From one momma to another…..

So, when I started thinking about creating this blog, and what I wanted to accomplish with it, I immediately thought,

“Easy! I want to help other mommas!”

… but as a photographer, how could I do that best???

and then it hit me…..

What is the one thing we ALL have in common, every. single. one. of us……

We all have, AT MINIMUM, 20,000 pictures of our kids on our phone (or 46,000 but who’s counting….. don’t judge me. Hi, I’m pot and your kettle, and now we are all in this together…..)

and THEN out of those 46 million, that made us sweat, beg, bribe, and maybe even cuss a little to get, it seems like only a handful are actually usable….. am I right ?!?!

No, but seriously as moms we feel it is our duty to be the memory makers, the moment catchers, the daily documenters of all the special little moments that happen between melt downs, mom fails, and messes!

SOOOOO…… That is what my first 4 part blog series is about! I’m here to take some of the guess work, frustration, and irritation out of getting some amazing, and totally post worthy, phone photos!

I’m coming to you momma to momma right now…… Am I also a professional photographer? YES! Do I think that just because I have a fancy lens, an investment in some amazing education (Thank you Katelyn James), and a portfolio of work I’m proud of, that more importantly my clients are proud of, that I think I’m ready to become your professional photography yoda? NO! The way I go about my creative process as a professional is WILDLY different, and a completely different discussion, than taking daily pictures of the 3 wild babes of mine!

BUT I have taken bits and pieces, nuggets if you will, of the professional me and infused it into momma me, to come up with my ability to take my camera roll from this…..

Here are my before pictures. Completely untouched….. Don’t judge me this is a safe place

To this!!! TA-DA!!! Insta worthy, imma right?!?

Let’s Skip To The Good Part…..

When thinking about how best to format this series I figured …. at the risk of sounding like an instagram reel….. let’s skip to the good part! PRESETS…..

As a photographer I would say lets start at the beginning and learn lighting, and then we would never actually end up here with presets because I do not use them on professional photos (but I digress….) because as a mom the perfect world with incredible lighting honestly isn’t happening 99.9% of the time, and presets are so there ya go……

You can’t recreate those moments in better lighting…… like I say to my babes, this is a “You get what you get, and you don’t pitch a fit,” scenario, but with a good set of presets, and working knowledge of Lightroom, it can almost always be fixed!

I know, I know you’re probably going to say ALEX! I have 35 presets and none of them make my pictures look like those you just showed me…….. but before you get all mad, and decide to just go fold some laundry instead of listening to me ramble hear me out…..

When you are promised one-click perfection by presets, that actually IS achievable IF all the stars have aligned, mercury isn’t in retrograde, everybody’s had a nap, and nobody has to pee or is hungry…… and in later posts we will delve into the “perfect” scenario, that if given the choice, will make your presets work easier, and require a little less, if any, tweaking……….

All The Magic Happens In LIGHTROOM!

So, before we get ahead of ourselves make sure you have downloaded lightroom on your phone…. It’s free to download and is what we will use to store and utilize said magical presets….

SO….. What Are The Best Presets?!

HANDS DOWN, I recommend Six Little Babes Presets! I use them exclusively, and they have yet to let me down!

Best part….. they are also created by MOMMAS! AAAANNNNND with Mother’s Day coming up this weekend they are also having an awesome 30% off sale using code JUSTFORYOU

Because of the variety of different options in their collections, I recommend starting there. My favorite collection is the FOR YOU, MOMMA collection, which I’ve linked below…. they also sell singles, and are always coming out with fun new collections, singles, and collabs so make sure to follow them on social media too!

Click Below For My Favorite Six Little Babes Collection…

Click Below For My Current Six Little Babes Single Favs….

I hope ya’ll love them as much as I do, and I can’t wait to see some of your before and after’s! Drop them in the comments and let me know which is your fav!

Also stay tuned for the next post in our better phone photos series to learn how to nail lighting, so your awesome new presets work like a charm every time!!!

until next time! May your coffee be stronger than your toddler, your favorite pair of leggings always be clean, and your dry shampoo transform that pony into a triple crown derby winner…..

XOXO

5U Photography