Strollerderby : photography

Small Paycut Can Equal Big Sacrifice in Tough Times

Shannon LC Cate — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Today's online edition of The New York Times features a touching slideshow portrait of a family of six in California who are struggling to get by after a seemingly small--ten percent--paycut. Mom says friends told her it was be easy if she "trimmed the fat" from her budget. But as I'm sure many readers can relate, there isn't much fat in the budget of a family with four young children trying to live on one adult salary. Now the full-time (and then some) job of the stay-at-home parent includes monthly meal planning down to the last detail of how to get the most from the leftovers. The family has also cut piano lessons for their set of twins, vaccinations for their pets, haircuts, and new work clothes for dad.

To watch the short slideshow narrated by mom, visit NYTimes.com.

What They're Babbling About: Pregnancy, the Good, the Bad and the Newly Born

JeanneSager — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:26:00 GMT

Without pregnancy, there wouldn't be a parenting blog for y'all to read, so today's What They're Babbling About goes full bore on making baby.

Most of us would pay beaucoup bucks to keep the cameras at bay during pregnancy. But when the fantastic photog is the baby's daddy, and he writes weekly love notes like this, I think even a pregnancy-induced zitfest could look beautiful - Pacing the Panic Room

Whatever modesty you had pre-pregnancy is gone by the time it comes to the pushing. We'd bare it in Macy's window if it would just . . . make . . . it all go away. This mom came close - Macy's is less than a block from Penn Station, where one intrepid traveler gave birth. - Parent Dish

Breast is best, but what happens when the breastmilk has a toxo-load? Find out why moms are mulling contamination at the boob. - SuperEco

Ever heard two uglies make a pretty? Tell this girl - his ugly face and her ugly soul will make a pretty darn screwed up kid. - Jezebel

This is what we call recession maternity wear - making it work without going up a size. - LilSugar

So you think life is going to be boring now that you're giving up alcohol (for now, anyway) and spending every Friday night in front of Sesame Street? Guess again - changes are afoot. - MomLogic

Image: davhor

Congress Looks at Postpartum Depression Support

Get National Geographic Book on Mothers for the Photos, Skip the Words

Miriam Axel-Lute — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

For all its insightful information (for a few years I used to read it cover to cover; I miss it), when most of us think of National Geographic magazine, we think of the stunning photography.

And so, it should come as no surprise that the National Geographic Society's little coffee table book (can it still be a coffee table book if it's little? I guess so) Mothers & Children is full of wonderful photos—some beautiful, some tender, some funny, some awkward in their honesty. I love the juxtaposition of cultures and classes.

It's in my nature to overanalyze, though, and I have to say I would have preferred the book without any words at all over the words that were there: over-the-top, one-sided quotes about selfless, all-consuming motherhood (ick!) and three banal essays by the same guy (Craig Wilson, a USA Today writer, whose privilege to get to write most of the text in the book is never explained. His bio is on the Barnes & Noble listing for the book, but nowhere in the book itself). There's no sense of the complexity of defining motherhood, no acknowledgement that while there are commonalities across cultures, there are also huge differences in the experience of it.

(And how is it that pictures of kids alone fit the theme? Does a child only exist in relation to its mother?)

I would have been much happier to get a couple sentences of context for each photo and draw my own conclusions about what the photos say about the relationship(s) between mother and child.

So get it for the photo-lover in your life (at the NGS bookstore or Amazon), but I recommend skipping the words.

More by this author:

Family of Man: Birth Photos Shows Everyone But Mom

JeanneSager — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:30:00 GMT

It's one of the most celebrated photos of a child being born - the baby's body is stretched out with the umbilical cord stretched across his glistening body, the black and white making his scrunched up screaming face that much more vibrant.

Yet, nowhere in the picture, is the little boy's mother. Not even Joan Miller's legs are seen in the most famous photo of her life - the moment she gave birth to son David.

The defining shot in Wayne Miller's Family of Man exhibition of 1955 has gained new attention of late thanks to the publication of a book, Wayne F. Miller: Photographs 1942-1958, published late last year, and an article next month's Smithsonian Magazine. Shot on September 19, 1946 (the baby in the picture is now sixty-two), it's no surprise Mrs. Miller was hidden from view. It's surprising that she allowed her husband to be in the room at all, not to mention with a camera in hand. Although most fathers have cameras and sometimes videocameras at the ready for today's labor and delivery (and we expect photos of our friends' newborn, fresh from the womb, to be sent to our phones immediately . . . if not sooner), ours were the first dads to be allowed - or ask to be - into the delivery rooms as common practice.

