Still Working...

Sorry everyone, Brad and I are still working very hard on my blog! It's not yet complete but is slowly getting there (have you noticed my new heading?)! I just wanted to assure everyone the we are not yet complete, but didn't forget about this plain-lacking-many-things-blog! Stay tuned!

ALSO- You may have noticed a few picture additions in the gallery of my website: these have been updated from a few recent sessions, but since the blog is under construction they are not yet posted here. Look for them under the 'Teen', 'Family,' and 'Baby' Galleries :)

I'm also in the process of designing and ordering LOTS of products! I'll post pictures here, and will bring them along to photo shoots and consultation meetings (if you'd like a consultation meeting) to see the samples in person! I should hopefully have quite a few by the beginning of November! Check back for those :)

Take care!

Changes in the Horizon

Hi everyone!

If you are viewing my blog and notice it to be very plain and ugly, it's because it's undergoing a major face lift! Brad and I are working very hard on HTML coding and Javascript to update my blog and give it a fresh, unique look. Within the next few days, it should be fresh and new! Be sure to check back. So sorry for the current plain-ness. 

If you are looking for a particular post and need help navigating through my blog to a particular category, simply scroll to the bottom of each post to find the category you are looking for, and click it. When the blog updating is finished, it will have a pretty and useful navigation bar :)

Also- the web address to my blog has changed! It is now: elizabeth-kimball.blogspot.com

That's all for now! Stay tuned for a fresh look! 

If you need to contact me, please fill out a contact form from my webpage! Thanks for putting up with me and my currently ugly-duckling blog!

More Christmas Cards + Holiday Session Advice

I'm happy to announce I will be offering 2 additional Christmas cards in addition to the darling card below in the previous post. Please see below each card for pricing, information, and tips for ordering your cards and scheduling your holiday session! Also, see below for advice on your holiday session!

Please note: Photographs shown in each card are not my work; they are merely examples.

Happy Holidays: Card Option #2 (see previous post for card option #1)

Front:

Inside Spread:

Back:

Card Size: 4 x 5.5 - folded

Price: $35 per 25 cards; including white envelopes

Printed on the card are two photographs from your session, of your choice

Joy To the World: Card Option #3

Front:

Back:

Card Size: 5 x 7 - flat

Price: $25 per 25 cards, including white envelopes

Printed on the card are 4 photographs from your session, of your choice

All cards will be printed from a professional lab, ensuring the highest quality available

If you are wishing to order holidays cards, please order by Sunday, November 30th!

Holiday Session Advice:

Who should have a holiday session? 

Anyone, and everyone! Holiday photographs and cards are for families and couples of all ages and sizes. Feel free to include your family pet in a photograph or two :)

Why should my family and I have a holiday session?

The holidays are a great time to get in contact with family and friends you may not see on a consistent basis. It's fun and heart warming to send a fresh and creative picture of your family to loved ones that may live across the country! Just think of how fun it is to open holiday cards. They make you feel good :) A professional card with fun, new pictures are an excellent way to amaze your family and friends and bring a smile to their face. It's also a great surprise to someone who has not seen your family in a while- how exciting! Cards are a great treat to local family and friends too. It shows you care about them, and are sharing the love of your family! 

If I have a holiday session with Elizabeth Kimball Photography, am I obligated to purchase a holiday card from you?

No, you are not required. However, if you are planning to have photographs from your session printed directly on the card (verses slipping a loose picture into a card), you must purchase a card template from Elizabeth Kimball Photography, by November 30th.

Where will my holiday session take place?

Anywhere of your choice. We will find a location to suit your family's interests! 

Remember: Your family does not have to match! This does look cute and is okay- but don't feel obligated to do so!

If you are planning on scheduling a holiday session, please schedule your session to take place no later than Saturday, November 29th! If you are planning on purchasing a holiday car, photobook, or fine art canvas wrap with photographs from your holiday session, I would recommend scheduling your session no later than Saturday, November 22nd.

Popular Holiday Product Deadline Ordering Dates:

Photobooks: Sunday, November 30th

Cards: Sunday, November 30th

Fine Art Canvas Gallery Wraps: Sunday, November 30th

'Regular' Prints (5 x 7, 8 x 10, etc.): Sunday, December 6th

I can't wait to photograph this holiday season! Be sure to book quickly, as spots are beginning to fill! :)

Christmas Card

I have chosen an AMAZINGLY cute Christmas card layout for this year. It is absolutely darling, and perfect to send your family!! Your friends and family will be stunned when they view this card! It will definitely be one of those cards that hangs on the side of the fridge for years.

Here are examples of the layout/colors of the card:

Note: Pictures shown on the card are not my work; they are merely examples.

