Dear Seniors... Happy Distancing & a Free Gift!

Hey ya'll, 

With soooooooooo much happening in our world right now, I've been brainstorming daily on the best ways to serve my seniors and family clients during this time. As I was chatting with my senior client, Molly,  last week in particular, she shared with me some updates about school being cancelled indefinitely, prom  being cancelled, and generally everything in life coming to a stand still. Her mom is in the medical field at Sacred Heart and has created a new family routine for how to keep themselves safe as she will be going to and from work.  

We. are. all. there! 

Whether you or someone you know is currently sick or whether you're just NOT going in public for anything (except to buy a TON of toilet paper)... Life is UPROOTED right now. There's uncertainty in every news update. It seems like this is the beginning of a new journey for us. As much as a hopeful thinker I love to be, I know this time is not rainbows and butterflies, nor will it just be a little hiccup and then we continue as normal.  Many, many lives are forever changed and disrupted. 

One verse that has been on my heart lately: 

Ephesians 3:14-19 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

My favorite thing about the Bible is that these words are alive and active, sharper than any two edged sword. 

In that verse, there's a line about being rooted and grounded in love. Our God is a loving, merciful, tender, and kind God. The depth of His great love surpasses human knowledge! His love is supernatural. 

That said, In this time in which we all need a sense of stability, I hope and pray that we find that stability in HIM, our provider and the lover of our souls. 

"That we may be ROOTED and GROUNDED in love..." I hope our roots can grow deep in love and be nourished by living water, causing fruit to bear in every season. 

So, here's how I feel led to LOVE you guys right now!

For the month of April... I'm giving away (completely free with no catch) 15 minute senior mini sessions by Fantasia including 5 unique portraits!

YAY! This will be a great opportunity for any seniors who may not have been able to set up a senior session prior to the new social distancing, and now life is in a tailspin. 

I realize too that some simply cannot spend the money in this time to hire a professional photographer. Some families are especially pressed right now with lay offs and no sign of when they may return to work, so let this be a simple reminder that you are LOVED and SEEN and I hope this simple gift brings joy to your senior experience. 

These mini sessions will be photographed in a completely remote from large groups greenery setting from a long zoom lens distance! We will respectfully avoid close contact and take precaution for a quick and distance-full session that's still fun && creative! 

Note: Additional portraits can be purchased and edited after the mini session but again this is not required! An additional set will be offered at $350 (tax included) and include 10 more portraits because heyyyyy let's admit it, some of us like options! 

Note: Senior portrait sessions typically start at *950 for a 30-45 min sunset session, so this is a one time April opportunity to jump on! 

Seniors, REACH OUT,  and I'll share our date and time slot list for you to choose from!

Fantasia Lyons - Hi@littlemisscreative.com

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Styled Summer Beach Session | Little Miss Creative | Ophelias Swimwear | Peaches to Pearls

Friends, I'm writing up a personal blog for how I'd love to serve you during this difficult season for our world... Keep your eyes peeled for that early next week. Until then... 

For now, I HAVE to share this precious feature that came across my memory gallery yesterday and made me swoon all over again. We had a blast pursuing through Watercolor, swinging tote bags, trying out suit and jewelry looks, searching for that golden glowing sunshine, and learning from each other about our small businesses and what inspires us. I remember this day like it was yesterday, and still adore these girls and their passions to pursue their dreams.

Full magazine Issuu: North Point Atlanta Magazine 

Shout out to the lovely ladies who made this beautiful styled session come together like a dream:
Modeling and Styling by Luisa Hammet with: Peaches to Pearls
Photographer: Yours truly! Little Miss Creative
Hair by Rachel Christine with: Dear Bride Co
Makeup by Morgan King now at: Gloss and Glow
Wardrobe: Ophelia Swimwear 
Jewelry: HM Willow

Summer Sippin'

Is it just me or can summer NOT last long enough? I know, I know, the whole fall pumpkin thing is kind of a big deal. Pumpkins ARE cute, and the foods and scents it creates ARE pretty scrumptious. I am in agreement with you there... 

But there's just something to be said about a breezy hot afternoon beach suntan, fresh cut green grass, lounging, and families and friends coming together to enjoy the outdoors. Oh, the colorful things and excitement summer brings. (Sounds like a Dr. Suess book) 

Summer must really be on my mind! On my last grocery run I discovered these adorable summer sips and I was sold. Pink and orange and delicious retro-modern packaging? YESSSS! 

MMMMMM, I'll take two, or well, three. These were from Izze and Lemon Lemon Sparkling. 

