Highsmith Family • March 2014

Yes, March. Yes, I'm really that behind. Wow. Oh, well! I'm getting it done! Right??

I was so pleased this family was my first shoot of the spring season. To make a commitment to getting family portraits with an infant is a big one and even though their littlest one was feeling a little grouchy, we were still able to nab a few beautiful shots. Okay, a lot. This family are pretty effortlessly adorable.

See for yourself…

Nugent Family • December 2013 • North Bend, WA

Happy New Year, all! The passing of Christmas means I get to blog some past shoots I have been sitting on. Yay!

Despite the frigid temperatures (no lie, it was below 30), this family was committed to getting some beautiful shots and that we did! The benefit of also being a runner? I discover gorgeous locations you can't see when you are driving, which is exactly how I found this gem. I can't wait to keep coming back to this place because the light, background and open space is truly magical.

Guichard Family • November 2013 • Preston, WA

One of the coolest things about being a photographer is when old friends seek you out to capture their families. Kimi and I have known each other since elementary school and grew up in the same neighborhood. While we were shooting, it hit me how surreal it was to see her and her beautiful family and the honor I felt to be capturing the love between them all. What an honor!

Cowart Family • September 2013 • Snoqualmie, WA

There isn't much I appreciate more than committed clients. Going into a family shoot with a 1.5 and 3 year old is no easy task. Not only did this mom execute the styling of her brood with expert hands, both Mom and Dad were patient and willing to put in the time to getting the shots. Not to mention, their adorable girls were absolutely joyful and it is capturing this joy on camera that makes what I do a blessing.

At the end of the day, I am still a mom with a camera...

I have seen a lot of successes over the past year with my career in photography. For that, I am truly blessed. My husband and family has been ever supportive of and patient with my continuous growth over the past 5 years of being in business and that is a blessing, too. Probably more than they realize.

I have been so lucky to get to know my clients at milestones in their lives and capturing those moments for them continues to bring me more joy than it probably should. Needless to say, I love what I do but it was not come by easily. I have had to work very hard to maintain the balance between work and life, as we all must. I am no expert in this arena and I continue to learn what it takes to remain level-headed.

When it all boils down to it, I am still a devoted mom with a really nice camera and sometimes I must force myself to lug it about to capture my own children's milestones. This time of year brings so many. I am emotional today for many reasons. I saw my oldest child off to her first day of first grade today. I sang happy birthday to my youngest, who turns 4 today. Even as I write this post, my eyes are welling with tears.

We all get caught up in the chaos of parenthood, work and maintaining our personal and business relationships and it can be easy to forget to stop and take time to be in the present. Especially when you have clients waiting on you, kids asking for you, dinner to be cooked, groceries to be bought, school to prepare for. It seems it never ends. It can be overwhelming. At least for me.

So, this post is really a release for me. It is important for me to show all of you that I am still a human being. I love being a person other photographers come to to ask questions. I am just like you. A parent, a teacher, an artist. And it is often a battle to maintain the balance.

This post is also a dedication to my two beautiful children and my awesome husband, whom I adore more than life itself. I am so proud of all of you and feel fortunate to have you in my life! You are the reasons I get up in the morning and do all that I do!

Happy first day of first grade, Anja! 

Being 4 means being still very small...but also a perpetually cool dude.

Asher Simcha, My Sweet Nephew • 9 Months

I have been on a terrible non-blogging streak! I am so backed up and in the throngs of senior season so I'm just starting to get to images that haven't been touched. Sometimes, a little time makes them even more precious. That is why I love what I do! Moments pass too fast and never come again!

My sister came into town from the East coast back in June and I got to meet her son, my nephew, for the first time. He is the sweetest, funniest, roll-polliest little thing. He looks exactly like my sister looked like when she was a baby.

And today, is his daddy's birthday...so happy birthday to Nate, who I don't know very well, but you make cute kids with my sister, so keep up the good work! ;)

Service Highlight • Custom Wall Design

We are continually adding to the services we offer. Custom wall design is one of our newest services. If you have a wall in your home you'd like to dedicate some beautiful images of your family to, one fee covers your photo session, cost of the collection, delivery and installation in your home. You can even see the collection on the wall before you hang it with our virtual wall design service, which is also included in the fee. All you have to do is send us a picture of the wall you'd like to design (or we can come in and do it for you!), with a piece of 8.5"x11" paper taped to it for scaling purposes and we will provide you with a mock up of what your selected collection will look like. All of our framed prints and other types of wall collections are from our amazing lab, White House Custom Colour. The collection we are using as an example is our Classic Black & White Collection. It's a clean and simple, classic way to decorate a wall with beautiful high-key black and white portraits we took in-studio.

