Oh my it’s been a while since I’ve blogged!  After the wedding I last posted from Washington, and then WPPI, I’ve been hunkered down goal setting, fulfilling orders, and planning for the future.  I also think every once in a while, a good break is refreshing for everyone!  You’ll be seeing some changes around here in the next few weeks, so don’t be alarmed  My business is going to go in a direction that I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time, but have just been to afraid to jump and do it…..well, I’ve been inspired to just do it!  Just go for what I really want out of life and my career.  I haven’t gotten to where I am today by being afraid and so I don’t know why I have been the last 9 months.  Perhaps too many changes at once and the feelings of being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start was my excuse, but not anymore!  I’m ready to jump in with both feet and make my own future happen.  The important thing is that I’m excited about it!  And what better time to do it than right before the 5th anniversary of being in business!!!  April will mark the 5th year that I’ve been doing photography and I can’t believe 5 years has already gone by!  Stay tuned for some super promotions in April to celebrate that milestone!

In other news, I’ll be doing a post later this week on all the time sucking literature I’ve been immersing myself in.  One of my goals at the beginning of this year, was to carve out time in my day to do things just for me.  I hadn’t done that in so long and so reading, excersising, organizing my life, and music were at the top of the list.  I don’t think I’ve read as many books in the last 2 months, as I have in the last year!…..and it was wonderful!  So I’ll be sharing my thoughts on books later this week.  Which brings me to the main topic of my post today.  I recently acquired a piano!  I’m waiting for information on the age of the piano, but it was definitely made between 1926 and 1930 over in Scotland or England.  The inside of the piano is perfect, the outside has some scraches, but everything else is pretty solid.  It can do with a good tuning though!  These are the photos from the ad on craigslist, I’ll be taking some more before I start my project, but we pick up the piano on Wednesday and I’m so excited!!!

I’ve been looking for one for a long time that I could redo/paint.  We had one in our home in WA, and when we sold that house, I gave the piano I had painted black, to a friend because we didn’t want to move it.  I’ve been dreaming of another piano to play and teach my boys on, but I wanted one with pretty simple lines, and the scale had to be right for our house.  This one is perfect- a smaller scale studio/console piano.  But here’s the deal…..I’m going to paint this piano and I’m not 100% on a color yet.  I definitely have an idea, but I thought I’d see what you guys thought, so here’s my choices and what I like about each.

I COULD just paint the piano black.  This was my first thought, and what I have done before….but then I saw some of the others and fell in love with some kind of color!  I figured if I got tired of it, I could always paint it black in the end….(ignore the stool by the way, I hate it with a passion! We’re just looking at the painted black piano).  Classic right?

Next I really liked this pale kind of eggshell blue.  What do you think?  My walls in my house are beige like this with white trim and I have a lot of black furniture and frames.  Eventually we’re getting dark wood floors and I thought the blue would be a nice focal piece in the room.  I also kind of liked the idea of an upholstered chair for the seating instead of a traditional bench.  Not necessarily the chair shown, but you get the idea  It would be comfy at least!

Speaking of benches, I really liked this idea of painting the bench a different color than the piano!  Mine didn’t come with a bench, so I’d have to find one, but I could also do this color scheme of a white or cream piano and red bench.  I probably wouldn’t antique or distress it this much, but I have always liked the idea of a light piano and I love it with the red.  If you’ve been to my house, you know,I have a lot of red in my house, so this would go perfectly.

I’m not sure if I’d be brave enough to paint a piano this color, but for some reason I totally love the  green color!  What do you think?  To bold?

I’m also not sure if I’d do a red piano.  I think I might get tired of it fast, hence just the red bench, as seen above…..but when I came across the grey piano, I kind of fell in love.  So this is my first color choice I think, but I wanted to get feedback.  What do you think?  Is the color to be grey?  My second would be the white or cream with red bench…or maybe red with a cream bench?

Don’t worry, I’ll be documenting the whole process and show the final results when I’m all done in a few weeks.  It’s the perfect time for me to do this in March, as I’m pretty slow business wise.  My next wedding is April 9th in San Diego!!!  Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think I should do with my new piano!  Have a great Monday and thank goodness for spring right around the corner!!!

We started off at Ashley’s parents house while she was getting ready…

Ashley and Jordan opted for a first look session before the wedding and decided to do it at the waterfront in Silverdale.  I always love the anticipation on their faces before they see each other and then the pure, emotional feelings that show when they finally get to see each other for the first time.