Making this photo - which was chosen to be sent into space aboard the two Voyager spacecraft - all the more special is the man seen holding newborn David Miller by the leg. It's his grandfather - Wayne Miller's father, and Joan's father-in-law. I can't imagine allowing my father-in-law to be my OB/GYN (eeek), but then, to know the person helping bring your child into the world has almost as much concern for his wellbeing as you do . . . that could do wonders in putting a new mother at ease!

For a shutterbug like me, the piece was an interesting read; but for a Mom, it was even better. Check it out - and see more photos - here.

Images: Wayne Miller, via Smithsonian Magazine

Let's Do the Twist, Baby

Kids Around the Globe Weigh in on Obama

Kids Explain How Babies Are Made

The Pink and Blue Project

SunnyChanel — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:36:00 GMT

Pink and blue. Now those are some loaded colors. Put a baby in a blue or pink onesie and their sex is more than specified, it is considered an honest hued fact. The gender affiliation of these two shades has become a seemingly universal trend, with color conditioning occurring immediately out of the womb. It ain’t no wonder that many a young girl and/or boy affiliate with one of these clichéd colors as a major part of their emerging identity.

One woman was curious about this and also happened to have a camera and one hell on an eye. The New York photographer JeonMee Yoon’s daughter became fascinated by the color pink and at the age of five only wanted to dress and play with pink clothing and objects. This inspired The Pink and Blue Project by Yoon, a series of portraits of boys and girls with their own cherished collections of pink and blue objects. The portraits, in her own words, “also raises other issues, such as the relationship between gender and consumerism, urbanization, the globalization of consumerism and the new capitalism.”

It’s interesting to note that according to color historians, the affiliation of the colors was once reversed. Pink was for boys, being a variance of the “stronger” shade of red. And as the 1918 Ladies Home Journal stated “blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." The color conventions we now know only came into being in the 1950s.

Were you a "pink" girl or a "blue" boy or perhaps a "blue" girl or a "pink" boy?

Check out more photos from Yoon's series here.

It's Mr. Santa, and He's Nasty

JeanneSager — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:34:00 GMT

The Santa Claus at a mall in Edmonton, Canada has a serious case of the nasties. The guy hired to ho, ho, ho all day has started yelling at the parents who snap their own pictures of their kids on his lap instead of paying a $14 fee for a "basic picture package."

Santa says the parents who take their own pictures are basically shoplifting. Apparently he hasn't heard Santa's supposed to be the giving type.

"What message are you sending your children; 'Look Tommy and Sally, see what your parents stole you for Christmas'," Lyle Young told the Edmonton Sun.

Before you start thinking parents are somehow gypping the miserly Mr. Kringle, Young is paid a flat fee by the photography company that runs the mall Santa station. He gets paid whether parents pony up or not. And the mall's manager has said he'd be willing to pay a Santa to sit there and let parents take all the free pictures they want.

As a photographer, personally, I'm not big on the pictures you get when you sit down with Santa or any major character. The kids are stressed, the photographers are rarely trained, the lighting is terrible, and the photos look like you-know-what. Even the trained photographers don't have the same eye for my child that I do. I'm big on candid photos, where they spend the entire time coaxing the kids to "look at the camera" and "say cheese." You know what happens when my daughter says cheese? She closes her eyes and puts on the world's goofiest grin - it's the ham look developed after years of being tortured by her mother the photographer.

But even parents who don't care a fig about the artistry want that picture for something special. Usually, the store pictures are marked with a brand, so short of taking them home, scanning them in and working with special software to erase that mark, you can't reproduce the picture to send out to family or friends anyway. So taking one of your own is often the only way to get a picture that you can share, or a picture you can make in the right size for the frame you have in mind.

Then there's that money. Fourteen dollars may not sound like much to Lyle Young, but to a family that's out shopping with just a few dollars in their pockets, it can be a big dent in the budget. When their child sees Santa, however, should parents have to say, "sorry, honey, Santa charges too much?" Come on, he's Santa! And, according to the story in the Sun, the price of actually sitting on Santa's lap is free - there's nothing that says parents HAVE to pay. The photography studio running the booth has made its own mistake there.

