Over the last three years of making (and sharing) June in June, I’ve had many questions about how we film and edit these yearly movies of our daughter. It’s surprisingly easy to create a really fun and halfway decent finished product if you have just a few tools and tips, with the end result being something you’ll treasure forever. Today I’m sharing our best practices, if you’d like to try it yourself!

TIPS FOR FILMING:

— Pick one month where you commit to having your cameras more readily at hand and filming multiple clips a day. The idea of capturing everything all year is daunting and overwhelming to me, but one month I can do! Even though kids change so much month-to-month, when we’re looking back from the vantage point of an eighteenth birthday, I think 18 mini movies will be enough for us :)
–We shoot almost all of our clips with my iPhone. (I have a 7 Plus – John has a 5S, so we don’t use his too often, ha!) The quality it produces is pretty incredible. We also have a GoPro, which we’ve used for underwater and action shots in a few movies! Very important: don’t forget to shoot horizontally!!
— Always film slightly longer than you think you need to – you never know when an extra half second will help you time something with the music, and it’s always better to have more footage rather than less.
— To help with editing, aim for variety in all ways! Film some scenes where your child is aware of, and interacting with, the camera, and some where he or she is not. Film multiple versions or angles of the same scene (like I did to create the opening montage of June watering flowers in Volume 3), as well as multiple versions of the same action over several days (like the opening sidewalk montage in Volume 2!). Film up close to your subjects and film from a distance. Film your subjects walking past the camera and towards the camera and away from the camera. Film them sitting and reading and film them running/walking/swinging/dancing/jumping.
— Just like with photos, try to shoot in good light – but don’t let “bad” light discourage you. Some of the sweetest moments happen in the evening or in the bathtub in a windowless bathroom :)
— Make sure to get both parents in front of the camera, as well as any siblings, family members, or friends that are particularly important to their life right now. Same goes for places you frequent, favorite activities, everyday routines, and funny habits or mannerisms — anything that’s a marker of their life at this age.

TIPS FOR EDITING:

— I edit in iMovie, a program included with Macs. Since I’m far from a professional, keeping the editing simple and classic results in the most polished product. I don’t use a theme and generally don’t use transitions between clips (I did in Volume 1, so you can see what a “fade to black” transition between each clip looks like there, if you’d like!). I almost always use the “expand” title for text.
— We use Amazon Prime for phone photo backup. At the end of the month I download all of the videos from our back-up to my computer, delete any I definitely won’t use, then load the rest into iMovie. I usually use at least a piece of about 2/3 of the clips from the month (but that means about 1/3 end up on the cutting room floor).
— I purchase my song choice from iTunes, which easily loads into iMovie. Song choice is critical! I am on the hunt year-round for possible June in June songs, and store any possibilities in a note on my phone. If you’re stuck, try perusing Spotify playlists that fit with the feeling you’re trying to capture – they’re always a treasure trove of new-to-me songs and artists!
— I like to include a clip at some point where I can hear laughter or talking, since their voices change so much. Cue all the mamas sobbing in the corner.
— Switch things up! Here’s where you’re grateful for the variety of clips you captured! :) Mix close up and pulled back shots and quick switches with a few longer shots (like at :44 in Volume 3) to give the viewer a chance to breathe.
— Don’t leave a clip on the cutting room floor because something is out of place. This is meant to capture your real life — don’t stress about your messy house in the background or your hair looking weird. The sweetest and most memorable moments are not fancy – some of my favorites in Volume 2 include June eating oatmeal in our bathroom and her ridiculous camping bedhead.
— Three minutes is my max finished length – I usually shoot for between 2:00 and 2:30. This year’s was 2:45.

Most of all, remember this video is for you. Childhood passes all too quickly, and these yearly videos are my favorite way to capture all those things we’re so likely to forget: the length of their hair, their baby chub, the way they walk and run, their smile, the way they hold a spoon, the outfits they wear on repeat… all those things that, years later, will make you say, “Oh wow, I almost forgot about that…”

Happy filming, friends! If you have any questions I haven’t covered, drop them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer!

