Southern California photographer + mom blogger Ashley documents her personal + work life, both full of little people, big events and fabulous amounts of fun. She and her husband have 4 adorable children and are in the process of
Ashley is a winner of Top 25 Photographer Moms - 2012
What's your favorite subject to photograph, besides your kids?
I can't help but love everything about weddings! So much so, that I've mainly only been doing weddings for the whole of 2012. I love my brides! Getting to know them and chatting as we work up to the wedding day. Then I love the suspense of the actual wedding day, especially the first look, and being the first to photography the couple as Husband + Wife.
Which camera do you usually use?
For Digital I use a Canon EOS 5d Mark II. With film it's a Canon 1v. (I like to joke that they are my 5th & 6th children. That's how much I stinking love them.)
What's a creative way to display photographs?
I'm sort of traditional as far as photo displays go! I especially love old fashioned, eclectic picture walls and high gloss frames. I focus on the actual images being unique, so that when displayed it makes even the most classic of space "creative".
I make this recipe for all my company and have made many a new quinoa fan! I use organic ingredients, but you can choose which you’d prefer. While i ... More Details »
Good Stroller & Carseat! I looked at safety ratings first and foremost, and then chose the most comfortable & chic items out of those. I LOVE all of them, so do my kids, and they have held up and look brand new even 2 years later.
I think there are a lot of variables to this question that make it hard to give a answer that fits every child. I have 4 kids, and each with a different personality. My eldest was so intelligent and independent, that by 18 months I could explain that he needed to plan alone in his room and he did great! However, my next 3 kids, not so much. The problem is that they get in trouble together - with 4 they are never without an accomplice! Even at that, by the time they are about 2 1/2 to 3, I think they have all been fine (with all the normal safety precautions, of course) and like most other moms said, "it's good for them!"
There is no such thing as too early to show children that "everything has a place." Not that you expect them to understand or participate at young ages, but I think that being a clean person is a habit - something that needs to be instilled at the earliest of age! When our children were 6 months old and crawling around on the floor with their blocks & balls, we would have them "help" clean up while singing a little cleaning song. As soon as they could participate, they did (about 8-10 months old) - it was fun! Like a game for them, but teaching an extremely important skill. By 2 years old all of my kids could put a pretty good dent in cleaning up the toys on their own - and now at 6, my daughter can organize her closet better than I can! ;)
I'm personally not a huge fan of all DIY because it can wrong so quickly, however, I was in a pinch for a costume last year for both my girls and created these: a sheep & a flapper. When I say, "in a pinch" I literally mean at 4:30 on the night of Halloween I created these. (Who forgets halloween? That'd be me.) All that being said, I love how they turned out and we literally got hundreds of compliments (especially on the sheep!) I didn't think outside of the box too much, but they were still unique because they were homemade.
Peter Pan. Really, can't ever stop wishing that I could fly - and J.M. Barrie nailed it with all my childhood wishes rolled into one story. Still is my favorite book to this day! (Close seconds: To Kill A Mockingbird, 10 Little Indians, & all the Anne of Green Gables books.)
...someone points out you have something on the back of your upper back and you realize it's peanut butter from your child's lunch. (I'm not the only mother whose kids use them for a napkin, right?)
