Postpartum bodies and loving yourself {Delaware Lifestyle Portrait and Family Photographer}

Besides my resolution to blog more in January, another one of my resolutions is to love myself and my body more, and to help women love their bodies also. A lot of women, especially mothers start to dislike their bodies after having a baby. The phrase "having  baby ruined my body" runs rampant most of the time.  But the one thing we must realize is that while having  baby has definitely not ruined our body, it has changed our body.  It grew life inside of it, and birthed an amazing child.

I wanted to share a bit from an article that a friend posted that moved me to tears.  You can find the full article here: http://blackheartsandbliss.com/post/72866172943/on-the-postpartum-body

"When I got pregnant for the first time I was 18, fresh out of cheerleading, doing Yoga daily and in the best shape of my life. Though I gained a mere 15 pounds during my pregnancy, my body stretched and pulled in ways it has never truly recovered from and I struggled a lot with the way it looked and felt after Samara was born.

It was partially my circumstances too, my ex husband regarded me with words of criticism despite walking out of the hospital in the same size 0 jeans I’d walked in wearing. I heard my mother complain my entire life about her body and the ways carrying four full term girls had changed it. In fact - I’d never heard a single positive thing about postpartum bodies that I could readily recall.

My self esteem dipped into the negatives, I was bitter in every sense. I had this beautiful daughter and now my body was fucked up. The trade off was a worthy one, but that didn’t make it suck any less."

Mother or not, love your body. It's the only one that way have.

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Take time and make time {Delaware Lifestyle Portrait & Fashion Photographer}

Hello, my name is Marisa.

I am a wife, mother, business owner, Doctor Who fanatic, craft addict, SCA-dian, belly dancer, and the list goes on.  I have a pretty full life, and with my husband and daughter by my side, it is quite exciting. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

But I have a problem.

My problem is that I have horrible time management.  You see, sometimes, well quite often actually I spend too much time working and not enough time living. Part of the reason for having my own business is so that I can work on my own terms, and have time to spend with my friends and family.  But also as a business owner, I am not just taking pictures. I am editing, doing the accounting, doing the networking, and marketing, designing albums and promo materils, and more.  Sometimes I sit down at the computer with the goal of only working two hours, and then spending time with my family, and before I know it 6 hours have gone by.  I will tell myself "Okay, let me just email these clients, prep these images, and update a couple of things, and I will spend the rest of my time today with Charlotte and Wes".  Then before I know it, Charlotte is getting ready for bed, and Wes is settling down.

Our FIRST professional family photo session with Natasha Esguerra Photography

Admittedly, work is not the only problem.  Managing a household, cleaning, grocery shopping, managing the bills, and other things tend to take time away.  I know that I need to learn better time management. And I know that there are many in my position: Spouses, business owners, etc that need to hear this:

Take time and make time.

Seriously, it's important!  Emails can wait an extra hour or two.  Editing can wait also. Grocery shopping can be put off, as well as cleaning. Unless you are entertaining the Queen of England, I don't think that anybody really cares what your house looks like. Do you know what can't wait?

Your child, your family, your loved ones, your friends.

So I vow to myself and to everybody that I care about, I will take time and make time to spend with them.  Even if I have to set aside a certain about of absolute hours to be with my family, I will. But I do realize that they are more important.  Nothing I accomplish is more important than them.  I know how easy it is to get into the zone, especially when you are trying to make your business work, but take it from me. Sending out those emails on time will never replace those minutes lost laughing with your little one.

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The Collins Family {Delaware Family Photographer}

A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of hosting some fall mini sessions at my home. I went to work creating an awesome vintage ribbon backdrop, painting vintage chairs, and getting everything set up. I am glad to say that the turnout was great, and it will definitely be on the calendar for next year!

One of the families that I photographed was the Collins family. Cindy, is a fellow photographer.  And I will be honest, I was a bit nervous when it came to photographing another photographer. We can be very picky at times!  So with Cindy, her husband and her three boys, we had fun and laughed while being photographed. I especially love that all three boys sat in the chairs according to their ages :)  It was adorable. And I also made sure to get a couple of shots of Cindy and Rodney together. Since every couple deserves a couple of great shots of them together!

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The Chipman Family-Full of Love! {Delaware Newborn and Family Photographer}

When Christy first contacted me, and told me that she wanted me to photograph her newborn daughter and her family, I knew it was a match made in heaven. Why?  Because her daughter was named Charlotte and her nickname is Charley. Which happens to be my daughters name and nickname! Does it get better than that?

So I was definitely excited to photograph this awesome family, and hold sweet little Charlotte. Of course, after every time I photograph a newborn, I want to have another baby.

The cutest part of the day, the love that big brother Nate showered upon his baby sister. He was all about hugs and kisses. It was just absolutely adorable. I hope that if I do have another child, Charlotte is that way with her new baby brother/sister.  This family was full of love, smiles, laughter, and happiness. My kind of people!

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The Little Moments

I always have my camera. Always. I learned a long time ago to not just photograph my clients, but to photograph my own life.  Now admittedly, I am not always on the other side of the lens, but I still photograph just for me.  I love collecting little memories to look back on, even when at the time they seem like it's just a blur.

My daughter won't be young forever. No child will. They will get older and grow up, and one day holding their hand will be uncool to them, and they will run to hang out with their friends.  But at the end of the day, they will always and forever be your baby. And you will always and forever be their hero.

