Creative Outlets and Other Things

3.28.2019


I did something kind of crazy this week.
I took pictures at my friend's home water birth.

For obvious reasons I won't show any pictures, but after panicking for weeks that I wouldn't be able to get any good photos because of lighting or blurriness or just the fact that I'd never actually been in a room with someone giving birth (other than myself, which doesn't really count), I think I got some good ones for her! Or, at least I did not horribly fail, praise the lord. It's not like you can say, "Oh, wait that's blurry. Please put the baby back."

I'm definitely not a professional photographer by any means. I've never taken a photography class or paid money for fancy editing presets, but I have always loved taking photos. R and J have given me a ton of opportunity to practice, and I take family photos for my friends on occasion for a small fee. It's a fun creative outlet! Although taking birth photos was definitely a stretch for me, I'm glad I was able to have that experience. It gave me a whole new perspective on giving birth in general and about my own L&D with R and J.
Speaking of creative outlets, I do not feel like home decor is an area where I excel. I see photos of other people's houses or go into my friends' homes and love how they have it decorated, and I'm like, I will do this at my house! And then I get home and draw a total blank.

Our house has basically two living room spaces, which I love because the kids have a lot of room to run around and play (although that's also more room to get messy and have to clean up haha). We've lived in our house for coming up on 4 years! We moved in just before R was born, and the front living room still doesn't feel finished. Hopefully that will change soon! I'll be sharing more about this in a week or so, but I'm excited to be collaborating with Ashley from ATZHomeDesign, which is the Etsy shop she started with her husband in the fall last year.

Ashley is a blog reader who reached out to see if I could share about their shop on the blog! She is sending me something that I think will be great in our front room, and I'm in the process of selling our oversized chair so I can fit a lamp and do some rearranging. I'm excited! She's been really sweet to work with, and you can use the code AMANDA10 anytime between now and June 30 to get 10% off anything in their shop.
Okay I'm out of time for this one. Does anyone else think, "I am so tired. I will go to bed as soon as the kids are in bed!" and then as soon as the kids are in bed I'm like DO ALL THE THINGS. I see the wrong side of 10:00 more often than I'd like, but time marches on, as they say. The days are long, the years are short, and the hours after the kids go to bed are even shorter. ha.

I was thinking about doing a "10 Things You Don't Know About Me" post. Would that be interesting? I saw someone do that recently and thought back to the days when those types of posts were everywhere in the blog world. I think I did one once, but it's been a while. 

For now, though, I will leave you with a shot of this red-haired boy. Don't want him to look back on this blog and think I only posted pictures of sister, now do I? ;) Although I will tell you guys for real: this kid sees the camera and sprints in the opposite direction! I cannot get him to face me and smile for anything. What a tease.
Audrey said...

His hair!! But also R's hair! It's so long and gorgeous! I can't believe how mature she looks in your pictures! I don't know if I could've done water birth pictures. First of all, I'm terrible with a camera so no one would even ask me, but secondly I would just be so amazed I'd forget to take pictures!

Callie said...

Wow, you are so brave to take on birth photography! That scares me a little. I’d love to read a 10 things post! I might steal the idea after you do it. I’m in a blogging slump and need some inspiration. Also, maybe it’s a boy thing, I have such a hard time taking pictures of my 4 year old! He won’t sit still!

Kaity B. said...

While I obviously understand keep private photos private, I totally wish I could see your water birth photos! I love birth photography and wish I would have had some pictures from my births :)

Also, yes!! to home decor as a creative outlet.

Amie said...

Your kiddos are just the cutest!! The 10 things sounds like it would be interesting so I vote yes!

Jenny Evans said...

My #3 was like that. Every picture we have of him from his toddler years is blurry because he never stopped moving.

But more about the water birth. So what WAS it like to be the one in the room without being the one giving birth? I have often wondered what it's like for my husband. I know that for me, I go into the zone and have like an out-of-body experience where time is nothing and I forget all the details, but I'm sure it's not like that for him!

Rach said...

Those pictures of R are so great! Also, I love her little outfit and bow. So precious! And that lip on J! How cute. :)

What a cool experience to be part of the birth! Those feelings you experienced were the same ones I felt about photographing my first wedding. I remember being so worried that I would miss the big kiss or that every picture of the bride walking down the aisle would be blurry. But thankfully all went smoothly. But whew, there is definitely a lot of pressure in those once-in-a-lifetime moments. What an honor to be chosen to join your friend for such an intimate time!

Torrie said...

The best way to become better as a photographer is just to keep practicing consistently and making yourself go out of your comfort zone, and you're doing just that! (And for the record, I can totally tell the progress in your photos from when I started following you to now!) So glad that the birth photography experience went well. It really does give you a totally different outlook on the whole labor and delivery process, I think.

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