First, Destination Inspirations is a fabulous blog about inspiring destination weddings from around the world.  I was honored to have them feature Danielle and Dave’s Jamaica wedding!!  Here is the link to the BLOG POST.  Thank you Jessica for sharing my work with others, much appreciated!!

Next, was a branding/marketing feature on the Pursuit 31 blog.  Pursuit 31 has an amazing mission…keep God, families and marriages your number one priority in life.  When running a small business sometimes it is difficult to remember that the important things in your life should always remain #1.  When Karen asked me to share about my branding, I was beyond thrilled.  I really enjoy sharing about my business and what a better platform to show people the goods of KDP.  :-)  Here is a link to that BLOG POST.

Lastly, was a personal interview at LSI (Learn Shoot Inspire).  LSI is an amazing group of photographers, who mostly specialize in kiddo and newborn photography, however, there are a few of us wedding photographers.  :-)  I LOVE doing personal interviews…seems I always learn a little something about myself when really thinking about my answers.  I had a fun time pulling up some of my favorite images to showcase, too!  If you want to learn about the person behind KDP, here is the link to the BLOG POST.

Big shout-out to everyone who took the time to ask me to contribute to their blogs.  I am super honored and LOVE each and everyone of you, you are doing a fantastic job!!  Keep on doing what you are doing!!

NOTE:  If the blog looks slightly different, I moved my blog over to a WordPress blog rather than my old Moveable Type Blog.  I used my tech-savvy skills and completed the transfer all by myself, so proud!  :-)  For those of you who subscribe to my RSS feed, you may have to update the URL to get the new feed, so just click on the SUBSCRIBE link on the menu above to get the new feed on your Google Reader.

I thought I would I start my blogging off by offering some tips for wedding-day photography that will help your day go as smoothly as possible.

1.  The Golden Hour…the Golden Hour is defined as the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.  This is when we get some BEAUTIFUL light for portraits.  To find out when sunset is on your wedding day, I like to use this SUNSET LINK.  This will allow your photographer to work with the best possible lighting conditions…here is an example of an image taken during The Golden Hour:

2.  Professional Hair and Make-up.  I think it is very important to hire a make-up artist (MUA) on the day of your wedding.  They are very professional and knowledgeable about what looks good on camera.  They know how much is too much!  It is also very important for your MUA to apply your make-up in the best natural light possible because your make-up can look completely different under the florescent lighting of a bathroom compared to outside.  I always like to position my bride close to a large window or sliding glass door when they are applying make-up to get the best possible “getting-ready” shots.

3.  Organized Timeline and The First Look.  I stress to all my brides and grooms how important it is to have a solid wedding day timeline confirmed with all vendors involved.  If you have a wedding planner (also highly encouraged), then he/she will be able to coordinate your day with all wedding vendors.  When meeting my brides and grooms for the first time, I always encourage doing a “First Look”.  Having a First Look before walking down the aisle will allow the bride and groom to have an intimate moment, by themselves, to talk and compliment each other on how fantastic they look and maybe to shed a tear or two.  It alleviates stress and also frees up a ton of time after the ceremony for the bride and groom to enjoy cocktail hour with guests they haven’t seen in a long time.

4.  Relax and HAVE FUN!!  I have had some AMAZING brides and grooms over the past 5 years (wow, 5 years, that is crazy) and I adore each and every one of them.  Take time to pamper yourself, go to the spa, delegate items on your “to-do” list and have some wine.  Fellas, go and get a professional shave, play some Wii and enjoy chillin’ with your buddies.  This will be one of the best days of your lives and I am happy to document everything that you have worked so hard to plan!

LOVE is in the air! Did you recently get engaged and are beaming with pride over the shiny rock on your finger? Want to flaunt it some more? In honor of all the love going around Keri Doolittle Photography is holding a contest for you engaged love birds to show off your new bling!

