Capturing the Everyday | A Review

I've never really felt compelled to write a review on any photography workshop I've taken in the past.

Until now.

I just wrapped up Capturing the Everyday | Environmental Portraiture with Children over at In Beauty & Chaos last week and I'm still on a workshop high from all that I've learned. Kerry Varnum taught this class with perfection and ease. She really understands how important it is for us as photographers or as "happy hobbyists" to be able to capture moments and create stories within our images.

When I first started the class I was really apprehensive. My daughter is only 14 months old and I'm not around other children to be able to create these storytelling images that I have loved from Kerry since I started following her work about a year ago. I emailed Kerry expressing my concern and she assured me that I would have no problem with this class and I would be able to capture those storytelling moments as well.

She was right.

Within the first week I took one of my most favorite pictures to date.

This one:

This picture of my daughter really shows a big story part of our life. Sink baths at Grandmas are a bi-weekly thing when my husband works nights and my little girl LOVES them. As you can tell by her expression. I love how this picture captures my daughters happiness and my mother in laws happiness as well.

Throughout this course I learned how to capture not just her attention, but the attention of any child in front of my camera. I learned about color, composure and most important, how to tell a story with a picture. This class was SO amazing and I'm so glad that my husband was kind enough to give me this wonderful class as a Mother's Day gift.

I should mention that I took this class as a Study Along and not Full Participation. I think I would have been happier over in FP with more feedback and criticism but hey, ya do what ya can.

I think the best part of this class is that I'm now confident in taking portraits of my daughter that I know are more than just regular snapshots. I CAN create a story and make an image more interesting and now I understand how to do it better. I'll probably never measure up to Kerry because she's a storytelling genius but hey, I try. :-)

I'm not good at writing reviews because, like I said, I've never felt compelled to write one. But I really loved this course and I want everyone to know it and hopefully it will run again so you have the chance to take it too!

I encourage all of you to check out Kerry's work and really consider taking this workshop on the next run.

Kerry's Facebook Page

Kerry's Website

And as I mentioned before, this class was taken on the In Beauty & Chaos forum. (If you're a photographer and not a forum member, you should be!)

Here are some of my favorite images from the class.

xxx

Ryan

Special Delivery!

Hey friends!

Today I wanted to show you some of the images I captured on my very first newborn lifestyle session! I was so excited when a high school friend of mine let me into her home so I can practice my lifestyle photography skills on her family. (Or lack thereof) :-)

This is all so new to me so please don't judge to harshly. I still want to practice more before I start offering these sessions out to people. So if you know anyone with some interest, send them my way! rc2photo@yahoo.com

And now introducing: The Watson Family

Here are some of my favorites.

Thank you so much for looking! And special thanks to Heather, Loren, Evan and Miss Norah for allowing me to shoot their beautiful family.


xxx

Ryan

I'm ok with it....

So, this weekend went by way too fast and while I had so much fun I finally realized something. I'm not 21 years old anymore and you know what.....I'm ok with it.

Friday night I went and had a nice meal with my mom, sister, Molly and chunky Charlie. We had a really nice time and it's not something we do often anymore because we are all super busy but I'm glad we got to spend some time together, just us. We went to Aspen Creek, that place is so yummy. We all had the spicy chicken salad and we at some shrimp that was supposed to be like Bang Bang Shrimp and some chips and queso for apps. (Molly's choice). The imitation bang bang was really tasty and spicy just like I like it. I will for sure try that again sometime. My salad was ok and I ended up tossing my leftovers when I got home because the smell was making me ill. Eww.

Saturday was AWESOME! I got up and was able to go for a run before the little bug even woke up for the day. I always get really excited when I wake up before the babe. These days it's becoming more common. I'm such an early bird. After I did a quick 3 miles I went to the grocery and then the hubs had to run out to Cabela's so me and the little one decided to go to the park. We went to Greenwood Boat Docks park for the first time and it was SO nice! They have this whole little water park and there are different areas for kids to play in. When we went there were people using a few pavilions for birthday parties and there were canopy's set up in different places. I honestly love it! And it's five minutes from home. You can't beat that and I  can't wait to take Charlie to play in the water area. She's going to have a blast but I'll  have to wait until it's not super crowded when we go. After we went to the park I called Ryan and he was almost home so we decided to go try out the new ice cream place on Dixie called Chillers. It was nice but expensive. I think we'll probably just support Valley Freeze from now on. We love that place and we would rather keep our money local when we can. After ice cream we went home and hung with the little bug until I had to leave to go get my massage. I've had a groupon since last November and it expired at the end of the month so I knew I had to get in there soon and just get it done. It was nice. I'm so chatty though and feel awkward during massages if I'm not talking so I talked to my therapist while she was giving me my massage. We talked a lot about books and kids and stuff like that. It was nice and the time just flew by.

