4 Reasons Why You Should Take Photos of Your Kids in Your Messy House

So many things changed after becoming a mom. Interests, clothing, hair (just thankful to have it these days), car (I am completely loving the minivan life), and my love of roller coasters (vanished. completely.) I kind of expected a lot of those things, but there were some unexpected changes too. As a photographer I have always had definite opinions on the worth of certain photos over others. I wanted perfect images, magazine quality shots. But then I became a mother. And I watched my daughter grow, passing through seasons and phases, and I realized that the images I wanted to save and print weren't those which I struggled through tears to achieve. They weren't the ones of her wearing the perfect little outfit that was itchy and she hated. They weren't the ones that came at the cost of family arguments and strife over getting "one more shot" in attempt for what I envisioned. Those memories make me cringe now. No, they are the ones with her wearing her tutu and her owl snow cap in the dead of summer. The ones of her twirling her umbrella in the rain wearing the loud striped leggings she insisted on wearing every day for 2 months. The the ones with her grubby little hands clutching watermelon sitting next to her sweet Papa.  

These images, representing her in different seasons, interacting and growing with those around her--were the ones that tugged at my heartstrings. And somewhere along the past five years I've largely given up on taking family portraits like I wanted in the beginning. And because me holding my heavy Canon camera made me feel like I need a certain result, I gave up using it and have almost entirely used my iPhone lately. Until today. I've come to the point where I want to capture my chickadees as they are, and today I picked up my "real" camera and began a new journey. 

So why should you begin photographing your kids in your messy house?  

1. It's the home you live in today. What better place to document your current season of life.

2. Its convenient because it already houses the bunk bed that serves as fort and trampoline, the books with taped pages, and the blocks that are both building toys and missiles.

3. It's the true backdrop for learning and developing the little persons that it shelters, and watching them become best friends with others. 

4. The worn-with-love baby doll and the mismatched clothing is what you want to remember, because it is what will not stay. They have the rest of their lives to try and look perfectly--let them be little and cherish it now.

If you are interested in a life inspired session with your family, contact me and I would be so honored to begin a conversation with you about making that possible. <3 Please feel free to follow our daily journey on instagram @katieopris

Baby Hargrave Gender Reveal!

Everyone who knows Ginger and Drew are just about as excited as they can be that they will be expecting their first child in September! They decided to do a gender reveal party, and I was there to capture their reaction!!! Boy or girl, stay tuned to see which! 

And of course my children were only concerned with cupcakes and balloons! ;)

In Between Two Worlds // Personal

April 24th, 2013 would have been just a normal wednesday. Except for the fact that my husband, two kiddos, our six ginormous bags, and I loaded onto a British Airways flight pointed 6,000 miles away from my family and home. 6,000 miles across the Atlantic and on a different continent where we would be home for almost half a year. I guess you can't say we were going away from Elvis' family since most of them were already in Romania waiting for us. But anyway, fast forward almost 6 months and we boarded another British Airways flight that would bring us home in time for my little sister's wedding and back to life stateside for who knows how long.

We went through a lot (as those who follow my Instagram feed can tell you!)  from plunging in over our heads with mission work, to finishing out and managing a house 4 times the size of our own, learning to pluck a chicken (NOT kidding), to shooting two weddings, one in Romania, and one in Germany. It was a whirlwind 6 months and we did the best to face the difficulties while embracing the adventure. We never really stopped the entire trip, and I guess we were naive enough to think that coming home would slow things down a tad. We were wrong. Home didn't stand still. But then again neither did we. :)

And now we are facing a transition reversal--otherwise referred to as re-entry by expats and missionaries. Here are just a few of the many things that means--practically speaking!

From hauling hay on your back to pushing--or even riding--a lawnmower.

From seeing people dressed like this is just everyday to go to the market--to seeing most people in their workout clothes at Kroger.

From only line drying, to being able to dry clothes in a dryer on rainy days!

From houses built in the 1890's to a house built in the 1980's.

From attempting to make corn tortillas--to buying Mission tortillas again :)

From our neighbors driving horse drawn wagons--to our neighbors driving pickup-trucks and SUV's.

 And of course right away I went live with a new website and blog, Elvis is back to creating fabulous custom decks, Adrielle is smack in the middle of potty training, and the holidays are coming...along with Little Man's eye teeth. So all that to say, if you are wondering what is going on in our corner of the world, transition just about covers it for us. That and permanent jet lag. 

The good thing is that God has proven SO faithful to us during the crazy/adjusting/in-between/re-entry/transition. And we are learning that there are so many beautiful, wonderful things to see in the world during these in-betweens.

And that's a good way to enter November--or maybe even the rest of my life. :)

Blessings,