I’m a Performer

I began acting and performing when I was about 5 years old. I loved to dance, sing, and get up on stage and pretend to be someone I wasn’t. Today, things are different. I don’t act, I don’t dance, and I don’t sing. At least not formally. But I still feel connected to the performer in me. When I look at pictures from when I was actively involved in the performing arts, that connection glows a little. The familiar feeling lives again.

To me, Acting, Singing, and Dancing are like old friends who I haven’t seen in a while. We’re still buddies, and I can’t wait to see them again. I think fondly of them – and I definitely know them well, even if it’s been a while. After all, knowing a person’s current events is not the same as knowing a person.

I think we all have “old friends” from our past that live within us, and it’s important to keep in touch with them. These old friends are our connection to the children in us. Performing is one of many ways that I am able to get in touch with that child inside me. Photography is another. By being in touch with my inner child, I create a joyful and fulfilling life. How do you connect with your inner child?

Cutting away the dead stuff

What is important to you? When you look at your life, what are the things that stand out? Do you have a lot of dead weight that you carry around?

I have a fuchsia plant hanging over my deck in the back of the house. It was a beautiful plant on mother’s day. Someone had given it everything it needed to thrive before I took it on.

I’ve been watering it faithfully, and even fertilizing it as the label instructed. But after a while, my enthusiasm waned, and I began to neglect it a bit. When I came back from my 12 days in the Midwest, the poor thing was all but dead. There were shriveled up leaves, brown stems, and overall dilapidation. It was thirsty, and I was distracted.

When things like this happen to a plant, the best way to handle it is to cut away the dead stuff. Let it put its energy into the healthy parts, so it can grow again. So, that’s what I did. Now, when I look out the window, I see a fuchsia that is bright and healthy, despite its lack of volume. It might not look the way it’s “supposed” to look, but it still communicates life and beauty.

We all know that more is not always better. In fact, sometimes more is a burden and can bring you down. I think our lives are like my fuchsia. We can create big, lovely, brilliant lives. And people might look at us in awe. But sometimes pieces will get neglected, and as they die, we need to cut them out. There are times when we lose track of the important things and get caught up in the little details, only to find ourselves in a tangle of dried out stems and leaves.

I believe when those times emerge, we need to cut away the dead stuff and go back to what’s important. Go back to the things that are bright and healthy, even if that means our lives have less volume and don’t attract so much attention. After all, what is important? It’s family, friends, community, and relationships. That other stuff is just extra fluff. It might be beautiful and awe-inspiring, but maybe that’s because it’s more than what we can really sustain. It’s sensational, so it makes people look. When it comes down to it, if we just prune it back to those few stems and nurture them, we will see that our lives are beautiful even when they’re simple. No volume needed.

What I Love About These Kids

These kids are so fun! They love adventure. They love to be silly. They live life without reservation. Their home allows them to live fully, and inspires me to bring that energy into my life. These kids are not self-conscious. They live big and true. They love to hate each other, and because they do that so well together, they love each other. Their life is colorful and adventurous, caring, in touch with nature, appreciative, and exciting. They experience a full range of emotions and experiences. They have compassion for animals, eagerness for excitement, and a taste for adventure. They just want to enjoy themselves – it’s as simple as that.

These kids represent freedom! They have room to run – both in their physical life and in their spirits. They don’t feel self-conscious because it doesn’t even cross their minds to think of it. They are living perfectly, in their inherent perfection. They serve as a wonderful example for all of us by saying or doing whatever moves them. And no matter what, it’s always just right.

The day we shot our photos it was wet and rainy. They didn’t care. Nothing can stop them from living out their true identities because they are so deeply in touch with themselves. They don’t need labels or expectations. They just are who they are. And it’s beautiful.

