This month’s Me and Mine photo was taken and edited so long ago that I almost forget to post it today! Well, OK, it was only two weeks ago, but I’m so used to the taking of the Me and Mine shot being a last minute thing.
See, we knew exactly where this month’s photo would be taken. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you will know that this time last year, we went to the lavender fields.
We are so lucky to have Mayfield Lavendar so close by, I forsee it becoming a regular July/August photography theme for our family for many years to come.
Here is our 2013 photo, taken by my brother but edited by me because I was too impatient to wait for him to finish editing the whole shoot:
In terms of posing, Rory is still in that really awkward young baby phase. If you are planning a professional family shoot, I definitely think it’s better to wait until your baby is around eight months old. Personally, if it was my family shoot, I’d wait until around eighteen months, but that’s just because I have a thing about smiley toddler photos. I’m already looking forward to next year’s lavender photos when Rory will be fourteen months old and we should be able to do standing poses, etc.
But the point of Me and Mine is not to wait. The point is to get as many photos of family moments as you can. To not keep putting it off until you realise that you haven’t got one photo of you all together since four Christmases ago. Hence persevering with the lavender field and finding the only pose that really works for a family photo in the middle of a field with a three month old baby.
I do love this photo. Probably one of my favourites of my Me and Mine photos so far. And I can’t tell you how much of a difference it made not using a tripod and a remote for once – so much more efficient having someone actually take the photo for you!
Oh, and by the way, Sam and my smiles are those of two people who have just realised they are sitting on an ant’s nest.
Rory looks like he knew all along.
This month, I’m sending you on to Lauren at The Real Housewife of Suffolk County. I’m really eager to see if the holiday Lauren and her family have literally just got back from will feature in her Me and Mine photo for August. I’ve also really been enjoying the series of guest posts that Lauren has hosted on her blog whilst she’s away, check it out for some really interesting topics and a great way to find new blogs to read.
And, as always, the Me and Mine linky is below. I still have a third of the link ups from last month to comment on, but I promise I will try to comment a bit faster this time round! (I really struggle with commenting in general as I’m so rarely at my desktop computer, no tablets or laptops in this house, and my phone doesn’t like it when I try to comment on blogs – I end up losing long comments and getting infuriated. There has got to be a better way, right??)
36 comments
Love, love, love, love, LOVE!!! I think it might be my favourite of yours, you just look such a happy, relaxed family (even sitting on an ants nest!)
And I loved all the words you said about the project too, you’re exactly right, this project is about not waiting for the perfect moment, but capturing your family just as it is. I think is particularly interesting watching the littlest member of the project change; like Rory, Katie’s LL and my beautiful girl. They will all be so different by Christmas, Rory will possibly be sitting up, LL might be able to stand and I have a scary feeling that my littlest might be walking!!! Two mobile children could be fun! 😉 X
It will be the best part of displaying all the images together I think – seeing how the littlest members have changed so much in a year.
Beautiful photos Chloe, and I agree with Lucy that I think this might be my favourite photo of yours this month too. We went to Mayfield Lavender a few weeks ago and I got someone to take a photo for me, I was tempted to use it as my Me and Mine but my photographer obviously wasn’t as good as yours. 😉 I think it will be really special for both of us to look back on this project because when we started it back in January we were just a three. Now I have a fully interactive, sitting up baby!
Yep, definitely a special year to photograph. Can’t wait to have a proper little collection of all the photos!
Such a beautiful photo and I love the lavender field. So much pretty purple! I glanced at the photos first before reading it and wondered about the beard suddenly appearing. Doh! 🙂
Don’t get me started on the beard!!
What a beautiful picture! The setting is just lovely and that that cheeky grin is adorable
Thank you – he got bored after about 3 minutes, I can’t remember what made him laugh but I’m very glad that something did!
Beautiful, I Love this, I love the lavender in the background and I also love the individual photos of you all.
thank you : )
Love your portrait this month and I would have never guessed you were sitting on an ants nest! Love the photos from last year too! After seeing your post & Lucy’s I am keen to start a yearly tradition just need to decide when and where. x x x
Make it somewhere close by or somewhere you visit a lot or it might be difficult to stick to every year (or so I find!)
Wow these are absolutely stunning!! It’s definitely inspired me to get to a lavender field next summer. You have a gorgeous family 🙂
Such beautiful photos. Really love the colour of the lavender.
I love the colour too, I think lavender is a good ‘not too girly’ flower for a photo full of boys ; )
Wow, wow, wow the colours are amazing and you all look so happy! I loved seeing how Arlo has changed! xxx
Thanks Lucy!
These are lovely pictures. Arlo’s smile is infectious! I really love lavender, as we had a big bush outside our house when I was growing up so the smell instantly takes me back to childhood.
We have some in our garden too as Sam is keen to help the bee population. It’s a lovely scent.
Your pictures from a year ago are lovely, and such a great idea to go back and recreate them. It just a stunning picture, regardless of the ants nest, you can just feel the love and affection bouncing off the screen!
Thank you – definitely easier to capture genuine emotion when I’m not having to mess around with a remote or a self timer
Gorgeousness Chloe – such beautiful pictures – how many are going on the wall at home?
Hehe, a few for sure ; )
What a stunning set of photos and so lovely to see last years too and how your family has grown!!
Grown by one whole person! I wish we had a group shot from last year so I could put them side-by-side.
Absolutely LOVE! This is my favourite photo of yours, it’s stunning. The colours are amazing, not as amazing as Sams beard though! Wowzers!
Thank you for the lovely comments about my blog, we did get a family portrait from holiday but didn’t get home until 4.30am so couldn’t feature it. Will add it to next months 🙂 xx
I’ve now persuaded Sam to get rid of the beard. Look forward to seeing your holiday pics!
Beautiful shot and a beautiful photo. I can barely get 3 of us looking at the camera let alone smiling
It’s so hard to get everyone looking at the camera- almost impossible with young babies!
Sooooo gorgeous. Love all the purple.
Thank you – one of my favourite colours
eeek ants, I bet that made for some interesting out-takes! Lovely pics as always, amazing how much Rory changes from month to month.
He’s growing so fast *sniff*
Love this! We went to a lavender field yesterday, think we left it a bit late in the season though as most of it had been cut down and it wasn’t as purple as it should have been. My OH made a point at standing nowhere near it too as he didn’t want people to think he spends his spare time hanging out in lavender fields! He has a very ‘manly’ hobby and thought it would ruin his rep! Lol, definitely going to go back next year though when it’s in full bloom x
Yeah I think by September it’s right at the end of the season and they are cutting most of it down. July probably the best time to go. Feel a bit mean laughing at your OH but that did make me giggle. Can totally understand – Sam still doesn’t really see the point in all the photos, but he now knows the best thing to do is to shut up and get on with it, that way it’s over quicker. Not sure how he felt about sitting in a field of flowers!
Totally amazing. LOVE the photos. My favourite colour too.
Oh and this “But the point of Me and Mine is not to wait. ” Yes this. and what I said in my post too. I almost didn’t do one but that is just lazy. This is officially my fave linky ever x