Paula Orologas Personal Blog

Can’t believe that we’re almost through the first month of 2012. I actually had about 15 whole minutes to reflect, close out 2011,  and think about what’s important for 2012. When I first picked up a camera in 2009, shortly after Katie was born, I had no idea that this is where it would lead me – the complete photography geek that I’ve become, the terrific friendships that I’ve made along the way and the great memories that I’ve captured of my awesome kids. As I was thinking about how far I’ve come, I thought it would be fun to find one of those first pictures. Here you go…

Don’t judge too harshly! Despite it being totally underexposed, it remains one of our family favorites. This photo sparked something in me that I see happen with lots of other moms. Capturing her sweet smile and the pure joy on her grandparents’ faces inspired me then and continues to inspire me to get better at this craft.

So what does this have to do with 2012? In 2011, I started some projects that I haven’t really seen through and that’s what I’m committing to in this next year. I started a project aimed at helping other moms capture their kids’ childhood through photography. That project is called PhotoSchoolforMoms.com. Today it has 12 FB likes (thank you dear friends) – enough to get me my own URL on Facebook. It has a couple of posts and affiliate links to some of my favorite sites and resources that helped get me going.

I realize that not all moms will have the time or money to invest in the photography resources the way that I’ve been fortunate to over the last few years so my goal is to stay realistic about what might be helpful for moms in better capturing moments that I am all too quickly realizing flash before us.

So if you’re interested in taking this journey with me, share  your questions with me — about your camera, getting kids to sit still , how to store and print your pictures, anything that’s on your mind. It’ll be our journey together.

Wow! What an amazing weekend at Me Ra Koh’s Confidence workshop. First of all, it started with visiting with  friends I hadn’t seen in over 6 years! Amazingly, we picked up just where we left off. You don’t realize how much you miss some folks until moments like these.

And speaking of long time friendships, my gosh, this weekend turned out to be all about creating relationships, whether it was with Me Ra and Brian, with each other, and with the incredible moms, babies, and families that allowed us to capture their love and connection. I came to this workshop really doubting my ability to connect with those on the other end of the lens. By Sunday afternoon, I was in love with each and every one that I had the privilege to shoot.

Of course, there were some aha’s on the technical side too – thanks Brian for showing me center focus! How did I ever live without that?

Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

The Girls (and Brian)

The Babies

The Families

What an experience! So looking forward to the sequel! Better start saving $$$.

Just when you thought you had enough of me posting pictures on FB and Shutterfly here is another website!

All kidding aside – thank you for supporting this hobby of mine through all your encouragement and kind words. Thank you especially to my wonderful husband who has supported this journey by buying me my first dSLR, the photography lessons, but most of all the space to practice. I know I sort of disappeared that first year as I learned as much as I could but I’m glad to be back and sharing what I’ve learned with you, our family, and our friends.

This upcoming weekend is really special. I’ll be attending the Confidence Workshop in Sacramento put on by Me Ra Koh. I get to be with a bunch of women just like me -learning how to capture and document the lives of children and families. Some women attend because they want to turn pro, others like me, for the pure joy of learning and applying myself to something that makes me incredibly happy. I’m sure that I will be sharing the weekend adventure with you here. Wish me luck and thank you for reading!