions and what will you have to show for it? the memories of course, and the photographs.

again, i am a product of my family and my father was never caught without a camera around his neck. he photographed everything, i mean everything. there is even a super 8 silent film of my homecoming from the hospital after i was born. in 1976. when nurses wore fancy hats, YEARS ago.

above are some memorable shots from my own collection. there was the year we coordinated our photograph around a certain infamous plaid check print, the year of holiday pajamas, the family portrait in our Sunday best and the playful shots in between.

capturing my children each year at Christmas has become a tradition for myself and many families. awaiting photographs of family and friends with holiday cards is one of the simple joys of the season. again, it doesn’t have to be a well thought out studio shot, just something that makes time stand still for a moment. some of the best photographs of our families happen spontaneously. and there is only so many pieces of candy you can give the little ones to stop moving, stand still and smile.