the nestingNYC blog | photography, kids, life

Three Twins ice cream | Glimpses Week 20

2012-05-20T12:22:00Z

(This blog post is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am rather partial to chocolate. Liam has apparently inherited this preference from me, whether genetically or by osmosis or both, who knows.

In fact, he recently informed me: "Mama, lemonade doesn't have chocolate, so it's not a treat" meaning "I will only accept bribes that contain chocolate."

Now, I happen to also be rather partial to lemonade but I can't really fault his philosophy!

Friday was a very special day. Liam and I had our first adventure into the city in almost two years (I was pregnant last year and didn't want to risk being stranded on the subway due to a broken elevator and having to carry him up or down the stairs).

We went to the New York City Fire Museum first, then headed to Moomah Cafe for lunch and a special treat - Three Twins Bittersweet Chocolate Ice cream.

Fortunately for Liam, I was so busy taking photos of him eating it that I didn't have time for more than a few bites myself.

Definitely delish though and I would say that Liam was one happy customer!

nyc baby, child and family photographer & architect alethea cheng fitzpatrick is based in brooklyn. she specializes in baby photography as interior design & interior design for babies. view her portfolio of babies, children or families or send her an e-mail here!

Happy Mother's Day | Glimpses Week 19

2012-05-13T14:34:52Z

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

Thank you Liam and Jack for making me a mother.

To all of you mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Nutso for solids | Glimpses Week 18

2012-05-13T00:45:11Z

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

In the last few weeks, Jack has transformed from "still kind of a newborn" to "definitely not a newborn." In fact, he's become the quintessential "Gerber baby" - he's sitting (in a wobbly, propped up kind of fashion but still, sitting) and smiling and grabbing things and even starting to rotate and push backwards when you put him on his tummy.

He's out of our room and into a crib, mostly sleeping through the night, and we also started him on solids. He goes nutso for the solids! I thought the high chair might be a good place for him to hang out while I do things like prepare meals, feed Liam, eat and clean up, but once you put him in there, he expects to be fed! And pretty much doesn't want to stop until you take him out of there. This is his mouth open where's-the-spoon look I get all the time!

I must say, it's a nice change from Liam, who right now often needs to be cajoled into every mouthful. Mind you, he was more like Jack at Jack's age too, and ultimately, I'm glad they're both good eaters. I have lots of fond memories of trying different foods on Liam and I'm looking forward to doing the same with Jack!

Jack in the bumbo | Glimpses Week 17

2012-04-28T17:36:44Z

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

I figured it's high time Jack got a Glimpses blog entry... this is a true glimpse into our life right now, cluttered kitchen counters and all.

And yes, Jack is sitting in a bumbo on our kitchen table! Don't worry, he is closely supervised at all times, and no, this wasn't my idea!

Liam and the beam again | Glimpses Week 16

2012-04-21T03:50:00Z

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

With a three year old and a four month old, there can be a lot of drama leaving the house. Today was one of those days... but it was worth it.

(Remember the beam?)

Help, these people are crazy! (Jack)

2012-04-16T12:13:29Z

Well, I figure Jack needs a blog post too, right?!

Jack is... well, what can I say about Jack? It's amazing to think that we've added a whole entire person to our family just like that.

Of course, it wasn't exactly "just like that" but it does seem a little bit like all of a sudden he's here and just sort of good naturedly going with the flow. Except when he's mad. When he lets you know. Just like his brother (and his father).

Jack is that age now when he's really starting to communicate. Pay him a little bit of attention and he will more than likely reward you with smiles that make you feel like you're the Best Thing Ever. So often in photos though he has this look as though to say "help, these people are crazy!"

Cheeks, eyelashes, lips | Glimpses Week 15

2012-04-15T20:16:10Z

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

So my "maternity leave" is over... in so much as there ever was a maternity leave. Turns out giving an online workshop for 267 participants a month after having a second baby does not really constitute maternity leave. Who knew?!

Having a toddler, a baby and a business and figuring out how to juggle all three of these things (not to mention, husband, house and life in general) has definitely been a process, and is most definitely a work in progress. Some days it feels like I'm getting somewhere, other days it's overwhelming.

I always planned on scaling back on the time I spend on my business this year, but that has been easier said than done, especially as I still want to continue to not just maintain but grow the business. You might be wondering, how is that even possible? We shall find out!

One big step for me in the direction of making this possible has been hiring a Program Coordinator for Photosanity to handle all the administrative and technical aspects of the workshop, and we've been working on handing off and also automating as much of the behind the scenes work as possible (there's more than you would think). I'm also making some changes about how I offer the workshop and starting an alumni program for past participants - stay tuned for more details.

Finally, at least for right now, I'm holding off on booking portrait sessions, at least for the next few months. It's been hard to turn down inquiries, and I get tempted each time I get one, but I need to focus on the workshop and on spending the time that I want, while I can, with my babies. (As Liam likes to say "there are TWO babies!" even though he's really not a baby any more. We indulge him.)

One thing I am determined to do is to try and get a better handle on my own photosanity as far as keeping up with editing and sharing my own personal photos goes. To that end, I've decided to participate in the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.

This project resonated with me right away as the idea here is to motivate busy photographers to document and share the details of their own lives, one photo per week at a time, on their own blog. I share a lot of my iphone photos on facebook, but it's harder to find the time to sit at my computer and sort and edit my own DSLR photos. I'm hoping that the Glimpses 52 project will inspire me not just to share one photo a week but in the process, keep more up to date with my own editing.

I took this photo of Liam earlier this week and I love how it shows off those still chubby cheeks, the long eyelashes and sweet little lips. I look forward to sharing more photos weekly!

Valentine's Day - my first mommy homework assignment!

