Rayden's Birth Story | Helena, Montana Birth Photographer

This little guy's arrival has been much anticipated from his family and from me!  I was so thankful that I was in town during his birth.  April was a busy month for me traveling out of town for conventions and personal stuff.  And we knew that he would probably come a little bit early like his sister did.  His entry into this world was fast and furious as expected.  Mom had lots of support in the delivery room and did a great job laboring.  He was born just an hour after her water was broke.  He wanted to make sure we all knew he was here and was very vocal the first bit.  He is going to need that strong voice in a house full of 5 girls! Please click on the link below to watch a short video of his birth story.  



Rayden's Birth Story

A beautiful woman of God | Helena, Montana Portrait Photographer

This beautiful woman is near and dear to my heart, my Great Aunt Bonnie., and probably even more so after this past year. In December we lost her sister, my Great Aunt Rita, to a massive heart attack. She was too young and it was very sudden. It has really hit our family hard, especially after losing another one of their sisters, my Great Aunt Edwina who lived in Oregon, just two weeks prior to her death. All of these women are women who I have looked up to my whole life and I have treasured the relationships that I held with each of them. So, it makes it even more special to me that she asked me to take some photographs of her for an upcoming Ministry Retreat she will be speaking at in May at Fort Peck. If anyone knows my Great Aunt's, knows that they are all women of God, and that they diligently seek to do God's work. My Aunt Bonnie runs Manna Basket Ministries here in Helena and does outreaches several times a year and tries to go on at least one International Mission trip a year. Her last trip was to Nepal in November last year. I really admire what she is doing and the peace that she has about traveling over seas. I hope one day to be able to travel with her and carry out the good work she is doing for God. I wish her the best as she goes out to Eastern Montana this month to reach out to Native Americans on the Reservation at Fort Peck. All of our reservations need prayer and support and I know it is near and dear to her heart, as our family is members of the Little Shell Tribe, here in Montana. Make sure you go check out Manna Basket Ministries Facebook page to see more of what she is doing!

A beautiful Mom to be | Helena, Montana Maternity Portrait Photographer

This beautiful Mom to be is such a great person,and although we have known each other since we were younger playing sports together, I have had the joy of photographing her and her family the past couple of years as they grow in numbers. She married my cousin a few years ago, both bringing their children from prior relationships together, to form a big happy family that they keep adding to. All of their chidlren are absolutley adorable and some of the best mannered kids around. I was so thrilled last fall when she told me they were expecting again! We were just finishing up their newest addition, little Miss A who is just adorable, and her first year of portraits. This time around they were hoping for a boy, since they have a house full of 5 girls, and sure enough they are planning to add a little boy to the mix. I am so excited for them and cannot wait to share the rest of their story with you. We will follow this little guy who is on his way from birth to his first year birthday!

My new obsession! | Helena, Montana Portrait Photographer

In April I attended the Montana Professional Photographers Annual Convention in Bozeman and as usual there were some pretty amazing speakers there. The first day was spent leanring from Dennis and Cheri Hammon out of Idaho Falls, ID. They are a husband and wife combo who run a very successful studio and both very talented. We got to learn more about Boudoir photography, which I hope to dabble in this year and how to digital paint with Cheri. Cheri is one of 9 people in the whole world who holds all 4 Masters Degrees through Professional Photographers of America. She is so talented and I absolutely loved her class. She taught us how to use Corel Painter which is a software program in which you can digitally paint your photographs. I don't know why I waited so long to try this program out. I love painting and even had a full Art Scholarship in college. Needless to say, when I got home the first thing I did was download the trial and start trying out the things that she taughts us. I am obsessed with it now and hope to master it enought to include this as part of my services that I offer in my studio. Here are a few images that I tried out. I still need to work on learning the different brushes and how they work but I am pretty happy with the results so far.

