Happy Two-Month Birthday Ben! | Comox Valley Newborn Photographer

My nephew Benjamin is two months old today, so I thought I would post a couple of photos of the wee lad in his honour.

I love this sweet boy!

Thanks to the lovely Jacquie at Village Yarn Shoppe in the Comox Mall for loaning us the yarn for this photo shoot!

Bang Theory | Comox Valley Photographer

DAY 1:
I was on the phone with my sister-in-law yesterday when my three-year-old daughter Sophie came up to me and said, "Don't I look beautiful, Mommy?"

"Of course you do, Sweetheart!" I said quickly, not noticing her most recent handiwork.

"I cut my bangs without cutting my forehead!" she exclaimed proudly.  I followed her into the living-room where her big sister was making a craft.  There on the table, lay a few rather long locks of Sophie's hair, and a pair of kid's scissors.

"Now her bangs won't get in her eyes," her big sister said helpfully.  I could hear my sister-in-law giggling on the phone, so I told her that it was all her fault, then hung up to investigate the damage.

The bangs were a mess, but Sophie was jubilant.  In her eyes, she had accomplished something monumental.  She's been really interested in making crafts lately, and her scissor skills have improved tremendously in the past few weeks.  Tackling a new medium, like hair, without causing injury to herself was indeed praiseworthy.

I'm rather proud of my reaction.  Instead of unleashing a horrified, "What have you done to your hair???"... I focused on the safety aspect of the trim. I told Sophie that I was impressed with her new haircut, but that it had been very dangerous to have the scissors so close to her eyes and she was NEVER to do it again.

It was time to get ready for dance class, so I decided to drop the issue, but not before asking five-year-old Stella the following question, "Stella, do you remember me ever saying to you girls that you were never, ever to use the scissors for cutting your hair?"

"Well Mama," she began thoughtfully, "I remember you saying that we should never cut our dolls hair, but that's it."

Nice.

DAY 2:

This morning, it was time to document the new bangs.  I pulled out my camera while Sophie and Stella were having breakfast at their little table.  I asked Sophie what my face looked like when I first saw her new haircut.

First she did this:

Then she did this:

Oops.  And I thought I'd masked my true feelings.

Then I asked Sophie how she felt about her new bangs and she said, 'Ta da!'

This shot, I admit, was staged.




After our little photo shoot, I realized that Sophie's bangs were really growing on me.  (No pun intended.)  Not just because they make me smile, it has more to do with 'chutzpah.'  I mean, I wish I had the confidence to pick up the scissors, butcher my hair, then throw my arms in the air and say, 'Ta da!  Don't I look beautiful?'

Nevertheless, I told the girls that I would call our favourite hair salon, Indigo Lounge, tomorrow to make an appointment for Sophie.  Sophie was a bit apprehensive, so I told her that the stylist, Heather, was as lovely and sweet as Snow White, (which she is,) and Elton's dog Cassius, who was a very gentle beast, might be there.  By the time I kissed Sophie goodnight, she was excited about seeing Princess Heather at Indigo.  "I wonder if she'll have a crown," she sighed.

When I tucked Stella into bed, I decided to ask her a few questions about the incident, "Stella, did you actually see Sophie cut her bangs?"

"Uh..."

"Be completely honest, please."

"Yes, and I tried to say, 'Sophie, you shouldn't cut your own bangs,' but she said, 'but I'm going to make them look beautifuler,' so ..."

"Did you know that it was dangerous for her to have the scissors up close to her eyes?" I asked.

"Ya, but I'd never seen her do anything like that before and I didn't know what to do."

"Stella," I said, "I completely understand and I would have felt the same way if I were you."

She gave me a great big hug at that point.  "Stel, if I can get an appointment for you, would you like to get your haircut too?"

"Okay.  Would I get to meet Cassius?"

"Maybe.  I'm not sure if Elton and Heather always take their dog to the salon, but we'll see."

"Does Cassius have bangs?"

"Oh, you're funny."

"Did he cut his own tail?"

My little comedian.