I don’t mind saying that it was absolutely freezing that day!  I was a little worried that the skies were going to open up and pour on us, but no rain came thank goodness!  It was quite windy though, but these two were troopers and we got some fabulously intimate portraits of them along the waterfront.

This green wall not only served as a great back drop, but also as a wind break…..it was a little bit warmer there

The bridal party photos were in the same location and they were all huddled in the car with the heater full blast waiting.  I didn’t blame them!

Before the ceremony everyone went back to the church to freshen up a bit before the happy couple walked down the aisle….

This was the first indoor wedding ceremony I’ve done in a long long time!  It turned out beautifully with their close friends and family present.

They wanted one big group shot of everyone at the ceremony before all the guests would arrive for the reception…and then they made it official and signed their paperwork.

Between the ceremony and reception the bride and groom had a luncheon catered for the guests at the ceremony.  Everything looked delicious!

Later that evening, guests arrived for the reception

The details and dessert tables were fantastic.  They had lots of cake pops and even a popcorn table…

The evening began winding down with the cake cutting, dances, and the bouquet and garter toss.

As a farewell, guests gathered outside to light lanterns and release them….

Then everyone said their goodbyes while the limo was waiting.

Ashley and Jordan, I hope you had the BEST time in Mexico on your honeymoon.  Thank you so much for having me as part of your wedding day and I wish you the happiest married life ever!  xoxo Katie

This week I’m getting ready for my first wedding of the season happening in Poulsbo, WA.  I’m already super excited since weddings are my first love in photography!  I read an article this morning from a photographer that did a personal project for herself and felt renewed, filled up and inspired again.  Weddings do that for me and I’ll be itching to share photos when I get back.  I’m also getting excited about WPPI that is coming up the following week.  I love education and it’s also a time to connect with friends I’ve made over the years that are from all over the world.  Later this week I’ll be posting my WPPI schedule and what I’m doing.  I ALWAYS come back from WPPI with new ideas and inspiration for my business and things to share with YOU.  If you’re a photographer and can find a way to go sometime, I promise…..you won’t regret it!

This morning as I was going through my start of the day workout, my head was swimming with all these ideas and things I wanted to do.  Do you ever feel that way?  I needed to get them down on paper and then just make a plan of action of what I needed to focus on first.  My thoughts included a range of things from getting inspiration for my upcoming wedding, to connecting locally with people, to planning out a personal shoot before the snow melts, to cleaning up  my computer (yes, I went looking for an old template the other day and thought that it was about time to clean up the files on my computer), and even tweaking some things on my website…..it’s just nice to feel that excitement again after a pretty long break for the holidays.  Amazing how a single upcoming shoot can do that for me….  Happy Monday!

I finally feel like I can get back into a normal blog routine!  After moving, the holidays, traveling, I’m finally sinking into 2012.  How about you?  So here’s to the first installment of Monday Musings for 2012!

I’ve been wildly introspective over the past few months and determined that I would carve out time in my day to do things that enriched my personal life.  Some of those things have been continuing with a personal shooting project.  It helps me to see things differently.  I’ve also made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and rise a bit earlier in the morning to focus on just me personally.  If you know me at all, you’ll realize that this is something just short of a miracle.  I’ve always been a night owl and NOT a morning person.  I can barely function getting up at 7:30 and if it’s ever been before that, well, let’s just say, it’s best to just steer clear of me.  But I’ve decided to wake at 6:45 now.  This gives me time before the children get up, to do some yoga or pilates and to write.  I mentioned taking a class from Joe Photo in London a few weeks ago, and he encouraged us to write everyday.  I can write about nothing, or everything, but I must say, it’s been totally nice to be alone with my own thoughts in the mornings.  I’m giving this 6 months, and I’m most positive that at the end of 6 months, I won’t even miss getting up at 7:30 (except maybe on Saturdays- I may still keep that as my sleep in day).  I’m also running more and have plan of doing my first race later this spring.

What are you doing to keep a healthy balance in your life for personal things?  With so many exciting and fun things happening this year in my professional and personal life, I really want to still take time to do things that I enjoy and that fulfill me…..Have a great Monday!

