When babies grow up...{Parker, CO Family Photographer, Senior Photographer, Wedding Photographer}

It's been about 5 years since I set down my photographer's hat for a time. It's been important for me to raise my babies. And though they are not full grown, in fact many are still small - they are all in school. That gives me some time to consider how I would like to spend my extra time. In the 5 years since I've put aside my photography business, I have continued to be creative and work when friends or past clients have asked. I have missed being creative and also interacting with others in a way that is afforded to me because of my desire to photograph others.

All this being said, here I am at the beginning of the school year hoping that I can once again get back on the preverbal horse. So here is a little smattering of some fun sessions I've been able to do!

Sneak Peek at a New Year's Eve Wedding Celebration : {Akron, CO & Denver, CO Wedding Photographer}

If you remember New Years Eve and the weather...you will smile to yourself when imagining how graciously this now newly wed couple pulled off their wedding! Picture a small town with close ties between neighbors. I think this is a pretty good description of Akron, CO. I had never been here before, but Tianna assured me, if I blinked - I might miss it. Had the wind not been blowing upwards of what I would guess to be 50-60 mph, I would have died to tour the town and take our time outside nailing all the great shots we wanted to get in cool locations. Be the weather as it was, this was not really an option. When I arrived at the wedding, I nearly got my heavy door thrown back into my body courtesy of the wind. I made it into the church with Kelsey (my business partner/second shooter) without anything too embarrassing happening. We got some shots of Justin & the men in their duds for the day. We even attempted braving the outdoors...yeah, that didn't last long.





Then, it was off to Tianna's sister's home which was nearby. By this point, the snow was whipping around in the wind too. It was awesome!! (I'm being partly facetious, but it was actually kind of pretty too) Tianna and all her ladies in waiting were nearly ready so we got some fun shots of them...my favorites are the ones with the bags over their hair so as not to allow the wind to muss them! Dang it all if we weren't trying to hurry and I nailed a nice, slightly blurry one...but it's for the memories, right?









Then, back to the church to squeak in a handful of shots before guests began to arrive. Justin was put into quarantine and not allowed to see Tianna before she made her way down the aisle. I think he would definitely agree that it was worth the wait.



And then, the real beautiful part began. The wedding ceremony. Did I mention, at this point all the power in the chapel went out. You know what...it didn't matter. It was something to see as Justin didn't take his eyes from Tianna as she made her way down the aisle on her daddy's arm. You could tell her daddy was definitely proud too. I'm going to stop writing, but there is one shot in here that I realize might not be the most technically correct image, but it is my very favorite. When I saw it on my card after the wedding and realized what it was - despite how dark the image initially was I knew it was a keeper. Talk about a beautiful, quiet moment of intense emotion. I'll let you guess which one it is. Enjoy the love story as it unfolds...

























Justin & Tianna - I had such a fun time with you guys. It was such a pleasure to be able to be a part of your wedding, not only as the photographer...but as a guest. You are a beautiful couple with huge things ahead of you and I hope you continue to let me be a part of the adventure from time to time! Congratulations!

And here's one for the road...this is for Atkins Nutritional!! Love you guys too!

The Wedding Party

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I wanted to spread the word about a new wedding website for Brides. It's called Wedding Party. It will be similar to The Knot but better. The Knot is overwhelmed with paid advertising that isn't necessarily all caliber work. And you pay a boatload just to advertise on there. Not that I wasn't tempted to fork out the cash myself at one point. But, so far the Wedding Party is soliciting photographers. All the work I have seen on there so far is excellent. It is broken down by state (and even includes Canada). But, eventually it will move onto DJs, caterers, wedding planners, etc. But, if you are looking for a wedding photographer (and for some odd reason don't want to call me!!!) or if you are a photographer looking to further your work's exposure, consider looking into the Wedding Party.

This weekend

The wedding was an absolute ball. A big congralations to Nick and Lauren F.!!! They were so fun. But, their families were just as wonderful. The great-aunt of the bride was one of the best dancers I have ever seen. She was dressed to the nine's in her pristine lime green suit coat with her pinned curls - she looked fabulous. But it wasn't until we got on the dance floor that she really got down! It was honestly a great time!

