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Sunday, August 05, 2012

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Bye, Blogger...

This is my last official post on this blog! I have a beautiful new blog- check it out!

CLICK HERE! Bookmark it, I'll be making new posts there starting..... now!

The new blog will be in the process of being loaded up with new content, so the galleries are empty at this point. But be sure to click on my seniors link to check out my brand new seniors website! I also have a separate seniors facebook page so be sure to "like" it to see all of my latest senior work. That season is right around the corner!

Blogger has been great all these years, but with a new camera system I wanted to start fresh. Thanks to everyone for continue to read this and follow my work. Love you all!

-Olivia


Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Modeling sessions update...

I am still currently gathering modeling session applicants. If you are interested, please contact me for an application. My schedule will be busy over the next week or two. I am working on a new blog (YAY!) and I will be scheduling and shooting these sessions to fill my blogsite with loads of new content/photos. It is all a long, tedious process so if you haven't heard anything yet, don't be discouraged. I just haven't been able to get to everyone yet! I'm so excited for the big unveiling of a brand new blog and new work but until then, sit tight! There is lots going on behind the scenes.

I am loving my new camera! It has awoken a passion in me of wanting to capture even the day to day moments with my kids. They've been my only practice so far but I am so excited!

Here is a sunset shot I grabbed of Aidan at the park last night:


New exciting things to come!

-Olivia

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Free modeling sessions in April!


Hello. Meet my new camera! I have officially made the switch this week as my new camera arrives tomorrow and the last of my Canon gear gets sold off this week. I could not be more excited, I truly feel like it is a re-birth for me. Many will say, it's not the camera that matters it's the photographer, which I agree to be true but a beautiful new camera just adds to the fun! I am so excited to get out and create! 

Since I am not going to want to put this thing down, I am offering FREE modeling sessions during the entire month of April. You will receive: 

-styling guide for what to wear
-45 minute outdoor location
-8x10 print
-online ordering gallery for additional purchases

*additional purchases are not required- all print and product is available at my current rates

Please contact me to book a session. Dates will be limited so act fast!

I am open to all subjects, but am specifically looking for styled families or styled kids. There are so many great colorful clothes out right now and this weather has been perfect!
 

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Apply to be a Senior Socialite!


Please email me to receive an application! I will be taking applications through the month of March. The Socialite sessions must be photographed in April. You will be contacted if you are chosen... only 2 Socialites per school!

Schools I have photographed for: 
New Prague Senior High
Mankato West Senior High
Mankato East Senior High
Shattuck- St. Mary's School
Hill Murray High School
Mounds Park Academy
Academy of Holy Angels

I would love to add your school to the list! If you know a Class of 2013 Senior, please pass this along! I would love to work with you!

I have some MAJOR things in store for my 2013 seniors... stay tuned!

Hotel mini's sneak peeks!

These were such a blast! The Penthouse Suite at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel in Minneapolis was the most amazing place to hang out for the day!





Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Cake Pop Mania!

I have a new obsession... these tasty little bites of heaven that I am consumed with creating! If you follow my blog, you know I love to bake. I bake lots of things, but my favorite things combine baking and art. I love to bake brownies that look like eyeballs, or spritz cookies that I can pretty up with sprinkles or colored dough. I basically love to pretend I am Martha Stewart! It compliments my artsy side along with my need to be precise and exact. I also love creating cute things, showing them off and hearing the "ooooh's and ahhhh's." These cake pops do it all for me, and they're absolutely delicious! That part is a perk and a downfall. :( My waistline is not happy about that one!

My friend Kayla and I got together one day to try our hand at cake pops for her daughter's birthday party and we both fell in love! We are also both very invested in cute little sprinkles, mini-cookie cutters, and lots and lots of lollipop sticks!