They are fun and happy kids, and their mom allows them to express themselves fully. She truly appreciates the qualities that make them so perfect. With such an understanding for who these children are, she feels the need to express their perfection – to amplify it and project it back to herself and to the world. These free spirits are an inspiration to all of us. When I look at these pictures, I literally feel their energy. It’s amazing that we can bring photos of little people around with us and find enlightenment and happiness in their images. It’s the miracle of life.

Tame Your *&%#in’ Camera Returns!

I’m running another pilot workshop to show you how to use your camera. Sign up and learn some photography basics so your camera can get out of the way and you can get great shots. Learn more here.

Happy Birthday to the Old Photographer!

Today is my birthday. I had the realization that now that I’m 35, I’m half-way to 70. I’ve been joking about it since yesterday, and then wham! My back went out this morning. I’m not completely debilitated, I can move around. But my motion is restricted, and I’m laughing at myself.

Last night I had a major case of the hiccups. I felt like a little kid, and it got to the point I was laughing about it quite a bit. I was sitting on the couch with nothing to do but listen to my hiccups (hubby was programming the new universal remote… bo-ring…), so I started to play on the couch like I used to when I was a kid. I sat up on my feet and leaned my head back until I was leaning way over the back of the couch. I got my hands to the ground, but I couldn’t quite manage to kick my feet over. I wanted to end up standing behind the couch. I found my way back up to sitting, and sat there laughing for a while. It was such fun, and woke up my muscle memory from childhood! Of course I had to do it again.

Eventually – after a few tries – I found my way over the back of the couch and made it to my feet. It was like I was a kid again – flipping over the couch, laughing, and just entertaining myself when there’s nothing better to do. So I did it a few more times. No way am I old, right?!

Well, this morning, I came out from my bedroom – a little more stiff-in-the-back than usual – and saw empty suitcases all over the living room floor from our trip to the Midwest last week. I decided by golly, it’s time to put these things away. They belong in the attic, so up I went. And as I twisted to put one of the suitcases in it’s place, my back began to yell at me. Bummer.

So that got me thinking. Am I really half-way to 70?  Maybe I am in the mathematical sense, but I’m certainly not “old.” I’m convinced my back is yelling at me because it was a little worn out after all of the back-couch-walkovers and crazy tricks yesterday. After all the fun I had, I’ve decided to do more of that fun stuff and just get my body used to it again. I won’t back down! I’m a kid at heart anyway. I’d say a reminder to stay fun and playful is an awesome birthday gift! Happy Birthday, Me!

What have you done to make you feel like a kid again? Type your comment below!

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Sometimes kids love me for no particular reason. Like the time last week when I went to the zoo, there was a cute little boy at the meerkat exhibit who couldn’t get enough of me. He pointed at countless pictures of meerkats, apparently just to hear me say they were meerkats. Then, when his mom took him away to look at the animals, he just kept smiling and staring at me instead!

Other times, kids don’t want anything to do with me. I had a session in April where the little boy was happy to be there, but every time he saw me he whined and fussed. He would give me nasty looks and run to mom or dad when he saw me coming. It was a challenging session, but it just meant we had to allow space and time for some good pictures to emerge.

I’ve found over the years that getting honest pictures of children has little to do with whether or not they like me. And the same is true for you.

When you photograph a child, look for things that interest them. Do they linger when they see animals? Do they run to smell the flowers? Maybe it’s mom or dad that they can’t get enough of – or running up and down a hill! Whatever it is, notice it. Then use it to engage them. That thing you’ve noticed is the key to the essence that glows inside. When you let a child lead the way, you see typical moments. There is truth in what’s typical.

When you photograph this way, those who see what you create will feel the sparkle of life in your images. There is an element of patience involved in creating portraits; especially with children. I’ve developed my skill for capturing honest moments through many years of practice. I started working with kids when I was still a kid myself. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a kid to learn to see the sparkle. I often know I’ve found it when I feel a wave of “cute” through my body and I can hardly keep from laughing. It’s joy in its purest form.

Do you have a comment? Please share!

