happy friday | 10.5.12

happy friday!!

enjoy these from a recent session in sunny portland! 

(didn't expect that adjective, did you?)

 these two make me melt!

 i really think i'd give this one anything he asked for.

(he may be on to me.)

 and what mama wouldn't love this one?

to have her face framed by her daughters embrace!

it reminds me so much of this article called 'the mom stays in the picture' by allison tate:

(thank you daisy for sending it my way!)

the friend above is a photographer herself 

and like many of us, stays behind the camera most of the time.

but read this below from the article:

Too much of a mama's life goes undocumented and unseen. People, including my children, don't see the way I make sure my kids' favorite stuffed animals are on their beds at night. They don't know how I walk the grocery store aisles looking for treats that will thrill them for a special day. They don't know that I saved their side-snap, paper-thin baby shirts from the hospital where they were born or their little hospital bracelets in keepsake boxes high on the top shelves of their closets. They don't see me tossing and turning in bed wondering if I am doing an okay job as a mother, if they are okay in their schools, where we should take them for a vacation, what we should do for their birthdays. I'm up long past the news on Christmas Eve wrapping presents and eating cookies and milk, and I spend hours hunting the Internet and the local Targets for specially-requested Halloween costumes and birthday presents. They don't see any of that.

it's true. so much of what makes us GREAT as parents often remains unseen.

even to our children.

so why not be in photos with them?

or book that shoot you've been dreaming of having?

i know it takes bravery to put yourself out there and get in the photos, 

but just in case you need a little more motivation, read below:

I'm everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with them. Someday I won't be here -- and I don't know if that someday is tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now -- but I want them to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect to love, but I am perfectly their mother.

when i began this journey as a family photographer, 

i had no idea how many women would feel so uncomfortable being in photos.

it's honestly been heartbreaking to watch women beat themselves up.

i think that's why i love what allison has to say.

taking photos with your kids is one more way

 to leave a lasting impression of love on them.

you are, after all, perfectly their mother. ;) (or father.)

have a happy friday all!!

xo.

happy friday | 9.21.12

in order to give you a good laugh today,

i'm going to sacrifice my dignity

and share some old high school photos.

also, i happen to be attending my reunion next weekend,

so there's that.

GO PHS!!

this is exactly how i left those people:

the gold chain adds class.

 lovely long pink nails to go with the gold jewelry.

and good thing the blinds were closed behind me.

no joke, i loved this dress! shoulder pads and all.

and this last one might just be my most favorite pose.

i'd like to call it "the jail break."

what you can't see is the awesome v-dip in the back of the sweater.

oh yeah, baby!

happy hairspray friday to you all!!

xo. kp

k is for kindergarten.

hello.

my name is elliot prentiss

and i didn't write this, but my mom is pretending i did.

she can be controlling like that.

for example, i'm having a really big day today.

it's my first day of kindergarten.

i know!! it's a big deal, right?

so, guess what my mom makes me do?

take a picture.

but not just a picture, she tells me i have to make a 'k' in sign language with my hand

because 'k' is for kindergarten.

so i did:

i was concentrating hard.

you know, the 'k' isn't that easy to make.

but i did it.

and as a thank you, my mom tells me that i look too serious.

fine.

i'll smile:

i should have been done by this time and off to start my new life as a kindergartener.

but then, again, she says, "you need to turn your hand around. so people can see the 'k'."

fine. and then these two jump in the picture.

don't they have places to go too?

 finally, my mom says i can put the 'k' down.

i'm FREE TO BE ME!!

 i'm so excited, i'm so excited, i'm so... can we go now?

good thing i can show these people how to get to school.

 looks like this is where the magic will be happening all year:

 and lucky me! i'm sat right by beatrice!! that cute girl from preschool two years ago!

i have to give sis a BIG hug. she might be feeling a little nervous.

same with these two:

 they're going to need all the encouragement they can get this year.

after all, they tend to think i'm still their baby,

but hello!!?? 

i'm in KINDERGARTEN!

peace out and word to your mother,

elliot.

(the greatest kindergartener that ever was.)

happy friday | 8.31.12

guess where we finally went on wednesday?

yep. sauvie island.

one of my most favorite places in oregon!