They're the perfect size, truly fizzy/yummy, & c o l o r f u l. What's not to love?! Do you have a favorite flavor? Comment and let me know! I'll be sharing more favorite products every so often on Facebook and Instagram. I'd love to connect with you there! 

Peace out Sauerkraut 

- Fantasia 

www.LittleMissCreative.com

How to NOT Lose All of Your Digital Photos In the Next 20 Years

Hi friends! 

Today we're going to talk about ARCHIVING your amazing memories. I know, I know, you just fell out of your chair in excitement. Really, it's a topic of value, and the steps we take today to ensure a rich collection of memories are going to pay off in the long run. Archiving should be easy...  but in our fast moving digital age it can be challenging to keep up and you might feel like you're participating in a Richard Simmons workout. For example:

1970s - Floppy Disk & Prints 

1980s - CD

Early 2000's - USBs

Now - Digital downloads or USBs

Archiving was one of the very first lessons I had to learn in order to successfully keep track of thousands upon thousands of photographs for Little Miss Creative. Like most lessons that really stick, I learned it the fun hard way! 

One sunny day I woke up, plopped down at my computer to find a collection of portraits to get ready to edit... and boom, just like that, they were nowhere to be found. After nearly spitting my cereal milk on my computer screen, I came to terms with the fact that something had to change. No longer could I throw my photos on my computer hard drive carelessly every time I had a session. I had to get down to business and make a system. Thankfully, with online resources, chocolate milk, and a plan, I was able to organize thousands of images over the course of 2 weeks (organizing images for about an hour each day) and find the images that were originally "lost". Phew, case closed. 

Now, how does all of this relate to you and your awesome self? Here's how. You probably have an Iphone or something similar full of images. You may even have a laptop with images, a Facebook page with images, and an ancient Myspace page with even more images, Instagram, and so on and so forth... 

Where do you even start? It can be an overwhelming process to begin organizing digital photos if this is the very first time you've ever done so. Remember those two weeks I spent an hour a day organizing? It really wasn't so bad after I broke it up into smaller bits. Lucky for you, you probably don't need to take such drastic measures, and I highly doubt you'll be spitting out your own cereal milk. 

Here's what you can do! 

#1 - Actually print your photos. 

Let me elaborate. Back 15 or so years ago, there was this thing called printing your photos. What that meant was that the photograph a photographer created of you would actually be teleported magically into your hand so that it could exist in real life vs. only in a camera or computer. Somehow, this high end technology of print has been lost over the years, but I'm an advocate to pursue the resurrection of print photography here in 2017. Can I get an amen! 

Phones get lost, Hard drives crash, and online storage sites can fail. Statistics show that 53% of people haven't printed photos in over 12 months. 70% don't have actual photo albums. 43% don't print photos at all. 

To this day, one of my most prized possessions is a photo album I've had since middle school which reminds me of my friends and adventures during middle and high school. **Unfortunately it also reminds me of my braces and my "awkward stage"... Ya win some, ya loose some...  But, no one can take that album's joy away! If those photos had never been printed there's absolutely no way my ping pong brain could remember all of those people and all of those happy times! 

Just make a big fat collection of your photographs in a folder and print the most important ones. Add them into an album for safekeeping. You'll be so glad you did, even if it takes you years to fully cherish that album. 

When you hire a professional photographer, allow them to help you choose wall art or albums that are just as high quality as their imagery. Choose to archive your photos in an heirloom quality album or print that is able to be passed down to generations. Slip-in photo albums are fun and all, but over time they weaken and cheaply printed photos will fade making it harder to pass down for years to come. 

#2 - Get a Dropbox account. 

Super de duper easy. Once you have a dropbox account (I recommend the paid version to have like a bajillion bites of storage), you can begin creating folders there to organize your images. I personally create folders for years. Then subfolders for category. I.e.

2017 > Family > Sister's Birthday Trip to The Bahamas 

Dropbox has been a big lifesaver for me. Now, anytime I have a big family event where special photos were taken whether on my Iphone or fancy cam, I can just pop em' in my dropbox and send a link over to other family members to share the album. It's really that simple. Assuming my Dropbox never crashes or I never accidentally delete anything, those photos are about as safe as a baby in a bed of feathers. 

Just spend some time creating folders and organizing what you do have.  From here, now that you have a safe structure, you can pop in new photos anytime something special happens.

#3. Delete outtakes.