The Fright Fest Kitty

A while back, I worked at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. I was employed there for six weeks or so, during Fright Fest; a Halloween festivity that the park has put on for many years. When I first auditioned for the job, I fully expected to be cast as an un-dead version of myself. I thought I would be creepy and scary, and maybe even part of the infamous haunted house attraction. I would frighten countless poor souls that Halloween season!

But instead of being cast as a ghost, a ghoul, or some kind of eerie monster, the directors chose me to be a cute orange cat in the children’s section of the park.

Meh…

I was disappointed. I knew I was good with kids (having babysat and taught dance lessons, among other things), but I was fresh out of college and I wanted to do Something Big. Something Bold. Something Unexpected. A cute orange kitty in a children’s play area hardly lived up to the dream!

I spent countless hours each weekend that season crawling through the obstacle course, collecting balls, “licking” my fur, and saying “meow”. It was fun, but from my perspective at the time, not special.

On the last Sunday of Fright Fest, however, things changed. A little girl walked in with her mother; a big smile on her face. She had a picture of herself with me – the friendly orange cat – and she had come to give it to me so I could remember the fun times we had that October. Suddenly it became clear. When I looked at that picture, I knew that I had, in fact, done Something Big, Bold, and Unexpected. As a cute little orange cat, I touched a child’s life. Perhaps she still looks at the pictures from that year’s Fright Fest and thinks of me. Clearly, I still think of her. And it’s all because of a little photograph. How cool is that?

Tame Your BLEEPIN’ Camera

Remember when I said I’d be doing a workshop to help you figure out your camera? Well, the time has come! June 11th is the big day. Check this out for more info.

A Girl From Long Ago

I remember a little girl I photographed when I was working for a mall portrait studio. She was so cute, with her hair in little braids, and wearing a plain white, sleeveless shirt. She was extremely shy, and didn’t really want to be in the spotlight. I think she was about 3 years old.

Her mother was quite upset because she had waited 20 minutes or so for her session to start – our studio was very busy that day. Every time the little girl looked away from me, her mother would scold her sternly in an attempt to make her cooperate. Of course, feeling the frustration from her mom, the little girl started to cry. She didn’t want her mom to be mad at her!

This continued for a while, and the more the girl cried, the more upset the mom became. And then, of course the girl cried more. And so on.

About 10 minutes into our session, I went to the mother and asked her to step outside of our portrait room so I could try working with the little girl without distractions. She agreed, and as soon as the mom was gone, the girl began to settle down.

I didn’t have much time left to take pictures, as more clients were waiting, but I’ll never forget the great shot I took in that session. The little girl was still feeling shy, and started holding onto her braids. Her hands were up near her head, she was turned to the side, and peeking at me with her eyes. She cracked a smile, and SNAP! I got it.

Mere minutes after desperate tears had been flowing, I got a photo that I would always remember as one of my best (I wish I could show it to you, but I was working for a large studio and the rights to the photo don’t belong to me). Kids are truly amazing and inspirational. They are so skilled at living in the moment. This is something we can all learn from them.

That session happened over 10 years ago. I never saw the girl again. I wonder what she is like now, as a teenager. Maybe she’s still shy, and maybe she still feels pressure from her mother. But I hope she still has the resilience that allows her to let her spirit shine through, even in the midst of a challenge. And I’m so glad her family has that moment captured so they can savor those times that are so far behind us now. That’s what it’s all about.

Father’s Day is On Its Way

So I know it’s only April, and it seems really early to think about Father’s Day. Okay, so you still have time. I admit it. But…

What better idea could there be than to Celebrate Life with unique custom portraits of your child for Dad’s big day? Not only will you make him happy, but you’ll have a beautiful memory for the whole family to play with for years to come! How cool!

Hop on over to my Father’s Day page, and register for the event. You’ll get first picks on your favorite appointment time, and save $10 if you register by May 9th!