Front:

Front Flap:

Inside Spread:

Back:

Card size: 5 x 5 trifold

Price: $50 per 25 cards; including white envelopes

Reaction when opened by family & friends: Warm and Priceless.

As always, this card will be printed from a professional lab, ensuring the highest quality available.

What an awesome card! I just love it! The colors and design are awesome, there is plenty of picture space, AND a full page for your customized holiday message! I've never seen a Christmas card look so appealing! I'm picky when it comes to cards- I don't like if the picture space is too small,  I don't like when a lot of pictures are crammed together, and I'm not too excited when there is little to no space for writing your family message! I feel this card has an excellent mixture of everything and has a nice balance.

If you would like this Christmas card, please order no later than Sunday November 30th. 

If you are planning on scheduling a family holiday session, please schedule your session to take place no later than Saturday, November 29th :)

In this card, I will be using 6 photographs of your choice, from your session. For best results, I will convert all photographs to black & white, unless requested otherwise.

Have a great day! And happy early Holiday season!

Life

Click on the picture above to see a bigger picture of it :) 

It's a cute little collage of words found randomly within my blog. On this website you can also make your own collage - it's pretty fun! And interesting to see what words you use a lot on your page! 

I just wanted to give everyone a little personal update- everything is going great! School is going well, just very time consuming. Hence the reason for much fewer blog posts :( so sorry! I am also starting softball this week! I will have a game pretty much every Saturday night, so if you are looking to have a photo session on a Saturday night September-November, please give me at least two weeks notice so I can let my coaches know I won't be at the game :) 

Shooting with my D300 has been an absolute JOY! I also purchased a used lens a couple of days ago- it's a Nikkor 24mm f/2.8. This lens is a lot wider than my 50mm (my mostly used lens), so it's nice to have a wider option! Now that I have all these lenses, a Shootsac would sure be nice :)

So if anyone would like to buy me an early Christmas gift- or, give me any donations, you can find it here ;) Totally kidding.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hello, D300

I'm very excited to tell you all that on Friday, the UPS man made my day when he delivered my new camera :)

It's a Nikon D300, and it is AMAZING. There are so many features on the camera, I've spent the last few days trying to get used to it. It's a whole new process! I have most of the basics down, but still have so much to learn. This camera brings me so much potential! 

Here is the difference between the D40x, and the D300. The D40x is on the left, D300 on the right. (sorry the picture is pretty bad quality. Taken with my BlackBerry)

The D300 is MASSIVE compared to the D40x! Don't get me wrong, the D40x is an AWESOME camera, and is perfect for anyone wanting to learn photography. I am keeping this camera - for backup, and to have for a second lens. I thought really hard about selling it, but I just couldn't :) it has done so much for me, and is still a great camera.

I had a pretty big debate going on in my head whether to spend my treasured saved money on a new camera body, or on a really good lens (or two). I decided to go with the camera body to be able to have much better performance at higher ISOs (my D40x gets an annoying amount of noise at ISO 800), and to use my lenses to the full potential. There are several factors that led to this camera, and I feel I made the right choice!

Now my lenses will be super sharp and amazing in all lighting situations. Baby's bedrooms? Barnes and Noble? A little after sunset? NO PROBLEM!

It's a new era for Elizabeth Kimball Photography :)

I see it being very sharp and clear.

i love being an aunt

Here I am, with my cute little basically five month old nephew, Cameron.

I am very skilled when it comes to PhotoBooth, for I took all of these pictures with the camera on my MacBook.

Yes, this required me holding my laptop at random places in the air to get some pictures :)

It was worth it.

Apparently, kicking your legs up and holding your feet is cool when you are 5 months old. Cameron made it look like fun, so I decided it might be a fun, "aunt-nephew" bonding moment, and gave it a try.

Being Auntie E is amazing :) I love watching this little guy grow! Stay tuned to my blog and website, as I am sure I will be taking more pictures of him in the near future!

101 in 1,001 - Goals

Here it is: My list of 101 goals to complete in 1,001 days.

Some of these goals are personal - while others are business related.

Some will be completed in a few months - while others will be squeezed in to fit in 1,001 days!

This will be in progress from today, September 3, 2008 - Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Check back for updates, as I will make side notes when items on my list are completed!

