I was delighted to recently stumble across http://www.celebratingadoption.org/, a website offering similar services, and listings of photographers across the United States who are willing to donate their time and talent to you for your adoption session.

Today I got to do one of my favorite things, have a newborn session.  It was made even more fun by the fact that, the baby was super-adorable and it was a gift session to a coworker of my husband's and his wife.  Little Liam is two months old, and so was able to stay awake for a while and give smiles, but also very kindly slept for us for a while.  It was so great to see a family so happy and to know that Liam will be growing up in a home filled with laughter and love.

It was also great to finally get to meet Erin, Liam's mom.  She and I have had very similar stories for the past few years-- moving for a husband's promotion and relocating without knowing anyone here in MN.  Hopefully we'll get to see you again soon!


Erin, this is one of my favorite photos I have taken, ever.  Your little one is just gorgeous!

A few days ago I had the pleasure of hanging out with my dear friend Holly and her daughter Emma.  Holly was a friend of mine when I lived in Michigan, and then fast-forwarding a few years life found us giving birth just days apart and living in MN just a few miles apart.

Her Emma is such a sweet little lady, and it has been great to see her and Noah grow and change together.  And for the most part I have been successful at resisting naming her as Noah's future bride.  I'll leave that for when they are in preschool.  :)

Of course I grabbed a few photos to commemorate the two of them reaching the milestone of a year and a half, and I loved how beautiful Silverwood Park, even though we had to remain mostly inside because we were getting together on the coldest day of the fall so far.  Some of the first white flakes fell outside as we sat by the fire and caught up.

.  At first, Emma wasn't so sure about this goofy guy hanging out with her.

Sometimes working in my profession is a wonderful thing-- I get to work with wonderful clients and see them at some of the most important moments in their lives.  The new babies, graduating seniors, couples on the verge of marriage are all wonderful reasons to love photography.  

Little Miss Layla is as cute as they come, and last week I had the wonderful chance to capture some of that cuteness with my lens in her 9 month session.  Her mom is hoping to use some of the images for her birthday invitations, and has been waiting patiently for me to get up this session preview.

Look at this cutie!  She is already pulling herself up, which presented some challeges, but her being so sturdy also gave us the chance to do a ton of poses.



We visited a favorite nearby park, which is just gorgeous lately with the light coming through the trees and the autumn colors.   She sat so well for the camera, thanks to mom being a bit of a photo buff herself, but was asleep mere minutes after we carpooled out of the park.

A bit out of order, but I couldn't resist sharing a sneak peek of the darling little one I got to cuddle during my newborn session this week.  Jess is a friend, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to photograph her new little one, Alexa.  This was also my first opportunity to see her new house, and it was so much fun to have a loud, long session as her older daughter played trains with my Noah as we captured these images.  Despite this, Jess was able to soothe her little one to sleep, eventually, and I am so looking forward to editing the rest of the session.






Congrats again Momma!

I am proud to announce that on Saturday, October 9,  I will be the second shooter/assistant fellow Christian and fellow photographer Carissa Swartout of Carissa Christine Foetographie at Portraits in the Park, a fundraising Mini-portrait session event in Thomas Lake Park in Eagan, MN. 

Carissa and her husband will be travelling to India where her in-laws are currently missionaries to serve for eight weeks.  All sessions are offered for whatever you can donate.  You can view her blog for more details on the work they will be doing and the sessions themselves.  Sessions will last approximately 30 minutes and yield you about 20 images to choose from.  If you are interested you can contact her to set up an appointment in an open time slot.  Any donations can be made payable to Redemption Ministries (http://redemptionmin.com.)

I am really excited to be working with a talented photographer like Carissa and to gain experience in mini-sessions.  But more than that I am thrilled to be using my time and talent for a reason as dear to my heart as missions.

Fall has sprung- although maybe only Spring is allowed to actually do that, but it feels as if it has sprung and brought some relief from what has been a rainy, oppressively hot summer.  The cooler days has also given me the chance to break out my son's fall duds and buy him some new shoes- one of his great obsessions and one of his first words, although it comes out more like, "sssuchuees." 

So needless to say, my already achingly adorable son was looking rather dapper and cozy in his fall clothing, and I decided that it was time to try out one of my new props that hasn't had the chance to be put to good use.  As the mother of a toddler I am always on the lookout for props that will entice busy bodies to pause, even momentarily, to get some good shots.  And recently I found this tiny yellow chair for a steal and fell in love. 

While this session took place back in the beginning of the summer, I am nly just now getting around to blogging about it.  Sometimes I wish that I could just magically have things posted here and to my Facebook Fan Page and I could simply concentrate on the actual photography and skip the "bragging," but unfortunately I cannot afford a personal assistant at this phase in the game. 

