Category: Personal

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Session Styling: Things that inspire my photography

Everyone sees the world differently, just like the old saying of the glass being half full versus being half empty. The reason we all see things so differently is because of who we are…our experiences, our personalities, our passions. A big part of the journey to becoming a photographer is understanding how you see the world and capturing that in a photo. For some photographers it can happen quickly, for others they will make multiple twists and turns to find their view…and in truth, a photographer’s view can be ever changing. For me, I’ve figured out a few things that have really helped me with how I view my world and how it has shaped my photography.

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  1. My baby

Becoming a mom has greatly changed my world and photography. I have a new found understanding of all the little details and nuances specific to a baby. I want to capture photos of my little man regarding who he is, his personality, his little details so I when I see them years later I am brought back to those moments and memories. Our children are only little once and they seem to grow at lightning speed. When I photograph your baby I want to capture images that you will be able to look back at and recall just who they were at that moment in life.

2. My personality

I am a quiet, calm, simple person. I’m not a large crowd type of person and would much rather stay home with my husband and son to going out to a bar or club. This calm, quiet, simple side of me is carried through my photography with soft colors, simple set-ups, and classic poses. I love working with newborns because they too do best in calm quiet situations. Newborns and I are a match made in heaven.

3. My guest bedroom

I am a natural light photographer…what does that mean? It means I love to use the sun as my light source instead of flash or any other external light. When we moved into our new house I found that our guest bedroom had the most amazing light coming through the windows and it’s where I spend a majority of my photography time capturing memories of my son. It’s the type of light that adds a soft glow to my images and an almost dreamy feel. I search for this same light in your home and my new studio. Clean white light is how I want my photos to look.

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When you think of your life, what inspires you? Is it your kids…your job…your hobbies?

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Dear Little Man {8 Months Old}

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Dear Little Man,

You are now 8 months old. I can’t believe how fast time is flying by and how much you are growing and becoming your own individual.

You are starting to eat solid-ish foods and enjoying every bite of it. You are struggling a bit to get those pincher fingers working and grasping the food pieces…but we’ll keep working on it and you’ll soon master it! I laugh at the fact that you end up wearing more than half of the food than what makes it in your mouth and Daddy is realizing how much having a dog would make clean-up easier after meal time.

You are still working on sitting up fully unassisted. We think that you get too excited to sit still and you end up toppling over as you go for toys. But we are getting there and every day you get a little more balance. I don’t mind you taking your time because I don’t want you to grow up too fast.

We started swim lessons this month and you weren’t a huge fan at the beginning but now you are loving it. You splash away and enjoy floating on your back. Your Daddy and I are so happy that you love the water and we hope your love continues.

Your quiet personality is showing more and more. We found that you do best when introducing you to a new environment to just sit back and allow you to take it all in before we dive in. At swimming lessons we found that you did the best when we sat and watched the class before of us before we got in the pool. That is definitely a trait you get from me.

Lastly, you are learning to enjoy drumming. You love to bang your toys together, on the floor, on each other, on anything you can get your hands on. Daddy loves this trait of yours because I think he secretly wishes you will become a drummer like him. I find it entertaining because we’ll make up songs to your drum beats and it gets you giggling.

I can’t wait to see you master the art of sitting this next month and everything else you will encounter.

Love,

Mommy

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Mommy Chat: The “fear” of being a new mommy

Ok, I’m going to be open and honest with you since we are all mommies or soon-to-be mommies. Who has felt the mommy fear? The fear that you have no idea what you are doing! I’m not talking about postpartum depression or anxiety, or the mommy guilt, I’m talking about the natural fear you have when you are now responsible for molding and teaching this little person everything there is in life and you have no idea what you are doing or how to accomplish such a large task.

This fear has hit me big time lately as my little guy is getting bigger and experiencing new things in life. We started swim lessons a few weeks ago and that was a huge fear moment for me. I had a million questions run through my brain…“Is he old enough for this…Is he ready for this…What if he hates it…What if he poops in the pool…” all reasonable and normal questions. My husband and I decided to give it a try, figuring the worst thing is we stop and try again later when he is a little older. The first class comes along and my fear starts to come true…my little man was not happy to be in the pool. There were tears and lots of clasped hands.  We left the class doubting our decision and wondering if we should just stop the lessons.

Next week comes along and my husband and I are faced to answer the question of “do we go again”? Making my baby cry is like pure torture to me and I knew tears could be in our future. We decided though, to go again and give it one more chance. This time, little man loved the water! He smiled, splashed and even went into the instructors arms for underwater time without looking back for mommy. My fear was crushed, we are going to be just fine and putting him in swim lessons was perfectly ok to do.

