She’s gorgeous!  Just like her big sis!   Tried a bunch of different actions here – but most involve Sheye’s Pretty Gritty (my new fav!) and Pioneer Woman’s “sunshine” from set 2.  More to come!  We also had “MC” – Karen’s brother’s girlfriend who is also expecting a baby in December! 

Poor Nichole suffers TERRIBLY from allergies though….which I sort of forgot about until we got outside into the long grass…..oops!   I hope you weren’t TOO miserable after our session Nichole!   

btw…..if this was my family, I’d print this huge on a canvas!  Just sayin’…. btw….for this shot I was “hiding” in the long yellow flower things and popped up like a jack-in-the box.  I was wearing a big frog googly-eyed head band and at one point had a big weed sticking out of it.  I told Bill sometimes I feel like the clown you hire for a kid’s birthday party.  haha!  Oh well!   I laid out this quilt & pillow and the lighting was just PERFECT!   Too bad they didn’t both want to lay together and smile sweetly…sigh!  Oh well!  Tried my best!  Time for a walk.  They really seemed to like trying to stay on the beaten path.    btw….LOVE the curls!! Ring around the Rosie! Thanks for coming again guys!  It’s always great to see you and hope your weekend in the cities was FUN!  

The puppies were ADORABLE!  They are a Bichon Frise/Shih Tzu mix – their mom called them “Teddy Bear” puppies.  They came all the way from WI (6 hr drive) for a party this weekend.  Since they were only 1 week old, the owners didn’t want to leave them behind – so they all made the trip over! 

Here’s proud mama – Kai – with her babies!  :-)  This is Kai’s first litter…she was very protective of them and needed to know where they were at all times!  This shot was super hard to get!  They kept wanting to curl up into a big ball and tuck their heads into each other.  Jennie is so great at posing!  I loved assisting her!  Claire and Jacy were in heaven!  awww!  It would be so fun to see what they look like in a few weeks!  Too bad they live so far away!  Thanks for having me over Jennie!  I’ll work with you any time I can!   

btw….I just want to say that this whole photography industry can be very competitive and catty.  It’s so nice to have someone like Jennie that is so NOT that way!  I really appreciate that about her (and many of my other photography friends!  You know who you are!    )

For starters, starting September 1st, I am going to be renting a studio downtown!  My friend and fellow photog Shelley sweet-talked me into it, so I’m going to try it for 6 months.  The studio is in a really cool old building in the arts district of NE Minneapolis. 

To go along with my cool downtown studio, I thought it would be a GREAT time to launch SoShe – Photography for Girls and Women!  (logo by Karen!  Thanks girl!  You’re the BEST!) 

One of my goals with SoShe Photography is to target fashion-forward girls ages 12-16 years of age.  You know these girls – they are the ones that LOVE having their photos taken….the ones that LOVE doing their hair and make-up….the ones that LOVE posting their photos on Facebook…the ones that LOVE going to the mall!  Unfortunately, a lot of girls this age hardly ever get professional photos taken!  All they get is their yearly crappy school photo or else they hold their camera out at arm’s length and take self-portraits.  If they are really lucky, then maybe they get to have some quick solo pics if their parents book a family session.  Then when they are high school seniors, they get great senior photos taken.  Why wait until your girls are seniors!? 

My goal is to capture great photos for these poor, neglected girls!  haha!  Seriously, my goal is to provide a service to a group of clients that I think is strongly under-represented.  I’m hoping too that parents will be on board with this idea of paying for a session for their girls  (since most kids that age are flat broke – so they need their parents’ $$!!) 

Another goal of SoShe Photography is to focus on those poor neglected MOMS that only get their photos taken as part of a family session!    So to kick off SoShe, I took a day off of work and booked the studio for minis on Friday September 10th!  What a great time for moms to come for a session just for THEM!?  It can be a boudoir session (tame & tasteful of course!) or just some fun new headshots!  Hey, the kids are in school so take a 1/2 day off work, get some fun photos taken and maybe meet your hubby or a friend for lunch.  Doesn’t that sound like a great mom day?  I think so! 

I’m also going to try a new introductory pricing structure especially for SoShe!  Here’s what I’m thinking:

• 20-30 minute sessions.  If you want a longer session, book 2 sessions back-to-back.
• $100 for 10 edited images.  Additional edited images to be purchased at $10 each.  And best yet, you will get to choose the images you want edited!  (note:  if you book 2 back-to-back sessions, the cost would be $200 for 20 edited images.) 
• Once you pick your images, you will be able to download the edited versions when they are ready.  No need to wait for a CD to come in the mail!  The photography release will also be e-mailed to you.
• Especially for Friday September 10th, if you want your hair and make-up done, the cost is $20 and it will be done by the amazing Karen Yang.   You would need to arrive 30-45 minutes prior to your session for styling. 
• Especially for Friday September 10th too – complimentary glass of wine to clients age 21 and over!

Here are the times for September 10th (sorry, all spots are taken!):

• 10:00 – Trayce S.
• 10:30 – Amy P.
• 11:00 – Sara B.
• 11:30 – Darcy F.
• 12-1pm – LUNCH BREAK
• 1:30 – Colette W.
• 2:00 – Amanda

Let me know if you are interested!  I am pretty much booked out for 2010…so look for more SoShe mini session dates in 2011!  If I think I can squeeze it in though, I’d love to do another date yet for 2010 – probably November or early December.

And to clarify, I am just branching out a little bit – I still welcome families, babies & kiddos! 

Backing up a little bit here…………when Jacob told us he had a girlfriend I of COURSE had to stalk her check her out on facebook!  I was very pleasantly surprised by what I found.    She is beautiful both inside and out!   One of the things I noticed right away is she has quotes with almost all of her photos — some she’s written herself (she also writes music!) and others she’s found along the way.  I think the quotes you like says a lot about your personality.  I asked her if I could put some of them with the photos I took of her and she agreed.   This was one of my favorites.  Elle’s mom Jen told me that Elle just LOVES having her photo taken!  I told her mom that I just LOVE taking photos = a VERY dangerous combination!   haha!  But I’ll try to take it easy on her and not be a creeper.    Jacob & Elle… Used that technique I talked about HERE a long time ago.  Anyway, thanks for letting me practice again on ya Elle!  You are quite amazing.  (i.e. I approve.  ) 

“She’s finding the strength to stand on her own tender feet, while she’s got everyone and everything on her shoulders.  She has survived it all.” – Elle