sweater weather (and fall headshots!)

This fall, I've been bouncing between my home in the Bay Area and the PNW (Pacific Northwest) where my daughter goes to university. While the fall colors in the PNW are a little more showy, this time of year in both places makes me so happy. Cooler temperatures, leaves drifting to the ground, and the other day I shuffled through them for more than a block with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. Being from the east coast where autumn is usually spectacular, my soul feels happy when the summer heat dissipates and my usual uniform of boots and sweaters feels just right.

Headshots PLUS!

Speaking of fall... need some updated headshots this fall with a lifestyle twist? Perhaps you've been looking at the photos on your website and thinking it's time to switch up your summer themed images with cozy boots and sweaters in some streetscape backgrounds? I'd love to work with you on Thursday November 3 in the SF Bay Area. (I may add one more date if November 3 fills up)
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Come meet me for a 30 minute Headshots PLUS session (preceded by a 15 minute "Lashes, Lips and Touch-up" sitting with makeup artist Lisa Tatum) -- we'll capture a mix of natural light headshots and full-body shots, incorporating elements from my full personal branding sessions.
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Click here for more details and to fill out the form if you'd like a spot.
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Beautiful images authentically tell the story of who you are and why you do what you do. Let's collaborate on capturing your story!

Hope to see you for some autumn photos on Headshots Plus day on November 3 or perhaps at a future date! In the meantime, I'll leave you with one of my favorite SNL clips about "sweater weather" with the fabulous Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph.

cheers, and happy fall!

p.s... As well as my usual offerings of headshots, personal branding sessions, and my launch package which includes a Squarespace website alongside a personal branding session, did you know that I also offer food and restaurant packages? Working with food, restaurant spaces, and the people who create delicious food is one of my joys. If you're launching a café or restaurant (or know someone who is) and need beautiful photos of the dishes you create, the space where you serve your customers, and the people who serve it, please reach out!

what's your story?

You may have noticed the moniker at the top of my website refers to Visual Storytelling. When I was developing the look and feel for my business, instead of referring to myself as only a photographer, I wanted a descriptive that felt authentic to me - who I am and not just what I do. On a recent social media post, I introduced myself as a photographer, visual storyteller and content creator. In my former career, I honed my storytelling skills as an animator on film projects for over a decade. It taught me so much about composition, movement, and capturing emotional truths in even the smallest of moments.

When you think about your own story and how to share it with your clients, what is top of mind? Do you think of the classic question “What do you do?” and have ready a one or two word answer, or maybe you’ve even crafted an elevator pitch - something that delivers in a few sentences what you do and why you do it. But there's so much more to us than our job titles and description.

Love your story.

What I love most in my work as a visual storyteller is collaborating with my friends and clients to develop their own visual story to accompany what they bring to the world. Call it personal branding - a common term which I use in my own offerings - or in a more fitting description of how I work: using natural light to create meaningful imagery that tells the story of the people I serve, and creating experiences that transform and empower how my clients fell about themselves and their work.

That's why I do what I do. How about you?

Great photos create a look and more importantly a feeling about you and your offerings - images can tell your story, why you do what you do, and create connections with the people which whom you most want to establish a working relationship. It could be through photos of YOU in a meaningful location that help potential connections envisage what it might be like to work with you; photos that share your work (products, food, art) and you interacting with it; or photos creating genuine moments that show your WHY. I love helping my clients create their own meanings for why they are on the unique path they're traveling, if they haven’t already. It leads to images that aren’t just capturing a moment in time but those deeper emotional truths that make people want to connect and work with you.

I'd love to collaborate with you and tell YOUR story.

This framed print has been a constant in various locations around The Hivery since I joined as a member in 2015. It now lives in my home office, gifted to me by Grace Kraaijvanger. It reminds me every day why I do what I do.

A continuing story…

Part of my story is my time as a team member for The Hivery, an inspirational community built by Founder Grace Kraaijvanger to create meaningful work and empower women. In Grace’s words: a place “to create, to express, to help each other in this story called life.” In my time there, leading up to the pandemic when the spaces closed and the virtual community expanded and grew, I learned how to accept support and help in my journey as a visual storyteller, and how to support other women with their own journeys. Although both physical locations have closed, the community created by Grace and her legion of supporters lives on. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Onward.

cheers,
kim

happy new(-ish) year!

