If you’re a parent, sharing photos of your little cutie on Instagram and Facebook is impossible to resist. There are so many special moments you want your family and friends to see and be a part of. Author and illustrator Adele Enersen took the game to the next level with multimedia photos of her son and daughter that are beyond cool. Now she’s releasing a new book called Vincent and the Night, a bedtime story with breathtaking photo collages of her son, Vincent. We talked with Enersen about how she comes up with her awesome ideas and tips for taking your own creative photos.
How She Brainstormed Her Brilliant Idea For The Book
Enersen tells us her firstborn daughter was a sound sleeper, so Enersen started taking lots of adorable photos of her little girl in dreamland, which inspired her book, When My Baby Dreams. But her son Vincent was not a sound sleeper at all, so she had to come up with a new idea for him. “I really wanted to find his story and make a good storyline first. Then it was so obvious, I was going to make a story about all those things he liked to do instead of sleeping,” she told us.
She says that he woke up several times throughout the night — every night — but it was actually Enersen herself who had a fear of the darkness, not little Vincent. “I’ve been afraid of the dark since I was a kid, and I still sleep with the light on if I’m sleeping alone,” she admits. “As a mother, you can’t do that. You have to be the one who runs through the darkness to your baby.” She learned as a mom that it was her job to make the darkness soothing and comforting for her baby, and this is reflected in the book.
Behind The Scenes
Looking at her photos, you’ll see that she creates beautiful backdrops with objects that seem to be lying around the house. Here’s how it actually went down: “I took the photos of my fussing son against our white sofa, edited the background a bit and started doodling things around him. Usually his natural movements guided me,” she says.
Enersen used her smartphone camera to start and sometimes a Canon digital camera to take the photos. Adobe Illustrator was her tool for the drawing bits. As for her favorite photo in the book, she says she loves the one of Vincent pulling the cat’s tail, hinting at a bit of mischief. “She’s a very sweet and tolerant kitty,” she says. “The kids have learned to be a lot more nice than naughty with her.”
Her Tips For You
If you want to step up your own photo game, Enersen says her biggest tip is finding your focus. “I like to follow people who are consistent about what they post,” she says. “If you do creative baby pics, do them. If you cook stuff for your kids, post just that. Your kid’s daily hairdo? Do it. If you like to take microfashion pics of your kid’s outfit of the day, do that.” If you’re photographing babies and toddlers, Enersen says to use natural light and to just let the kids do their thing and act natural. The photos will come out way better than if you try to make them pose.
Which creative photographers do you like to follow on Instagram? Tell us in the comments, and don’t forget to check out Vincent And The Night, out April 21.
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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Head to Office Depot's Selfmade page to check out even more amazing business resources (and discounts!) to help you accomplish more on your entrepreneurial journey. These offers are available for a limited time only, so be sure to take advantage of all this goodness while supplies last. Want to join the next Selfmade cohort this summer? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.