Posts Tagged ‘Clarion Iowa portrait photographer’

I can’t believe how fast time is flying this year. Seriously, how is it September already! Seems like just a couple months ago my beautiful baby niece came into this world and here she is already six months, giggling at her silly aunt, sitting up on her own and learning how to crawl. Can hardly believe it! Here she is at 6 months. She wasn’t as smiley during this session as she usually is, but hey we got her to smile for a few and even got Maddie, the dog, to sit by her for a few photos! AMAZING! :-) And of course we had to show Maddie some love too and did a couple frames of just her. More images on my facebook page!

6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN6 month childrens on location portrait photography Clarion Iowa Stillwater MN

Like I mentioned in my last post, I got the opportunity to photograph both Amy and TJ on the same day up in Algona. One nice thing about going to different places and doing on location photography is that I get to explore and find new backgrounds. And even if I’m going to the same old places I’ve gone to a million times, each time is a little different because the lighting can change.

When I showed up at Amy’s house the morning of the session, I found her laying out about 10 different outfits. I asked her which ones she was leaning towards doing for sure and she replied “all of them”. :-) It’s a good thing we were doing the urban session with unlimited outfits! :D It was also nice to find out that Amy and her dad had taken the time to go around Algona and scope out some locations they thought might work. It’s a great idea to have a tour guide when you’re not used to the area! I had found this really cool, blue/white textured wall that I knew I wanted to use (Amy’s black shirt really played well on it!) and then a couple of my other favorite locations were at the old depot and the nearby state park. The state park had a really old building (or one that was made to look old!) and a log cabin type building. So much fun! OH and not to mention the whole time I was photographing Amy & TJ, I pretty much laughed and smiled the whole time. It was a family affair and it was so laid back and fun! Thanks guys for an amazing Saturday session and for some amazing images! :-)

Want to see more from Amy’s session? Check out my Facebook page. Also if you know Amy and you still need to get your senior photos taken, get a hold of her for a special deal on top of the 20% off in September. Last chance for savings! :)

iowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarion

So since expanding my business down into Iowa, I’ve had the opportunity to expand my clientele and meet new people. One night while I was out at the local hometown bar I got to met Jacci who happens to be the sister of my stepbrother’s fiance. She had heard about me, been to my website, and loved what she saw. She knew that she wanted me to do TJ’s session, a senior at Algona High School. She said she wanted his senior photos to be unique and not look like everyone else’s so my fashion/contemporary style was exactly what they were looking for. They also decided to have me do Jacci’s stepdaughter’s senior portraits as well. So a couple weeks ago, on one of my many trips to Clarion, I met up with them in Algona to do their sessions. Jacci had this AWESOME graffiti bridge that she knew we had to use and then for sure TJ wanted some photos with his four wheeler (also known as the death machine). We ran all over Algona photographing in a variety of places. These are my favorites from TJ’s session (Amy’s are up next!) Want to see more? Check out my Facebook page.

Also if you’re a senior and haven’t had your photos taken yet, it’s not too late! September is the last month I’m offering a special discount on senior session fees so call the studio or drop me an email to get something booked today and get in on the special deals. AND if you know TJ, contact him for an additional savings :-)

iowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarioniowa portrait photography high school senior Algona Iowa Clarion

I think the BEST time to photograph newborns is when they are just around one week old. It’s great because they are still in the very sleepy stage and are super easy to work with. Take Christian for example, he and mom showed up to the session right about the time he should be getting hungry again. It worked out great because mom and I had a little time to chat about what outfits to wear and what images we wanted to capture, then I could set up my first background while she gave him a little of his bottle to make him really content. It worked like a charm! Since we really wanted to do some naked baby shots, we decided to start there first. I had just picked up some new pieces of fabric to use as baby wraps and was DYING to try a brown one out with him. I love how all the colors came together and really love how the extra texture of the fabric adds to the photo. I also tried out some other print fabric as a background with a simple white blanket. As soon as we wrapped him up in the blanket, he was out like a light! I absolutely LOVE how I was able to capture a few sleepy smiles from this little cutie. Enough to make anyone’s heart melt! You’ll also see photos of this little one at Dr. Gabrielson’s women’s clinic in Webster City very shortly. If you’d like to see more photos from little Christian’s session, check out the Children & Family gallery on my Facebook Page.

Clarion Iowa newborn photography Stillwater MN photographerClarion Iowa newborn photography Stillwater MN photographerClarion Iowa newborn photography Stillwater MN photographerClarion Iowa newborn photography Stillwater MN photographerClarion Iowa newborn photography Stillwater MN photographerClarion Iowa newborn photography Stillwater MN photographer

Babies, babies everywhere…and loving every minute of it :-) Khale is another one of the cuties that will be featured in the woman’s clinic in Webster City, Iowa. At only a couple weeks old, he was a doll to work with! So easy! We got some great wide awake shots that show off his beautiful eyes and capture a couple great expressions. Then we turned on the heat and watched as he slipped into nap mode. He got really comfortable very quickly and before we knew it he was off into happy little dream world. So cute! :-) If you’d like to see more of Khale and the rest of my recent baby session images, check out the Children & Family gallery on my Facebook page.

Clarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photographyClarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photographyClarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photographyClarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photographyClarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photographyClarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photographyClarion Iowa Children's portrait photography Stillwater MN photography

So as a part of my plan to expand my studio into Iowa, I have partnered with Dr. Gabrielson’s women’s health clinic and will be displaying some of my artwork in his Webster City office. So I have been getting the chance to meet some of his amazing patients and photographing their new little family additions :-) Aleigha got to be my very first model! She is such a sweetie and has gorgeous eyes (I LOVE baby eyes!). She started off the session wide awake but by the end, we got the room warmed up and she feel fast asleep for some very cute naked, sleeping baby photos.

