Engagement sessions!

I love doing engagement sessions. The best part about them is the varied places you can do them in this area. I’ve done sessions at people’s homes, at parks, the third ward…you name it, I’ll go there. The great thing about engagement sessions is that I find the guys usually relax a bit more about photos on their wedding day . Let’s face it, most guys hate to be photographed. Once they spend an hour not doing totally cheesy, forced poses their smiles become more natural and I’m not so scary anymore J

Take a look at some of my favorites from this past year, and if you’re interested in a session, give me a call!

CJ and Brenda, March 25, 2006

Ceremony: St Stanislas Parish, Milwaukee, WI

Reception : The Historic Astor Hotel, Milwaukee, WI

When I met CJ and Brenda to see if they would retain me for their wedding, CJ casually said “I’m a musician”. Okay, cool, I thought. And we all just clicked. Artsy right brained people seem to gravitate towards each other, and it was a good fit. It isn’t always…there are some clients that I meet with that I know within nano seconds it’s not ever gonna work. It’s kind of like a marriage, silly as that may sound. I have to “get” you to be able to photograph your wedding. I’m with you all day…I’m let into the “circle of love” to paraphrase DeNiro in “ Meet the Faulkers”. I get to see the drama, the emotion of the day and I’m allowed to document it for you. And if you don’t “get” me and how I work, then we are probably not a good fit.

A special thanks to Josh Johnston, my friend from Captured Memories Photography in Peoria Illinois who drove up here on his dime to shoot this wedding with me. We’ve been buddies for awhile and this is how photographers learn and grow, by shooting with other pros to see how they do things. He captured some amazing moments and angles. He may have learned things from me, but I learned from him=old dog, new tricks.

And Brenda. Impossible to take a bad picure of Brenda. A photographer’s dream. Funny. A good sport, and just enough “I am a bride and a diva” that made her vamping for the pictures both awesome and hysterical. She was lovely, but never took herself too seriously. And boy oh boy, does her daddy love her. His speech at dinner had everyone teary-eyed.

So…what a great wedding, right? For sure. But let me tell you this photographer’s big thrill. Most of my clients are…*ahem* a bit younger than I am. But any of my friends who know me well know that I am a HUGE 80’s hair band freak. Give me some Whitesnake and I am a happy girl. So, we go to the Pabst Mansion for pictures. CJ has told me ahead of time that he has a song he would like to sing for Brenda on the classical piano at the mansion. Okey dokey. Brenda sits down, and CJ begins to play, and I immedietly recognize the song, and give him the thumbs up. It’s “I’ve finally found the love of a lifetime” by Firehouse. A favorite of mine. It’s on my ipod. And he says “ Do you know this song?” I roll my eyes and say “Dude… Of COURSE” and he starts singing it.

It’s then that I get it. He’s a musician. And the lead singer of Firehouse. I tell you, I hope I did not jump up and down and hold my lighter over my head. Instead I *think* I jumped up and down like it was 1985. Thank God Josh was there, he actually got some decent images J

Congratulations CJ and Brenda and your love of a lifetime. I’m so glad I got to be there. ROCK ON!!!!!!

Elizabeth, my forever girlfriend

You'll forgive me if this blog is constantly full of pictures and stories of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the daughter of a good friend of mine. I met her mom, Angie, about 5 years ago at the dog park where I take my "girls", my dogs. You see, I have boys. And as a child, I told anyone who would listen to me that I was never having boys. That I was genetically predisposed to having girls. I was going to marry Shaun Cassidy, and we would have 5 beautiful golden haired, blue eyed girls. NOT. So when Angie had Elizabeth, there was this tiny, lovely, blonde haired blue eyed, dimpled sweet little girl, right? NOT.

I love her...but Elizabeth ain't no delicate flower. She's sassy. Opinionated. She thinks she is ALL THAT. And I hope she always will, because she SO is. She likes to say “hi’ to everyone in a store or restaurant. And if they don’t respond to her in the manner that befits her, she clenches her little fists, stomps up to them and says “HIIIIIIIIIIIIII’ until then notice her. And tell her how cute she is. Because she is. Elizabeth is all that. Don’t you forget it! And if you do, she’ll remind you .