Personally, I try to take my daughter out to see Santa when he's working for charity, where my fee for the crappy picture goes straight into the charity's coffers - and the "photographer" volunteering for the day is more than happy to let me shoot away.

Image: Root Cellar

Five Easiest - and Cheesiest - Christmas Gifts to Make With the Kids

Parents Make Son Hold 'I Will Never Shoplift Again' Signs

When Do You Make the Kids Give Their Toys Away?

When Your Kid's is the Puny Gift to the Teacher

Would You Give Gifts Bought At Wal-Mart Where Man Died?

Santa Claus Can Call Them For You

Santa Reinvented: Decidedly Naughty and Passing for German

Taking the Midwifery Cause to . . . Postage Stamps

Miriam Axel-Lute — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:30:00 GMT

You've likely heard about the whole Stamps.com thing where you can order honest-to-god postage ("metered postage," the USPS hastens to add, not "real stamps." But they'll get your letter where it's going) with your own photos on it. Apparently they get touchy if you try to put anything "randy" or political (at least antiwar) on them though.

Happily for supporters of midwifery, however, the good folks at Stamps.com don't know just how political the choice of a birthing attendant can be, and they've got a lovely set of stamps available in partnership with the American College of Nurse Midwives that either say "Choose a Midwife" or give ACNM's website and have beautiful pictures of a pregnant belly and newborns (or ACNM's logo).

It's looks like ACNM has become a Stamps.com affiliate, which according to the site should be earning them "high commissions," which I'm glad to hear, since the cost for a sheet of their stamps comes out to well over twice the cost of the postage itself, even before shipping. If they sell, it sounds like a decent blend of fundraising and just getting the word out. I can hear the people in the mailroom now: "What was that on that envelope? . . . No, the stamp, not the crayon scribbles and apple juice spill."

More by this author:

Six Steps to a Parent-Friendly Wedding

Coolest Family Portraits Ever

Amy Kuras — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:30:00 GMT

This makes me feel that much more lame for the fact most of my family pictures are done at the local chain-store portrait studio: check out these portraits that photographer Andre Maier takes of his family every six months. Some are based on classical paintings, others are just witty and funny, like the one of his family posed as gallerygoers and artists.

The work is beautiful and sometimes oddly touching, like the one of his family posed as Madonna and child with the Magi. I’m also a sucker for anything, even goofy collections of snapshots, that show families over time as they grow and change and age. There’s another family’s photo collection on the site as well. They seem to be having a lot less fun than the Maiers.

Of course, the fact that they are all stunningly gorgeous helps. Maier’s wife, Sylvia, is an artist as well, so there is all kinds of creativity around their house, I am sure.

He does these for other people, as well as photographs weddings and mitzvahs, so if you’re in NYC definitely check him out. And if you’re in the hinterlands like me, it’s great to spend some time poking around the website.

Capturing The Cute For Posterity

Amy Kuras — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:32:00 GMT

Please tell me I'm not the only parent to have experienced this: You get your little one all fancied up for a professional photo session, only to have them balk and lose their little minds at the very prospect.

And it seems to be an age-related thing. My daughter's first one, at about seven months, was completely hilarious – she flirted with the camera, smiled huge for all her pictures, and generally seemed to consider the whole thing a great time. Five months later for her one-year picture, her enthusiasm waned, and she just flatly refused to sit for her two-year pictures (we managed to get one shot for posterity because of the nice photographer's idea to blow bubbles across the room). For her last birthday, we practically had to wrest her bodily out of the studio, she loved it so much.

Now we're planning the same rite of passage with the boy, so I found this article by professional photographer Anna Myers especially interesting. She suggests the best ages to do professional portraits are between five and ten days old, maybe around four months, definitely at six or seven months, nine months and about 13 months. (excuse me, but who are these people that are all ready for professional portraits at five days postpartum? The only reason I could get it together to brush my teeth and shower, never mind get prettied up for a photo session, is because my husband was home).

I'm not so sure about that many photo sessions, and if I was better with a camera I'd just do them myself. But I'm not, so wish us luck.

