Miss Leah was a joy to photograph! And incredibly sweet… I love watching first time parents with their new baby. The love and amazement in their eyes is indescribable and these lucky parents were no exception.  So in love with their new baby girl… and who can blame them, she’s beautiful!

I can feel it, summer isn’t far off!
With the time change, its lighter longer. The weather is starting to shape up and we can actually spend time outside.

We can do photo sessions outdoors without jackets, gloves, hats, crying/cold children!!

I cannot wait for spring and summer to get here, we got a nice little taste of that at this session… pure joy!

Such a gorgeous little girl… and oh so sweet!

Brooklyn was a joy to photograph, loved this session!

Meet Valerie and her son, Joe…

Valerie lives next door and her son, Joe, and my daughter, Allie, have become best buds. Such good buds, Allie is determined her and Joe will be getting married in the future, she’s just “waiting for a ring”. It’s cute… but scary how fast they grow up!
Valerie’s hubby, Dave, is currently deployed and won’t be back till June… she wanted to have some pictures taken of her and Joe to send to him. So we headed out east of Colorado Springs to where she boards her horse and had a blast playing around on the farm. It was a gorgeous March day, the sun was shining and we couldn’t have asked for better weather.
Joe looks incredibly handsome in his cowboy hat and Valerie always looks gorgeous! I look forward to doing a session with them once Dave returns this summer, so keep your eyes open for this cute family later this year!

Sweet Miss Adalyn did not want to be away from her mommy! So we made due and got some great shots with mom only inches away! 6 months is such a fun age to photograph… sitting up but not yet mobile ( a photographers dream! ) and for the most part, they are always cheery and smiley!

One of my best friends, Gaby, just delivered her third daughter, McKenna. She picked a great day to be born… my birthday! So McKenna’s daddy came up with the nickname of KimKenna…. since we will forever share the same birthday. I thought it was cleaver and pretty cute! Especially since I was there photographing her grand entrance into the world!

You’ll be seeing her on the blog as she grows through the first year, and I am so excited… she is just the cutest and most precious little girl. And look at all that hair! You’ve also seen her two older sisters on the blog before… so keep your eye out for their first session together!

Gaby made a great decision to have me photograph McKenna before she was even a week old. Newborns are the easiest to photograph in the first week of life… they hardly, if ever!, wake up… and let me mold them and move them whatever way I want. Its a dream really! They still have the scrunchy look and are just so easy to handle. I typically say before they are 2 weeks old is best, but the first week is ideal!!

It’s not often I sit a baby down to photograph them and they are smiley and happy from the start! But I sure do love when that happens! I can always depend on Elena smiling for me, she’s got to be one of the happiest (and cutest!) babies I’ve photographed. Sure makes my life a lot easier!

You may remember Kendahl from her newborn session. She sure has grown since then!

She’s gained so much chub its beyond adorable… love baby rolls! And when else are rolls cute on a girl in life?!

Amanda, Lenee and Britney were so much fun, and you can totally tell from their session! Amanda wanted funky, graffiti wall type pictures and I think we did a good job making that happen! Britney didn’t want to let go of her Dora book, but that’s okay …  it captures the moment! Lenee is a beautiful young lady and was a great help with her little sister!

Thanks Amanda, for allowing me to photograph you and your beautiful girls!

Seeing these four together again brings such joy to my heart. Mark just got back from his third tour in Iraq. I am so happy (and relieved!) that he made it home safely… I photographed the Shepherds right before Mark left for Iraq and then again just now when he returned. It was a great pleasure to photograph them again… after that long year apart put behind them, them knowing their family will always be together from here on out!

And thank you to Mark… who has sacrificed so much to serve his country. To keep us safe… you are a true American hero and I feel honored to call you a friend!

Little Benjamin is already three months old! I feel like it was just last week I was taking his newborn portraits! And what a handsome little guy… love his little smirk!

