At about 8:08 they started asking if it was time to walk to the bus stop.  I remember the exact time because I was trying to fill out paperwork they had to bring back and I was interrupted every 2 minutes .  You see, their bus comes at 8:48.  Finally around 8:35 we started for the bus stop.  It’s at the end of our street, but this morning I wanted to come and get some first-day-of-school pictures.

Here they are waiting at the stop sign…..

and we continued waiting and waiting.  I forgot my watch, so I didn’t know what time it was.  So I decided that a few shots of each of them might be nice….Riley did ok, but told me that the gray overcast sky was to bright for his eyes.  I tried my trusty tricks of having him close his eyes and then look at me, but it just wasn’t working out.  So then we decided to take pictures of their shoes they got last night.  If you follow me on Facebook, you were lucky enough to hear about the ordeal of shoe shopping with 3 boys.  To sum it up I said this “Shoe shopping with 3 little boys? NEVER AGAIN”  Riley got the gray and blue slip on Vans, and Braedon got the Sketchers z straps (actually Braedon got the Vans too, but also needed shoes for gym class, I doubt he’ll ever wear the Vans since he’s obsessed with the Sketchers….please see explanation below)

Next it was Braedon’s turn for a portrait…..well…..you can judge from the look on his face if it went over well or not.  And THIS friends is why I do not take pictures of my children!  Doesn’t his face just say it all?  He looks thrilled right?  And let’s also be honest.  Braedon needs a haircut in the worst of ways, and I just didn’t have enough time to do it yesterday.  Even little Kasen saw this picture this morning and said “OH BRAEDON HAS BIG BIG HAIR”….*sigh* I promise I am a good mom and keep the grooming up on my kids.  After school today we’ll be visiting the barber shop!

this has only secured my will to GET some great photos of my kids.  IT WILL be done.  Maybe I need to bribe with ice cream or something.  We’ll see………..But Braedon was MUCH more interested in my taking pictures of his fancy new shoes.  They light up when he walks, so now he “stomp walks” (yes I made up that word).  He stomp walks and stares down at his feet to see the blue lights.  I don’t think he’s ever going to take these shoes off.  I tried to get a picture of them lighting up, but only one tiny light was caught……

annnnndddd….another example of why I need to take more photos of my kids.  Out of 15 pictures not one was Riley looking at me.  WHYYYYYYY?  I still like this photo though…..

ok, by this time, I was wondering where the heck the bus was.  We waited a few more minutes, and the usual horsing around at the bus stop started kicking in.  Usually the boys walk to the bus stop and I watch them from our front porch, watering plants or something like that.  Often I look up at the bus stop and this is going on…

There are 3 schools that service the area we live in.  So when another mom was walking back to her house I asked her what time it was and she told me 9:06.  At this point I thought we had either A) missed the bus as it might have come SUPER early, or B) it was running REALLY late.  So we started walking back to our house and I was resigned to driving the kids to school for their first day.  But no…as SOON as we got back to the house, the bus came and we had to sprint back up to the stop sign and get them on…and yes, we were sprinting!  Then it was off to school they went….I got just a few snaps of the bus as it was leaving.  No little boys looked out the window to wave bye to me this year….I guess they’re tool cool for that now  Riley is actually sitting next to the blond little boy looking out the window smiling at me.  GOOD BOY TYLER!  You know what to do when a mom is standing at the bust stop with a camera!  At least HE smiled at me  I can’t wait until they get off that bus at 4:30 and tell me all about their day!

next week, I’ll be documenting Kasen’s first day at preschool!  The other 2 never went to preschool, but Kasen will this year.  What am I going to do all by myself 2 days a week?  I’m getting old……Happy Wednesday!

This year, I’ve shot quite a bit with Keri of Keri Pinzon Photography.  I met her last year when I responded to a request for a 2nd shooter.  We met, talked and I shot a wedding with her.  I really like how laid back and easy going Keri is.  To be honest, I’ve tried to match her calmness in my own weddings.  She does beautiful work and I’m so glad to call her a friend!  I am always excited to shoot with Keri and she’s been able to share some great information with me about different areas of photography.  I admire her style.  It has a distinct editorial feel to it- really inspiring to me.

