You know those pictures you took last year that are just sitting on your hard drive doing nothing? Did you know you can go over to Shutterfly and spend 30-45 minutes and create a personalized family wall calendar that you will not only love to look at all year long, but will become something you will hold on to forever?

I’m thrilled to be working with Shutterfly again this year to share just how easy it is to make a calendar that you love to look at. (They also make great grandparent gifts!)  I thought it was easy to make last years calendar, but somehow Shutterfly made even easier this year!

Once you’ve logged on to Shutterfly, head over to the calendars and decide which one is right for your family. I personally love the 12×12 calendars. You can pick from SO many themes, but don’t let it overwhelm you. Last year I couldn’t pick just one so I changed themes on every month! I love how easy it is to customize it!

This year I picked the Crafted Season’s theme. I liked it so much the only thing I changed was my picture lay out!  Once you’ve picked a theme it’s time to upload your pictures. Shutterfly made this step even easier by giving you so many options on where to pull pictures from.

Then you can choose to manually add pictures into each month, or use their storyboard feature. I love the story board feature. You can drag and drop photos that get added to each month while having the other months visible to avoid selecting a picture twice.

The storyboard will auto populate you calendar. Then you have the choice to rearrange the pictures. For instance if you don’t like the layout of the pictures, you can rearrange them. You can also add text to your layouts.

Once you’ve finished with the months of the year, you can go back through your calendar and personalize the days of the month. Add pictures to holidays, birthdays, or special events you have coming up.

In less than an hour I had a home for some of my favorite pictures from the past year, and a very personalized family wall calendar to love!

GIVEAWAY

Shutterfly is offering one lucky Our Knight Life reader a $25 Gift Credit to turn their own memories into personalize calendars or photo books!

I plan on doing a 12 month baby update later on, but I really wanted to share these 1st birthday pictures.  Sorry for the picture overload, I love them all.

Every 1st birthday deserves that special cake picture.  Even with his FPIES I still made sure Baby D got his.

Baby D’s Outfits

Top Photos:

• Outfit – Babies R us
• Shoes – Wee Squeak

Bottom Photos:

• Onesie – Butuza Baby Designs
• Diaper – Applecheeks in Orange You Glad
• Cake – Alex Toys
• Hat – Target party hat that I covered with vinyl, a fabric 1, and boa.
• Letter D and 1 – purchased from Joanne’s, wrapped in fabric/painted by me.

I may be biased, but isn’t he a cutie?

When I headed back to Minnesota at the end of May one of the things I was most excited for was having the boys pictures taken at Angela Kalthoff Photography.  She is an AMAZING children and family photographer and she also happens to be my cousin.

When it comes to things that are SUPER important to me photography is really high up there.  I love having at least one family photo session taken each year.  With the baby I like to do a newborn, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 month photo session.  After that I make sure they get one on their birthdays.  So this May the time frame was perfect because it was right before Baby D’s 6 month day and K’s 4 year birthday.

We actually had her come out to Las Vegas with K was born to do his newborn pictures.  Timing worked out that we were also able to get K’s 6 month pictures done with her on another visit.  I wish I could afford to fly her here or fly home to have all of our family pictures done with her. She is so talented.

Recently she opened her own stand alone studio in Delano Minnesota and I have to tell you I have never been to a nicer studio.  It was so big and filled with natural light.  The day we went it was raining, but even raining there was more natural light in there than I have seen in any other studio!

Mr. K being a sass-a-potamus!

It was so great too, because while Angela was shooting Baby D’s pictures K got to play with his twin cousins.  I was worries that K wouldn’t have toys to play with, but being a family friendly studio there were kid books and toys, a large bathroom, and plenty of room to play. They sure had a blast playing!

Her girls are just a little under 2 years older than K.  It’s amazing the difference 6 years makes! I was in Minnesota when those precious babies were born and visited them in the nicu. I can’t believe what amazing little girls they have grown into! If we lived closer I’d pay them to come over and play with my boys.  Both boys were infatuated with them!

