Photos!

Almost a year ago I won a silent auction at a fundraiser for a photo session.  I decided to cash in on that session for some family/maternity shots.  I LOVE the results!  Some of my favorites below!

(c/o Jessica Kirkland Photography at The Oregon Garden).

TWO Year Photos!

Thanks to a sweet deal through Velour Photography, we got some beautiful photos taken to commemorate Emily turning two years old!  =)  These were taken one rainy day at Laurelhurst Park, here in Portland.

It took Emily a little time to warm up, but once she was allowed to stop posing, and start running, she was all smiles.  =)

1 Year Photos

I found a photographer on Craigslist who was advertising free photo sessions in exchange for work to use for his professional portfolio.  I wanted to get some "official" first year photos done of Emily anyway, so, I e-mailed and set up a session.  We met out at Mount Tabor park one evening for some photo fun.  =)  Here's a couple of my faves!

The Year of the Baby... and New Business

At the end of 2011/beginning of 2012 I was 25 weeks pregnant and had just decided to try to created a little side business for myself doing some portrait photography in order to earn some extra spending money/income for my family.  I had NO IDEA how either of these endeavors was going to go... but I can now report that both turned out fantastically. =)

Today Jacob and I have a beautiful, HAPPY, healthy baby girl.  Emily is 36 weeks old today and surprises us with her intelligence and personality on a daily basis.  I fear that she will be walking by the end of January, which I'm sure will lead to all kinds of fun adventures for us in 2013.  =)

As far a "business" (I hate calling it that... makes it sound so official. lol), I have done better than I ever expected that I would.  I actually made a PROFIT this year!  (Only $20, but I'm just excited that I managed to pay off my camera with the income.  That was my biggest investment this year).  I had about 18 jobs this year... family, seniors, maternity, baby/kid, boudoir... the whole gambit.  It was awesome! 

I am so looking forward to what this coming year will bring!  So far on the horizon is a family vacation to Disneyland in March (will be a first for both Emily and me!) and Emily's first birthday in April.  I can't wait to start the party planning.  ;)

My Baby the Model!

Now that Emily has hit the 7-month mark, I guess that I should finally get around to showing off her "official" 6 month photos... yeah... I'm a little behind (I still have posts waiting that I meant to write in September. lol  One of these days I'll catch up!).

One lovely October afternoon Jacob helped me get some photos taken before the rain came back... here's a sample...

I have one darn cute kid! =)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

For Love & Money

I got my first SLR camera 17 years ago as a birthday gift from my parents.  Olympus OM10.  I LOVED that camera and it served me well all through school.  In high school and college I dabbled in portrait photography for friends and family (mostly senior photos and some couples/engagement stuff), but never charged for services or advertised for more gigs.  For a little while when I moved back to Eugene after undergrad I advertised on Craigslist and got a booking or two, but it didn't really go anywhere.

Last fall my brother and his then-fiance asked me to take their engagement photos.  I hadn't done a shoot in quite some time, and I couldn't believe how happy and energized I felt after that shoot.  I realized that, for my own sanity, I NEEDED to start taking more photos.  And, better yet, with a little one on the way, maybe I could actually add a little somethin' somethin' to the household income.  So, I got to work and created my own little "business". 

It has been almost a year now that I've been advertising and seeking out gigs.  Thanks to family, friends and social networks this first year has been AMAZING!  I have had 13 shoots since last November and have another booked for next month.  I currently have TWO in the post production stage (I actually felt the need to take a day off of my "real" job in order to work on editing!).  I love, love, LOVE this!  I am so happy that I have found a way to do something that I love and something that makes people happy.  I love seeing the comments that people leave on photos on my photo FB page, and seeing people using my work as their profile pics... and, of course, love seeing my photos hanging up in others' homes! I have yet to make a "profit" (still paying off the camera I invested in at the beginning of the year), but I only have to book 3 more shoots before I am out of the "red".  =)  Love.

Here's a link to my website (www.puresimplephotography.com/).  I really did write this post simple to express my gratitude for the people in my life who have helped so much with this over the course of the last year (word of mouth is the BEST kind of advertisement!), but, hey, if you live in Portland/Eugene areas and need some photos taken... let me know. ;)

(P.S.  Looking forward to taking Emily's 6-month photos in a couple of weeks!  She's gonna be absolutely adorable in some of the cute little outfits up I picked up for her this last weekend!)

Family Photos

While we were back in Junction City for the Relay for Life, we had the opportunity to get our first set of family photos taken!  An old classmate of mine does photography as a side gig and came out to my parents place to photograph us.  Here are some of my favorites:

And here's a bonus shot that I took of Emily this same weekend... she's adorable. lol