The Life of a Mom & Photographer

I feel like I've been so MIA lately on social media! I have no idea where March through uh almost May have gone! 

In March my family visited NYC for a little Spring get-away. Whenever we travel to a nice location, I usually try to schedule a family portrait session with an amazing local photographer. In NYC, we worked with Michael Kormos Photography { check out their work then book a trip and reserve a session - you won't be disappointed }

I highly encourage all of my clients to do this. You won't hurt my feelings! I promise. What better way to document your adventures as a family than to have professional family portraits capturing not only the location that you are visiting but to provide a lasting memory? Every time you look at that family portrait it will remind you of everything you loved about your vacation. If you need a referral for NY, FL or Las Vegas let me know :-)

I know it is hard to often find even a LOCAL professional photographer let alone one in a city in which you might not know a single soul. My recommendation is virtually the same as when you search locally. Do not choose based on price. You'll almost always be disappointed. Choose based on style. Quality. Experience. And always work with LEGAL businesses :-) You can learn more about searching for professional photographers on THIS past blog post. 

Kormos Photography are a husband & wife team. For this session Michael was the lead photographer and his wife Sophie took complete charge of our kids. She made them laugh, she told them secrets, she made the experience PEACEFUL! And you all know what I'm talking about ... family portrait sessions are RARELY peaceful ha. But that is what we sought and that is what we financially invested in: a quality experience with an expert. Don't under-value or under-estimate the importance of the EXPERIENCE.

       

Any professional photographer you work with should have a style and that style includes a clothing color palette that they know works best with their style of portraiture, their editing style and the backgrounds they offer {be it in-studio or on-location}. Please don't ignore their suggestions on color and clothing style. Yes, these are your family portraits - so you shouldn't wear purple if you hate purple. But, if you haphazardly select your family's wardrobe and pay no attention to the details and suggestions the photographer is giving you about clothing & colors you will end up with lack-luster final images. Portraits, unless it is Fashion Photography specific, are about who your family is at THAT moment in time - their personality on THAT day - not about which neon color or floral pattern is trending {no matter how adorable ha}. 

After NYC - we went on our first Disney Cruise! We journeyed on the Disney Fantasy in the Caribbean. If you've never been on a Disney Cruise then I recommend the experience. If you want to go on a cruise WITHOUT kids - I still recommend the Disney cruise! They have adult only pools, decks, restaurants, and lounges. And since most people who go on a Disney cruise do so with kids - that means those areas are VERY quiet and less used. When docked at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, there is also an adult only section beach!

The main pool areas are very crowded and often it looks like a can of sardines. I know. That was disappointing. But there is also basketball courts, a baby splash water park, mini golf, a water slide,and on-board activities. If you think you are going to relax by the pool with the kids while at sea - that is unlikely so don't go for THAT experience.  

The food is amazing - seriously, I was shocked. Not only was the buffet great with fresh options but the dining rotation between the three on-board restaurants was a treat with 3-4 course meal options every night. And free room service ... nightly Mickey ice cream bars big plus.

My favorite things: 6 flavors of unlimited self-serve ice cream {I still find myself missing those machines}, the Disney shows nightly, the adult/reservation restaurants, and Disney's private island: Castaway Cay. 

On board is a boutique for kids {mostly for little girls}. With a reservation your princess can be transformed with hair, make-up, nails, and dressed like her favorite princess. We did an Elsa dressing {which is why above my daughter has a blonde poof on her head}, a Mermaid dressing, and a basic Minnie dressing. My son did a Knight and a Captain dressing. 

Each passenger had a card and when you stood for photos they swiped the card in order to know which cabin/file to put the images. I think we ended up with over 100 photos. Each day the characters dressed differently {on pirate day they were dressed as pirates, for example} - so the kids had multiple photographs with each character over the days.

We definitely were not SO taken with the cruise experience that we booked our next cruise while on ship, as many die-hard cruisers did, but I would consider the experience again for sure. Disney's private island is amazing and I wish we could have had more than one port stop there but ultimately I'm a lay-on-the-beach kind of vacationer and would pick a beach house rental any day over a cruise.

With a weekend trip to the Omaha Zoo, karate lessons, swim lessons, soccer and a studio full of babies THAT pretty much sums up where I've been :-)

I have another post to share about what has been going on BGP over the past few months including having my business structure analyzed late last year by a professional service, heirloom album additions, two trips to Atlanta for professional development, a Cancun trip, and a film crew that came into the studio to create insight  movie clip to share!

I hope your Spring has been amazing!