I can’t tell you how happy I am with all the pictures and how they turned out.  She was so sweet to take a ton of pictures and even handle my special requests without a blink of her eye.  She was kind enough to share a few digital images so I can show them off.  I wish I could show all of them off – Baby D naked in a bucket was just too much cute to handle!

Those twinkling eyes!
Mr. K – 4 Years Old

Those Cheeks!
Baby D – 6 Months Old!

Brothers!

If you live near Delano, Minnesota I hope you will look up Angela Kalthoff Photography when it comes to your next pictures.  She specializes in newborn, babies, children, senior portraits, and family photography, but if you are looking for something different be sure to call (763) 360-1182and ask! She has an entire closet filled with beautiful backdrops and more props that you can imagine!

You can also find her on Facebook!

How often do you get your family’s picture taken?

36+ weeks pregnant!

I love this one.  K loved his brother before he even got to meet him!

Hello Baby Monster Truck!

I love my little man! He looks so grown up here!  Nate was very patient with him, and his patience paid off!

Gosh he is so little here!  Baby D was just over 2 weeks old!

I adore the way my husband loves our children.  To see it captured on film is so precious to me.

I like the way the light is in this picture.  Like God is smiling down on our love.

I love this last picture.  There is no greater blessing in life than growing your family.

Thanks Nathan for some beautiful pictures!

TNG Photography is currently doing Senior Portraits and is looking for models!

“CLASS OF 2014: MODELS NEEDED! ALL PERSONALITIES WELCOME–CLICK HERE”

(Nate also does great business portraits and family pictures.)

Sweet Baby D is just an absolute joy and perfect addition to our family.  He is so happy and smiley.  I am loving being a mom to two sweet boys, and seeing how much they love each other.  I worried about having enough love for two babies when I got pregnant, but I have to tell you, having two is twice as sweet.  My heart is so full with love for both of my boys, and I can’t imagine life without either one of them.

At 2 Months Old Baby D is:

• Smiling all the time.  He is such a happy baby.
• Sleeping like a champ.
  (He goes to bed around 10pm, wakes at 12-1am for a feeding, and then is out until 6-7am.  After a diaper change and feeding, he often times goes back to sleep until 9am.)
• Holding his head up for long periods of time, and is great at tummy time.  He’s so strong.

  

• Enjoying sleeping on his belly.
• Discovering his hands.
• Rolling over belly to back! It happened twice during his 2 month photo shoot!
  (I’m guessing I have a mover and shaker on my hands here!!)

• Batting at toys when they are hanging above him.
• Loving the ceiling fans.
• Starting to laugh.
• Has the best facial expressions.  He is so silly.
• LOVES watching his brother.  He lights up every time he hears his voice.

Speaking of his brother… How crazy is this comparison.  (Squishy is on the right, Baby D on the left.)

I often times catch myself calling Baby D by his big brother’s name, but I didn’t realize how similar looking they are until I put this picture together.  Even their weights and heights at this age are virtually identical.  At 2 months old Baby D currently weighs 14.1 lbs and is 24.5 inches long.  His brother at the same age was 14.2 lbs and 24 inches long.

Now if only I could get this little boy to slow down just a bit so that this mama can soak it all in.

Love you Baby D!!

Can’t get enough pictures of Baby D?  Follow me on Instagram!

1) Stay calm:

When you are the one holding the camera, something amazing happens; you’re suddenly in charge! If you have a camera in your hand, the president of the United States will have no choice but to obey your commands. Because of this authority, you must stay calm at all times. Kids can become cranky and adults too. Everyone can be in a huge rush to “get this picture taken” and if you lose your cool, not only will the photo be ruined, but you might have a few dinner rolls thrown at your head. No matter what happens, good or bad, remain calm, cool and collected throughout the entire time you are taking photographs and take charge.

