Real Necessity | Keepin' It Real Blog Series

What do you need? A question we ask ourselves on a regular basis as we take inventory of our homes and businesses. But, it's so much more than that.

This topic struck a chord in me as I sat to write it, hours after a FaceTime call from my mom, who is volunteering at Sister Stan's orphanage in Ghana. It was my birthday, and after chatting with her for a few minutes, she turned the camera around to the children that lived there and, with gusto, they sang "Happy Birthday" followed by a beautiful dance they had been rehearsing for the Independence Day celebration.

They are clothed, but they wear no shoes. The only family they have is each other, Sister Stan (the nun who runs the orphanage), teachers and volunteers.
For food, they eat beans and rice. There is no running water.
They play with rocks and sticks in the dirt outside - not a toy among them.
Nevertheless, their smiles are contagious, their zest for life is unbroken.  This place provides shelter and the love and care they need to thrive. Basic necessities are met because of this place, these people that have the passion to support it and maintain it.

For most of us, our necessities are right here:  a click away on Amazon or a trip to the store.  Running water, all the food we need in crazy varieties from all over the world, our climate-controlled homes, clothing and shoes for any occasion, books, tech gadgets, nice things, nice toys... too many things, too many toys. We take it for granted. Many of us are not content with what we have because we are chasing after "things" and "more things."

Take a good look around you and you will see how lucky we are to have much more than our basic needs met for ourselves and our children.

Check out more Real Necessities from Katie Bork Photography.  Katie is an amazing Lifestyle Family Photographer serving Wilmington & Wrightsville Beach.

 

Real Love | Keeping' it Real Blog Series

This month's Keepin' it Real topic is "Real Love." As we celebrate Valentine's Day today, there is no better subject matter.

My two big girls worked very hard on their class Valentine's this week. One by one, cards were decorated and personalized for each classmate. My youngest cruised around the table, eagerly waiting for small bits of paper and confetti to fall on the floor and squealing with delight at each new scrap. She even made a few scribbles of her own.  They have so much love to share!

 

Jody Mack is a Charleston Lifestyle Newborn, Child & Family Photographer. "Keepin' It Real" is a blog circle of fellow Pinkle Toes Workshop alumni throughout North America where we are free to share our real moments. Please click through the links provided at the bottom of each blog post and explore!

Next, check out some more "Real Love" from Caroline Martin Photography. Caroline is a fabulous family & child photographer in the Carlsbad/San Diego area.

It's Personal: A 52 Week Project

In the spirit of new beginnings and New Year's resolutions,  I will photograph my own family for 52 weeks: my kids, my spouse, my extended family and heck, maybe a few self-portraits (#worldsworstselfietaker).

I am pledging to break out my Big Girl Camera at least once a week. A project that will serve as a dedicated space and time for my own need to record the history of our family. Something that will make a great year-in-review book (but more digestible than a daily project).  So a 52 week project is a great start for me.

Can I do it?
You bet!
Will I blog about it every week?
Nope. But I will compile my favorites at least once a month. I can do this!

So here goes:

January, Weeks 1 and 2.
Lots of things happening in a post-holiday, post-passing-germs-like-a-hot-potato, post-I-can't-quite-get-my-feet-under-me frenzy.

A 1st birthday party for my baby girl. Two adorable dance performances by my big girls.

These weeks mark a bittersweet ending to the infancy of our last baby and the beginning of a new year full of joy and wonder. A year where we can all spread our wings a little bit, stretch beyond our comfort zones and accomplish things that were once beyond our imagination.

Join me on this journey by recording your own 52 week journey. Can you do it? Heck yes, you can!

 

Real Excitement | My Sister's Wedding | Keepin' it Real Blog Series | Charleston Lifestyle Family & Child Photographer

This months edition of the "Keepin' it Real" Blog series was quite fitting for a family wedding. So much goes into a wedding day, no matter how small the affair.  There were three main sources of Real Excitement leading up to the wedding (okay...four, if you count the cross-country journey with 3 kids).

Three simple details of a wedding that gave all of us, especially my sister, the bride, [ulcers] a great deal of worry:

The Cake

The day before the wedding, we picked up the cake from the bakery in San Francisco, where the owner promptly told us that the cake did not include a box, because in doing so, it would smash up against the side of the box. He insisted the cake - naked and vulnerable - would be "fine" if we placed it in the TRUNK OF THE CAR...in San Francisco.
If you've been to this lovely city,  you know how spectacular the hills are. The first hill we drove down was accompanied by a shushing sound from the trunk,  followed by the dainty thud of an iced confection. We made a stop for a yoga mat and placed the love-tapped cake on top (to help increase the coefficient of friction.. using our nerd power).  The beautiful, yet imperfect, cake arrived to the rental house in Santa Rosa without any more damage. 

The Flowers 

The morning of the wedding arrived. Flowers that the bride and groom had purchased were starting to bloom in their buckets. It was time to make the bridal bouquet and arrangements. I have SEEN plenty of bridal bouquets and even photographed them, but making them is a completely different art form. My mom, two sisters, and two daughters set to work on these flowers like we knew what we were doing. We were on a mission like a bunch of worker bees, stripping leaves, trimming stems, wrapping wire and taping stems. Slowly but surely,  all of the flowers were set in place. They weren't perfect, but they were beautiful. WE DID IT.

