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Ahoy there!

I'm Kristen, unabashed kid-hearter & photographer. I dig all things orange, awesome, silly, quirky, made of ice cream, full of icing, and/or radtastic.  I shoot with film and digital, on location and in the studio.  Of course, these details don't matter nearly as much as creating a portrait adventure with your lovely family. 

If you don't live in Philadelphia or its many suburbs, a travel pod might be of interest. I journey to various cities for portrait shoots throughout the year.  The current agenda:

Baltimore, MD: 7/21/09

Syracuse, NY: 8/5/09 & 8/6/09

NJ shore: Anytime

To get your city on the list, shoot me an e-mail!  For all the latest news, you can Subscribe to Essential Imagery Blog by Email, lovely person! 

JULY $25 SESSION FEE!

07.01.09

I didn’t think you would do it.  I thought I would be reducing my session by $10, $20, maybe $50.  But, with thanks to those who subscribed and sent the subscription notice to their friends and friends’ friends, I’m happy to announce that my subscription challenge has been met, and child sessions for the month of July are $25!

Yep, you read it right.  If you were on the fence about Essential Imagery, you’ll need to hop on that.  The $25 session includes up to two kiddos, with each additional kiddo being $25.

Your local session must take place in July, and the standard minimum session purchase of $450 still applies.  (I love you, but rules are rules.)

If you’re in, get to e-mailing KRISTEN@ESSENTIALIMAGERY.COM — and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

familyshoots| kidshoots| lovecat| neat stuff | yay

by Kristen

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BAHAMAS BABY SHOOT.

06.30.09

There is nothing better than a chubby bubby.  Those rolls upon rolls of delightful baby goodness are a particular love of mine, and Mr. Addison was the perfect squidgy baby model.  Since it was approximately 6 ,347 degrees outside while we were in the Bahamas, we rocked the hotel room shoot.

Bahamas Family Photography -- Ross 1Bahamas Family Photography -- Ross 2Bahamas Family Photography -- Ross 3Yah, it’s hard work to hit up a tropical island and hang with subjects like this.  (No, really.  WHEW, that was rough.)

Bahamas Family Photography -- Ross 4Addison has a sister. And parents. More than cropped-off bits will be featured in a later post, I promise…

Bahamas Family Photography -- Ross 5Bahamas Family Photography -- Ross 6

kidshoots

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Chris - WOW! Damn, Kristen, you are good! Amazing shots. THANK YOU!

Sandy - wowee! these are great. Thank you!

amy - great capture! i love all of the cute little body parts. :)

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO KISS A DOLPHIN.

06.26.09

Meet Missy.  She made me squeep and eep and make all sorts of noises typically reserved for three-year-olds hopped up on lollipops and cough meds.

And then there’s me.  I look a few french fries short of a Happy Meal in that picture, but DUDE!  Did I commit, or what!?

dolphinblog11There is only one way to kiss a dolphin: Eyes closed, lips puckered, the entirety of your being focused on that squidgy marine goodness.

If you’re going to do anything worthwhile, you’re going to have to commit.  So I urge you, lovely reader, to go ahead and pucker up.  Shower that sea creature with love, launch that business, reach that goal, surpass that barrier, enjoy your life.

branding| randomshoots

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Nicole - LOve you Kristen! No matter what your blog gives my day a cheerup. Well said! And I'm so glad that I DID start that business, so now I can smile when I read this and pat myself on the back. And then get back to my inbox, etc, etc!

BAHAMAS WEDDING, PART TWO.

06.25.09

I’ll take Crazy Awesome First Kisses for $200, Alex.

sw2blog5

Next up, Adoring Glances for $400.

sw2blog4What?  You don’t have a standard ‘Smile Swallowed Face’ category?  Well, you should.

sw2blog3And a ‘Proud Papas Make Everybody Cry’ category, too:

sw2blog2Also, a ‘How to Tell if  Kid Had Fun’ category would be great, too.  Thanks.

sw2blog61Finally a ‘There’s Treasure Everywhere’ bit of magical goodness, to finish the post.  You’re so helpful, Mr. Trebeck.

swblog3

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BAHAMAS WEDDING, PART ONE.