The first week of February is technically still the New Year, right? During the past 11 months of this pandemic and our new altered reality, I often lose track of what day of the week it is - perhaps you are the same? So I say let’s call it New Years.

I’d like to share one way how the pandemic and this past year have shifted my focus not only as a photographer but as a business-owner.

The Pivot

The word “pivot” has been making the rounds to describe how creatives and entrepreneurs are finding new ways to bring their work and their values to new audiences. This includes me!

At the start of the lockdown, I almost immediately found myself sharing my home office with my husband (but more often working on the dining room table to give us some MUCH needed space), and supporting my teenage daughter in adapting to distance learning. Along with that adjustment, I felt the need to find my own pivot. Photography began as a hobby for me many years ago that slowly evolved into a passion and my career. I had continued taking on photography work during my time as Visual Content Producer with The Hivery team, but I now had to do some deep work on assessing what I would offer to my current and hopefully future clients.

Because I couldn’t actually schedule any shoots in the early days of lockdown, I had the opportunity… and the luxury, really… to emotionally and mentally adjust to these new circumstances and take my time with that assessment process.

What was most immediately helpful was reaching out to people I trusted for support and input. Community is key in these crazy times and although we couldn’t meet face-to-face, I kept in close contact with friends and former coworkers who were similarly carving out new paths.

This is an iPhone photo I captured on a walk recently.

At the time I was feeling stuck and needing to overcome inertia, and I equated how I was feeling to this heron frozen in position waiting for the perfect fish and then springing into action.

Let's overcome inertia together....

Marketing Tantrum

While I would like to focus solely on making beautiful images with my camera, there are other aspects to running a business and this year of pivots required me to examine them. Many folks have an Achilles’ heel – tasks they find overwhelming or difficult – and mine is (or was) marketing. Just saying the word raised my anxiety. Over the years, my photography work has luckily been mostly word-of-mouth but all of a sudden, with the re-launching of my business, marketing became a necessary consideration and it felt deeply uncomfortable. Basically, I don't like to bother people. Which becomes an issue when you need to reach the people with whom you're most wanting to work!

I’m not ashamed to say that I had little tantrums about it from time to time. Below is one of those tantrums when I was making some much needed updates to my website, including marketing content, and wanted to escape my computer, the house, and head for the hills.

Grumpy screengrab of my (temporary!) home page.

Luckily I have super smart, kind people in my life who were generous with their knowledge and support, I took advantage of some classes I'd been eyeing, and I began the process of figuring out how to market my business, while maintaining my time and values surrounding visual storytelling - my way of describing the work I do to help my clients tell their visual stories.

If you have faced your own challenges and pivots this past year, I would love to hear about how you identified and confronted them. And I would be thrilled to help support YOU – if you are looking for ways to update the imagery for your business, please reach out.

I’d love to chat with you and share how beautiful, branded photos can tell the story of who you are and why you do what you do.

june 7 on 7 (random paris)

Seven photos on the seventh of the month - a no pressure photo project with like-minded photo friends.  No rules and no themes - just tell a story with some favourite photos from the previous month, and link to the next person in line!
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Why these completely random photos of Paris? Timing is everything. In the middle of a very challenging time in my life, a dear friend and colleague asked if I would be willing to come to Paris to take photos for her design business. Um, yes?

Every morning, I would meet Anne for croissants and café crème and then we would hit the streets, she with a plan, and me following along with my cameras strapped to my back. We sometimes walked more than seven miles a day (never even getting close to tourist destinations like the Eiffel Tower), stopping to take photos at places that had deep meaning for her, and some completely random locations.

We wandered through flower markets.

We walked along the Seine for miles, perusing street vendor booths, stopping often for more coffee to sit and watch people and boats go by.

We had some lovely meals, although my favourite evening of all included making a charcuterie board with friends and dining in simply with wine and conversation.