P.S. For those of you who have asked… YES, we will be making movies for Shep, too! Stay tuned for Sheptember Volume 1 in 2019 :)

I think the question feature that Instagram rolled out a few months ago is one of the more fun things they’ve ever done, both because I like seeing other’s answers, and because I’ve enjoyed answering questions myself! Much like my annual survey, it’s also helpful for EFM research purposes: given the chance to ask anything, what are y’all most curious about?

The topic that sparked the most interest in my last question-answering burst was on self-care. It’s not really a topic I’ve delved into here, but as usual, I have thoughts! :)

The original question: What are some of your favorite ways to incorporate self-care?

Y’all already know I don’t go in for many of the “classic” self care practices: I think baths take too long, my nails chip immediately after I paint them, face masks don’t do anything for me, I don’t like massages… basically, I’m a beautifying curmudgeon. (Though if I had unlimited funds, I would totally get a weekly blow-out… just saying :))

I think self-care is so much broader than its current buzzword status might have us believe, though. For me, it’s less of a list of things to work into my days or weeks, and more a strategy of putting together a life I love, one that I don’t feel like I need a respite from. As much as possible, I build my life from things that energize me instead of drain me, which often means cutting things out more than adding things.

So, what do I consider self-care?

— Evening walks with John. The combination of moving my body, clearing my head through conversation, and connecting with my favorite person will always be the ultimate in self-care for me.
— Hiking, a.k.a. walks in the woods
— Walking through a beautiful neighborhood (bonus points if it has historic homes and lovely gardens)
— Reading
— Writing, here on EFM or otherwise
— Connecting to the Lord, whether through prayer, worship, scripture, or Write the Word
— Seeing a fun project through from concept to completion (like my first day of fall scones – bonus points if I get the warm fuzzies from blessing other people!)
— Going out to eat at a favorite spot
— Date nights in and date nights out
— Watching a movie or show with John (the catch is that we have to both ONLY be watching, not multitasking!)

Many of these boil down to seeking adventure and beauty as often as possible, in as many ways as possible. To make room for those things, I circle back to the second half of the formula I mentioned above: cutting out things that drain me. When I’m caring for myself well, I don’t feel burdened by a to do list, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time on things that don’t matter to me, and there aren’t tasks I’m dreading looming over my head.

I don’t always succeed at this, but I do have a three-pronged strategy for lessening the burden of the more mundane parts of life:

— First, like I mentioned above, I cut out or batch as many undesirable tasks as possible. I grocery shop just once a week. I get by with the bare minimum in cleaning. I generally don’t binge watch shows, and I try very hard not to spend mindless time scrolling on social media. I make several day’s worth of lunches in one evening.
— Second, for anything that has to stay on my plate, I try to make it as enjoyable as possible. In the words of Mary Poppins, “in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!” :) I turn on music while cleaning. I work in the yard side-by-side with John. I listen to podcasts while running errands.
— Third, if there’s just no way to make something “fun,” I do my best to think of it as part of my calling, something that can either be seen as a burden or a privilege — and that choice is mine.

My parents modeled for me that certain duties are just that – duties. There’s no point in railing against the unfairness of taking out the trash, because it’s just a part of life, and you’ll make yourself a lot more miserable if you gnash your teeth every time you have to do it instead of just doing it. (I feel like I’m literally quoting my Dad here, ha!) I do my fair share of griping, let’s be clear, but I’m much happier when I just dispense with the task at hand as quickly as possible.

And aren’t we lucky to have lives and families and chores to attend to? I have a daughter, so I GET to make lunches for her. I have a house, so I GET to clean the bathroom. With that mind shift, some of those undesirable tasks almost turn into a form of fulfilling, satisfying self-care! Almost :)

I’d love to know, what does self-care mean to you? How do you practically carry it out or make time for it? I would love to hear!