After my massage I went to Farnsley Morman Landing for a mommy and me photoshoot with my friend Holly and her adorable daughter Max. We didn't have the ideal time for a photoshoot that's for sure. 4pm and in direct sunlight but we made it work and I have some GREAT images from that shoot. I know Holly will be pleased. :-)

When I left there I went and got a pedicure and then went home to relax before the little one had to go to bed.

......I feel like I need an entire new blog post for Sunday.....

Sunday arrives.

Morning routine with the kiddo commences and then I took her to my mamaws house to stay the night. After giving mamaw a list 1 1/2 pages long of dos and donts' of Charlie's routine she kicked me out and said they would be fine. Ha :-) I didn't doubt it.

I arrived at Cabo San Lois first, as I usually do. I swear, I can TRY to be late for something and I still show up early. I don't know how that's even possible. A kid hasn't even hindered my routine. Oh well, I guess I'll always be early for everything. A few of us hung around and talked for a while before the party really started going and that was really nice. Once more people started arriving and more alcohol started being consumed things got really interesting. Brian and Kristin really made sure this day was going to be fun for everyone. There were pool games, beer games, flip cup, beer pong, and cornhole. Everyone was pretty content doing their own thing and mingling.

I had a lot of fun on Sunday but I realized that my Saturday with my little family was more fun. I honestly love hanging out with my friends and being with them in general but I just can't drink and party like I did when I was younger anymore. And I'm totally ok with it.

I spent the better part of my 20s drinking, partying, playing Navy and acting like a goofball with my friends and now I just don't want to do that anymore. I'm not sitting here saying that I'm never going to drink another drop in my life or I'm not going to hang out with my friends anymore because that's not the case. (Unless they don't want me around) I'm just saying that I don't need to bong beers and get wasted to have a good time. :-)

On Monday morning when I woke up I couldn't wait to go get and see my little bug! I went and got me and the hubs some breakfast first, picked up my dishes from the party and then went to mamaws house to see what her and the kiddo were up to. When I pulled up mamaw was walking with Charlie in her stroller and Charlie had her superstar sunglasses on. She looked too cute! I hung out and talked with mamaw for a while then me and the bug went to the mall so I could get this scarf I've had my eyes on for months at Yours, Mine and Ours. They had ONE left! I couldn't believe it. AND it was half off because they are closing for the summer. I also got another scarf and t-shirt because the deals were just too good to pass up.

Monday evening we went to my mother in laws side of the family for a bbq. It was SO nice to just hang out and relax with family for the day. Charlie was being a little goofball as usual and all she could say was gah gah (dog) because there were two dogs there. She loves dogs and animals. I'm just over cautious when it comes to dogs and her because I was attacked by a dog when I was younger and my mom was too by our own dog when I was in high school. You can never be too careful because you just don't know what's going to happen.So anyway, Monday was super nice and relaxing and I'm glad we got to spend some time with family.

Wow. That was a SUPER long blog post. Weekends are crazy. I'm 3 days behind on my 365 project so hopefully that gets caught up soon.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. As you can tell, I did!

xxx

Ryan

Weekly 365 Update

Not much to add today. Just updating the good ol' 365.

135/365

Jumped in bed with her to get this one :-)

136/365

Annoyed with my camera antics.

137/365

First attempt at "Freelensing"

138/365

Being a silly girl

139/365

She loves her blankie.

140/365

A little tired.

xxx

Ryan

I've been busy.....

Hello friends! Hope everyone is having a great week! I know I am. Well, it's super rainy and dreary today but that's ok because it gives me time to update the good ol' blog or blob as my dear husband calls it.

