If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you should take advantage of this opportunity. Trust me. Its worth it.

Here’s the scoop:

Its super easy. You just pick a 20min time slot, pick either date that works for you, make sure you arrive a teeny bit early so that you’re ready to go the second your time starts, and we walk around a small area and I get oodles and oodles of photos that you’ll cherish forever of you laughing and loving each other. This is perfect for the husband who hates getting his photos taken because its quick and easy. This is perfect for any mom who deserves to have beautiful photos of her family and actually be in them and not the one always behind the camera. And this is the perfect way to celebrate spring and the start of the next six months of beautiful weather that this incredible area has to offer.

Need more convincing?

How about a few examples from last year’s mini sessions.

Shall I sweeten the deal even further?

Sure, why not? How about having each family that upgrades to the full collection choose their favorite photo from their mini session. Then, I’ll let people vote on their favorite. Which ever photo wins will be turned into a top-of-the-line (trust me, I’ve searched far and wide for the best labs for each of my products) 24×36 canvas delivered to the winning client’s home. Not too shabby, eh?

The mini sessions will completely book up, so please contact me as soon as you can to reserve your spot.

You know the type.

They are incredibly nice. I’m talking down-to-their-bones-for-real nice. Not nice to your face and not-so-nice-when-you-walk-away kind of nice. You meet this kind of person and your first reaction is “wow… I don’t think I’ve met too many people like them”. This type of person is immediately easy to get along with yet knows what they want. They smile because they’re happy. They are giving. You can’t think of any other way to describe them other than downright genuinely good.

Have you thought of someone you know who fits into this category?

Now think about this… Have you ever met an entire family, a reasonably big family at that, where everyone falls into this category? I’m talking about a set of parents who visibly care for each other and their kids. I’m talking about a group of kids who behave in a way you wish all adolescents would. I’m talking about an entire that is so amazing together that you know they will have such a full life of happy memories together.

If you haven’t met a family like this, let me introduce you to one. Enjoy!

Hope and Shane are awesome. I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it again – I love my wedding couples. These two are no exception. Wanna know one of the main things I love about them?

The almost kiss.

Ah, I love the almost kiss. Its that split second of passion before the lips touch. But what makes the almost kiss so incredible is that not every couple can remain in that almost kiss space. If you have a man and a woman who are truly and passionately in love with each other, they can remain frozen in time in that magical place. Satisfied and at peace knowing they are close to the one they love, but longing to be even closer. At that moment, its as if nothing else in the world matters.

I present to you the almost kiss:

I am inspired by all kinds of love stories. What I found most inspiring about Hope & Shane is that they’ve been together for what some may consider a pretty long time, yet its clear to see that the love and passion they share for one another rivals that of a couple who are still in that “la la” period of bliss at the beginning of the blossoming relationship. Add on top of that a level of trust, understanding and comfort that only comes with years of being together and what you have is, well, perfection. They’re just one of those couples you know will be happily together for the rest of their lives. As I look back through these photos, I see how much they make each other smile. One more key ingredient to lasting happiness.

Need further proof? Well here you go…

Want some more almost kiss? Here ya go.

Anyhoo, these photos are of my stepsister and her family. I got a temporary baby fix last week when I got to hold the handsome little dude, but I’m sure that is close to wearing off so I’ll soon be on the lookout for another baby to hold. I was so lucky to be able to take their first family photos. To be able to capture how much they love their little man. To freeze in time all those awesome little faces he makes. I’m sure these are the first of many photos they’ll get from me (one of the little perks, in addition to enjoying my charming personality of course, of being related to me), and I look forward to watching him grow in front of my camera.

This first set of photos is kind of fun. The one on the left is from their wedding (their wedding photos were gorgeous). We were standing in front of a garage door and I told them to stand like they were in their wedding photo. They knew exactly which one I was talking about. Had we planned it ahead of time, we may have found a different door or put heels on her so she stood a couple inches taller, but it was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I had to try and copy their wedding photographer’s processing and I’m the first to admit that I kind of suck at copying other photographer’s style, but I did my best by converting it to a sepia b&w and added a bit of grain. I’m a bit of a technical rule follower freak when it comes to photography so it just about killed me to crop in a finger chop, but I had to do it. Kinda cool, right?

