Eggs & A Slice of Light - Fairbanks Documentary Photographer

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My daughter's preschool teacher recently gifted us a dozen homegrown eggs on what turned out to be a spectacularly sunny (and really chilly!) fall day.  Upon opening them, I saw they were a variety of sweet, muted pastel hues, and I couldn't resist the urge to take a quick photo in the bright sunlight.  That got Norah's interest, though, and as she came over to see what I was doing she began counting them, pointing out the different colors, and asking why they were different...and I "accidentally" made a photo essay about it.  (Hashtag, photographer problems.)  Seriously, though, you couldn't have planned a waldorf-inspired moment better if you'd tried!  We got to count, match, and talk all about chickens.  Every day since then, she's requested "pretty eggs" for breakfast and has painstakingly selected which two eggs she'd like from the pantone array of peach, ecru, pale turquoise, and almost-blue in the cardboard carton.

Picking up my camera and taking the time to indulge in personal work like this - documenting our everyday moments - has been so good for my soul.

Tiny House, Growing Family - Fairbanks Family Photographer

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It just snowed for the first time this winter yesterday.  So I'm still in the 'oh, snow, you're so pretty' phase of things, and it seemed like a good time to finally get some pretty winter sessions up on the blog!  

These faces are probably familiar to many - both Baylie and Bjorn grew up in Fairbanks and seem to know almost everyone, LOL!  And they became even more well-known on an entirely different scale when they joined the tiny living phenomenon about two years ago (yeah, this session is circa late 2014....oops).  

This sweet session shows them with their first tiny house, here in Fairbanks.  They've since moved on to warmer climes (Washington state) and bigger houses (... I think they gained something like 25 square feet in their new tiny, haha!), but this is a chapter in their journey that's definitely worth remembering.  

You can catch up with their adventures raising two (soon to be three!) kids in a tiny house on Baylie's blog, Tiny House Growing Family.  

"Getting Your Body Back" - Featured on For Every Mom

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My beautiful friend Robin (of the blog Grace Enough for Us) recently wrote a post about the unfortunate, unfair, and downright illogical cultural encouragement for new mothers to "get their bodies back," and in addressing this, she talked about one of the photographs I included in her birth story.  

And this week, her post - and my image - were published on the blog For Every Mom.  I highly recommend you check it out!  

A Morning with Kinderwoods Forest School - Fairbanks Childhood Photographer

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My middle-little, Norah, scored a spot in Kinderwoods Forest School this fall, and I'm so happy it's been her first preschool experience.  The whole thing is just so neat I feel like pinching myself.  Twice a week I drop her off and watch her and her small heard of 3 - 6 year-olds hike off into the wilderness (in the mildest sense of the word, haha!) for a few hours of adventuring, snacking, tea-drinking, and learning. 

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Kinderwoods is "designed to encourage creative play, problem solving skills, adventure, movement, and love of the natural world. The outdoors holds the potential to support these goals as well as promote healthy emotional, physical, social and cognitive development in a way that indoor environments cannot. Children thrive out of doors and their bodies and minds need to be there."  {From the Kinderwoods website.}  

And truly, the story of how it all began is just as fantastic.  Beth, the founder (and current teacher), wanted to enroll her little one in a Forest School-type program.  When she found there wasn't anything like it here in Fairbanks...she opened one herself.  Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched that she's one of my daughter's first role models.  

Beth was kind enough to let me tag along with the class one day near the end of the fall session to make a photo essay on the Day in the Life of a Forest School.  It was so. much. fun. to watch my daughter be her own little adventuring person among all her classmates.  All these tiny kids were absolutely dwarfed by this gigantic forest, and yet each and every one was eminently at home there - completely comfortable playing, eating, drinking (and even peeing!) there.  

Simply adorable.  

Perfect {PROFESSIONAL} Headshots, Round Two - Fairbanks Commercial Portrait Photographer

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Your LinkedIn profile.

Your Facebook Business Page.

Friday Introductions on Instagram.

Your blog byline.

When your essay or blog post is featured on another platform and you're asked for a bio.

The back of your First Friday postcards. 

When you're asked speak or present at a conference and need to submit a picture.

The 'About Me' page of your website.

....When your grandmother calls and says your holiday card was wonderful, the kids are so cute, but she'd also like to see what YOU look like these days.

These are all real-life, real-time examples of why you need a killer headshot in your pocket (and off your to-do list).  Especially for women, especially for small business owners, we're all about putting the best foot forward - but it can be too easy to neglect putting the best FACE forward.  

A selfie doesn't cut it.  A snapshot from a vacation you took ten years ago doesn't cut it.  And ANYTHING taken with a smartphone doesn't cut it.  You need a professional image.  

It's no fun to be in front of the camera, I know, but as I've written before, I feel strongly that it's important to take yourself and your business seriously and to emanate the confidence you bring to it - whether your field is artistic, leadership, scientific, or humanitarian.  

And on the subject of confidence (and confidence in front of the camera, and self-esteem): this is one instance where faking it till you make it really works.  You may be reticent to step in front of the lens, but do it anyway, and be confident that you're going to love how you look.  The Perfect Headshot events have been designed from the ground up to make something kind of unappealing (am I the only one who has flashbacks to school picture day whenever someone says 'headshot'?) into something fun, relaxing, and even a little bit luxe.  I love having a skilled makeup artist take over the prep work, and I love working with clients to achieve natural, poised, FLATTERING and authentic portraits.

I'm pretty pleased with the results of these headshots, which feature Brenda Riley, the executive director of the Fairbanks Children's Museum (and local hero!).  What do you think?

Give me a shout if you want a heads up (...had to do it!) before the next round of headshots - I'd love to see you there!

Alaska Family Health & Birth Center 2016 Fundraiser

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I put together a slideshow to run in the background during this year's Alaska Family Health & Birth Center's Fundraiser, pairing images I've taken of AFH&BC families over the years with the words of some of the families pictured.  I wanted to share it here just in case you suddenly found yourself hard up for a major hit of oxytocin.  Seriously, making it gave me the WORST baby fever.  AND I HAVE A BABY.  The struggle is real, people.  

Enjoy.  <3