grateful for him:

and for her:

and for this one, too:

good things do come in threes.

thing two:

thing three:

thing one:

the ipod. Not used as often as I would like…mainly because once the kids are not home, I love the silence but when they are here, we like to listen to lots of fun stuff and it’s the funniest when Jack asks to listen to “Parents Just Don’t Understand”.

thing two:

the iphone. I love my phone…being able to check emails and the internet while waiting at soccer or to pick up the kids is a huge time saver for me and it looks cool and is fun to play with, so that’s a plus too.

thing three:

the ipad. My newest ithing was a recent birthday present and I love it. Super easy to navigate, super fast. Photographs look awesome on it and it’s the perfect couch-mate for me since my laptop died for surfing the web and reading books.

thing two: she performed “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Love Somebody”

thing three: he performed “Star Wars” and “Indian Song”

All three did great – we’re so proud of them and so thankful to their awesome teacher, she’s amazing and we appreciate her so much!

thing one:

thing two:

thing three:

thing one:

thing two:

thing three:

and just for fun…thing four:

For today’s topic I wanted to show a few storyboards that I’ve created from past sessions. Custom storyboards can always be created from your sessions, just ask me

thing one:

thing two:

thing three:

thing one:

more daylight hours…means more time for shooting, more time for playing, more time for family, more time for fun!

thing two:

driving with the windows down and the music up and all three kids and I singing along.

thing three:

vibrant backdrops to photos and life…green grass, green trees with spring blossoms, beautiful flowers and blue skies (usually )

thing one:
a lone tree in a fence…thought it was pretty cool.

thing two:

my amazing assistant for the two days…and the best hostess…she wasn’t really wanting a photo, so I focused on the awesome tractor instead, love the resulting shot.

thing three:

Old Borges Ranch, the site of several of my shoots over the two days in the Bay Area.

thing one:

Sometimes the easiest place to hold our session is at the client’s home. The good thing about having the session at your home is that your children are comfortable there. They like to show off their rooms, explore the different rooms and outdoors with me. They like to show me their toys and they can most often be themselves at home. We can read books, play games and have a relaxed time with the lady that showed up at the house with a camera. Newborns are almost always done at the clients home as well…easiest for the new parents – even if it’s your fifth baby! I come to you, bring my things and we just spend some time getting the shots that we need.

thing two:

We live in a great state…Utah has many great locations for outdoor shoots in all seasons with very different outcomes. There are lots of parks and trails and other outdoor spots up the canyons that have great backdrops for some fabulous sessions. We can also take your shoot to a more urban location with some fun bright walls downtown and other fun sights. There are also some other great spots that I have in my bag of tricks, so if you’re stumped on a spot, let’s do some brainstorming! I also love trying out new locations – just ask my kids! -  so if you have something in mind that you’d like to try, please know that I’m open to suggestions!

thing three:

Studio sessions…what??? Since when? Since now. Studio sessions are something new that carrieowensphotography will be offering this Spring so keep checking the blog for more information and sneak peeks to come!

I know that I am very lucky to have the opportunity that I do to live out my dreams and be a photographer. I know that I’m lucky that I have my three kids who are willing (most of the time) to model for me, test out locations for shoots and try out some of the ideas I have floating around in my head. I know that I’m lucky that I have a super supportive husband who encourages me and pushes me to be the best me that I can be. I’m lucky for the amazing clients that I’ve met and been able to get glimpses into their lives.

I think that before I go on too long about all this, I’m going to stop and show three photos of a recent newborn session for my Thursday Three Things of the week. If you ‘d like to see more of this sweet family check out their maternity session and a sweet peek at their baby here.

thing one:

thing two:

thing three:

Another reason I love my job – I get to play with sweet babies…can’t really beat that.

This week I wanted to do my Thursday Three Things about equipment, what’s in my bag, what I love to use as a photographer, what I couldn’t live without, as it seems like I get those questions more and more lately. So here goes:

thing one:

My film SLR had been a Nikon and since they weren’t the first to jump on the DSLR kick I’m a Canon girl now, have been ever since I started shooting digital (although I think my first digital camera was an HP, then a Minolta). I purchased the first DSLR Rebel from Canon just about as soon as I could convince the husband that it was necessary. I purchased it with the kit lens although I later sold that on ebay. I didn’t know a whole lot about lenses or shooting in anything other than auto at first, but took a ton of photos and read a lot (Understanding Exposure is an excellent book to start with!). I participated in online photography boards and scrapbooking boards, looking at other people’s photos and practicing a ton. These days when people ask if they should go the Canon or Nikon route I typically tell people to find a local store that sells both (here in Utah, Pictureline is my favorite) and go in and hold them both. They are both amazing brands and one does one thing better, while another excels in another area. It comes down to which one feels better in your hand and only you can decide that. I have since upgraded from the original Rebel (still have it…probably going to gift it to my oldest son soon) to the Canon 30d and now use that as a backup for my Canon 5d Mark ii which I adore.