Hudson Gardens was a beautiful location. This couple was married in "Monet's Garden" - it really was beautiful and they had a pedicab driver that hauled guests to and from the ceremony location and then back to the tent located just up the hill for the reception. They had Elly Conant, owner of Simply Done Events as their Event Planner. I'll tell you what, she was on top of everything. I was truly impressed with how smoothly everything ran. She did a wonderful job and if you are looking for a coordinator for your wedding, I would recommend Elly to anyone.

But, overall it was a fantastic weekend - it did kick it into the 100 degree weather according to a thermometer at Hudson Gardens - but, we survived it.

Now, back to what makes me tick - food. I need to get dinner on! Adios!

Northwestern Mutual Event Shoot

I have never officially done an event shoot before and I have to say...not bad. I have never been to the Denver Art Museum before and it was INCREDIBLE! I am beginning to LOVE downtown Denver. The shoot for was for the 150th anniversary of Northwestern Mutual.It was easy to do. Shots of couples and groups. Mingling...with people who potentially don't want you there (for the fact that the are not fans of photographs being taken of them) but none the less - all the security guards were fantastic. I really appreciate there help. One kept me from getting a ticket on my car for an expired meter. I didn't realize that after 6 you still had to worry about the meter. I was wrong. My meter was expired for probably an hour and thankfully I didn't get a ticket. Another guard named Alex told me I should contact the event director there and see about using me for further shoots there. I would love it. Another guard just chatted. So, overall a pleasant evening. And I get to thank a fellow photographer for the evening, Katie VanBuren. I am going to second shoot a wedding with her next weekend. It is really a treat to get to know such a kind person who is willing to help you out in so many ways, but to also be able to associate with her in a business way as well. I count her as a new friend who I hope to grow closer too as time presses on.

So, it was a fun evening. And now I'm home - kids asleep, husband over at a buddies watching an Ultimate Fighting Championship match that was on Pay Per View. And I get to surf the web and just chill. Yeah! Can't beat a night like this!

PUGS!!!

Nope, not the adorable dogs that I would actually consider owning simply because of their squished face and ridiculous sounding breathing style...no, this was a Pictage Users Group meeting and it was awesome! Okay, so for the longest time I have wanted to find a way to meet photographers around the area and get to know them, to establish some kind of relationship so that we could communicate without making me look like a stalker. Being able to ask questions and share information is priceless in this business and with leaders like Becker and Jasmine Star setting the trend of being willing to share what they know and have learned with others, how can photographers not want to join in this circle of sharing? (sound like kindergarden...that circle of sharing bit) Anyway, I went to the PUG meeting last night at Blake Street Tavern and was a bit apprehensive of how I would be received, if it would already be a tight knit group or what...but, I was really pleasantly surprised to run into so many great people...and photographers.

Some I met were Amanda Tipton, James Christianson, Tori Thorp, Katie Van Buren, Travis Broxton, Melissa Rich, and Alison Williams. What a pleasure to meet each of these individuals. I sincerely look forward to getting to know and work with them in the future!

I am a new member of Pictage. Any photographers out there that happen to be reading this - go check out the March Madness promotion. You get a FREE Willowbook album. They are leather bound and fabulous. Much like Zookbinders which I absolutely love and have used since we started our business 3 years ago. Anyway, the best part about Pictage is that there is no contract, you stay as long as you like and you use it to its full ability. They are also really CLASSY - meaning they send prints and everything else in really nice black boxes lined with tissue paper etc. I mean, that's good stuff that I don't have to account for. The other thing is that they charge a commission of 10% on client orders to cover the cost of the "extras" that make it classy and to cover the fees for accepting credit cards. But, they don't have an e-commerce fee or CC fee (which for the company we use is 18% of what we make). Plus, they advertise for us and that's great too. Can't complain about free advertising. Right? Anyway, just wanted to give a shout out to anyone looking to streamline their business and get a great album for free.