Slowing down and getting in the picture | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I'm a recovering multitasker and wannabe perfectionist.  I am always making lists and always trying to squeeze in a task to check off my to do list. And though I hear the words "present" and "mindful" more than enough, I'm still learning to slow down and really understand what they mean to me. 

I struggle often with finding a place between doing all the things that make life happen and slowing down to enjoy the moments that make life worth living. I question the necessity of tasks more often, but I still get caught up in the hamster wheel. 

I write this because even though the very act of setting my camera and remote up to take these images made me a little less present in the moment, I want these moments to be the ones I remember when my kids are grown and gone. I want to remember taking the time to stop and giggle even though there's piles of laundry that need to be put away. I want to remember welcoming my oldest son into bed with his younger brother, rather than losing my patience with him for interrupting naptime. 

I fall short of my aspirations all the time. But I find the more of these moments that I have - moments where I'm not focused on all the things, just the people in front of me - the pressure and anxiety to be perfect slip away and I catch glimpses of those oft extolled benefits of presence and mindfulness and remember that none of those other things really matter. The things that really matter are the people right there in front of me and they need me more than neatly folded laundry. 

I've found a lot of inspirations in audiobooks from the library recently.  One of the ones I've really enjoyed is Hands Free Mama.  If you're looking for inspiration to slow down, you'll find plenty here.

This post is part of a collaborative documentary photography blog circle called Around Our Clocks. We're documenting a day in our life over the course of one year.  This month was 11am. Continue the circle by visiting Heather Tully to see her June image.

Nicole Sanchez Photography works with busy parents in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland to create stress-free photo sessions that take all the loving, fun, and chaotic moments of family life to make beautiful photos and films that families will love looking at year after year. Contact me today to start planning a custom photography experience that's perfect for your family.

Around Our Clocks - 9am | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

Have I mentioned how glad I am that it's summer in Northern Virginia? The first few months of this year were a little rough for us (figuring out the best learning environment for our oldest), but we're doing much better now. Perhaps not least because we can just head outside and play in the dirt when tensions start running high.

Perhaps you've heard the adage that children are our greatest teachers? Some days I think I must have more to learn than most. I've heard this saying dozens of times since having my first kid, but it has never had much meaning for me until this year.  I guess I thought that lessons from children must be easy or obvious.  But this year's lessons haven't at all been a passive acceptance of simple concepts - for me, at least.  Though perhaps simple in retrospect, I've found in them all kinds of emotional baggage and more personal faults, shortcomings, and mistakes than I was interested in knowing about.  On my good days, I also realize I've found more acceptance, patience, and love - for myself and my family.

This sh*t is hard.  And if you're ever feeling like you're the only one who feels that way, know you're not alone.  My social media feeds are filled with beautiful images and sweet moments (ahem, like the ones here).  These are often my favorite ones to post in my own feed because sometimes I'm surprised that even in the midst of a chaotic day, sprinkled with meltdowns, pleading, or yelling (from all parties) - even on those days - we can still have moments like this. Because as imperfect as I am and as often as I fall short, my boys are wonderful examples of what it means to forgive, move on, and be utterly present in this moment of life. 

If you find yourself in need of parenting inspiration, I can't recommend enough the Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids resources.

This post is part of a collaborative documentary photography blog circle called Around Our Clocks. We're documenting a day in our life over the course of one year.  This month was 9am. Continue the circle by visiting Heather Tully to see her May image.

Nicole Sanchez Photography works with busy parents in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland to create stress-free photo sessions that take all the loving, fun, and chaotic moments of family life to make beautiful photos and films that families will love looking at year after year.  Contact me today to start planning a custom photography experience that's perfect for your family.

