Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Baby Names

Maybe we should have named her Star.

I guess it's not surprising that as a baby photographer I would hear a lot of names in my work, but I'm still sometimes surprised. No, I haven't met any twins named Ima & Ura Hogg or any Tracy Junior Juniors. Usually I'm surprised with just how well-suited the names are to the children I meet.

Reading the recent Ohdeedoh article on hip 2010 baby naming trends, I'll have to say I breathed a sigh of relief when my daughter's name wasn't on the top 100. Maybe it's because I was one of 4 Kristins (aka Kristin D.) in my grade-school class. On the other hand, it's certainly not like when we were bandying about name ideas my husband and I wanted to make a name up or have it be so exotic it would either sound crazy with our last name or be impossible to spell.

Who knows why names become popular anyway? As much as I loved Freakonomics & their take on baby naming trends, there is sometimes just a cultural feeling in the air that makes certain names stick in your brain.

Turns out I may have let that sigh out too soon. Only after naming our daughter did the name scream out every time someone mentioned it. From Shakespeare (duh!) to LOST & Psyche & Taylor Swift & a movie premiering this month, suddenly Juliet is everywhere I turn. Luckily I've enjoyed most of these Juliets. In real life, they are coming out of the background too.

Just days ago I toured a local preschool where Jules may go a few mornings in the fall. First words out of the director's mouth? "Oh we have a Juliet in her class!" Well, there's no escaping your name - Juliet B. has a nice ring to it, right?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day!

Jules & I enjoy some "nature" on campus

Hope you are enjoying Earth Day 2010 with your little corner of nature. This year we may be more likely to explore the urban jungle but even in New York City we do our part. From Community Supported Agriculture to beekeeping to Safari 7, there's a surprising amount of wildlife here. Let's try to protect it for our kids too.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Newest Newborn: Isabella


Just days after she was born, Isabella's mom called me to set up a newborn photo shoot. Within the week I was there, taking photos of her tiny, sweet hands & feet. Her soft smiles and sleepy yawns.


And of course her big sister Victoria. 


Love the shots of her gazing up at her Mama.

The early days pass very quickly but luckily this family will have these photo to look back on and remember. Email me if your family would like newborn photos too.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

April Goals

 At least my dining table is in full bloom

Spring has sprung in New York City and it's been hard to stay motivated when all I want to do is run outside in a big field while cherry blossoms rain down and clouds roll by above. Or (even better) let my daughter run crazy for a bit at the local park and then meander home through Sunnyside Gardens's walkways between the tree-lined blocks. Neither really jives with all the computer-related goals for this month, but I'll try.

First a look back at last month's goals:

1. Focus on end of Bakery's Half-Dozen business course & organize all the material they provided - Done, I downloaded all the info and organized it, but need to review the work I've done and adjust my business plan.
2. Take photos for our local wine bar's website - Stopped by a few times (to drink, naturally) but haven't talked to the owner about a good time to shoot.
3. Reach out to people I admire to guest blog - have a few people interested, need to figure out what I'd like from them.
4. Blog ahead more - Somewhat done.
5. Schedule 4 in home shoot (one down already) - Only 2.
6. Enjoy my office work even if it triggers insane wanderlust - Really enjoying this project. Definitely focused on "day job."

Not bad, not great. But I will say that sometimes when starting something new - like my travel photo editing assignment - it can take away from original plans. And I subscribe to the practice of devoting effort towards paying work over less-/non-paying work.

On to April, I'm hoping now that I'm settled a bit more into this project, I can properly promote the baby photo business. One thing I learned from the Bakery course was making a business plan. Sparked by that, I made a big decision on pricing so I need to flesh that out.

April goals:


1. Finalize pricing changes (update site, facebook)
2. Contact past clients (assemble email list, write email detailing new pricing/return client discount)
3. Photograph wine bar
4. Pursue guest bloggers
5. Enjoy the outdoors

 Not too ambitious but with 30 hours a week in the office and a couple of photo shoot too (both baby and corporate) I think this is possible.

Friday, April 2, 2010

National Autism Day: Photos of Hope


Today is National Autism Day. Other than cheering on Yoko Ono as the new Worldwide Autism Ambassador by Autism Speaks, I'll be looking over some of the photos I took last autumn at the Brooklyn Autism Center. I loved spending time with the kids and their amazing teachers.


The BAC is running a terrific program with one-on-one teacher to student ratio. They use a variety of methods - music, art, trampoline and even horse therapy. If you know someone in the New York City whose child is on the spectrum and might benefit from that kind of attention, check them out.