Ellen Keith Shaw

09/28/2021

SF will always be my first love for all of its mysterious fog, green spaces and staircases in the middle of the city, and hills upon hills of narrow apartments filled with untold stories. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

09/25/2021

Be a rad dad and handle the booking of the family session this year, ok?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

09/24/2021

The well-known Roosevelt quote is "Comparison is the thief of joy." That resonates, but what resonates, right alongside that notion, is that perfectionism is the thief of joy. Who else is out there trying to shake their perfectionist tendencies? I know I'm in good company. I've been thinking about how this stifles me both as a creative and in my role as a parent. I would never expect or even want perfection from my kids so why do I put that pressure on myself? It's stifling. Life is messy and all of the complicated, beautiful, and heartwrenching things so maybe what I can share here can have some of that flavor too. I might not always have the words, but I can 100% have these moments with my people. It brings me a lot of joy to make images of folks doing their thing with their imperfect people too, so if you need some of this spirit in your life, DM me.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

07/04/2020

I've been sharing a lot on my personal page about ways to take action to support the Black community. Since this one is directly related to birth, I wanted to share it here. This is a great way to help make an impact with some dollars which will go directly to support Black families.

The Highland Hospital midwives are calling out an immediate need to support Black birthing f… Highland Midwives needs your support for Black Families Matter

05/12/2020

Happy belated Mother’s Day ❤️ This year I found myself thinking of all of the mama’s, and of the people who want to be mama's and how complex this feeling can be, perhaps in particular on Mother's day. Sending up a lot of love for people who are feeling super stretched thin in this intense time of supporting our babes as well as for the mama’s who feel deep in their bones mothering is what they feel called to do yet it hasn’t yet come to fruition. For those with mothering tendencies, whether or not you have babes of your own yet, I am quite sure you are already mothering many people in your lives. Mothering is a broad scope and I do know I am cared for in this way by many womxn in my life and for that support I am incredibly thankful.
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Onto week 6 of Making Better Photos--an evolving shelter-in-place guide for making better photos with your people. This week the topic is organizing your photos. Seeing your body of work in one place is hugely beneficial and Lightroom is the tool to make this happen. Seeing your photos span across time can help you see what your strengths are and where you can stand to improve. I also find looking at my work this way is a great motivator to make more photos—it is hugely rewarding to spend time with what you make. This is the mixed benefit of the digital age. We are click click clicking, but it's all too easy for what we capture to be buried. Making a practice of cataloguing and tagging your photos gives your efforts at photo making a greater purpose and brings more intention to the practice. Lucky for you, .h.y.mason just began another round of her course
which is generously free this round. Yep, you read that right. Free. Go get it. The pace is mellow, and you’ll learn all you need to know on this exact topic. Now go forth and Marie Kondo your photo library and bask in the joy of experiencing your photos in a whole new way.

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05/09/2020

I am heartbroken over the headlines regarding the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. I am impressed that there is a social media explosion despite the fact that Ahmaud's death was late February. You can take action in supporting his family and this fight. Also consider visiting runwithmaud.com to sign the petition to reflect your outrage and to demand action.

This fundraiser was designed to assist Ahmaud's family. Ahmaud was my best friend so I want to do every… Akeem Baker needs your support for I Run With Maud

05/06/2020

"Midwives are like Saints and mothers are so strong they carry life" -- Sean Hayes

Today is so I want to raise up and celebrate . Michelle was at the birth of both of my babes and I will forever hold a special place in my heart for her. Midwifery care is an incredible way to be held in your pregnancy. It is deep and sacred work and I am grateful that I was able to go through the journey with Michelle by my side. Big love to all the midwives out there who do the incredible work of bringing babes earthside in such a gentle and compassionate way. @ San Francisco, California

04/29/2020

We are at day 45 of social distancing in our family, and I feel like we’ve finally hit a sort of rhythm. I know from past experience this feeling will come and go, but for today I am feeling gratitude for the deep connection I am feeling with our kids. I also know that I am feeling cumulative exhaustion and that the intensity of parenting nearly constantly is mounting. I’m happy at least that our kids are thriving and loving the time with me and . I hope you all are hanging in there in this crazy time. ⠀
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Welcome to week 5 of how to make better photos with your fam. This week my challenge is for you to get yourself in the frame. Getting mamas in the frame is one of the main reasons I started my photography business. As the primary family documentarian in our family, this is an area of struggle for me, and I imagine it is for most of you too. We are frequently the photo takers and not often represented in our family photos. This goes for anyone who identifies as a parent, auntie, uncle, etc--I believe firmly that our experiences and presence is important to document for our kids. While I also have a lot of love for the portrait, our kids really don’t need a million images of them solo. Let’s mix it up for them and for us! ⠀
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Some of my very favorite images from my childhood are images of my parents from when I was young. I treasure those images. What are your favorite photos from your childhood? ⠀
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So, how do get in the frame beside the dreaded arm jutting off the side of the frame? I’ve been playing around with asking my kids to take photos of me, which has had some entertaining results and is what you are seeing here. I’ve also been experimenting with a simple phone stand and the 10-second timer built into the iPhone. The stand makes taking photos while out and about a lot more doable. Still working on getting one of those that is passable, but I’ve got hope. Get creative, but whatever you do, make an effort to show your face. Xo

04/24/2020

This service has really come in handy for us during Covid-times. Sharing in case it's of interest to you. I truly love only having one brand to choose from. It makes shopping for provisions much easier and less of a mental load. Their products smell good, they have clean ingredients, and everything is reasonably priced.