Meet Wyatt

Wyatt was one of those kids who had my number the moment I walked in. He knew, as toddlers do, when they are expected to "perform" for the camera, and he was having none of it. He had that "Oh you who are pretending to be my friend but only want to take my picture " look. And with smart savvy kids like Wyatt, I have found that one thing is really important. They are the ones who have figured out that in this ONE situation in their lives, they are in control :) Mommy and Daddy want me to smile. The lady with the big camera wants me to smile....HA! What if I don't WANNA smile?!!! If you have kids, and you watch Sesame Street, you know the song "Put down the duckie'? Well, with kids like Wyatt, you have to "put down the camera". And hang out with them. Earn their trust. Sometimes it takes 15 or 20 minutes of just sitting on the floor with them. And once he warmed up...BAM. Wyatt was a champ And he kept wanting to see his picture on the back of the LCD screen on the camera. Told you the kid was smart. Not even two, and in photographer parlance, he knows how to "chimp" which is a slang for someone who constantly looks at the LCD screen after taking a picture. Imagine, in his life time, he may never see a roll of film!

..

Meet Dominic!

Meet Dominic, he'll be one year old this week! And oh, what a busy boy he is. His portrait session was a real work out for me, and he's not even walking yet! But what a delight he was. Smiling and happy and on the go :) Happy Birthday, Dominic!

Tammy and Mark, January 21, 2006

Wedding: Lumen Christi, Mequon
Reception : Milwaukee Athletic Club, Downtown

This was one lucky couple! When you get married in January in Wisconsin you have to roll with the punches with weather. But on their wedding day it was a balmy 35 degrees. And being the good sports that they are, Tammy and Mark were more than willing to do outdoor pictures. What a lovely couple, and at the reception the crowd kept them hopping donating dollars for kisses for Mark and Tammy's favorite youth group!

Goodness I am cute!

The joys of parenthood....

As many of you know, I have two boys, Caleb, who is 12 and Joey, who is 9. And this past week was "Catholic Schools Week" at their school which basically means they have different fun events at school like "Crazy Hat Day" and "Mix and Match Day" and my personal favorite "80's day" which makes me feel as old as the hills since when I went to school in the 80's we had "60's day". Don't laugh, just wait until your kids have "2000 Day". You'll know what I mean, and my kids will be grown and I'll be retired on a beach in Fiji . So when the schedule came home for the different days, one of the days listed was "Dress like a Historical Person Day". I specifically asked them if they wanted to do this, and they both rolled their eyes at me like that was the STUPIDEST thing they had ever heard. Hey, good with me, less work for me, right?

Fast forward to Monday of this past week. The scene: Dinner time. I am pouring milk, dishing out some various form of chicken and the Mandatory Green Vegetable when I hear them discussing this:

Caleb: "I'm going to be Abraham Lincon. Me and James are gonna be the Lincoln twins"
(Mom responding without really hearing what he said "James and I", not "Me and James")

Joey: "I'm going to be George Washington Carver" (The inventor of peanut butter. In Joey's mind, the man is a god and a genius because of this)

Suddenly I tune in. I look at them both, incredulous. It's Monday night. "Dress like an Historical Person" Day is Wednesday. Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have a million phone calls to make, yearly sales tax is due, and I have two client consults, an album rep meeting, and have to schlep Joey to basketball practice. I slowly and carefully put down the milk and ask "Where are you going to get these costumes? From the "Historical Character" closet in the front hall?" They look at me...stammer...uhhh. Um... Sigh.

After carefully and politically correctly explaining to Joey that George Washington Carver would be really cool, but would require a pretty elaborate costume since he is black, he changed his request to "Uncle Sam".

Let's just say you know you are a parent when you somehow figure out how to pull it off despite what you have going on. And someday, when their kids have "2020 Day" at school I will laugh at them as they scramble with construction paper and glue guns to make sure their kids feel like their parents cared enough to make sure they weren't the only kid who didn't have a costume.

Just you wait :)

Kim