Thanks for reading this month’s 10 on 10. To see the other photographers in my 10 on 10 circle, check out the next in line, northen New Jersey photographer Story of Life Photography,

If you’re a local high school senior or know someone who is…it’s not to late to get your senior photographs done. And if you’re a junior…it’s time to start thinking ahead! Send me an email or give me a call to get some information about becoming a senior rep!

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting this young man and his mom…and their two wonderful dogs. It was so fun to explore the grounds of one of my favorite spots with this foursome and get some fun images along the way. Here are a few of my favorites:

I was so excited when I got the email that this little girl’s mom had scheduled a session with me. When I arrived at their house that little shy girl that I remember so clearly was gone and in her place was this vibrant girl ready to show me all around and smile and pose for me. We started out our session in her playroom where she put on a tea party for her mom and dad.

Later we went downstairs to read some books and she told me the story of The Patch. I loved peeking in as mom and dad both took turns reading to her.

After reading and enjoying some time indoors we headed out into the unseasonably warm January weather. Played some peek a boo and ran around in what was left of the snow.

After some scooter and bike riding we settled on the front steps for some fun and snuggly shots.

I just loved this shot of the three of them together. I enlisted the help of Miss M to get her parents to smile as I took some photos of just the two of them and she was all too happy to run up and give them both a big bear hug after we had finished.

Enjoy your little peek, there are many more to come C Family!

Here is my title page as it stands now finally complete:

And some little closeups of the project and the process:

After working on my December Daily album (which is still unfinished) I think that sewing on paper is pretty darn cool. All those years of missing out on the fun! But at least now I can put my 11 year old sewing machine to work again. I used many of the suggested inserts from the Clementine kit for my title page – adding things to them like on this first insert.

Here is the nearly completed insert. I added the white doily and a hello sticker (from lily bee design) as well as some American Crafts thickers (Hardcover) letter stickers for the “TWENTY”. After this shot, I added some American Crafts Remarks stickers for the twelve.

The above insert was again one of the recommended first page options and then I used one of the regular page inserts and wrote all of our names on it (I used two so I could cut them the way that I needed) and created little banners that I secured to the card. I like how they’re numbered.

Another recommended insert…I had debated about this one, but in the end, I like how it turned out. I used the same American Crafts Thickers for the “FIVE” and then the 24/7 sticker is from the same sheet that the “hello” sticker came from as shown above. I added some Little Flyers from October Afternoon and tied them up with some bakers twine from The Twinery. The number 5 is an old chipboard number that I have painted white and the little wooden houses are from Studio Calico.

Below I wanted to show some of my tips for how I’ve got my Project Life set up and how I plan on staying up to date (and how I’m going to be ok when I’m not able to stay as current as I’d like). I do have a scrapbooking side to my office and one day when it’s cleaned up, I’ll do a post about that, but for now, here are a couple of my little baskets that I use to keep my cards organized. The grey felt container is from the dollar spot at Target – I have one with all my little inserts from the Clementine edition and another for the inserts from the Turquoise edition. The basket is from Hobby Lobby and it holds the plain grid style cards – they fit perfectly. I have another spot where I house the 4×6 journalers and I’ll show how I organize those another time. I have spent lots of time checking out other setups through Pinterest and other blogs. The Creative Team for Project Life has great blogs with lots of ideas that you should really check out if you’re also tackling this project.

Are you on Instagram? facebook? Twitter or Flickr? Are you forgetful like me? This app is saving my behind as far as recording the little moments that happen in my life and the lives of those I take care of (the three kids and the hubby). Momento is seriously the best app ever…in my opinion . It keeps all my info right there – controls all my feeds and puts them in an easy to use diary of sorts. I love it. And it’s going to save my project life booty. I’m sure of it.

There is another way that I keep up to date when I’m not up to date I have created (in Microsoft Word) a simple page that has room for me to record what’s going on for the week. I saw a very similar page that was free to download here on Marcy Penner’s blog.  Although her weekly planning page was perfect – my weeks start on Sundays, so I needed to create my own. I have printed out several and three hole punched them and already have them placed one in each week. Marcy Penner also has a great planning page system here for those of you that like to sketch out your pages.

Project life is a system created by Becky Higgins to help you simplify how you document life and preserve memories.  It’s a reminder to celebrate the little things.  You can find out more about Project Life here.

Once you’ve got that winter session scheduled…what do you wear? Below is a great example of a coordinated family that isn’t overly matchy-matchy. The group lends itself to a great look when everyone is together as well as good pairings and individual shots. Please remember to take a look at past what to wear ideas because even if the clothing isn’t what you have in mind or if you’re a family of 7 instead of an engaged couple – there are still great ideas on colors palettes and pattern mixing.

project one:

I love the start of a new year. Such a fresh new beginning with many possibilities. This year I am approaching my typical new years resolution a bit differently. The main resolution that I gravitate towards is simply making myself better. So many aspects in my life go into that challenge. There are many areas in my life that need work and so instead of overwhelming myself (in typical Carrie fashion) I’ve decided to focus on one area per month. That doesn’t mean that the other areas slide during that time, it just means that for one month one particular area of my life gets to be front and center. Here is my list for the year:

january=eating

february=fitness

march=creativity (paper)

april=creativity (photography)

may=finances

june=fashion

july=family

august=love

september=health

october=friendships

november=gratitude

december=tradition

So we’re on day 2 of January and my focus this month is eating. I made the conscious choice to NOT start yesterday as Sunday is our family’s weekly dinner out with Grandpa and other family members. Last night I began reading the book This is Why You’re Fat. Not the most fun title, but the book is good with some really great concepts. Late last year I had begun eating clean and saw the immediate effects – all good!! I have read all of Tosca Reno’s books and needed a little pick me up for the new year to help me get back on track. This morning I began my day doing exactly what Jackie Warner suggested in her book…adding in some great foods to help my body. It feels so good to take control over my food intake especially after the craziness of the holiday season. I’m happy to be on the right track again and will post updates as I progress.

project two:

If you’ve seen hashtags like #olw and wondered what you were missing out on, check out Ali Edwards blog post about her One Little Word concept and see what all the talk is about. Like last year I have selected a word to carry me through the year. Last year I chose the word focus and I wore the word around my neck and this year I will continue to do so. Focus is still something I struggle with and this year I really wanted to commit myself to following through with the areas in my life that I want to improve on. I wrote several lists trying to find the right word and would check the words in the dictionary to see if their definitions fit the direction I was hoping to go this year. Commit is the right word for me. If you’re interested in a class to help keep you on track check out Ali’s class at Big Picture.