Around Our Clocks - 4pm | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

These two guys have so much fun together.  It's a joy to watch.  We have a lot of open parks and green space in Northern Virginia and one of our favorite things to do is explore new places.  This one just happens to be down the road from our day care near Mount Vernon.  We were playing in the field and noticed this GIANT praying mantis.  Luckily, I had my camera. ;-)

This post is part of a collaborative documentary photography blog circle called Around Our Clocks. We're documenting a day in our life over the course of one year.  This month was 1pm and it's our last month! I can't believe we've completed the year. Continue the circle by visiting Camille Arner to see her September image and stayed tuned for an update on what direction the circle will take next.

Storytellers' Circle September | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

One of my favorite things about documentary family photography is the challenge of telling a story through pictures.  Ideally, the viewer should be able to look at the picture and understand what is taking place and be moved to some emotion.  I love cute pictures of my kids (just check out my Instagram feed!), but my favorite images, and I feel my best images, are the ones I have to work hard for.  A great picture is the result of multiple decisions made by the photographer about how to best show the scene they see and tell the story in a way that emotionally connects with the viewer.  This challenge is what keeps me pulling out my camera on an almost daily basis.

This post is part of the Storytellers blog circle, a group of documentary family photographers from all over the world, who come together monthly to post one image and explain the choices they made that take it from a simple snapshot to more profound storytelling. Continue the circle by checking out Jen Lucas's September image.

I'm sharing one of my favorite recent images today. I love it for several reasons. I'm in it, for one. When one parent is the primary family photographer, they are usually the one least seen in photos. My husband will takes over the camera whenever I ask him, and I do occasionally, but I also love the challenge of a self-portrait with my kids. This one is all the more dear because it shows something about each of their personalities. My oldest's unbounded energy and enthusiasm and my youngest's quiet curiosity.

When I'm considering making an image, I have three key elements in mind: light, composition, and moment.

Composition - In this case, composition was my first consideration. I wanted a wide shot that showed as much of the room as possible. After setting up my tripod, I used the windows and the walls to create a frame for the action.

Moment - My youngest son and I were relatively stationary. I have several sweet shots of the two of us reading and playing on the mattress. But this one is my favorite because of the element of interruption from my eldest. He's mid-stride, both feet suspended in the air and my younger son and I are both turned to watch him, smiling.

Light - While the light is important here, it is a typical light for me. I can rely on the afternoon light coming through these windows and shoot here often for that reason. I love how it catches my son's body and brings my eye to the action first before other elements in the scene.

What would make this image more successful? Part of improving the skill of making storytelling images is noticing what could be better and factoring that into future situations. Here, while I chose a narrow aperture to account for our movement within the frame, we're still not quite in focus. Focus for self-portraits can be a bit hit-or-miss, so choosing a narrow aperture, when possible, helps make missed focus less obvious.

I look forward to sharing more of my process behind making storytelling images next month!

Want to learn how to document your own family's day-to-day?  Check out 4 Steps to Stop Time and Savor the Moment with Your Family.  It's a simple and fun guide to documenting your family's life with beautiful photographs.

Around Our Clocks - 1pm | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I fudged a little this month. This image was taken mid-afternoon, so not quite 1pm, but I'm going with it. :-) It's been a busy month and the more mobile my youngest gets, the harder I find it to bring out my camera. I don't remember where he was when I took this picture, but I couldn't pass up the quiet moment my husband and oldest son were having and sharing with our dog. This is often the scene in our house. Well, the messy part, at least. The quiet part, not so much. And sometimes it comes with a side of screen time.

This post is part of a collaborative documentary photography blog circle called Around Our Clocks. We're documenting a day in our life over the course of one year.  This month was 1pm.  Continue the circle by visiting Megan Nesom to see her August image.

Around Our Clocks - 7am | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

We took a break from Northern Virginia this month to meet up with family in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe for vacation.  I do not recommend Vegas for little kids, by the way.  It was fun, but a little too much stimulation for the boys.  We were there for just a few days and I enjoyed my morning ritual with this little guy.  He was up between 5 and 6am every morning (!) and we'd head down to the Starbucks in the hotel for breakfast.  Coffee (iced, preferably) is a necessity for this mama.  Thankfully, my parents are early birds too, so they usually caught up with us around 7am.  Casinos are pretty slow this early in the morning so we generally had Starbucks all to ourselves.  My Dad's not much of a baby guy, so I'm grateful to have these of the two of them. <3

This post is part of a collaborative documentary photography blog circle called Around Our Clocks. We're documenting a day in our life over the course of one year.  This month was 7am.  Continue the circle by visiting Heather Tully Photography to see her April image.

