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When I was planning my honeymoon last summer, I had to decide what camera(s) to bring along with me on my trip through Croatia. My first instinct was to take the best camera I owned, but I’d had an awful experience several years before, lugging my massive camera and several lenses around with me in Paris, and the darn thing was just too heavy! I ended up taking very few photos because I couldn’t be bothered to wrestle “the beast” out of my bag every time I saw something photo-worthy.

Before I left, I asked a friend of mine (who is a world traveler and long-time professional photographer) what camera he takes with him when he travels. His answer surprised me — an iPhone. That’s all he brings. Really?

A little later, I saw an interview with Annie Leibovitz where she refers to the iPhone as “the snapshot camera of today”. Wow. But it’s true: you will take pictures with the camera that is the most accessible and easy to use. And for many of us, that ends up being our phone because it’s always right there in your pocket or purse.

So why did I title this post “iphone + instagram”? If you’ve never heard of it, Instagram is a free iPhone app, which their website describes as a “fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures.” In other words, it’s a great way to make your pictures look awesome and to quickly and easily share them with just about everybody.

I probably use Instagram more than any other app on my phone…even Facebook and Twitter! The reason I love it so much is because it has several great filters AND you can link it to your FB, Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr accounts, saving you time from going and posting your image on each account separately.

Here are a few recent snaps using my iPhone and Instagram together:

There was once a time when barely anybody had heard of Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, and all three have since become insanely popular. What’s next for the social media/image-sharing world? Maybe it will be Instagram. For now, it’s still pretty small (well, if you consider 15 million people “small”), probably since it’s restricted to only iPhones, but it’s exciting to get in on the fun during the first stages of a really great thing.

One of my favorite clients often jokes with me that she would love to bring me along with her on all of her family vacations. I always politely laugh along, but I secretly fantasize about being “dragged” to Bali and Venice. But really…if there’s anyone out there who would like to tuck me into their pocket while on their exotic vacation, just give me a ring…really.

So, for all of those moments when you don’t have a professional photographer there to document those oh-so-darling smiles, pull out that iPhone and give Instagram “a shot” (haha, I love puns). Maybe I’ll see you around the still small and quirky Instagram community. You can find me at @jillcarmel.

Jill

For those of you who are my loyal readers, you know this about me already, but one of my favorite things about my work is discovering people. When I first started at this job, I admit, I would expect people to act or carry themselves a certain way just because of where they lived or how old they were…but I was quickly disabused of that early on.  The people I work with and photograph have taught me a beautiful life lesson: to have no expectations, to discover individuals for who they are and to celebrate the beauty in that.

This family was a treasure to discover. The moment they opened their front door and introduced themselves to me, I got to walk into their world, into their home and share, if only for a few moments, the love and tenderness that they all share with one another.

I thought I’d share a few with their bright pops of color…

And a few black and whites…I’m nearly overwhelmed by the tenderness of Mom and Dad with sweet Allison. Makes my own little heart do a flip.

And a fun little question for everyone who read down to the bottom of the post: Which of these images do you prefer? Color or black and white?

Until next time,

Jill

It was a warm, sunny day in February when I drove out to Foresthill for this newborn session. I’d never been there before, but was taken by its peacefulness and the calm that washed over me as I drove through the tree-lined streets, filled with the fragrance of fir trees and fresh air.

And look what I found when I arrived…

What a darling family. I asked them why they moved out to Foresthill, and they said that they wanted some land and a safe place to raise their children. Boy, lucky kids because they will have all the space they’ll ever need to just ride their bikes, build forts and get into all the kinds of trouble that kids really should get into.

But the bike-riding and fort-building will have to wait a bit until this little man gets bigger. He’s oh-so-itty-bitty for now, and I just love how he fits right into Daddy’s hands.

I don’t always have the opportunity to see eyes open this bright and wide in the first few days after babies are born, but he wanted to show off, so I took fuuuuuull advantage.

Itty-bitty hands…

And itty-bitty feet…

And a lovely nursery! Mom and Dad waited to find out if they were having a boy or a girl and I think they did a fantastic job with decorating the room in the meantime. Mom gets “extra points” for using a local Bay Area artist for the wall art.

- Jill

I’ve been photographing this lovely family for a few years now and never cease to be inspired by them. I thought I’d share a bit of their story here, along with a few images from their last maternity session. And since I love Cate’s style of writing, I’ll just give it to you in her own words here:

“Matt and I met on Match.com while living in Las Vegas (which doesn’t offer a lot of ways to meet people outside of a bar), so I’ll always be grateful for the Internet. The first thing either of us did when we woke up each day was check to see if the other had written back. I remember telling Matt on our first date I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. That makes me laugh now, I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t tell him I wasn’t looking for a husband, or he’d have more to tease me about. Eight years later and we still discover something new about each other all the time. It’s been a joy becoming parents and getting to raise these boys together. It isn’t easy, but it has strengthened our bond to each other and to our son, Bennett, and his brother.

Waking Matt up at 5 am on vacation to tell him we were expecting again was hilarious. I was jumping up and down whisper-yelling, asking Matt if he saw two lines, and the poor guy hadn’t even opened his eyes yet. Telling Bennett, was even better, though he had no idea what it meant. We were sure we were having a girl, but when the ultrasound said ‘boy’, it just felt right. This was who we were missing. Bennett will show you my tummy (or sometimes his) and tell you it’s his baby brother. I think we are all a little anxious about the changes coming but excited, too. Little brother already fits right in, kicking and rolling, like he can’t wait to join in. It’s amazing how much you can love someone you haven’t met. I’m can’t wait to see my two boys together, and to hold them and love them with my husband.”

Here’s a lovely little note that Cate put in an email after our session together:

“Thank you for capturing these moments for us. I am always grateful for the time and attention to detail you show, during the session and after. We are so lucky to have found you and to have you on this journey. There is no one we would trust more to bottle these little moments so we can always treasure them.”

Remember their “glamorous maternity session” back in November? Well, there’s one more member of the family now — little Mr. Knox. Gosh, I love that name!

Before and after:

Welcome, little man –

With little-man hands…

And a little nose…

And sweet lips…

And your little Frenchie brother and sister…

And beautiful nursery!

Congratulations, you two — what a beautiful family!