fun with textures (and "sick" kids)

I love texture in my images and I don't add them enough. Today two of my girls are home "sick"- one is legit but the other...I think I was duped. I decided to taken them outside for a few quick pictures (quick- HA!). We go to a spot close to our house and I snapped 1-2 pictures of them. okay 60. I took 60 images of them. And we got back in the mommy mini van and came home. As I was driving I noticed our newly re-surfaced street looked super cool after the sprinkles of rain had stopped. I got the girls in the house and decided to snap a picture (okay, it was just 3 I swear) of the street. Once I uploaded them into lightroom. I decided my image was just flat and needed something. So- I created my own texture....ready to see it?!?!?!

original image +

cool looking wet road = ...drum roll please...

a little bit brighter image with a matte finish. cool, right?!
how did I do that you say? well, I took the road image and placed it over the original image, changed the image from "normal" to "overlay" then adjusted the opacity until I found it visually appealing. Now go out there and make your own textures! it's really not that hard.

1 Million Tabs for Gabriel

I was super lucky to photograph this little sweet pea and her family recently. Gabriel was born with a heart defect and underwent open heart surgery at 6 days old.
During Gabriel’s hospital stay her parents were able to stay in the Ronald McDonald house so they could be close to her. They are grateful for all the blessings they have received. As a way to say thank you and pay it forward they have collected 1 million soda can tabs for the Ronald McDonald house and continue to do so. I asked Kyliegh if she would mind sharing how we all can help and here is what she said...




"It's a super easy way to help out, it costs nothing and it's a really fun way to get your work/school/church/etc. involved in a great cause. I honestly believe the Ronald McDonald House helped Gabriel in her heal that much faster by allowing us to be involved in her care and be an active part of her medical team. We were lucky to only stay for a month, but there are families who stay at RMH for over a year at a time so donations like this help keep it inexpensive and possible for families to be near their children. You can check out her Facebook at www.facebook.com/poptabsforGabriel or take tabs to Mills Gymnastics in Southgate or My Place Bar in Wyandotte. We encourage EVERYONE to share Gabe's story with everyone person/group they know because every single tab counts. We are trying to repeat our success of last year by collection 1 million, or 673 lbs of pop tabs but our ultimate goal is to beat the world record by collecting 2.8 million by May 2013"

Thank you to Kyleigh, Nick & Gabriel! I loved capturing your beautiful family.

Sweet Dreams minis

Sweet Dreams minis will take place on Sunday June 10th. To book your session please e-mail me at caron@photographybycaron.com

little Maddy, 2 years old

Ashley contacted me a while ago for her daughters 2 year old pictures. We talked and planned it out together. then of course, Maddy's outfit didn't arrive in enough time, and then when we went outside it started to rain. Ashley was nervous and I was a little too. okay, maybe not so much. I'm a photographer and a mom, I deal with stuff like this all the time. It all worked out and we got some great images of mommy & daughter. Maddy is a dream! she even let me hold her, several times. I ♥ her! Ashley, you my friend are STUNNING! really. wow.simply beautiful.
enjoy,
Caron

us vs them?

For whatever reason, my girls love to spend most of their time in our bedroom. They like to watch TV in there, play with their toys, read books, etc. It's probably their favorite room in our house, next to our closet. This for some reason drives my husband crazy. Sure I don't like tripping over barbies & princess crowns when I walk into our room either but its temporary. They are children and some day they will be “too grown up” to play in our room. The thought of this breaks my heart. I remember as a kid always wanting to be where my mom was, or the smell of her. So I think I understand it a little more than Chris.
If I’m being total honest, I want my girls to be around me all the time too! I want to bottle up their laughter so I’ll never forget what it sounds like. I want to have their childhood burn so deeply in my memory that I will always be able to recall every little detail about it. I want a pause button on this beautiful journey of motherhood. I fight to hold on to every little detail about them & their childhood, whereas my husband looks forward to their future and them growing up. It’s so odd. Don’t get me wrong, they get on my nervous, drive me crazy, and when they fight I feel like my head is going to explode. but more than not they inspire me. They remind me every single second of everyday what life is all about- love. And for that, I will always allow them in our room.