10 on the 10th

 It was a good month. There were lots of visits from superheros who showed up to fight for freedom and wrestle the "bad guy" aka Daddy.

 

Man of Steel.

Man of Steel 2.0

There were epic battles won and lost and silent cheers of
adoration from Mommy seeing my boys delight in each
others company more and more.

 There were moments captured where they forgot about the camera I was holding and giggled at my antics to get them to smile and, for a minute, I was the funniest person in the world.

There were a few glorious days of sunshine with warm rays that kissed our cheeks, 

warmed our souls, covered our legs, hands and boots in mud and promised us a change in seasons is near.

 We spent every non-rain-filled moment outside doing this. 

He's 1 1/2 and scooting like a pro.

I also discovered that having two kids on wheels means I'm taking up running for a hobby. It's either that or I need to break out the trusty old roller blades. Yikes.

Fabulous Families

Today I flipped through all the different family photo shoots I did this past fall.

I grin at most, cringe at a few, and remind myself again that life isn't about perfection or comparison but about growth.

 I learned a lot about myself and my photography style this fall. 

Late fall sunlight is enchanting and addicting to the eye and camera. 

Large family photo shoots are challenging and require at least 10 times the amount of shots taken to ensure that you get at least one shot where everyone is looking remotely in the same direction.

 I learned that coming to a shoot armed with raisins, bubbles and Sophie the giraffe (for the squeak factor) is a sure fire win with most kids. On the subject of kids, including pets in a photo shoot is just like trying to get pictures of rambunctious toddlers, the only difference is one you can put on a leash and not have the pictures turn out weird. 

 

 Most importantly, I learned my process: Get to photo shoot location early, walk the grounds, find my spots of texture and light, take a deep breath and invite the Lord into every photo shoot knowing that not every picture will turn out but the ones that do I can be proud of.