Fall Mini Shoot for Dinner

It is crazy town in our household this evening. The dishes are stacked, the baby refuses to sleep and came to the decision that yelling at me, in the form of scream crying, was a better option, the kids are arguing and dinner needs to be made (which I have no clue what to make. Old Mother Hubbard syndrome has hit our house with a vengeance). What better time to blog?!

I just wanted to give everyone the heads up about the Fall Mini Shoots. They're pretty much booking up. Fast. If are interested, please call me! I want to make sure that I can squeeze everyone in.



Happy Dinner Hour to you all and goodnight!

Keep Smiling!

~ Libby

And So It Begins... Again

Well, here we are at the beginning of another school year. What a morning! It began with a mad dash for my coffee mug and spiraled out of control from there - with my emotions that is.

Jamie was quick to get out of bed. She loves school. I can't quite figure that out since I always hated school and was in tears about the 1st day back up until about 9th grade. Then I just kept the tears on the inside because I thought it might be a little ridiculous coming into school crying. No. Really. I'm a big baby. Christian on the other hand was well, not quite as excited. Mainly, because his teacher is Mrs. Mommy. That's right. I decided to keep the boy home and school him from here. Just this first year and then next year we'll enroll him.

It shouldn't be this difficult really. Jamie went to school last year too. I think a number of things contributed to my sorry emotional state. For one, I'll miss sending her to St. Paul. They love her there and I love that. Everyone knows everyone else and it truly feels like one big loving family. I'm big on that sort of thing. Leaving my kiddo where I know she'll be well taken care of and they appreciate her for who she is. Now, I don't know if she'll just blend into the crowd. Is she just another 2nd grader to this faculty? *Sigh* I suppose she'll make it. She's a great kid and if they miss out on knowing that - oh well. I know who she is and I love her to death.

Time passes and seems to speed up the more I age. I am the mother of a 7 year-old, 5 year-old and a 4 month-old. Scary. Needless to say, there were tears. Then appreciation. Appreciation for all of the hard work and support I have gotten from both my own parents and from my in-laws. So, in my emotional state, like a drunkard, I called my mother-in-law first. And through tears, I left on her VM (because she never answers her dang phone!) a sappy message about how much I value her and her husband. Then, as if I wasn't a mess already, I called my parents. I got their answering machine too (what is the dealio folks?! Doesn't anyone know that it's the 1st day of school?! Geesh!) so I proceeded to stalk them and hunt them down on their cell phone. They were out for their walk, but not to be deterred, I, through even more excessive tears, told them what an awesome support system they are. And it's the truth. I am such a fortunate gal to have such wonderfully amazing people in my life.

So, that was MY first day of school. The kids couldn't have cared less :)

Fall Mini Session

I know, I know. I hate it when people jump the gun on Christmas too. I love Thanksgiving mainly because you're getting the same great food with no pressure of finding "the perfect gift" for everyone. Plus really taking the time to meditate on what we're truly grateful for makes us happier people. Ok, so I'm jumping the gun on that holiday too. The whole point is Christmas is knocking at our door folks and we might as well prepare for it. And if you're like me, you're trying desperately to convince yourself that this is the year you're going to be on top of things. No siree, you're not getting caught with your pants around your ankles this year (figuratively of course. If not figuratively, then I don't need to know the story...)! But we've all said it before and it rarely, if ever, happens.

Let a sistah help you out. I'm going to be doing 2 extended weekends of fall mini shoots. What is a mini shoot? Well, it is where we do a shorter session than usual and you get a handful of pictures on a disc to do what you would like. Why is this awesome? A) Because you get to hop in front of my lens and B) Because you can use the pictures for whatever. Ideas? Christmas cards, Christmas gifts and/or you could be completely selfish and print a bunch of pictures to hang on your wall so that your family is seriously jealous of your amazing family photos while they are over for the Christmas party.





I know that the sessions are not until October, but call TODAY!!! I'm only doing a limited amount of sessions and I want you to be one of them!

Also, check out the amazing deal with @Sealed Expressions ~ http://www.sealedimpressions.com! 10% off of your Christmas cards when you mention Elizabeth K Photography Mini Shoot.

Keep Smiling!
~ Libby

Melissa and Ben

I had this whole huge blog written, but I just purposely erased it. Why? Because some weddings you just cannot put into words. That is how I felt about this day. To say that the bride and groom are warm and welcoming doesn't even scratch the surface of who they are. It is like trying to explain the green of Ireland to the blind. I fear I'm completely inadequate to define the beauty of who they are as individuals and as a couple.



I know that this picture was included in the collage above, but seriously, do you get more beautiful than this?!




Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this very special moment of your lives. God bless the both of you! Oh, and PS - total shout out to the bride's dad for keeping me caffeinated. What a man!

Did You Know?

I'm going to start about once a month (at least those are my intentions...) a did you know section. There are so many different things we can do with your images, that there is no way I could possibly include them on a price list. So, what I'm going to do is start listing some fun ideas here so you're aware that you're not limited to just standard prints. I love, love, love to get creative and I have a great friend (Sarah Piazza at Sealed Expressions - find her, love her, friend her on FB) and she can either make custom designs for you OR you can chose from one over her pre-made designs which are just as fun and WAY faster!

Today I'm featuring... (drum roll please...) wait for it, wait for it... BOOKMARKS! Sounds boring - right?! Well, not quite. These aren't your grandma's bookmarks. They're cute, fun and quite frankly an awesome little gift for your guests at your wedding. Who wants a container of M&Ms? Ok. Not knocking anyone. To each their own, but it's way more fun to be unique with your wedding and not be like the last. Am I in the dark on this one too? Most people still read a good old fashioned book - right? We're not taken over by Kindle yet!