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Happy Monday! {Delaware Baby and Family Photographer)

Most people hate Monday's, but this Monday is actually pretty awesome. For one, it is absolutely gorgeous outside!!! You know how much I love warm weather.  Now be warned, that once it hits above 85 and starts getting uncomfortable, I am going to complain!  My ideal weather is 70-85 degrees. If I could live in that every single day I totally would.

Ok, so let's keep the good vibes going. I am so excited to show you my new video that graces the front page of my website.  I have been wanting a promo video on my website for a while.  I wanted it to be different, and reflect me. Most importantly, I wanted my husband and baby included.  So one day I decided that we were going to do one family portrait. 66 frames later, and with a cranky baby we had to take a break.  But then it hit me...with as many frames that I took, I could totally do a stop motion video!  I LOVE stop motion.  And I think this video sums us up perfectly.  We definitely do try to make each day awesome.

Take a look!

Full Promo Video from Marisa Taylor on Vimeo.


Now, keeping up with the stop motion kick, I followed my daughter around for a bit, and came up with this video. It still amazes me that she is 7 months (well, will officially be 7 months on the 24th)...


Busy Busy Charlotte from Marisa Taylor on Vimeo.

I'm pretty sure that every single video from here on out, may just be stop motion.  Ok, I am joking. But I am hoping to do another promo video which is more behind the scenes with me and my clients. So I will be reaching out to my past clients VERY soon to get that organized! Keep an eye out!



Alrighty, so let's get to something even more awesome!  It's spring, well technically spring is tomorrow, which also happens to be Free Water Ice Day at Rita's!!!!  And with spring, it's one of the best times to have portraits done. So because I want EVERYONE to have great portraits of them, their families, and their children, I now have a special rate for portraits!!!  Check out below!

$100- Portrait session fee
(Minimum order of $150)

1.5 hour session
One 8x10" gift print included!

An amazing time full of fun, laughter and love, with cherished memories to boot!

So don't hesitate to book a session with me, you will love it!

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{Newborn Portrait-Little Miss Aubrey} Delaware Newborn and Portrait Photographer

If you know me, you know how much I adore babies. Even before I had my daughter, I was baby crazy.  Everything from their tiny little eye lashes to their adorable little toes, I just can't get enough of it.  Being a mother now, I appreciate even more taking time to just dote on my little one.  Time truly does go by fast!  You would think that they would stay tiny forever, but it goes by in the blink of an eye. And that's why it is so important to capture those memories while you can. And that is why I totally love what I do, and completely put my heart and soul into it.

Little Miss Aubrey was just 8 days new when we did her session. She was the first newborn that I have photographed that stayed awake pretty much throughout the whole session! For such a little one, she definitely kept her eyes on me.  Of course, she didn't fall into a deep sleep until after the session was over and she was dressed again. But nonetheless, she is just too cute for words!

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It's time for a Fall Contest!

Who loves contests? I do!  Even though I have never won any sort of contest, I love having contest.  So here we go with a Fall 2011 Contest.  There will be three amazing prizes and three VERY happy winners!!!

 

 

First Prize-A free "Love Shoot"!*

What is a love shoot?  Well it's a portrait session, mixed with a wedding session.  You get to don your wedding attire, head out with me to a gorgeous location, and have a fun filled shoot that will create amazing images.  This gives you the chance to let loose and get crazy with your images.  You don't have to worry about your wedding day timeline, or getting your family pictures done.  This is all about you two!  If he doesn't have his tux, don't worry!  This is the perfect time to get creative with your wedding attire. If you had a different dress in mind, go for it!  You can always wear your original gown too, it's all up to you!

*Session is free a $250 value.  Winner will receive 3 edited digital files from their session.  Winner can choose to purchase more digital files or prints after session.  Session must take place anytime in 2012, as long as photographer has the date open.  Session must take place within 60 miles of 19713.

 

 

 

Second Prize-A GORGEOUS frame from The Organic Bloom!

I LOVE this company.  They make gorgeous frames that will enhance your wonderful photos (from me!).  The winner will have a choice of any 5x7" single frame in any color.

Aren't they fabulous!

Third Prize- A $25 Visa Gift Card!

Yay for free money! Use it for whatever you want!

Ok, so how do you enter the contest?  There are five different ways to enter. Each step gains you one entry, and the more entries you have, the better your chances to win!

1-First, become a fan of my page!  http://www.Facebook.com/MarisaTaylorPhotography and leave a note!

2-Post this to your Facebook Profile (and make sure you tag @MarisaTaylorPhotography):  "

"I am entering the Fall 2011 Contest for Marisa Taylor Photography.  Three great prizes are up, and you should enter too!"

3-Post this to your Twitter page:  "I just entered Marisa Taylor Photography's contest! @LoveShutterBug"

4-Stop by the Facebook page for The Organic Bloom and leave a note telling them I sent you! (You can tag me in this one also!)

5-Leave a comment on this blog, posting the link to both your facebook and twitter posts, and letting me know that you stopped by The Organic Bloom and left a comment (I will check and verify your entries)

The contest will run from today until 11/20/2011.  Winner will be picked randomly (as long as they complete the 5 steps of entering) and announced on 11/20/2011!

Have a great night! And happy contest!

I will also have some random giveaways on my wall during the next two weeks, so stay tuned for those!

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