My little man and ME! {Project Mom}

I complain often that I do not have nearly enough pictures of myself with my precious baby boy since I'm always the one behind the camera. So, yesterday I handed the camera over to my hubby and asked him to snap away! I can't claim the photography as my own handy work. I merely metered the light for the hubsters and showed him how to adjust shutter speed to compensate for the light changes... have I told you that I'm teaching him to shoot? He is so clever, and has an amazing eye, and is so talented with design layout... I am confident he will be an amazing shooter. He's the handy fella that designed my logo and taught me a great deal about photoshop (which he's pretty advanced at from his graphic designing days)... Ok I'm done bragging. This post is after all about me and the little guy, isn't it? ;)

So here we are, sitting on our front porch! We normally get loads of smiles out of him with my crazy singing and dancing, but with my husband focusing on the camera and me focusing on my smile... well...we have straight faced little man. He is still amazingly adorable...

I also have to add that these were taken with my AMAZING new equipment... the gorgeous 5dMarkII... and I am in love with it. I barely had to touch these in post processing... just sharpened, brightened... no need to mess with an image when it comes out that amazing straight from your camera :)

I am SOOOO crazy about this child... seriously.

We do this about 559 times a day...

 

I am so blessed. So so blessed. What an amazing little boy I have... :)

My Boy and the Famous Owl Hat {Project Mom}

I've spoken of my prop addiction before... its pretty serious. I try to change up my set-ups, props, and hats often. However there is one hat that makes an appearance in almost all of my baby sessions because it is so frequently requested. This stinkin adorable owl hat was made by an awesome Etsy vendor (link to her shop is here)! I figured that I should get at least ONE shot of  my precious boy in this famous hat before his head is too big. It was close, but I think it juuuust fit him! This one is being blown up for his animal, blue and green themed room!

Both images shot with my 50mm 1.4 at f3.2, 1/80, ISO200 in my studio... natural light to my boys left with a reflector on his right

Everything in the mouth... oh the joys of teething ;) 

Good Lookin Kiddos... {Project Mom}

So...not only do I have an amazingly cute kid, but I also have beautiful, super cool nieces! How lucky am I?

I have a pretty awesome living situation... my sister and parents both own houses on the same street as my husband and I... infact, our backyards connect! So naturally, every summer day turns into a party. I was outside with my little man and my camera this evening when the girls came running over with their dog. I snapped a couple shots of all three kiddos and couldn't decide on color or B&W in the post image process so I'll post em all! The last photo shows how the party ended... when my little man had a too close for comfort interaction with my sister's dog. :) Poor guy.

Happy Summer!!

Baby meets dog. Poor guy... he does have a pretty cute pout though... ;)

My boy and his food... {Project Mom}

Having a 7 month old can be expensive! I'm truly a bargainer at heart... I compare prices, coupon shop, and raid clearance racks whenever possible. As a mommy, I've tried to find ways to cut down on expenses for my sweet baby boy while still providing the best quality things I can get for him. One way I've proudly been able to do this is by making my own baby food. Do you have any idea how expensive those tiny little jars of processed fruits and veggies can be? I have found that making your own food can be significantly cheaper, quick, fun, and so much healthier for my baby. I usually make about 3 to 4 different kinds of food in batches and freeze in large amounts. Check out the images below for some fun in the kitchen with my sweet boy and tips on how to make baby food for yourself!



If you are looking for a GREAT recipe book, check out The Best Homemade Baby Foods On The Planet by Knight and Ruggiero... Little man certainly likes the book!

 My guy's favorite recipe is bananas! Simply half 3-4 bananas and saute in 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Mash with a fork and store and freeze for up to 2 weeks...

The bumbo chair is so fantastic to have in the kitchen... Little guy is always happy to watch me cook while playing!

 

Second favorite recipe... and the CHEAPEST batch of baby food you'll ever make. Pick up a bag of frozen peas for a buck, microwave for 5 minutes and puree! THAT simple... and THAT cheap. One bag provides about 8 servings for baby... 8 servings for a buck? Can't beat it!
 

