Thanks so much for all the feedback on blogging.

I still gotta find my blog a new home.

Just probably my old blog.

but it will get a major facelift and might take some time so I’ll be there…

still blogging.

About our life as a growing family, our photography business, & a lil bit of scrapbooking & crafting.

Until then…

Keep up w/US

We have LOTS of blogs to write and lots of sessions to share.

and

EXTREMELY EXCITING NEWS ON THIS POST!

xo

Happy Sunday!

So Im going to answer some of the questions from my readers.

Melissa asked: Question-
When you schedule photo shoots…what is your favorite time of day? I
am struggling with sunlight hitting in the wrong place.

Great question Melissa.

So many new photographers struggle w/the concept of light. I did big time!

We consult this great chart. 

We also consult our client.

If we are shooting kids or babies, we always ask what is the child's happiest time of day and we usually schedule it for that time and we work w/the light that we have during that time.

As far as what light to stay away from…

You need to look at the ground basically for the shadows that are being cast by trees/buildings/etc.

You'll want to stay away from areas where the sun is casting shadows onto the subject so you'll want to be "in" the shadow fully. No direct sunlight on the clients face/body.
It will cause your client to squint and the lighting will be sooo harsh. We love backlighting our clients. The family photo we just posted are an example of backlighting. The sun was setting behind us. You can get stellar solar flares that way and the subject is nice and warm.

We love shooting in the late afternoon though b/c the sun is lower in the sky and we can get those solar flares and the light is beautifully golden.

So Melissa, start studying and playing w/natural light. Study the sun's position in the sky during the time of day and use it properly by finding a fully shaded area if you are shooting mid-day when the sun is at it's highest. We sometimes use a reflector or 4×6 foamboard to shade our subjects if we are in direct light and don't have a shaded area to shoot so we create our own shaded enviroment so we get the best results no matter the suns position.

I hope that answers your question. If you have any more questions regarding this, ask away!

Next question.

Jessica asked: I have a
Q about your newborn shoots. You always have such beautiful knitted
hats and blankets. Do you have a stash and bring them along to the
photo shoots, or do you look through each baby's clothes and help the
parents pick out accessories? I know you make those adorable flower
headband for your baby girls…Also, do you have any special
tips/tricks for photographing newborns? ALL your nb pics always turn
out sooo beautiful!

Jessica,

I get all my knitted newborn props from Heather at Joco Couture!

She makes the most beautiful things!

Also, her friend at Le Petit Chapeau ~ Posh

make the most beautiful props!

They are amazing!

So I have a stash of my own and I also consult mom and dad and use what they might as too.

As far as techniques for photographing newborns.

We ask that mom be finishing up a full feeding upon our arrival.

We ask that the house be about 75 degrees or so.

We also bring along a sound machine, a space heater, a large very full beanbag, and all of our blankets for seamless backgrounds, a boppy, baskets, & all of our props. 

I have studied newborn photography a lot. Everything from baby posing to the environment. 

Natural light is best. We set up by a large window in the clients home and use all the natural light we have. No overhead light or anything. Just natural light. We do have lighting for backup if we have no large windows or a rainy day, but we try our best to just use natural light.

My clients have called me "the baby whisper". You have to have a lot of practice and confidence when handling newborns and if you don't have that, the newborn can sense it and will not be comfortable w/you handling them. They are very in tune to your emotions.

Patience is key as well. One of our sessions, the lil girl did not settle until 1.5 hrs into the session and she only slept for 15 mins and was not up for posing so I just read what she would let me do and did only that to keep her happy and comfy. We got some great shots w/what she would allow me to do. Every newborn is different. A lil boy we had recently slept the whole 2 hrs and let me do all kinds of new poses w/him. Never woke up. Then that lil girl I mentioned only slept 15 mins and cried the rest of the time mostly. So we kept her comfy w/mom and mom fed her some more and kept her comfy and once she started to fall asleep, we discovered that she was most comfy on her tummy w/her feet under her. You can see this lil ones sneak peek over on the Ulmer Studios Blog. So as you can see… even though she fought it for 1.5 hours, I was just paitent and let her get full and comfy w/mom and once she was out, she lets us great 15 mins of great shots!

Reading the newborns body language is sooo essential. You can tell a lot of what they will let you do by just reading them and what their lil bodies naturally do and how they are comfortable.