Get $10 off your first order at Public Goods

04/22/2020

This morning I was in the kitchen trying to make muffins because we are out of bread . Out of sight, my kids were playing about 8 feet away from me when my daughter let out a bloodcurdling scream. Turns out my son bit her. In her face. How does that even occur to someone to do such a thing? Anyways, the face bite just about sums up my day—which I’m coining as Previously Inconceivable. Today was not graceful. My muffins were terrible, and I struggled through the relentless demands of parenting two kids 5 and under through Covid-19. I am still trying to sort how to catch a break by keeping my kids semi peacefully occupied for more than 2 minutes (while not in front of the TV) without hovering over them the 14hrs a day that they are awake. Sharing because articulating my experience helps bring some much needed perspective and forgiveness for myself. I’m also hoping that my parenting struggle will resonate with someone reading so that they can also feel a little less alone in the tough spots.⠀
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Onto week 4 of Making Better Family Photos--an evolving shelter-in-place guide for making better photos with your family. This week I want to talk about what I mean when I “make photos” instead of “take photos”. This lesson is in large part inspired by a class I took with called Portrait Revolution with .⠀
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In our families, our kids are frequently--if not always--the subject of our photo making. Depending on what kinds of photos you are hoping to make, your relationship to “taking” photos versus “making” photos could be very different from mine. In large part, “taking” versus “making” is an issue of semantics. The thing is--I think the words we use are really important.

If we can be in collaboration with our kids in our photo making then the process becomes more fun for everyone involved. They become more willing subjects, their personalities and idiosyncrasies can shine through and you break beyond the barrier of “say cheese!” This process can begin as early as taking photos of your newborn. Framing the experience of making photos and sharing your reasons for doing so brings more meaning to the images you are making and helps your kids--at whatever stage-- become part of the process. Ingraining inclusive language alongside our actions with how we engage with our kids from the very start is a beautiful practice versus doing things to them. Think of making photos along the lines of changing diapers or putting on clothes, even that process can be rich in communication with our preverbal kids.

In our family this process of making photos culminates in a book that I have printed at the end of the year--a process I am grateful to have learned from . Whatever your preferred format--books or prints--giving something tangible for your kids to experience is a key part to this process of making. even makes baby board books for the little ones in your family which are super cool. The family book for us has been a key part of our making process because it spans the duration of the year, weaving together our family experiences and stories. My kids love looking through the books and seeing the places we’ve been and how much they’ve grown. The book is the glue that binds it all together and has resulted in (mostly) more willing participants. Next week I’ll be talking about the importance of presence and how containing my image making has led to more cooperative and fruitful creative sessions with my family.

It's been super cool seeing your reaction to these posts, keep it coming and if there is an area of struggle you have making photos of your own family, let me know and I’ll share my thoughts.

I’d love to see your faces and worlds, especially during this time of sheltering in place. Tag your photos on IG with and share what you are making. And if you have a good muffin recipe, please send it my way.

04/11/2020

So much good food-based info here.

Many of you have asked me how to support your family’s immune systems during the Coronavirus pandemic. And many of you want to know specifically what I’ve been doing as a holistic pediatrician and mama, for my very own family, so I’m going to share it all!

04/03/2020

Hi Friends,

Tomorrow is my Birthday. In celebration, I want to take a minute to shout out to the Disability Justice Culture Club who are running a Robust Mutual Aid Effort providing many essential services during COVID Times (and before and beyond).

I am doing some volunteer work with them and so I can say that the people who are running the organization are extremely well organized and every penny donated is going to good use. If you want to share some BD love, send them some money so that they can keep doing this essential work.

xoxo

Are you a person of color in the East Bay? Contact us if you need safety check-ins, grocery delivery, med pick up, pet care, light house keeping, or just some peer support. ☎️ These are grueling times. We want disabled people and elders to stay as well as possible, fully sheltering in place until the curve flattens and we can access full acute medical care we may need.

We are currently supporting 60+ people right now, many at least weekly.
To seek support, complete the form http://tinyurl.com/DJCCsupportform. Please note we are not offering transportation or personal care at this time, nor can we support outside of the East Bay.

To give support, Venmo or sign up to volunteer http://tinyurl.com/DJCCally. We especially need volunteers who have relationships with us already. Funds go towards groceries, supplies, paying disabled qtpoc as organizers, etc.

Graphic reads “disabled and elder lives are worth protecting. Repeats some of the copy above.