Arise, Shine, For You Light Has Come

Rising up early in the morning has always been something that I struggled with my entire life.  I remember being a kid and my mother constantly struggling to wake me up early in the morning to get to school on time and the truth is I probably wouldn't have if it were up to me.  I guess you can say that I am a night owl and tend to stay up late but I have always wanted to be a mom who could wake up early and get into my Bible, do early morning chores, cook breakfast for the children and just have that quiet time of prayer and devotions.  It is something that I prayed about, so when one of the mom's in our homeschool group offered to do an early morning devotion/prayer at 6:15 a.m. I was up for the task! Or was I??  Well, the truth is that my heart & mind were but my body wasn't (well heck my body has been used to waking up late for quite some time since all four of my kids tend to sleep-in as well).  I really have had to pray for strength and force myself up (using 2 and 3 alarms) in spite of my sleepiness and I must say that it has been a bit rocky but mostly an awesome transition.  Waking up early has helped me in so many ways and has made my homeschool day flow so much better!!  I typically have time do our devotions & pray on the phone, wash/fold laundry, make breakfast, prepare homeschool work, make some coffee and enjoy it while I read my Bible or other books and then enjoy each and every child as they arise on their own  ;-) There is less chaos and the house is filled with much more love & joy & peace.  We are done with homeschool much earlier as well!

As I sat with my oldest child at the table this morning, the Lord confirmed to me that rising early is exactly what he wants for my life.  He did this through my little boy, who opened up the Bible to read to me and happened to land on Isaiah 60:1-5:

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.  See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.  Then you will look radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth of the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come." NIV

Wow, isn't it totally amazing how the Lord works?! He always lets me know what he wants me to do and I just give him all of the glory and honor and praise for being such a wonderful God ;-)  Thank you Jesus!

Professional Photography of Babies

Photographing babies is one of my favorite niches in professional photography!  Being a mommy to four precious little jewels, it is easy for me to relate to all of the mothers who so eagerly want to capture the beauty and essence of their little ones during that first year of life.  The truth is that these precious little peanuts who once fluttered in our wombs are born teeny tiny newborns and then transform so much in that first year.  I typically suggest that moms go for the 3, 6, 9, 12 month "Baby Plan" because then you can really see the progression through the many stages of that first year.  At 3 months the baby is usually able to lift up their head while laying on his/her belly, at 6 months they are usually sitting up unassisted, at 9 months they start to stand up holding on to objects and then by 12 months about half of the babies are walking and it is so fun to celebrate that first year with a cake, balloons and my camera!!  What better way to celebrate a baby's first year of life then through documenting the 4 major stages with professional photography that will last a lifetime.  That is one of the reason's I have made my slogan, "Celebrating Life One Photograph at a Time."  I aim to celebrate life's many milestones with you behind the lens whether at your wedding, doing your maternity photographs, newborn/baby photography, children's portraits or family portraits.  Photographing on-location in the western areas of Palm Beach, FL (Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Loxahatchee, West Palm Beach).  Check out my website, www.athenascottphotography.com.

Studio Photography - Baby Girl with Props

For this baby photography session, I photographed a beautiful 6-month-old baby named Lexi (I will also be capturing her 9 & 12 months later on this year).  Me and Lexi's mommy have been planning this session for quite some time and had brainstormed many fun ideas for shots and props.  I packed up my studio equipment (lights, stands, backdrops, etc.) and headed to her house to give her a very upbeat and personal photo session.  With clothing changes, diaper changes, lighting adjustments, backdrop swaps, prop changes and nursing breaks we pulled off an amazing photo shoot fit for a lil' princess.  Little Lexi strut her stuff on that baby catwalk and I photographed away.  Then I edited the photographs and converted many to black and white.  Check out the samples photographs below.  For more samples of my work please visit my website, www.athenascottphotography.com.  All of my work is done on-location in Palm Beach, FL.