When I had my first baby, Instagram had just barely hit the scene. I had an android phone, so I couldn't even have Instagram - which just killed me because of my job. I had so many pictures I needed the world to see! I had hundreds upon hundreds of photos on my phone, from my son's birth to his first birthday. I backed them all up to my computer whenever I needed to free up some space.
Cut to my third pregnancy. I had an Instagram account, but didn't love the idea of posting literally everything my kids did from day to day - not gonna lie, my friends that posted 100 pictures a day, every day, drove me totally crazy. I mean, I love you and your kids, but I don't care what they have for lunch every single day.
Then - my light bulb clicked on.
I had heard of Chatbooks, but never looked into them. Once I learned more about Chatbooks and how amazingly awesome they were - my master plan hatched and my new journaling baby was born.
I made Instagram accounts for each of my kids. They are private and only our family follows them - gotta keep those cute babies internet safe! Wondering how to keep them extra safe? Check this out.
This is how I started journaling like I should have been since my first son was born. Not only did our family get to keep up on our kids and their lives, but my husband (who works out of town) could see what we did everyday and read the funny things they said.
Each account is linked to my Chatbooks account and everything AUTOSHIPS!! I don't even have to think about books. I have the option to rearrange, exclude and edit any of my posts before my books print. The app on my phone sends me a notification when one of my kiddie's books is about to go to print. I go into the app, edit it if I need to, and my work here is done.
At the end of every day, or whenever I have pictures on my phone, I add them to Instagram and delete them from my phone.
I also take photos of all the artwork my kids do in school. Then, instead of keeping every single thing from the year, I make a custom Chatbook and print it at the end of the year. Adios Clutter!!
Because I didn't have Instagram for most of my first and second babies lives, I made custom books of all the photos I had on my computer since their first day of life. And Chatbooks automatically sorted them by date and made them into a book for me!! Like, how do ever beat that? I'll tell you know.
YOU DON'T!!
It's just too easy, my friends!! And so affordable!
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Since I'm a pathological photo taker, I have Custom books for all of our trips, too.
I know you're dying to try them - you'd be crazy not to! It's so easy, and I feel like Super Mom because I journal like no one's business AND my phone is conveniently photo free - no more "Your Phone Is Almost Out Of Storage" warnings for me! Jealous? You don't have to be!
Chatbooks, my friends!
You're life is about to change!
For a FREE CHATBOOK - click this link --> FREE CHATBOOK
Not only has it made my life a million times easier, but my kids LOVE them. They get SOOO Excited when they see a little square green envelop in the mail!
AND.. yes there is MORE amazing things about Chatbooks!! You can reorder or order more copies whenever you want! My mom orders them for herself of our trips and my Kids Instagrams. We even have a family Instagram account where we all sign in when we're on vacation and post all of our pictures. Then we get those books for Christmas from my parents.
AAAAAAND - it's another back up of your photos! You can never have too many back ups. If you've ever had a computer crash, you know this to be TRUE!
I can't sing the praises of Chatbooks enough! It is by FAR the best mom thing I've done so far.
In fact, I haven't met a single person who doesn't love Instagram.
What I don't love... creepers.
And they are EVERYWHERE on the Interwebs. Especially Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
If you have a public account, I know that you've been followed by someone creepy. It's just a fact of life. Why do these people follow you? I don't even want to know. Are they following me to see my children? Can they figure out where I live by the photos I post? They could figure out the names of my children and family members. They could easily figure out what school they go to. I just broke out into a cold sweat.
HOLY. CRAP.
Pass. Hard pass. I would rather have safe children than a million Instagram followers every which way to Sunday.
SO! How can you keep you and your family safe on Instagram? Here's how I do it.
1) My kids have a private Instagram.
Only my family can follow them. I don't even let me friends follow them. I post literally everything about my kids on these accounts and print them as books later on. I love my friends, but they don't need to know every single detail of my life or my kid's life. None of these accounts have profile pictures (another way to keep the creeps out), and I don't follow anyone in return from my kid accounts.
2) Never post innocent nudity.
Yes, those naked bums are cute. So cute that some weirdo is going to steal it. Even undies and diaper shots are pushing it, in my opinion. You can never be too careful.
3) Consider not using your child's real name.
Refer to them as their first name initial, or a nickname. I had someone approach me once who I had never met in my life and call all three of my kids by their first names. It really freaked me out and I deleted almost everything about them off of my account. That stranger knew way too much for my liking. If she, a middle aged woman from my own town, knew - then all the creeps did as well.
4) Never post your home's street sign or street number.
No one needs to know the exact location of your home. From there, they can find your school and who knows what else. Even pictures of the exterior of your house can lead a motivated person to find it. Sharing your home is totally fine! We want to see it! But, be mindful of what parts you're sharing.