I hope that helps!

Thanks for the questions!

I am struggling a lil bit about this blog.

So I'd like to hear from you.

What would you like to see from me?

Photography related posts…

Scrapbooking stuff…

Baby/Mama stuff….

Im going to be moving the blog this month and Im just trying to find out what YOU want to read from me.

Im debating stopping the blog and only posting to our Ulmer Studios Blog so that is why I want to hear from you about what you want to hear from me.

If the interest isn't there, I'll strictly post to our Ulmer Studios blog.

So please share w/me what you want to read/learn from me!

xo

Ya Im still here.

Have I mentioned October has been a month of mad craziness?!

Whew… it went soooo perfect though!

TONS of perfect photo sessions!

2 Weddings

2 Seniors

4 Newborns

and lots of kiddos in between.

We have a 1 year old session tomorrow.

Then that finishes out the month of October & November is basically booked w/the exceptions of nailing down definite dates so it's great that we can say that we are now booking into December!

So lots of updates…

First, several Ulmer Studios Blog posts since I've posted here last. 

Next, we have a fresh new website template & a good bit of new stuff in the slideshow and galleries. Still have LOTS of updating to do from our sessions in the month of October though so they will be added too shortly!

Check it out!

And I scrapbooked…

Some sweet AC lovin on this w/the cute owl and bird and the thickers of course!

And lots of AC here!

All Patterned paper, thickers and rub on is American Crafts.

I simply adore this photo of Josie and Josh. So sweet!

Got lots of fun cute photos from a lil Fall mini sessions w/did w/Josephine and Uncle Nate snapped lil family ones for us too.

We did this lil session in maybe 10 mins flat.

Easy and quick and got tons of sweet shots!

These next 3 shots are going up on our wall in our big teal vintage frame above our couch.

These 2 will be 10×15 on top of each other like they are here.

And this shot will be a 16×20 or 16×24 to the left of those two in the frame.

I just adore these photos!

And like I said… shot in under 10 mins flat!

This has me thinking that I'll do a Q & A.

So… Q & A…

about anything

Baby stuff

Mama stuff

Photo stuff

Gear stuff

Scrapbook stuff

whatever…

just ask!

xo

How's it going blog world?

Missed ya!

October has been our busiest month….

3 sessions one week, 5 sessions the next… double sessions on Saturdays…

maddness!!!!

But it's all good stuff

2 weddings, 3 newborns, 2 Seniors, and lots of kids and families in between all that.

Praise God!

It's been so much fun and wonderful!

So we put Josephine in the Gap Casting Call thingy…

So go vote for her pretty please!

I have some cute photos to share too…

I made her a tutu!

So easy!

She has got so much personality this lil girl…

so much fun in our lives w/her!

It's just been a blast!

Since I've posted last, my

Designer Spotlight

went up over at the AC Blog.

Still kinda surreal!

Well, it's 8:30 so I gotta go wake lil bit up and nurse!

Have a great day!

xo

Here is my page…

I love this photo of her so much.
I want it like in a 20×24 canvas!!
I plan on going back and finding her "monthly" photo and doing a layout stating the "milestones" she has reached that month.

Some exiting happenings in the Ulmer home the past few crazy weeks.
Josie has peed & pooped on the potty!!
Ya. 7 Months old.
Every night during our nighttime routine of washing her hair, after we are done before we get her in her jammies, we sit her on the potty.
The first night we did it, she peed!!
The next night we did it… she peed again!
Third night… nothing.
Last night… she peed & pooped!!!
She knows what the potty is at 7 months old!! I dunno how she knows… but she does!
Rocked our world!
We really just did it to see what she would do…
and she did it!!
Hope this is a good sign that we can get her potty trained pretty early!
Let's see.. what else.
She has eaten…
eggplant casserole
broccoli
bowtie noodles w/a lil spaghetti sauce
organic baby cracker
plum
yogurt-feeding herself w/a spoon
mashed potatoes
a taste of pumpkin pie

I think that is all she has had recently.
She loves food so much!
She wants to eat whatever we are eating!
So… we need to alter what we eat just a lil bit…
for the good of course.

She is still sleeping 11-12 hours at night and takes 2 naps during the day.
We have been so blessed w/an amazing sleeper.
She never ever wakes up once she down for the night.
Praise God.