thing two:

Lenses. A good camera is nice but a good lens is amazing. It seriously will change the way you take photos if you invest in good quality lenses. The three that I use are the 85mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4 and the 24-70mm f2.8L and I love them all for different reasons. There are two more lenses on my wishlist, but it’s going to be a long while before those become reality and really, the three that I have now could take me for a very long time.

thing three:

Light. Not really something in my bag, but something I wanted to address. I don’t use a flash. Not a built in (my camera actually doesn’t have one) or an external. I have a flash, I’ve used a flash, but I’m not a fan of a flash. I’ll use it when I need it, but I much prefer using natural and available light. And that means that I need two things: a good lens that can shoot in low light situations and a camera that can handle high ISOs when needed. When I first started with my Rebel I was just shooting auto and wasn’t really too sure what the different lenses could do other that zoom in and out, so that’s what I purchased them for. Now that I’m more aware, I understand the role that light plays when you’re shooting and I know the look that I’m going for. I look for light when I am shooting here at home and when I’m at a clients home or at a park. Studio light is a whole different ball game, one that I’m currently exploring.

And that’s all for today…no photos, but since tomorrow is foto friday, expect one or two there

In thinking about your session I want you to consider a few things. At carrieowensphotography my goal is to make your session fun and relaxed. If you want to bring a friend, please do! If you think you have a weird idea, but it sounds fun to you – please tell me! I want to go places and do things that are important to you and tell your story at this very important time in your life. I want your images to reflect who you are, getting photographs that you love – and grandma and grandpa want to frame for their mantle. Some important things to consider:

thing one:

Where do you love to go? What places do you and your friends frequent? Where do you go to relax or to center yourself? Is there somewhere that you’ve been visiting since you were a child that holds a special place in your heart? Are you always on the court, or the field or in the pool? Are you wandering through parks or hiking up the canyons? Let us explore those ideas to find a couple locations that will help put you at ease and let you have fun!

thing two:

What to you love to do? Are you an athlete, a dancer, a drama lover? Do you swim or spend hours in the library in the pages of a great novel? Do you paint or draw, ride horses or sing? Do you play an instrument or ski every chance you get? What makes you who you are? What are your passions right now? Which of those passions have shaped the person that you are today? Let’s find fun and creative ways to showcase your loves in your images.

thing three:

What do you hope to become? Have you always wanted to be a dancer? Always hoped to be a pro ball player? Looking towards law enforcement or dental school? What goals and dreams do you have for yourself? Let’s explore those ideas in your shoot together.

Shooting a wedding for me is about more than just the one day. I love to meet couples for their engagement shoots, later for bridals with the bride alone and then for the big day itself. Sometimes a bride and I can’t find a time before the wedding for the bridals so we can always do them after the big day, either alone or with the groom if he feels up to it. If you’re newly engaged…or about to be or have been engaged for a while, I would love to talk more with you about the wedding packages available from carrieowensphotography.

and now for the thursday three things for this Thursday before Valentine’s Day:

thing one

engagements…these photos of the happy couple were taken at Wheeler Farm, one of my very favorite spots:

thing two

ceremonies…not something that I get to do very often here in Utah, but I absolutely love them. This one took place at the beautiful Le Jardin in Sandy, Utah.

thing three

bridals are great fun and can be taken at many locations. For this session both bride and groom came dressed and ready for some fun shots at Temple Square.

1. Fine Art Albums are beautiful square albums that are custom designed from your session and showcase your images in a way that you can cherish for generations. More information on these albums to follow soon. Current clients, please inquire if you are interested in this product.

2. Fine Art Image Boxes are boxes that contain the images from your session in mounted 5×7 format perfect for a rotating easel display on your bookcase or mantle. These images have a beautiful texture to them and fit nicely in the custom designed box with room for a cd of your images in a low resolution format as a digital backup.

3. Session Boxes are smaller than the Fine Art Image Boxes yet still contain all of your images in loose 5×7 format. This option also has the cd of your images in low resolution format as a digital backup. The box is custom designed with a beautiful ribbon and magnetic  closure.