{she told me she felt beautiful}

Oh wow, it's been a while since I've posted and I've honestly missed it. It's kind of like a journal for me.   This year I'm going to make efforts to post more.  I feel like this is my place for sharing not just my photography business images but also my life it general.  My photography is shaped by who I am and what I feel so I think it's only fitting to share me, my life, my trials, my journeys, my goals, my failures, my happiness and my sadness here.  My photography is created from emotions that are real, gritty and raw moments in every day life.  And that translates into art…into my art.  Anyway, I just thought I'd warn you, ha.

Last night was pretty chilly here in the desert but the sun was gorgeous so I took Brielle out for some sample shots of light and different properties of light for my 'Finding the Light' workshop in Atlanta next week.  While I was there I coupled the shoot with a commercial session for an amazing designer I've been working with for years - FaithWorks4U.  As I was getting Brielle ready in my bathroom she saw the dress hanging on my closet door and asked excitedly if she could wear her gold sparkly shoes, my gold headband and my gold earrings. How could I say no, she was styling herself and doing a great job at it.  Commercial shoots never get old for her, especially if I allow her to be a part of the styling. Then she spotted a new purchase I made at Sephora.  It was gold glitter.  She excitedly begged for me to put some on her eyes.  "It'll go perfectly with my sparkly shoes Momma'. Again, I was swayed and dabbed a little lightly near her eyes.  After she put on the dress, she looked in the mirror and told me with a smile on her face that she felt beautiful.  I always want her to feel beautiful.  Not necessarily physically but with the person she is.  With who she is on the inside and how she lives her life and projects her spirit onto others.  I truly hope my little girl always feels beautiful.

{9 to 5 Bloom Forum Blog feature}

I was flattered to be asked by 'The Bloom Forum' to share my day in a fun, new series they've started.  They feature a photographer and little snippets of their day in what's called their '9 to 5' series.  It was fun to be a part of this.  If you're not familiar with the Bloom forum, it's a great place to learn about photography whether you're brand new to photography or if you've been in business for a while.  They have great classes and the forum is VERY active.  I just wrapped up teaching 'Bloom Basics' and now we're getting ready to start our other popular on-line class 'Defining Yourself'.  This class is for those who know how to shoot in manual but are in search of their style....it's a very creative, fun class.  Check it out.  We'd love to have you!

Here's the link to my 9 to 5 feature and a few pics from the feature (below).  Thanks so much to the Bloom Forum Blog for having me!!

{texting trouble maker} little prank

I know this is my photography blog but as I mentioned in my bio, I post about things other than photography sometimes.  Specifically,  things that inspire me, my family and other random posts that I see fit to share.  This falls under 'other random posts I see fit to share'.  Some of you are my friends FaceBook  (on my personal account) and may have seen a text exchange between me and a total stranger.  Weird right?  It started when a random gentleman texted me...he had the wrong number.  But I couldn't let this person know he had the wrong number, that's boring and I can't resist causing a little trouble.   I don't take life seriously at all and I'm always sarcastic, laughing and joking.  So it wouldn't be like me to just say - 'hey, I think you have the wrong number.'  Naughty I know -- it's the 3rd grader in me telling me to do it.  So the text exchange is below.  It's very clear I'm not up on all of today's slang, I thought 'Tryna' was a girls name. I know, I'm cool like that. LOL Anyway, this person tried to call a few times and I'm sure when he realized I wasn't who he thought I was, he's out to kill me.  Ha!  I called Jeff after this exchange laughing so hard I couldn't get words out.  Thank God he wasn't in an important meeting and he literally started laughing as hard as I was when he read the exchange.   #ilovehim    When I read the text to my son he laughed and said 'you know that a ziggurat is a Mesopotamian Temple right? Well, it's Sumerian really. Why would you write to him about that?' Yeah, I so knew that...I did it on purpose (Not really.  I thought I made up that word)  And a skrim is a mountain in Norway. Yeah....I totally knew that too. {I lie.  I had no clue.} My son teaches me something new every day.  Anyway this provided my husband, kids and I complete Friday night entertainment.  So thanks Will, if you're out there. You are a shining light in our house and I really was really bummed when you didn't reply to my final texts bro. You coulda ringed it.... We coulda be tight man.

Today in the mail a package arrives for me.  I thought it was from one of my designers since it was from an Apparel company.  So I casually open it in the kitchen not realizing that every member of my family has their eyes glued to me.  I open it up to find this t-shirt (see below).  Again, this made my night, my week, my month.  My kids and hubby designed this t-shirt for me.  #ilovethem  They know me so well and 'get' my humor.  They immediately asked me to put it on.  It didn't matter that I JUST got in the door from the gym.  They had me put it on over my workout clothes.  So here it is!   And I love it.  They  are begging me to wear it tonight- we're going to Studio Movie Grill to see Cloudy with a s Chance of Meatballs 2.  I think this is my new favorite shirt!