Sneezing portrait? Nope. Wind blew up the skirt? Nope. Bad side? Nope. Go ahead and delete the outtakes you KNOW aint gonna see the light of day. It will free up space, time, and energy, and overall just make the world a better place. Together, we can make a difference. Que Captain Planet theme song. 

#4. Name your files.

Now we're getting fancy. If possible, take the time to name your files. I.e. Jonsbigpimple.jpg -- Later, it will REALLY help you save time while searching for that special moment or blackmail moment in my case. 

#5. Consider a backup hard drive.

If you're REALLY serious about your photos never being lost, consider also storing the images on a hard drive. If the unthinkable happens and your home floods or catches on fire, it may be easier to grab an album or hard drive on the way out of the door rather than an entire computer. 

Another idea for your Instagram photo archival is Chatbooks! I haven't personally used the site, but have heard great things. 

Comment and let me know if you have other favorite photo storage ideas! If you enjoyed this post, I give you permission to eat a dessert tonight without shame. Go on with your bad self! 

-- Fantasia 

www.LittleMissCreative.com

P.s. The photos below are our personal archival system at Little Miss Creative. When clients purchase a digital collection and crystal etched usb this lovely gem is mailed out for safe keeping. 

My Heart in Peru

I love people. All kinds of people from all places and all walks of life and all shapes and all colors and all sizes. It's hard to pinpoint what I feel when I sit down to look at these photos from our recent trip to Peru a couple of weeks ago... But whatever the feeling is, it penetrates my heart deeply.  I see raw unfiltered emotion of joy, sorrow, hope, curiosity, and confidence. I see family. Most of all I see valuable children in the kingdom of God. 

Without going into a long backstory, my husband Jon and I chose to embark on a missions trip to Peru this summer (in the middle of peak summer season for photography -- I'm crazy, I know!) with ReImagine Worldwide. It was life changing and well worth every missed photoshoot. I love my dear clients here on 30a, but there's just something about getting out of my element here on the beach with sweet matching families on vacation and diving deep to tell a story for a very different kind of life. 

There's a beauty in it all and a thread of love that passes through each portrait, whether here on 30a or in Santa Rosita, Peru. 

As you view the portraits, my hope is that you can look past the faces to see a story revealed! Be inspired to LOVE like Jesus. 

Gratefully, 

Fantasia Lyons

www.LittleMissCreative.com

P.S. A few of these photos were taken by various friends and Pedro in our group -- Thanks everyone!

This woman below in the black hat had the ultimate street style. She was stunning and had a very unique peace about her. 

Below: Michael breakdancing. He became one of my best buddies and he and I had a break-dance-off. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip! 

Below: The hubs with Cielo, one of the loves of our life that we will never forget. We hope to adopt a child someday. For now, we will just enjoy everyone elses. Her name means Heaven. We were able to give her a photo of us to keep and remember us until we are able to return again soon. Buddies!

No man's too big and bad to hold a child's hand. Go Robert! 

The community along with ReImagine threw a big going away celebration on our last day, complete with dancing, worship, and more dancing! 

Below: One of the girls came and grabbed my hand and I was forced to join the dance floor. Oh well, might as well shake it if I'm up here! ;) 

We did daily Bible studies and Brandon was one of the incredible leaders! 

Below: Saying goodbye to Michael. This big boy just walked up to me one day and grabbed my hand. I couldn't believe he was so sweet at his age and just needed a hand to hold and someone to see him. I saw his heart was BIG and just like that, we were friends! 

Below: This handsome dude REALLY wanted his photo taken. He didn't give me much to work with as far as a smile goes, but I'm happier with real-life than I am with a fake smile anyways.

Below: The first day we arrived in the community there was a big group waiting for us with signs and lots of hugs. This one was my favorite as it reads, "Welcom brother american foot." Whatever that means, we will take it! 

Below: Jon making best friends with Ener, another one of our buddies.

Below: One of MANY portraits of the families we were able to print out and give as gifts.

Below: The cutest thing you will ever see in your life. OMG!!! Stealin' hearts, this one.

Below: This cutie was the tickle monster. She tickled people 24/7. I almost got "tickled out" then had to rethink how much that might break her heart, so I just kept letting her tickle me and laughing every time. Oh the silly fun! :) 

Below: Shoes on a telephone pole and Jon and Jordy! He was also a great dance and tried teaching me some footwork. We will work on it more next year!

Below: Heart-stealer, Daisy. She was AWESOME!!! Her thumbs ups and infectious smiles would light up any room. We did each other's hair one day and the next day Jon braided hers. Impressive! 

Below: Daisy teaching us how to whistle super loudly.