If you are not familiar with this concept, it’s certainly worth a look. Becky Higgins has created an amazing product that has me so excited about recording my family’s memories and little moments again. I’m thrilled to be back on this path and so grateful for an easy and fun and beautiful way to go about it. I began this journey in November (there’s no right or wrong way or time to start – if you miss starting at the first of the year, don’t worry!! Start when you can, start how you can) and am loving the process. It’s simple and easy and you can give as much to the concept as you want. I love it. There are several resources out there to help get your creative juices flowing with this project. Check out the Project Life Creative Team and see their blogs for their takes on the project. And if you’re on Pinterest simply type in “project life” into the search bar and you’ve got lots of great ideas at your fingertips.

There are new things to come this year from Carrie Owens Photography too…stay tuned and Happy New Year!

But back to the photos…this couple was so easy to photograph it wasn’t even funny. And with a dog along you’d think maybe he’d give me some trouble, but not even a little bit. They were great out in the biting cold afternoon. Here are a few of my favorites:

Could this little sweetheart’s grin be any cuter? I was so happy to get big grins from her this time

And…the eyes on older sis are just to die for. She was a great little model for me, posing and doing anything I needed.

I loved this image of the four of them together. Not the typical everyone smiling and looking. Mom and dad smiling and talking, big sis posing and looking on while little sis is content to be in moms arms.

And the evening wouldn’t be complete without a good old leaf fight

If you and your family are still needing fall or winter photographs, email carrieowensphotography@gmail.com today to set up your session!

Seriously…those cheeks. Those eyes.

I’ve been thinking about this blog a lot lately. Thinking about my process of blogging. I started blogging years ago when I was more of a scrapbooker than a business woman. The blog was lots of randomness which was mostly read by my mother, but it also had important stuff in there and stuff that other moms related to. Now I’m a busy mom of three with a busy business and I’ve noticed that as I leaned more into the client side of things, some of the mom stuff went away. Not here at home, necessarily…but with the storytelling that I had once loved to do. The blog needed to become a home for sharing business stuff…sessions and products and other information. Clients didn’t care so much about the little everyday stuff that was going on in my home or with my kids or my house projects or my everyday struggles and ramblings. So then blogging became weird to me. I didn’t know what to blog. I didn’t know how much to share and when to share and then I just stopped sharing. I tend to over think things sometimes this is probably one of those times.

I adore photography. It is something that I love with everything I am. Being a photographer is exactly what I need and want to be doing. When I think back to why I became a photographer, it all began with the storytelling. Capturing those little everyday moments that I knew would mean so much to me and my family both in the present and when my kids were grown. I loved getting behind the lens and getting those images that made me get a little misty eyed. I would scrapbook these memories and also share them on my blog. My readers enjoyed reading and liked the images…and soon began asking me to become the photographer for their families. It is a wonderful thing to be able to capture those everyday little memories for them. When a mom looks at an image that I took and says “you got his real smile” it brings joy to my heart. I love it.

But something is missing from this blog…ME. The photographer that you are hiring. I want to connect with you, the client and the family that you love. With this blog I began to worry too much about what people might want and forgot about what I wanted and needed. One of the greatest things in the world about owning your own business is the opportunity to make it what you want. There is more to me than just a business woman. And all of those parts make me the photographer that I am. So if I’m blogging about my son’s new room design or a new recipe or a trip to a swim meet keep in mind that those little things make up the person that I am. They contribute to the photographer that I am today and they will help me in capturing those little everyday moments in your child’s life that you want to remember forever. Those stories and tidbits of my life can help you relate to me and on session day, we’ll be more relaxed together. Most of my clients are moms like me…or have been…or will be one day. I don’t have amazing writing skills or perfect grammar and I’m not hilarious. I won’t have gripping stories to tell you that will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next post. But as a blog reader one of the best things is the ability to skim right over the posts that don’t interest you and get to what you came looking for…be it your grandchild who just had their first photo session, your extended family reunion shots or your daughter’s yearly photo shoot…or maybe you were interested in my son’s swim meet afterall either way, by giving myself the ability to post about what’s going on in my little world blogging becomes something that I love to do.

So why am I writing this? Because this blog just became all about me again. I did grow up an only child, you know…and do tend to like things to be all about me. (I’m kidding…kind of) I really just wanted to give myself permission to once again blog and record my family history along side the business aspects of my life. Hiring a photographer to capture your memories and loved ones is a personal decision. You need to feel comfortable with your photographer and relate to them in order for her to get those images that your heart desires. Hopefully this blog will help us connect a little better.

And with that…here is the first day of school:

That oldest boy looks less than pleased…not sure how many more years he’s going to put up with the camera

Although they do still welcome me walking them to their lines for the first day

This year the school did something pretty awesome. The teachers rolled out the red carpet, pulled the piano out of the music room to the front door and had all the students gather around for the Pledge of Allegiance and a rousing rendition of their school song – a great way to start off the day!