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Mother

5/10/2015

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Photo Frames, Quotes and Inspriation from Tara Gill
The earth is mother to us all. How can you hold her gently?
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Showing up

5/4/2015

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Picture
Question the voice that says “I’m not ready yet.” I know, I know. Because you are so brilliant and have such high standards, you see every way that you could be more qualified. You notice every part of your idea that is not perfected yet. While you are waiting to be ready, gathering more experience, sitting on your ideas, our friends referenced in rule five are being anointed industry visionaries, getting raises, and seeing their ideas come to life in the world. They are no more ready than you, and perhaps less. Jump in the sandbox now, and start playing full out. Find out just how ready you are. Tara Mohr
What does showing up in your life mean?

And whose standards do we hold ourselves to that are unrealistic for a life well-lived?

Where can you let yourself off the hook?

I am reading Tara Mohr's book Playing Big and it is full of compassionately voiced concepts and practices she has learned in helping women play bigger and offer their gifts to the world. One self-defeating concept she illuminates dovetails with this quote nicely--never leaving the white board. That means we will plan, design, devise on the white board instead of taking the risk to step out into a real world, a face to face world. I am guilty of that. And I want to play bigger in my life.

What do you notice about showing up in your life? What do you notice about getting it together? Does it stop you from greeting the world with your gifts?



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What gets retouched?

4/24/2015

 

Retouching is great for uneven skin tone and brightening the eyes.
Unretouched Executive Headshot
Before
Unretouched image, Tara Gill Photo
Before
Retouched Executive Headshot, Tara Gill Photo
After
retouched image, Tara Gill Photo
After

Holding Hands

4/20/2015

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There is nothing sweeter than holding the soft innocent hand of your child.

Together. Simple. Pleasure.

I am hoping those days don't end, but they might.
Mother's hold their children's hearts forever.
Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. -ergens gelezen
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Preparing for your Head Shot

4/17/2015

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Questions to Ask Yourself

 Use the environment to illustrate a concept. Reflection. Architect Head Shot, Fremont, CANotice how location makes the image more interesting and rich.
  1. Does your area of work have expectations for what is appropriate?
  2. Is standing out a part of your business? How do you differentiate yourself as an entrepreneur or in your business?
  3. Are there any colors associated with your business? What colors do you look great in?
  4. How can we incorporate some of your personal style into the shoot using clothing or accessories?

General Guidelines

  • Stay away from busy patterns, your face is going to be the focus.
  • Avoid baggy clothing, texture is great though.
  • Bring out your best facial feature by wearing a complimentary or similar color, I will also keep this in mind and use backgrounds to this effect.
  • Bring along a number of different outfits in various styles and colors, layers are the name of the game to make it easy to get many looks.
  • If you normally wear glasses and have a strong prescription, or glasses with no anti reflection coating we will shoot some with glasses and some without. The reflections can sometimes be problematic.
  • If you plan to have your hair cut for the photo shoot, give yourself a little time, a week or so before so your hair has some time to relax and you can be sure you like it.

For Women

Notice how the ring brings out the color of her hair and gives the image cohesion. Head Shot. Bay Area.
Notice how the ring brings out the color of her hair and gives the image cohesion.
  • I generally recommend wearing shirts with sleeves.
  • Makeup should be simple but well done so your natural assets stand out. Keep your make up matte (no sparkles please), and focus on the eyes and the mouth, when they look good the rest of you does too. If you don't usually wear makeup that's just fine.
  • Are your eyes an amazing blue? Is your hair your best asset? Wear a shirt that brings out the colors of one of your great features.
  • Bring powder if you tend to get shiny skin in heat. I carry some to my shoots if you don't have any.
  • If your hair is long, we can easily create two looks by having some images with hair up and some down.
  • Bring a selection of jewelry if you are unsure. Simple is better and still be you.
  • Try everything on the night before and get a second opinion if you want one when you have plenty of time. Does the clothing spark joy?
  • See what others have done...
Head Shot Portfolio

For Men

  • Bring a selection from casual to formal so you have a range for different uses. See many looks one photo shoot.
  • If sometimes you have a bit of facial hair and sometimes you're clean-shaven, leave it scruffy for the first part of the shoot, and bring a razor to clean it up for the second part.
  • Gel your hair if it has unruly bits, you can let it dry then brush it out for a completely dry look.
  • See what others have done...

Head Shot Portfolio
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The Wound is the Place

4/10/2015

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Picture
I don't think we are ever prepared for the kinds of demands that parenting puts on us, at least I had NO idea. Sure people say its hard, but do you really believe them or have a sense of what that means?

This morning my son was pushing it. He was stalling and kept demanding one more thing before we left the house. I knew I needed to hold the line. I did. He melted down and got SO angry. I was able to, this time, watch him scream and yell. I then could feel and remember how I felt the very same way when I was a child. IN A RAGE. I hated my parents because I thought they made me feel this inside. What a gift it was to let him have the emotion and to remember myself in his shoes.

The truth is, its kind of scary to feel all that. When we are abandoned or shamed about our emotions they head underground to a safe albeit inaccessible place. We need access to our feelings.

I felt proud after this. I did it. Good job Mama. He collapsed into my arms after maybe a minute of raging. He returned to himself, spent his fury.

I have to credit the regular emails from Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting for this skill. I have cultivated it for years. Every week she guides me and encourages me to always choose love. Thank you Dr. Laura!
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Magic Things

1/13/2015

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The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to go sharper.

The beauty of children is that they are so fresh and can open our eyes to the everyday magic all around us. If we can slow down enough, they can open our eyes too!

What magic has your child helped you see?

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An Inheritance of Love

1/4/2015

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Love is the Only Truth

Mom & Son PortraitTara & Son
There is an intersection that holds me at the center. The past and future generation behind and in front of me. I am suspended in the present. The pinpoint in time I rest on is apparent. Past, present, future converge in me.

I feel my grief at having had needs as a child. The feelings passed on to me surface. How can I have needs? I should be ashamed of myself, how dare I? My son should be ashamed of himself. Really? No. Absolutely not. I made myself wrong because my parents made me wrong because their parents made them wrong.

So here come the waves of grief, the understanding that I wasn’t wrong, the letting go of unrealistic expectations of myself. Expressed grief is like a salve for the past. The waves wash over my heart and make the truth apparent. Love is the only truth.

The access to the ocean of love is bigger today. The feelings my son is allowed to have have more space because I have space for myself.

This is the greatest gift in parenting.

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The Best Toy

12/15/2014

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You will always be your child's favorite toy. Portrait by Tara Gill Photography
Quote found on Aha Parenting Newsletter. An excellent resource.
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What to Wear to your Family Portrait Session

10/14/2014

 

You don't have to match unless you want to.

  • Keep your clothing simple, without any busy patterns.
  • Is there a color that is special to you or your child?
  • Is there a color that everyone tells you you look good in?
  • If you are coordinating a family, keep the shirts in the same tonal range.
  • Avoid logos or printing.

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