Fall Engagement (Yes, I'm Always Behind)

I shot these back in the Fall, but I was pretty busy back then, so I never got around to blogging them. Matt and Jessica are getting married this June, and I'm so excited to shoot their wedding! Matt and I went to elementary school together, and I was totally on board when he asked me if I could document their big day. It's always fun reconnecting with people from childhood! I actually just booked a wedding with another friend from my childhood church. She even got me going to the gym she goes to!

Jessica had a pretty clear vision of what she wanted, so I tried to capture that for her. I am really pleased with how they turned out! I was hoping for a sunny day to get some great backlighting, but the overcast look ended up being really nice. Looking at these now, I'm really missing the greenery and the warmth. It's just been so frigid out lately!

Matt and Jessica are both very fit and exercise together, so we incorporated that into their shoot. Of course by the time we got to those it was almost too dark, so I had to break out the speedlite. All things considered, I think they're cute :) We tried to get a couple of Kolbie (the dog) running with them, but she was a little too excited about it. I LOVED shooting some with Kolbie though, and I kind of wish all of my couples had pups to use in their engagement sessions. Ever since getting Chipper, I have been 100% obsessed with dogs.

I hope you all enjoyed these shots! I am moving toward only doing weddings and wedding related portraits (engagement, bridal) in the near future, so I'm hoping to really hone my skills in that area. Of course I'll also put focus on product and promotional work, but as there isn't much demand for that around here, it's a secondary focus.

Garner Blue

A few months ago, my friend Lisa asked me to take some photos of her beautiful hand dyed indigo scarves. The best part? She paid me in pie. I wouldn't accept payment in pie from just anyone, but a Lisa Garner pie is worth a lot more than money, I promise. She was the one who made the delicious individual serving pies at my wedding!

Enough about pie, here are the photos of some amazing Garner Blue pieces

Check out Garner Blue on Etsy.    

THE Garners. Joe and Lisa, both incredibly creative and generally awesome people. 

This was a really simple shoot, and I had a lot of fun with it. Some of our friends modeled the scarves for us, and they did great! The light just happened to be perfect that day, and we used a simple field/trees setting to make the scarves really stand out. Ever thoughtful, Lisa also had hot chocolate for all of us because it was so cold. I hope to do more shoots like this in the future, so if you know of any creators who need photos, have them hit me up! I have a couple coming up soon that I'm SUPER PUMPED about.

Firefly

Remember when I shot menu photos for Green Frog Coffee Co. in town? Oh you don't? That's because I forgot to blog it! Luckily I have the photos in this album on Facebook. It's the first fourteen shots. They turned out really well, and the owner had me take some for their other location (Firefly) inside a local gym. This location has more health-geared options, like smoothies and parfaits. I haven't seen the finished menu yet, but hopefully it looks good! Once again, I got to sample a lot of the items. I definitely drank the lemonade and fruit tea.

Winter Family Sessions

A few weeks before Christmas, I had the privilege of doing photos for a friend of mine from high school. She wanted pictures of her adorable kiddos, but I talked her into being in the photos herself. Since it was so cold and kind of gross out, she asked a cousin of hers if we could use her home. I actually ended up doing portraits for the family that owns the home as well! It was so much fun, and I love how the photos turned out.

Aren't Brittany's kids just precious?! They are both such cuties, and after a little coaxing we actually got her little boy to smile. He did the best when Brittany was in the photo with them.

Family sessions are one of my favorite types of photography. I love seeing how families interact and capturing those memories. I hope to add many more family sessions to my portfolio in 2014!

Things to do in 2014

For the past couple of years, I've made a list of things I wanted to do for the year. It's sort of like resolutions, but there is a mix of abstract goals as well as very measurable goals. I did ok in 2012, but to be honest, I kind of stunk in 2013. Despite not doing great with my list, I DID have an awesome year. I am so thankful for all of the opportunities I've had and the growth I've seen with my business in particular. Let's see how I did in 2013:

1. Run a marathon - didn't end up doing this. I'm not disappointed though. It just wasn't in the stars!
2. Do at least 5 personal/fun photoshoots - I only did two
3. Get rid of stuff I don't need - minimize - I've done well with this! My closet is pretty thin, and I don't mind at all
4. Paint the kitchen - this one is going on the list next year. Didn't have time this year. 
5. Be a great wife - Rhett says I accomplished this one :) 
6. Read my Bible regularly - Finished a chronological read through the whole Bible! This was a big accomplishment for me. 
7. Continue to read a book a month - I read all 7 Harry Potter books in about a month, plus the rest of the books I read this year, so I'd say this was successful.
8. Maintain fitness and eat cleaner more clean (eat cleaner sounds like I want to eat Clorox) - check!
9. Decorate the guest rooms - This didn't happen even a little. I just can't get myself motivated!
10. Organize the attic - This is overwhelming, so I never got around to it. 
11. Save Mo $$$ - Did GREAT with this one. Trying to end each month with more money in the bank than the last. It worked out great. 
12. Paint and re-floor studio - DONE! Need to post photos soon. Love my new studio.
13. Make more time for friends - I did well with this! I get together with my friends in other towns almost monthly. I love seeing those ladies. 
14. Keep the house clean - I'm horrible at this. The house isn't filthy, but it isn't great. 

8 out of 14. Meh. At least it's over half! 

1. Pay off car - I did the math and unless some odd circumstances come up, I CAN DO THIS!
2. Clean out shed - There's a lot of junk in there that just needs to be tossed. The rest is storage, but it's not much. I don't need the space, I just hate knowing all that junk is out there crawling with spiders.
3. Shoot my own trash the dress session - this is a maybe. I know I want to do a trash the dress the session, but I'm not 100% that I want it to be a self portrait. We'll see! It'll be a cool session either way. 
4. Make progress on saving for a Canon 5D Mark III - Might take a couple of years to save up, but I'd like to make progress this year. Maybe half the amount. 
5. Run 900 miles - this is VERY lofty. If I really kill it this year, it's doable. Let's hope I don't have any major injuries. 
6. Watch 20 movies in my "1001 Movies to See Before You Die" book
7. Paint the Kitchen - yep, this is here again. It's seriously time. 
8. Maintain good habits - Drinking water, exercising, eating well most of the time.
9. Rebrand business to Kristi Woody Photography - already brainstorming ideas for this one!
10. Read at least a book a month - This is a goal each year and I love it! I've rediscovered my love for reading over the last few years. 
11. Build up product and food portfolio - I did a little of this in 2013, but I'm excited to keep the momentum. 

Like I said before, 2013 was a wonderful year! We got our little puppy companion, Chipper, who has turned out to be such a fun little guy to have around (most of the time...when he's not eating important papers). I started putting a lot more effort into my photography business, and it's really paid off. I've had some truly amazing clients this year and learned so much. I am so thankful for everything God has blessed me with this year, and I'm looking forward to what He has in store for next year! 

I hope you all have had an amazing year as well. I'd love to see what every one else's 2014 goals are, so leave a link in the comments if you blogged a list! Happy New Year!