2) Expressions:

The most challenging part about photographing people is getting a good expression out of your subjects. When working with kids, it is best to avoid the typical “Say Cheese!” as they’ve heard this so many times and this will still not give you a genuine expression. Instead, try a different phrase for kids to say, such as “Daddy wears diapers!” or “Silly monkey!” Kids haven’t heard these phrases so they might stop to think about the phrase before they say it, which can give a great expression by itself. It might also make them laugh at the phrase itself. Using a unique phrase for kids is much better idea than just saying “cheese.”

For adults, the expression is easier to accomplish but pay attention to your tone of voice. If you want everyone to smile, make sure you sound enthusiastic, upbeat and make sure to be smiling yourself! Likewise, if you want them to have a softer expression, talk softly, slowly and change the tone of your voice to something more soothing. Your mood and energy are both very contagious to those around you and it will show in the photograph.

3) Grouping:

After the dinner is over and someone hands you the camera saying, “Take a picture of everyone!” how do you group together several people? You’re not trying to create a work of art in the likes of Caravaggio or Da Vinci with a quick snapshot but there are a few artistic principles you can follow that will help you get a more pleasing image to look at. When you group together everyone, try to make sure everyone’s faces are showing and try to get everyone’s faces evenly spaced apart from everyone else. This will give a nice design and balance to the group. Also, try your best to get everyone’s faces on the same plane in order to keep everyone from the front row to the back row in focus, as well as making sure those in the front don’t look enormous compares to those in the back row.

4) Now what?

Personally, I love prints. Seeing my images made into a print I can touch and feel and display gives me a sense of accomplishment. With digital photography, however, most people don’t even print their day to day photographs. Go ahead, check your camera’s memory card right now. I’ll bet it’s filled with pictures from months and months ago and you still haven’t done anything with them! Here are a few ideas for what to do with those photos you’re bound to take this holiday season:

Put it in a slideshow to share on the internet. Go to Smilebox.com to make free slideshows for Facebook, blogs, etc.

Create Christmas ornaments out of your photos. If you don’t feel you’re very crafty to make your own, find a good lab that offers them in their product line.

Just for fun, print your own water bottle labels with your pictures on them. Guests that visit your home might be just a little jealous! ShinDigz.com can print them for you for 50 cents each.

Create a funny video with your pictures at JibJab.com.

Was it the best Christmas ever? Head over to Shutterfly.com and design your own photo book. These make great gifts!

If you have any questions, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to help you in anyway. Also, take a second and LIKE the TNG Photography Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/TNGphotography

If you were to ask me what I would grab in case of emergency from my home, after my family my first response would be my family photographs.  To me there is just something so special and amazing about being able to capture a moment, a personality, a memory on film.  With my husband frequently being deployed for his job, I know how precious the moments we have together as a complete family are, and I take every and any opportunity I can to capture our moments in time on film.

I believe in documenting as much our life and my children’s lives as I can.  Starting with a yearly family photo shoot, my child’s first year, and a child photo session each year they grow, as well as any special family moments, I couldn’t love my wall of pictures any more than I do.

Recently the photographer my family had been using in Las Vegas moved away with her family, and I had just begun the search for a new family photographer when Nathan from TNG Photography reached out to me on my blog.  After spending a good few hours lurking on his site and Facebook page, I knew we could form a great partnership.

When looking for a family photographer I need to see passion in their work.  I need to LOVE my photographs, and I want someone who will love them with me and see what it is I am looking for in a picture.  It isn’t just about the faces in the picture, but the moments and personalities at that particular time.

I think the reason Nathan makes such a great family photographer isn’t his desire for to create the perfect image (although I can tell you, he clearly has this down), but rather that he himself is a family man and knows how fleeting these precious moments in a family’s lives; in a child’s eyes are.

In addition to his love of family photography Nathan also specializes in high school senior pictures and business executive portraiture.  Any one who likes the TNG Facebook page will receive $50 off their session fee now through December 10th.  Remember – it isn’t too late to get a great family memory caught on film before 2013!

In addition to liking his Facebook page, You can contact TNG Photography at TNGphoto@TNGphoto.com.

