Wednesday, November 16, 2011

We've been photographed!

That's right, you heard me!
We finally, for the first time, have a family portrait!
The other week, my step-sister-in-law, Ariana of Faces in Focus posted a giveaway on her ever adorable blog.  Her theme for her business is "Let me show what your Love looks like...in Focus"  I think it sums up her awesomeness right there!

She's new to the photography biz and I'm proud to say that I've been a fan ever since I heard she was going for it 2 years ago.  It has been fun watching her grow as a photographer and cheering her on.  


The prize was for a free 30 minute photo session for yourself if you nominated someone else to win one.  So, I nominated my loving mother in-law to be the recipient.
  
You can imagine my glee when I found out that I WON!!!  
{I mean, WE won}  
Winning anything is just pure joy, but to win something that you desperately need and want, well, that bumps it up many notches.  And after the break-in and hubby's car dying, we just really needed something great to come our way, and it absolutely did!

Our little family of four cashed in on our prize this past Saturday.
I was nervous...
The only time I've really had my picture taken by someone other than myself was for our wedding...*8 years ago*  I chalk it up to a lot of things, the major one being self-consciousness.  I've always had body image issues, and having two children doesn't really help the equation.  Add procrastination and the ever passing of time... Plus when no one ever really takes your picture and the only ones they do take look horrible, you start to think 'do I deserve having my picture taken?' 'What's wrong with me?' etc etc...

So yeah, the nerves were getting to me, I have anxiety issues... felt like I was going to throw up.  But I tried to remind myself that it was more for getting a good picture of the kids and showing that yes, they do indeed have parents, and so in the end, it didn't matter what we {the parents} looked like.

You can imagine my startle when as we're getting started Ariana looks to me and says that she is going to let the kids play while she takes pictures of the hubby and myself first.  "GAH!"  But I was trying to go with the flow,  play it cool, act cas {casual}, so I agreed.

Our first few poses were a bit tense/awekward, but then I remembered...
{She's a professional, she wants the pictures to look great just as much as I do, and the most important part was to have fun and relax.  And oh yeah, we've been married for 8 years, dated since I was 13, fear of PDA {public displays of affection} shouldn't even exist}  So I took a deep breath and I did it!  I'm so thankful that she suggested it, because hubby and I really needed couple shots and Ariana was great!  She was encouraging, helpful, gave suggestions, walked me through it, and it was fun.  Her husband Brian {who was in our wedding} was there too.  He has become her side-kick and he was there capturing moments and encouraging us right along side her.

It was a lot of fun, and even though the kiddos didn't quite cooperate, the weather was perfect, leaves were on the ground, love was in the air, and it ended all too quickly.

I encourage you to consider Ariana for your future photo taking needs, she's awesome.  Check our her website, she blogged about us!

Also, for those that would like to see the rest of the pictures, check them out { http://www.digiproofs.com/facesinfocusphotography/   Password: Brandie } I am quite pleased with how the pictures turned out.  Thanks Ariana!  I think you've found yourself some repeat customers!

3 comments:

Marlan said...

Such an attractive little family. Hope we can all get one done soon.

Ariana said...

Aw Katie - wow what an awesome post! You made ME want to meet, well, ME! lol you guys were INCREDIBLE models and the kids were great. I loved being able to photograph them having fun. And you and Brandon did perfectly! I know you SAID you were nervous, but honestly I COULDN'T tell! You both looked great. I got images of you two that are instantly on my favorites list. I am just really really glad that you guys had fun! I know me and Brian had a blast with all four of you! Thank you so much for being such a great supporter of our work and my blog and being such a great friend! Thank you!!!

Vanessa R. said...

The pictures look great!