Sweet sweet Gabi… what an adorable little girl!

I must say she is one of my all time favorite babys to shoot. I was in an out of her house in 40minutes… and I got the cutest shots. She was super happy, laughing, cooing, smiling, eye contact! It doesn’t get much better than that… and to top it off, she’s a gorgeous little girl!!

Please click the photo or follow the link to view our favorite wedding photos from Lyndsie and Wes’ wedding at the Pines at Genesee.

Rain.

Why has there been so much rain this year?

Every wedding through Lyndsie and Wes’ has had rain at some point. For this wedding, rain clouds were boiling and threatening all day long, to the point that Wes had to make the call whether or not to even have it outside (why the Pines couldn’t set up both indoor and outdoor options, I don’t know…).

But luck and good fortune were on our side that day in that we only had sprinkles during the pre-photos, nothing during the ceremony, and it didn’t start pouring until we got inside for the reception.

But what a location! Wonderful meadows and views, and a perfectly shaded area full of lush old trees for the ceremony: The Pines at Genesee was a great place for a wedding.

We’re pretty enthusiastic photographers, and we like to roam a lot. We like to tread off of the beaten path and grab shots you don’t normally see. However, sometimes this means that the perfect wedding dress is a little less perfect when we’re done. But hey: you only wear it once. Better get your money’s worth!

Lyndsie is the perfect example of the “trooper bride”. While she was a little hesitant to go roaming about the meadows,  she wrote afterward when we posted her finished images online:

All I can say is…..AMAZING!! We are so happy with how the photos turned out (especially the “dipping” photos…which you must force every couple to do since they look awesome)!! All the grass/dirt stains and dress tearing was WAY worth it

See? Sometimes you’ve got to suffer a little for your art. It’s always worth it.

Thanks for giving us the honor of capturing your day, Lyndsie and Wes. It was awesome.

Well, it would be fun to win an award this year.

So, we humbly ask if you valued your photography from us, if you could please venture on over to the CS Indy’s Online Ballot and pencil us in for “Best Photographer” that would be awesome! (You’ll find that category at the bottom of the survey)

I am so excited to be blogging on here and so excited to share my work and be part of Trystan Photography!

Like Tryg said, I have been shooting with Trystan Photography for several years now (wow! time sure does fly!) and I am so grateful for all they have taught me. They are so much fun to work with and I feel so blessed to be part of their team!

I am excited to start shooting their children portraits but most excited about shooting the newborn sessions. It’s my true passion of photography. I love everything about it. The “newness”, the curl of a newborn, their tiny fingers and toes, the innocence… I could go on and on.

And just so you all know… I’m no writer. Don’t expect extravagant blog posts with whit and humor like Tryg…  from me, you’ll get short and simple blog posts but always with pictures from recent sessions!

It’s rare when you stumble across a talent so gifted and natural that it inspires you as a photographer.

Photography is hard for most. It’s easier for some. And then there are the few that make it look almost effortless.

Kim Harms has that kind of talent. She takes photos that are so stunning, and yet she is so unassuming about the whole thing, that it kindles a kind of jealousy within me. That’s right. I said it. Jealousy.

Char and I knew we were onto something special years ago when Kim first started assisting for us. She has this incredible eye which coupled with her completely unassuming demeanor makes it very fun and relaxing to shoot with her. She never seems stressed, she never seems bothered, and photography never seems hard for her.

And the best part is there has never been a photo shoot of her’s that we didn’t look through the shots and think at least once: how did she do that?!?

Charlotte and I are her biggest fans. And I couldn’t be more excited or proud to announce that Kim Harms has paid her dues, earned her stripes, and is now a lead portrait photographer with Trystan Photography!

All of Kim’s work is tremendous, but I think she especially shines in her newborn portraits and babies / kids portraits, which she’ll be specializing in for Trystan Photography. I’ve posted some of my favorites from her portfolio of newborn portraits below.