Clarion Iowa newborn baby photographyClarion Iowa newborn baby photographyClarion Iowa newborn baby photographyClarion Iowa newborn baby photographyClarion Iowa newborn baby photography

It’s funny how you never know where life will take you and who you will meet up with again down the road. For example, a couple months ago after posting some of my first images of my niece Quincy, I got a message on Facebook from a couple people I went to college with. Suzie, Adam and I had all been RA’s at Morningside College and had a chance to get to know each other fairly well. But as it usually goes, after graduation we lost touch. When Suzie saw my photos of Quincy on Facebook, she knew she wanted me to be Lorelei’s personal photographer but wasn’t sure that since I’m mainly located up here in Stillwater while they’re in southeast Iowa, if we could work it out. It was perfect timing! I was looking to expand the business down into Iowa more so it was the perfect opportunity. We decided to meet up in Des Moines (kind of half way for both of us) to capture some images of little three month old Lorelei. It was a great session! She’s such a doll and this is such a cute family! Can’t wait for the 8 month session!

Iowa childrens portrait sessionIowa childrens portrait sessionIowa childrens portrait sessionIowa childrens portrait sessionIowa childrens portrait sessionIowa childrens portrait sessionIowa childrens portrait session

Ok so there’s one thing I know for sure…never go into a children’s session with a solid game plan. Now I’m not saying that you should go into one unprepared…just be ready for the unexpected. For example, Paxton ALWAYS takes a nap from 9-10, so of course we scheduled his session for 10:30 so he’d be bright eyed and bushy tailed. But of course, on the day of our session he refused to take a nap (must have been really excited for his first professional photo shoot! :) ). And Paxton is always the little boy with a smile on his face, except for the day of the photo shoot. So a session that looked super easy on paper wasn’t so much in real life. But never fear! I’m always ready to improvise and do whatever it takes to get fantastic images!

We started out Paxton’s session outside by the big, green John Deere tractor (I shall refrain from making a comment on the farmer’s color choice of farming equipment). I could tell he was a daredevil when he was standing by himself, holding on to the tractor step, and then decided to let one hand go. Pretty sure Mom got just a little nervous right about then :-) So what better to do with a daredevil? Why not perch him on the ledge right next to the door! I thought it sounded like a great idea! (with close parental supervision of course!) I should say that Mr. Daredevil behaved himself and no one got hurt in the making of these images! On to outfit number two! There was some amazing window light pouring into the living room from the giant wall of windows, so we started to take photos with Paxton on the couch. Right about this time Paxton decided it was almost nap time and started to fuss. Here’s where the creative thinking comes in to play….how to make a tired child last for a few more clicks of the shutter? We had him bang on the coffee table, which entertained him for .5 seconds. Then we brought in Dad to help Paxton stand up which usually makes him a little happier…no such luck on this day. And last but not least, we took him to his favorite spot in the whole house, on the giant, comfy bed in Mom & Dad’s room! SUCCESS…and I must say a huge thank you to Uncle Ryan for showing up at the most opportune time and getting little Paxton to smile for us :-)   So even though he wasn’t bright eyed and smiling the whole time, we got some great images of Paxton. I can’t wait to photograph this little cutie again! Want to see more images of Paxton? Check out the children’s gallery on my Facebook page!

Clarion Iowa children's portrait photographerClarion Iowa children's portrait photographerClarion Iowa children's portrait photographerClarion Iowa children's portrait photographerClarion Iowa children's portrait photographerClarion Iowa children's portrait photographerClarion Iowa children's portrait photographer

Well I finally did it…I got with the program and joined Twitter! I was dragging my feet because like I NEED one more social media place to have to update everyday, but then realized all the potential it could have. So help prove my old thinking wrong and show me how GREAT Twitter can be by following me. And to make it an even sweater deal for you, I’ll be doing special Twitter Only specials in the near future so click the link below, start following, and get in on the fantastic deals I have in store :-) Follow klphotodesign on Twitter

I can hardly believe it’s been three months since little Quincy joined our family. My how time flies! She’s getting so big and full of expressions! It wasn’t long into the session before Quincy had her first baby meltdown of the day (being a model is HARD work!) so I set up my laptop, hooked up my hard drive and put on some soothing Kenny G music which usually calms babies down. However, Grandma informed me that even at the early age of 3 months, Quincy has a very particular taste in music and preferred a little Lady Gaga over Kenny G. I didn’t believe her so, to prove her wrong, I turned on some Lady Gaga, thinking that Quincy would continue to have her meltdown, thus postponing the session until she calmed down. Oh but how I was wrong! Grandma quickly picked up little Quincy, snuggled her tight and started bouncing her to the music and surprisingly Quincy calmed right down! Who knew Lady Gaga was the new thing in children’s music! HA! So for the rest of the session, we played some of Quincy’s favorite songs like “Poker Face,” “Just Dance,” and “Telephone.” Good call Grandma! :-)

These are some of my favorite shots from the session, including a 9-up wall collage that I’m going to talk my sister into hanging in the nursery…WAY to cute NOT to! :-) Stay tuned for more images of Quincy in the upcoming months. I learned some new tricks at After Dark, a photo conference I attended last week in Minneapolis, that I want to try out on Quincy the next time I’m in Iowa. I love having a little model of my very own!

Custom Wall collage 3 month baby portraits3 month child portraits on location Stillwater Minnesota Clarion Iowa3 month child portrait photography on location Stillwater Minnesota Clarion Iowa3 month child portrait photography on location Stillwater Minnesota Clarion Iowa3 month child portrait photography on location Stillwater Minnesota Clarion Iowa3 month child portrait photography on location Stillwater Minnesota Clarion Iowa3 month child portrait photography on location Stillwater Minnesota Clarion Iowa