creative jewish mom

7 Fun-Loving Ideas for a Mommy and Me Photoshoot

Mommy and me photo shoots are a fun and popular way to capture a special time in life, regardless of the child or children's ages. And with great cameras on phones these days and user friendly digital editing to boot, taking great photos yourself, of your family, has never been easier. That said, in addition to composition and lighting, choosing the location for your photo shoot is a make it or break it kind of thing!  In this article you'll learn about some simple ideas to make your family photo shoot an amazing success. And of course, there is no time like the present when it comes to capturing those kids that seem to change overnight, so lets dive in so that you'll be ready to create some fantastic memories.

Bare Trees In The Ukraine: Inspiring Photos Taken From The Car Window

On our recent trip to the Ukraine we spent many hours traveling by car, and I was mesmerized by the patterns I saw in the bare trees. Field after field after field, lines and lines and lines of bare trees that beckoned to be sketched into a pattern, to march along the fabric I was designing in my head........I kept thinking about sketch books and the idea of recording such inspiration, and fortunately thought to just take some photos, blurry or not, from the window of the car. Knowing that I had captured this inspiration gave me great comfort, and hopefully I'll have some time to use these images for some creative exploration. In the mean time, maybe you'll find my images inspiring, or maybe just the idea of capturing inspiration from the car window will lead to some interesting photos on your next adventure?

Note: Most of these photos were sharpened in photoshop, a necessity when taking photos from a moving car! Enjoy, ah yes and there is a surprise image at the end of the post, so keep on reading......

Reflections On Lake George's Northern Outlet

erThis post speaks for itself, as the reflections on the waters of Lake George's northern tip were truly enchanting on our visit last summer.

Don't forget to spend quality time outdoors, it is soooooo important, with the goal that screen time = outdoor time! And folks that connect with nature not only benefit in so many ways health-wise, but it also helps one boost the creativity gears! Andbreathu know I'm in favor of that, so take a deep breath and enjoy!

Using A 50mm Lens To Create Artfully Blurred Photos (And My Oribe Gorge In Bloom)

My beloved Oribe Gorge succulent is now predictably in bloom, and the little round pompom-like orange flowers are just too fabulous! As the sun was going down the other day I ran out to our porch with my new 50mm lens to try and capture some of the lovliness! I can't say that I really know how to use this lens just yet, in a predictable way that is, but loving that I can get those really blurred out backgrounds with the foreground theoretically in really sharp focus. I didn't exactly accomplish that here, but thought I'd share these photos with you, as I have a tradition of sharing phtoos of this succulent every year when it blooms!

Interestingly enough, last year I had moved the two pots to another slighly less hot and sunny location, and the plant did not bloom at all, so I'm very happy to see that the yearly blooms have returned, and I will not make the mistake of taking this sun loving guy away from the full hot sun again.

Take Great Silhouette Photographs Of Your Kids At Sunset!

Silhouette photos of kids can be so much fun and can be used for many craft projects. And guess what, I accidently discovered that one great way to take silhouette photographs is at dusk! The sun was setting as we left the house for a little trip to a nearby park, but I grabbed my camera anyway, as you never know when a photo opportunity might arise. And sure enough, look at the great results!

And as you can see, the benefits of doing this in the park, in a spot that exactly faces the sunset, gives you both gorgeous color and interesting shapes!

And if there happens to be some other interesting silhouettes to capture, by all means don't delay! This is Mt. Meron, the second largest mountain in Israel, and those purple thistles in the foreground, well that means it is summer around here! Enjoy.