What do you get for flaunting that shiny new rock? The winner will receive a full engagement session and a $100 print credit, day-of wedding coordination (dependent upon wedding date) from A Touch of Bliss Events, who was voted one of the top 5 wedding planners by Channel 7′s A-list, a free bridal bouquet from Brilliant Blooms AND free day-of make-up plus trial from Kori Schell, who can be reached at kori.schell.designs@gmail.com (planning, make-up, flowers are dependent upon wedding date)! PLUS winners of each local Flaunt Your Ring contests will be placed in a national contest to win a grand prize worth $450+. The grand prize includes custom invites from Paper and Ink Studio, a wedding cake topper from Goose Grease, a custom clutch from Clutch That and a wedding accessory from Little White Chapel Accessories!

The Details:

• Submit 1 photograph of your ring & 1 photograph of yourselves (please do not submit images taken by another professional photographer).

• Encourage all of your friends and family to vote for you. The ring with the most votes wins!

• Engaged couples only.

All submissions must be received by midnight March 5th, 2010.

Entries will be judged by a panel of photographers who will narrow down the selection to 3 rings. The finalists will be posted on Keri Doolittle Photography’s blog and the winner will be chosen via a public voting poll. Voting will occur between March 8-March 12, 2010. There are specific rules around voting that will be clarified during the voting round of the contest.

Winners will be announced on March 15th, 2010. Winners must sign a release to allow Keri Doolittle Photography to display images on blog, website, Facebook Business Page and any other print or web materials as deemed appropriate. Don’t live in the Denver area? Have friends across the country? Check out these photographers who have Flaunt Your Rock contests running in other cities!

UNITED STATES

Boise, Idaho: Lucid Deisgn and Photo
Boston, Massachusetts: Helen Makadia Photography
Denver, Colorado: Keri Doolittle Photography
Columbia, Missouri: Ashley Turner Photography
Seattle, Washington: Susan of Whimsical Photo Design
Philadelphia and Main Line, Pennsylvania: April Ziegler Photography
Grand Rapids, Michigan: K. Holly Studios
Spokane, Washington: Cameron Glass Photography
Phoenix, Arizona: Jeanette LeBlanc Photography
Ft. Smith, Arkansas: Beaty Photography
San Jose, California: V and J Photography
Tampa/St. Petersburg: Stephanie Smith Photography

CANADA

Edmonton/Vancouver Canada: Jen Williams Photographer
Fort McMurray/Northern Alberta: Leslie Brown Photography
Powell River BC/Vancouver Island: Jennifer Kennedy
Central Interior, BC: Andrea Blair Photography
Langley, BC: Cathy Empey Photography

The Fine Print:

This is our contest, we make the rules. We have researched many different ways of voting and there are pros and cons and hanging chads in just about every method out there. This is how we have decided to run our contest. if it’s not a fit for you, we respectfully accept your decision to decline participation. We also know there are ways to work around the system, so we will actively monitor IP addresses and research anything that appears to be fishy. We reserve the right to disqualify any entry that appears to be suspicious.

All participants must agree to sign a model release allowing images to be displayed on Keri Doolittle Photography’s blog. Winning participants must sign a release allowing images taken by Keri Doolittle Photography to be displayed on web site, blog, Facebook and print advertising sources. Participants must also agree to standard Terms & Conditions of Keri Doolittle Photography.  Engagement session must take place within one year of winning the contest.

Regular session terms and conditions apply.

We require an electronically marked consent that you are entering this contest voluntarily and that Keri Doolittle Photography is not promising any winnings or other compensation for participation.

Whew! Now that all of that is over, click on this link Flaunt Your Rock Contest!

Enjoy!!

Lauren is my second cousin and is getting married Rob in Temecula in October, it is going to be a FABULOUS wedding and I am so glad to be a part of it! So, since I have SOOOOO many pictures to share, I am going to break it into “urban” and “beach”.

ALSO, something NEW…I am going to add Photographer Notes to the bottom of each picture!!

ENJOY!!

