Sprouts by Heather

Beginning a new year has always been really fun for me. I am the type of person who loves to set goals and try to obsessively over-organize my path to achieve them. So while some may not enjoy New Year’s resolutions, I am an odd one that actually really enjoys the process involved. As a part of the goal-setting process, I like to look back at the goals I have accomplished  just prior and to look forward to see how I can use those as building blocks as I revaluate and set new goals.

One of my biggest goals for my business in 2011 was to capture more of the unique relational aspect of individual families through my photography. After doing a lot of studying and self-reflection at the beginning of last year, I really started to pin point the aspects of my family that I, as a mother and creative, want to be preserved through photography. I set out to be deliberate about translating that self-reflection over into my work. So what follows, is a collection of some of my favorite images that I captured over the past year, with a few thoughts about why these images are so important to me.

Let me start off by saying, I love a good portrait. I believe these are important pieces of preserving our family’s memories, and I love shooting them with a little personality thrown in.

Portraits are important because they preserve what we look like at a specific time. These are the only pictures in this post that are of our son Mason, and I love them. I love all of the images I have of him where he is completely unaware of the camera, but I also appreciate this pair of images from last January. Its fun to look back and see how much he’s changed and how this green jacket would be short sleeves on him now. I certainly don’t regret the monthly portraits I took of him to go along with the countless number of lifestyle or emotional imagery I captured of him throughout the year.

And there are certain occasions, like being a brand spanking new baby(!!) that really cry out for a nice portrait.

So don’t get me wrong, I do love portraits. They mean a lot to me, but over the past year (and really maybe I should extend that all the way back to our son’s birth in April 2010) I have really fallen in love with imagery that captures emotions and relationships. Intimate moments when a parent and child are completely lost in each other, even to the point of temporarily being unaware that I am there.

Not only do I love photographing these moments, but I love BEING in these moments. People watching has taken on an all new meaning for me this year. I have always been a sensitive and sentimental person, but add the birth of our son into the mix, and the amount of sentimental mush that exists in my brain would make most people nauseous. I love, no, LOVE being in these moments with parents as I can read their love for their children in their expressions, body language, and shared gestures. These moments are so poetic to me, and I am often awestruck when these moments unfold.

The excitement a family shares together as they welcome a new baby into the family….

Or the happiness of little boys playing with their daddies outdoors. Can’t you just imagine this scene unfolding in their front yards when daddy returns home from work each evening.

The family relationships that I get to be around are so inspiring to me as I notice how she looks at him with admiration, even at such a young age.

Or knowing how little boys are especially loving to their mothers, and the gentle touch of his sweet little hand sends love oozing over every crevice of this mommy heart. This is how we see them….the moments we share with them….

The tricks we perform on a regular basis when its almost nap time….

The way she stands when she’s up to something….

A brilliant memorization of distinct tickle spots for each child, and remembering how they would squeeze out a “stop it” through their giggles, but stick by just close enough so you would bring them back into your arms and tickle them once more.

The exhilaration you feel as a parent when playing with your child and the world and its responsibilities fade to the background as you soak in the moment.

Remembering the moments that they considered each other their best friend.

Their laughter….

oh….The sweet sweet sound of their laughter …. coupled with mannerisms that are unique to each child, like the way she shyly breaks her gaze when a deep giggle erupts.

These are the types of things I want to remember about Mason and children yet to join our family. Yes, I hope to have a collection of images that remind me what they look like at each age, but even more so I could not possibly have enough images that capture who they really are. Each one a unique blessing. Changing so rapidly, relating to us so differently, shaping us so instinctively.

We share so many wonderful moments with our children. It was my goal to focus on preserving more of those moments throughout 2011, and my plan is to continue to explore and push this even further throughout the coming year. As I take a break from shooting this month, I have been spending a lot of time creating a plan to capture more of these types of images for my clients. I am so excited and energized for sessions to start back up in a few weeks, and I am so thankful for the clients represented in these images (and many others like them from the year) who welcomed me into these beautiful moments.

