the reluctant wedding photographer

My brother Eric had two children get married in the last month. My nephew Jason was married in Logan the first week of August, and my niece Ashley was married last Friday in Boise. I had taken Jason & Katie's engagement pictures back in June when they were in town for my parents' 50th Anniversary, and they asked if I would do their wedding pictures. I told them I'd never done a wedding, but if they wanted me to, I would. They said they did. As I started preparing, I started to almost wish I'd said no. I spent about a two weeks reading, practicing, and reading some more. It was a great learning experience, as I finally had to learn some things that I'd been able to avoid learning up until now. I knew that I needed to know my stuff inside and out because I'd only have one chance at these wedding pictures.

I didn't sleep at all the night before Jason's wedding. Every time I'd almost be able to "count" myself to sleep (I sometimes try relaxation exercises where you count your breaths in & out), aperture, ISO, flash settings and shutter speeds would start racing through my head. It would have been laughable (it is now) if I hadn't been in such a panic.

After the wedding, my brother and his wife asked if I was interested in taking Ashley's pictures. I said I'd be willing to do it if they wanted me to, but they needn't feel obligated to ask me. And I suggested they wait until they see the pictures from Jason & Katie's wedding before making up their mind. They ended up asking me, and thankfully it wasn't nearly as stressful. Though the Boise Temple didn't have quite so many "photo spots" as the Logan Temple, but we ended up with a number of great shots. I think they'll be pleased.


Ashley's wedding pictures are first, then Jason's.











Oh, and if you are wondering if this means I want to do wedding photography now, I can safely assure you that the answer is NO WAY! I had a lot of fun doing these two weddings because I knew the couples and I was going to be at them anyways, but I don't have any interest in spending entire days away from my family or dealing with bridezillas or any of that. Ashley and Katie were super laid back and a ton of fun. But if somebody else in the family gets married in the next couple of years, I'd be willing to shoot their wedding if they want me.

besides the usual stuff...

This is my latest project.

I know I could charge a lot more for my work. I hear that from people I work with on a regular basis. The thing is, I've never been in a position where I felt like I could drop $100+ on photos, but it seems sad that people who don't have the extra income should be left with only Wal-Mart, JCPenneys and Kiddie Kandid as options. So I like to provide opportunities for the average family to get really nice pictures. I'm hoping that making this offering to the universe will reciprocate in good ways for me and our family in the long run.

most recent portrait session

Check it out here.

april showers

I took pictures of my sister-in-law Anita and her prom date tonight. It was fun and we got some good shots, even though we had to shoot inside and I was really looking forward to an outside session. Oh well. I felt the need to document the "beautiful weather," though, and I am glad I did (even though it was a bit of an ordeal to hold my camera, my camera bag, my step stool, my umbrella, and my collapsed photo umbrella. Maybe that's why I liked the shots so much, it was quite an effort to get them.

bit of excitement

I got my studio light set in the mail last week, and on Saturday I had a chance to test it out. You can see more from the shoot here. I was absolutely delighted with how they turned out, and it helped to have such cute kids to shoot.





Is it silly to be really excited that I took these in my living room? Even if it is, I can't help it.

finished!

I took some individual portraits of some siblings a while back and the mom finally got back to me which proofs she wanted enhanced. I'm really pleased with how they came out.
Click on "Kelly's Kids".

photoshop fun

So I got up at 6 this morning (went to bed to late to get up at five!) but there wasn't any google work to do. So I decided to spend my early morning hours improving photography/photoshop skills.

I thought these turned out fun:

my photo blog...

I can't remember if I've "tooted my own horn" here. If I have, I think it's been only that one time. I just added some more pictures on my photo blog. Wanna hire me? *wink*

Jack the Rat

I think Spud changes his name every so often, but I still call him Jack.

fun with black & white

David found me a sweet new application for working with black & white photos.



(He took the dragonfly picture--it's a pretty great picture so I have to give credit where it's due.)

drum roll please....

Here it is, my photography business blog! Yippee!!

yellow sun studios

photoshop photoshop, Oh photo photoshop

(That should be sung to the tune of the old song Lollipop, which, incidentally, my best friend at age 8 (her name was Cassie) and I made up a whole lip sync routine to in her bedroom one sleepover. We thought we were pretty fabulous.)

I've been working through a bunch of photoshop tutorials in an effort to hone my craft. One of these months I'm going to have my own photography business, and I need to continue mastering the necessary skills, both in camera and post-production. It's easy to tell myself that I need more/better equipment before I get into it, but the truth of the matter is that I have enough "stuff" to take really great photos. All I need to improve is my skills. It's easy to get discouraged when I look at some other photographer's websites, but I'm realizing that a lot of what I like about their pictures is the post-production effects. You do have to start out with a good photo, but from there you can really make it pop.

I also have to come up with a business name. I have a few photographer friends who use their names in their business title, but that doesn't appeal to me. I want a name that is fun and somewhat whimsical, but is well-suited for me. Feel free to share any ideas.

Here's a picture from last summer I was working with.

the week in photos

Smiths had cereal on sale this week--8 for $8. Plus, every time you check out, you get a $2 coupon, so you can buy your NEXT batch of 8 for only $6.48. We like to stock up when they have these sales. You really can't beat such a cheap breakfast.

I've been craving peanut butter cookies for days (and asking David to pick up peanut butter from the health food store for a week and a half) and I finally got to make some!! Oh yumminess! The problem is, using the all natural (peanuts only) peanut butter makes me feel like the cookies are kind of healthy (yes, I ignore the sugar content) and I tend to overindulge. At least I made them small--that way I can eat four cookies and it's really only two.

Last Sunday while Clive was napping, David, Noodle, the dogs & I had some fun in the sun in the backyard. On Thursday we had another weird weather day, complete with a quick and furious snowfall. Happily nothing stuck.

And, as promised, more rattie pictures.

okay, so the baby is now a month old...

But I wanted to share a few pics from my friend's "maternity shoot." She is a beautiful person, so it was fun to take pictures for her. Especially in fall, which is really her season.

I've been busy

Trying to get my life a bit more organized (I swear this is a recurring theme) and getting ready for the Holidays and all that jazz. I did a quick photo shoot for my friend Shannon. It was quick because we were all starting to freeze by the end, but I think we got some nice photos. And heck, for a Christmas card or even for the wall, you only need ONE good photo. Mission accomplished!