Anne LaFollette, my friend and travel mate, is a talented pattern designer and has also created amazing classes to teach others what she has learned in the world of pattern design. I love her dearly and pretty much jumped at the chance to shoot in Paris with her for a week. We followed our noses around the city, looking for light, texture and experiences. Such as this moment by the Seine where a charming trash collector decided to jump into the photo with Anne.

Yes, this is the 8th photo.

I’m lucky that I have visited Paris before and didn’t feel any pull to visit any touristy spots. Instead, I’m so grateful for having had the opportunity to experience the city on its own terms. Wander, stop, have coffee, repeat. I can’t wait to go back.

(Stay tuned for more Paris photos from my shoots with Anne soon. And… film!)

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Please visit my talented friend Kris McNeil to see her stunning 7 on 7 photos, 
then click through to the next person in our blog roll to see what we've all been up to.

august 7 on 7

Seven photos on the seventh of the month - a no pressure photo project with like-minded photo friends.  No rules and no themes - just tell a story with some favourite photos from the previous month, and link to the next person in line!
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I didn't even know where to start for this post.  After spending two weeks in the mountains of Alberta, with splendid vistas in literally every direction and amazing experiences with my entire family, I'm supposed to wrap it up with only seven photos?

Let's start with the reflective, emerald, glacier-fed lakes.  As I commented to a friend on Instagram after my third (or fourth or seventh?) lake photo, they are derivative yet irresistible.  And I was thrilled by every single one.

Emerald Lake, AB

Bow Lake, AB

Lake Minnewanka, AB

And then the valleys that go on and on and on....

Bow Valley, AB

And then there was our visit to the "toe" of the Athabasca Glacier.  Where we stood in awe and heartbreak at the amount of recession - hundreds of meters - since my last visit as a teen.

Athabasca Glacier, Columbia Icefields, AB

We hiked, we swam, and we even had high tea at the Banff Springs Hotel. 
Highly recommended.

Banff Springs Hotel, AB

When we returned from our trip, re-entry hit hard.  We clung to our vacation mindset as long as possible with a visit to the beach, but reality hit not long after.  But what a trip, and how lucky we are that we get to return to our adopted home which is just as beautiful.

Stinson Beach, CA

These photos are all from my iPhone.  I took very few on my Canon, but who knows what gems might reveal themselves when I finally get around to processing them.  And these photos, except for the last one of my daughter, don't even touch on the people - my family - with whom I shared this trip.  My parents (who celebrated their 60th anniversary), my sister and nieces, my husband and daughter, and my cousin who lives in the town where we stayed.  There might have to be an August 7 on 7, Part 2!! 
(Click HERE to see more from the trip on Instagram)

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Please visit my friend  Kristina Rust for her stunning 7 on 7 post (the light of Spain, oh my!), 
then click through to the next person in our blog roll to see what we've all been up to.

june 7 on 7

Seven photos on the seventh of the month - a no pressure photo project with like-minded photo friends.  No rules and no themes - just tell a story with some favourite photos from the previous month, and link to the next person in line!
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On Motherhood:

The end of the school year approaches.  My daughter will be graduating middle school and launching into high school this fall.  Like many mothers, I am often surprised at how the time has passed since my daughter entered my life - sometimes like a speeding train and sometimes as slow as a turtle.  When she stands in front of me, her eyes are almost level with mine but the brain plays tricks and I frequently see her as the curly-headed toddler she once was.

For Mother's Day last month, one of the women I work with at my coworking space created a series of short poems commemorating mothers.  Her company Truth To Paper, brings "depth and connection to the world, one poem at a time".

The poem in the center brought tears to my eyes when I first read it.

Since Mother's Day, I've somehow become more aware of time slipping away.  When my daughter was a baby, toddler, and elementary schooler, we spent most of our hours together after school and daycare.  We would come up with fun activities and I always had my little point-and-shoot to capture our little adventures.  She is rapidly becoming more independent but I feel lucky that she still likes to hang with me occasionally, as she did recently at our Memorial Day Carnival where we both played photographer. (see my recent Viewfinders post for more...)

She is an avid dancer and I recently captured her dress rehearsals before her spring performance.  She has increasing grace and poise and I am often taken aback when I see her from afar.  It shouldn't be a surprise, she has taken dance for many years and is passionate about it.  But at a recent audition, she was asked what she loves most about performing and her eloquent answer included how she loves storytelling and incorporating it into her performances.  My visual storyteller's heart swelled with pride.