06.24.09

If you were a Vince and a Sarah, you would have been married on Saturday.  And you would have practically exploded Paradise Island with your happiness.   At the resort called Atlantis, based on the mythical city that plunged into the sea, the softly-focused, edge-of-perfect, did-that-really-happen images are the ones that caught my eye today.

BAHAMAS 1swblog61swblog7swblog2swblog4I’m so glad these two came into my life, whisked me away to a tropical island, and allowed me to photograph their nuptuals.  Their downright adoration of one another is lovely to behold, and the way their giggling can make everyone around them giggle means…well, wherever you go, there’s giggling.  And come on, who isn’t a sucker for that?

Now, enter your sweet little e-mail address into that sweet little subscription box at the bottom of the page, and I’ll see you tomorrow for more portraits, some crazy dance moves, and (of course) the kids in attendance.

loveshoots

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Chris - Amazing work. You were soooo right about those rocks!

Doug Boutwell - That first shot is killer! Welcome back!

Rebecca - We had so much fun with you in the Bahamas! These are awesome - can't wait to see the rest!

Karyn - To quote this awesome lady that I know.... "boom sauce".

Rachel Logan - These are ALL fantastic. Love all the images from Part 1 and Part 2 posts. The veil shot is dreamy... Excellent, awesome job!

Laura - these pictures are so amazing they almost make me feel like i was there. Can't wait to see the rest!

JUDY SMALL - YOUR PICTURES OF OUR SON, VINNY, AND HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE, SARAH, ARE BREATHTAKING...LOVE THE ONE OF OUR GRANDDAUGHTER, EMILY, LOOKING INTO THE AQUARIUM...ELEGANT, SHOULD BE A POSTCARD...YOU TRULY CAPTURED THE LOVE BETWEEN VIN AND SARAH AND VINCE AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE ENTIRE PACKAGE. THANKS FOR MAKING THEIR DAY SO SPECIAL AND MEMORABLE.

Amy Paulhamus - Beautiful pics!!! Can't wait to see the rest!

TRUE CONFESSIONS, PART 2.

06.22.09

As promised, the Craigslist tale…

Early in 2006, I answered an ad for a portrait photographer placed by one Haunani Kekuna. Um. I didn’t know if that was a man or a woman, to be perfectly honest.  But I knew I WAS TOTALLY INTERESTED AND WILLING TO DO ANYTHING TO BE HIRED.

To my surprise, Haunani called me back.  (She called everyone back, because that’s how she rolls, but I didn’t know that at the time.)  So, I gathered my ‘portfolio’ — 10 4×6’s printed at the Target 1-hour-photo — and headed to the interview.

During the hour I spent begging for a job in the wittiest and most charming way humanly possible, I discovered that Haunani is the kindest person you will ever meet.  Ever.

I know this because she hired me.  What’s that, Kristen?  Weren’t you an English teacher before?  Weren’t you completely untrained in the arts?  Didn’t you avoid any job that involved the exchange of $$ like the plague?

Yes, yes, and yes. With only the ability to aim a point & shoot camera and a really, really, really big desire to learn, Haunani added me to the payroll.  Craigslist provided the means for me to stumble upon my dream, and Haunani made it happen.  If you see her, say Aloha, and thank her for freeing my creative soul.

kristen tells all

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Kylene - Aloha Haunani and thank you for freeing Kristen's creative soul! :-)

Karyn - Awesome. So awesome.

cynthia - This post and the previous one have been on my mind since the moment I read them. I was waiting for something profound to write in the comments but I'm still speechless (well, sort of). I am telling everyone I know about this particular post. It's completely motivating and eye opening for me. Thanks for sharing.

TRUE CONFESSIONS, PART 1

06.19.09

While I’m gone, I figured I’d leave you with a bit of backstory about my ending up as a photographer.  Because, you know, sometimes people ask.

