Gathering photos for our end of the year recap is not an easy task. It involves searching through each and every shoot, wedding and personal folder to gather some of our favorite images. When I first started, I had gathered over 700 images. Narrowing down from there was not an easy task, so rather than relentlessly selecting *just the right photos* I decided to adopt the mantra "done is better than perfect." So, you'll be getting not one, not two but THREE separate blog posts today categorized into three types: Lifestyle (see above), Engagement and Wedding. We'll post all three today - so get ready for a lot of photos! It's been an incredible year filled with photography, so we hope you enjoy a small recap of the hundreds of thousands of times we clicked our shutter this year. The above photos include many personal projects (from Paris to Guatemala to the Badlands of South Dakota) and also a few snippets from the senior, family, baby and head shot clients we get the honor of photographing each year. The majority of these photos were taken on film, which is our preferred method of taking personal photos since it forces you to slow down and think carefully before you take the photo - something you don't always get the luxury of on a wedding day. We hope these photos make you as happy as they make us!
Regina + Arnaud = Expecting
We've got a busy day full of editing today, but we couldn't resist sharing the last photo session from our time in Paris a few weeks back with Regina, Arnaud, their adorable pup Oliver and the sweetest baby bump south of the Eiffel Tower. Their baby girl is due to come into the world any day now, and we couldn't be more excited for them. We enjoyed hearing about their lives in France and missing our own dogs as their adorable fur-baby Oliver ran around chasing squirrels. They've got a lot of big changes in the horizon of course with the baby, but they also showed us a new apartment they would be moving into, as pictured above. Special thanks to Erica from Haven in Paris for introducing us to Regina and her family. If you're looking for a special place to stay in Paris, Haven in Paris has some amazing vacation rentals that we've got bookmarked for our next trip. Félicitations Regina et Arnaud!
2011 - In Review
2011 has been a truly amazing year. I think we will always remember this year with great fondness, as we ate, breathed and slept all things wedding. With the early part of the year leading me (Kendra) into the transition of being a full time wedding photographer, to the middle of the year when we got married ourselves (which has given us SO much more to truly relate to our clients and know exactly how they feel) to the end of the year when we shot 26 weddings, 42 engagement sessions (amongst other non-wedding related work) and got to meet the exciting bunch of 2012 Summer Street couples. With all of the wedding talk, gorgeous rings, adorable proposal stories and sweet moments, the funny thing is that we still can't get enough. There is something deeper than just a 'wedding' that keeps us artistically motivated. It's you. Getting to know our clients and having the honor of telling their stories makes us tick. We've never felt so at home. We say it a lot, but we truly feel blessed to have this job. Here's to each and every one of you who 'liked' something on our facebook page, commented on a blog post, encouraged us in our buisness, and trusted us to document your event. We are nothing without your support, and we can't wait to share 2012 with you!
The J Family
Since our new site launched, we've been experimenting with not including text into our blog posts. Our thought behind this was mostly to create a viewing experience where you guys could learn about the couple through images only. Since we are photographers, and we tell stories through photos, we wanted to try this out for a bit to see if it might be a good fit with our business. We did a little facebook poll and asked a few of our clients for their thoughts on this, and it was an overwhelming consensus that you guys like our text! So we're back....in written word. Like I told the previous few clients whose sessions were bloggged without text, it wasn't that we couldn't have gushed about them, it was simply an experiment.
We couldn't think of a better session to start writing than this one. The J family is expecting a fourth addition this winter, and we decided to take advantage of the final warm sun of the fall and capture their life before their new baby girl comes into the world. We met Mendy and KJ at Sarabina and Andrew's Wedding and enjoyed chatting with them during a few free moments at the reception. We were immediately drawn to their warmth and love they shared for each other, their little girl Jordyn and their excitement for little girl number two to enter their lives. During the family session I snapped a few photos of Mendy with her ultrasound photos (couldn't resist the black and whites for this series!) and then we jotted down the street to the elementary school that Mendy attended as a child where Jordyn played hard to get photograph until the last few moments where her true personality came jumping out (literally!).
The J family was an absolute pleasure to work with, and we can only hope that you'll be meeting their newest addition here on the blog after she's born (wink, wink..Mendy).