post by leslie

Ok, ok, I'm almost finished. I also wanted to show you some of my favorite baby photos from this past year. When I first started out my photography business, baby shoots scared the hell out of me. But now? Now they are among my favorites! I love the tender (and sometimes hilarious) moments between babies and parents, and I love how they are so out of anyone's control. All you can really do is laugh and roll with what the baby gives you, and I love it.For your internet shares of the day:+ I thought this essay from a former cable guy was enthralling. The things they see!+ When a customer service job turns into therapy...+ These tree crop circles are cool!

post by leslie

Helloooooooo! How was your New Year's Day? Did you make resolutions? Did you eat healthy? Did you exercise? Talk to me!I worked out (yay!) which was super good because it was so freezing-ass cold here that I didn't move much outside of that (my new fitbit agrees -- less than 5,000 steps!), I cleaned a little, I made some resolutions and I parented over and over and over again. Parenting, I have decided, is like some weird combination of constant annoyance and frustration and extreme love and adoration. It's weird.Anyway, our kid was tired from the big New Year's celebration, so we paid for that today. And in that spirit, I'm going to share with you my favorite family/kid photos from 2018! These are photos that made me smile or laugh (I bet half of them are not the parents' favorite picks from the session, but they are mine!). Enjoy!  

post by leslie

Welcome to 2019 and Happy New Year! I want to thank all of you who took the time to take my poll. I learned a ton from it, but especially that you guys do, in fact, enjoy seeing my client work! I never know what the most popular photos are, but I liked seeing that statistic. So this week I'm going to show you some of my favorite client shots from 2019. And today it's all dog photos! HOW MUCH FUN! So please enjoy the images below!Also, I'm going to put my internet shares up here so they don't get lost. The first one being the most relevant.+ Women sleep better with dogs. Obviously.+ The most popular New Yorker cartoons of 2018.+ What generosity!

post by Leslie

Here we are! Just a few hours a way from 2019. First off, the promised Christmas morning film. I hope you enjoy it, and I wouldn't be a very good business person if I didn't remind everyone that I can do these films for your families as well, information can be found here, and there are still a few spots left in the $500 off category! Get at me if you think one of these videos might be just what you want! (And a reminder that the package includes still photos as well).But back to a little self reflection, eh? I know many folks find resolutions cheesy, and I get that. But I also never turn down a shot at new beginnings. A few goals I had last year that I accomplished: I learned to play the piano! Yay! I also read a gazillion books (21, but who's counting!) and I started exercising a ton more. Maybe I'll tell you about that later, but for now I'm keeping it mostly to myself for fear of jinxing all my motivation. Another thing I did was teach myself how to shoot video, which obviously had a huge impact.However, I did not lose that 10 lbs, I did not learn to organize my home better and I only half kept up with my social goals. I *almost* made my goal of shooting a band each month (hey, remember that year when I photographed more than 200 bands! I was so cool then! Ha!). So it wasn't all rosy (and we haven't even begun to talk politics).

A few things I want to accomplish next year:

+ I want more dates with my husband, even if it's simply meeting up for lunch.+ I want to take more selfies with Ezra. The lack of photos of the two of us together makes me so sad, and I need something to document the fun we have. Like today I taught the kid to ice skate! But my phone was dead and I wasn't about to bring my spendy camera AND my 4-year-old onto the ice. So once again, no photos.+ I want to practice the piano more.+ I want to teach my kid about a gazillion other cultures. More on this later.+ Less working on weekends!Those are all I'm putting down for now because I already feel overwhelmed. But in short, I hope you accomplished most of what you aimed for in 2018 and I hope 2019 is as full and as wonderful as you hope it to be. Until then, my friends!PS: I will be keeping the blog around in 2019. It will just not be daily -- more like 3-4 times a week! So don't despair, you'll still hear from me. I just want to give myself permission to take a day or two away from the responsibility each week. I hope you understand.

post by leslie

Did you really think I could stay away? Pffft.Ok, so in all honesty, I haven't even taken many photos during this break. In fact, I forgot to take EVEN ONE image on Christmas Day. But! That's because I shot a video instead! Hopefully you'll get to see that soon.However, I can never resist pulling out my camera when Jenga is happening -- it's just too much fun. Ezra is a master at the game, and it is so hilarious to watch his reactions. And for your internet shares of the day:+ I love these ornaments and they are half off!+ Photos of the moon walk in 1968. Those wives! They must have been terrified!+ A cute kitchen remodel.

post by leslie

important bits below, please read all the way through!

At the start of the year, I created a folder on my desktop of my favorite images so that they would be handy at the end of the year to showcase some of my work. But when I opened it this morning, there were only two photos in there. Ha! Guess who got too busy to keep up this idea? Moi. But regardless, here they are! The two images I remembered to save into that folder. That seemed to be the story of 2018. It often felt like my head was barely above water with work (which is a good thing -- don't get me wrong). But because of that, there were several days when I simply forgot to blog. This is crazy to me because my entire business began because of, you know, this blog.However, in the days of facebook, instagram etc, there is just so much to keep up with, and I have seen that reflected in my readership numbers. The amount of people who check in with my blog are often around 75% fewer than those who read back in 2011. And it's making me wonder if the daily posts are still worth it.Because of this, I created a quick survey (ONLY FOUR QUESTIONS) for you who *are* still reading my blog to go and answer (right over here, please). I'm not thinking of quitting the thing cold turkey, but I am thinking of doing it a little less frequently. Much of those decisions will depend on your answers to the survey, so PLEASE take it. If no one takes the survey, I will assume no one is reading the blog, and I'll just end it.Also, I know some of you only check in once a month or so, so even if you see this post weeks from now, please go ahead and fill out the survey. It truly will help me gauge my future posts.In the meantime, I'm taking the next 2 weeks off to spend time with my family. Will I blog? If I feel like I'm getting great photos. One thing about working as a professional photographer every day is that the creativity tends to wane. Every time I take a small break from my camera, the creative urges come roaring back, and that might just happen this time around as well. But right now I need some time away.I hope you understand, and I hope you all take some time for yourselves during this holiday season. And here's to a wonderful 2019 filled with laughter, joy and a presidential impeachment.

post by leslie

Just some photos of an adorable little girl that I photographed last week. Her dads are just as cute as she is.Internet shares!+ This SNL skit made me laugh.+ Who knew Ford cared so much about dogs with anxiety?+ I like this art in the woods.

post by leslie

Today I was back at the doughnut shop, and I needed a photo of a kid eating a doughnut. So I took my own kiddo after our dental exam (rewards are important) and now he thinks every day when I drop him off at school I go get free doughnuts. No wonder I love my job so much! Ha!For your internet shares:+ I want to watch this movie over holiday break.+ I would be thrilled to find this in my stocking.+ Do I need more glassware? Absolutely not. Would i squeal if these made their way into my hands? You betcha.