Almost two weeks ago, I joined Keri in Woodinville, WA to shoot a wedding at Columbia Winery.  It was just a beautiful day and the light all day was amazing!  Today I’m sharing some of the details from the day….later in the week I’ll showcase some of the portraits.

In other news, my kids go back to school tomorrow- and guess what?  It’s raining…..it seems like the last few years it’s always rained on the first day of school.  Does anyone remember the downpour I was caught in last year?  Happy Tuesday friends!

-Costco assorted Hot Chocolates…It’s beginning to smell like fall in the air and I’ve cracked these baby’s out a few times already.  My favorites?  The caramel, dark chocolate, and raspberry.  There’s seriously like 8 different flavors, and I still have packets from last year (on another note, who understands me when I say it “smells” like fall in the air?- I LOVE IT, fall is my favorite time of year!)

-Crisp, cool evenings and mornings.  I’m still working on my running (this week is going to be a killer!) and I love running when it’s cool outside

-Repurposed retail signage fixtures.  Tomorrow I’m going to blog about a wedding that I helped my friend Keri Pinzon shoot at a winery in Woodinville, WA.  I fell in love with these old signage fixtures that the brides mom got from Dillards when they were closing a store in Montana.  A little white paint and distressing and they had FABULOUS large picture frames.  Stay tuned for tomorrow and I’ll show you.  You’re going to fall in love, and now I have a couple ideas for my own home.  I’m on the look out for a department store closing!

-Back to school supplies.  Anyone else get transported back to Elementary School when you smell the new paper and pencils?  Our back to school night is tomorrow, and all the kids get to meet their teachers and drop of their supplies.  The boys are SO excited!

-Leather Craftsman albums!  I’m SO excited to be supplying these albums to my clients!  I got some samples in this week to look at before I order my own sample albums and I almost wanted to cuddle up and sleep with them!  They are that amazing!  I’m going to be featuring them this Friday on the blog, so check back then.  And while I’m at it, one of the samples sent was a gorgeous 12×12 with photography by Jasmine Star.  Seeing one of her finished products was just amazing and I think I love her even more!

ok that’s it….here’s a peek on some details from the wedding I shot with Keri…..tomorrow I’ll have more of my shots while 2nd shooting with her.  Can I just say I love shooting with that girl?  Thanks Keri!

towards the end of the session, a friend came along and we got some shots of the girls together

and a few of the gorgeous friend!

Let me tell you a few things about this lovely lady.  She’s GORGEOUS, glamorous, an expert on make-up application, a fabulous mother, and freaking hilarious.  Brittney ALWAYS says what’s on her mind and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.  She’s also one of the strongest women I knew….and I’m not talking about strength, I’m talking about, she takes situations in her life, and works for what she wants.  She has faith and patience that I don’t think many of us will ever know.  And lastly she’s an amazing mother.  To say that Brittney is a wonder woman would be an understatement.  We also share some crazy background things, so it was just easy to be friends with her!  We both managed the same Victoria’s Secret store, just a few years a part, and we both have worked for Clinique (she still does).

When Jaxon- Brittney’s other half, got out of the Navy, they moved to Georgia and now Britt lives ALL the way across the country!  We miss her so much here, but she’s made a pretty great life for herself there and is SO happy.  Thank goodness for Facebook, flights and events where we can meet up during the year.  Recently Brittney and Jaxon were sealed with their children in the Draper, Utah LDS Temple. The day before, we did a few portraits at the Salt Lake City LDS Temple.  It was just a great weekend, and I was so happy to be able to be there with friends to celebrate this happy day for them.  On Saturday, all of us girls got back together for shopping and food and it was like we’d never been a part.  Hopefully we can connect like that at least once a year.

Now…since I’ve written a book, I’m going to post the pictures that Brittney  has been patiently waiting for.  She had a great dinner for close friends and family to celebrate their milestone at LaCaille in Sandy, UT.  This place is just amazing.  The grounds are beautiful, and the peacocks abound!  Enjoy……

Brittney and Jaxon, I am SO proud of you guys.  You are definitely great examples of what love is.  It’s not always easy, it’s a lot of hard work, but it can be so rewarding right?  You have a beautiful family, and I’m so honored to call you friends!  Miss you guys!

♥Katie

Thursday, Brittney and Jaxon visited the Salt Lake Temple.  After their session we did some quick portraits there for them…..