The year: 2003.

The place: Indiana University of Pennsylvania

2003-me (see photo) was hired to work with the Robert E. Cook Honors College for their summer program, and was (obviously) assigned to work with the Education bunch.  This made sense, as I was a few months from having my English Education degree, and I knew the professor teaching the summer course rather well.

kristencirca2003

Big Sign From the Universe Number One: I BEGGED to be a part of the Fine Art classes for those few weeks.  They were dealing with darkroom processing of various film formats while studying a bit of art history with respect to photography.

The begging didn’t work. I stuck out the Education course with some lovely students, longing all the while to be learning photographic techniques and shooting crazy-awesome images.

Big Sign From the Universe Number Two: I hated each and every education job I accepted.  Sure,  I learned to deal with all sorts of behavioral issues and to identify at least three significant learning disorders within five minutes of meeting a child.  I also got steamrolled by my near-constant disagreements with my ’superiors’ with regards to what would be best for my students.  (Being on the students’ side is a big huge negative in education land, folks.)

Luckily, I had accepted employment with the most challenging school within 50 miles of my home.  No, really.  Trust me on this one.  Misery set in rather quickly, but I wasn’t going to give up.  Statistically, I read, Special Education burnout wasn’t supposed to set in for another three years.

kristencirca1983

I was, apparently, as miserable as eating popcorn made me at age one.  (See above.) Statistically, I told myself, I shouldn’t have been coming home from work crying 4 out of 5 nights a week.  I shouldn’t have been constantly exhausted or searching Craigslist ads for a new job — ANY new job — the minute I woke up. But that’s the way it was going.  And then…well, then Craigslist saved me.

Tune in on Monday, when I tell you how.

kristen tells all

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BLACK & WHITE BLISS.

06.18.09

There’s just something about black & white.  And eyelashes. And boys. And catching them at the right moment.

main line child photographer -- dean 1main line child photographer -- dean 2main line child photographer -- dean 3

kidshoots

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Laura - Hi Kristen, GREAT shots, thanks for being so generous and patient during our shoot on Tuesday.. you're AWESOME, can't wait to see the proofs. Laura, Dean and Evan

MOTHER & DAUGHTER LOVEFEST

06.17.09

If you were five and very much loved Baby Jaguar from Dora the Explorer and doing cartwheels in the front yard, you would be a Caroline.

wayne children's photography -- caroline 3And if your Mom was willing to be in a part of your session, you’d be exceptionally adorable.

wayne children's photography -- caroline 4I absolutely love it when Mom wants to be in front of the camera.  I had a camera-shy Mom, and have no such images, which is one of the reasons I ended up as a family photographer.  Portraits are evidence of a shared history of love.  (And your kids will treasure them later in life as much as you do at the time they’re created.  Promise.)

Aren’t these two ridiculously adorable together?

wayne children's photography -- caroline 1wayne children's photography -- caroline 2

familyshoots| kidshoots

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elaine - OMG, I LOVE the ones of Caroline and her mama...what I wouldn't give to have a pic or two of my mom and I like that. You're awesome for grabbing it...

$25 SESSION FEE! WHAT!?

06.16.09

Okay, lovely readers, here’s the deal:  there’s the potential for session fees for kiddos to be only $25 during the month of July.  (Yes, that’s $25, not $225…I typed it correctly.)  To earn that, though, I’m gonna need you to subscribe to the Essential Imagery mailing list.

Scroll aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way down to the bottom of the blog, where you’ll see this:

subscribeEnter your e-mail in that happy little box, and voila!  You’ve subscribed.

I’ll take $1 off the session fee for every person that subscribes between now and July 1st, all the way down to a $25 session fee.

I’ll announce the July session fee on the 1st, and it will apply only to sessions that take place in July.  Okay, now round up your buddies to help lower the session fee, and don’t forget to subscribe!

neat stuff | yay

by Kristen

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