This is an image captured of a wall in my new office I'd like to see some sweet pictures of my kids on. I took the picture with my iPhone 5. Note the letter-size piece of paper. That is a key element in getting an accurate mockup of your collection. Your wall picture doesn't have to be fancy...it just needs to show the whole wall and some of the surrounding space. 

We never pass up an opportunity to rave about our lab, WHCC, and the products they offer. From traditional framed prints to metal prints to canvas float wraps and everything in between, we are proud to provide our clients with their products matched with our work to create beautiful custom decor to fit any aesthetic.

So remember that TPD Studios is your one-stop shop for decorating your home with portraits (we do fine art, too!). We shoot, design, frame, deliver and install!

And, of course, any opportunity I get to showcase my two favorite little people, I will take. :)

I'm Heading Back to creativeLIVE!!!!!

First, I need to thank creativeLIVE for bringing such incredible continuing education to the masses for FREE. If you still don't know who they are and what they do, please go check them out at creativelive.com. No matter what level you are at, there is always something to learn and even if you turn on a workshop for just 5 minutes, you are bound to learn at least one thing. You will walk away wiser. I guarantee it. And the community they are building among alumni of their workshops is the first genuine online photography community I have ever been a part of. I am honored to be called back to be in another workshop.

This time, I'll be learning Lori Nordstrom's Real Kids System. I am so excited for this. Children's photography is very near and dear to my heart. I love capturing children and their different personalities. I'm lucky enough to be blessed with two of my own to experiment with, which I do, relentlessly, often to their chagrin. I can't wait to learn more about marketing this product within my business. Photographer friends, you need to watch this. If you've never watched a creativeLIVE workshop, let this be your first. Plus, you'll be able to see my shining face learning right along side you! Visit http://www.creativelive.com/courses/real-kids-photo-system-lori-nordstrom for more information on how to enroll and where to watch!

In honor of my participation, here are some sweeties to feast your eyes upon! Can't wait to learn and grow this weekend! Thank you, Lori, for selecting me! Can't wait to meet you!

Snyder Family • Gorgeous Fall Portraits

There is a park in North Bend that is full of sugar maples and oaks that change to the most beautiful blend of fall colors near the end of October and if one can dodge the rain, it is the perfect backdrop for family portraits. The Snyder family has been with me from the time I started out and it is clients like them that make my job awesome. Of course, it helps that they are all model quality individuals!!

I have been pouring through Tamara Lackey's book, Envisioning Family, for inspiration. If you are a family photographer, this is a MUST for your book shelf. It is amazing!

Guess what? Yep, another creativeLIVE submission!

Children's photography is near and dear to my heart and it would be so incredible to be able to attend this workshop!

NW Summer Exposé

Check out today's post on Facebook! Be sure to click 'Like'!

Gold Creek Pond - Perfect Backdrop for an Outdoorsy Family

Gold Creek Pond is a gorgeous location on Snoqualmie Pass that boasts a paved loop all the way around the lake, including wooded boardwalks and foot bridges that offer great backdrops for family and children's portraiture.

While it is a bit of a drive and requires a Northwest Forest Pass ($5 at various locations around the valley), the sweeping mountain views and glacial waters are well worth it.

I would love to book some sessions up here!

For more information about Gold Creek Pond, click here.

First Birthday Shoot/First Blog Post!

What better way to kick off my first official blog post with a sneak peek from a recent first birthday session? Okay, I know tons of my friends are rolling their eyes. I've started so many blogs. I've made excuses. I've never maintained. But this time is different. 

My life was changed when I attended an amazing photography workshop put on by creativeLIVE recently. It was led by the incomparable Jules Bianchi of Jules Bianchi Photography and her equally talented marketing guru twin sister, Joy. Over the course of three days, they inspired me, they validated me and they gave me a renewed sense of excitement for making my photography studio more successful. I am truly grateful for that experience. 

I am even more grateful for the growing handful of clients who have been faithful to me and have believed in my work from the very beginning. Like Randi, Kara's awesome mom. (Kara is that little sweetheart pictured above.) Her mom and I went to high school together. We sang in choir together. We grew up then reconnected. Then I shot her engagement session. Then her wedding (which was on my birthday two years ago so I never forget her anniversary!). And now I am taking pictures of her child. I am blessed to have clients I have developed an ongoing relationship with who appreciate my work and continue to come back to me. I love seeing their lives unfold and love giving them something to remember those moments with.

Happy 1st Birthday, Kara! Can't wait to watch you grow some more!

(I also need to give a huge shout out to my uncle, Michael Bunch, for telling me about this workshop and suggesting I submit a video to be considered as a live studio audience member. I never would had this experience if it hadn't been for him. Thanks, Michael!)