We are looking for someone that has an upcoming event and would like their event to be adorned with these cute little creations. Please contact me if you have a kids birthday party, baby shower, or other event approaching. We would be happy to supply pops free of charge to give us an excuse to get together and create! We will choose the event with the best theme so give us a challenge, and if you are chosen we'll surprise you with what we come up with!

p.s. In case you are unfamiliar with cake pops- it is any flavor of baked, crumbled cake mixed with frosting, rolled into balls, dipped and decorated. They stay moist and have a texture similar to a truffle. They are DIVINE!


This is not the last you'll hear of our creations, so stay tuned!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Packaging.

Packaging client orders is my favorite. It's like Christmastime!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Outdoor session in February?

I can't believe that we were able to have an outdoor session in February! We popped outside for some shots of the kids and it felt great to breathe in some fresh air! Just a little sneak peek of these adorable kids...




Erica + Erik | farm love

Erica and Eric are engaged! Eric is a cattle farmer so they chose to shoot their session at a friend's farm.







Congratulations E+E! I look forward to your wedding in June!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Lego themed birthday party!

My two youngest boys were born 6 years and two weeks apart so it only makes sense that they share a party date, at least for the time being while they don't mind. Oliver has a Valentine's Day birthday so it is a tradition that I bake him a heart shaped birthday cake. He started off his morning opening up his new present- a mini-trampoline! Needless to say, it was a big hit!

The mustache... he had it painted at school but I love what it adds to the picture!
This year I made my own Lego invitations. Here is what I used (everything is available at Michael's):

12x12 primary color card stock paper
Recollections brand 1.5" circle die cutter
ArtMinds brand pre-cut foam mounting tape or foam mounting dots (found in adhesives aisle)
Crayola colored pencils

Each 12x12 sheet makes two invitations. My invitations measured 6"x 3.75". A paper cutter is a huge timesaver for this project. I cut each 12x12 in half creating two 6"x12" strips. Then I cut the 12" side down to 7.5". With the 4.5" scrap portion, I used the circle cutter to punch out the 6 dots that will mount to the folded invitation. I used coordinating colored pencils to write "Lego" on each dot before mounting them.

The computer fonts I used for the invite were: Claire Hand (main body) and Helvetica ("Ages 2+8").

Each 12x12 could produce three 4"x4" invitations if you chose to design 4 dot Lego blocks. I liked the look of the 6 dot Lego blocks.

Each party guest received a custom made Lego block of soap that I purchased from this Etsy store. I cannot recommend them enough! They were so great to work with. They packaged them individually and created these cute little tags which were a nice surprise.

I knew I wanted a cool Lego cake and although I love to bake, I decided to leave this project up to the professionals! I booked Sweet Simplicity Confections. She is Ellen Bartyzal and she is based in New Prague. She did such a great job of taking the internet photos I found and brought them to life!


These cake pops were so delicious! So delicious that they inspired me to try my hand at them. I recently purchased some cake pop supplies to give it a try (this will be another blog post).
Ellen presented them in this fun Lego block carrier. Her husband drilled holes into the bricks to push them through. I love how hard core that is!


I loved how the cake turned out! Thanks for everything Ellen!
As fashion obsessed as I am, the boys had to have a cute birthday outfit on! I found these customized Lego logo shirts at this Etsy store. They turned out so cute! I spent the morning doing so many photo shoots that I neglected the fact that I had to feed twenty people! Oh well, everything turned out and the photos were more than worth it!

A rare smile from Aidan. By rare, I mean RARE. I love my boys so much!

A great time was had by all and I had so much fun running with the Lego theme. Party planning is so much fun! Do I smell a new business venture? Ha- I sound like Tori Spelling.