It's been a busy week time since I posted last Thursday. On Friday Charlie and I drove out to my sisters for an awesome Mother's day dinner that she cooked for me, my mom and my grandma. It was so sweet of her. She also got us each these cute little gifts! I felt awful, I didn't even get her a card! She knows I love her though and that I think she's the best! Charlie started the usual fussiness around 645 so as much as I hated it I knew I had to eat and run. She started her squealing about 10 minutes from home but once we got in she was ready for bed. Whew. Friday was fun.

On Saturday I was supposed to have a mommy and me session with a friend of mine but that got postponed and we are now doing it this Saturday. The weather last Saturday morning wasn't great for an outdoor session that's for sure. Saturday morning I ran errands, went to the grocery and then that night I watched two friends get married and it was BEAUTIFUL! Jamie and Cody got married at Mellwood Arts Center in the same room where my wedding reception was. I love how they can curtain that room off for the ceremony and reception. I had never seen it done in person but now that I have I can say it was very pretty! I had to go to the wedding solo because hubby stayed home with the baby. We didn't have a sitter and I kind of wanted to wake up on Mother's Day with my little girl there with me. Anyway, after the wedding we danced and tore up the dance floor until I finally had to get outta there around 11 or so. My friend Brian thought I bailed early when I was outside talking to friends so he was blowing up my phone. (He always says that I leave events super early now because I have a kiddo (He has none so he doesn't get it lol) ) Told you I didn't leave B! Haha.

Sunday morning I got up around 630 and decided to try and go for a run. Yeah, that was a terrible decision. I think I maybe did 1.78 miles. Ha! I should have known better. I didn't drink much the night before but I did have some wine so that wasn't great to run on. After my run I came home to my loves and then Ryan went to church with his mom, dad and my bro and sis in law. I would have went but my daddio and mamaw were coming over to visit me and Charlie. They hung out for a while until  Charlie got fussy and needed a nap. I tried to catch a nap before Ryan got back but that didn't happen. He got me some yummy food from Cracker Barrel and it was delicious!

We all rested for a bit then went out to my bosses house for her son Ethan's homecoming. He just graduated from Marine Corps bootcamp. It was a lot of fun and it was nice seeing him again and asking him all kinds of questions. He and Ryan talked for a while of course because Ryan is a Marine Vet and wanted to know all the details of the San Diego bootcamp and what he thought of it. Ryan went to boot camp at Paris Island and he claims it's the "Real" bootcamp. Ha! Charlie was such an angel during this little outing. She played with her toys and had a good time talking to all the dogs. I was really impressed with how well she just took everything in stride. She didn't even get fussy until around 7 and then we decided we should head home. Mother's day was awesome.

OH!

And I got an awesome Mother's Day Present. I'm currently taking a workshop over at In Beauty & Chaos called Capturing the Everyday Environmental Portraiture with Children. You can read more about it HERE but a friend is teaching it that I've gotten to know over the past year through her photography on our 365 group. Kerry is awesome and I'm already loving this class! So that was my Mother's Day gift from Charlie and Ryan. He knows the way to my heart is through cameras, lenses and of course education and workshops! This workshop deals with Children so obviously you're going to be seeing a lot of Charlie pics on my 365 project over the next 4 weeks. Hope ya don't mind! :-)

Ok, this is a LONG blog post. I swear I keep telling myself I need to write more and stop letting it all pile up! Oh well. Let's finish this post with a 365 update!

Hope everyone has a great week and weekend. I'll be posting again soon.....

128/365

In motion.

129/365

Blueberry Snacks.

130/365

Welcome home Ethan!

131/365

Tiny & Wild is RIGHT!

132/365

Dramatic Light.

133/365

I know I've told you how much I love my in laws sink. More proof. (Engaging my subject)

134/365 

Dinner time. Again, engaging the subject and setting the scene.

 xxx

Ryan

A dose of cuteness for your Thursday.

GOOD MORNING!

I've had coffee today so excuse my excitement. As promised I'm here to deliver your dose of my 365 project. These pictures are all of my little bug. When I can't find anything to take pictures of I've always got the cutest girl in all the land to snap a photo or two of.

Here we go:

124/365

Had fun splashing around in grandmas sink on daddy's birthday dinner day. I've always wanted a sink that sits in front of a window. Look at that LIGHT!? Photogs dream right there. For our next house, this will be a requirement. Ahh.....7 more years.....