Strollerderby Playdate: She's a Beauty

Madeline Holler — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:18:00 GMT

Here’s what every playgroup needs: a good photographer. Someone who shows up – unbidden – with a camera and a strollerload of talent. She takes pictures, shrinks, crops and uploads only the gorgeous ones – she’s got plenty to choose from -- making sure to load your Inbox only with those shots that star your own child. God, I love that playgroup mom.

Which is why I’m excited about today’s playdate with Chookooloonks. Just thumb through her daily photos. I mean, just a few days ago, she took an absolutely stunning shot of – are you ready? – a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

I know, it can’t be. But it's true. Great shot. She takes pictures of flowers, her daughter, herself, stuff from her house (am I making her sound boring? It's not.) Just look at that picture of her coffee mug above. A mug!

Sure, Chookooloonks doesn’t feature any pictures of my kids – that would be weird, because I don’t actually know the blogger. But I’d be glad to meet her, especially if she promises to bring her camera.

Chuck E. Cheese’s! Get out!

Photo: Karen Walrond via chookooloonks

Capturing Joy During Most Painful Loss

Madeline Holler — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:46:00 GMT

I don’t even know what to say about this recent LA Times piece, except that there are some damn nice people in the world.

The article is about a photographer who volunteers to take pictures of families who are about to experience what must be unimaginably painful: stillbirth or the imminent and early death of a sick child.

This photographer does all the usual portraiture and holiday photos, weddings and other occasions. That’s how she earns her living. But over the past few years has also donated her time and photostock to pregnant women or families who are bracing themselves for the sadness of this most profound loss. These families want some way to preserve their memories of the sheer joy of even the shortest lives and she gives it to them.

Since the photographer first started, and word spread, demand became so high that she had to recruit other volunteer photographers to do it too. Now, she’s formed a network of bereavement photographers in most major cities around the country.

Doctors and hospitals used to whisk stillborn babies away, thinking out-of-sight-out-of-mind. But now they realize parents need to hold the babies, whether alive or not, and families often don’t want to forget and can’t. Now it’s the nurses and doctors who let patients know about bereavement photography and even arrange for it.

Photo: LA Times

Serious Celebrity Photoshop Looove

Kelly Mills — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:03:00 GMT

I'm addicted to lots of things: coffee, manny porn, those little animal crackers I put in my kid's lunchbox. And now I've got another one: Planet Hiltron. This site could not be updated often enough for me, though I'm sorta glad it's sporadic, since mama can kill lots of should-be-workin'-time on the internet. These are, of course, celebrities if they were less glamour and a little more, um, typical. Check out the Beckhams! Ms. Paltrow! And since Nicole Richie is pregnant, here's a guess at what her little progeny might look like.

After all the airbrushing scandals of late, I'm just so thrilled to see photo manipulation put to good use once again. Now I'll offer up a new photo challenge: what would Heidi Klum look like if she hadn't lost the baby weight? I am just dying to know.

Breastfeeding: So Controversial, It's Art!

Kelly Mills — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:30:00 GMT

Artist Rachel Valley is exploring issues in breastfeeding through photography in a show called MOTHER.CULTURE.ART. If you live in or near Auburn, California (all three of you) you can check out the opening on Thursday, August 9, 2007. The work came out of her own experience as a mom, "After giving birth to my daughter, I started my journey into mothering and breastfeeding, and I was overwhelmed with conflicting information and hostile opinions."

My goodness, there's really people out there hostile to breastfeeding? I'm telling you, there's a whole rise in milk jug art now. However, I did notice that not one of the photographs features this nifty little hat.

Crafty: Moo Gives You Stickers From Your Flickr

Patti — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:58:00 GMT

First they came along with Moo Cards, and I haven't ordered any yet, because I'm really just that lazy. Then they came along with Moo Notecards, and I keep meaning to get around to that.

Now Moo, a company devoted to the art of helping you do interesting things with the photos you've uploaded into your Flickr stream, has made me an offer I'm going to find it difficult to refuse: the chance to make a book of stickers from my personal photo collection. Can you imagine the possibilities here? Scrapbooking, collages, decorating letters to Grandma, embellishing wrapped presents...and of course what my kids will end up doing with the high-quality vinyl stickers, which is slapping them in the middle of their foreheads and running around with a picture of Daddy on waterskis up there instead of a Chiquita Banana label.

