I have been back and forth in my mind about changing my pricing structure for my clients. There are of course pros and cons to changing prices, as there are for every decision in life. At the end of my reflection, I realized the pros far outweigh the cons. I have been so busy trying to fit my clients into my UNBELIEVABLY full schedule that I have had to turn clients away, be away from my family for WAY too many hours, and my turn around time for sessions has turned into a longer amount of time than I want my clients to wait for their images. My goal is to be the BEST I can possibly be for my clients, and to do that I have to stop spreading myself so thin. My demand has become much higher and therefor my prices need to reflect that. While I do not feel that owe anyone justification for my pricing changes, I do fully believe in open communication with my clients as YOU are the reason I get to do what I love while providing for my family. 

While my prices have changed, I have also opted to completely change my structure. According to my client feedback, you prefer a simple, easy to read and understand structure. My portrait packages have been narrowed down to two choices and i've ADDED an all new "yearly pass" for my repeat clients looking to save money on bundles! 

As for my wedding clients, I have RARELY booked under 6 hours of coverage time and have decided to make your choices more appealing. I've added the option of ALL DAY coverage, a beautiful wedding album, as well as new Ala Carte options. Yes my prices have increased, and the very simple reason is that my demand has increased dramatically. 

I'm so unbelievably lucky to be serving my clients, doing what I love, providing for my family, and growing each and every session that I shoot. I cannot thank YOU, my clients, enough for coming along on this journey with me! It's been such an amazing ride and I can't wait to see what the coming years have in store for us! 

Just last week, I ventured out to LA, California to go on (what I like to call) a photo adventure. I wouldn't classify this as a session simply because it was an 8 hour ordeal, all over the map. We started at the BEAUTIFUL Manhattan pier, ventured to Malibu Creek State Park, and finished the day with the sun setting behind us at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. To say we had a variety of images and settings would be the understatement of the year. It was such an amazing day for me for a few reasons. First, it was in California, which means SUNSHINE! (We get very little of that here in the PNW). Second, the soon-to-be bride is one of my best friends. It is such a special joy for me to see her so happy and with such a sparkle in her eyes. Third, I really got to take my time, finding fun angles, trying new shots, and all the while laughing along with two very laid back and fun people. I would LOVE for my all of my engagement sessions to be adventures like this day was! Stephanie and Ryan, I am SOOO SOOO SOOO happy for you and I'm so grateful you chose me to document such a special time in your lives. I can't wait to stand up next to you on your big day this summer! Love you both! 

I don't even know where to begin to describe the fun we had shooting Josh and Jenny's engagement session just last week. They're attitude and smiles are completely infectious and I didn't want to finish the shoot! From the first moment I spoke to them I could tell this couple was deeply, madly in love. I can't believe I am the photographer fortunate enough to be a part of their big day as they begin their lives together! We ventured out to the Mayflower Dairy Farm for an hour of fun and giggles. We TOTALLY lucked out with the weather, with a beautiful break in the (what seemed like) endless rainy days! The rain started coming down about 10 minutes after we finished up! Talk about luck! The best part? They brought along their 4 legged baby. I love when couples incorporate anything from their lives that show who they are, what they love, and how they live everyday together. It brings out the true love story and is so much easier for me to document! Thank you Josh and Jenny for a fun filled day, and I can't wait for your wedding coming up this fall! 

I really have to say, this Christmas was the best Christmas I have ever had for a number of reasons. The first being the fact that I'm a photographer, so I get the privilege of capturing precious moments of my own family on a daily basis. I don't usually leave home without my camera, and the biggest reason for that is my fear of missing out on a photo opportunity with my kids. My oldest daughter is SUCH a trooper whenever I set up a holiday mini shoot and willingly puts on cute outfits, posses, and smiles for the camera. She's a natural, and i'm so happy to have these memories with her while she's still young.  Check out the fun images from that day below, and keep reading to find out why I LOVED this Christmas......

