New Site!

I have moved over to a new site, please visit me at SuzanneOBrienStudio.com!

Hard Habit to Break | Project Life

Last year I took a picture a day and created an album (or two) that captured all of the little details of our lives.  I used Project Life supplies and my standard We R Memory Keepers albums to hold all of the good stuff.  Project Life is a completely do-able approach to memory keeping that fits perfectly with my love of documenting the every day moments in life.   I LOVE what is inside these albums and am so happy to have them completed and out for my family to enjoy.

I also did this “photo-a-day” approach in 2009.  Every other year feels right for me to intensively document the changes in our routines and lives.  So when the calendar turned to 2012 why did I keep taking so many darn pictures?  I guess 365 days does a habit make.

I share this because I hear so many people wishing they took the time to document their daily life more.  While I’ve always been an avid photographer, committing to a project such as this allowed me to capture so many more pictures than even I would have taken the time to slow down and photograph.  Who actually stops and takes a picture of their haul from Costco?

or a pretty cup of coffee?

Well, I guess I did and it is fun to have these memories safely tucked away in an album now.  While I’m focusing my camera on different projects this year I still continue to notice and take those everyday moment shots, like my little guy vacuuming up his muddy shoe mess last night.

Yes, this is one habit I’m very happy to have.

12 in 2012: Jump

                         

This year I am very excited to be joining a group of creative women in a year long photography challenge.  Each month we will choose a theme and share our interpretation of that idea in pictures.  This month’s theme was “self-portrait”.  Given it is January, my ideas for the year ahead are looming large in my mind.  The one word that keeps hanging around is “jump”.  Time to stop thinking about things so much and just go for it – just jump.  So, I decided to see how I could incorporate this idea into a self portrait.

Whenever I found myself outside this past week I played around with my self timer (love the Camera+ app on my iPhone), DSLR remote and tripod.   I jumped on my favorite trail near my house, in the beautiful mountains where we spent the weekend and at the beach yesterday.  In addition to committing myself to the idea of “just jumping”, it also gave me a chance stop and appreciate the beauty all around us.

“Jump” on over to the talented Heather Owens Photography to see her first 12 in 2012 post.  Be sure and click the links in all of the posts and make the full circle!

Documenting 2011

January is a great time of year to reflect back on all of the great experiences you enjoyed in the past year.  Creating a Year in Review photo book is a fun and easy way to continue to enjoy those memories for years to come.  Your book can include everything from your daily routines such as your bike ride to school…

to special events and trips that made the year particularly meaningful:

Or your annual photo book can simply be a place to showcase some of your favorite photos of the year:

These pages are from a photo book I had the pleasure of helping a fun family create to celebrate their memories from the year.  All of the beautiful images are courtesy of Photographs by Nicole, a talented San Francisco Bay Area photographer.  You can see a few more pages from this book here.

How will you document and remember the year 2011?

Hello 2012

New year, new goals.  For me, one of those goals is the scary exciting step of creating an online presence for my business.  A year ago I created a “curriculum” of what I wanted to learn in 2011.  At the top of the list was to improve my photography skills.  I was ready to push myself to finally understand all of the capabilities of my DSLR camera (sound familiar?).  I took online classes, connected with a teacher from Craig’s List, and practiced.  Every day, in fact, as I challenged myself to take a picture a day.  At the end of the year I surprised even myself by having a new camera lens as the main item on my Christmas wish list.

{Thank you, Santa!}

When I look at the “Happy New Year” image above that I took with my new lens, I see areas for improvement. That’s okay. I got to this point because I made focusing on my photography skills a goal for 2011. I wrote it down. And then I worked on it.

That is what I’m doing this year. I’m starting this site to support my new business efforts. I don’t exactly know where I will take it, or perhaps where it will take me. But I do know that I love sharing ideas about photography, memory keeping and capturing everyday life moments to name a few.

What is one thing you are writing down that will challenge you to learn and grow in 2012?

Best (belated) Christmas Gift

I opened my email this morning to find the following email and photo from a client:

My wife opened her photo book last and it was a huge hit. I clearly did not expect the feelings and emotions as there was so much happiness mixed with tears. She said it was the ‘best gift she could have gotten” and she “loved it so much”.

You clearly have spent a lot of time and energy into the project. It is so evident. You got the spirit of our family perfectly. Simple, love, family and fun.  We tend to be understated, and you captured that well.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Please know you have helped make a huge difference in our Christmas.

When I decided to finally take the plunge and start my business this is exactly what I was hoping to do.  Help people tell their story and truly enjoy their memories.  Love how this sweet picture he took captured all of this.

I feel so honored to have worked with this lovely family.  The husband wanted to create an album for his wife who has been bravely fighting cancer this past year.  Married for 11 years they have two beautiful children and in the busyness of life had not found the time to do anything with their family photos.  We worked together to design a 13 year retrospective of their lives together, showcased in a 12×12 photo book.  I hope they enjoy their book as much as I enjoyed creating it!