We took a few at their place before we ventured outside. Look at those blue eyes. This won’t be the first time I talk about them.

This is Murray. He’s one of the best three dogs I’ve ever known. Kodi and Millie are the other two.

This is the first of many unbelievable adorable expressions this little man gave me. I love him.

See what I’m talking about? Look at both of his expressions, just seconds apart.

GORGEOUS blue eyes.

Can’t forget who the first baby was in this family.

Does this photo not melt your heart? This was one of those photos where I couldn’t decide whether I wanted it in color or b&w. I literally sat in front of my computer and converted it back and forth like 20x. Color won. Barely.

These two photos are two of my favorites from the session.

These two are my kids’ favorites. Look at poor Murray. Taking such abuse. Told you he was one of the best three dogs ever.

These two photos are why I named this post Happiness and Tenderness. There’s no other way to describe the photo on the left other than happy, and tender for the photo on the right. The two ingredients that make being a mom the most wonderful thing in the world.

I couldn’t decide which of the next two to post. They’re both very similar but have completely different feelings to me. My indecisiveness won and I posted both.

The first photo, when she was two years old, is what I call a happy accident. At that point in time, I was trying to master shooting in manual mode and getting the shot right in camera. I had not gone into business at that point. I dressed my daughter up and made her be my model (a role she quickly learned how to avoid). I found a great location near our home that I use all the time now for photos. It was then that I saw this MONSTER sized dandelion. I had never seen anything like it! There was only a small patch of them near the rail road tracks. I picked one, put it in her hands, showed her how to blow to make the seeds fly away, and frantically ran over to set up my shot because I knew it was impossible to ask a 2-yr-old to wait for such an awesome task. Lucky for me, no matter how hard she blew, the seeds wouldn’t fly away, so I just had to be quicker than her realizing that all she had to do was shake the flower to make all the seeds blow away. I believe I got the shot seconds before that revelation happened. I actually didn’t think the photo was anything special until I posted it on a photography forum I am part of and the thread took off like I was posting a hot piece of gossip! I was incredibly flattered that the photo got so much attention and didn’t really see the beauty and wonder of the photo until after that point. My favorite part is seeing the sheer determination on her face and knowing that more spit than breath was blowing out from in between those gorgeous red lips.

The next year I asked myself, “now wouldn’t it be cool if I could get the same photo one year later?”. Achieving this feat was like a complicated equation (you know how I love my math). This is what was going on in my brain: [(big ass dandelions in bloom)+(overcast soft light in the middle of a summer day)]/(my daughter’s mood… she was 3 afterall) + (my 1-yr-old son’s mood and willingness to behave long enough to allow me to get the shot) = SUCCESS. The planets must have been aligned that day because it worked!

Surprisingly (or maybe not for all you moms out there), the third year proved to be the most challenging. You see, by this point in time, the only photos I got of my daughter were when she wanted them, and after having had so many photos taken, this mood did not strike too often. Even more difficult was getting her to wear the same outfit again. Mind you, she was 4 years old 4-and-a-half-years-old (mentioning the half is very important at this age), and the dress was size 2T and the sweater was size 18-24 months! Plus all of the conditions listed above had to be met. After an entire summer of begging, I was desperate because I really wanted that photo. If I never get one again, I had to at least get three, right? I had to stoop to bribery. I promised her a cupcake from Bliss Cupcakes if she let me get the photo. Of course her brother would get one too. Food always does the trick… they are my kids afterall. So, a patch of these dandelions usually grows across the street from my house. On our way to driving to the location, there was a single flower growing near our house. With the utmost of care, I gingerly picked it and wedged it in between the passenger seat and the center console so as to not knock any of the seeds off. Sure enough, when we got to the location there wasn’t a flower in sight. I knew she was now old enough to blow the seeds off with one single breath, and if she wasn’t successful on the first attempt she had enough sheer determination to eliminate the rest with a follow up breath, so I gave her very specific instructions to wait until I was ready. Lucky for me she is a good listener… when there’s a cupcake on the line, that is.