It’s true!  I’m alive and well, still here in Boise, ID!  After a nice personal break over the holidays, and traveling to London for SWPP, I’m getting back into the work routine for 2012. The cold dreary months of winter, are a time for me to renew, plan, and educate myself for the upcoming year.  Today I’m announcing some very fun and exciting news about the DREAM Creative Retreats!  DREAM Pro will be coming to a city near you in 2012!  The #1 question I get in my email inbox regarding the DREAM Pro Retreat is- “Will you ever be in my area, or do a workshop closer to me?”  Well, the answer has come!  YES!  We’ll be in the following cities in 2012 (click on the city you’re interested in to register):

Louisville, Kentucky  Saturday April, 14, 2012 (Meet & Greet Mixer Friday evening)

Portland, Oregon  Saturday April 28, 2012 (Meet & Greet Mixer Friday evening)

San Diego, CA  Saturday May 12, 2012 (Meet & Greet Mixer Friday evening)

Boise, ID  Saturday October 13, 2012 (Meet & Greet Mixer Friday evening)

 

We have some fabulous locations lined up and each location will get it’s own blog feature coming up soon!  Space is limited, so if you’d like to snag your spot please visit the Workshop page for more information or click your city above and register right from this page.  Here’s a little more information on the Dream Pro Creative Retreats:

Dream. pro: $495

The DREAM pro retreat is what so many people are truly looking for in a professional photography workshop!  We’ll skip over the “how’s” of setting up your business because that’s a really personal decision (in my honest opinion).  We’re going to dive into the core of your business.  How to get clients, how to get known in your area and stay busy, how to interact with your clients, what you can do for marketing, PRICING, social media and networking, workflow, and of course some actual live shooting to help build a portfolio.  You will leave with images for you to personally use to market your business that YOU have created.  We’ll have models there from different genres and you’ll walk away with a plan for your business, your pricing well thought out, resource guides, help guides from the workshop so you don’t forget all the information overload you’ll get, some special gifts from our sponsors, and inspiration to move forward with your business plans.  Another important thing you’ll walk away with is some relationships with other fellow photgraphers!

This is a full day, 10 hour workhop.  Light refreshments are served in the morning upon arrival, as well as lunch and snacks.  This workshop is for photographers that are actively working on photography as a profession or are aspiring to work in the photography field as a business owner.  You need to have knowledge of your camera and how to get good exposures when shooting.  You should also have some experience shooting other people.

We will not be covering basic camera functions in this workshop, nor will we be covering in depth photoshop editing, that’s what DREAM stories is for .  This is all about the business side of photography and how YOU can determine what success looks like to you.

*Accomodations are not provided during the retreat.

Wednesday January 11th “Managing Client Expectations Through The Experience

Friday January 13th- “Pricing and Marketing: Core Components of your Business”

Saturday January 14th- “Shooting, Editing, and Presenting Your Images To Tell A Story”

I’ve decided this year to make the most of my time at the convention and take advantage of the other amazing speakers, and will be attending classes everyday to renew and invigorate me and my business for 2012.  I think it’s the perfect way to start off the year.  I’m also super excited to be able to meet up with other photo friends I’ve made over the years in that area of the world.  If you’re in London and are going to be attending SWPP, I’d love to meet you so keep up on Twitter!  I’ll try and blog a few times while I’m there……

When I return I plan on making some other exciting announcements and continuing with my main passion in shooting- WEDDINGS!  I have some really great weddings lined up this year and can’t wait for each of them!

I’ve also joined in on another photo project for this year through Instagram.  I don’t have any themes or specific topics, it’s just to shoot one interesting photo for myself each day.  If you have the app and would like to join in, you can tag your photos as #instagram366 ……I’m 5 days in and loving it.  It’s amazing what we can do with these devices and my iPhone has completely replaced my point and shoot camera for personal and travel stuff……see you around!

Last week I went to go visit my grandma in the assisted memory care center she stays in.  She’s my fathers’ mom and is originally from Texas.  What started out as a fun visit to my parents house, turned into looking at old photos of my grandparents, and an overwhelming feeling to go visit my grandma.  Sadly, I hadn’t been in a few months  The last time I saw her, my parents were down in Houston and I told my mom I would go pick up grandma and take her to her weekly hair appointment.  She has severe dementia, so when I picked her up, she didn’t know who I was and wondered why I was taking her out.  As we got in the car, she asked me who my parents were.  When I told her, that Jeff, her son, was my dad, she had a moment of clarity and said, “oh that means your my grand daughter and that means that little guy is my great grandson”……She was weak and feable, I had to help her walk, but she remembered for a moment who I was.  Fast forward to last week, and as I was looking at old photos and videos from when my grandparents were young- they must have been from the 40-60′s and it made me reflect on how our lives change over the years.  I saw one photo of my grandma at age 21, in a swimsuit, and used for a beauty contest, penned “to my man, all my love- Georgia”.  So we went to visit her with the kids.  You see, hospice has been called in and that means, she probably doesn’t have much longer to live.