Got lots of photos to share…
Here we go.

Yogurt Eating Happiness…

Some Mama Love
Notice… TWO TEETH!

Some Daddy Love

Oh those Teeth & Toes!

She has been doing this thing where she taps her chest… I really think she is learning to clap b/c I have been clapping with her and trying to teach her so maybe this is the start!
Pretty cute huh?

and some of mama & daddy

Quite a lil update huh?

We shot a pretty rad wedding 2 Saturday's ago…
I posted a couple sneaks on Facebook once the Bride & Groom saw them so if you want to check them out,
go here to our
Ulmer Studios Fan Page Wedding Album

We will have 4 more newborns in the next 2-3 weeks!!
Pretty big boom!
We just posted our recent Senior Session as well at the
KANGAROO POUCH CANDLES
I currently have the Pumpkin on the candle warmer and it smells SOOOO yummy!
The smell is the perfect blend of warmth, sweetness, and it makes the whole house smell yummy!
Go check them out!!
They are 100% soy too!

So we are going to be leaving Typepad here soon…
Since we have our new Ulmer Studios Blog,
Ill need to find a new home for my blog.
Prolly blogger since it's a freebie…
I really want a fun template though…
So link me up!
Tell me where to find vintagey, fun, eclectic blogger templates?!
xo

]]> http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/jbs-guest-lots-of-photos/feed/ 9 ulmerstudios 6months1 6months2 6months3 Rose1 Yogurt Polka1 Polka2 Teethfeet Tap1 Mamadaddy http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/american-crafts-all-up-in-this-place/ http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/american-crafts-all-up-in-this-place/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:58:11 +0000 ulmerstudios http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/american-crafts-all-up-in-this-place/ ]]>

My first project as an American Crafts DT girl is up at their blog!
You can find my project
HERE
Click their banner to go straight back to their updated blog posts.
I have some AC layouts to share!

All AC except that orange strip. That is Pink Paislee.

Think it turned out pretty cute.
And here is another one.

And an older one I couldn't post b/c it was in the latest EntreArtiste Magazine.

And some sweet recent photos of Josephine taken w/our new camera…

Canon 5D Mark II.

ekkk…

so LOVE this thing!

Onsie is by Ivey Handcrafted. My sweet friend Brittany Moncrief gifted us with it when she was born.

What a sweet bit….

check out those dimples… hehe

We set up a lil "studio" in our bonus room… ie… a 4×6 white foamcore board that we use for our newborn session to hold the blankets that we use for our seamless backdrop and used some lighting we are borrowing from a friend and she was hysterical!

What a ham!

6 months has been the most fun yet.

She is sitting up.

Pulling herself up when we hold her hands to stand up.

Talking like mad crazy… no words yet… but has alot of babble to say.

Her 1st tooth is still budding on through.

Our teething necklace is still doing wonders for her!

I ordered it through amberizon.com for those of you who asked.

We did just get Sophie the Giraffe.

She loves it. 

She is SOOO fun.

She had yogurt the other night.

Made a video on our new Mark II.

Will have to post that soon along w/the photos.

So funny!

She loved it… even though she made some pretty funny faces… and…

she fed herself w/a spoon! You'll see from the photos how well she eats w/a spoon already!

She watches us so she just soaks it up and imitates!

Well, I think that is about it.

We are covered up with photo sessions…

Had our first Saturday off in a while this past Saturday b/c it's been raining forever here in TN.

We have a wedding on Saturday afternoon along w/a "Shopping Extravaganza" thing at our church that we are setting up a booth at.

So sorry for my lack of blogging.

Im hoping the winter months I'll catch up.

haha

Thanks for still reading!

and of course,

We have another post up at

ULMER STUDIOS NEW BLOG

xo

These 3 are mew favorites.



So there is our sweet girl.
Time has just flown by.
And she was trying to grab the camera in these 4 shots… too cute!
Definitely the daugher of some photographers!
We have a lil camera ready for her when she is old enough!

Daddy spotted her two bottom teeth bout to bust through last night!
Her teething necklace has worked wonders!
Barely fussy and if she really bothered obviously, I just give her some of those hylands teething tablets and she is good.
Im so glad we aren't having to give her Tylenol or anything.

