The other day a friend came over to visit with her 6-month-old baby boy (that’s him above, except now he’s bigger). He slept a lot of the time he was here, but when he woke up, he got right down to the task of being extremely active. With a little adult assistance, he did non-stop sit-ups, squats, and even planks as we held him high in the air. Of course, being a baby, he did all of this with a smile on his face, and countless squeals of delight (babies are awesome)!

That same day was my dog’s birthday (that’s her above, too – isn’t she cute?). She turned 10 years old. They tell me she is officially a senior citizen now; 65-70 in “dog years.” But come to my house and watch how she wiggles when she’s excited, barks when she’s hungry, and chases & chews on toys when she’s feeling playful – you’d never know she’s an old lady. Heidi still has that vim and vigor that we all hope to be blessed with.

I’m reading a book that my doctor recommended: Younger Next Year, by Chris Crowley and Harry Lodge. It talks about aging and how what we think of as aging in America isn’t really aging at all. The sluggishness, the aches and pains, and the gradual onset of problems like high cholesterol are symptoms of an un-natural lifestyle, not age. Our bodies aren’t designed to sit in front of a computer or relax in front of a TV, or even drive a car for long periods of time. Even with our plentiful food and shelter, our bodies interpret our inactivity as a sign that times are bad, and we gradually decay. The lifestyle has become so commonplace that we’ve begun to associate the downhill progression with age – but the only thing truly caused by the passage of time is saggy skin and grey hair! If we change our behavior and create an active lifestyle for ourselves, our bodies follow suit by generating dense bones, strong muscles, pain-free movement, and a general optimism in our mood.

Since I started reading this book, I’ve been looking at my life with a new perspective. I noticed the active baby, and wondered why I don’t allow myself to wiggle and bounce when I’m feeling peppy. I also began to wonder if perhaps my dog is still full of life because she spends lots of time outside each day, chasing squirrels and sniffing around for food and critters. Since she still has a connection to nature, her body continues to replenish itself and stay strong. I’ve recently been doing some physical therapy for intermittent and chronic back pain. Doing the exercises each day brings about a deep feeling of satisfaction, and I am easily observing the changes it is creating. It’s making me want to be playful again! There are numerous examples out there, and I’m noticing them every day.

All of this highlights my appreciation for children as examples of how to live our lives as adults. Kids are still connected to their natural state of growth. They run around and move their bodies every single day. They play games and do active things constantly – often until we adults pull them away and tell them they have to stop. They squirm in their chairs, and they get up from their seats at dinner. Their bodies are growing at a rapid pace, and physical movement is a direct partner in this process!

Once again, I say let’s look to children for inspiration! When we behave youthfully, our bodies respond by being youthful. These are amazing machines we each possess. Let’s act like kids. Let’s play games, let’s ride our bikes, and let’s head outside in the cold if the sun is shining! Not only is it fun, but it does the world a lot of good.

How do you live your life youthfully? Do you look to kids for inspiration too? Please comment!

image credit: designreviver.com

Did you know that Photoshop could do this to someone? The changes people make in photographs can be truly profound. Commercial photography lives and breathes by this type of manipulation. I think it’s quite sad.

I saw a post on facebook yesterday from a teenage girl who was comparing herself to the Victoria’s Secret models.

here they are... (image credit: stips.com)

Really?

From a photographer’s perspective, okay, sure they’re pretty girls. But honestly, every girl & woman I’ve ever photographed has been pretty. And they don’t need Photoshop alterations to prove it. Here are the things I can see that has been done to ensure these VS models look as commercially appealing (ie. fake) as possible:

- These women have been airbrushed from head to toe, no question about it. They’re so smooth and shiny!

- They’re all wearing high heel strappy sandals to minimize the broken up lines that regular shoes would create (makes legs look longer).

- They’re all posed with straight or nearly straight legs. This enhances the lines and helps their legs look longer.

- They’re photographed from about hip or waist height. Not only does this bring your eyes to the bikini zone (is this really necessary?), but it makes the women look tall and powerful.

- They’re lit with glamorous lighting, making their eyelashes look fuller and their features more striking.

- The image is cropped so that they’re almost too tall for the frame they’re in! Okay, we get it: they’re tall.

And this list was just a quick brainstorm. I’m pretty certain they were put together in the same picture using Photoshop as well, so this scene of all of these nearly naked women practically bumping into each other is purely fictional. And who’s to say which parts of their bodies have been digitally altered. I don’t have a “before” picture, so it’s tough to say – there are some pretty skilled digital artists out there.

Now, how about this one?

Penelope Cruz enhanced (image borrowed form Distractions of Lola blog)

Does she really need enhanced breasts, a smaller waist & wider hips? Isn’t she beautiful already? Fine, get the hair out of her face and brighten up the lighting. I don’t mind that so much. But the rest gives people the false impression that beautiful isn’t good enough.

The very first before & after image above (the sweet young girl) is the most disturbing to me. The poor girl in that photograph has been told through this picture that she’s not okay the way she is. I think she’s truly beautiful in the “before” image. But whoever did the manipulation has ever-so-rudely implied that she would be better off with an entirely different face.

