Siblings Without Rivalry -- At least for the moment {New Braunfels Photography}

I had the honor of shooting the most adorable pair of siblings yesterday. At first when I learned I'd be shooting the duo -- for a surprise Mother's Day gift, but I don't think their mom is a regular blog follower so I feel safe in mentioning it here -- I was expecting the typical sibling rivalry.

Most siblings I shoot get along for the most part. They tend to like each other mostly, and only slug or pinch each other some of the time. I always hesitate a bit when I get to the part where I ask them to hug each other or hold hands. Sometimes I'm met with a glare. Sometimes an "are you kidding me?" But yesterday was a rarity. They held hands like best friends. I asked them to dance together for a bit and they had a blast. They hugged, they walked hand-in-hand on demand, they were polite to each other and enjoyed each other. A brother and sister who actually liked each other. Wow!

I asked their dad if what I was seeing was for real, "So they really like each other?" He said, "Today."

That renewed my faith in my own kids. Whew. I returned home to the sounds of squabbling children. My boy was swinging his plastic bat that looks like a big carrot -- Easter bunny surprise -- and his older sister was quick to greet me at the door to tell me all about how he swung it in the air and it missed her by just two inches. "Two inches," she said. "I could have been smacked!"

I grew up with a brother and a sister as well. We got along okay, too. Sometimes. When they weren't annoying me. Today my sister wears burnt orange while I wear maroon. But that's okay. She's pretty good company at a concert. My brother is pretty cool too. I remember some nasty quarrels of our own when we were kids. I sometimes think the squabbles I endure from my own children are payback in some kind of cosmic bad joke. Who knows. But I'm enjoying sharing the story of the siblings who were nice to each other with my kids. It gives me something to hope for.

Lisa On Location Photography

Hello Summer!

Bagley19web
Originally uploaded by lisablaschke

It's here. The weekend I've been waiting for all year. The beginning of summer vacation and a much needed break for myself. The only shooting I'll be doing for the next week will be of my own children and possibly a teenager dressed up as a great big mouse. I'm excited to say the least.

I had one last session before the break, however, and I wanted to share it with you. This session was very special to me. These are the children of some good friends of ours and I've gotten to know these kids well over the past 7 years. They're moving out of state in just two shorts weeks and I'm so sad to see them go. I thought this photo was appropriate since they're sort of walking off into the sunset so to speak. I will miss them terribly.

In other studio news, I have made the decision to declare myself as a candidate for certification. Certified Professional Photographers are a rare thing. There are literally hundreds of thousands of photographers all over the country but only a few thousand of them are certified. Being certified means studying and becoming an expert on all the technical details involved in lighting, metering, camera function and even composition. It's a grueling 100 question exam and then a tough review of your work by a board of outstanding certified photographers. I consider it a huge challenge because my memory is getting faulty in my middle age and studying and remembering technical details enough to recall them on a stringent exam is not an appealing thing for me. I'm doing it for myself, however. There's no rule that says I need to be certified to be a successful photographer. It's something I want to do to prove to myself that I can do this. I can be who I want to be.

So with that I'm checking out of here for a week or so. I'll be having a blast at the happiest place on Earth and enjoying my family.

My System

Tina34web
Originally uploaded by lisablaschke

I have my system for keeping up with appointments. It's old and outdated -- I write them down on my free Half Price Books calendar. I also keep track of all my kids events and bills that are due on the same one. I highlight appointments, sessions, places I need to be in yellow. I highlight birthdays in pink, bills due in green and payments received in blue. Lately my calendar is a mess. I scribble all kinds of notes along the side -- phone numbers, directions to sessions, grocery lists. I realize it's a disaster waiting to happen but I don't know what to do . I tried to use my cell phone calendar to record everything, but I end up writing it on my handy free calendar and then forgetting to transfer it to the cell phone. I tried using Google calendars and the same thing is happening. I forget to update it. I tried to buy a fancy, new leather-bound calendar at the beginning of the year so I could pull it out in front of clients and show how together I am. I couldn't decide on the right color so I still pull out my freebie calendar and laugh it off with a confident "it gets the job done."

A disaster happened last month when I spilled some Diet Coke on my calendar. Everything was a smudgy mess and I had to guess my way around the more splotchy areas. I came out okay. I didn't miss any appointments then. But now with a recent increase in business -- which is wonderful by the way -- I'm finding myself looking for a new system. I've filled every inch of the month of April and May is starting to look pretty complex. It's hard to read my way through the complex labyrinth of appointments, bills due and birthdays. There has to be a better way. Perhaps one of those big desk size calendars would be more appropriate, but then I couldn't grab it and stick it in my bag on my way out to meetings. I'm open to suggestions. What works for you?

By the way, today I'm sharing a shot from a session I did last week. Such sweet kids! Most boys would probably snarl if I asked them to rub noses with their little sister, but not this one. Thanks for letting me capture these moments!