Saturday is Client Appreciation Day at the Studio! | Comox Valley Photographer

Baby Bliss | Comox Valley Photographer

Something transformative happens to my studio when I have a newborn shoot.  Yes, there is definitely an increase of bodily fluids...a little poop here and a bit of spit-up there...but it's more than that.  My studio is so small and intimate that it seems as though the Love Energy from these brand new families consumes every available molecule.  The love is truly palpable, and my cheeks end up hurting by the end of the session because I cannot stop smiling.  (I'm even smiling just thinking about this shoot!)

These young parents were no exception.  They were in the land of baby bliss and it was easy to see why.  Their daughter was a sweetheart!  She was a few weeks old at the time of our session, which meant that we didn't get any of the really sleepy, infant shots, but we captured some amazing interactions between the three new family members.

They are falling in love!

Finally, my apologies to this gorgeous, new family for not having their photos on the blog before Christmas.  It was a busy season, and I am only now feeling on top of things.

You are beautiful.  Thank you.

Valentine Sizzle Special | Comox Valley Photographer

I had two 'Sizzle' sessions prior to Christmas, and I would love to share the images with you, but I can't.  They're too personal, too intimate, and we live in too small a town!

Both ladies were fabulous, and both of their partners were thrilled with their gifts.  The women set out to do something special for their husbands, but they ended up doing something special for themselves as well.  They felt beautiful.  And yes, they also felt nervous and self-conscious initially, but those feelings didn't last long.

My studio is small.  I like to call it a 'studi-ette,' and while it doesn't work well for large family portraits, it is absolutely perfect for boudoir sessions.  It's cozy.

My guests arrive and are treated to a glass of champagne if they wish.  There's music playing, the candles are lit, and the ambience is very relaxed and intimate.  We sit and chat for a few minutes to talk about our goals for the session and look over outfits, then, when my guest is ready, I start to shoot!

So, if you're a woman reading this....now is the time!  Celebrate yourself and document your beauty for you and your guy!

And if you're a man reading this...your lady deserves to feel gorgeous!  Imagine giving her a gift certificate this Valentine's Day.  You could even combine it with a lovely piece of lingerie,  or take her out for dinner after her session.  Keep in mind that you will benefit from the results as well.  You're both worth it!

The Grateful Photographer | Comox Valley Photographer

The end of this year marks the end of my first year in business... and I'm still standing!  That alone feels like an accomplishment.  There were definitely times throughout the year that I thought to myself, 'What am I doing?' or 'I've taken on too much.'  But those moments of self-doubt were always overshadowed by the many gifts that 2011 brought.

I'm grateful for the many clients who took a chance on a new photographer and hired me, when they had many other talented professionals to choose from.  I feel such tenderness when I look back at the people in the images I've taken throughout the year. Whether it was a wedding, a maternity session or new parents with their precious baby...I feel honoured to have shared in those lovely moments.

I'm grateful to the people who have mentored me both in business and in photography.  I've received such great advice from experienced professionals and their generosity blows me away.

I'm grateful to my fellow photographers in the Comox Valley who set the bar so high.  As artists, and as business people, I have such great respect and admiration for you.

I'm grateful to my family, particularly my mom, who has been my biggest supporter, fan, critic & salesperson.  Not only does she care for my daughters when I'm working, she is willing to do whatever it takes to support me.  She also gives me incredibly honest feedback.  I have such respect for her.

I'm grateful to my plumber, my electrician, my dry-waller, and my handsome contractor, (my husband,) who put so many unanticipated hours into creating a beautiful little home-studio for me.

I'm grateful to friends like Marci Hotsenpiller for hiring me to photograph a project that garnered a prestigious award. (More information on that one in a future post!)

I'm grateful to Kevin and Kristi for allowing me to photograph the birth of my nephew Ben.  The images I captured feel like my most important work to date.  (I'll devote a complete post to this experience in the New Year as well!)

I'm grateful to Community Futures, especially Helen Furgale, and my 'classmates' Kevin and Trish who inspire and delight me.

I mentioned my husband earlier, but I want to publicly express my gratitude to him.  Without Rich, I would not have been able to start this business.  No doubt about it.  It is no easy thing to support your spouse during their first year of business; particularly when entrepreneurial endeavours are a completely foreign concept to you.  We had our ups and downs, but what I am most thankful for is that Rich is an attentive listener.  We communicate well.  We make time, we sit, we talk, and most importantly, we LISTEN.