There are currently 90,098 pieces of children's clothing available on Esty.  And most of them do not have photographs that differentiate them from the crowd of other knitters, embroiderers, sewers and such.  For my client, Irish Woolen, I knew that her woolen sweaters and hats were gorgeous, but nevertheless needed something more to help them stand out from the crowd.

These are some samples of the concept I think we will be going with after a final okay from the client. (Please note that these images have not been edited as I normally would and the location-- a nearby bike path-- is not typically one I will be choosing for the real images.)  When I work with someone, even an Etsy client, whose photos size, number and basic color scheme are all dictated by the site, I try to keep in mind the feel and look of that shop and create images that fit that client.  I also look at typical listings of like items and think of what I can do that will showcase the unique selling points fo my clients products and how to showcase those selling points. 

I know- I'm a bit late for Thanksgiving- even a bit late for Valentine's Day, but I have a brief break in between projects right now as I wait for some woolen sweaters I'm imaging winging their way across the Atlantic.  I am- of course- handily filling up my time with working around the house, garden plans for the coming spring, sewing, working on marketing materials and just playing with my Little Man.  I thought that I would pause and take a minute to observe a tradition in the Weston family and in our circle of friends back in Michigan.

The holidays are always so hectic that our small group from church has taken to celebrating Thanksgiving after all of the running around has ended and placed it at the end of February.  We're talking a complete American Thanksgiving meal- Turkey, mashed potatoes (typically Jim's area of expertise after I managed to cut my thumb pretty good while peeling potatoes one year) cranberry sauce and pies for dessert. 

In a sudden decision that left employees and customers alike stranded, Kiddie Kandids- photography studios commonly found in Babies R' Us stores-- declared chapter 7 bankruptcy last week. 

This has left many families with their photographs stranded in limbo and likely never to be found again, even for those who have already paid for prints.  Many families cannot afford to simply go to another studio for a reshoot. So Carrie Weston Photography has decided to offer a discount for these stranded families in the Minneapolis area. 

If you can offer proof-- a reciept, gift certificate or other proof that you have been photos or unreimbursed studio fees from Kiddie Kandids I am offering a:

Free Sitting Fee (One Hour on location or in my home studio)
One free 8 x 10 photograph of your choosing
15% dicount on all prints. 

I cannot bring back the photos that are missing or capture those unique moments that are gone, but I feel so badly for all of the families affected by the Kiddie Kandids Bankruptcy and hope to capture new moments.  (Or recreate those Christmas pictures of your Little One's first Christams which are missing.)

Contact me at:
612-424-3916
or weston_carrie@yahoo.com

Recently I made a momentus purchase.  Previously when I have done more posed photography of my son and other babies I have been left to the whim of whatever natural light was available and the capabilities of my somewhat limited flashes.  However, I have finally purcahsed my first set of studio lighting for the lower level studio that is still under constrction on one half of our family room. 

I finally decided on a Smith Victor 500 watt 2 light kit, primarily because of its ease of use and the fact that it was available in a local camera store rather than online or in a catalogue, which allowed me to lay hands on it prior to purcahse and bring it home immediately.  Thus far I have been pleased with it-- the tripods are excellent and the umbrellas and light units adequate.  My big pet peeve has been the light bulbs themselves- one of which blew within 5 minutes of turning it on for the first time.  However, a simple replacement bulb from the hardware store later, and I was back in business.  I plan on adding a couple studio flashes and a softbox to my equipment, but I want to choose the remainder of it deliberately based upon the needs of my downstairs space. 

To accompany my new lighting we have been looking into a good source for backdrops for the studio portion of our family room, and I found that the easiest source was my local fabric store.  For about half the cost of a finished backdrop for sale I purchased 4 yards of bleached muslin.  I will have to finish the edges and install a pocket for hanging or gromets, but I can manage a simple straight stitch any day.  After we hang this sample backdrop I will be looking into buying fabric dye and creating a large black backdrop as well as other backgrounds suitable for smaller portraits. 

It is exciting to finally be moving ahead with this, and I can't wait to usher in my first subject once everything is complete.  The control and flexibility that this will give me will be so satisfying.

On a recent cloudy, but mild day, I grabbed my little man-- who is usually smiley and giggly, and ran across the street from our house to the Mississippi River Regional Trail and did and impromptu photo shoot of him. For some reason he was Mr. Serious that day.  Perhaps he could sense that I was going to make him model the wonderful and dreaded Bear Snowsuit, which is hilariously and achingly cute, but also renders him nearly completely immobile.