She was weak and skinny laying in her bed, surrounded by photos of her past life, and I began to cry quietly (the baby that I am).  Not because I was sad really, but because I saw her life coming to a close.  She has lived a great life, and at the end, once beauty fades and our bodies are spent and wrinkled; what matters most is the loved ones that remember you…..even if you don’t remember them, and I’m so glad that they documented their life so fully with photos, journals, and videos.  This experience, along with the reflecting I’ve been doing these past few weeks, have renewed something in me.

I love what I do, but I also want my life to be full!  I’m excited about the future and changes that are coming…..I was able to get out this fall and take photos of my children.  Something I haven’t done in quite a while.  I think this sums up how I want my year to start…..spending time, creating memories and photos of my life and sharing that with other people too.  I hope you have a renewed sense for this coming year and remember to enjoy your life!  Here’s to a fantastic 2012!

this series totally captures Kasen’s personality…..impish for sure!

they’re growing up so fast, but definitely into giving me some camera love without much direction, of course they’re boys and had to get IN the tree…as you can see Riley loved it with his big smile!

This is how most moments go- interactive, with Kasen losing interest fast and pointing at a bird flying by, I love this series anyway

in case you missed our Christmas card this year, I DID get at least one great photo for the card, our home and my Facebook cover photo!

I started off the year being invited to speak at SWPP in London, England.  It’s been one of the highlights of my career and continues to be, as I prepare to return in exactly 1 week.  The first part of the trip I got to shoot a wedding with a dear friend of mine and see how English weddings compared to ours here in the United States.  My mom was able to join me on the last half of the trip and it was so fun! You can review pics from my trip HERE, HERE and HERE.  It really was amazing, and one I look forward to again in 2012!

2011 is also when I found Instagram (I’m amandakphoto on there), Pinterest (also amandakphoto), and I launched my new blogsite (which still needs some tweaking now that PP4 came out).  We also made a HUGE life change as a family in 2011, and in July moved from the Seattle, WA area, to Boise, ID; mainly due to personal reasons with extended family members.  As many of you witnessed on my blog in late 2010, my dad was diagnosed with a rare kind of bone cancer.  We wanted our family to be closer to them, especially the kids and even though there were many things sacrificed for the move, it has been the best decision!

With all the changes and starting over in a new city and market, my photography business slowed down just a bit.  This was intentional, as I’m a notorious planner- just ask my husband!  As we’re making plans to do some things to our house here, I sketch out everything, place the furniture in my little drawings, have to-do lists for each day, and even plan out how to pack the car for family vacations!  Other than some weddings and a few portrait sessions, the last half of 2011 has been me reflecting, preparing and planning for 2012.  Needless to say, I’m itching to get back in the swing of things and I also have a renewed sense of exactly what I want to do in 2012.  Sometimes it’s refreshing to take a little break.

I shot  8 weddings and 9 portrait sessions in 2011.  That’s all.  But each one was great, and I moved parts of my business forward in ways that I hadn’t in 2010.  Here’s a few of my favorite images from each of my own weddings I shot in 2011:

And here’s some of my favorite shots from my Lifestyle sessions in 2011:

In other year end news, Nathan was accepted into his Officer Program for the Navy!  He’ll be attending school at his favorite place on earth- Boise State for the next few years and then it looks like our next 10 years will be split between here in Idaho, Washington and possibly San Diego (although we’ll always return here to Idaho in the end, we love it here!).  If we’re really lucky maybe we can get an overseas duty station, in say Italy?  We’ll see what the future holds.  I’m excited for 2012 and I’ll be writing on my short term plans for the new year tomorrow ……..HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE!!!!

Cassie and the girls started out getting their hair done at Tony & Guy Salon in Boise.  They all looked like they were having the best time.

While they finished up, my assistant and I headed over to the church to get some shots of Mark.  It was a beautiful day and the leaves on the trees were just glowing!

Cassie arrived with her make up artist and finalized her look…..

I always love portraits of the dress and bride.  The window light in the room was beautiful and I took advantage of it with Cassie.

Cassie and Mark opted for a first look which I always adore doing.  When a bride and groom see each other for the first time, it’s a special moment!

Although it was beautiful outside, it was cold!  So we went inside the worship center to take a few photos too.  Cassie really wanted a photo of their hands together and some photos of her beautifully colorful bouquet.

The sanctuary where Cassie and Mark were married and also attend worship services.  The pastor said some really touching and emotional things and this ceremony was just perfect.

At the reception, the cupcakes were divine!!!

and I’ll leave with you a portrait of their rings……