PROM PRICING

SaveSave

Run

When running is a Need.

Daddy

A boy and his daddy.

Hunter worked as my assistant for several years and as a result I got many great shots of him while I tested light. He was fifteen years old here. Hard to believe he's eighteen now.

Ready for Spring

       I've decided to not overcomplicate the blogging and just post an image when I can. Who knows how long that will last! It's been a mild winter so far but ran across this shot and it made me excited for spring.

Green Grass

      We have had a really rough winter this year.  It was fun at first. I mean, if you have to endure the cold of winter, you may as well have something pretty and white to look at.  But I'm ready for the warmth of summer now.  I forgot all about this little group of images I took last year until I ran across them a few days ago.  There are some grumpy little boy faces because I forced them to get out of the pool, put their shirts on, and comb their hair.  I get it, who would want to pose for a camera when you could be swimming.  But I knew there would be a moment in the dead of winter when I would long for the green, green grass these images would provide.  I take tons of candids (too many) but every once in awhile, I like a nice posed image.  Summer is just around the corner.

A Fresh Snow

Warming cold hands after posing for mom.

      I am the opposite of a winter person.  Give me summer heat any day over the cold dreary days of winter.  But I can't deny the beauty of a good snow.  Those first few hours while everything looks perfect and white are incredible.  Of course reality of its mess sets in when you're slushing through the parking lot of target and can't fathom where all the mud and dirt came from.  Snow can be a little difficult to shoot in but I always love a good challenge when shooting.  It's a little like shooting the exit of a bride and groom while people are throwing bird seed or rice.  The camera tends to grab the little pieces in front and you lose the focus on the face.  You also have to be careful of overexposure with all of the white.  That's more of an issue on a sunny day but not too big of a problem with overcast skies.  The biggest challenge for me was to put an 8 year old in the snow and tell him not to roll around in it.  Of course we had to end with a few snow balls!

Fall 2013

Tricks

      Visits from the cousins always equal fun times in the studio.  Little ones usually have their own ideas of how they would like a session to go so as a photographer you just roll with it.  A few tricks that have worked for me...up high equals a slower exit, squeaky toys sometimes provide a welcome distraction, always tell big sister or brother how helpful they are and what a great job they're doing, and utilize dad and mom to make silly faces right above the camera for a smile.  

New Backdrop

      I usually grab the nearest kid, dog, or stuffed animal to test lights for a new shoot.  Hunter happened to be walking by this morning so he was the lucky winner.  Isn't he handsome, pjs and all???  I have a few new backdrops to play with and I'm loving this neutral gray.

Weddings

Baby Conway

 Introducing Conway Michael Willis, the newest little addition to our family.  I have loved capturing all of my nieces and nephews as they grow up and I'm so happy to have a new little one to experiment on. Dad and mom have their hands full with this bunch, three under four years old!  Congratulations Mike and Jen!

All three kiddos as babies. 

Distressing Furniture

      It's been a little too long between blog posts so obviously I haven't caught on to this blogging thing well.  My biggest problem was figuring out how to even log on to the account and if the problem takes longer than two minutes to fix I will often avoid it.  Soooooo, here we go again!!!

      I have officially jumped on the furniture painting bandwagon.  Actually, the furniture distressing bandwagon.  I usually acquire projects throughout the year and wait for inspiration to complete them.  I kept seeing all of these cool distressing techniques on pinterest and after lots of procrastination, I jumped in feet first.  I have always been that weird girl who will take a metal lamp and paint it white (much to the chagrin of my Sherwin Williams trained husband).  But I wanted to take my painting to the next level, and I am super happy with the results.  I got so excited about it, I started looking for things around my house to distress.  I may even distress my kids if they hold still long enough!!

Kids Chair studio prop.  Cost $2.00 at the Flea Market.

Distressed this little table and chairs just to give it a different look.  

Found this little set for $30.00.  Gave it an updated color and distressed the finish for the inevitable wear it
is about to receive to my wonderful family.

Hand me down from mom who can't help but buy things if they are marked low enough.
She handed that trait down to me...

Fall/Christmas

      I was blessed with a very successful Fall/Christmas season and am very thankful for each and every client who trusted me to be their photographer.  I didn't send out the usual email or advertisements this year and still had lots of appointments to fill the open days.  Every year I shoot I learn a little more about how I will approach the next season and make it better than ever.  There never seems to be enough hours in the day to learn everything I want to learn about this business.  Whether it's learning new techniques in editing or trying out new poses in shooting, there is one thing I know for sure.  I will NEVER know everything there is to know about photography!  Thank you for your patience, trust, and friendship!!

Haircuts

      It happens every October.  I prepare for it and even know it's coming and I still get caught up in the whirlwind of fall family sessions.  I am always so humbled by the amount of people who choose me out of the Many photographers out there to take their family pictures.  I get so busy making their families beautiful that I sometimes forget about making sure my own family is picture ready.  This year I decided I was going to pick my favorite session spot and take a few pics of my own kids.  Maybe I would even get inspired to print a few.  I had a cancellation one day and told the boys to get dressed and we would run and take a few pictures.  (I may or may not have bribed them with McDonalds for lunch.)  Drove to our spot, got the kids in place, and looked through my camera to check my lighting.  It was then that I realized my kids had not had a haircut since, well, I don't know when.  I just had to sit there and laugh.  Not that they were complaining!  Haircuts are not exactly something they look forward to.  I snapped a few anyway because this is what they looked like at that moment in time.  Long hair and all! We found another day, (rainy day actually) got haircuts and took another set of shots.  I love my handsome boys.

Organization

Mom's desperate attempt to pose two wiggly little boys.

      Just a few more minutes on facebook and I'll get back to work.  One or two more pins on pinterest or I'll read one more blog and I promise, a solid hour of work with no distractions.  Sound familiar???  Or maybe it's just the way I work...  Brian is always criticizing my work ethic, or lack there of.  I just don't like schedules.  I think it's why I am drawn to this business of photography.  You make your own schedule and have the creative freedom to play.  But I have learned that it does take balance.  And, wait for it.....organization...!!!!  Okay, to clarify I do love things that are organized.  I have a closet full of organization tools just waiting to be used.  In fact, I just created a board on pinterest completely dedicated to organization.  (Aren't you proud?)  Things run more smoothly when I'm organized.  It's just the getting there part that seems to fall apart for me.  If you come to my home for a meal or visit you won't notice much out of the ordinary.  I'm just warning you, don't open up any of the cabinets, drawers, or closets.  You may be injured if you do.  I would post a picture but that would require me finding my point and shoot Nikon or deleting pictures from my iphone because I keep getting the message that it's too full to take pictures.  And I'm just too busy writing a new post on my blog for that.  By the way, I have a wedding to work on and this was only supposed to last a few minutes...

Pinterest

      Like many people, I'm using Pinterest more and more in my business.  It's fun to use images as inspiration for my own shots and put my own spin on pictures I love.  There is a never ending amount of inspiration out there and I could probably spend an entire day just playing and pinning.  There are times, however, when it can be a bit of a hinderance.  I've had clients come to me with ideas they have seen on Pinterest but ended up disappointed we couldn't capture the exact shot.  It could be limited equipment, different lighting, or a child who is just the wrong age.  As long as we have freedom to play with angles and ideas within an inspiration shot, we can usually come up with some pretty fun stuff.  I always appreciate a client pointing out shots they love.  It helps me, the photographer, to provide an image that you, the client, will love!!

http://pinterest.com/verdierphoto/