I just showed her the series of pictures and asked if I can get one every single year until she turns 18. With a big grin, she looked at me and nodded yes. Getting her to fit into the same clothes will be a challenge, of course, especially if I keep bribing her with cupcakes.

Why “apples” you ask? This is why. Look at them apples. This gorgeous girl has the most perfect bone structure – she should seriously be a model. If only I had apples like that. They ordered a 16×24 of this photo in a metal print and I can’t begin to tell you how stunning it looks up on the wall.

Cidney is one of those girls that really surprised me. Back when I was in High School long long ago, I remember girls either being really pretty or totally nice or smart and responsible. Rarely did someone fall into all three categories. Unless times have changed from when I was a teenager way back when, Cidney is an exception to the rule. And after seeing how much her mom loves her, all of this is no surprise to me.

These were taken early last fall but I’m just now getting them up on the blog. Its crazy to think how many photos we got in such a short period of time. I’m only showing a fraction of what we got. We just zipped around from location to location and hit all of my favorite photo spots in about an hour! I love me some comments so don’t be shy!

Okay, this middle photo has a story to it. Her footing was a little awkward while walking across the railroad tie and she said she felt like the creature from The Grudge. Then she gave me her best impersonation. If you know what I’m talking about, you’ll know that she did a pretty good job mimicking that creepy kid with the hair over his face working his way down the stairs. We got some pretty good laughs out of that one.

Apple and eyelashes. Totally not fair.

There were some bicyclists getting ready for a ride when I was setting up this shot and one of them yelled out “you know, there’s a dumpster in the background.” Yup, I know. I don’t know what it is with me and dumpsters but I like them in my photos.

This location is one of my many secret little spots. Not secret in that its hard to find, but secret because there’s always a perfect little pocket of light that just wraps around whoever is standing there and you might not ever know it until you see the results in a photo.

The photo on the left is one of my favorites.

Reason 723 why I love Oregon: super tall wooden railroad tracks that still get used on a daily basis.

I’m showing these photos not because I’m trying to plant the seed in my clients’ and future clients’ heads that they need to spend oodles and oodles of money with me and buy tons and tons of products (although, I won’t argue if they do), but I’m showing them because it feels so awesome to have photos of my family up on the walls. Memories that I can relive every time I walk by them. I don’t care if every photo you have isn’t spectacular from a technical perspective – not the nicest background, harsh lighting, etc. What matters is that the photo is important to you because of who is in it, what was happening in your life at that moment in time, that expression they were making, whatever! Photos don’t deserve to be shoved in a box or stuck on your computer. Get them up on your walls! I love going over to people’s homes and looking at any photos they have up. Just last week we went to a friend’s house for the first time so our kids could have a playdate and I learned all about their family and the incredible hardships my friend had growing up, and as she opened up to me about everything, I got to know her family through all the photos on her walls and in an album on display.

The first set of pictures is of my frame wall. I’m really freakish about measuring twice and cutting once. That is why I planned the display out on paper first. A good photography friend of mine has a bunch of these frames that look amazing in her home (actually, all the photos in her home inspired me to get mine up on my walls) and she’s the one who suggested sketching them out before I ordered anything. Funny thing is that I based the entire design on the fact that I had a big thermostat in the middle of the wall. Had it not been there, my design would have been different. Anyway, all the frames show up and my husband says “Let’s just move the thermostat to the other side of the wall. That’s a better place for it anyway because it shouldn’t be right below the intake vent and its such a pain to get to with the couch there. Plus, now, we can easily turn the heat down when we leave the house.” That last part was a big bonus for him… we call our house the Ice Castle and he loves being able to turn the heat down easily whenever he can.