 And then we get to eat!!

I'm blessed with a VERY healthy eater :) No problems with fresh fruits and veggies here!

I use these great storage cups that I got by One Step Ahead... you can grab them off of amazon.com here! They stack up on top of each other and then on a tray for easy storage in the freezer.

  From top to bottom, we have sweet potatoes, bananas, green peas, and butternut squash. Total cost was just under 8 bucks and we got about 24 servings... all prepared, jarred, and stored in about an hour. If I can do it, anyone can!

The Boy in the Adarondack Chair {Project Mom}

I know I posted earlier this week for project mom, but I just haaaaaad to share this one from this afternoon. Little guy was a bit fussy indoors so we went outside, sang songs, and made funny faces...I'll while mommy had her camera out of course!

Shot with my handy 1.4 50mm at max shutter speed, f2.0 ISO 200... Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Project Mom {week ??} Baby Meets Grass

So... Its has been a little while since my last project mom. I have been soooo busy editing weddings and newborn shoots for clients! As you can see I've put a question mark in the title of this post where the week number would normally go... hahahahaha...

So here we are, at the end of May having some BEAUtiful weather. I decided that I needed to take my little guy outside finally and see what he thinks of the grass! He didn't love it of course, but stayed calm enough for me to snap a few shots before he raised his hands in request for me to remove him from the prickly green stuff.

What have I learned from this quick set up? Lighting lighting lighting! This is something I have really been working on since we've been doing so many outside shots for recent weddings... my photographer partner has been such a master at positioning people just in the right spots to avoid shadows and direct sun. This is what I tried to do with my little guy in the shots below. These were snapped in a very bright yard, so we looked for the shadiest area and positioned him away from the direct sun. I still got some shadows, but I'm overall not too disappointed with the results given the location and fussy baby. :)

Gosh he is getting so big... isn't he just so darn cute?? I love the last shot... its as if he is looking on in disgust at the grass that is disturbing him! Ha!!

Project Mom {week8} "The Little Guy with the Mohawk..."

On grandma's last visit, she made the coooolest shirt for the little guy! When I put him in it last week, he looked like a rockstar! I decided that he needed a mohawk to accompany it... so we busted out Dad's hair gel! Not easy to get baby hair to stck...

What did I learn? As much as I love my wide angle zoom lens, it just doesn't compare to my 50mm prime. It can do lots of cool things, but always ends up taking softer shots... for portraits, the crispness of the 50 gives you that extra edge. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to reshoot with my 50 and these were taken with my wide angle. Still a SUPER cute shot... because, well, the subject is stinkin ADORABLE!

So here is the little guy... thanks for the great shirt grandma!!

Project Mom {week7} "The Blue Pin-striped Suit!"

Its been 2 weeks again since my last project mom.. as you can imagine, things have been crazy here!

Below you will find a shot taken of my little guy on Easter Sunday after church. He was SUCH a stud in his little blue pinstripe suit complete with handkerchief and tie!

THIS image has taught me sooo much tonight as I got it ready to post. Number one (and I've said this before...) no matter how much of a rush you are in, check your ISO before shooting!! I had shot a wedding the night before and my ISO was jacked all the way up to 3200 so that I could catch what was happening on the very dark dance floor. I could have gotten such better quality with this quick candid, which turned into such an amazing shot, if I had taken just two extra seconds!! Number two, never underestimate the power of a good noiseware plug-in! I thought this shot was lost to grain before I ran noiseware... I was so thrilled with what the plug-in could do and would invest in it all over again! Number three when shooting in RAW (which is what my camera was again set to from the night before), make sure your color workspace is the same as the image in photoshop! I had the darndest time trying to figure out why my saved image was not matching what I was seeing in CS5! It took many forums to help fix the problem! agggg!

Ok enough about all that I'm learning through project mom (and my own silly mistakes!)... here is the little guy :) This picture makes me a little weepy... I just love my sweet boy!