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/8000
Additional notes: This picture was a little hot on her face…it was about 3:00 and the sun was still a bit harsh…I should have dialed down my exposure comp.

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/1600
Additional notes: I believe my WB was at “sun” for this shot. I had to do some warming up in post production. I did that in both Lightroom and through actions in Photoshop.

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/1600
Additional notes: wanted a really shallow DOF in this shot so Rob was out of focus, hence the 1.6 appeture.

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/640
Additional notes: Had some color casts on this picture. Although I do have a color version, thought it looked better in BW.

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/2000
Additional notes: Although the SOOC turned out pretty good, I had to do additional lighting on their faces due to them being backlit.

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/1600

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/160
Additional notes: I actually should have switched over to Shutter priority to shoot this at 1/250. It is a little soft, due to the moving escalator, but I still like it.

16mm
160 ISO
f2.8
1/800

85mm
160 ISO
f1.6
1/320
Additional notes: It was a little cool SOOC due to being in the stairwell and the color cast, but seemed to be exposed OK (besides the hot jacket). Love this pic!

Flowers were done by Esther at Special Touch Florist. If you are in Spokane, go see Esther!! She has an amazing team and also did my wedding too!!



I thought this was a cute ring shot…taken by my wonderful second shooter, Whitney, of Flat 4 Photography:



Had to do a little adjusting before they crossed the street:

This shot just makes me SMILE!!

Da Boys! Another fabulous shot taken by Whitney:




Self-portrait shot of me and one of my good high school friends, Jen!! We don’t look a day over 25!

NOTE: This will be my last post for awhile. I will be celebrating Christmas in Spokane, WA and then moving the fam to Denver, CO!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Say CHEESE Jim!!!

“hold that kiss just a LITTLE longer!!”

Here are a few of Janet doin’ her thang!! I have much more incriminating pictures that this, I thought I would be nice. LOL!!

“Are you talkin’ to me??”

Well, it is almost time to pack up the ‘ole computer and say hello to our new destination…DENVER, Colorado!! I grew up singing about Colorado (thank you John Denver), but have never lived there, or even visited for that matter. We are making the trek up north because of a job change with my husband. We are super excited for our new adventure, but sad to leave all the great people we have come to call some of our closest friends. Not only did we make great friends, but I have an awesome network of photographers and vendors that I love dearly! Thank you all for your support, it means the world to me! I have a pretty full wedding schedule for 2010, so I will continue to do business in Phoenix, so, keep calling me brides! I have already met some wonderful photogs up in Denver, so I am excited to meet you all come January!

I have some exciting things on the horizon, one of which is my promo video, which will be out soon, so keep an eye out. The blog will be VERY slow over the next few weeks as we celebrate Christmas, move to Denver, and shoot a wedding up in Washington State.

CLIENTS: As a reminder, our last day in Phoenix is December 21st, so all orders need to be placed by Wednesday, the 16th to ensure that everything arrives before we leave.

Please add me as a friend on FACEBOOK to get updates and follow us on our journey to Denver. Thank you!!!

Props to my second shooters: Rebecca Schmucher and Janet Bruun

The beautiful Rebekah. When my son saw these pictures he said “is she a princess?”

The handsome Conrad

I had never seen a cotton field before, so I just had to take a picture!

When this is one of your first shots of the day you know it’s gonna be a good day!

BEAUTIFUL LIGHT!!

Here are a few detail shots of the Canyon Suites, which are located on The Phoenician’s property:

The beautiful Bride and Groom:

Here are some pictures from the ceremony site…outstanding view!!

This is what I am talking about…here are the stairs leading up to the tee box…good thing everyone brought their flip flops!!

And a few candid moments from the Bride and Groom:

CONGRATS David and Mary, you have WONDERFUL friends and a beautiful family, I wish you all the best!!

