Just a couple

I have to start somewhere - this is the first wedding of many that I have yet to post. Here are two of my faves from the day...

This wedding was shot with Carla Ten Eyck in May 2009.



And this! With the rainbows... this was one of the most spectacular American churches I have ever been in. It was St. Mary's in New Haven, CT.


Thanks for looking - however brief! :)

xo,

Katie

Images for a Cure

Giving back is something I long to do more of. I am always thinking of ways to help people while doing what I love, but the truth of the matter is that I have not been able to find a lot of time to follow through on these ideas that I have. However when I heard about what Images for a Cure is doing, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join in the cause. This past summer alone one of my friends lost her mom-in-law to breast cancer, and the Fat Cyclist whose tender, thoughtful, and hilarious blog I am addicted to, lost his beloved wife to cancer which began in her breast. And I am sure many of you out there have stories you could share with me. I am doing this for Courtney, Casey, Elden and for all of us.

Kristen Weaver, a phenomenal photographer in Florida, recently started Images for a Cure. She states on her website "On October 11, 2009, we will unite our talents to contribute one day of session fees in support of breast cancer research. 100% of all session fees collected on this date will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. We are hopeful, that with your support we will find a cure in our lifetime."

And that's where it stands. I have joined Images for a Cure as a participating photographer. Please help raise money to benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® by participating in a photo session with me. 100% of session fees will be donated and as an added bonus all prints and products will be 50% off if you participate. Lastly, I know that financially it is not an easy time to donate money and/or time. But knowing that you have given back, given hope, and given money towards this devastating disease is worth the entire expense. x a million.

So if you are interested in a session (pretty please?!) or even just want to donate a little bit please do so by going here: Donate!. Sessions and donations need to happen on (*) October 11th. *I can schedule them on a different date as well since I will be working most of the 11th.

Sessions can be for families, kids, sisters, friends, couples - you name it!!! :)

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

xo,

Katie

Happy Family: The Smith's

This session was wicked fun and I'll probably post a little more than what you see today but here are some of my favorite images from the day.

So we started inside. Meet Cookie, Katie and Jack. My little adventurous buds.


Cookie came everywhere with us. I absolutely loved it, and so does Katie.


So when we were in the woods here, the kids started telling me about this BEAR that comes around every so often. I forgot to ask their parents if it was a true story. Needless to say, I am thankful the bear was feeling camera shy.






"Photographers Note**
I am going to go out on a limb and say that every photographer has struggled with how best to pose their clients. Am I right? It's a really hard skill to master but once you have it (so I hear!) directing your clients becomes second nature . When I think of posing I like to think of natural. I don't want to overly pose my clients yet I need to direct them a little bit so there are no dead arms or awkward body positions - yet even still it happens.

For the way that I work as a photographer posing only goes for newborns and adults. Energetic, young, antsy, and free spirited kids are another story all together. And I LOVE that!! There are not too many kids in the world, that I have come in contact with, that like to pose. And you know what? I am not really a fan of overly posed kids anyway. I want to capture them just, well, being them. So in the two photos above we were just standing in the woods talking, I ask a lot of questions and I am a really good listener when stories are being told. While I am listening I put my camera to my face and say tiny little commands like "be serious" or "stay right there" or "WAIT! DON'T MOOOOVE A MUSCLE!!!" And that usually catches kids off guard enough for them to just be still for a moment with a natural look on their face. These two pics are totally against posing rules - but that's why I love them. They are real, raw and very straight forward.

You see I don't necessarily want a smile. WHAT!???! Blasphemy you say!!! Kids from like 2 years old to, like, I don't know, 22 years old have these really fakey smiles - some kids know how to fake it better than others. And that's what school photos are for anyway. I want natural, real, dreamy, thoughtful, and sometimes serious facial expressions that mom and dad know best. And if I happen to catch those real, fleeting smiles and big-open-mouthed-belly-laugh smiles - I am TOTALLY psyched! But I don't force it.

So there you have it, right smack dab in the middle of this family post. I just spilled my confusing guts. End note. :)**

So annnnyyyywayyyy - Hi COOKIE!!!!


And then we jumped:


Ahhh dreamy, I so need a photo of me and my kids like this. (For some reason the quality is not converting on the blog and it looks a little weird - kind of pixelated, right? It's totally not pixelated over here on my puter though. Hmmm...)




One big happy family!


One little lovely laying on the earth!




And my fave of Katie from the day!!!!


xo,

Katie