• We would love to see you at an Essential Imagery event! All events are held at 122 East Lancaster Avenue, Suite 300, Wayne, PA. We're on the 3rd floor, above Gene's Urban Baby Boutique. Feel free to contact us via the 'Contact' link above or by calling 215-206-3689.

  • Pets for Haiti Studio Event

    Come celebrate the launch of our line of Essential Imagery pet photography! Buy raffle tickets for a chance to win a $500 portrait gift certificate and goodies from our favorite local boutiques, sample Sweet Jazmine's baked goods, and help us choose the best Pets for Haiti image! All proceeds benefit Doctors Without Borders.

    April 6; 6 - 8 p.m.

  • Mini Sessions

    We've scheduled three days of mini-sessions for 2010. These feature a clean, modern white background, a 20-minute portrait shoot with Kristen, and a private gallery of 10 images for online ordering. Mini portrait packages start at $250.


    March 27 --- July 17 --- October 23

  • Book your mini-session now - just $25!

  • BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT

    Forget school pictures from the big-box studios! Our Back to School event features fun props and a simple backdrop, resulting in images you won't dread buying. One day only! Your $65 fee includes 2 5x7's and 8 wallets of your favorite pose.

    September 11

  • Book your shoot, including a mini portrait package, for $65!

02-23-2010

DUCK DUCK GOOSE PETS FOR HAITI

It’s another Philadelphia pet photography session!  This one is sponsored by childhood games, beige carpet, and tiny mouse toys filled with catnip.  Meet Duck Duck and Goose.  Yes, they were named after the favorite game of Kindergartners everywhere, and they’re also the pets of my bestest friends Tim and Chelsea.  (Yes, I made them pay for the session so Essential Imagery could donate more money to Doctors Without Borders.)  Here they are, rockin’ the Pets for Haiti shoot…

Please don’t be deceived by how utterly adorable Goose looks in the following photos.  She may lure you in with her pretty eyes and upside-down playful looks, but you will be clawed and bleeding before you know it.  (This pet photography gig is just as dangerous as an Indiana Jones adventure!  For real!)Duck Duck had no real interest in me.  She couldn’t be bribed, cajoled, heckled, or otherwise made to do anything she didn’t want to.  Which makes her a typical cat.  That last one is 100% Goose.  Bad to the bone.  Only tolerating humanity because a few humans feed her twice a day.  (For the photogs among you, this was shot using available light and the backdrop is the refrigerator.)

As previously mentioned, this was a Pets for Haiti portrait shoot.  All Pets for Haiti package proceeds are donated to Doctors Without Borders.  For just $65 you’ll receive a 30-minute portrait session for your pet in your home, a 5×7″ metallic photograph of your pet, and inclusion in our Pets for Haiti studio event in early April.  To purchase your Pets for Haiti package, just click the link below.  We will contact you to set up your pet portrait as soon as possible.


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02-22-2010

MONDAY LOVE

This Monday, I’m loving…

#1.) Ingrid Michaelson.

I’m a big fan of listening to CDs on repeat until they simply sink into my brain and become a part of my psyche…I never understand people who constantly download new music without letting the old songs sink in.  Ingrid is totally soak-in worthy…gorgeous lyrics, a gorgeous voice…just…gorgeous.  Below, ‘The Way I Am’ complete with super-sweet animation.

#2.) Zack Arias’ 365 project.

Great mind, great read, great photos.  Apparently it’s ‘use the same adjective to describe things I like’ day.  Zack’s work is refreshing, always striving to outdo itself, and to have a photo DAILY is so inspirational…

Go see DedPxl!

#3.) Summer.

Rather, the thought of it, not the reality of it, since that’s obviously not happening.

#4.) Ace of Cakes

Somehow, watching peeps roll fondant and otherwise get crazy with baked goods gets my creative juices flowing.  Mary Alice is my favorite, but she’s the manager…ah, irony.

#5.) Haiti relief in the form of muffins.

This month, buy the fresh batter for a dozen muffins to bake at home for $15, and you’ll have donated $15 to Haiti whilst, you know, getting to eat Sweet Potato Muffins. Visit Sweet Jazmines Bakery at 15 Bridge Avenue, Berwyn, PA to get the goods…and pick up the new Essential Imagery brochure while you’re there!

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Chelsea - Dear Kristen,

Please post pictures of kittehs.

kthxbye.

02-19-2010

EXPERIMENTING WITH HERMIONE

Check out my mini-review of the Totally Rad Dirty Pictures plugin for Photoshop!

I’ve been experimenting with the multiple exposure setting on my Nikon just to do a little something different.  Since Hermione is a handy dog model and hasn’t joined the Union yet, she works for free. Edited using the Totally Rad Dirty Pictures plugin for Photoshop on top of a single frame.

Such a huge part of my journey as an artist has been trying out new techniques and tools.  In this case, I don’t particularly love the results, but it was fun to play.  And busting out texture files with ‘exotic’ names doesn’t hurt, either.

As for Dirty Pictures, the Totally Rad team has brought to life a Photoshop plugin that makes creating, changing, and playing with texture incredibly simple.  Where prior texture methods required endless changes of blending modes, guessing about suitable textures, and otherwise fiddling with the texturizing process, the Dirty Pictures plugin makes previewing, choosing, applying and adjusting textures a breeze.  If you have Photoshop CS3 or CS4 you are in like Flynn!  Pick up the plugin on the Totally Rad Actions site.  (It’s $149.  It’s totally worth it if you’re into textures.  Promise.)

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marissa moss - oooo. love it.

Stephanie - This is a super cool shot…..Or maybe I should say its totally rad :)

Julie Stephens - Haha-that’s great. I love working with non-Union members. too. :-)

02-18-2010

BRANDY – PET PORTRAIT ALBUM

Pet photography is a careful balance of creating an ideal environment for portraits and allowing a furry subject to show their personality. Brandy made the usual balancing act quite simple, moving from cheese-eating to snow-romping to belly petting with ease. Check out her custom-designed album…

Much of my joy in creating a pet portrait album comes from telling the story of the animal in a visual way. Brandy’s serious, formal-looking portraits are quickly followed by her upside-down, rub-my-belly face. Her penchant for killing fleece bones is obvious as she rips apart a full three feet of dog toy, while her sweet side shows in the snow. Pet photography is about capturing the essence of your pet when they are happiest and healthiest. Pet portrait albums perfectly capture all that you would like to remember about your canine friend without resorting to formal posing.

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02-16-2010

SNOW FOR MAGGIE – CHESTERBROOK PHOTOGRAPHER

The best part of this epic, blizzard-ful winter we’ve been having? Lots of snow for dogs to romp in!

Miss Maggie was happy to eat snow, bound through it, and generally revel in the white stuff during our Pets for Haiti session.

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