Get to Know a Mama: Mandy from A Sorta Fairytale!

What is your name and birthday? My name is Mandy and my Birthday is May 11.

Where are you located? Seattle, WA

Where can we find you (on the web): A Sorta Fairytale, twitter & FB. AND Mandy Chiappini Photography – website | blog.

What are the names and ages of your children? Bennett Roy is 16 months.

Any blogging tips to share? Be yourself and have fun with it!! Also, be open to meeting people in your area. The blog world is such an amazing community. You’ll find some pretty great friends.:)

Are there certain things you wont write about on your blog? I try to avoid the anything political on my blog. I have extremely passionate views, and as much as I love to talk about them, I want my blog to remain a place free of controversy. And of course, I probably won’t be writing about anything super personal about my hubby. Ya know, out of respect for him! 🙂

What do you think of Vlogging? It’s awkward, but it can be really fun!

Can we get a couple links to a few of your FAVORITE blog posts you’ve done? Nourishment, Trust and Prayer, Just Us

What inspired you to be a photographer? Not one specific thing. I’ve ALWAYS loved photography, I think it’s amazing that we can capture important moments and milestones with the click of a button. I love being able to do that for others.

How do you get your photography clients? Do they find you on your blog, word of mouth or look you up? Word of mouth is HUGE! I get a lot of my through client referrals. And also lately people have found me through google search, which is pretty cool!

Do you ever get nervous when you are first meeting new clients? Absolutely! I’m always a little nervous. What if they don’t like me or think I’m weird?? Ha ha.

How do your indoor pics come out so great? Is it your camera? How do you get your photos so bright and crisp? Do you use some type of flash or is it in the settings you use or is it how you edit them? First and foremost I never use a flash. Unless it’s at night. I am 100% a natural light photography. The trick is to find the light and make sure there’s lots of it! 🙂 I am always sure to put the focus right in between the eyes. Often times if I need to, I’ll sharpen in photoshop in my post-processing.

Was it difficult to start a business? Do you plan on growing your business and expanding over the years? I started my business very slowly. I took a lot of time to learn and perfect my technique and find my style. I established a solid portfolio before I started asking for money. I definitely plan on growing it! I have just opened up my business to weddings, and I’m super excited!

Do you use any actions on your photos? If so, what kind do you use?  Absolutely I use actions. They are SUCH a time saver. 98% of the time I use actions from Florabella Collection.

 

What would you say your “style” of photography is? …or editing? My style is most definitely clean. Some have called it “elegant”… I kinda like that description.

What is your dream lens? I don’t know if this is my dream lens, but next on my list is the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8

Do you ever take cell phone pictures? Or just crappy camera pictures? I do not take cell phone pictures, but mainly because I really can’t use the camera on my phone, ha ha. And yes I use my point and shoot all of the time when I don’t want the extra bulk of my SLR.

Family questions:

Any plans for more babies in the future? If so, how many do you want to have? Absolutely we’ll have more babies!! 🙂 I think I’d like to have 3, but we’ll see how it goes 🙂

Where do you see yourself and your family in 5 years? 10? Hmm… I see myself with 1-2 more kids and hopefully in a home with a nice yard for them to run around in! I also see my photography business blossoming, and thriving. (hopefully!!)

If you had a girl what would name her or what girl names do u like? Oh man, I haven’t thought about girls names in a while. As far as names- I like Ainsley, Kendall, Elizabeth, Delilah, Hadley, Blair… I like a lot. But I don’t think we’ll use any of those names. Ha ha.

Do you dress your husband? Seriously. He’s so well dressed and i feel like you have to have some sort of input. My husband will wear his bathing suit trunks as shorts on hot days. I do not dress my Husband.. ha ha. He has pretty good fashion sense all on his own 🙂

What’s your go to recipe when you want to impress guests or make your hubby feel special?! I’m not much of a cook. My idea of a good meal would be BBQ’n hamburgers… that’s my go-to! Ha ha.

You questions:

Where is your favorite place to shop for clothes? (besiiiiides target) Hmm… I think probably H&M. I wish there was one closer to me!

If you could have $5000 to spend on just you, what would you buy? I would buy a few lenses that I really want, and I’d buy an iPad and some clothes.

What movie do u watch when you want to feel better? I’m a nerd, and I’d probably put on The Lord of the Rings.

If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you have? Vinegrette.

What is your fave kind of ice cream? Mint chocolate chip! Yum.

If u could have a super power what would it be? And why? I’d love to be able to teleport. I hate traffic so much, and I don’t like long airplane rides. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just snap your finger and go wherever you want??

What is your fave alcoholic beverage? I don’t drink alcohol at all. No joke 🙂

If u were a tree what kind of tree would u be? Haven’t thought much about this. A cherry blossom tree? Ha ha, I have no idea.

How did you get to be so beautiful? Awe… I know this question is from my hubby. Thanks honey!

Bennett:

Will you make me a baby? Oh oh, too direct? 😉 How about…what’s Bennett’s favorite food these days? LOL. His favorite food right now are PB&J’s!

When are you going to put Bennett Roy in a box and ship him to me? I’ll ship him to you, but you have to let me have him back! 😉

What is your favorite thing about blogging? Was there a moment when you realized you were hooked? My favorite thing about blogging is the community feeling. And the support that can be found there. I was hooked when Bennett was born. I realized it was a perfect ‘baby book’ for Bennett.

When did you notice that your blog was really growing? Umm…. Probably about 6 months ago was when I really noticed it. But I’m trying to kind of just “be” and not think so much about growing my blog.

What is your current favorite small talk mommy story? You know, the fun little story you are sharing with everyone these days… That’s a good question. I like to tell people about how I wasn’t paying attention one day when Bennett was 10 months old and he escaped the apartment. Yah I felt like a bad Mom, but now I realize that it could happen to anyone. I just still can’t believe that only 10 months old, my child figured out how to open the door and leave the apartment. It boggles my mind.

Do you have a censored curse word you like to use in front of baby? Well, I pretty much always censor myself, even when I’m not in front of the baby.

Where is your favorite place in your home to get away from it all (like the baby meltdowns or to take a break)? I get away to my bedroom for sure.

What is your favorite parent related word (example: naptime)? Yep, naptime is a great word. LOVE it.

What is you least favorite parent related word (example: poopy)? Boogers. Ha ha.