1. Tell us a little about yourself, maybe something that would be a surprise to everyone…

I have a masters degree in Neuroscience from King’s College London University, UK … worked at AMGEN as a Research Scientist for six months … was laid off and decided to skrew working in a cubicle all togther and become a makeup artist. I completed my beauty makeup and studio hair styling certification at the Makeup Designory in Burbank, CA. I then decided to start a bridal makeup artistry company.
I chose the name Kensington after my time spent in London.

2. What has been your biggest accomplishment to date (personal or business)?

In one year, from officially starting my business in Phoenix, I went from a company of one to a staff of 30+ and two regional locations.

3. What is on your iPod (or any other type of listening device)?

Lilly Allen
Jeff Buckley
Ray LaMontagne
Pinback
Carrie Underwood
Matt and Kym
Keith Urban
… Just to name a few

4. Do you have a funny or crazy story that readers would like to hear about?

People always ask me if I have any crazy wedding stories … I didnt have any, until recently…

1) A few weeks ago, My team and I completed hair and makeup for a bridal party of 12 … we recently received an email from the bride saying that when they were taking pictures on the golf course, the sprinklers went on and soaked everyone! It breaks my heart to think about the extent of damage that caused….

2) I was finishing up a bridal hair and makeup trial … when all of a sudden the bride’s mother jumped in my way and proceeded to tear apart my work, saying “I show you” … I was both taken by surpise and confused, but maintained my cool while she messed around with the hair. I must have made styling look easy, because she shortly retreated and asked me for help… I just felt bad for the bride, she looked mortified as she was happy with the orignal style.
Oh mom!

5. Why did you decide to start your own biz and what is on the horizon for the business?

When I was in makeup school, my teacher told us that the bridal industry is a great industry to get into if you can be business savvy. I took on that challenge by starting to think as big as I could and work my way backwards. Everyday my BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) get bigger as I continually look at ways to grow my business. My future vision for my company is to be a nationwide company, with a cosmetic line to compliment.
We recently launched San Diego… and we are looking to expand north up to Los Angeles begining of 2010. From there we will use the business systems we have created to swiftly expand from one coast to the other … and eventually across the pond to London.

6. Want to get ahold of Kensington Makeup? Here is their contact information:

Holli Christensen
President – Kensington Makeup Artists LLC
Holli@KensingtonMakeup.com

Kensington Makeup
Bookings@KensingtonMakeup.com
(800)915-6640

Photographers: Lead, Keri Doolittle, Second-shooting, Rebecca Schmacher and Janet Bruun
Planner: Imoni Events
Flowers: Flora Europa
Entertainment: SKM Entertainment
Cake: Piece of Cake
Caterers: Fat Freddy’s
Ceremony Music: Strings Serenade

Thank you to everyone for a great day, now on with the pics!

Yes, these are her real eyelashes!

The light was just STUNNING during the ceremony!!


Love this shot that my second shooter, Janet, captured!


They transformed the basketball courts into a beautiful alfresco dining experience (meaning outdoor-dining in French):

Thanks for looking!!

Heather and Aksel got married at the beautiful Phoenix Country Club in the central Phoenix area. It was an awesome property, I really wanted to go golfing. Not only did they get married, but their parents re-newed their vows at a special ceremony during the reception. It was quite touching! As mentioned above, I got to hang out with the fellas for most of the evening, so here are a few shots of them, plus a few from the wedding. Enjoy!

Check it out! Fletcher and Mark’s wedding is featured on Wedding Chicks.com. Just go to the “Real Weddings” section and it will be there! Congrats again, Fletcher and Mark!!

Here are some of the vendors who made their day possible:

Photographers: Keri Doolittle Photography, second-shooting was Angela from Angela Rose Photography, plus, my associate photog, Janet.
Dress: Lillian Lottie Couture, custom dress, Meghan
Flowers: Tamera at Petal Pusher
DJ: Dianna at Infinity Entertainment
Venue: Jackie, Events Coordinator, at Phoenix Art Museum
Cake: P.J. at La Dolce Pesca
Minister: Jerry and Julie at From This Day Forward
Caterers: Arizona Taste

On with the pics!!