2012-02-15T18:48:56Z

I survived my first mom craft project!

This was Liam's first Valentine's Day in preschool and his class did a Valentine's Day card exchange. When I received the email letting us know that we were each to send in cards for all the other kids along with a tissue box for turning into a Valentine's mailbox, it felt like my first mommy homework assignment. Eek!

The key - how to do something cool and creative without going overboard and making it MY craft project. It had to be something that Liam could plausibly execute. What to do?!

When I came up with the idea of a custom stamp, I was pretty excited. Cool, custom, designed yet easy to do. I remembered that my friend Katie had been raving about a custom stamp she had made of her logo, so I contacted her and she directed me to Etsy store Cupcake Tree. Olga, the store owner, was very responsive and shipped me my order pretty much at the speed of light.

Liam doesn't usually talk much about what they get up to at preschool, but he was really excited about his Valentine's mailbox that they worked on all last week, and mentioned it several times. I have to admit that I wasn't sure how he was going to respond to our craft project (he can, after all, be a contrary toddler) but he jumped right into it and made about 10 cards pretty much by himself with only a little direction before he lost interest and I had to make the rest.

And I have to say it was pretty cool when he came home yesterday with his homemade (or schoolmade) mailbox brimming full of cards and excitedly opened and examined all of them.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day everyone - I hope you had a good one!

Happy Birthday Liam!

2012-02-13T04:00:00Z

Today was Liam’s third birthday. Three years ago today, Liam was born in the late afternoon via c-section and so began this amazing journey into parenthood and, as it turned out, into becoming a family photographer and teacher with my own business.

My in-laws hosted a small family get together yesterday to celebrate. My husband dressed Liam in a button down shirt, something he practically never wears, and the whole afternoon and evening I marveled at how big and grown-up and, let’s face it, adorable he looked in it. My big boy, my first baby, three years old. This past year he has become so much more confident, independent and verbal. He tells jokes, talks about what he dreamt about the previous night, bosses people around, negotiates with the best of them and has just the most hilarious take on things. Everyone kept calling him the birthday boy yesterday and he kept correcting them – “I’m Liam!”

Happy Birthday Liam!

Interview with photosanity mentor Sarah Severson

2012-01-25T00:36:32Z

Today's photosanity workshop interview is with Sarah Severson of Sarah Severson Photography. She will be mentoring the Chicago, IL group.

Sarah Severson (Chicago, IL)
Sarah Severson Photography
(also on facebook)
Based in Evanston, IL - just north of Chicago, Sarah has two rambunctious but sweet little boys, ages 4 1/2 and 3. She's been in business for three years and loves to photograph births, newborns, toddlers, older kids and families, and of course her own children as they grow. Sarah also offers one-on-one tutoring to help parents better use their DSLR and photo editing software.

1) How and why did you decide to become a professional photographer?

I'd always had an interest in photography and was the person at family events walking around, taking pictures of everyone. I really love capturing moments in time with still images. I majored in journalism in college and took a few classes related to photojournalism, and this further fueled my passion for photography. It wasn't until my husband finished graduate school though that I could afford to buy a DSLR and really dive in to learning the camera and the craft. I took classes, mentored with photographers that I admired, read a whole slew of books, studied and practiced like crazy. I have been in business for three years now.

2) How would you describe your style?

My style is clean, simple, and sweet. I lean toward being just a touch overexposed with a light, airy feel. I like taking a combination of posed as well as candid lifestyle shots.

3) What do you most enjoy photographing?

I have a special love for photographing newborns, but also enjoy the big milestone ages - toddlers are hilarious and a great challenge, families are a lot of fun. And photographing my own family of course ranks right up there!

4) Which is your favorite lens?

Hmmm it's hard to say just one! The lenses I use the most are Nikon's 50 f/1.4 and 24-70 f/2.8 lenses. But before I had those professional level lenses, I loved shooting with Nikon's 35 f/1.8 lens because it's a light prime that worked well indoors. Chicago winters can feel really long and it was nice to have a prime that I could use often in my house with my kids.

5) What have you most enjoyed about being a photosanity mentor so far?

It's so rewarding to see photosanity participants learn the material and run with it! I also love seeing the positive interactions between members of the group as they give great suggestions and positive feedback. It's a great community. I'm excited to work with this next session of workshop participants!

6) What is your favorite photography tip for parents?

Have your camera charged and ready! Upload and backup your pictures OFTEN and in multiple places (online and external hard drives)! Try to anticipate emotions or picture-worthy moments so you are ready with your camera when they happen. If you have a DSLR, invest in a camera bag that you enjoy carrying around with you so you'll bring your camera along when you go out.

7) Share three of your recent favorite photos (personal and/or professional) - why are they favorites?

The first is a beautiful newborn named Cate. She slept through the entire session and I love that she is so peaceful and sweet in this shot. The second was taken on a day in October the day before a big storm came through Chicago and blew off all of the gorgeous fall leaves, so I was really excited to do this session before it looked like winter. The family lives on this wonderful street with large old trees, so it was a great place for our photo session - they have their oldest child and then two sets of twins! The third is one of my absolute favorite pictures that I took of my boys at home - my 4-year-old son snuck my iPhone into the bathroom and the 2-year-old followed him in to watch him play (I think it was Angry Birds). I walked past the bathroom, saw what was happening and grabbed my camera really fast to capture this shot. Such a funny moment and sweet time of life!

8) Choose one photo from a fall 2011 participant that you particularly like and explain why.

I love this photo by Jessie Wixon because it so sweetly captures these little girls in their matching outfits and how they are so focused on making the right steps. Such a great photo.

Check out the photosanity website for more information on cities and mentors (and of course to sign up for the workshop if you are interested).