I just have one question: How does she get those babies to sleep like that!?! How!?! I couldn’t do that with my kids, ever.

So if you have an adorable newborn: call us!.. or know someone with a newborn: forward this onto them! You simply don’t see newborn portraits like these everyday!

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When I finished Emily and Neil’s engagement portraits, she wrote back with: “I can’t get used to seeing us in photos like these… more intimate photos.”

It’s a common reaction from our clients. Most people are used to very bland, straight on, looking at the camera portraits. When they see themselves in a portrait where: 1) the composition and lighting are flattering, 2) they look comfortable, 3) they have real emotion in the shot… well, it can freak you out a little (in a good way).

Those things are the essence of fine editorial photography/portraiture. I aim to capture who my clients are, in the most flattering and visually engrossing way possible.

My favorite moment from the session was from the beginning when we met at Union Station, I was going to do the signature “dip” in the middle of 17th St. (see Kristin and David’s engagement pics for a sample), when suddenly I noticed another photographer with another couple. She was standing right where I stand and was doing the exact same shot I wanted to do!

Two things happened: 1) I didn’t feel very creative, 2) I was filled with an overwhelming urge to challenge her to a duel. You see, for those of you who don’t know, the Revised Unified Code for Photographers section 16.28 sub-paragraph 6 mandates that any 2 photographers who meet out on location with the intent to capture the same shot must fight each other to the death (just like Highlander) using our longest lenses as bludgeons. Whoever is victorious absorbs the creative essence of the other photographer. I know, I know: it’s a very barbaric practice, but it’s been in use for thousands of years, before there were even cameras or photographers. Our ancestors strictly adhered to the photographer’s code.

Needless to say, I won. Emily and Neil were a bit shaken, but as you can see from their photos, the initial shock wore off and they recovered quickly.

(For legal purposes I must now explain that I did not, in fact, bludgeon another photographer to death with my tele-zoom lens in a barbaric Highlander-esque battle for creative rights to capturing a particular shot. It was simply my attempt a gallows/nerd humor and was clearly hyperbole. In fact, if  you thought I was serious, you are clearly humorless and are no longer allowed to read our blog.)

So, anyway… it was an awesome shoot and we were all over downtown Denver. From Union Station to 14th and Curtis (riding the 16th Street Mall buses is really easy). Emily and Neil were awesome and very adventurous. It was cold, dark and nearly raining, but we made the best of it.

In fact, the photo of them walking in front of the big yellow wall, holding hands, and she’s skipping forward and looking back at him is my favorite engagement portrait I’ve ever taken. Seriously. I love it. Thank you for being so great, you two!

This is a convoluted story line so try and stay with me here:

Once upon a time there was a bride named Julia. She was in love with a guy named Matt. Matt proposed and Julia filled her days and nights scouring the internet and wedding magazines for the perfect wedding photographer. Eventually she settled on us (we won!!!), and they went on their merry way…

Not quite. Julia also happened to mention after she booked that she was really into photography, I mean like, really into photography and she was hoping she could start assisting us on weddings.

Well if I had a dollar for everyone that has called to ask us if they could start assisting us at weddings, well… I’d have $30 bucks. (That wasn’t nearly as impressive sounding as I’d have hoped…)

Just because Julia was a client did not mean she didn’t have to prove herself just like everybody else. So we asked for her to put together a little portfolio presentation for us. Now I’m a pretty picky guy, and Charlotte is even worse when it comes to critiquing work ( you should hear her “critique” this blog post). But when we saw Julia’s portfolio, we were struck by something unique in her photography. We’d seen a lot of other portfolios from much more trained photographers who had asked if they could assist, but none of them had that certain “something”. It’s that nameless aspect of a photo that captures your imagination and/ or your heart. It can’t be taught, sometimes it can’t even be replicated, but it’s there nonetheless. And a lot of her work had “that”.