(specifically sauvie island farms).

 thanks to my friend meg (great idea!!)

we got our hands dirty!

 (isn't she so pretty?)

 but the reward was delicious!

 after picking blackberries,

we headed to the sauvie island beach.

 and did some of this:

it was the perfect summer excursion!

so thankful for the getaway.

i needed it so bad.

school starts wednesday after labor day for us.

so happy last friday of summer!!

hope you all get out and enjoy your surroundings!

xo.

happy friday | 8.17.12

amazing people have surrounded me since the beginning of starting my business.

people who believed in what i was doing.

people who hired me in the very beginning.

people who cheered me on.

i'm forever grateful.

and i want to marry you.

but still, working solo has it's challenges.

you have to be a jill of all trades and fill every need that arises.

(not to mention, claim every mistake.)

the learning curve is huge.

but surprisingly, i haven't felt so alone in this because of those around me.

this weekend, i'm working with a special one of you.

perhaps my biggest helper along the way.

she happens to be the creative genius behind my logo,

business cards, header, cd covers, etc. 

i also took my very first photography class with her in college!

(i'm convinced she's WAY more talented than i am. it's true.)

but more than that, she's someone i can call,

ask to drop everything and help me figure something out.

i can complain about photoshop to her

and she just laughs and then feels sorry for me. ;)

etc. etc. etc.

she's my etc. friend.

because it's too hard to explain all the ways she fills in for me.

so when i think of pulling away to work my butt off for a weekend,

i naturally think of her meeting me.

AND to make it even specialer, it just so happens to be my birthday weekend.

so off we go.

tonight, i fly out to denver. 

(halfway for ATL & PDX)

YIPPEE!!

carrying a few clothes, my laptop, tons of ambition,

and giddy excitement that i get to work right beside the one i've called on for help all of these years.

guess what i'm going to be working on??

a new website!!

i can't wait to look through all of my photos of some of YOU to put in there!!

(want one in? a special favorite you think should be included? let me know!!)

(keri will be working on this: bloom market! check it out and mark your calendars if you're in atl!)

you know you love what you do when you want to work on your birthday!

right?!

so happy friday!

happy birthday to me tomorrow!

and happy new website that i hope to be launching soon!!

if you haven't already, check out my facebook page 

and LIKE it... consider it a birthday gift to me! ;)

(or follow me on twitter.)

(for now, this is how you'll find out about deals, specials, and my travel schedule.

don't miss out!)

happy friday | 8.10.12

i recently had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot with a dear family

at sokol blosser winery.

the place was stunning.

the staff were so helpful.

(and afterwards, the wine was tasty!)

the shoot was of the extended family who were all gathered together for a wedding.

the mother of the bride had contacted me because she wanted a casual shoot

of the family together the day before the wedding.

it was a photoshoot for her, giving her the freedom to have the pictures that she wants

and the freedom to relax and enjoy the wedding the next day.

(i love the idea so much that i'm tucking it away for the future!)

and it just so happens that this type of casual and natural photoshoots are

exactly what i love to do!

yesterday, i was working on the collection of shots i took and i found this one.

it made me pause.

and it made me hopeful and thankful.

when i saw it, 

i thought,

"if you can do this for each other

for the rest of your lives you'll be fine."

there is a mystery to marriage shown in this moment
of connection, humor and love.

i've spent a good deal of time thinking of my own marriage this summer year lifetime.

and one thing i'm truly thankful for is how brian and i can laugh together.

a sense of humor might be one of the best gifts you can bring into your marriage
and i'm pretty sure that if you can keep laughing, you'll get through almost anything.

so to alex and sam (bride and groom above),

i want to say CONGRATS to you!! 

my hope is that your wedding day was filled with laughter

as well as the rest of your lives together.

i'm looking forward to editing the rest of your family's photos,

but until then, enjoy this moment.

i'm thankful to have captured it.

to my blog readers, 

i know it's been a while. 

i've given myself permission to break from this and other things this summer.

but i have missed you all!!

and i'm happy to be back for a moment to wish you all 

a happy friday!!

xo.