Outside of the daily grind of parenting, the yelling and impatience and "will you get a MOVE on", the delight in her victories, the trials of middle school and the emotions and heartache that this age brings, I am grateful for being reminded to be present in both the big and small moments. She delights me and frustrates me and breaks my heart and isn't that what motherhood is all about.

Onward.

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Please visit the lovely and talented Kris McNeil for her 7 on 7 post,
then click through to the next person in our blog roll (and so on...) to see what we've all been up to.

may 7 on 7

Seven photos on the seventh of the month - a no pressure photo project with like-minded photo friends.  No rules and no themes - just tell a story with some favourite photos from the previous month, and link to the next person in line!
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Because when roses come into the house on rare occasions, you take their picture.  Hello pretty...

And when two photo friends call you for coffee and a mini photowalk around the docks in Sausalito, you ditch your to-do list and go.  Thank you Chloe and Birgitte for getting me out of the house and making me laugh!  You two are a joy!

Having a tendency to always wonder if I should be doing/accomplishing something different, I appreciated the following reminder....

And sometimes when I'm on a client shoot in a lovely garden, I tend to wander...

Bonus photo: because #TobyTheMoseyDoodle sometimes comes on shoots with me and wonders if now is the right time to ask for a cookie.

Happy May!  Hope spring is busting out wherever you are.

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Please visit the amazing Kristina Rust for her 7 on 7 post, then click through to the next person in our blog roll (and so on...) to see what we've seen.

march 7 on 7

Seven photos on the seventh of the month - a no pressure photo project with like-minded photo friends.  No rules and no themes (unless we spontaneously decide on one) - just tell a story with some favourite photos from the previous month, and then link to the next person in line.

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During our recent getaway to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, we went in search of big skies and desert landscapes.  We found them, and more.

iPhone7

There is something for everyone.... wide open spaces and few people to obscure the view.

Canon 5D Mark II (from my recent Viewfinders post)

The mid-century modern architecture and the vintage cars combined to create visuals straight out of the movies.

iPhone7

Style for days. The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and its diner are a visual delight. I have a special fondness for this location.

iPhone7

We spent a couple of hours in the Palm Springs Air Museum chatting with docents who shared their decades of knowledge with us.

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 5D Mark II

Best of all, my fellow travelers were top notch.

Back home and dreaming of where we'll head next... it doesn't matter whether it's a day trip in the vanagon or further afield.  Just get out the door and go.

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Please visit the lovely Janice of Shine Photo & Design for her 7 on 7 post, then click through to the next person in our blog roll (and so on...) to see where we've all been and what we've seen.

february 7 on 7

Seven photos on the seventh of the month - a no pressure photo project with like-minded photo friends.  No rules and no themes (unless we decide to) - just tell a story with some favourite photos from the previous month, and link to the next person in line.

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As I started pulling photos from my January archive, I began seeing a theme.  There seemed to be a lot of steps, paths and gates.

From my January Viewfinders post.

I'm always intrigued by what's down that path or through that door or up those steps.  Recently, I was reminded of a film lecture during my long ago college days where we watched a Hitchcock film (I wish I could recall which one...).  Hitchcock was a master of suspense and one scene in particular has always stuck in my memory -  a character walks down a hallway and through a door out of sight.  We all know that *something* is going to happen in that room and my fellow students and I all leaned to the right and craned our necks as if we could actually see around the corner.

For me, there is something so appealing visually about pathways and stairs (and doorways too).  Photographically speaking the perspective is what draws the eye.  But my feet (and sometimes the dog pulling me along on his leash) also want to go that way.

What's down there?

What's through there?

What's around that corner?

Let's go see.

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Please visit the lovely Maureen Nichols at Cottage 960 for her 7 on 7 post, then click on to the next person in our blog roll (and so on...) to see where we've all been and what we've seen.

cheers,
kim

flowers in sake bottle

Because when a friend brings you flowers from her garden in a sake bottle and they fill the house with gorgeous scent, you take a photo.