on being creative.

At the beginning of the month, I was asked to take part in a questionnaire on being creative. Dena - one of my favorite bloggers and dare I say, my "blogging friend" from Live Love Simple nominated me and I have been working on this post here and there ever since! By no means do I assume anyone is that interested in my creative process but I do feel like these questions were interesting to ponder and I'd love to share my answers with you all!
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What am I working on?
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Hmm, I am passionate about photography as an art but I am not and never have been particularly disciplined about it. I can't really say that I have a list of goals that I'm working towards achieving or a host of driven personal and professional projects that I'm chipping away at. I've realized over time that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I still don't exactly know "what I want to do" with all of this but I've enjoyed the process so far. I've had different dreams and feelings towards all things photography / blogging related and those thoughts have changed and shifted as time has gone on. 

Professionally, I am not doing much with photography right now. I was still taking clients in the fall through my business and in the spring I did some freelance work. Problems with my computer forced me to pull back a little bit and honestly I'm really happy with that right now.

I'm actually feeling more interested in growing + focusing on my blog. I have been so happy with my decision to start working with FabKids! Collaborating with a brand has definitely been a dream of mine and they have been SUCH a fun company to work with. I know that sponsorship and making money blogging is a touchy subject for some and is something of a learning process for me as well. I do really enjoy working with brands though and hope to continue to do it in a way that in cohesive with my blog.

(( you can see the posts that I've done for FabKids so far: here! ))

I have also enjoyed being a part of the Mommy Blogger Collective. I am always so hesitant to participate in anything "outside of my box" but this has been a fun group that collectively writes on a prompt each month. I have also learned a lot about blogging through this group of women and I'm really glad that I decided to take part in it!

(( you can see the posts that I've done as part of the Mommy Blogger Collective: here! ))

( Client photos // Fall 2013 // Photography by Gillian Claire )

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How does my work differ from others as a genre?
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I definitely think that my photography has a distinct style which has stayed pretty consistent through the years, although hopefully while improving technically. I like my photos to have a light, soft, somewhat whimsical feel to them.

As far as my blog goes, I do sometimes find myself wondering what I'm doing with my blog or why I'm doing it but alas I keep finding myself here, blogging. My about me section lists my blog as a (real)lifestyle blog and I think that probably sums up what I'm doing here pretty well. I really don't dress my kids a certain way every day, I don't have a spotless house filled with fabulous DIY ideas to share with my readers. I'm not a chef or a gardener or doing reallllly anything that's going to go viral on Pinterest anytime soon but I do love journaling about my boys and I love photographing the way I see them in my heart - soft, lovely, beautiful little souls. 

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How do I write/create what I do?
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Speaking camera gear wise, I primarily use a Canon 5D and a 50 mm 1.4 lens. I edit using Lightroom / Photoshop. I have edited exclusively in each Lightroom or Photoshop but what I primarily do is edit mostly  in Lightroom and use Photoshop more for graphic design / layout type work. I really love the setup of Lightroom and I feel like it suits the style I seek best.

As far as writing goes, I mostly like a journaling / poetic style of writing. I just like to write like I'm filling up a notebook of thoughts. :)

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How does your writing/creative process work?
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Like I said before, I am really not disciplined about my photography or writing. There are a lot of ways that I go about my creative process. Usually if I write a particularly serious post, it's because something is on my mind and I randomly scatter out my thoughts into my iPod and then later publish it as a blog post. My posts are not really ever ideas that are previously planned and put together. I take photos when the mood strikes, I edit when I feel like it and then I just turn it into a blog post. I like to do photoshoots with my boys similar to how I go about client sessions but usually I just randomly pull out my camera and snap some photos. Sometimes those are the photos that turn into treasures. I truly value the pictures of my boys, the pictures here on my blog have feelings attached to them that run so deep.Thank you so much for letting me share them with you! It means the world to me when you leave sweet words behind. <3

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My nominations…
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Jenn of  These Ripples and Waves: Jenn has been reading my blog since the dawn of time and she lives in my home state of Ohio but we've never met in person! Our little boys are just days apart and I love following along with her life on her blog. We have a lot of the same ideas and passions and I always like hearing what she has up her sleeve as far as blogging / photography goes!

Ashlie of Be Your Own Lady: Ashlie's blog is a new one on my must-read-list! I love her passionate writing! Ashlie definitely seems to be a driven mama / blogger / woman and I'd love to hear more about how she views creativity!

Katie of  Hello Little Bean: Katie is a fellow blogger from the Mommy Blogger Collective. I love the clean, fresh look of her blog and of course her adorable little girl, Lark. I'd love to hear more about Katie's creative process! 

I'm honestly tempted to list every single blog here as a "nomination" because I want to read everyone's answers to these questions! So seriously, consider yourself nominated, world!