So, you're probably thinking that anything for your wedding that is customized is way out of your budget. You're sooo wrong! You can get 100 for as little as $75.00! Not. Even. Kidding you. Order them up today. They only take a couple of weeks to arrive and you're guests will be blown away!

Keep smiling!
~ Libby

Don't Fall Off Your Chair

Two posts in one day?! I know. Seriously, don't let your ticker stop. I just had to go on about my wonderful little children. They cleaned the house for me. Not my kind of cleaning, but better. They cleaned because they love me and they wanted me to be able to spend more time with me (although they just left me because they wanted to go to the neighbor boy's house). Does it get any better than that?!




(This is my bed that they made for me. The poor bed so rarely gets made, it was probably wondering what was happening!)


They also "wrapped" a box of chocolates that has been re-gifted by Jamie 3x's - but I suppose that is beside the point. My heart is swelling with love and gratitude:)




Enjoy!

Beauty Is NOT In The Eye Of The Beholder.

Did a little session the other day with my dear little Jenny - AKA my apprentice. Don't ask me why anyone would let me influence this poor girl, but they do, and I love that she keeps me sane in quite a few INsane situations. Anyway, the point is that she rocked it out like I knew she would. The best part about it? I had her leave her hair natural. She calls it frizzy - I call it uniquely GORGEOUS. I cannot get enough of this photo of her in the antique shop. So awesome! But the problem with being a photographer and dealing with all of these insanely stunning girls is that one begins to feel a little self conscious about themselves.




In addition to doing some great shots with her, I had her take a couple of me. What does that mean? That means I have gone through all of them and done nothing short of nitpick every single one. No, I'm not saying that Jenny took bad pictures. In fact, quite the contrary. What I'm saying is that I am, in my husbands words, ridiculous. I know, I know. This may look like I'm fishing for compliments, but I swear to you, that is not the case. I'm merely trying to explain the revelation that I had after reading my own comments on my own pictures. Really, I annoyed myself. Now I think I kind of understand where my husband is coming from. Never a time when a compliment from him wasn't met with a derogatory statement from my mouth. Poor guy. And here is a sampling from my FB comments to myself.








Jenny's comment about my head shot she did: "YAYYYY my photography :) i love it!"
My comment back: "Good work my friend. You did the best with what you were given. A girl with a large nose and a giraffe neck."

Seriously? How obnoxious am I?!

And this goes on and on for numerous pictures. The solution? Taking all the negativity off and replacing it with positive comments. Let me know if you run across any that I miss...

But that wasn't the revelation. No, the revelation was much bigger than that. I started to think about what really makes me beautiful. Sure, I can do a pretty good make-up job and I do pretty well keeping up with the trends, but at the end of the day, that isn't what fulfills me. Here I've been preaching to my 7 year-old daughter that it's the inside beauty that matters, but not leading by example. So what is my true beauty? It's the beauty in the everyday. It's taking the time with my kids to play Lincoln Logs and Guess Who. It's changing my babies diaper when it's wet and being just as happy as she is when I know she's comfortable. It's even in scrubbing the toilet because I want my house to be clean for my favorite little family. Beauty is what is behind your intentions. Beauty is my compassion for people and how I can serve them. So, next time my husband tells me that I look pretty when I haven't done my hair or make-up and I'm hanging out in my scrubby clothes, I'm merely going to look at him and say, "Thank you".

Sealed Expressions

One of the best things about being in the business that I'm in is that I have reunited with a bunch of people that I have known over the years. One of the best people I have rediscovered is my former classmate Sarah. We joined forces for business, but have found a wonderful friendship in it all and she truly is one of my dear friends.

Not only an amazing person, but an even more amazing artist. She designs anything from wedding invites to baby announcements to promotional items. Seriously jealous of this girls talents! You can look her up on Facebook or check her website: http://www.sealedimpressions.com/. You'll be blown away! I could rant and rave about her all day, but you can just check her out yourself and know that she's pretty much fabulous.

Here we are at our "networking" meeting today (code for an excuse to get together, get hyped up on caffeine and be the most obnoxious people at the Harvest Coffee House. No, seriously, I'm pretty sure the next county heard our entire conversation and the entire state heard my insanely loud laugh). Keep in mind that my 5 year-old took the picture so Sarah isn't really wearing a t-shirt, that's a prom dress. And I don't always look ratty in pictures, I usually look like a supermodel. We'll have to work on his photography skills...

Nate & Lindsay Engagement

Had such a fun time with Lindsay and Nate. They are such fun people and were up for anything! Even their dog was incredibly sweet! I can only hope that these pictures do them justice for what wonderful people they are. Can't wait for the wedding!

Bogging = Failure

Ok. So, to anyone who even still checks this and doesn't have Facebook and actually cares what I'm up to - I apologize. But, unlike the rest of the times that I have come begging my blog for mercy, I am NOT going to pretend that I'm going to get better at this. I'll try, but if you know me like my husband does, you're snorting to yourself and rolling your eyes. Some things I'm okay at failing at however and blogging is one of them. Not because I don't think that it's important for my business to have an updated log on what is going on, but because it means that I've been so blamin' busy that I just haven't had the time or the energy. No time when you're a photographer is the best thing that can happen to you! So, here are the last what, 9 months? in a nut shell...

I have a baby baking, which has preoccupied me. Such little creatures and they can control every aspect of your life! Baby is due in 6 days.

Maternity and baby sessions are becoming a big part of my career and I'm LOVING it. Babies are quite a challenge, but well worth it. Here is some of my recent work!