1. Read my bible at least 30 minutes a day for at least one month straight

2. Graduate college

3. Move into my own house! (I guess that means I will also have to purchase one)

4. Have my own dog

5. Shoot an engagement session in Old Town Scottsdale

6. Second shoot a wedding

7. Shoot a wedding on my very own

8. Visit my family in Washington

9. Attend church every weekend for at least two months straight

10. Visit my family in Germany

11. Travel to New York (and the upper-east coast in general)

12. Save for and purchase my dream lens- the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR

13. Get a bigger camera bag

14. Organize my office - completely!

15. Find a better back-up solution for my desktop

16. Finish The E-Myth book

17. Visit Hannah in Colorado and go white river rafting

18. Travel to Sedona in the fall to see the pretty fall leaves :)

19. Go camping

20. Write and send a card/letter to at least three friends

21. Attend WPPI in Las Vegas

22. Bowl a 290 in Wii Bowling

23. Beat Shelby in Wii Bowling

24. Make my photography business my full-time career

25. Coach/assistant coach a little league softball team

26. Get Fine Art Canvas Gallery Wraps for around my room and house

27. Completely understand ice hockey without having to constantly ask Brad questions

28. Read something from Shakespeare without having to refer to Spark Notes

29. Attend an ASU v. U of A football game

30. Get an SB-800 Flash

31. Learn and understand off-camera flash

32. Join Pictage and attend PUG meetings

33. Photograph the unique elements in Fletcher Library [COMPLETED: 9/8/08]

34. Stay in the Grand Californian hotel in Disneyland

35. Complete beginning & intermediate photography classes at GCC

36. Distribute new business cards to Cabin Coffee

37. Have my work published in a magazine

38. Win some type of contest

39. Go to Salty Senorita

40. Learn a dance

41. Improve my coordination with yoga - a least 2 times a week for a month

42. Swim at least 3 days a week for three months (when it's not freezing outside!)

43. Go snowboarding in Flagstaff (or somewhere much more fun!)

44. Stay at a cabin in Greer with family and friends

45. Keep my office & room organized and clean everyday for at least a month straight

46. Remodel my bathroom

47. Help Brad paint and organize his room

48. Make new playlists on my iPod 

49. Jet ski

50. Expand my cooking capabilities

51. Bake a cake for no reason at all :)

52. Eat breakfast at Einstein Bagels

53. Master the Vita Mixer

54. Organize all the files on my computer

55. Empty & organize my closet

56. Go through my room for giveaways [COMPLETED: 10/08]

57. Go to a Coyotes game

58. Attend a photography workshop [COMPLETED: 11/1/08]

59. Visit Mrs. Parker

60. Eat another decadent strawberry cupcake from Sprinkles :)

61. Learn to not be afraid of cats 

62. Make the full switch from water bottles to a reusable water container

63. Make a healthy smoothie for breakfast every school day for at least a month

64. Scope out a garage sale

65. Floss my teeth on a consistent basis

66. Use the spa every night possible when it's chilly and cold

67. Make a Facebook group page for my business

68. Get a wide angle lens...ish [COMPLETED: 9/11/08; Nikkor 24mm f/2.8]

69. Get a Shootsac

70. Make Cameron's one year calendar

71. Get a sample album made

72. Learn Photoshop CS3

73. Get a sample coffee table book made [COMPLETED: 10/08]

74. Purchase a portable external hard-drive

75. Read a book not related to business

76. Sharpen my Spanish speaking skills

77. Take pictures of something I would NEVER think to photograph

78. Spend quality time in Ikea

79. Spend quality time with my whole family

80. Design my house (I guess I should have included this next to purchasing my own house?)

81. Watch the final season of the OC

82. Learn HTML coding to make myself a much prettier blog :)

83. Make & Purchase customized 'Thank You' cards

84. Find and purchase good quality black gift boxes - for client photographs and products

85. Host my first Giving Back session

86. Hike Camelback Mountain again

87. Take my camera to a Diamondback & Coyote game

88. Learn how to resize the header here on my blog (one size that will fit all screens!)

89. Attend some type of class in the Mac store

90. Get Brad a dSLR

91. Find a local band to supply music for my website

92. Attend a show for a local band and photograph it

93. Try something new at Starbucks

94. Learn to take really, really, really good notes

95. Photograph the cross on the CCV hill, at sunset

96. Improve my posture - aka STOP slouching in chairs!

97. Eat only organic food for a week and see how it makes me feel

98. Vote in the Presidential election! [COMPLETED: 11/4/08]

99. Take another mission trip to Rocky Point, Mexico with Amor Ministers

100. Complete another triathlon

101. Watch the Diamondbacks in a World Series! (I guess they have to make it there!)

Michael Senior Portraits

Michael is a senior this year, graduating from Mountain Ridge High School. We did this shoot in the Sonoran Mountain Ranch area, and found a great desert area for the photos. I just loved the sunset that night! If anyone is interested in desert pictures, this is definitely the place to do them!






Despite the creepy bug & desert noises, while watching for snakes, we had a blast! Thanks so much Michael, you did an awesome job! I didn't even need to direct him, he is a camera natural!