{What_______ looks like} Saturday Morning Breakfast

Hi Everyone!  This month's 'What____ looks like' is our typical Saturday morning breakfast.  We usually all sit together on the weekends and eat a hot cooked breakfast at the table as a family.  Everything starts of normal, calm...average.  And soon the normalcy turns into games.  Sometimes we play 20 questions, sometimes we tell jokes, other times we talk about funny things that have happened or like this past Saturday everyone (except the photographer...me) played with the horse head.  Why do these masks provide hours of entertainment?!  It's a plastic horse! But seriously, we can't stop playing with it.  And so...this was our Saturday morning breakfast together.

Now hop over to Andrea Hanki's beautiful blog to see what she's posted and continue through the loop to complete the circle.  :)

{What_______ looks like} turning 8

It's that time again!  I know, I wasn't able to participate last month and I hate that.  Things have been crazy this summer with traveling, the house remodel and the kids being back from their trip.  When they got home from being on their adventurous road trip with Grandma & Grandpa May I wanted to soak in every moment with them that I could and that meant pushing personal projects aside (boo!).  But I'm back!  This month, on the first of August, my baby girl turned 8 years old!  Yes, 8!  The picture above was Brielle when she was 6 months old.  She was born with thick black hair.  Very different from my blonde little boy.  But soon light brown hair sprouted and her tips were black from birth.  Still trips me out.  Ha!  Brielle couldn't believe she was turning 8 either and was beyond excited for the day to begin so we could celebrate and tell stories of her birth and her as a baby.  I loved every minute of her excitement!   We started the day with a fluffy pancake breakfast, in the afternoon Jeff surprised Brielle by coming home by noon then we were off to play to at Dave & Busters for some games and prizes.  That night Brielle requested a home cooked meal.  What did she want?  She wanted a blue cheese iceberg wedge, steamed broccoli and a juicy prime cut steak (Jeff cooks the best steak), too bad I'm not a red meat eater.  But she devoured it!  For dessert she wanted a Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting and ice cream.  She was in heaven ;-)

Oh and I had to capture my baby the day she turned 8 so when Jeff got home we quickly snapped a few photos before we went off to play.

The next day Grandma Rasmussen flew in to be with Brielle to celebrate her birthday!  She was beyond excited!  And when Grandma is in town in the summer, swimming in the pool is top priority.  We don't want Grandma to go home but we're thankful she was able to spend this time with us and the kiddos.

Thanks for taking the time to pop by my blog.  Complete the circle and visit all of the other talented photographers in this project.  Click here for Wendy VonSosen's post.  She never disappoints!  :)

We're back!! Bloom Basics is back!

After the wonderful responses from the two Bloom Basics courses Stephanie Moore and I have taught, we're back to teach it again!!  And we can't wait!!   The course takes place on the Bloom Forum in a private classroom so if you're not a Bloom Forum member you will just need to sign-up for a couple of months so you have access to the classroom. Who is this course for?  For those of you who have a DSLR camera and want to know how to shoot in manual mode and learn how to edit in photoshop.

I'm continually amazed with prior students and how far they've come after taking this course.  Several have started their own photography business after taking this course and then completing our second course 'Defining Yourself'.

Are you really going to be able to learn in an on-line course?   I 100% believe that our teaching methods make on-line learning easy.  We utilize video explanations when needed and some of the course material is presented via video, photos, diagrams, etc.  I'm a visual, hands on learner so we really strive to give as much visual guidance and teaching in this course.

Our prior courses have sold out so be sure to purchase a seat before they're gone.

Please contact me at kara@karamayphotography.com with any questions you might have or for pre-registration links.

{DysFunctional Photo Friday} taking the disˈfəNGkSHən out of your photos

It's Friday!  Gosh this week went by so fast!! My kids are gone RVing with Grandma & Grandpa so it's been a strange week without hearing their little voices echo throughout the house.  Since they're gone, I've been extremely busy.  Like can't sleep at night because my brain won't turn off busy.  It's been very productive with editing, packaging orders, painting my office, remodeling the kitchen and trying to finally decorate this house after being here for a year.  I have decorating commitment problems...hence the reason for these weekly posts.  These ideas are helping me sift through my images in effort to display them throughout my home in creative ways.  Remember this post?  The one with the driftwood and twine?Well Free People just posted their own version with instructions on how they did it here.   I love their creativity with this - so colorful yet still very organic.

Have you seen this cool wallpaper sold at the Scandinavian Design Center made by Lisa Bengtsson?  On the right wall and in the right space this would be super cool.  Just put a pop on a photo, jewelry or anything that's special to you (or just leave them blank) and  you have cool art on your wall.

To make a 'BIG' statement, these wall murals are the way to go.  Super impressive with the right image!

{image below from khooll.com}

{image below from WeHeartIt}

{image below found on HGTV - with instructions on how they did it}

Very cool ideas to think about.  Hope you enjoyed this week's post.  If you have a cool idea and want to be featured on my blog e-mail me at kara@karamayphotography.com with your idea.