Want to learn how to document your own family's day-to-day?  Check out 4 Steps to Stop Time and Savor the Moment with Your Family.  It's a simple and fun guide to documenting your family's life with beautiful photographs.

Around Our Clocks - 2pm | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

Warmer weather in Northern Virginia has us out of the house more frequently,  And an increasingly mobile baby makes it more challenging to break out my camera lately.  So I took advantage of some one-on-one time with my oldest son for a recent dental appointment which coincided nicely with the 2pm theme for this month's Around Our Clocks blog circle.

Continue the circle by visiting Camille Arner, Family Photographer in Park Slope, Brooklyn, to see her May image.

Storytellers' Circle - May | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

One of my favorite things about documentary family photography is the challenge of telling a story through pictures.  Ideally, the viewer should be able to look at the picture and understand what is taking place and/or be moved to some emotion.  I love cute pictures of my kids (just check out my Instagram feed!), but my favorite images, and I feel my best images, are the ones I have to work hard for.  A great picture is the result of multiple decisions made by the photographer about how to best show the scene they see and tell the story in a way that emotionally connects with the viewer.  This challenge is what keeps me pulling out my camera on an almost daily basis.

This post is part of the Storytellers blog circle, a group of documentary family photographers from all over the world, who come together monthly to post one image and explain the choices they made that take it from a simple snapshot to more profound storytelling. Continue the circle by checking out Rebecca Hunnicut Farren’s May image.

There's a short period in babyhood (aren't they all short periods?), where you can plop a baby down with minimal interference (and a few toys or pots and pans) and he'll entertain himself for some time. This times comes when he's safely sitting up on his own but hasn't quite learned that he can go places with those little legs and arms. This picture is that time. In pretty light. 😁

When I'm considering making an image, I have three key elements in mind: light, composition, and moment.

Light - I love the afternoon light that comes through our front windows. It casts beautiful shapes on the floor that stretch and very in intensity as the sun sets. I exposed for those highlights here, resulting in deep shadows around the rest of the frame. This technique is useful to minimize any clutter that's lying around your subject. Always a hazard with kids in the house.

Composition - I stood on my tippy toes to shoot from this perspective. I knew I was shooting for deep contrast and I wanted to incorporate the patterns on the rug to add visual interest. I also used the lines of the light/shadow to lead to my subject.

Moment - Once I was positioned, I only had time for a few frames before my son crawled away. This one was my favorite because it shows movement and I love how his hand and legs are touched by the light.

What would make this image more successful? Part of improving the skill of making storytelling images is noticing what could be better and factoring that into future situations.  In this case, I would have liked to bring in a chair so I could get higher and shoot directly down. Or alternately, I would have liked to see more of his face as part of this moment.

I look forward to sharing more of my process behind making storytelling images next month!

Want to learn how to document your family's everyday?  Check out 4 Steps to Stop Time and Savor the Moment with Your Family.  It's a simple and fun guide to documenting your family's life with beautiful photographs.

Around Our Clocks - 11am | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

Every month, I seem to comment about how back and forth the weather has been in Northern Virginia. April was more of the same, though fewer cool days mixed in with the warm. For our April Around Our Clocks blog circle, we documented 11am.

Swimming has taken over our Saturday mornings lately. Even the baby is taking lessons at our local Fairfax County RECenter. :-) Both boys love the water.  The baby is a big splasher and my older son is quicky growing more confident swimming. It's so much fun watching him play with my husband after his lesson.

Continue the circle by visiting Heather Tully Photography to see her April image.