My name is Jen and I live in New Mexico with my husband and 2 daughters. I have always loved taking pictures and when my first daughter was born I ran out to get a ‘fancy’ camera. Sometimes I got good photos with it, most times I did not. Frustrated, I started using my camera less and less. When my second daughter was born, I dug the camera out again. Still frustrated that I couldn’t get the beautiful pictures I saw in mind, I signed up for an online class to learn how to use my dslr. That class started me on a journey to create more artistic images and helped me find my voice. With my camera I can find the beauty in our life and process the ups and downs of motherhood. I want to share that experience with other moms and began teaching this year. I have a local class called Everyday Snaps and I am working on my first online offering where we’ll be exploring motherhood through the lens of a camera.

To follow your heart and create work that means something to you.

Mostly I draw inspiration from my life. I truly believe that there is beauty in the ordinary, everyday and routine. My camera helps me to slow down and find it.

For those times when I feel like I’m in a rut, I go to Instagram and find photographers whose work touches me emotionally. Catherine Just (@cjust on Instagram) is incredibly open and honest with her work. Through her I’ve found a community of photographers whose work tends to be much more conceptual than my own. I don’t always ‘get’ what they’re doing but it’s very intriguing.

I also find the work of documentary photographers who travel to other countries inspiring as well. Getting that glimpse into a life that is so far removed from my own experience is incredibly eye opening and moving.

I’ve take classes online, mentored with Beryl Ayn Young and read various photography blogs, magazines and books.

Yes! I am obsessed with photo projects and have started and stopped many. Currently, I’m doing a 365. I love that it provides a visual diary of my life and that I get to see the ebb and flow of my own creative journey. Looking back at my photos, I can tell where I was at emotionally and mentally.

Another project I’m working on that is very close to my heart is a series I call, “Life from Our Table”. I started taking pictures of our dining room table for a class and fell so in love with it that I never stopped. Our table is the heart of our home. It’s where we eat, play, work and connect. I have pictures of it clean, cluttered, at the end of an evening with friends, all of it. Our life is lived on that table. My dream is to create a body of work from this series that will get displayed or published somewhere.

My 50mm is the only lens I use so I have to go with that.

I did get the chance to borrow a lensbaby recently and thought that was fun. It’d be interesting to see what I could create with it over the course of a year.

A lot of my journey has been about building my confidence and embracing who I am so I tend to be drawn to tutorials that speak to that.

I really like this post on Building Confidence as a Photographer from Click It Up A Notch and Beryl’s thoughts on Snapping with Intention.

I also like all the the different Creativity Exercises on the Clickin’ Moms blog. They’re great for when I’m feeling uninspired.

My current fave is one I took of my daughter a few weeks ago. We’ve been going through a lot lately and I’ve been on edge and distracted. But in this moment, she was working on her homework and I looked up and saw her. Really saw her. All the stress and worries fell away and all that remained was my heart and love for her.

A Nikon D7000 and a 50mm. And my iphone.

Ian Ruhter. His process (he turned a truck into a camera!) and the way he talks about his work is so inspiring. He has 2 videos on his website that I watch at least once a month.

Another one is Lauren Mitchell. I got the chance to learn from her at Click Away and really appreciate her documentary style and street photography.

Trusting my voice.

To be honest, I don’t have much displayed and have made it a goal to be more intentional with printing. I make small square books for my iphone photos every 3 months and am working on larger books for different events and vacations. The girls love looking through them.

I actually don’t even own a real camera bag. I have a padded insert so I can throw my camera into whatever purse I’m carrying that day. The weirdest thing I have in my purse with my camera right now is my daughters white sock. Just the one. I have no idea why it’s there.

Editing. I have put up a huge mental block when it comes to editing and just use picmonkey to make minor corrections. But I think I’ve finally reached a point where I am ready to learn more.

I have a website where I share my musings on motherhood and photography. I think it’s really important that we honor ourselves and embrace our lives as they are. You can learn more about me and why I take photos on my blog.

Or you can follow me on instagram @jenhado where I share my photos daily-ish.