Then on Friday, we met at the Draper, Utah Temple and they were sealed as a family for time and all eternity.  I’ve never been to the Draper Temple and it was beautiful with a amazing view of the valley!

so special that their kids could be there with them!

this photo makes me SO happy!  Brittany looks so happy here and it almost makes me tear up a little.

then off to LaCaille we went.   I can’t explain how beautiful it was there and it was SO Brittney, she definitely chose a place to celebrate that reflects them.  Do you see her “TO DIE FOR DRESS”?  Yep, she had it imported from France and custom made to her.  They added some sleeves and a few other things, but I just love it!

I just love this series…we all know I love artsy things and these make me think art.  They’re going to go in my studio!

These next portraits I love!  We didn’t get out and away from the party until it was dark outside, but I was so happy we did.  We got to do things I’ve never done before and I was just inspired by the lighting and the setting, allowing me to get some portraits that were unique to anything I’d ever done before

I love these stolen moments alone together…..

THIS is the photo for me.  Doesn’t she look like she should be gracing the pages of a fashion magazine?

and finally the end of the night.  These were inspired from my good friend Simon Revill in England!  He does some amazing work with lamp posts and night time, so when I saw this I thought of him…..

For those of you who are photographers, all these outdoor shots were taken with a Nikon D700 and all natural and available light.  No flash was used at all.  I bumped up the ISO and used the lighting that was on the grounds.  Definitely a challenge, but I couldn’t be happier with the results and I’m adjusting nicely to Nikon  Happy weekend!

1.  I’m grateful that my dad is alive and with us and doing great in his recovery from a bone cancer called Chordoma.  He posted an update on his Facebook journal today and I appreciate my dad for his faith and positive attitude.  It’s a great example to me

2.  I’m thankful for an amazing family and friends I have!  We support each other and are there for whatever happens in our lives.  I’m especially grateful that some of them keep me accountable for the goals I set for myself, and that a few in particular (you know who you are) push me to RUN everyday.  I feel so much better and am running farther and farther each week!

3.  I love my kids and am so thankful that I’m able to be their mom.  They have special personalities and they teach me things every day.  I’m especially thankful for my little Riley today.  He is always thoughtful of me and will always come and walk with me so I’m not “alone”.  Kids are special blessings and I love mine so much!

4.  I’m grateful for the opportunities I’m given with my job.  It’s something I love and am passionate about and it makes me so happy to give other people special images and memories that they can always look at and remember forever.

5.  I’m thankful for me.  We all have issues and struggles we work through and deal with, but when I REALLY think about it, I’m pretty happy with the person I am and things I do.  I’m thankful that I can feel that way.

There it is, just some random thoughts this Monday…….

In other happenings, I had the chance of shooting for Rachel and Jonathan on Saturday morning at Alderbrook Resort in Union, Washington.  I’ve shot there before and just love this resort.  It’s only about 35 miles away from my house, but it takes about an hour to get there down a winding two lane road along the Hood Canal.  The resort is right on the water, and just beautiful!  Rachel and Jonathan live in Washington D.C., Capital Hill to be exact.  They wanted to get away, just the two of them to a place that they loved (the Pacific Northwest) and get married.  Just the two of them.  I was so honored to have them ask me to document this intimate ceremony and they were so nice!  Rachel had the most elegant, sophisticated dress and it was a perfect day here in Washington.  Cool with amazing light!  Here’s just a few that were my favorites.

Rachel and Jonathan I hope you had an amazing time up on the Washington coast and that your trip out here was all that you had hoped.  I’m so honored to have been part of your day and wish you  nothing but the best in your new life together!

♥Katie

Then I started getting ready for this guys birthday party!

Yep, Riley turned 7 this week!  SEVEN!  He chose to invite 5 friends over for a sleepover.  It was “supposed” to be a camp out sleepover, with the tent put up in the backyard, ghost stories and movies with popcorn, but as is typical with Washington weather, we had to improvise.  We woke up to rainy drizzle and 50 degree weather- IN AUGUST!  It was COLD, wet and rainy and stayed that way all day long.  So the camp out moved indoors

First we started off with Pizza…

Then presents….Riley only wanted gift cards this year.  He thinks they’re the coolest things around.  If I would let him, he would take his OWN money to buy a gift card- I don’t think he got the concept of money being put on the gift card to buy something and I’m positive after he uses all the gift cards he got, he’ll keep every one as a memento in his wallet.  Singing birthday cards were also the theme of the day.  One was “Shake Your Booty”, “Schools Out For Summer”, and “Happy Birthday” done on a rock and roll guitar.