Now, seriously: what the f*** is my Flickr login?

Another Project For Family Togetherness, If Squirrel Photography is Your Thing

Karen Murphy — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:35:00 GMT

Yeaaah. This one takes a really special type of family, I'm thinking. One with a lot of time on their hands. Or maybe you save this project for when the kids are grown up or if you don't even have kids, I don't know.

Take one squirrel. Rescue said squirrel so it's used to being handled. Design and create over 2000 outfits for said squirrel, as well as thousands of props and myriad sets, in order to photograph said squirrel over 5000 times. (By the way, he's adorable if not slightly creepy dressed as JonBenet Ramsey)

Can't get enough of Sugar Bush Squirrel? Here's more. Much more. And, oh, he has a MySpace page too, if you're interested.

Of course, there may not be room in the universe for more than one squirrel model. That's your call.

Strollerderby Playdate: Say Cheese, Cheesies!

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:03:00 GMT

Enough talking, people! Time to get out those brag books, piles of vacay pics you just got back from Costco and the holding room for your photos also known as your digital camera with the ginormous memory card. Let's take a break from all the blah-blah-babble and just enjoy some visuals from our favorite blogs, shall we?

Karen at Chookooloonks makes me want to dig the camera out from the bottom of the diaper bag. Or take a photography class. Or maybe just move in with her beautiful family. Say awww over this perfect pic of happy hour at her house and then drool over this gift her hub (get this) MADE for her as an anniversary gift. Sigh. See what I mean about moving in?

RachelleB's people watching at Coney Island. Come on...you know you wanna look. This is real, live, summery carnie kind of stuff. I love it.

Sarah at Bloggynoodle is a braver mama than I. This picture's the proof.

Oh, our own Catherine of Her Bad Mother, we adore you so with your clever wit and rightful anger. Perhaps this post and photo will inspire the rest of us to blog our own birds.

Susiej's documenting the breakfast her boy made all by himself. Gobble up the glorious anti-foodiness of it all.

And finally, in the scrumptious baby belly category, please find Kimberly from the Gav Menagerie and her summer-loving, hose-spraying, cheek-nibbleable kids getting a perfect taste of summer.

NYChildren Photo Project Seeking International Kids

Patti — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:28:00 GMT

The project: Photograph a child from each country of the world. The catch: Every kid needs to be a resident of New York City.

New York being New York, NYChildren is a project that's almost completed. But 46 countries remain unphotographed, and photographer Danny Goldfield is seeking those remaining children in order to complete this phase of his work, which he hopes will lead to a gathering of his subjects he calls the Dream Event as well as other extensions of the concept, including video projects and further social events.

So, New Yorkers and those who love them: Check the list of countries remaining and see if you know any children in one of the five boroughs who fit the criteria. And if one of those kids happens to belong to you, would you mind letting me know how the Dream Event gathering turns out? It sounds completely awesome.

(photo of Fatou, from Gambia by way of the Bronx, from Danny Goldfield's NYChildren project. Story via Metafilter)

Meredith Allen's Summery Art (on a stick!)

Patti — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:28:00 GMT

Next time my kids plead for one of those hideous Dora-shaped frozen pops when the ice cream truck is circling the park, instead of shuddering and saying no I may be willing to open my mind a little bit. After all, I wouldn't want to stifle any artistic instincts they might possess.

Meredith Allen's series of photographs of melting ice pops, shaped like various cartoon characters and shot at different recreation spots between 1999 and 2006, have changed my perceptions of these nasty, gumball-eyed little horrors. You too may be looking for beauty in snack treats after a glance at her gallery of intensely colored images.

And jeez, if there was a Dora one, I'd even think about buying a print.

(image credit: Meredith Allen)

Preschoolers Make Us More Depressed About Getting Old

Kelly Mills — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:17:00 GMT

The bluntness of preschoolers should never be underestimated. My child, for example, has pointed out in various public forums that my butt jiggles, I smell gross after I exercise (prompted by a jiggly-butt panic) and that I have really big dark circles under my eyes. Thanks, punkin'! Anyway, I'm glad I never asked her about aging, because I've already spent enough time rubbing eye cream on my crow's feet to have to get a whole new complex about what's around the corner. BoingBoing found these kids shared freely about what happens when you get old, and man, is it brutal.

