New Year's Resolution: Revisited

As some of you know, I set some goals for myself at the beginning of the year. Since I've reached the deadline for one of those I thought I'd make myself accountable and give you an idea of how things are going so far this year.

1) I've been testing my lighting equipment. A lot. Trying different settings, one light vs. two. Lots of different backdrops. I think we're even going to make a wood floor (it's going to be awesome) in the coming months. I'm getting better at seeing the "bigger picture". I know what I want the picture to end up like. Sam sometimes looks at my SOOC (straight out of camera) pics and thinks "aggh. She totally messed that one up" but then after the PP (post-processing) they look awesome. It's all about having a vision. I'm also much better at Photoshop. My workflow is definitely more...streamlined. Cuts back on extra work. I like it.

2) My workshop date is August 8-10. I'm registered. It's seriously been the best thing ever. Remember the forum I'm addicted to? Wow. I can't even begin to explain how much I've learned about business, photography, lenses, working with clients, etc.

3) I had my first engagement shoot awhile back. I have a wedding booked for June (including engagements & bridals). Wahooo!! I'm hoping to pick up another couple of weddings to help pay for the new lens we're thinking we "need". :) Anyone interested?

4) Uhhh... still in progress. We are going to Seattle to interview with Amazon as well. We'll see how that goes.

5) We now read our scriptures (almost) every morning with breakfast. It's been so great.

6) I weighed in this morning at 179. So that would be 12lbs lost instead of 15. I'm close. I'm going for losing another 10 in the next three months. June 30th. Going for 169lbs. Oh baby.

Maternity Photoshoot

Isn't she gorgeous? I seriously wish I had looked like this at 9 months pregnant. :) I had so much fun with Marin today at the Provo Library. Her baby is due in about a week, so wish her luck!

Hats, Bows, & Headbands

I found these for a great deal the other week and asked my neighbors girl down to model them for me. She was amazing. Seriously restored my faith in 2 year olds. She smiled, posed, and was so much fun to work with! Anyway, the accessories are available if you are interested in using them for your session. (Make sure you check out more cute pictures with the hat (both blue & pink) in previous posts.)

10x20 Storyboards

I'm so excited to start offering these! It's a great way to display 2-4 of your favorite pictures in a unique & stylish fashion. You get to pick the pictures, I'll create you up an example, and then you can give me the okay. These are available in 10x20, 10x10, 12x12, or if you really love your pictures, 20x20. Prices start at $20. They come mounted ready to frame (you can add texture for $5 extra), you can stand them on a easel, or we'll drill holes in the corner for you to hang with ribbon. I just got mine from the lab and I love it! (My wall is almost finished, I'll be posting pictures soon. Hooray!)

Impossibly Real Photography

Bryan Niven is a local photographic artist who does some amazingly crazy stuff! Seriously. He has an artistic background (drawing, painting) and incorporates it into his photography like you would not believe. He takes pictures of each of the components of his end product, and then post-production combines them all together for these one-of-a-kind family portraits. This guy has more artistic talent in his pinky that I will probably ever have in my whole body. Oh, and he teaches community education classes at UVSC.

Hale Center Theater: "She Loves Me"

Sam & I had a date last night to the Hale Center Theater in Orem to see the play "She Loves Me." I was little hesitant as the last one we saw was just okay, and did we really want to get a babysitter and go out on a Tuesday night? Yes. Yes we did. This play was awesome! All of the characters were cast phenomenally, the music was upbeat and entertaining, the storyline cute and believable, and FUNNY. We laughed so much! Georg Nowak (played by Greg Hansen) and Amalia Balash (Cindy Winkel) work at Maraczek's Parfumerie and hate each other from the moment they met. Little do they know that their secret "Dear Friend" penpals are each other! Very much a "You've Got Mail" storyline. The play only runs through April 5th, so if you have a spare evening between now and then, I would highly recommend it. You can get more information on their website.

New Logo

I got a new awesome logo designed by Tiffany Hix. She's just starting out and is offering super discounts for the month of March, so if you are in need of a logo, head on over. She was great to work with and I love what she did! She's also an awesome photographer in the Boise, ID area if you know of someone in need.

Little L

This boy is so yummy, I really could just eat him! I invited a friend over today to help me try some props (the hat & tie) and to give me some practice with my lights. I'm really trying to get consistent, so sorry for more pictures of the same. I can't wait for the weather to get nice and go outside to shoot!

And...what's a photo shoot without some of mine? I do have a good reason for all the pictures though. We're putting together a wall display (on our living room wall, obviously) so I'm trying to get a good amount to choose from. I'll post pictures when we're done, I'm so excited!

I found this WAY cute hat at the mall yesterday. Don't you love it?

Price Increase

Just wanted to let you all know that I will be raising my session fee pricing on Monday 3/24. If you want the current pricing, ya gotta book it before then. Thanks!

Playing Around Part IV

That seems to be all I do these days, huh? Ha! I love it though. I wanted to use the basket some more, and then after Rachel woke up from her nap she wanted to play too. Ahhhh... I love them.

Cute Baby Alert

This baby belongs to one of my really good friends. I talked her over to let me practice newborn shots. Isn't he delicious? Anyone else have a brand new baby? Want to come over? :)

To brighten your day

From our trip to the park last Saturday....