Please note: When I am approached for potential sponsorship of my blog, I really try to make sure it is something my readership audience will benefit from, and enjoy as well as something that will help me continue to grow my blog.  Nathan will be sharing guest posts focusing on photography for my readers while we work together, so even for those of you who aren’t local to Las Vegas, you can still benefit from his sponsorship!

If you haven’t already had a chance to check it out – take a look at his tutorial on how to “WRITE WITH LIGHT” in your photographs!  Something you really don’t want to miss! I never realized something this cool could be so easy!

As a reader on Our Knight Life I would greatly appreciate it if you could like his Facebook page and let him know Our Knight Life sent you!

Please make sure you give TNG Photography a like on Facebook.  All you have to do is click the button below.  You are sure to find great tips and fun photos on his page in addition to great local deals!

Remember how excited you were when you got that that nice camera you got on a birthday, holiday or when your husband wanted to apologize for forgetting your anniversary? When was the last time you used it? Wait! Wait! Maybe I shouldn’t ask. For conversation sake, I’ll assume you haven’t touched it in a while. No worries though because I have a fun little trick that anyone with a camera can try and enjoy. It’s called LIGHT WRITING!

You will need:

• A steady surface for the camera (a tripod is preferable)
• Your camera must have a MANUAL mode or a SHUTTER SPEED PRIORITY MODE (sometimes marked as Tv)
• Dark, pitch black room or just wait until night time and go into your backyard and turn off all the lights before taking the picture.

Without going into too great of detail on camera settings, light writing is simply exposing your picture for a longer period of time (around 30 seconds) in a pitch black space but using a flash light in the darkness to write messages, draw, squiggle, etc. It’s a lot of fun! Here’s an example!

Step 1: Place camera on tripod or steady surface. The key is to make sure your camera doesn’t move.

Step 2: Point your camera off at a pitch black area.

Step 3: Have someone turn a flashlight on and stand out where you’d like them to light write.

Step 4: Focus on them now with their flashlight on. If you don’t focus now, your photo will be blurry because your camera can’t focus on just plain black background.

Step 5: If your camera has a manual mode, set your shutter speed to 30 seconds. If it does not have a manual setting, change the camera over to shutter speed priority. Set this to 30 seconds. Some lower quality cameras can only be set to 15 seconds as the longest shutter speed. That’s still ok but you’ll be a little more limited to what you can do with your light writing. The longer the better!

Step 6: Turn on the flashlight and point it towards the camera.

Step 7: Once you click the camera to take the picture, the person with the flashlight needs to draw something in the air. Start with something simple like a circle.

TIP: When writing words, remember you have to write the letters backwards from right to left so that when the picture appears on camera it will spell out accurately what you have painted with the flashlight. It can be tricky at first but you’ll get used to it. Also, (very important) turn OFF the flashlight between each letter otherwise you’ll have light trails joining each letter and it won’t be legible.

Step 8: Look at how great the picture looks on the camera and then get creative!

LIGHT WRITING is actually how I proposed to my wife a few years ago. It was midnight at my dad’s house in a little town called New Harmony, Utah. I took her outside into the dark backyard and to try to not to give away my intentions, we painted a few funny light writings before I said, “How about we write a question then the next person has to answer it?” Kendra agreed and my heart was pounding from here on out:

Try it out, if you have any questions, feel free to ask then make sure you show us what you come up with! Have fun!

About TNG Photography and T. Nathan Grant

T. Nathan Grant, owner of TNG Photography, has been creating photographic art forover 9 years. His focus is creating timeless heirloom portraiture and  the passion for his craft shines in all of his work, regardless of the subject. Nate enjoys playing racquetball, blango, being with his wife and son and laughing with his friends. His favorite things to watch are comedies and horror movies and classical music is usually what is playing in his car, (much to his wife’s dismay). If Nate wasn’t a photographer, his dream job would be to write for Saturday Night Live.

Visit TNGphoto.com to learn more.