Well
We have a
NEW ULMER STUDIOS BLOG.
Head over there and check it out!
Have a RAD Day After Session up!
Bout to blog again today…
So check out the nice new large photos and clean design!

Have a fabulous weekend!

]]> http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/mia/feed/ 6 ulmerstudios IMG_9108 IMG_7911-bw IMG_8372 IMG_7977 IMG_9209 IMG_9225 Cameragirl http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/flower-pin-headband-tutorial/ http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/flower-pin-headband-tutorial/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:10:40 +0000 ulmerstudios http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/flower-pin-headband-tutorial/ ]]> So.. first…
Check out the newest banner.
I took those photos of Josephine this week and I am in LOVE with them!
Here they are close up!

My lil sweet sugah bit!
She is just too cute for words!!

So this week, between client proofing galleries, client orders, & session stuff,
I made some more headbands for our newborn sessions we have coming up.
Several ppl on Facebook asked me to share how I did them so I did a lil tutorial.
I know everyone probably makes them all different kinds of ways…
So…
If you make them yourself, I would LOVE for you to share in the comment section how you make headbands for your lil one.
Now, this is my first time really making them…
So if you have some insight to share as well, please do!

So, the headbands I use them on are from Target…by "Goody"… they are soft and thick and have nice stretch.
But here is the lil tutorial.

So there are all my new flowers to attach to the headbands!
The pins are the kind that have a safety clasp that rolls over where the pin is held in place so it will stay shut.

So there you have it!
That is how I made them…
How do you make flower headbands?

xo
]]> http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/flower-pin-headband-tutorial/feed/ 15 ulmerstudios 5 Flowertutorial http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/a-cause-a-newborn-first-solids/ http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/a-cause-a-newborn-first-solids/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:02:00 +0000 ulmerstudios http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/a-cause-a-newborn-first-solids/ ]]> So today's post, I want you to go visit
Ulmer Studios
for that specific post
regarding our sweet friends
who are adopting a lil girl
from
Haiti.
So spend some time there and read their story
and
HELP
if you can.
CLICK HERE if you want to help!

Then hit up this post on
Ulmer Studios
Sweet Newborn Lovin'
We've got 4 more newborns lined up for Sept-Oct.
I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHING NEWBORNS!
Gosh.

Some updates on us…
We are covered in work…
which is such a blessing!
We are booked through October and November is booking up already!
It's been an amazing year for our business!
Praise God!

Josephine is getting so big…
she is rolling over when she is sleeping…
I'll go in there and find her still asleep and on her tummy…
sucking her thumb and drooling!
it's the sweetest thing!
and…
she is eating yummy things…
She's not swallowing anything yet really… just tasting and exploring and sucking…
but she loves BLW so far! So do we! It's sooo much fun!
Today, she had some of my cheese toast (grilled cheese) and enjoyed sucking on it.


and a lil bit of a cracker

And she is playing more in her saucer…

and just being sweet all around…

Gosh… I just love this lil bit…
She was having a rough afternoon w/teething and didn't want to be laid down but was sooo tired so Josh just held her and she was out…
So of course…
Photo op.

Think that about covers it…
Just enjoying everyday with her.
It's magical.
xo

And… yesterday evening, we heard Josie crying as she was waking up from her afternoon nap…. which is normal… so we went up after a few minutes when we knew she wouldn't settle down and guess what?
She was on her tummy!
Rolled over for the first time!
Poor girl couldn't figure out how to get back over though!
So happy that she did it on her own!
We've been practicing with my help of course…
She's doing great!
And… because she refuses to drink from a bottle… for anyone…
several ppl suggested getting her a sippy cup instead.
So we did.
And she takes it to her mouth and chomps on the spout…
She makes a pretty foul face though…
could she not be liking the taste of the silicon spout?
Any other suggestions for me?
She just refuses a bottle…
I'm not complaining at all…
I love that my girl love to nurse…
but
we have 2 weddings in October and when my parents keep her,
I'd really like her to be happy for them and take a bottle when she is hungry instead of screaming like she does now! haha
So any other suggestions?

I have a layout to share!
Used up some Sassafras

also posted up a cute session over at
Ulmer Studios
So hit that up if you're in the mood!
xo

]]> http://ulmerstudios.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/1-on-explorerolled-overlayout/feed/ 9 ulmerstudios Explore Apple