Here’s my sketch:

And here’s what they look like on the wall (sorry for the glare, they’re directly across from 3 big windows):

And I’ll show a few close ups. We dedicated this wall to putting our family photo in the middle (sadly, my stepson wasn’t in this one – we’ll replace it when he’s in the next one). On the right side is my entire extended family and on the left side is my husband’s family.

The frames are all handmade in the USA. I love the distressed look. The right side is the exact same layout as the left side, only inverted. I’m a huge fan of symmetry.

The silhouette photo on the bottom doesn’t exactly “go” with all the other photos, but it has particular meaning to me.

My grandma in the top frame and my grandpa in the bottom (both +/- 90 years old by a few years). My mom loved seeing the photo of my grandpa. She asked, “How did you get him to smile?” I never thought about it until I went through some old photo albums the other day and even in photos from 25-30 years ago, he was serious in every photo.

Here’s another frame that I recently ordered. Its pretty awesome. I just selected the photos I wanted to display and my lab prints the photos, assembles the frame, even seals it for moisture, and sends the whole thing to me ready to hang. I’m showing it because its HUGE, I think 40″ wide, but it doesn’t look like it is once it got up on the wall. So many times people want an 11×14 or 16×20 for the wall and think it’ll be too big. I say go big, or go home. Big is better. Show off those photos!

Here’s another example of a big photo. Its a 24×36 canvas and I have it on a hallway wall. I used to have a 16×20 hanging up in this spot and the 24×36 looks way better there.

I love that you can see my big daddy 40″ frame at the end of the hall from the point you walk in the front door.

Here’s my stair display. This wall is only dedicated to pictures of the kids and I seriously want to get twice as many frames as I have right now. My intention was to rotate out the photos as they got older… but as they keep getting older, the more I cherish seeing the photos from when they were so little. So, instead of rotating out the photos, the only solution is to add more frames, right?

Hopefully this post has given at least one of you inspiration to go hang more photos of your friends and family. Please let me know if it has.

I love this couple. I know, I know. If you’re familiar with my blog, you know that I love all my couples. I can’t help it. They are all so incredible and each relationship is loving and unique in their own ways. Mckayla and Jeff make each other smile and they make everyone around them smile too. They are so comfortable being themselves around each other. During the toasts, I remember Jeff’s sister said that before Jeff had met Mckayla, he just wanted to find someone to make him laugh. He found her. Anyone can see just by watching them how perfect they are for each other. They have the same interests, the same values, the same beliefs, and most importantly, they make each other so incredibly happy.

You can see McKayla & Jeff’s target=”_blank”>engagement photos that were taken downtown. They will make you smile. Guaranteed.

Their wedding was absolutely lovely. The vendor list is below.
Venue: The DeSoto
Hotel: Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center
Caterer: Art of Catering
Florist: Sammy’s Flowers
Cake: Beaverton Bakery
DJ: Surreal Sound
Transportation: PDX Pedicab
Photographer: The BEST in the business!!! (her words, not mine)

And now the photos…

The Bride & Groom

I always love to start with the formals. This one stands out as one of my favorites. It went on the cover of their album.

Before their ceremony, one of the guests came up to me and said “I can’t wait to see what you do with the rings! I love your ring shots.” Yes, that made me happy. I present to you the first of many ring shots.

See what I’m talking about? Tell me that middle photo didn’t make you smile.

Every wedding needs a good dumpster pic, don’tcha think? I told him to give her his best “Hey Baby, what’s a fine lady like you doing hanging out by a nice dumpster like this?” pick up line. I think it worked.

Self portrait. Can you see me?

Ah, backlight. I can’t begin to tell you how giddy I was to have backlight. Yay for no rain!

Before

Mckayla had the corner room on the top floor with floor to ceiling windows. The second I walked in I knew that I wanted this shot. Isn’t her dress spectacular?

G O R G E O U S.

The wedding party was all family – the groom’s sister, her three adorable kids, and the bride’s brother. Perfect.