Project Mom {week6} "To B&W or Not?"

I'm excited to say that I have made it to week 6 and have only missed posting one week of project mom! So... that would be 6 out of 7 right? Not too shabby for a full time momma working a photog business on the side!

This week, while editing, I realized that I am more hesitant to black and white an image while creating a set for a client. I'm not entirely sure why, but I usually prefer something with bold colors than a B&W.... and if we are being honest, I sometimes feel as though photogs (including myself) B&W an image to hide unfocused faces, a bad white balance, or noisy picture.... shhh don't tell!

I follow many other photogs, one of which does about 40 % of her post processing in B&W... and I absolutely adore her work! So this week, I decided to post process the same images in both color and B&W. There is something really sweet about each image and I almost feel as though the color tells a different story then the B&W. Perhaps I'll let me readers be the judge.

So if I were going to enlarge these, should I choose color or black and white???
...and of course you need to tell me why! :)

The other thing I learned? ALWAYS check ALL of your camera settings before shooting... even when dealing with squirmy babies! My ISO was set to 800 needlesly for these shots and I unfortunately had to deal with a greater amount of grain in the post processing... Guess I'll just have to dress my little guy up again and drag him down to mommy's studio for more play time to try some more guitar shots this week... surely he will grow up loving my camera! :)

Project Mom {week5} "The Littlest Sox Fan"

It is here! Baseball season is upon us!

While I have to say, we are far bigger football fanatics than baseball here in the Pudlo house, we still love a good Sox game! This week, Project Mom is a tribute to the Red Sox! Here's one of the littlest Sox fans you will meet, sporting all of the fun attire he gets to wear for the next few months. :)

All shots taken with my BEAutiful 50mm 1.4 lens... best lens on the market for portraits I'm convinced!

f1.7 1/80 sec ISO 200 natural light to the right

 f1.7 1/80 sec ISO 200 natural light to the right

 f1.7 1/250 sec ISO 200 natural light to the right (we shot this right near the glass doors, which is why we have a higher shutterspeed here... which I'm learning is so crucial when photographing little guys... they move quick!)

f1.7 1/80 sec ISO 400 shot in my living room... not as much light, thus higher ISO
light was from a window to the upper right of my little guy.

Project Mom {week4} "Big Boy"

Lets start by saying, what a week we have had! I decided that for this post of Project Mom, I would take some portraits of my little guy in his "big boy" outfitt since we have had quite the "big boy" week. Not only did little man get his first tooth, but had his first spoon-fed solid meal, learned how to blow rasberries (and did so for two days solid...), and really got his belly-laugh down! I simply can't believe how fast he is growing...

The images below were captured in my studio with my amazing new 50mm f1.4 lens which just came in the mail yesterday! While my old 50mm 1.8 lens has been good to me this past year, I must say, my new toy is far superior. So crisp, beautiful bokeh, an extra extension of "aperture power"... boy was I missing out!

Anyhow, here is my handsome, goofy, adorable little man... what a personality on this guy! :)

f3.2, 1/60 iso 200, natural light on left, studio fill light on right

f3.2, 1/60 iso 200, natural light on left, studio fill light on right

f2.8, 1/60 iso 200, natural light on left, studio fill light on right

f2.2, 1/60 iso 200, natural light on left, studio fill light on right

Project Mom {week3} "music time"

Some of you may know that my first career was teaching music in the public school systems of Massachusetts. I sing, play the piano, dabble on the guitar and a few other instruments... but one of my first loves has always been the piano. When I found out I was pregnant with my little guy, I made it a priority to get an actual acoustic piano in the house (aside from the electric keyboard that I had been using for portability and convenience) because I wanted my son to grow up experiencing the sound and feel of a real piano.