Choosing a name for another person has to be one of the most thrilling and also nerve-wracking parts of parenting. Because of this, I love hearing about how others chose their kiddos’ names, and I’m happy to share more about our son’s name today!

As cliche as it sounds, John and I set out to give both of our littles names with roots and wings. By that I mean we hope their names will anchor them to things of value, and aim them toward things worthy of aspiration. For June, we hope her name will remind her of her family story, as well as the beautiful story of America. Shep’s name is also a reminder of his family story, and of our faith.

Before we found out the gender of our first baby, we decided we’d name her June if she was a girl, and John if he was a boy. We stuck to that once we found out about baby number two. To me, naming our son John is a reminder of the story from which he comes – one that’s far from perfect, but filled with people who try, who have integrity, who are kind and smart and humble and face challenges and pick themselves back up again and again. As crystallized for me in this essay, I strongly believe (and research backs up!) that one of the best things we can do for our children is develop a strong family narrative.

From the essay:

“The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned. The “Do You Know?” scale turned out to be the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness… Dr. Duke said that children who have the most self-confidence have what he and Dr. Fivush call a strong ‘intergenerational self.’ They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.”

You all know how I feel about confidence! :) Naming our son John gives us a ready opening to tell him about the rich history of our family, starting with a contingent of Johns:

His grandfather (John’s Dad), who grew up on a farm in Ohio, earned his Ph.D., traveled the world testifying against counterfeit drugs, and writes the sweetest notes in birthday cards.

His great-grandfather (my grandfather), who served in the Army, milked a farm full of cows at the crack of dawn every morning, raised six children, was married to my grandmother for more than 50 years before his passing, and sang in his church’s choir every Sunday.

His many, many greats-grandfather John Ayer, who in 1665 founded my family’s farm in Connecticut, which is recognized as one of the oldest continuously-working family farms in the state.

And of course, there’s my most beloved John. What gave me great comfort when I thought about having a boy was all of the remarkable men I know and love, the most important being my husband. If our son shares even a few characteristics with him, he’ll be well-poised to take hold of the life that is truly life.

As much as we were settled on naming our son John, we also knew we didn’t want to call him John in daily life. For his middle name, we wanted something that pointed to our faith, and quickly settled on Shepherd. Though we considered many individual figures from the Bible (John’s favorite being Stephen, for his remarkable testimony), none were as compelling as Shepherd, which for us points to some of the most beautiful characteristics of God and his Son. Jesus as the good shepherd is gentle, humble, honored for his obedience, a diligent and hard worker, and a protector.

There are so many stories in the Bible using the imagery or figures of shepherds, but I’ll just touch on one more: the shepherds in the story of Jesus’s birth. How amazing is it that God chose a group of no-stature shepherds to first share the news of his son’s birth, and how beautiful that they responded with great urgency, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.” What a powerful prayer for our Shep!

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that both John and Shepherd are classic choices — simple to say and familiar to the tongue — and in the case of Shepherd, not terribly common. Plus, I think June and Shep go together nicely :) Plus plus, I love that I can keep wearing my J necklace in good conscience!

Friends, I’d love to hear: does your name have a story behind it?

Friends, this is our sweet John Shepherd! He arrived one week ago today, on Tuesday, July 31 at 12:06pm. He was a bit longer and skinnier than June, measuring 7 pounds, 3 ounces and 20 inches long. We will call him Shepherd or Shep :)

Our prayer throughout this pregnancy was for a healthy delivery, a healthy baby, and a healthy mama. We graciously received all three, and have been delighted by God’s goodness to us in all things since then. Shep is a dream, June has been the best big sister and most patient girl, and John — well, as always, he makes it all possible and everything more fun. I can’t wait to share more, especially about his name – hopefully later this week!

Thank you, as always, for all of your love, friends! We love you!