Since this is a process of exploration for me, I would love to hear from you about your favorite images (and why) from this post. I would love to take in your thoughts and add your voice into my process.

xoxo,

Heather

I didn’t realize how long I had let things go quiet around here on the blog. The holiday season is always busy on both fronts, business and personal, and I usually take a little break from the blog to save a little bit of time. We had a wonderful Christmas with family, and Mason (at 20 months old) was a real treat this year. In the coming days, I will be sharing a few images of some brand new babies that I photographed over the holidays, and maybe a few images from our Christmas at home as well. Each year, as families welcome me again into their  homes to capture their children, so many make me feel like I am a part of the family. It is such a sweet feeling that I treasure in this job. So as we bid farewell to a great 2011, and welcome this new year beaming bright with possibilities, I just wanted to take a minute to thank my clients from past years for becoming a part of the Sprouts family. I can’t wait to see the exciting things that this new year will bring for each of your families. And I am looking forward to all of the families and sweet kiddos that I will meet for the first time this year. Happy new year!

I better post  October’s picture-a-day before November is over as well. I am still enjoying the 365 Project so much. Its so fun to look back over these memories of each day, whether it be an event to remember, or an ordinary day at home, I cherish each image that forever preserves these moments that are passing by so quickly.
As with each of the past 18 months, I fell even more in love with this sweet boy this month. I’m pretty sure my heart is just going to explode pretty soon. Mason’s personality is out in full force. He is such a sweet and caring boy, just overflowing with love for others and his “kiggies”. It makes me smile to think that we have poured most of that love into him…I think he came with some of it just pre-programmed in. He gives us the sweetest hugs and kisses, and although he has reverted to calling me “dada”, he is quick to lavish his love on me like many little boys do with their mommies. He makes me feel so special. Mason is joyful and exuberant, constantly with a sparkle of mischief in his eyes….even when he isn’t being mischievous. We made some wonderful autumn memories in October including going to the pumpkin patch, a weekend away to the north Georgia mountains, and a fun night of trick or treating with our neighbors. These days, you will find our home filled with lots of belly laughs and the sweetest giggle you will ever hear, and if you listen closely, you just might hear my heart bursting at the seams.

I loved meeting up with this precious family on Friday to photograph them in the beautiful fall leaves. Two sweet boys, great wardrobe choices, and the fall setting made for a great time together. It didn’t take me long to realize that this was my kind of family. They are new to Birmingham and are looking for a house, so after about 30 minutes together, I started recruiting them to live in our neighborhood. I hope that wasn’t moving too fast for a first date.

Check out how cute they are!!

My favorite images are always the ones where parents + child are playing and laughing together. Real emotion and real smiles. I think preservation of these types of moments are such a great gift to give our children. Imagine one day as they look back and see how much you love and enjoy being with them. So much joy!

I just love how this gorgeous warm light is wrapping around them in the next two images. So magical. And this is such a sweet moment between mommy and baby.

And more sweet moments, but this time between daddy and baby. Look at that sweet grin on baby Colt’s face on the right, even his eyes are smiling. I love it!

Thank you guys for choosing me to document your sweet family. Let me know when you want a guided tour of our neighborhood.

I think its safe to say there is a baby boom going on in Birmingham! There are so many newborns, which is a fantastic thing because I love getting to hold and photograph these sweet little ones. Owen was ready to join the party with big brother Eli, so he came a few weeks early. At 2 weeks old, he still had that eagerness and wasn’t super keen on going to sleep and missing out on anything. But I can’t complain because he loves to be held, and I enjoyed giving this sweet mommy a break. After some cuddling, Owen went to sleep and we got some great shots of this little cutie. I so enjoyed spending my afternoon with this sweet little boy!!

Last week I had the pleasure of driving out to a farm in West Alabama to welcome a sweet family’s newest arrival… Miss Violet Elizabeth. Violet’s mom, Lana, and I went through 5 years of Architecture school together at Auburn and recently reconnected after we moved back to Alabama. Lana and I could have talked for hours when I was there to photograph Violet at 8 days old. I have a feeling Mason and I are going to be visiting the farm again soon to run around with Violet’s big brother Levi. Levi will have lots to show Mason about life on a farm, and it will be the perfect excuse for me to see this little beauty again!

She is such a little lady with her long eyelashes….

It was one of those perfect days where the temperature outside was pretty much the same as it was inside so we wandered freely.

I couldn’t leave without getting Levi in front of my camera for just a few minutes…. a few very active minutes. He is such a beautiful child! I think I can call him “beautiful” for another year or so right?

Beautiful beautiful children! Congratulations Lana & Luke on the addition of a little girl to your sweet family. Sugar and spice and everything nice….