The first time they saw each other on their wedding day was when she stepped off the elevator. It took some coordination to make sure he was waiting by the right one, but it turned out to be such an amazing moment.

The bride and groom arranged for pedicabs to take the wedding party and family from the hotel to The DeSoto where the wedding and reception would be. If you haven’t traveled by pedicab, you haven’t experienced Portland.

I’m pretty sure they couldn’t be more adorable.

The wedding party.

I love these two.

The Ceremony

The ceremony was quaint, elegant, emotional, and the sun peek out from behind the high fluffy clouds to light up their faces.

The kiss.

The Reception

The cake, and of course all the flowers, were so gorgeous. It was delicious too. I never miss enjoying a sliver of wedding cake. Hey – I work hard, you know.

Mini Rubens. Yeah. That’s right.

I loved this. In the elevator they had “The Story of Us” – a timeline of photos starting from their first date up until their wedding day. From Day 1, it looked like they were destined to be together.

The first dance.

Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dance.

The next two shots are kind of fun. During the reception, I went back up to their hotel room on the 16th floor and took a shot of the reception. The first one was taken with my 24mm wide angle lens. I drew a white arrow so you could see where the rooftop reception was and how far away I was.

I was standing in the same location, but this time I took the shot with a 200mm f/2 lens. I felt like a sniper. For all you photographers out there, I had to bump my ISO way up (hence the grain) and have a real low shutter speed to get the correct exposure, plus I had to crop in a bit so you could really see the wedding couple, but it worked. Pretty cool, especially when compared to the last photo, right?

I love candid moments like this. I also love seeing a couple who has been married for years who so clearly care about and love each other. Its inspiring.

And the night ended with a gorgeous full moon shining down on them.

I don’t usually share personal notes like this, but I was so touched by their thank you card to me…

“Krissy, Thank you for all that you did for us. From the engagement session, the wedding and accommodating my sister’s family session, everything was perfect. You have a wonderful blend of marketing, artistic ability and customer service that few can rival. I never doubted the final product from the very beginning. It was so nice to have one aspect of the wedding we knew was under control. You’re amazing! Love, Mckayla & Jeff”

To the amazing couple: You two couldn’t be more perfect for each other. Being able to photograph your wedding and document how crazy in love you are was such an honor. I can’t wait to take photos of all the red headed mountain bike riding little kids the two of you will make! Congratulations a million times over!!!

Naughty naughty naughty.

I have neglected my poor blog for over two months. I still have 13 mini sessions, 4 senior sessions, 6 family sessions and 1 wedding from 2011 I have yet to post on my blog. Naughty.

I have excuses though. Wanna hear them? Well, I’ll explain anyway. I just got busy. Real busy. So busy that anytime spent on the computer was editing sessions or ordering products. Once my clients were taken care of, I was a bit selfish and finally started working on stuff for me. I made a big album for my husband’s Christmas gift of our summer vacation. His reaction when he opened it? “Uh-huh, is this for me or for you?” It was for him. I promise. But I love that we have it. [insert evil grin] Then I spent a lot of time designing a big frame wall. You see, when you walk into my house, you wouldn’t really know someone who loves to take pictures lives here. I just never get around to editing them, let alone getting them displayed. My walls are bare no longer. I ordered 17 hand made in the USA custom frames and filled a 3×12′ area on a wall. I also got a huge framed print with a multi-opening mat to display three photos. I’m very excited. Pictures to follow…

So now what? Well, the first quarter of the year is always super slow for most photographers. Its not wedding season. Its not high school senior portrait time. And most families don’t want photos taken during an Oregon winter or early spring. But I love the first quarter of the year. It gives me time to post sessions from the year before that were never posted. It gives me time to update my website. And it gives me time to take a break, shoot more photos of my kids, and be inspired.

Now on to the good stuff.

Here’s our holiday card this year. Year 2 of showing an awkward family photo on the cover and a good picture on the inside. If you don’t think the photo on the cover is that bad, perhaps my blog isn’t the best one for you. Unfortunately my stepson wasn’t in this year’s card but there’s no way I’m letting him get out of 2012′s card. Sorry, dude. Its gonna be a good one too.