125/365

Not quite ready for bed yet.

126/365

Getting a quick bath after dinner at grandmas house. Again with that light. Drool.

127/365

Our friends left their baby pool at our house after the Derby party so we threw some water in it and Charlie had a ball. She was wearing a bathing suit but decided to go to the bathroom so we got changed and just decided to go nakey. She loved it. 

Here she is contemplating life and other things after a hard day at daycare....

Seriously. This kid is too much. I just can't handle the cuteness.

Hope everyone has an amazing day! I've got a special photoshoot planned tonight that I have to keep under wraps until the 17th! UGH! Surprises are so fun though :-)

xxx

Ryan

Derb-a-licious weekend update.

Derby weekend is over and I'm still recovering from all the fun. I'm going to try to get caught up here but who knows how far I'll get!

Derby weekend was such a success. Friday night was totally amazing. I had so much fun with my ladies at the Fillies and Stallions Party! I was super excited to get to meet Aaron Rogers and so many of the UofL basketball team! Here are some pictures from that night.  Also, these are totally out of order because this blog site drives me nuts and I can't figure it out half of the time and I don't feel like uploading every single picture one by one. So there.

Me, Aaron Rogers & Ashlee. WHAT!!!

Very nice and soft spoken guy. I was so excited to meet him! (PS...Thanks Brittney for making this happen)

Bonefish apps with the ladies before heading out.

Mr. Chane Behanan 

Creeping on Kris Humphries

Me and my bestest. Love this lady.

Borrowed from the Jenny Drake line.

Found Marissa on the dance floor!

My best girl. 

Momma's ready for some fun!

After the Fillies and Stallions party luckily for me Krista was sober and was willing to drive us home! Yay! I hate not sleeping in my own bed, especially if I have things to do the next morning. So anyway, once I got home I ate some chicken ramen noodles and took my butt to bed. At 4am. Shew wee. Momma doesn't party like that anymore. :-)

I woke up ready to go at 8:45am. Yep. I LOVE DERBY DAY! I quickly texted the husband a big ol' Happy 30th Birthday text since he was in a turkey blind and go up ready to start my day! I really didn't have much to prepare because I did a lot the day before since I was off. I went to try and find Derby programs and that was a complete bust. Everyone was sold out. So I ventured over to Starbucks and had the new Caramel Crunch Frappe. OMG. Talk about life changing. It was seriously the best drink ever. I totally gained 3 pounds last week but I've gotten back on track since then. So, I got my starbucks and a ham, egg & swiss croissant and then I went back home to prepare for the rest of the day.

I had Pandora jamming the Lorde station while I was making food. Ryan got home around noon and started getting the corn hole boards ready and all the fish and turkey set out for the fish fry. YUM!

People started arriving around 2 and Geoff and I got our corn hole winning streak underway. We were beat a few times but I'm pretty sure we were still the champions of the whole wide world. (As my dad would say.) :-)

Me and Krista being twinsies.

Me and momma.

My love. 

Who knows. 

The boys hanging out in the garage.

Krista Sammich.

The Derby pots were selling, corn hole was being played, fish and frog legs were being fried and everyone was having a good time! My baby girl finally got home around 4. My mother in law kept her Oaks night and most of the day Derby so I could get things ready for the party. Little bug was tired but she had fun playing with her best buddy Raegan.

Once the Derby was done and California Chrome was declared the winner I was pumped because I actually won the $5 Derby pot! I never win these things and I always spend so much money! Cali Chrome was the favorite so  when I drew him I definitely didn't think that I was going to win because the favorites don't win often. I knew I was taking my winnings to target to get some cute skirts. Yay!

We hung out with friends until around 930 and then Ryan and I were beat so we went to bed. On Sunday we had his birthday dinner over at his parents. Enchiladas, chocolate cake and ice cream. YUM! Jan's chocolate cake is amazing and this time she put a layer of fudge in it. WHAT?! I didn't eat any after the enchiladas but I did have a small piece later that night and it was so delicious. (I told you I gained 3 pounds last week)

So there you have it folks. My Derby weekend update. It was a lot of fun and it was exhausting and I'm already looking forward to next year!

365 update will be up tomorrow along with a few other things!


xxx

Ryan