I am looking around the house and it hits me!  I KNOW WHAT I WANT!  A portrait of all three of my kids, looking at the camera, with smiles and all holding each other like they really do love one another.  I have attempted this before.  It ends up a disaster.

Then last night, while getting ice cream after a soccer game, I looked at my children, sitting there together at McDonalds, talking and laughing, eating their ice cream and I knew why my Mother’s Day wish would never come true, I am neglecting to see my children in THEIR own element.  I can not force them to sit still and smile, as much as I want to they are too used to me.  I can work wonders on clients children (usually…. sometimes I just have to go with the craziness!), because I am new, fresh, I am doing something exciting and different.  I capture their attention, however with my own children I’m boring, they have heard and seen it all before.

That is when I knew, what I truly WANT for Mother’s Day.  I want to SHARE with you, what it means for me to be a mother.  A day in MY life as MOM.  I also want to do this to find the beauty in routines which I have taken for granted, I need to rediscover joy in my job as a mom.

I would love for you all to do this project as well and share your link in the comment section here or on my fanpage.

Typical weekday morning….  This means waking up, getting ready, boys to the bus stop, take daughter to school…..

Now that it is getting warmer here, most days after school we head to the backyard and either get in the pool or play with the water hose.  Notice my two boys seem terribly neglected in terms of camera face time?  Not my fault.  To get a shot of them is like finding the perfect pair of jeans, you know the ones that fit in all the right places?  I shoot them as much as I shoot my daughter, it just seems as if sneaking in a pic of her is easier then sneaking one of my boys.  None of these photos are posed or forced.  They are all taken by stealth mommy mode, with a longer lens, from a distance…

So…. what I want for mothers day is to be able to find joy in my everyday.  So simple.  I think I get so hyped up in the stress of being a mom, that I bypass the good.  Sometimes I allow my frustrations to overtake the joys, the amount of work, how tired I am, to just sit down and smile with my children.

And I will continue to strive to get that perfect image of all three of my children together, sitting nicely, smiling, but if it doesn’t happen I am not going to forget about the moments in between, the little looks, voices, and moments I am able to capture.  I will find joy in the mundane, happiness through the spilled juice and dirty faces, and fulfillment in my heart that I am doing a good job as a mom.

The session was scheduled in two parts, an outdoor/urban location (downtown) and an indoor studio setting.  The day was overcast and it sprinkled here and there, causing our schedule to be reserved a bit.  Adjusting to the new timeline of the shoot was a breeze, Jasmine was very easy going and relaxed, literally a dream to photograph.

Jasmine sent over a few inspiration photos including images of Adele, a young Elizabeth Taylor, Teen Vogue, all with a retro fashion feel.  We took to the streets of downtown Pensacola and shot until the light gave way to clouds and sprinkles gave way to drops.  Then headed into the studio for the second half of the shoot.  A few hair and makeup changes in between outfits and her look was totally transformed from light and airy teen to young sophisticated lady.

Now onto the secret!  These photos were taken for a SURPRISE sweet 16 party!  Her mother needed a photo for her invitations.   Everyone was “in the know” at the shoot, but we all did a great job of keeping it hidden.  Thank you so much for trusting me with this event and I hope to work with this family again.

The event will be blogged on another post, so stay tuned!

We are both planners, and had our time pretty much planned out for the entire trip.  I am so glad we did because VEGAS is HUGE!  I would be lost in a sea of “huh” the entire time if I did not do my research and plan events for each day.
We arrived in the afternoon and just hung out the first day.  We stayed at the MGM Grande and took the Monorail to the Stratosphere Hotel to ride the attractions there.  OMG!  I have never been scared of rides, I am pretty much a lets do this kind of girl.  Roller Coasters, Spinning Rides, Heights, they do not bother me, but man, after doing these on top of the hotel, I felt off all night long!  I think I had altitude sickness or something, it was not fun.  Here are some photos from Day 1.

Welcome To Vegas!

This was the Rain Forest Cafe in the MGM.  I did not really care for this restaurant.  I was picturing something very different from this location and it did not meet my expectations at all.

This is a funny photo taken in front of a green screen at the Stratosphere.  I love my face here!  haha

This was the WORST ride I have ever been on in my entire life!  I was feeling off for hours after riding this! Talk about depression on my first night in Vegas, we were asleep by 10pm! But now I can say I have been there, done that, and I got the picture!

Blurry photo from the hotel room.  You can see me in the window as well as the photos on the wall!

View from room.