5) Turn off your location.
Did you just drop your baby off at daycare and post a picture? Did it have the location attached? You just gave the world your child's location for the next so many hours. I shudder to think what could happen. Always better safe than sorry.
6) Wait until you're home to post about your vacation.
I know it's tempting to post that amazing sunset picture while you're in Mexico or that cute shot of your little one running on the beach in California. But - you are alerting the world that your house is currently empty. Don't disclose the location of your hotel until you're home, either. It is SO easy for someone to find you and your kids. If i sound over protective or too cautious - oh, I know that I am! I'm going to say it again (and every day until I die)... better safe than sorry.
7) Some things are too personal to share.
Contrary to some very popular Instagram accounts, you don't need to post everything. Some things in life aren't meant to be shared. It's okay to keep some things just for your memory books (or your private accounts).
I hope this helps you and your cute little ones to be a little more protected on social media! The internet and social media are amazing things! But...
one more time with feeling!
Better safe than sorry!
-xo hayley
Their wedding day was gorgeous and one of the most fun weddings I've ever been to! They did all of the decor themselves - can you believe that?! It was a stunning spring wedding and I was so happy and honored that they chose me to be their photographer!!
Lucky for me, Makendie is a photographer/videographer, too!! We get to shoot wedding together all the time and I love it!!
Floral by Southern Blossoms - the best ever!
Then, I decided my mom friends NEEDED to participate. My brave friends let me bend them into all sorts of weird sitting positions and MY GOODNESS I have some beautiful friends.
A few months later, I decided to do a giveaway and had some of the most beautiful girls in Utah win!
I'm a fan of black and white, my friends!
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Floral: Bloomers
Venue: The Ledges
Planning: Forevermore Events
Floral - Bloomers
Dress- Very Wang
Flower crown: Bloomers
Anyways! I've said it before, but one huge regret I have from my first pregnancy is the lack of pictures I took. I have ONE pregnancy photo from my second pregnancy that I love - so this time, I wanted to do it right. I searched and searched for exactly what I wanted, and had a custom flower crown made when I knew that the peach blossoms were going to be a possibility for my photos! It is SOOOO worth the time, money and effort. These pictures are everything I wanted - exactly how I pictured in my head! Hats off to my cousin, Makendie - a budding photographer, for helping me with these! It's pretty rare that I relinquish control of my camera, and I can be pretty picky when it comes to how I'm photographed. She did an amazing job!! I already cherish these photos so much. We never in a million years thought we would have any girls, and for some reason that makes this pregnancy so special to me. I adore my boys more than anything, but we are over the moon to be welcoming a daughter! She's already a spoiled princess... that should make for an interesting eighteen years down the road :)
I appreciate all of you so much - my hormone soaked brain can't even find the words to tell you how much! I'm looking forward to accepting clients in June - possibly sooner! So, keep an eye out on Facebook (Hayley Bradshaw Photography) and Instagram (@hayleybradshawphotography) for when I'll be booking again! Now, I'm off to watch way too many hours of Netflix, dig in the sandbox with my boys, and fold teeny, tiny, PINK baby clothes until our daughter is FINALLY here!!
Eshelles Instagram Spot from Hayley Bradshaw on Vimeo.
So, I put out an APB for models on my instagram! And the response was amazing!! I had over 400 entries! And, really you guys, it made my job so incredibly hard! My amazing friend, Kacee Payne (who is one bomb diggity make-up artist) agreed to help me with the make up to showcase my lovely models amazing eyes!! She did amazing! I was blown away! AND then I splattered powder and paint all over their perfectly made-up faces :) I think she'll forgive me, though!
So, without further ado - here are the FANTASTIC images from our creative shoot. I don't think these could have turned out better if we tried! It was EXACTLY how I pictured it in my head!! ENJOY!!
RYLEE
INDIANA
KAREN
MIRANDA
Aynsley also modeled for me for an awesome commercial shoot - that is coming out this AUGUST!! I wish I could tell you what it was for!! She was a top notch model!! Here are some of her test shots!
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AMAZING, RIGHT?!
We had tons of entries, and our winner was just lovely!! I had so much fun waltzing around town with her! And, is there anything more beautiful than springtime in downtown St. George? The whole town seemed to be in bloom!! And Bethany and I had a BLAST gushing over the amazing roses and beautiful arrangements on Main Street!
I'm in love with all of them! I had a hard time choosing which ones to blog!! So, enjoy! Oh! And I can promise you that you'll be seeing this gorgeous girl again :) She was WAY too much fun to only shoot once!
]]>I was lucky this year with the weird weather! It allowed for an extra long blossom season!! I was more than thrilled to cram as many people as possible into my schedule!