How about this one:

Ralph Lauren made the super-skinny even skinnier (image borrowed from thedemoiselles.com)

Or this one:

From skinny to skeleton (image borrowed from annahmarzia.blogspot.com)

But wait – there’s more!

Are sex & skinny pills really what we care about? Isn't her arm already thin enough?

This is not for me. I will not participate in this hogwash.

I photograph people as they are. My purpose is to celebrate the beauty and elegance of life that surrounds us each and every day.

My tagline, “Your kids as you see them” refers to making portraits of children just the way they really are – the way you see them. I’m not interested in some made up ideal that’s not even worth aspiring to. I look for people’s authentic identity and strive to highlight that in their pictures.

When people manipulate images so blatantly, they are not only lying about what is real and wonderful about our world, but they are also insulting the person in the picture and significantly damaging our society’s mental health.

During the frenzy of Christmas shopping that goes on this time of year, I hope we can all make an effort to return our attention to what’s real, and keep in mind the things that are important. Let’s not get caught up in the insanity of unreasonable ideals and so-called perfection.

Having lived the first 31 years of my life in Illinois, I was quickly brought to tears by this image. I could deeply relate to the feeling of longing for those places, and the people who live there. While we have a nice home here, and we’ve made a lot of friends since we moved, there really is, as Dorothy would say, “no place like home.”

With Thanksgiving upon us, I began to wonder how I could look at this simple little drawing and be thankful for our life as it is today. It would be easy to get caught up in the sadness and the longing for something I can’t have. But this holiday is for being thankful. It is meant to bring joy as the weather turns cold and dark.

I’m thankful for our move to Seattle because it has helped me appreciate the true meaning of family. We all get frustrated with our families, and we often can’t help but take them for granted. I won’t be taking my family for granted any time soon.

I’m thankful that I get the opportunity to go to the Midwest often, so I can continue to know my family, as well as my true home.

I’m thankful that my children recognize the importance of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Being far away highlights that for them like nothing else can.

I’m thankful for my friends here in Seattle who acknowledge my longing for another place, and help me feel at home here anyway.

I’m thankful for our neighbors who are friendly and supportive.

Moving to Seattle has been a Grand Adventure. I never could have known what I would experience here. Whatever the future may bring for me and my family, one thing is for sure: I am grateful for my experience here in the beautiful Northwest. I have gained a new perspective on life and relationships, and found unexpected learning and growth. These lessons are uniquely credited to this crazy place we live in.

How many times have you planned to do everything just right for the holidays, and then ended up taking shortcuts to fit it all in? Perhaps you feel that family is all we can really count on, and the Holiday season is the time to show your love, affection, and appreciation. But how can you do that if you have a “to-do” list longer than Rapunzel’s hair? Things are already piling up, and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!

Imagine if a few clicks of your mouse could make a box full of thoughtful gifts and holiday cards show up on your doorstep.

I’ve struggled with buying gifts every year since I can remember. Countless times, I’ve ventured off to the mall with the intent to complete all of my gift shopping that day. Inevitably I leave empty-handed, unable to find suitable gifts. Either I’m shopping for the person who has everything, or the things I find just aren’t very meaningful. It’s frustrating and time-consuming.

That’s why I’ve put together my 2011 Holiday Gift Store.

This fall, you can purchase personalized gifts and cards for the holidays using pictures that you’ve already had taken in 2011! Not only do you get to capitalize on work you’ve already done (no need to set up a fall portrait session), but you also get a serious print discount, and access to special gift items that aren’t normally offered. You will get:

· An online gallery of your 2011 portraits
· Discounted pricing of up to 40% off
· A rare opportunity to purchase several gift items
· Easy and safe shopping from your computer
· Meaningful gifts for your loved ones in time for your celebration
· Items delivered to your doorstep – or even right to the gift recipient’s home!

As a special bonus, if you purchase gifts from my store before December 1, 2011, you will receive a free DVD slideshow from your session!

Don’t want any photo gifts?

Of course, you don’t have to buy anything at all. You’re welcome to just log in and view your photos online again because you want to. Pictures are for looking at, after all!

A word about re-prints

The 2011 Holiday Gift Store will be your only opportunity to purchase prints from your 2011 session without a re-print fee. So if you’ve been wishing you had gotten one more 5×7 for your desk at work, or an extra 8×10 for Aunt Bessie, now is a great time to do it!

Get out from under the pressure

There’s no need for your “to-do” list to get out of control. You can get fun and thoughtful gifts without a single trip to the mall. Get your shopping done easily and early. Here’s what you need to do:

· Go to www.laragrauer.com
· Click on “access your gallery”
· Choose your gallery and start shopping!

This offer is only available for a limited time

The 2011 Holiday Gift Store will expire at midnight on December 7, 2011. Wouldn’t it be great to avoid the feeling of overwhelm, and have so much of your Christmas shopping done with weeks to spare? Head over to your gallery now and start shopping.

