2012

Well, it's 2012. And among my resolutions is to be more active on my blog. I will come up with a fantabulous idea then get busy with my kids and forget to do anything about my idea. I'm going to do better.

Here are some big changes coming up for Lambourne Photography this year

1 - I am shifting the focus of my business. I have focused on weddings and family photography while skirting around kids and newborns even though - ironically, I'm sure - my passion is newborns and kids. Especially newborns. 2011 brought me the opportunity to work as an independent contractor with a company which does newborn photography inside hospitals. Through them I was able to photograph over 200 newborns and I. LOVE. IT. Outside of my own children nothing brings me more joy than holding a brand new itty bitty baby and capturing their beauty for their parents. Love it. Even on bad mornings my mood could be instantly uplifted once I got to hold and photograph a cute little newborn, many times less than a day old. I finally woke up to the fact that THIS is what I want to do in my own studio. Will I still do weddings and other photography? I'm sure I will, but my focus will be newborns and babies under age 1. And I am EXCITED!

2 - I am working on a little business venture that will open up my studio for Mom-ographers and private use. Keep watch for further information on "My Studio by Lambourne Photography".

3 - I have a family. They come first. Regrettably I have spent a lot of time on bad marketing and dead end ideas; time which should have been spent with my 5 children. I'm fixing that this year. And I have faith that by rearranging my priorities I will still somehow make my business thrive...even with the new direction in which I am taking it.

Watch out 2012. Here I come.

And since no photographer's blog post should ever come without a picture, here is one of my favorites from 2011.

Can she really be 10?

Ten years ago this little beauty entered my life. At times she drives me crazy. At times I know she thinks I'm not so great. But we love each other.

How lucky am I to be her Mom?

Baby love

Remember this couple?

They came back this week...with their new baby. Loved it!!! Returning clients make me smile, especially when they come toting a newborn. I don't know what it is about newborns that can make everybody smile. It's a little living miracle. Awesome.

And she was adorable to boot!

Why do I do what I do

It's been a long time since I even came over to the blog. I've spent some time re-evaluating myself and my work. And I asked myself the question "Why do I do what I do?" I've spent 4 years struggling to keep a business afloat in a saturated market. So why keep doing it? Because I love it. Because it is a part of me. Whether I am turning a profit or barely breathing it is worth it to me because this is one of my passions. If I could spend my days capturing beautiful images and spending time with my kids and husband I would be the happiest woman on earth. So that's why. That is why I keep plugging away at this even though I have been told that maybe I should turn my attention elsewhere. Where would I turn? What else brings me as much joy? Even if I am having a horrendous day I can pick up my camera and I feel energized. Of course I would love to have enough profit to buy the newest props and a better camera body and newer lenses, but that's not why I do it. This isn't a job. This is life, and me doing my best to capture your life.

Life moves so fast. Our kids and families change so much. Pictures, professionally done or not, freeze moments in time and give us something tangible to help us remember that time in our lives. And in this day when everything can be kept in digital form and even stored outside our homes means we can keep it even if we lose the originals. Isn't that awesome!?

Why is it so important? Sometimes pictures really are all you have left. And through them people can remain in our lives long after they are gone. I always loved photography; it has been a hobby since I first "borrowed" my dad's film SLR when I was 7. I always loved looking back at pictures and hearing stories about what happened that day. The first day I rode a bike, my first day of Kindergarten, the day my parents got married. Pictures open a discussion and evoke emotions. I loved it. But the importance of them didn't hit me fully until I was 25. My husband and I have 6 beautiful daughters. It's a yours-mine-and-ours family. My two oldest are not his. Their father passed away when they were 2 and 1. I was a widow at 25 years old. They don't get to see their dad in person. But they get to know him through stories and photographs. I can tell them what a wonderful man he was, how fun he was, and how much he loved them. But through photographs they get to see it for themselves. No story can replace an image of him holding his newborn daughters or pushing them on the swings. Those girls are 8 and 10 now and they don't remember him, but they do know him, and they daily see reminders of how much he loved them. This is why I do what I do. To give memories a face.

Cousins

I have been slacking on this blog for a while. I could blame pregnancy or a new baby, but in truth I have just completely spaced about sneak peeks with every session (although I could probably still blame that spaciness on pregnancy and a new baby....). But yesterday I was reminded to post a sneak peek of this session, so here you go :)

It was fun. Hectic, but fun. And I know first hand how hard it is to get 4 kids looking at the camera AND smiling at the same time. In fact, we've pretty much given up on it in our own family. These cute cousins were too busy having fun looking at each other and playing to play it up to the camera. But they're still adorable and I love the personalities that come out in the pictures.

I hope you like your sneak peek! I'll have your gallery up later today :)

Gratitude

For being able to work with this family.

For watching this family interact and seeing LOVE in action.

For a turning point in my day...which, up until this shoot was filled with my Bah-hum-bug attitude.

And for bringing a bit of Christmas spirit into my heart today.



It was REALLY hard choosing images to put in this sneak peek but I think these about sum it up. I'll have the rest up in your online gallery within the next week.

Zackary

I haven't posted in a while. Life got busy and I let my blog go by the wayside, but I didn't want to miss posting a sneak peek of this session. The precious baby boy was exactly one week old when I went to his house to photograph him. He was SO sweet. He started to fuss only one time and stopped instantly when I picked him up. And he is adorable to boot. I had so many great shots of him that I had a hard time choosing which 4 to put on this blog post, but in the end I think these work well together.

I hope you love them Clerissa & Steve! I will have the rest of your images in your online gallery in a few days.