My favorites:

"You get older, your shrink and your body is scribbly." Crap, I forgot about the shrinking. I already have evidence of the scribbly.

"They get smushy skin." Great. Now I'm equating aging with those films where they speed up the decay of an orange and it goes from this plump orb to the smushy blob of fertilizer.

"First they start smooth and when they are going to die they get pruney. They are old." Just so you know, wrinkles and death are the big themes. Lots of death. Which starts to sound like sweet relief after you read the other descriptions of aging.

"Heaven is a place where all animals go. People's heaven is under ground." Like people's heaven is hell? Somebody call PETA, because I believe you have a new recruit.

Oh and favorite accompanying art is by Ashley, who says, "My grandfather has white hair and scribble scrabble on his hands" but the mournful figure in the picture seems to say, "Help me..."

Take #412: Perfect Photography for Your Wailing Baby

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Thu, 03 May 2007 14:04:00 GMT

The first Christmas after Lil E was born, we set the self-timer on the digital camera with the best of new parent intentions (read: laughably high hopes) to take the perfect family portrait for our holiday cards. Fifty-four photos later (I kid you not), we called it quits, tore down the studio (read: Velux blanket thrown over the couch) and settled one where no one's bodily fluids or post-partum jelly belly were showing. Our cards sort of looked like the nativity scene minus the sheep and kings, but at that point, it just did not matter.

The thing is, the photo taking only intensified from there. By Lil E's first birthday, we'd amassed over 4,000 pictures, some tender and amazing and capturing an ideal new babe moment, and others that I just could not bear to delete (even with bodily fluids and bellies front and center). For every digi-camera wielding parent filling up memory cards with not-so-cute pics of the oh-so-cute kiddos, there's a photographer itchy to remedy the situation. It's no surprise that I'm a junkie for the photography tip crack, and perhaps it also is no surprise that I'm often uninspired by what I read.

Here are a few professional tips (with completely unprofessional commentary) that may or may not help you snap shots of your sweet thang:

1. It's never too early to take photos of the baby. This tip clearly falls in the No Kidding category, considering that the child's first shoot took place when half its body was still inside mommy. But just in case you forget to take photos when your baby is all fresh and tiny and still, then I guess this is a good reminder.

2. Don't try to be Anne Geddes. That is, do not place an infant who can't even lift his head up on to an open-faced flower, over a pumpkin or inside a gauze baggie. At least not alone. If you feel compelled to get all kinds of artsy, volunteer to stay behind the camera so you can blame the daddy or grandma if anything or anyone slides off the props.

3. Use tricks to get your baby's attention. Like playing peek-a-boo. Or making an un-loud, non-intimidating sound. Or (this is a real suggestion, I swear) tickling the newborn's face with a feather duster. Really? I can't think of a person on this planet who would not get crabby and over-stimulated (and not in a good way) by getting a mouth-full of ostrich. Plus, every over-anxious, properly scare-mongered new mother knows that gazillions of germy bugs live inside those things and God only knows how many bookshelves that duster's been on.

4. Watch what you dress the baby in. While nakey pictures are clearly a parental favorite, sometimes, for the sake of future therapy bills you must actually dress your baby for the photo shoot. This photographer warns parents to watch out for (gasp) wrinkled clothing. Wrinkles? Ha! I take your fold-lines and raise you a projectile spit-up, long strings of drool and several poopsplosions.

5. Don't forget to include mom. Now this tip, I can get behind. Or rather, in front. Because I'm the one who actually pauses a tender or hilarious or disgusting moment to run for the camera, there are about 1/100th the number of mother-son photos to father-son photos sitting idle on our hard drive. Seriously, what a rip. As cute as all that testosterone is, a mama needs some model love, too.

With that, you should be all set to take gorgeous portraits of your new baby, spend an hour uploading them on Flickr and then forget to ever print them off or look at them again. Happy shooting!

Moo NoteCards: Customized With Your Flickr Stream

Patti — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:02:00 GMT

We didn't do birth announcements. We have yet to get it together to send out holiday cards in all these years. It is seriously a wonder that we manage thank-you notes. And I am so far too lazy to upload any of our digital photographs to Flickr. But I think it's time to get my act together and kill all those birds with one beautifully printed stone, because Moo, the folks who brought you the adorable Moo MiniCard business cards, have now launched NoteCards, high-quality prints of your favorite Flickr pictures that you can pop into an envelope and mail out.