So we emphatically said “yes” and she was assisting us within weeks. She took our oldest camera ( a D70 from 2004) which was the actual camera we used to start Trystan Photography. You see, she hadn’t actually worked on a digital SLR, just an old film camera. But within a few weddings it was obvious she was a natural. Her images were great, and the more she shoots, the more stunning her images are. She is truly passionate about photography, and you can’t teach or buy that in an employee.

So that was last October, and in the meantime it’s become really obvious that we’re getting way too busy and we need some help with everything. S, again we turned to Julia. It turns out that not only is she passionate about photography, but she’s rather anal and detail oriented to boot! So now all of those little details (like putting orders in right, getting paid on time, filing taxes… blah, blah, blah…) are actually going to get done.

So, if you get a phone call from Julia and suddenly you find yourself wondering what the heck happened to Charlotte and Trig, don’t worry: we’re still here! We’re just focusing on photography. Because we’re photographers. It’s great!

So obviously, we took Julia and Matt’s engagement photos a while ago, and I’m only getting around to sharing them now. But what a great way for all of you to meet her!

Matt is probably the chillest man on earth. I mean, he’s marrying Julia: he has to be! (ha, ha, ha Julia! … I have the power of the blog, and you don’t!)

Charlotte and Kim (our incredible Senior Portrait photographers) will be in attendance with amazing senior album samples and fun games and prizes!

Notice: If you’re looking for safe and really blasé senior portraits of the typical stale poses and hands on chins: DO NOT COME HERE! You won’t like your photographs.

However, if you love the idea of unique, highly stylized portraiture with the perfect blend of fine art and high fashion: Please come here! You’ll love your photos!

Parents: don’t be shy! Please stop and ask questions. We recognize that these senior class portraits aren’t like yours were back in the day, but I’m sure your son/daughter and Char and Kim will be able to explain why our style of senior photography is really, really, really a lot cooler than yours were! Sorry, but it’s true…

You can follow the link or click the banner to the left to check out Kim and Char’s high school senior portrait samples.

Ahhh, Erinn and Kostas…

What a loving, amazing couple you are. What fun people you are. Your wedding is going to make all the other photographers really, really, jealous.

I met Erinn and Kostas at a parking lot near the edge of CU Boulder and we proceeded to embark on a little hike/adventure through the campus. It was an unseasonably warm March day (before it got really crappy in April), and although the trees weren’t quite budding yet, there was an almost Spring-like glow in the air. They chose CU Boulder because it’s a huge part of their personal stories and as a couple. They are both really intelligent, well-educated people, and it was a treat to get a glimpse into their history as they would regale me with tales of their past at CU as we walked around.

As we hiked through campus we’d stop whenever the spirit moved me and we’d shoot a little (more like I took photos while Erinn and Kostas made-out). Some couples take a little coaxing, and little suggestive persuasion on how to relax and be themselves, but not Erinn and Kostas! They were so relaxed, natural and totally into each other it almost seemed at times that it didn’t matter if I was there or not; as if they went on romantic make-out walks through CU all the time.

They were so into it, at one point a car drove by and someone yelled out the window, “Get a room!”. It was so much fun to photograph these two!

Their wedding is going to be stellar: they got us for unlimited time (all day), and Kostas and the boys and I are going hang out and go skeet shooting really early while Erinn, Charlotte and the girls goof around and get ready. Their wedding ceremony is going to be at the stunningly beautiful Assumption of the Theotokos Metropolis Cathedral in Denver. If you’ve never seen the interior of this cathedral, you seriously have to check it out! Then we’re zipping off to Boulder for some Chautauqua, downtown, and Folsom Field shots (with their names and maybe even some photos on the scoreboard behind them). The reception itself is going to be at Folsom Field. Now I’m a football nut, so this wedding would be cool enough just with the field, but with the Cathedral and all the other locations, it’s to die for!

I had such a good time takig your engagement photos, Erinn and Kostas. I can’t wait for your wedding!!!