Perhaps what I am most grateful for, (which might sound kind of selfish,) is my own growth.  I have learned SO MUCH this year; about everything from bookkeeping to sump pumps to lighting set-ups!  And one of the biggest gifts was being reminded that 'mistakes are necessary.'  When I was a classroom teacher, I was always telling my students that I loved it when they made mistakes, because it gave me the opportunity to teach and it gave them the opportunity to learn!  Mistakes represent growth.

One such mistake, (and this was a whopper,) had a particularly beautiful outcome.  It actually occurred in 2010 when I was building my portfolio, but it was only recently that I received the gift that it offered me.

A young woman from Victoria contacted me to book a photo session with her extended family.  Her mother was dying of cancer and she wanted some portraits taken at their home.

As you can imagine, I felt very anxious during the days leading up to this important photo shoot.  I went to their family home ahead of time to scope out the location.  I followed the weather forecast and fretted about the lighting when I realized that it was going to be a bright, sunny day.  I checked and triple checked my equipment before leaving my house on the day of the shoot.  I was nervous.

I needn't have been, though.  The family was wonderful and the tone was light.  There were grandchildren running around, people were laughing, the scenery was stunning, and everyone was doing their best to hide their heavy hearts.

The photo shoot went smoothly and I felt great about the shots that I got.   I got home and breathed a huge sigh of relief.  It wasn't until that evening, when I started editing the photos that I realized I'd taken them all in the smallest possible format, meaning that the images would start to pixelate if they were blown up larger than about 8x10.  I knew that the family wanted some large portraits and I had intended to shoot in RAW format.  I'd blown it.  Every shot was the same size.

I felt physically ill.  I paced around the house, I perspired, I sat with my head in my hands in a state of utter disbelief.  I think I said, "How could I be so stupid?" to myself fifty times.  It was not my finest hour.

After exhausting all options, I knew that I had to call my client and tell her about my mistake.  With any luck, we could schedule another shoot before the daughter's family returned to Victoria.  It was an awful phone call.  There was no way that I could sugar coat things, I had to swallow my pride and confess my error.  My client was disappointed.  It had taken so much out of her mother to go through the first photo shoot, she didn't know if she could ask it of her again.  Especially so soon.  I promised it would be a shorter session.  We knew the shots that worked best.  We'd done it all before.

After an agonizing half-day of waiting for a response,  the daughter phoned me back to arrange another session for the next day.  Again, I was very anxious about the shoot.  We had all left on such wonderful terms after our first photo session, and now I would see them all again and admit, in-person, that I had made a mistake.

Once again, the family was amazing.  They went out of their way to make ME feel at ease!  "We shouldn't have distracted you while you were trying to set up," the husband said to me.  I felt humbled.  And grateful.

The second shoot went faster than the first, and before an hour had passed, I had all that I needed.  As a gift, I burned two discs of images for the family.  One from the first shoot and one from the second session.  It was the least I could do.

Needless to say, I haven't made that error since and I doubt I will ever make it again.  The lesson is a reward in itself, but the real gift came this past fall when I received an email from the daughter.  Her the mother had passed away, and her daughter was writing to thank me for the images I had taken the past summer.  She wrote that many of the photos I had taken were used in a slideshow for her mother's celebration of life.  She said that it was a real blessing that we'd had to have two sessions, because there were so many wonderful photos as a result.  A blessing.

(Here is one of my favourite shots from the first shoot:)

Does everyone witness such moments in their line of work?  I hope so.

So, thank you one and all for everything you've done, in large part or in small, for contributing to my  successful first year of business.  I appreciate you.  (Even the fact that you've taken the time to read my ramblings is very much appreciated, and will not be taken for granted!)

I hope that your hearts are filled with gratitude as you welcome the new year.  May 2012 be a year of continued growth for us all.

Peace and love to you and yours,
Karen

More than a Home for Sale | Comox Valley Photographer

There are a lot of fabulous aspects to my job, but one of the things I appreciate most is the variety it provides.  For instance, I typically photograph people, but a couple of weeks ago I was hired to take some interior shots of a beautiful home in Comox that has just been put on the market.  What made my task even more fun, was the request to create artistic images that showed specific details of the home.

I like to think of homes having a personality and this one certainly does.  It's inviting and warm, yet stylish and unique.   Have a look for yourself, and if you're interested in learning more, visit Glenn Proctor's site.