When my Sam was born, I began using music and the piano as a means of soothing him from day one. I would hold my sweet boy with one hand and play with the other while singing to him. As my little guy has been growing and is now able to hold up his own head, we are really able to jam out together! :) Sam loooooves to sing... really. We make piano time together a daily habit. It has been such an amazing experience to hear him howl and hoooo as I sing to him... and I have joyfully shed many tears listening to my son sing back to me :) What a precious gift it has been to share music with my amazing boy!

I wanted to capture my son's love for music time. In the image below, my husband is actually the one holding him. I'll talk about my camera settings and post processing under each image...

This image was shot with my wide angle once again at 20mm, f3.2 and iso 800 (yes I have been pushing my iso limits on these very dark rainy days!) The ONLY thing I did post process was convert to black and white, adjust the curves, and boost the contrast a tad. There were no eye or skin enhancements... my kid is just that cute :)

18mm, 1/25, iso 400... post processing is the same as above... Love love love those precious little fingers...

20mm f3.2 iso 800 ... look at that little hand on the keys :)

Project Mom {week2} "wide angles"

For this post, I decided to do some lens experimentation! Typically when I shoot portraits, I gear my camera up with my 50mm f1.8 lens (I am very much coveting the 1.4, but lenses do cost money!). It is my lens of choice for all of my newborn and baby shoots because of its crispness (prime lenses are typically the best in this area), flexibility with stretching a darker location (more open aperture settings), and most fun, its ability to produce beautiful bokeh or background blur, drawing more attention to your area of focus!

This past year, my hubby surprised me with the wide angle lens I had been yapping on about (he is so good to me). It was instant fun when I attached it on to my camera! Wide angles have a way of stretching the perspective, making things closer to your lens seem larger than other things in the picture! Wide angles also have a way of fitting more into the picture... these are the lenses that are typically used to photograph whole rooms, often used during wedding photography while a bride is getting ready.

So I asked myself, what would happen if I used a wide angle for some of my baby portrait photography? I decided to experiment on my little guy of course. The shots below are of him in his nursery, our favorite room in the house (I'll post pictures of it here as well). The first one is taken with my wide angle while the second was taken with my 50 mm prime... such fun results! I have decided that I need to break out this lens more often during my baby sessions... Its just too cool!

Project Mom {week1}

As a photographer, I follow many other photography blogs and am constantly plugged into various forums in order to learn new things! Constant learning is so essential in the digital photography field as is constant practice! Before I had my sweet baby boy, I prided myself in being able to pick up my camera every other day to work on my technique... now-a-days, I find this to be a more , lets say, challenging task...

I recently had a discussion with a photographer friend who has embarked on what she calls "365". In an effort to be a better photographer, she decided that she would daily pick up her camera and have a featured shot of the day to blog about. I thought this was an absolutely fabulous idea and have really enjoyed seeing her grow in new ways with each post! I felt so inspired! I thought about ways in which I could implement something similar for my own practice and growth. "Project Mom" is what I came up with!!

Project Mom initially formulated in my brain as being a daily thing as well, focusing my attention primarily on my son and all things mommyhood. I thought, "what an incredible gift to be able to give to my little guy years down the road... a daily documentary of his first year!" Than I snapped back into reality and realized that some days, I'm lucky if I have time to take a shower. Ha! Instead, I have decided to make Project Mom a weekly thing. Through this, I hope to learn some new things, develop my technique in new and unique ways, and capture this incredible time in my life with photographs!

So here are my images from this week. Thanks again to my photog buddy who inspired me and gave me a push to keep using my camera on my off days!

Play time!!
I was shooting with my super wide angle lens for some cool depth of field perspective and lots of beautiful bokeh with an open aperture!

taken with my sigma wide angle at  f2.8, 1/40, at 18mm.

Portrait practice!!

I find that with my new studio, I am booking toooons of babies and children with parents wanting fun and unique portraits! What better way to stay in practice! This was a new shirt that Dad came home with one day... can you tell we have a Star Wars fan in the house?

taken at 20mm, f4, 1/160 iso 800 in natural light studio on a drearier day... (light was tough!)