]]>Without further ado! The Winner of my Cherry Blossom Giveaway is!!
AYNSLEY OVARD!! Who entered EVERY way possible! But, since Ayns and I already have some things planned for the cherry blossoms... I decided to draw again!!
The second winner is....
KARA STODDARD!!!! Congratulations Kara!! I'll get with you stat!!
Now.. I'm a sucker for giveaways, and I really liked drawing names out of the hat!! So, I drew THREE MORE winners who can come to the cherry blossom mini session day for FREE!!! These three are:
Tori Hafen via Twitter
Melanie Nielsen via my Blog
Jordan Hall via Instagram
I'll contact all of you and let you know the details!!
Thank you all SO much for entering my giveaway!! You are seriously the best people in the world, and I can't wait to do another giveaway!!!!
P.s. March is an excellent time to book a session!! Almost anytime in the last three weeks of March I can find you some kind of flowery/spring look ;) - just throwing that out there ;)
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SPRING IS ALMOST HERE!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? And, the very best part about spring... the Cherry Blossoms!!! They are so special and rare! This year I'm giving away a FREE mini session in the beautiful cherry blossoms to one lucky winner!!
Here's the details:
All you have to do to enter is COMMENT ON THIS POST!
You can receive one extra entry for each of the following:
1-Post this photo on Facebook with a link back to this blog post
2-Post this photo on Instagram and TAG @hayleybradshawphotography
3-Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this blog post & tag @hayleyjbradshaw
4-Pin this photo and include the link to this blog post in the description AND tag @hayleybradshaw
I'm so excited!! This is my most favorite time of year!! The winner will be chosen Feb. 23 at 4!
FINE PRINT: Winner will be required to be on location in Santa Clara during the very brief bloom period (obviously). This session is non-transferable and MUST be used during this year's (2014) cherry blossom season. No exceptions. This mini session may be used towards any type of session (senior, child, family, engagement, bridal, maternity, etc) up to 6 people. The winner may be required to share a day with another client on the same location. The winner will be able to download their 10 edited images via www.hayleybradshaw.com and receive the copyright to print. Hayley Bradshaw is the sole owner of your pictures (please see FAQ page for more details).
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Just excuse me while I faint over how PERFECT all of those legs are... really, though. It's not fair.
Full and mini sessions are available! I stop accepting clients that want their pictures back for Christmas Cards the first week in November, so plan ahead!
You can book with me right now by emailing me at [email protected] - or through the contact from under the CONTACT tab at the top :)
]]>Now, on to the good stuff! I HATE getting my picture taken - with a fiery passion hotter than the sun!! However, I regret so much not taking maternity pictures with my first son. I talk the talk about "everyone is photogenic" and "a picture is all you have of this moment", but believe me when I say I don't walk the walk! Especially being pregnant, I don't want ANYONE to have proof that I once looked like this. But, really. Being pregnant is one of the most beautiful things in this life. Finally, I snapped out of my stupor and decided I needed to document this pregnancy better.
And less than 24 hours later, I am already SO happy that I did! I will NEVER forget that right before I had this baby there was a heat wave in Washington county so hot I swear I almost went into labor - 8 weeks early ;)
I'll never forget that my skin was AMAZING this time around - last pregnancy, my skin would have rivaled that of a grease loving 15 year old. I'll never forget that Cruz (my oldest son) was so hot we stripped him down and put him in one of the horse's watering buckets because he was such a champ during pictures. I'll never forget that while I was working and needed a babysitter, my amazing brothers and dad would take Cruz to the farm almost every day to see the horses and cows.
All of that from one hour of shooting.
And, I have to say - thank you all so much for your kind words on Facebook and Instagram. It made me realize that I am so much more beautiful than I give myself credit for. So, the next time you come on a shoot with me and you're feeling insecure - believe me when I say that YOU are beautiful. YOU are perfect just the way you are. The big man upstairs knows what he's doing - and he doesn't make ugly things!!
So, here are some randoms to hold you over until I make my glorious return!! I say it all the time, but I have the BEST clients in the whole entire world. I love you guys!!
http://www.aynsleyovard.blogspot.com/
Okay - now let me say. I love her boyfriend, Mitch!! He was such a good sport! He rowed the boat every which way for an hour and didn't complain once! Oh, and in case you didn't notice - he's a handsome devil!! They are so dang cute together! I was dying over them the whole time!! Mitch leaves on his mission to Boise, Idaho in a few weeks - and I've been dreaming of this photoshoot for months!! So, I am beyond happy that they agreed to model for me - because they are both CRAZY photogenic!!
Now... the good stuff!! The prettiest pictures only ever!!
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LEXIE
SHAYLA