We were discussing gift ideas for our parents when Tim mentioned a photo calendar. I don't remember exactly how it evolved in to what it ended up being, but basically he came up with the idea and then Elle and I did all the work :) We started in late October and ended with a flurry of photo shoots in early December, which gave me just enough time to edit the photos, pick the calendar templates and place my order ... in time to get it to me ... in time to wrap and ship them to Ohio. (Whew!) I went pretty basic on the actual calendars - I could have personalized them with family birthdays and anniversaries (which I later did on a version for us), but with the time crunch, I didn't.
This was a pretty easy (my model was quite cooperative!), fairly inexpensive (I waited for sales and used a coupon code and printed it on Shutterfly), fun, cute and practical present for the grandparents, and it has received rave reviews. The biggest challenge was fitting photo shoots in when Elle was clean, fed, alert and happy - and the fact that she couldn't sit up? That made things interesting, too. When I edited the photos, I went on technical quality and tried to vary the poses/expressions.
I'll break the months down:
January
The last one we photographed. Parked Elle on the couch with a stuffed animal that matches one we gave her cousin and took advantage of a slightly large penguin onesie. Ta-da! Winter in Florida. I love her fat little thighs in this one :)
February
The first one photographed specifically for the calendar and my least favorite. So much potential for this month ... I considered reshooting it but ran out of time and energy (those wardrobe changes took a lot out of us!).
March
Someone decided they liked to eat grass. We shot March and April on the same day - we headed to the park and enjoyed the fresh air. I was fortunate that a friend had given me a hand-me-down St. Patrick's Day outfit that would be about six months too small for Elle when the holiday actually rolled around ... but was the perfect size for her in November :)
April
The Easter-theme was one of my favorites - I dragged out several props, including the eggs seen here. The lighting was tricky because I didn't want her staring in to the sun, but she looks cute and spring-y and it worked for me!
May
This is Tim's favorite photo. If you open the calendar to May, he is guaranteed to start laughing. He thinks Elle looks like Winston Churchill. I took this photo near the lake at our complex on the same day I took the July photo, a photo for Aunt Marti's gift and her 16-week photo. I didn't realize how tired she was at the time, but she practically fell asleep on the short walk back to our condo. My least favorite part of this photo? The caution tape in the background on the right of the photo - they were blocking off a drain to the lake, and I couldn't shoot to avoid the tape.
June
My favorite shoot and the one that was hardest to edit. We hit the beach on Thanksgiving - Tim was at work, and I was determined to make progress on this project. Elle was hilarious, and we got a LOT of weird looks. She spit up all over herself, fell asleep on the way home and was freaked out by the wind. I learned an important lesson this day: Sandy babies are no fun. She had sand EVERYWHERE. And this was right around the time when she became obsessed with her toes, so the toes had sand+the toes went to the mouth=sand all over the face and inevitably in the mouth. I told her it was her first solid food.
A short video from this photo shoot:
July
This is another one that had a lot of promises (and props!). We went for a photo of Elle in her birthday suit. I had a big birthday party hat, but she kept trying to eat it. The best part about this shoot was when she lunged for the cake, getting frosting in her fingers that she quickly transferred to her ear and diaper. (?!)
August
We took a "Back to School" approach with this one, especially since Tim's mom is a teacher. Elle and I hit the park on a chilly, windy November day for the August and September photos. I had hoped to use a backpack prop with her, but again, since she couldn't sit up, I was limited with my options. I totally lucked out when I found this bus parked at the park :)
September
I had two options for September: Generic fall motif or football. I opted to try football some time when she's able to do more than lay around. So generic fall it was - a theme that is made especially challenging when you live in a state that doesn't really experience fall. You can see she was getting a little bit chilly because her nose is red. I had to work fast, because it was cold and she was getting tired. I love the light in this one, though.
October
This was technically the first photo we took for the calendar, but when we took it (in early October at the pumpkin patch in front of a church near our condo), we hadn't even discussed Christmas gifts. It was too perfect to not use, though.
November
This is what happens when you throw a baby in a "First Thanksgiving" sleeper, place her in a roasting pan and put the roasting pan on the oven :) I considered trying to make it look like the pan was halfway in the oven, but it wasn't worth risking Elle's safety. A friend said I should have put vegetables, like potatoes and carrots, around her, but I didn't think Elle would let me try this photo shoot again. Our tall baby was a wee bit too long for a comfortable fit, so the vision I had initially didn't quite pan out (get it?), but short of dressing her in a turkey costume, I didn't think of many other options.
December
My second favorite shot, and one similar to the one we used on our Christmas cards. Elle had her four-month well-baby visit this day, and I was ready to have this calendar photographed already. The tree was up, the baby was worn out from her shots, so I put on her Christmas dress (a gift from Daddy) and rocked her to sleep. Then I placed her under the tree, on the tree skirt, and photographed away. The lighting was tricky, and I couldn't put her as far under the tree as I had envisioned, but the overall effect worked. She was sucking her thumb in the first few photos I took, and I can't even describe the look of confusion that she woke up with (but it was something along the lines of "WhyamIundertheselightswhatarethesebranchesdoingwhereamI?") It was waaayyyy easier to get this shot than I had feared, and it was difficult to edit this one down to just one.