It's been a while since my last post... | Helena, Montana Professional Photographer

Well, last fall got away from me. Blogging was not a top priority for me this past fall when I had some of the busiest months I have had to date since opening my business in the fall of 2012. Over the winter I cut back my schedule to study for the Professional Photographers of Americal Certification exam. This is a very important first step in a long line of goals I have outlined for myself and my business. I took the test in January and passed. This was the first part of the process and now I am focusing on my images I will have to submit for my portfolio. I was going to try to submit my portfolio this spring but I have been dealing with some health issues and I am scheduled to have surgery soon. I plan on submitting my portfolio this summer or fall. So hopefully, by the end of this year I will be able to proudly say that I am a Certified Professional Photographer. What does that mean? Why is it so important for you as a consumer? It means that when it comes to photography I have demonstrated that I understand techniques, lighting, posing and post processing. This is very important in today's industry. There are a lot of people out there that claim to be photographers but really do not know the first thing about how their camera operates, how to run studio lights, or even control lighting when shooting in outdoor situations. Being certified is something that you as a consumer should look for when hiring a Professional Photographer. It protects your investment. Who wants to go spend their hard earned money for a product they can do nothing with? I have had numerous people come to me after bad experiences with other photographers. Those photographers may have been cheap and affordable, but is it really affordable to go and waste $75 on a session, where you don't even want anyone to see the pictures because they are so bad or even think about hanging them on your wall. Make sure you check out your photographer before you book them. Make sure they belong to a professional organization, are taking time to educate and better themselves, and are not just out to take your hard earned money by claiming they are a photographer. Everyone these days can pick up an expensive camera and can take a picture but that doesn't make them a photographer. For more information on Professional Photographers of America, the Certification process or help finding a Photographer in your area make sure to check out their website. Professional Photographers of America

Nick & Amy | Engagment& Wedding Photographer Helena, Montana

Another fantastic engagment session!!! Nick and Amy are such a cute couple! I was excited when they asked me to photograph their wedding next summer. I have known Nick since he was just a little boy and it was a pleasure to meet Amy. She is perfect for him! We had a great session out on the Chevallier Ranch just west of town. Nick and Amy are friends with the owner so we lucked out on getting access to such a gorgeous ranch with a ton of different settings and outbuildings. A photographer's heaven!!! I think we got some really great shots of the two of them and I cannot wait for their wedding next June. It is at a gorgeous ranch in Winston and I am sure it will be a beautiful day!

Berg Family | Family Photographer Helena, Montana

Anothe one the families I had the joy of photographing during my mini sessions this fall. Shannon was a year behind me in highschool so it was great to get to catch up with her and meet her husband and two adorable children. They aer such a cute family! And I also go to photograph Grandma and Grandpa who are celebrating 38 years of marriage. I just love meeting couples who have been married for a long time. It reminds us that it can be done with a little love and work!

Hernandez Family | Family Photographer Helena, Montana

This fall I decided to offer Fall Family Mini Sessions and I had the oppurtunity to photography some great families. Kristi has brought her daugher in a few times to model for an ETSY shop I do work for, so it was great to finally get to photograph both her and her two gorgeous girls. It was a little windy during our session but we made the best of it during our short time. Her girls and her are all so photogenic they made my job pretty easy.

D & M | Engagement & Wedding Photographer Helena, Montana

Having friends ask you to photograph them is one of the biggest honors ever in my opinion. It means they love my work and trust me enough to photograph them. Photography is an art and not everyone has the gift of really seeing and capturing a person or a relationship behind a camera. If we all did everyone would be a photographer and I would be out of a job! Meghann and I have been friends for several years now and now Darrin and her are regulars on couples dates with me and my husband. We love the both of them and really enjoy spending time with the two of them. They are great people and perfect for each other. They recently got engaged this past spring, and the proposal was original and awesome, thanks to Darrin's creativity. Who doesn't love antlers!! He carved a verse into an antler and while they were out riding in the pasture one day he hid it so she would find it. It was a total surprise! Meghann was completely shocked!! I was so happy for them after hearing the news and thrilled when they asked me if I would photograph their wedding next summer and their engagement this fall. I was beyond thrilled that Meghann finally found the "One", that he finally proposed, and that I would be blessed to capture it for them. Their engagment session was in the works for months but we were just waiting for fall and the right colors. We had a great time photographing them out in the countryside by their house. Meghann had some great ideas for their shoot and the scenery provided an amazing backdrop. I am super excited for the wedding now! Their locations is gorgeous and I know everything is going to be awesome!

K Man | Child Photographer Helena, Montana

This little guy is close to my heart! It was great to finally have him back in the studio again. I had the joy of capturing him his first year and now he is turning the big 2!! Our session was short but we managed to get a few great shots of him between the terrible 2's hitting! He is definately coming into is own and finding out how far he can push mom. Kids around this age can be difficult to photograph but I just try to remind the parents that their child's behavior is normal and we will get what we can. Worst cas scenario is that you come back in for another session, but I try my best to try to capture each child's personality, and I try not to let you leave unless I know I have some great shots. Patience is always a virtue when working with toddlers!