The second reason? I got the surprise of a lifetime from my Dad while over at my parents house Christmas morning opening gifts. I had already had a computer meltdown crisis about a month ago, so my parents chipped in to buy me a brand new iMac, which in my opinion was OVERLY generous and should have been counted as my Christmas gift for the next 5 years! haha Well my dad played into that pretty well, saying how bad he feels that I won't have much under the tree to open since the budget for my presents went to my computer. We were all finished opening gifts, were setting up to take the family Christmas photo in front of the fire place, and as I got caught up in all of the directing of who was to stand where I didn't even notice my dad sneak off to another room. When he came back, I had my eye up to my camera trying to fit everyone into the lens and I heard this "Here why don't you take it with your new camera?" as he walked out holding the camera and lens I had been saving for for about a year, and probably would have another couple of years of saving for. I bawled like a newborn baby. To say that I was happy would be the understatement of the year. I almost passed out, my hands were shaking, and as you can tell in the family picture, I wasn't able to hold still enough to even keep the image in focus. I have never been so surprised and grateful in my entire life. What's even cooler is that in all of the excitement my grandma thought to pick up the old camera and take a picture of me taking my first picture with my new camera. Now I will always have that photo!

Right after that, I needed to go somewhere to test my new baby out, so we took our girls to a play place in the mall and I followed them around (probably annoying as ever to the girls) testing out the settings and having so much fun! I am so grateful for this Christmas, for my family, and for the generosity that was shown to me this year. I can't wait to get going with my next shoots to really put this camera to work! 

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to make an AWESOME memory with my family. We went to the mountains to find and cut down our own Christmas tree. We decided this year that we were going to change it up a bit from the typical trip to the Christmas Tree lot filled with perfectly shaped trees, already cut, and waiting there with a $70 price tag dangling from them. So, we paid $10 for a permit, loaded up in the truck and headed up to the snow! The girls had an absolute blast drinking hot chocolate, throwing (or in my youngest daughters case, EATING) snowballs, and climbing up hills in search of the perfect tree. I love living in Washington for the beautiful landscape we are so blessed to see all year around. Here are just a few snapshots of that awesome day. I'm pretty sure we started a new family tradition. :) 

I'm particularly excited about this maternity session because she is a close friend of mine. A while back I had a complete computer meltdown and lost a LOT of my older work that I hadn't been smart enough to back up. Thankfully I was able to recover a lot of it, and while going through old files, I stumbled upon these pictures. To give you a little bit of a time line, I just took her daughters (yes the one who is technically in these photos in mamas belly) 6 month photos.  Being able to find these images, and get them to the mama was a fun "throwback Thursday" activity for me. There are just a few on the blog but the mama was excited to receive them too. :)

So i'm going to start off by saying this is my very first blog! Yes, I know, I'm behind. I'm going to do my best to blog about my life, shoots that I am excited about, and anything that I think may allow you all to get to know me a little better. 

A while back my family and I took a trip up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier. I took SO many pictures like usual, and proceeded (like usual) to upload them to my computer and forget all about them. My personal photos have always taken a backseat to my client photos, so i'm going to strive to change that. 

It was a BEAUTIFUL day up on the mountain and I, apparently feeling overly ambitious, decided it would be a great idea to bring the stroller and PUSH IT UP THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. What was I thinking?? Yes it was a great work out, but it would have been a lot easier to take photos if I could breathe! My youngest just turned a year old at the end of August, and my oldest daughter is going to be 6 in January. I do have to admit, I would have loved to trade places with either one of them that day. The youngest got to eat snacks and be pushed up the trail while laying back and relaxing. My oldest has ENDLESS energy! She found a large stick at the very beginning of the trail, decided it would be a good walking stick and proceeded to go hike, run, hike, & run her way all the way up! Oh to be young again! 

Overall, it was a beautiful day filled with so many great memories with my parents, my husband and my daughters. I'm so grateful for the beautiful weather and landscape that you can only find in Washington State. What a great day.