The Rings

The rings were custom-designed by Rosestone Jewelry in San Diego. Since they were insured, the package required a signature upon delivery. So, my sister had them shipped to her office downtown. Or so she thought...
In her haste, she accidentally included her home zip code, so the package was sent back to San Diego. Yup. 
There we were, the day of the wedding with the rings in limbo. A UPS purgatory of sorts.  After few phone calls by the groom and a visit to the UPS pick up site,  the rings finally made it.  
I love the look on my sister's face as she opened the box and the look she gave him afterward. You can tell they are truly in love

It's moments like these that define family: love, trust and when-stuff-hits-the-fan-I'll-be-there-for you.

Our family has grown by one brother and one 16-year-old nephew. Welcome to the family! We love you guys!

Please check out the beautiful take on "Real Excitement" by Caroline Martin, a fabulous family lifestyle photographer serving San Diego.

Real Adventure | Keepin' it Real Blog Series | Charleston Lifestyle Family & Child Photographer

Just hearing the title of this month's edition of the "Keepin' it Real" blog series awakened my wanderlust.  Real Adventure... {deep sigh}

I would love nothing more than to take off for a week's adventure (heck, even a day's adventure) bringing nothing but my curiosity and a camera.  Unplugged.

And here we are at the mid-point of the summer, having gone as far as the library, the beach and the pool with our three children - and I realize that the adventure is what you make it.

For my youngest, it's discovering that her toes are the best toys ever invented. For my middle child, it's finding new ways of getting around in the water. For my eldest, it's dusting off old toys and inventing new ways to play with them.

For me, it's carving out time each day for the people that matter most, enjoying the adventure in our everyday lives - when the "littles" are still little and the summer world is still our oyster.




Next, check out Kami Friday Photography's Real Adventure blog. Kami is an outstanding lifestyle photographer in southern NH. Enjoy!

Jody Mack is a Charleston Lifestyle Newborn, Child & Family Photographer. "Keepin' It Real" is a blog circle of fellow Pinkle Toes Workshop alumni throughout North America where we are free to share our real moments. Please click through the links provided at the bottom of each blog post and explore!

A Mother's Day Present for my Future Self

This month's blog entry for the "Keepin' it Real" project is entitled, "Real Simple." So, I chose a simple project:

All the simple things I love about my girls.

Looking through these images (taken with a 100mm macro lens while they were watching TV... of course), I began to realize what these photographs really mean to me. All of the sweetness and innocence of childhood. The way my daughters are right now.

The sad thing about "right now" is that "right now" is always over when the moment ends. The only way we can keep these moments locked away in a vault is to capture them with our words and our photographs. So, I am putting these images away in a time capsule - yes I'm even PRINTING them (gasp!), along with this letter.

A Mother's Day present for my future self:

Dear Me in 2024,

Happy Mother's Day! These days you are busy running around town to various activities with your 2 teens and 1 "tween." You are guiding them through some tricky situations and some "growing up" problems. You may have already had some yelling arguments or been told that they "hate" you or you are "ruining their lives."
Keep persevering.
Guide them to make good choices.
Let them learn from their own mistakes - and not yours.
If you ever get too frustrated and feel like throwing in the towel, take a minute to enjoy the simple things.

Look at these photos. Do you remember when they were this young?

Close your eyes and go back in time. You can almost smell the chicken nuggets warming in the oven and the sour burp cloth that fell behind the couch.
Sweet baby feet on the couch (with the ever-overgrown toenails that they don't like you to cut), blonde ringlets,
plump, rosy cheeks... those eyelashes.

Keep calm and parent on. You can do this.

Love,
Me in 2014

For more "Real Simple" moments, visit the Amanda Faucett Photography blog. Amanda captures real moments for every milestone - from newborn to senior - in the greater Houston area.

What kind of legacy will you leave?

During my pregnancy, I would lie awake at night (when the baby was most active or hiccuping), mulling over ideas for my baby's newborn photos. What memories do I want to have captured? What kind of legacy do I want to leave? 

Years from now, what images do I want her to look back on as an adult? What photographs do I want her to show her grandchildren? I knew I wanted photos with my husband and myself, but I also wanted her in the frame with my parents. It's not often enough that the youngest and the oldest members of the family are captured together. It gives me chills thinking about the time that spans their respective lives - all the things that have been, and all the things that remain to be seen.

I also thought of this sweater.

My grandmother had knitted it especially for my dad for his birthday, many, many moons ago, with a pattern that was specific to her family's home in Ireland.  Legend has it that it helped bring home those who met their fate at sea and washed ashore wearing their "identity" in the sweater's pattern.

I asked my dad to bring the sweater along to her photo session with my photography friends (and mentors) Tamara & Danielle (Bump Meet Baby Studios). Patiently, these master baby "ninjas" posed her and soothed her back to sleep, and I was able to snap these images before she woke up. (As an aside, I felt a bit guilty for asking my dad to wear this thick sweater in a sweltering newborn studio... but, I think he would agree that it was worth it.)

This is our family heritage:  Her great-grandmother who painstakingly crafted this sweater (and many others like it), her great-grandfather who gave the world's best hugs, her namesake (grandmother), her look-alike (grandfather) and all her guardian angels. All people she will sadly never meet on this Earth - but we have the stories (oh... the stories!) and the old photographs to look back on. 

And today, she has her grandparents and so many family members who love her and hold her dear. 

Only now can she be this tiny and can take a nap in the crook of your elbow or the nook of your neck.