Yeah.  See the cake below?  I may have many talents, but baking is NOT one of them.  TRUST ME!  Yep, Nate made that cupcake cake!  He baked the marbeled yellow and chocolate cake and cupcakes, arranged them, frosted the whole thing, put the candles on and everything.  Riley pretty much thought it was the coolest thing around, and the “trick” candles were a hit with everyone

ahhh, then the time came to bite into that first cupcake.  He told me he was waiting all day for the moment to take his first bite.

and some of his friends had fun with the frosting too.  What is it about little boys and chocolate frosting?  They all enjoyed every bite!

Finally it was time for the camp out in the living room.  Everyone staked out a spot for them and settled in to watch…..Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Didn’t you know?  It’s ALL THE RAGE with the kids these days, especially the boys.  While they were watching the credits, I went to get the popcorn and flashlights….

and the popcorn was a hit too.  What’s watching a movie without popcorn?  After the movie, they told ghost stories, but not TOO scary, and then quickly fell asleep.

Dear 7 year old Riley,

I hope your birthday was everything you wanted it to be.  You are so full of adventure and life I almost can’t take it some days.  I love watching your eyes light up when you see someone do a trick on a skateboard or bike at the skateboard park and I see your brain working on how you’re going to do that someday.  I love how giving you are and that you always think of other people and what they would like.  You buy your brothers ice cream from the ice cream truck when you’re the only one who has money and no one else does.  My heart still feels like it’s going to burst when you come in all sweaty and dirty from playing outside, with a little white daisy and give it to me and tell me you love me.  And I love when you come into my room in the early morning and snuggle with me under the down comforter.  You have a little bad boy streak in you that I hope never goes away, with rocking out on your drums, guitar, and microphone or doing tricks on your bike or scooter.  I adore that you’d rather be outside than doing anything else in life, even when it’s rainy and cold.  You love math, and recess and gym at school, and you’ve got rhythm boy!  It cracks me up seeing you do the robot with your friends.  I love you so much, and just love watching you grow up….always keep your independent, fiesty spirit, even when it drives me a little crazy.  You’re a special individual that fits perfectly into our family.  Happy birthday Riley!  I love you!

Love Mommy

As I’ve gotten older, I still like to linger in the bed in the mornings, but lately I’ve been getting up a little earlier than normal and I’ve found that I can get a lot done in that hour or 2 before the kids get up.  It’s quiet in my house (and I like quiet).  It’s bliss!  This morning I’m up early to finish packing for my trip to Utah.  I’m headed back there today to be a part of a dear friends special day(s).  Yep, you read it right, days.  After working so hard over the past year their family is going to be going to the LDS temple and she asked me to document it all.  And since this is probably my MOST stylish friend, she’s pulling out all the stops.  She didn’t have a “traditional” wedding when they got married, so this is going to be it!  I have portraits to take at 2 temples, a soiree at a chic venue, and then back home to Seattle I’ll go on Sunday.  I’ll be busy shooting almost everyday, but I’ll try and keep you informed.

I thought I was going to be able to post these mini sessions before I left, but I’ll be working on them at night in my hotel room.  Here’s another set I’ve been working on- 2 more sneak peeks to come……oh!  and I wanted to say THANKS for the overwhelming response to my last post on mistakes I’ve made in business, I’m glad that it’s been inspiring to so many!

absorbed in thought; meditative, contemplation; reflection

So these posts will be my reflection and contemplation on whatever topic I want.  This week I’m going to go over my top five mistakes I’ve made so far in my career as a photographer.  These are my own personal thoughts and if it helps someone out there then great!  If you find these kinds of things to be boring and self indulgent, then just take a break from reading this week   I find that a lot of people talk about all the great things that are happening in their business, and I admit I’m guilty of that too.  But building a business and a brand is a LOT of hard work.  A LOT.  And there are definitely things that I’ve learned from, am still learning as I go- and by all means everything isn’t perfect!

