“A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.”

In the last year I have realized I do not have nearly enough pictures of my kids doing the everyday stuff my kids do! I joined a group of wonderfully talented photographers to start a 12 month project we are calling the series “The Story of ________” and we’ll each be filling in our own blanks. The idea is to capture a story as it unfolds . We are in month 4 now and I am amazed at how much this project is showing me the beauty in the every day things that my children and I do. This week I brought the camera along on Miss K’s play date and boy oh boy I am glad I did.

The story of …Afternoon Play Dates

There is  a whole big circle of stories in pictures. Click through and enjoy! Next up is the very talented Niki Strbian!!

I know I am bad …I took  a month off. When I swore I was going to keep up on this.  It is sooo (said in annoying valley girl speak) me to do those kind of things.  So I am back and I went out today in the 5 degree weather to shoot a lil’ something something …so that earns me some get out of slacker jail points right??? All I had in my bag of tricks this week was another before and after but I want to show you what you can do if you really learn Photoshop. I tend not to do to much to my images but sometimes for fun I like to play with textures. Now is that the worlds best straight out of camera NO WAY…but like I said it was 5 out and lil P had just gotten off the bus with a new coloring book…he gave me 2 min and that was all. Good thing I got it on the second frame (rolling eyes… I need to teach that kid to tell time) Some day I will record one of our negotiations for you I swear he will be a lawyer or a hustler when he grows up…ekkkkkkkkkkk! So on the bottom right is the SOOC, above that is my regular edit, top left is regular with just a bit of texture on it, and well I made it snow in the bottom left.  Happy editing.

iso 400 f 1.2 1/1500

Ok let me start this off with an big ol’ where I have been LOL.  Hubby had surgery again!! Hopefully his last (insert a happy dance here) So I have been single moming it for the last few weeks.  Let me just say I am not really sure how all you single ladies with babes do it!! You are rock stars, I am exhausted!!!  In the mist of no Daddy around both kiddos and I came down with strep and bronchitis. That meant no sleep for this mama , but I am happy to report everyone is healthy and happy here in the Craft household and my blogging should resume now.  There is so many exciting things going on at Kate craft photography right now…..

Kate Craft Photography is looking for reps from the class of 2013.  It is so easy to apply and will be such a fun time Trust me……and you could win an apple ipod touch! Spaces are limited for this program so apply early and be sure to let me know if you think your friends might make great reps too.  If you are both chosen you will for sure get some fun friends shots together!

and a picture of a happy healthy Miss K. This is what she got into while I was writting a blog today …my hair stuff.

Stay tuned for an upcoming spring special!!!

When I heard this weeks photo challenge was Family Fun I just knew the perfect shot to enter.  To me that image up there just screams family fun.  Not only that but that image was a huge turning point for me.  It really changed the way I want to photograph families.  I love that you see their love for one another and the fun of raising two toddlers.  The K family was a dream to work with it felt like I was just hanging out with old friends …but with a camera covering my face for 50% of the time.  This session was one of my feel good sessions. The K’s were the winning bidder at a silent auction fund raiser so it was a win win. The game changer as I like to call it came at the begging of the session and was somewhat of an accident I was testing/ changing settings and trying to keep everyone one engaged and happy,  Now each family session with Kate Craft Photography has become a mixture of these “fun” shots and the traditional more posed images.  The best of both worlds …so what are you waiting for book your family session today and don’t let winter stop you!  Bright pea-coats and some great leather boots make for an awesome winter family photo!

My handsome Lil’ P yelling “AWESOME” when his dad brought him home a special present. I love this shot for obvious reasons it’s my lil guy but I would love to hear why you like it…..

Another year has come and gone and what a year it has been…..I’ll stick to the business side of life for this post. I feel like I had a great year with photography I learned a lot and I think it shows. I discovered what I truly love to photograph and has started the steps to fallow my big  dreams and dream even bigger in 2012. To really get an idea of how far I’ve come lets start with the goals I wrote last year on Dec 31st

*Get my work featured     check that one as done My work was featured on inspire me baby , seniorologie, and inside the locker!
*Invest back in my business   I purchased a shiny new computer that I love and makes my life ooodles easier and I took a huge leap and purchased a lovely lil’ lens I call LOLA.
*Start focusing on where I want to go with my brand and my work I have this ball rolling and am looking forward to some great things in 2012.

Now for the best part the pictures of my wonderful clients Thank you all for choosing Kate Craft Photography to help capture your memories in 2011!!!

I can’t wait to see where 2012 takes me …I’m off to write some goals and I will see you next year!!!

 In the last year I have realized I do not have nearly enough pictures of my kids doing the everyday stuff my kids do! I joined a group of wonderfully talented photographers to start a 12 month project we are calling the series “The Story of ________” and we’ll each be filling in our own blanks. The idea is to capture a story as it unfolds . We are in month 3 now and I am amazed at how much this project is showing me the beauty in the every day things that my children and I do. This week I was at a loss as to what to shot this month until Miss K and Lil’ P  asked for an afternoon snack and as we sat in the dinning room bathed in afternoon sunlight I was inspired in a whole lot of ways.

So here is December’s The Story of ….Peanut Butter and Sunshine

There is  a whole big circle of stories in pictures. Click through and enjoy! Next up is the very talented Kristin Hemenway!!

So here it is a bit over due, but here is the post all about the great app I found for showing off those stunning portraits during in person ordering sessions.  I am not going to get into the technical mumbo jumbo of how to load the pictures and set it up because frankly I am not expert on this subject.  So this app is called Portfolio and it is a lil’ gem in my opinion. I love love love using it for my ordering session and as far as I can tell so do my clients!

So once you get through all the technical of loading the gallerie and branding the app then come the fun features that make in person ordering so much better!!!  Once in a galleries you can press play on the slide show feature and hand it over to the client to watch as their beautiful images are shown one by one.  Then you or they can take back full control and scroll through each image one by one spending as much or as little time as they need on each portrait.

From there the client can narrow down their gallery to thier favorite image with a star rating option. If the client is stuck between two pictures you can double click the second image and compare them side by side.

Once all the favorites have been selected you can view just those in a smaller gallery and begin choosing sizes and products and make notes right there on the ipad.

I really truley love this app for my in person order session. The clients love having control over viewing the images. The easy of selecting favorites and comparing images side by side has made my life as a photographer so much easier . So what are you waiting for …..go get this app!!! If you want to see my other most recommended apps click here!