Day 2
Started out much better!  We ate at the MGM Breakfast Buffet (It was ok, but I am not really a Buffet girl, it was included with the room package, so…..)  Then we went over to New York, New York.  That hotel is amazing!  We wanted to do the roller coaster in that hotel also (I had to wait until the last day, I was still not right from the other coaster) but we purchased a package which included the Bodies Exhibit at the Luxor and the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay.  This was probably my favorite day.  The aquarium was amazing and the Bodies Exhibit was top notch.  I am a big dork though and like that sort of thing, and I must say it was amazing to be able to actually enjoy and read about the exhibit instead of rushing through because the kids are getting restless/loud/bored.  We took our time and enjoyed the displays, reading about the body.

The registration desk at New York, New York!  Gorgeous!

Inside the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.  This was amazing, you are actually surrounded by the aquarium, sharks swimming above and below you.  It is designed to look like a sunken ship.

I could watch this tank for HOURS!  I probably enjoyed this the most of anything else at the aquarium.

Me, in front of the Luxor.  This is where the Bodies exhibit is located, along with the Titanic Exhibit and the topless show Fantasy.  We went to the Topless show later this evening!  It was really classy and we had front row seats, the hubs was called on stage and the entire show really revolved around him.  It was a great evening!

Day 3

We took a tour in the Pink Jeep to the Hoover Dam.  Words can not explain or describe how amazing this place is.  To view the photos does not do it justice.  It is so large, so much work and man power went into building this dam, it is unimaginable unless you see it with your own eyes.  I want to take the children back to view this part of America simply for the pride and wonderment that is found at the Hoover Dam.

We had the tour guide drop us off at the Venetian Hotel.  This hotel is a city within itself.  We ate in a lovely Mexican restaurant overlooking the Gondolas.  We rode in our own with the lovely Italian gentleman singing a song of love and affection.  Very romantic.

I do not think we scratched the surface of this hotel.  It was huge and gorgeous and if I ever return to Vegas I am certain I would stay here.

A few other photos from this day!  Me, cashing in my winnings!  FIVE DOLLARS YA’LL!

Hubs putting a dollar in and winning a car………

Day 4

We had to do it!  PAWN STARS is one of my all time favorite shows!  We visited the shop, and bought wedding bands, for our vow renewal next door in the GRACELAND wedding chapel!  Yep, we did.

Watch our wedding HERE!  Enjoy!

Why this look works?

Notice that everyone matches but everyone has their own look?  You could pull any combo of family members together and they would compliment each others clothing.  Dad and daughter, mom and son, brother and sister, everyone looks pulled together and complete without being boring.  I know how easy it is to say, white shirts and jeans, black shirts and khaki, but I love to allow for personality and originality to shine in my photos, doing so in white shirts makes that more difficult to accomplish.

Why this look works?

This is a great look for those that are more color challenged.  Everyone is very simple, yet no one is in plain white shirts.  The clothing is very neutral while still being bold.  I am not a fan of crocks, but you get the idea, simple boat shoes for this classic and causal look.  The thing here is that the clothing will not date the photo.  Everything is very classic and will look great in 20 years.

Why this look works?

I absolutely love the girls outfit here, down to the sandals….   I adore the dads shirt and I am seriously thinking about buying this exact look for Easter for my family!  I love everything about this set.  And the moms accessories!  LOVE!  The colors work so well together.

As always, if you have any questions about clothing I am more then happy to help.

Enjoy Spring here Pensacola, it won’t last long, before we know it we will be running for cover, INSIDE due to extreme 100+ temps and sun that will not break.  I can’t wait! 

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The week before my “trama-cold” I was able to play around with some studio lights, try different set ups.  I love doing this, because I can look at each set and analyze for myself what I like about each lighting ratio.

Make sure you are a fan of my facebook page because these lovely ladies saw I was looking for some “models” by a casting call I put out on my fan page.  I often get wild hairs to try something and literally go from zero to done in about 3 hours, reaching out to facebook fans to help me out with my I have time now, must do it NOW, schedule!

Here are a few of the photos from my experimenting.  Enjoy!

Here are a few behind the scenes shots……….

Enjoy some photos from her one year session.  We had a great time, Abbi was NOT shy with the cake at.all.  She loved it, dug right in and kept going until that cake was literally crumbs on the studio floor.

One of my all time favorite things to photograph is growth!  I love it.  The most special sessions to me are the ones in which I create an ongoing relationship with the client.  I love watching their family grow, be it their belly into a newborn, or their newborn into a toddler.

I am looking for TWO fresh faces to test out my new baby plan!  It includes THREE one hour studio sessions to capture certain milestones in your little ones first year, one at 3/4 months (holding up head), one at 6/7 months (sitting, not yet crawling) and the last at a year (walking).  I am looking for ONE boy and ONE girl.  At the end of the year, you will receive a custom 5*7 trifold folio with an image from each session.  You will be able to purchase additional products and files at a discounted rate from every session.

I am offering this plan for  $99 plus tax.  If you are interested in this type of session please contact me via email at CrystalBellePhotography@gmail.com