I’ve been thinking about this because I recently had a comment made to me that I portray everything as “perfect” on my blog, my website, and online communication and don’t allow any kind of objectionable view.  Well, here’s the truth friends.  This is MY business, and just like any other business, we don’t like to publish and YELL to the world that we make mistakes.  But we do.  I try my best to correct things when they go wrong and take full responsibility for mistakes that directly affect my clients or my business.  Yes this digital age is full of easy access and all sorts of information, but I choose to deal with my shortcomings privately and make the best of things and move on.  Therefore I control who comments on my blog, on my Facebook page, etc.  I understand sometimes people get upset, and sometimes there’s those haters out there that just try to post things to be mean or get attention.  I still see every comment that comes through on my pages, but I choose to deal with those, or ignore them as I see fit, and my own blog, website, business page, or personal Facebook page will not be a public avenue to bash me or the mistakes I make.

Ok, PHEW, now that that is over with,  I’ve decided that I do want to post the top five mistakes I think I’ve made as a business owner over the past 3 1/2 years.  MOST of these have occurred in the last 2 years, as that’s when my business really started picking up.  As I look back, I think it’s REALLY important to use those first few months, or in my case year and a half, to set your business up right, think things through.  That way, when the time comes that business picks up, you’re ready for it.  So here we go….

1.  CHOOSING MY VENDORS- This is an important thing.  Research vendors that are going to work for you.  Don’t just go off of what their prices are, or what products they carry for you to offer your clients; really research the vendors and know how they will fit in with your brand and your target client.  Ask other people who have used them before, get samples from them to actually touch and feel what they are offering.  Pictures online can look a lot different than in person.  Look and research delivery timelines and what happens if something goes wrong.  I was excited for all the different vendors I chose when first starting out.  They weren’t the MOST expensive, but I thought they would work for me.  The hard lesson I’ve learned is that when things go wrong- lost shipments, errors in printing, etc; it ultimately reflects on you as a business person.  So be very careful who you choose to work with, as it’s YOUR reputation that gets hurt when things go wrong and the client is upset.  Some very specific things that have gone wrong for me:

-delayed printing of prints and albums

-lost product in the mail system

-poor construction or printing quality

-poor customer service on the vendor (no response, slow response, etc)

Just remember that all of these kinds of problems aren’t the clients problem, they are yours.  Even if you keep in contact with the client and tell them what is going on, all these things ultimately fall on your lap because you chose the vendor in the first place.  So be careful of who you do business with.  I’ve learned that there’s a reason some places cost a little more.

2.  UNDERESTIMATING TIME LINES- Going right along with choosing your vendors, is estimating the time lines when things can get done.  I’ve been following Chris Becker for a long time-since I very first decided to dive into photography.  Back then he only had his blog, but now there’s the bschool and so much more!  There are many things that I’ve learned from him over the years, but one thing that is ALWAYS in the back of my mind is “UNDER promise and OVER deliver”.  I feel like I’m JUST now starting to be ok with this, but mainly it means if you tell a client their images will be done in 4 weeks and then get it done in 2 weeks, then you’ve just under promised and over delivered.

Throughout my career I’ve had timelines that I “wanted” to get my work done in, but then other scheduled work, my personal life, etc has stepped in.  It’s great for me to promise to get clients their images, albums or to schedule proofing sessions within a certain time period, but I didn’t always take into account other sessions or coverage scheduled, kids getting sick, real life family emergencies, Nathan’s schedule changing with the Navy, VENDORS getting behind on production, VENDORS losing shipments, etc.  So my advice is to build in extra time to get things done.  Build in extra time, so that if something does go wrong, you still have time constraints where you’re not disappointing clients.  It’s a lot easier to take a little longer to get something done because you’ve built in that extra time, than trying to make an upset client happy because you’ve missed the deadline.