Here’s the front (it was a horizontal 5×7 folded card). What you see here is a super awesome photoshop effect called selective coloring. You have to have mad skills to do it. Especially when you color back in things like lips and eyes and super saturated denim.

and the good one, which will hang as a framed 20×24″ in the center of my frame wall (see reference above):

And in case you didn’t see last year’s, here’s the back and the front (it was a vertical 5×7 folded card).

and the inside spread (this one is a 24×36 canvas in our hall):

Last but not least, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to all of my clients who I love. I really do love them. Thank you for fueling my passion. Thank you for being so beautiful and easy to photograph. Thank you for trusting me to capture such personal moments. I picked just one photo from each session to show.

2011 was an incredibly memorable year; one I will never forget. Can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store!

If I could use one word to describe Gabe and Shallee’s wedding, what would it be, you ask?

Intimate.

Let me paint the picture for you before you see the story unfold below. The ceremony and reception where held at the groom’s mother’s home. The groom’s brother performed the ceremony. The hydrangea used in the bouquets and table arrangements were grown by the bride. She held items with sentiment close to her while she took her vows. The DJ was a close family friend to the groom and told stories of him growing up. The wedding party played a round of Frisbee golf. The groom’s sister sang during the ceremony. A good friend sang the song to their first dance. Another good friend played his guitar during the ceremony and during the first dance. The gardening shed was converted to a beautiful “Love Shack” for the bride and groom to spend their first night. The wedding party spent the night in tents in the back yard. The bride and her father danced the fox trot, something she learned for the wedding. And there was a special dance dedicated to moms and their daughters.

Their wedding was not only intimate, but it was lovely. It was gorgeous. It was perfect.

You can see Gabe & Shallee’s engagement photos that were taken in the Pearl. She wore the coolest peacock dress to match the theme and colors of her wedding.

The vendor list is short and sweet.
Catering: Judy’s Catering, Eugene
Rentals: Special Occasion, Corvallis

Everything else was provided by friends, family, and the bride & groom.

And now the photos…

The Bride & Groom

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this photo.

They had the most beautiful flower garden on the property.

Same set up, taken from different angles.

During the ceremony, it was mentioned that the bride and groom would be planting a tree. The reason? Because they cut one down and made this beautiful arch.

I. Love. Her. Diamond.

Before

Shallee’s dress was stunning. She added the jewels and peacock feathers to the shoes.

The bridesmaids’ dresses were all different colors inspired by the gorgeous jewel tones seen on a peacock.

Ugh. I LOVED the dress. It was spectacular. And her hair was styled so beautiful, timeless and classy.

The bride and groom saw each other before the ceremony. I adore these photos. So much love and emotion.

The Ceremony

The ceremony was held on the property, just steps away from the groom’s home and the reception area. The golden sunlight shined down on them as they took their vows.

“Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.” ~ William Shakespeare

I just love how he’s embracing her.

The Reception

The groom’s parents converted this shed to the Love Shack.

The cake. GORGEOUS.

The toasts.

The first dance. Okay, okay. I have no shame admitting the fact that I acted like a huge dork when I saw David Anders arrive as one of the guests. I’ve seen every episode of Alias, Heroes and 24 that he’s been in, among all sorts of other stuff. But yes, I was a star struck dork. Anyway, he sang during the bride and groom’s first dance and it was absolutely lovely.

I loved all the personal touches throughout the day.

And I got to enjoy some of the most entertaining dancing I’ve ever seen. This was a group of natural performers, I tell you!

In lieu of a traditional guest book, Gabe and Shallee wanted to do something fun and memorable for their guests so they had us do our photo booth. It was a huge hit!

Gabe and Shallee – your wedding was exquisite. The two of your are surrounded by amazing friends and family. It is evident how lucky you are to have each other to share the rest of your lives with. I wish you a lifetime full of amazing memories as husband and wife!