They're the same beautiful stock on which the MiniCards are printed, which, if you haven't seen those, you'll just have to trust me—they're impressive. And while the NoteCards might seem pricey (16 for $24.99, with envelopes) compared to a pack of pre-printed notes from the card aisle at Target, they're cheaper and more personal than anything you could order from a stationer.

Now, if I could only remember my Flickr login and get started uploading pictures right now, sending out cards for Holiday 2007 might just be within the realm of possibility.

Digital Camera + Mom = Professional Photographer?

Melissa Summers — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:33:00 GMT

The New York Times tells us about another 'trend' where moms seem to think buying a digital SLR makes them a professional photographer. As digital SLRs have become more affordable, many mothers are expanding their love of photography into a business.

I love the clever marketing these women are using. Jodie Otte creates business cards using client photos knowing they'll be quickly passed on to the client's friends and family. Other women have created Portrait Parties, where several families get together and the photographer snaps shots of the kids at play. If the parents like what they see, they'll spread the word. Brilliant.

What's the problem? Well, it appears large studios and old-guard photographers have their undergarments in a twist. On photography message boards these women are disparagingly referred to as "MWAC", Mom With a Camera. They should call them Mommies With A Camera, because that's the best way to minimize women who have the audacity to have off spring and also do other things. See the internet's references to "Insipid Mommy Bloggers".

Best line in the article, "“It’s about making people comfortable and finding the emotion in their faces. The camera is just a tool.” Apparently, because my eyes are closed in over half of the professional photographs we've had taken, the emotion photographers find in my face is exhaustion."

It's funny, I thought moms bought digital SLRs so they could blog.

5 Ways to Take Better Pictures of Your Kids

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:37:00 GMT

I take tons of pictures of my kids. Seriously. Sometimes when we go to the park I'll take 170 pictures. The Sarah school of photography says that if you take 100 pictures at least two of them will be really good. It isn't the most efficient process, but my digital camera allows me to do this cheaply.

This morning I found much better advice on taking great photos of your kids. JMadigan posted 5 tips on taking better pictures of your children. Jamie Madigan has beautiful pictures of his daughter and he has really effective suggestions like getting down and close to your subject, paying more attention to your background, and keeping an eye on where your child is placed within the frame of the picture.

Even better: don't be afraid to stage a shot. While we all love candid pictures of our kids, sometimes creating a planned picture can be really adorable. Go check out his site, I had never been to his site before this morning, but I'll be going back.

Documenting Family Life with "ComicLife"

Patti — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:04:00 GMT

Despite being fairly computer-savvy, I'm a total slouch in the graphics department. The only thing I can use our fancy Photoshop rig to do is resize pictures and take out red-eye. So it was a happy day indeed when I discovered that my recently purchased Macbook came with a little program called Comic Life.

Even if you're better-versed than I am at making cute things happen with your digital pictures, Comic Life is a fun way to enhance your blog, family newsletter, or scrapbook. Without even reading the instructions I was able to import a picture, play around with the features, and create a single-panel "comic" in just a couple of minutes. Now I've got visions of using the multi-panel templates to tell the stories of camping trips, birthday parties, and other family events that work better on a visual level.

Should Stillborn Baby Photo Be Kept Out of Sight of Co-Workers?

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 21:49:00 GMT

In Cubicle Land, most everyone has pictures of her family -- but what do you do when a co-worker displays a photo of her stillborn baby? Dear Abby says to stuff it away. Moron.

The story goes that "Madge" -- the office gossip and know-it-all -- keeps a photo her deceased infant "with its little eyes sewn shut" in plain view of her co-workers. And they're sick of seeing the baby. Dear Abby says the photo should be put away, and that Madge's supervisor should deal with the "problem."

I don't see the problem, however. It's a photo of a baby -- and if she wants to display it, then more power to her. It's probably not the cute, rosy-cheeked cherub we're accustomed to seeing, but how can you casually set aside a part of life?

A few months ago, I might have had a different point of view. I might have been grossed out or put off by sadness. But Daddytypes directed me to quite possibly the best -- and saddest -- parenting essay I'll ever read: David Raeburn's "Vessels." Give it a read and weigh in: Should the photo remain on the desk?