3. SPENDING MONEY ON THINGS I “THOUGHT” I NEEDED- It’s a known fact that this industry can be hard to keep up with.  It seems like every few months there’s a new camera out there, an updated lens, more actions, more programs to make your life easier, new templates, all kind of opinions on how to run your business more efficiently, new workshops to make you successful, etc.  I’ve fallen for the “idea” that you NEED all these things too.  The feeling that I just have to have that new lens, I HAVE to have that studio space, I NEED that program.  I haven’t done a grand total, but the amount of money I’ve spent here and there on card templates, actions I’ve never used (I use Totally Rad Actions almost exclusively and although a bit pricey are TOTALLY worth it!), blog themes, programs to help with post production workflow, studio management software, online credit card processing programs, accounting programs etc. is ASTOUNDING friends!  It adds up fast and most of the stuff is just sitting on my computer or on the shelf.  Perhaps in another post I’ll write about what I’ve settled on and what works for me, but take it from me, really look hard at your business and try and set parameters of what you actually NEED.  When I shot Canon, I got a whole bunch of lenses when starting out, based on what other people told me I needed.  Some of them I hardly ever used at all and I spent money that could have gone to something else.

My suggestion for lenses is to rent to find out what you absolutely love.  I’ve been doing this since I’ve switched over to Nikon.  I’ve decided that I actually LOVE prime lenses.  It lets me get up close and personal with my clients, which lends to my style.  I bought the 85 1.4 and 50 1.4.  This weekend I’m renting the 35 2.0 AF because I want to try out a wider lens but not too wide, I would love to try out the 105 Macro, for macro shots AND the extra length for portraits as I’ve heard it’s an amazing portrait lens too.  My point is, utilize free trials that companies give for programs, etc and there’s no shame in renting until you can afford to invest in the gear you KNOW you’ll use and love.  Be careful with your money.  With all I’ve spent, I could have had a nice chunk of working capital in the bank as a buffer for orders, etc.

4.  GIVING TO MUCH AWAY- This is a hard one for a lot of people.  You want to get the business, you want to make clients happy.  In my opinion there’s a fine line between giving away  things to help your business and giving things away that will hurt your business.  I’ve learned the hard way about giving too much away to hurt your business.  I’ve had sessions where I promised so much that it would be pretty crazy for the client NOT to say no.  Well then the time comes and I underestimate my actual cost on things, or I’ve given too much stuff away to too many people, and that extra $45 or $50 turns into $45 or $50 to 10 people and all of a sudden it’s $500!  Then people just don’t appreciate FREE stuff no matter how good of a deal it is.  Another piece of advice that Becker has given me over the years?  Give VALUE to people instead of free stuff that might cost you money.

Now there are certain times where I think giving things away are good.  I am active in 3 different charities where I give my services for a good cause.  I have given complimentary sessions away for raffles to benefit a good cause, I have promotions every now and then to bring in business, but I don’t give everything away for free anymore.  Choose wisely what you do with your resources and time.  Some very specific things I’ve done are:

- Someone won a contest of mine and got a pretty hefty “print credit”.  It was when I was starting out and they wanted me to do an expensive session for them.  Instead of keeping it as a print credit, I let them credit that $500 towards the session fee.  I did a LOT of hours of work for practically nothing, plus that session included product that ended up costing me out of my pocket because I let them credit the “print credit” as actual money off of the session.  In the end they didn’t appreciate the time spent, felt like I gave other people better service because they paid more, and it was just one big mess.  There’s a big difference in a print credit, as $500 doesn’t actually COST me $500, but crediting money towards the session and my time DOES cost me that much.

-Giving away free sessions to get people to promote your business.  Although this may work for many photographers, it has never worked for me, and the free sessions aren’t appreciated.  I’ve learned that people put value on something that they invest in.  So my advice is to be very choosy on what you give away to people; clients OR vendors.

5.  SPREADING MYSELF THIN AND REALLY CHOOSING MY TARGET CLIENT- This is a struggle for any photographer out there.  Do I “specialize” in just one thing, or do I do it all?  I personally don’t feel like there’s any ONE right answer out there.  Some people like to be able to mix it up and shoot different things.  Some people like to just stick to one main genre to promote and market.  My own personal philosophy is to do what you love.  I LOVE shooting weddings, I LOVE shooting couples that are in love.  But weddings are a LOT of work.  I may be shooting just one day, but the whole next week and sometimes longer are spent still working on that wedding.  Culling images, editing, getting galleries ready, emailing, designing albums, ordering product.  Last year, I kept shooting portraits during wedding season and I got REALLY behind.  Like REALLY behind, and when you get that far behind, it starts seeming hopeless and like you’ll never catch up.  I didn’t want to feel that way anymore so I decided during wedding season this year, I would have VERY VERY limited portrait sessions availalbe and I feel SO much better!

