New in 2013!

Welcome to the new year! I love the possibilities of clean slate and a fresh start. I am making some back-end improvements over here, as well as coming up with new offerings for you. I would like to kick off 2013 by telling you about a couple additions to my service and product offerings:

LOYALTY AND REFERRAL PROGRAM

• Repeat customers get a $25 print credit - perfect for ordering extra images beyond those included in your portrait package, or for any image. Believe me, even when you have the digital images, I know how hard it can be to get prints made. And the print and paper quality that I offer is excellent, and at a cost comparable to other high end photography printing.
• Customer referrals also earn you a $25 print credit - this can be used towards a past or future session, and is good only for new portrait clients to Silver Lining (they must mention your name when booking the session).

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

As I look to save on materials and costs associated with burning and mailing disks (I'm all about running a green business!), not to mention the occasional hassles of computers not being able to read disks, I am going to offer digital downloads as an alternative. You can still request a disk though, the choice is yours. (Note - this applies only to portrait sessions, NOT events.)

And I haven't forgotten that I owe all my fans a giveaway opportunity - look for that next week! Also, I'm planting the bug now that I will be offering Valentine's Day mini sessions at the end of January...stay tuned!

2012 Year in Review

'Tis the season for year in review montages (I love a good montage!) so I decided to put together a month-by-month retrospective of some of my favorite images and sessions of the year. This was no easy task...I have SO many favorites, and I loved working with each and every one of you.

JANUARY                                                          FEBRUARY

MARCH

 APRIL                                                                  MAY

JUNE

JULY 

 AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

And what would a New Year's post be without some resolutions?! Clearly, given the 5+ month long gap since my last blog post, I really need to blog more. I do share a lot on my Facebook page, but there are always so many others that don't make the "sneak peek" cut. I really will try to keep this blog more active!

Also, I have some goals for myself. I still really want to shoot a birth and I would love to second-shoot a wedding. I am entertaining the idea of taking my show on the road this summer to a certain East Coast city (stay tuned!). And above all, I want to continue working on my craft and tweaking my business model. I can confidently say I have improved in both areas, but there's always room to do more. 

I look forward to sharing more images with you in the coming year, and hopefully taking some of you as well! Best wishes for happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous new year - see you in 2013!

xoxo

Kim

K and A - Expecting Twins!

I am so, so excited to share these photos from a beautiful maternity session a couple weekends ago. My dear friend Kristin and her husband Adam are expecting boy and girl twins this fall. As stunning as the backdrop was (we did the shoot at the Terranea), you'll probably agree that my subjects were even more breathtaking!

Anyway, here's a taste of the beauty I got to capture:

New Session Offering - Baby's Birth Day!

When my daughter was born, I think we have like 2 pictures from the hospital stay and neither are much to speak of. We have a bunch of great ones of the baby, but no family shots! I was determined to not have that happen again when my son was born...I brought makeup to the hospital (ha!), and we carefully orchestrated some family photos when my daughter met her new baby brother. My mom was brilliant with the camera, and we used the photo for our birth announcement/thank you cards.

I've been toying with the idea of offering this as a session...let's be honest, I selfishly LOVE visiting new babies! I asked my friends Rebecca and Adam if I could try it out with them. I've gotten such great feedback from these photos when their baby boy was born last week, so I've decided to make it official - Baby's Birth Day Session! I will come to the hospital the first day after you give birth (subject to last minute availability) for a 1/2 hour session. I'll take baby's first portraits, shots with mom and dad, and even siblings meeting for the first time. For $100, you'll get a digital collage of images to share, like the one below, and an online gallery from which to purchase prints a la carte.

Happy birthing!

Eli Turns 1!

It's been so wonderful getting to know Eli and his parents over the last few years...I knew Kim and Scott before Eli came along, and then before we knew it he was celebrating his first birthday! We were at Camp Ramah in Ojai for a Shabbaton and decided that would be the perfect time and place to his 1 year photos. There was no shortage of lush green grass and rustic backdrops, and since we were on a very relaxed schedule we just picked the time when we were ready and did the shoot. Tell me this little guy isn't going to break hearts!

Jillian and Julian - expecting twins!

Jillian and I go way back. And I mean ALL the way back, like to infant-hood! We were babies together with our mommas, so it's incredible to have stayed friends this long to see ourselves becoming mommas. Jillian was there to celebrate with me as I welcomed my kids into the world, and I cannot wait to do the same with her. She and Julian are going to be the best parents. Even if you didn't know them as well as I do, you would know that from the love and affection they show each other. I can't wait to meet Baby Girl and Baby Boy who should be arriving any day now!

Olivia - Brand New!

I got to meet sweet baby Olivia when she was just 1 week old. Those first few days are just so surreal - looking at the tiny person her parents had been dreaming about, and now she's here. It was fun to bring out the pinks and purples from my stash of props, since most of the recent newborns I've photographed have been boys. And the more newborns I shoot, the more I'm starting to better articulate my style. I do some simple "studio set-ups" with blankets, backdrops, and baskets, but what I really love is just capturing the baby and her parents in their home in the most relaxed and natural way. Enjoy these shots of Olivia and her beautiful family!