Thanks for reading!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Canon to Nikon --> this girl's plan


I'm dreaming of a new camera... only it isn't the rumored new Canon 5D Mark III (although I am very curious about that!), it is the new Nikon D800. Yep, I'm switching to Nikon. Why? I'll admit it, I never in a million years thought I would switch to Nikon. I have always been a Canon girl. When you buy your first camera you ultimately have to choose. For you non-photographers, Canon and Nikon are like Ford and Chevy. Which one is better? That's tough to say, but most photographers feel strongly either way. For me, it started with almost everyone I know shooting Canon. Once I got to know more photographers, a Nikon shooter would pop up here and there. Now that I am good friends with two different Nikon shooters, I have fallen in love and am excited to make the switch! In my eyes its the best and I have to have the BEST!

The Nikon D800 is currently on pre-order and available next month. I recently priced out all of my equipment for sale and here is a list:

Canon 5D w/grip- pending sale
Canon 30D w/grip
Canon 20D
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L non IS
Canon 50mm f/1.2L- pending sale
Canon 85mm f/1.8 w/hood- pending sale 
Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro w/hood (non L)- pending sale 
Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye- pending sale
Canon 550ex Speedlite- pending sale

pending sale means that there is a buyer for the item but the item has not yet exchanged hands. 

Please contact me for a full price list. Serious inquiries only please. I need a realistic look at my funding for the new Nikon gear. Some of the gear is available for purchase now, but since I am still shooting, some of it isn't available until next month.

Thanks!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Crewcuts | 40% off sale!

What is my favorite? An additional 40% off sale items at J.Crew! A certain handsome little 7 year old of mine is going to look dapper in this Italian chino suit and bowtie for his First Communion this Spring!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Our duck!

We have a new neighborhood pet! She's a muscovy duck and I have no idea where she came from, but this species originates in South America. My boys started noticing her hanging around their bus stop at the corner and she can be seen in a couple of other neighbor's yards including ours. She's not timid and the boys often "follow" her home as she walks the street like a pedestrian. I love her! I hope she sticks around!

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Kayd & Abhrajeet | Eagan Wedding Photographer | Indian Wedding Ceremony

Wow, where do I begin? Kayd and Abhrajeet had an amazing wedding day. Let me preface by saying that they were high school sweethearts and have been together since the 10th grade! Their parents used to have to drive them around when they were dating because they didn't even have their drivers licenses yet, isn't that sweet? You definitely don't hear stories like that these days! Kayd and Abhrajeet celebrated their marriage with both a Catholic ceremony and an Indian ceremony. It was a whirlwind of a day! We started with the first sight and some wedding party portraits, went directly to the church for the Catholic ceremony at St. John Neumann in Eagan, and then directly after the ceremony we all traveled to the Airport Marriott so that everyone could get ready and dressed for the Indian ceremony. There literally was not a moment to spare and being that the wedding took place in November, we ran out of daylight fast. That was a bit of a bummer because I would have loved to photograph all the ladies in their Sarees in some gorgeous natural light but with weddings you can't always control everything.

This was such a big day, I couldn't tell their entire story in one blog post but here are some of my favorites:





At the hotel- there were a limited number of Indian women that could help the wedding party and guests into their Sarees so this getting ready part of the day took some time. The detail and design is so intricate, it's not a matter of putting a dress on. These rolls of fabric were draped, wrapped, and folded onto each woman ever so carefully. It was a beautiful thing to watch!
The results are breathtaking!
This was my first Indian ceremony and it was amazing to watch!
This canopy held by the bride and groom's brothers was placed between them so that they could not see each other initially. The moment it was lifted Kayd had such a great expression and the guests all cheered!
There is a lot of interactive ritual and many, many steps that they need to go through.
I love that not only did the wedding party wear traditional Indian clothing, the parents, family, and many of the guests dressed up as well.
Now this was the absolute best... Kayd and her father did their traditional father/daughter dance and as the end neared... they busted out into THRILLER! This was all planned out and a surprise for all the guests.
Kayd's family and the whole wedding party participated!

This day was such a great example that as a bride and groom- you can make your day exactly how you want it! There is no need to do what everyone else does or follow tradition for the sake of following tradition. In the end, it is your day so live it to remember it how you want it! Thanks K&A for having me!