Remember: if you make a purchase before December 1, 2011, you’ll receive a free DVD slideshow from your session!

It’s November! Join me in sharing with the world all the things you’re thankful for! Please add your comments below, or on the YouTube page.

Why do we fall into the habit of putting pressure on ourselves? Is it really all that important that these things we hold in such high regard happen on time? When you boil it down, what’s really going to happen if your tasks are not completed?

I found myself in a frenzy of stress and pressure when the calendar flipped to October last month. I was in the midst of back-to-school adjustments, resolved to exercise early in the morning a few times a week, and wanting to really push forward with work now that the kids weren’t home all day long. My calendar was booked solid, with barely enough time left for me to sleep and brush my teeth.

Then, one morning, as I woke up in the dark and started to get ready for my activity-filled day, it dawned on me that I’m the only one in the house who is awake. I asked myself why? What was it that I cared so much about that I would deprive myself of basic needs like rest and enjoyment? I thought about this for a couple of days, and do you know what the ultimate answer was?

Nothing.

There was nothing compelling me to work so hard. The only thing really at stake for me was my sanity and my relationship with my family. But the problem was, all the effort I was expending was working directly in opposition to what mattered. So it was time to re-think my commitments and to re-adjust my routines.

I sat down to write out all of the commitments I had agreed to, and the responsibilities associated with each one. Then I decided exactly what I needed to do in order to fulfill my obligations sufficiently. After reviewing my list, I realized that to follow through on the commitments I had made, all I needed was about 3 hours per week. That’s it.

So why was I so swamped?

It turns out, I was forgetting to maintain my focus on my own well-being. I was allowing other people’s wants and needs to come before my own, and as a result, I was unable to help or serve anyone very well at all. This is a lesson I’ve learned many times, as I’m sure many others have learned too. Now – as the holidays approach – is a great time to notice whether you are focused on your needs, or the needs of others. Make plans for relaxation and play this season, so you can live a lifestyle that will support and nourish you. Then the efforts you give to others will be magnified and appreciated so much more.

As school has come back into session, I’ve noticed that the teachers are asking the kids to take part in setting the ground rules. I love this idea. I think we can all remember as kids what it felt like to be “bossed around,” and to not be in control of our lives. I can’t say those times were fun for me. It even made me want to misbehave because I wanted to have a say in how I would live my life.

I’ve taken that notion forward with me into adulthood. I find that people of all ages, everywhere, want to feel like they’re in control. I’ve learned to make my goals known, and let people figure out how they might be able to help me reach them. This is one of the ways I’ve been able to have so much fun with kids in photography. I let them know that I have plans to take their picture, and I ask them to help me come up with a way for us both to have fun in the process.

I remember during one session, a little boy I was working with decided he wanted to go to the basement of his house. I could tell he was trying to be difficult because he didn’t really want to have his picture taken. His mom and I had planned on outdoor pictures, but there was time to be flexible with him, so I decided to go with it and give him some control. I asked him what was in the basement, and discovered that it was full of toys. So, I grabbed a light, followed him down the stairs, and lo and behold we came out of that basement with some of my favorite pictures from that year! Later, we had a chance to head out to their back yard for more pictures, and everyone was happy.

Listening to children and giving them a little bit of control can be a great way to get them to relax and share their spirit with you. Do this when your camera is out, and the difference in your pictures will really shine through.

Einstein time. What is it? I read in a book (The Big Leap, by Guy Hendricks) about an idea called Einstein time. It’s based on the concept that time is what we make it. The Newtonian explanation of time assumes that it is linear and constant, ticking by endlessly, without regard to anyone or anything. However, we have all experienced situations where time dragged on endlessly, or time flew by so quickly that we hardly knew it had gone. Is this just a feeling, or is it really time changing its speed?

When we tie ourselves to the clock, and focus on its ticking, then there never seems to be enough time in the day to get things done. But when we focus on our activity, not worrying about how much time has passed on the clock, it’s amazing what we can accomplish in just a short interval of measured time.

If you are engaged in life, enjoying what you are doing, yes the time flies by. But even so, there is plenty of time available to complete the project you are working on. When you disengage, and wish the time away, it takes seemingly forever for only a few minutes to pass. If you work on projects with this mindset, it’s nearly impossible to get anything done, and simple things can drag on incessantly.

I don’t have an explanation for this that I can put into words, but I do know that when I consciously engage, time does open up for me. I think this is another thing in life that we can learn from children. Kids always have time for a snack. They always have time to smell the flowers. They have time to tend to boo-boos, time to hug their moms, time to sleep for hours on end. Kids have time to do it all because they don’t care what time it is on the clock.

It can be difficult to put this into practice because schedules and appointment times are part of life in our culture. My goal is to be like a child, and do meaningful things between scheduled events. It’s not always easy to make it happen, but the stress it relieves and the openness it creates makes working on it very worthwhile.

How can you learn from the children in your life, or the child within you? Share your thoughts in the comments.