Sometimes I love shooting kids and babies, and families, doing lifestyle photography, but really my first love in photography for a business is weddings and engagements.  I never get tired of it, I never come home from a wedding and don’t want to look at the photos immediately.  Although my processing and style has changed a bit, I still feel pretty proud of my first few weddings; just as proud as the weddings I shoot now.  Do I have room to grow?  Of course, I don’t think any of us are perfect.  Do I strive to keep doing better the next time?  Yes!  But I still feel like I deliver quality images to my clients that they will cherish forever and that they won’t easily get from some other photographer.  I ESPECIALLY feel this way about my first few weddings.  Yes there might have been hiccups along the way, but for what my clients paid for their weddings, they got outstanding images that I can almost guarantee they wouldn’t have recieved for the same price as someone else just starting out.  I’m not saying that to brag, but I’m being honest how I feel about it.  The thing that I dropped the ball on was the SERVICE I gave them.  Getting behind, promising things by a certain date and it not happening, etc.  That is what ultimately reflects on you as a business person.  I’m sure a person who didn’t do quite a good job on the images part, but delivered on time without problems would be seen in a better light than I was sometimes.  And it doesn’t matter what you do to “make it up”, the damage has been done when the client is upset.  So don’t try and give them more free stuff, etc, just make the problem right and move on.

The mistake I’ve made is that I know the kind of product I want to offer, I knew the client I wanted to target, but I didn’t think I had enough time in the business to charge what I was worth.  So I started out charging very low for what I was giving away.  When it came time to raise prices (which I did slowly over a year, I priced myself out of all the referrals that came my way).  I pretty much had to start all over my 2nd year in weddings because the referrals I was getting from the weddings the year before didn’t have my prices within their budget.  They were great referrals and people who loved my work, but I wasn’t in the budget.

Now I KNOW the client and price range I want to target and I also know the TYPE of client I want to target.  That’s right, there are types of clients  When I go into a client meeting I’m looking for someone who trusts me to get the type of images they want.  Who appreciates my work and what I do.  Not every client is a great match with every photographer and vice versa.  I have a network of eclectic friends and photographers who I can refer clients to if I feel like I’m not the exact match for them for whatever reason.  Maybe it’s price, maybe it’s style or processing style, but I want to choose to work with clients who want to work with me too.  So really think about the type of client and type of work you want to be working with and think about it long and hard.

So there you have it.  Those are my top 5 topics I wish I would have thought out more before diving in.  I’ve made ALL those mistakes up there.  I’m an open book on most subjects, and thought I would share some of the not so great things about owning your own business that I’ve personally experienced.  Let me know what you think…….

and just to have an image in here.  Here’s a session I’m working on posting this week.  I did 4 mini sessions on our family vacation to Coeur d’Alene, ID and Spokane, WA a few weeks ago.  These two brothers are twins!  But they couldn’t be any more different in temperament and personality.

Erin was a beautiful bride and Ryan looked so cool and collected!  Here’s my favorites….

Ryan and Erin, congratulations on your marriage!  It was a beautiful wedding and you got to share it with your close friends and family!  You guys have been through so much to get to this day.  I hope that these images will remind you of what an amazing day you had and the love you have for each other!

♥ Katie

the bride getting ready….

Erin had this amazing little archway in her yard where she got ready and I was obsessed.  The light was beautiful there and so we got a few portraits….

Across the street Ryan prepared for the ceremony

Erin arrived at the ceremony with her dad in the Mercedes

I just love how a bride and groom look at each other throughout the ceremony.  They are some of my favorite shots!  And then of course right after they are pronounced, they are just so full of love walking back down the aisle together as husband and wife.

Some details from the day….

Then off we went to do some portraits……

Ryan let me know that he really wanted some portraits down by “their” rock.  When I asked about it, they told me that this was their place to come and talk to each other….so sweet!

you can go ahead and work it Erin…love this black and white photo!

and THIS photo friends is one of my all time favorite wedding photos.  I can’t stop looking at it.  I love the light, I love the moment and the feeling of this photo, it’s magical to me…

A few quick portraits of them by themselves and then back to the reception we went for cake cutting and the first dance.

Thanks for looking!  Stay tuned for another 2 day celebration from Utah next week