{DysFunctional Photo Friday} taking the disˈfəNGkSHən out of your photos

I've been struggling with ideas on how to display photos in my office.  I'm sick of the blank walls - I want to paint and then fill the walls with images that tell stories.  But how should I display them?  That's my problem.  I've been fascinated with the idea of using clothes pins (and possibly glitter-ing or painting them first) and then hanging them from twine.  You can tell a story in each photo or in a cluster of photos that have a sequence of events.  Anyway, here are some ideas I've seen that are really inspiring.  I found this image at Promise Tangeman Updates Blog - she explains exactly how she makes her cute display.  I love how the pictures aren't straight.

At the Old Brand New Blog - they've used a few different sizes of clothes pins and painted them a solid color.

Oh Houzz - I found this display of vintage photos.  I think these are clothes pinned to an old metal mattress base.  Pretty clever.

I love Southern Weddings showed this sweet display used at a wedding.  I think it would be cute for a birthday party or engagement party too.  Simple yet creative and organic.

This image I found on Pinterest and it wasn't linked to anything.  But I thought it was super cute using vintage hangers to display photos along with some miscellaneous meaningful things.  Kinda of a hodge-podge of special things and not necessarily just photos. 

If you have any ideas you'd like me to share (of your own or something that's inspired you)  please send them to me at kara@karamayphotography.com  with the subject 'Dysfunctional Photos'.  Thank you!

{What _____ looks like} 'the last few days of the school year'

Summer is here!  Yes, the kids are out of school and another year has quickly passed.  My momma heart has a hard time realizing and accepting that they are growing up.  I was hoping my littles would stay little forever (or at least for a lot longer than it has been).   I'm always an emotional mess as the school year comes to an end.  I want to be at everything and soak in every moment of volunteering and being with them 'in the moment' at their schools.  These years will have such a huge impact on them and I want that impact to be positive.

Sometimes I feel like that mom on the Capris Sun commercial.  You know which one I'm talking about?  (I posted the link below) I promise I'm not that protective but every time I see that commercial I laugh since that's how I feel.  Don't get me wrong, just because I want my kids happy doesn't mean I don't discipline them or hold them accountable... I definitely do.  But sometimes I wish I could protect them from every negative influence. Sigh...they're growing up and I just have to accept that.  ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h_5Y0llfwU

The picture below was the morning of the last day of school.  It was pajama day!  They were pretty excited about that.

These next 3 were taken 3 days prior since we had some time to kill in the courtyard.

The second to last day of school was 'water day' for Brielle.  What a fun way to end 2nd grade!

Ty in his class autographed T-shirt (i should've taken a pic of the shirt but I wanted to capture his sweet 4th grade face).  5th grade next year - yikes!!

This last picture was the first night of summer (taken with my iPhone).  Brielle was exhausted after a full day in the sun.  Ty was full of energy on Minecraft at 10pm (I know....late.  It was an exception/celebration welcoming Summer break). I'd say the first day of summer was a success!!

Check out what Stephanie Moore posted this month and click through to complete the circle of photographers participating this month.

{DysFunctional Photo Friday} taking the disˈfəNGkSHən out of your photos

It's that time again!  This is helping me sift though my photos and forcing me to display them, I'm a photographer and right now, looking at my house, you wouldn't know it.  Since moving last May (a year ago) I have not put up a single picture!  I know, lame.  Every house prior I had wall displays, mini albums and other displays of my kiddos sprinkled nicely here and there in every room  Oh wait...I have one picture on my wall.   It's in Brielle's room.  Pictured below.  But that's the only photo displayed right now.  {shaking my head with embarrassment}   

These posts are getting my mind thinking about ideas and I'll try to post some of the ones I do along the way.

Lately, I've been trying to figure out how to organize and decorate my office (well every room in the house really) and I want it to be a creative space that represents me and this passion of mine.  I'm struggling with design ideas since there are so many directions I want to take with that space.  Right now I'm obsessed with just a hodge-podge of photos on walls.  This is a little unlike me since I like clean lines and no clutter, and this is a very cluttered look but it's organized, creative clutter and I'm drawn to that.  If I had a couch like this I think I would want to do the same as the image below.  I found this on Flickr and fell in love with it!  The one below that had me thinking about our new (well soon to be new - it's not up yet) mantle.  I found that image on Flickr too.

This one makes me think of my workspace.  It's just eye candy...you can never get sleepy with a wall like this in front of you each day.  {I found this image here.}

For a little more of an organized look, I thought this was cute.  Might look great on a small wall  or in a girls bedroom.  I think Instagram pictures would look really cool in this collage format.

 So my mind is spinning with ideas.  I can't wait to share more cool finds next week.  If you have a unique display to share please e-mail me at kara@karamayphotography and in the Title write:  Dysfunction Photo Friday.  Thanks!!