So I'm an idiot

Apparently I'm not the biggest Stephanie Meyer fan in existence. I don't even know about her novels. *sigh* I stand corrected. The Host is not her novel about vampires. Waiting for Dawn (the correct title) doesn't come out until August. I'm still going to check my library in advance though....

New Print Pricing

I recently partnered with a new photo lab and I can tell you they are awesome. I'm so excited about this because I get to offer great prints for reasonable prices. There's also a lot more finishing options, canvas choices, gallery wraps, etc. I can even do press-printed books or flush-mounted albums if you're interested. Well, what are you waiting for? Check it out!

**I also have a new policy pertaining to digital negatives. Information is at the bottom of the pricing page.

Stephanie Meyer Fans...

...this is for you! I recently called a bookstore to check on something else and was asked if I wanted to pre-order her 4th book in the vampire series titled The Host. No. I don't. I don't buy books before I've read them. So, I checked out our local library and they list at least 10 books on pre-order. So, I made a request for it and guess what? #2 in line. How cool is that? I imagine they'll get these books in and processed fairly quickly as well so there won't be much of a wait. My advice: contact your local library and see if you can get on the waiting list now. Before everyone else does.

Pumpkin-licious!

I've found that cans of pumpkin are sooo big that I have to make a couple of recipes in the same week to use it all. Well, this is the week. For those of you that read my tag, you know I am obsessed with all things pumpkin. I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite recipes:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c canned pumpkin
1 c white sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 egg
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 Tbs vanilla
2 c chocolate chips

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful and greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.
**These are very cake-like cookies. I was thinking they'd be really good as mini-muffins as well, but alas. I don't have a mini-muffin tin.

Kate's Famous Pumpkin Pancakes (from Stacie back on the aforementioned post)
1 1/4 c flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 egg
6 Tbs pumpkin (I use more)
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 c milk

1. Whisk all dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix egg, pumpkin, butter, and milk; fold in dry ingredients.
2. Heat skilled over medium heat; pour about 1/4 c batter for each pancake. Spread batter to make it flat. Serve with butter and syrup.
**Also really yummy with chocolate chips in the batter (I haven't tried this, but it sounds good!)

Pumpkin Roll
3 eggs
2/3 c pumpkin
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c flour

1. Grease a 10x15 cookie sheet and line with waxed paper so the paper hangs slightly over each edge.
2. Mix ingredients and pour onto cookie sheet smoothing into a thin layer
3. Bake 15 min at 350 degrees.
4. Prepare pumpkin filling while it's baking

Filling
2 Tbsp softened butter or margerine
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 c confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla

5. When pumpkin is finished, dump upside down on a linen towel or clean pillow case (no lint).
6. Peel off waxed paper with a butter knife, roll pumpkin in towel and leave for 5-10 min.
7. Unroll and spread filling (don't go completely to the edge).
8. Roll pumpkin without the towel.
**You can wrap in foil and freeze if desired. Also fun to sprinkle confectioner's sugar over the top to serve.

Anyway, if you decide to make any of these, let me know how it goes!

A little Pick-Me-Up Experimentation

I was struggling today, so I had a therapy photo session. Ahhh... So nice. I've been trying to find a way to make my studio shots more interesting. Give them a little oomph. I decided to use one strobe instead of two, and I ditched the kitchen table I was using for my "platform". Put the kids right on the ground instead. Hopefully this will make them happier as I think it was pretty scary up there for a few. Plus, I can get better angles. I think using just one strobe gives the picture more depth. Less "kiddie kandids" more "custom photography", right? right?!

I also picked up some white material at the fabric store yesterday. So fun! I love high key photography. And, it worked with just the one strobe, as did the black (yup, did a test run with all of 'em). These were all shot with my 50mm, f/2.5 (ish), 1/200. I love that lens.

This is her post-nap hair do. I promise she doesn't look like this all the time (notice she's looking at the camera and smiling. I hope this is becoming a trend...).

I love this picture. My kids are so cute. I'm so biased.

Our cute neighbor...

Girls are going to dig that drool

Okay, one more.

P.S. I love having so many kids in my building. I knocked on our neighbors door and said "hey, can I borrow your kid for a few minutes?"

Oh how I love this weather!

I could seriously handle weather like this all year... oh wait. We're moving to CA next year. Hooray for no snow! Anyway... we went to play with grandma last Friday, grandpa got jealous so he came home from work early and we all went to the park. My parents got a new Nikon SLR for Christmas so my dad & played around taking pictures. It was really fun. These are for you Nikonites out there.

This is how Andrew feels about slides....

This is how Rachel feels about slides...

I'll just sit here and look cute instead. Is that okay, mom?

Playing with grandma

This is my favorite. By the time we left, she could go up this thing by herself. She's so big! (color is kinda funky. Too tired to figure out. She's really not that orange in real life! I promise!)

The Big 1

Isn't he cute? Seriously. He's my neighbor's little boy and is so fun. We had some trouble getting him to smile (seems to be a trend. hmmmm....). I think my big umbrellas and flashy lights scare them. Working on that. Anyway, enjoy!