The Final Clue...

This is our final clue until we reveal on Monday!!  Yay!!  (some of you have guessed it already but let's see if everyone else can!)  We are so excited to have many awesome new neighbors and this image is the front door of one of them. It will be great to get to know all of our neighbors over the next few weeks before we move in.  We are looking forward to be amongst wonderful local businesses! 

Clue #4- We have yummy neighbors!!

Still guessing?  Here's a good clue-we have yummy neighbors!!  You will be sure to want to stop by one of our neighbors for a tasty treat on your way into the studio-and if you do, don't forget to bring us a treat!!!  You may even find that some of these yummy baked goods will be in the viewing room when you come in to place your order.  Mmmmmm.......

Keep on guessing....Clue #3!

You are all getting warmer!! The guesses have been great but no one has nailed it down yet!! Clue #3 are images from our building's exterior.  We love the different textures and the clean lines (and that is just the outside-wait til you see inside!!)

Clue # 2!

Okay-many of you guessed our big announcement- yes, we are MOVING!!!  (but you still need to guess where??)  We are thrilled to tell you that we have outgrown our current studio and we are excited to have found a new studio that gives us more wonderful space (and yes, better parking!!)  Here are some images of the views we will have from our back door!  Any guesses?  Hmmmm...keeping checking back! More clues tomorrow!!

We have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

Stay tuned for the next 7 days as we get ready to make our big announcement!!!  The first clue is.... parking is going to get a whole lot better!  Do you have a guess?  Let us know!!  And check back every day this week for more clues!!!!

A brother, another brother...and another brother!

This family is very dear to our hearts as we started photographing them when Ben (their big 5 year old!) was days old!  Nearly two years ago, they added Sam to their family - and now, they have added Gabriel (Baby Gaby!) to their lovely mix!  Three brothers.  It is going to be a loud and crazy fun household!  What could be better?!?!    We have loved photographing them and are looking forward to capturing many more memories of them in the years to come! Congratulations, Kathryn and Jared!!  You have made a beautiful family!

ZOOM Camp Art Show Gala!!

Our ZOOM Camp Art Show Gala was a great success last evening!! Despite the rainy weather, we had a wonderful turnout of guests who were there to celebrate the fabulous talent of campers!  Each camper proudly displayed some of the work they had created including a framed piece of art (that they had chosen as their favorite during camp!)  Parents, grandparents, siblings (who also enjoyed a great game of hide and seek in the studio!), aunts, uncles and friends came out to support our camp artists.  They were all as impressed as we were with the art work.  We loved overhearing our campers talk about their work and it was evident how proud they were as well.  Moms and dads were also bursting with pride!! 

Way to go, campers!  We loved having you part of ZOOM Camp 2012!! Keep photographing and creating beautiful artwork!!

ZOOM Camp Art Gala Tonight!!!

Tonight is the night!!  Our ZOOM Camp Art Show Gala showcasing our campers' art that they created during camp last week!!  Join us at the studio (The Gilbert Building - 413 Wacouta Street Suite 320 in Saint Paul) this evening from 6-7:30pm. Spend this rainy evening enjoying beautiful art created by our talented campers.  You will be as impressed as we were when we saw what they could create!!

ZOOM Camp-The final day!!!

Meet our campers!! Aren't they  are good lookin' group? Our final day of camp was last Thursday-it went by so fast!  The campers didn't want it to end (in fact, several asked if we could have camp again this week!!)  On our last day, it rained ALL MORNING so we were not able to get outside but we had fun in the studio nevertheless!  In addition to learning a bit about lighting and experimenting using the studio lights, we photographed our group and each camper having another camp art direct the session. Our campers had become quite savvy with their art direction!!  We also worked on the Art Show Gala by selecting each campers' favorite images they had created during the week as well as writing their own artist statement. 

The ZOOM Camp Art Show Gala is this Wednesday June 20th from 6pm-7:30pm at our studio-413 Wacouta Street Suite 320 in St Paul!  Please join us as we showcase our campers' artwork and talent!! 

ZOOM Camp Day 3-Exposure!

Day Three of ZOOM Camp definitely used some brain power!! Whew!! But our campers were up to the task!!  Today's topic was Exposure and included learning about aperture and shutter speed.  These are heavy duty concepts.  The campers were able to go outside (despite some raindrops!) and experiment by adjusting aperture and shutter speed and see that they came up with!   Some of today's images were taken by Melissa and some were taken by campers-can you tell which ones?!?!   We are gearing up for the last day of Camp tomorrow (boo.) and excited to take on new challenges!!  Stay tuned til tomorrow to see how things wrap up!!!

ZOOM Camp Day Two-Composition

ZOOM Camp is flying by this week!!  We can hardly believe that it is half over!!  We adore these campers and their enthusiasm and passion for photography!!   Today, the campers shared their "homework" of creating images with perspective and they all learned a lot by viewing each others' work.  We then learned about composition-including "framing" your image, leading lines and the Rule of Thirds!  Tough concepts but these kiddos seemed to take it all in!!  We spent some time at a nearby park and experimented making new images keeping composition in mind!!  Perfect cool summer weather made is ideal to be outside exploring-we can't wait for the rest of the week and seeing what these artists come up with!!

ZOOM Camp Day One-Perspective!

Day One of ZOOM Camp is complete and it couldn't have been more fun and exciting!!  We thought we would try to post some images from camp every day to show you what we have been learning about!!  We met all 5 ZOOM campers (who range in age from 9 - 12) and got to know more about them doing an exercise involving popping balloons. What a fabulous group of kiddos!!  Today we learned about perspective in photography.  The campers experimented taking photos from different angles and in different positions.  We are so super lucky to have Mears Park so close by to explore and photograph.  Campers seemed to soak it all in and were excited to start their homework tonight.  Tomorrow we will see what they created when we share images.  Stay tuned all week for more fun!!!

Twin Cities Live-Taking a Good Pregnancy Photo

Twin Cities Live-Taking a Good Pregnancy Photo



It has been so crazy busy at the studio the past few weeks that we are just now posting the link to Melissa's recent appearance on Twin Cities Live talking all about maternity portraits!  (click on the link above to see the segment and some of our favorite maternity session images!)  The segment did feature some "awkward" maternity photos that TCL producers found online-essch!  For those of you wondering, what makes a great maternity session, here are some tips:

 

• The best time for a picture to capture your pregnancy is when you are between 28 to 34 weeks.

• Wear clothes that highlight your wonderful curves.

• Accentuate the positive highlighting your best features (whether it’s your eyes or your bustline!)

• Be well rested and relaxed on the day of your photo.  Avoid wearing clothing that will cause lines.  Enjoy yourself and have fun!
•  

Happy 1st Birthday, Big Boy John!!!

You may recall this sweet boy from previous posts with his adorable toy giraffe!!  We starting capturing John when he was just days old and we included Giraffe at his newborn session, 6 month session and of course, at his 1 year old session last month!  Could this be any cuter?  Mom and Dad have plans to proudly display all three portraits in the family room of their new home. We love it!! John is the happiest, smiley 1 year old boy who loved having his picture taken!  We even got to explore outside at the park down the street at the end of our session.  John was captivated by the trucks and cars passing by-a true boy!!  Happy 1st Birthday, John! We can't wait to watch you grow and explore over the next few years!!