What I’m learning, as a mom, is that you will doubt yourself, your choices, and the actions you take raising your child; but, in the end, everything will be alright. Having fear is normal, we have a big responsibility on our plates to create kind, smart, loving adults and I would think not having fear about your choices would make you crazy!

What is something you have feared with raising your little one?
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3 things I learned from my first christmas as a mom {Lake County IL, Newborn Photographer}

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This was our first Christmas as a family of three! It was a time for my husband and I to figure out what Christmas traditions we wanted to start in our family…do we visit Santa? Do we make Christmas cookies? Do we make any special project off of my Pinterest board that I pinned years ago just waiting for this day to arrive!?!?

While I wish I could say we did all of those things and more, the truth is, we didn’t do anything.

Nothing…nada…zero…we didn’t even set up our Christmas tree or bring out one item of Christmas decorations.

The reasons we didn’t do anything are numerous…ranging from illnesses to new furniture delivery the day before Christmas (great timing on our part for that one). I had my moments of sadness thinking how could I not give my baby a first Christmas with decorations and a tree! What kind of mom was I!?!? But then Christmas came and went and as I look back I realize how silly I was…

  1. I realized that my son currently has no interest in Christmas decorations. We saw trees at other homes and my little guy could care less that the tree existed. He was more interested in his toys or where mommy was than a decorated tree.
  2. I realized that Christmas traditions are all about spending time together and making memories which is what we did, even if nothing we did was Christmas themed. I will have the memory of watching the excitement in my son’s eyes as he proudly takes the toys out of his toy bucket one by one and tosses them to the ground or the memory of the huge smile that washes over my son’s face when he hear’s the theme son to Daniel Tiger or the best memory of all and watching him learn how to say “mama”.
  3. I realized that life moves too fast and I need to cherish the fact that my son is only 7 months. He can’t sit up completely yet without falling over so how did I expect him to help make Christmas cookies! My son falls asleep in the car instantly so how did I expect him to drive around looking at Christmas lights that he couldn’t even see! There will come a time when we can do all of those things and more but right now I need to sit back and enjoy the simple fact that my little guy is 7 months old and his current joy is just laying on the ground chewing on his toys.

Being a new mom comes with so much pressure to be the picture perfect mom that I’m a little glad for my son’s First Christmas we focused on spending time together as a family instead of starting any holiday traditions.

There will be plenty of time to start those traditions, but right now, my little man would prefer to just spend time with his mommy and daddy and that is what we did!

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How did you spend your Baby’s First Christmas?

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2016 in Review {Lake County IL, Newborn Photographer}

This year has been one that dreams are made of…ok so maybe I’m being a little dramatic but it’s true. This year has been pretty darn amazing and it has set the bar really high for 2017!

Why was this year so amazing…I achieved one of my biggest dreams and became a mom. I struggled for years to become a mom and went through a lot, both physically and emotionally, on my journey to motherhood. Looking back over the past few years though, I wouldn’t change my journey in any way. It has shaped me to be the mom and woman I was meant to be and have become. It has made me more compassionate to others who are struggling with their own fertility journeys and has taught me to cherish every minute I get with my little man / family. I hope that anyone who is going through their own fertility journey knows they are not alone and that regardless of the outcome your life will still be beautiful.

I love how through Instagram you can see my top posts and it re-iterates how blessed this past year has been by showing numerous images of my little man in my most popular posts of 2016. (I also find it a little humorous that there appears to be a little Bears vs Packers rivalry going on.) 2016 has been a year all about “FAMILY”…starting my family, loving my family, spending time with my family, and growing my family. So what does 2017 have in store for me this year?

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I hope to focus on my “HEALTH”. Becoming a HEALTHier version of my current self, finding a HEALTHy balance between family and business,  strengthening my spiritual HEALTH, and growing my photography business into a HEALTHy business.

  • Physical Health – Since I am no longer pregnant or trying to become pregnant I can get back into my love of running! I had to take a little hiatus during my fertility journey and I’m ready to lace back up my running shoes and seeing where my feet take me.
  • Family Health – Being a mom means learning how to balance numerous responsibilities instantaneously! I’ve always been someone who never says “no” and never takes time for herself…and this year I plan to find a good balance between work time and family time.
  • Spiritual Health – God has really showed me how amazing he is with creating the perfect little baby for my family that I can’t help but want to grow in my relationship with him!
  • Business Health – I can’t wait to share with you all the fun things I have planned for 2017 and for Kate Fredrick Photography! I want my business to be one that blesses families with memories that will last a lifetime because I truly have learned and understand how precious new babies are to a family!

I hope you will join me on my journey and come along for the ride in 2017!

What do you want to achieve in 2017?