big groups make me nervous but not with when working with these people 🙂 they were so laid back & easy going. the kids were so much FUN! i hope grammy & grandpapa approve of their pictures with their adorable grandchildren!
erin & shane – thanks for inviting me to your beautiful home to take your pictures. it was good seeing everyone!
so…this year i decided to stick with ONE image from each client session in 2012. ONE! last year i went buck wild with my blog post so this was a task! i really had to open each session & look through them to find the one i wanted to post. [thank goodness the moirai compositor has an update this year allowing me to put ALL the images on one blog board….that probably saved me hours!] maybe i picked the picture because i liked the emotion, the happiness, the memory i had of that moment, because i had never posted it before or simply just liked the picture in general…all i know is that going back through these images gave me the warm fuzzies & made me smile! what great memories of an action packed, FULL year. i have had such great experiences. so many of my clients have turned into some of my closest friends which is so fun!
i shot 83 sessions & 7 weddings. oh and also…i had a baby! this year has flown by.
some other highlights: new equipment AGAIN (i’m a junkie). i bought the 35mm 1.4g among some other fun photography related items or programs (expodisc, etc). i bought back my first camera from the guy i sold it to a couple years ago. why i ever sold it, i don’t know. i won’t use it, but i feel complete now that i have it again. it was my dad’s & he gave it to me when i first started to help me get going so it has tons of sentimental value. i’ll never let that bad boy out of my sight again 🙂
i have continued with education. i took composition & creativity part 2 over at clickinmoms then was an alumni helper in the next run. i loved that experience. those classes are so valuable. i participated in some clickinmoms projects (the way i view, the cm pro daily project), etc. courtney keim designed a blog site & i moved all my stuff over from my old website. i love it…it’s so me. i’ve become a part of the magic hour team – it’s a great organization. you should check it out!
i know i’m forgetting something but this year has been that much of a whirlwind! i’m starting 2013 with lofty goals…i’ve been brainstorming for a while & i have all kinds of personal AND professional goals. i think doing a year in review is a good thing for all professionals to do because you can look back, reminisce, think about the highs of the year & what areas you improved in, so this was fun. but mostly this post is just to THANK YOU for being so special to me, so supportive, so kind…thanks for your referrals & for treating me like i’m a part of the family when i come into your home & photograph you. i appreciate you – ALL OF YOU!
xo
i love the holidays! i can hardly believe they are all over it! it’s the second of the month & time for the monthly blog circle of “the way i view.” this month we are talking about how we view holidays. make sure at the end of this post to link up to the next photographer in the circle so you can make the full loop!
the way i view the holidays is being together and teaching the real story behind christmas. garrett’s school does a great job of that, too. we tried to emphasize this alot. we love traditions, too. we make a yearly christmas plate, look at lights, make cookies with nini & pa, etc…we had so much fun.
i am always so fearful of him becoming greedy around christmas because kids get so excited about presents so we did tons of random acts of kindness together throughout december. one day in particular we sat down & created a list of 27 things to do in honor of the victims in newtown. (thank you ann curry for the inspiration & to the many people out there who do stuff like this & help spread ideas). i let garrett come up with the ideas first, then i filled in by giving my ideas…at the end we still had about 5 things left where we needed help! i turned to an old post i had seen on drew bittel’s momtog blog…loved it when i read it back in 2011 & still do. thanks for the inspiration, drew! i was amazed by how nice people are. garrett & i tried to stay incognito but we got caught a few times & i was so thrilled with how many people (even in the hustle & bustle of christmas crowds) will stop, get down on a 4 year olds level & truly express appreciation. it was so fulfilling in the end because of the impact it had on garrett. he’s still talking about how it was fun to give to others. of course he still looooves presents, too, but atleast he’s learning to give! we spent hours devising a plan, gathering materials, making things & then spent from about noon to 9pm carrying out our plans…it was a full day but we were both so full of adrenaline we were unstoppable! garrett made his mark all over the city. he passed out about starbucks gift cards to cars with notes, to store workers, to firefighters, to hospitals, etc. he picked out books to donate to the children’s hospital, brought treats to the dog shelter, spread his love all over cars, bathrooms, shopping carts with inspirational quotes with his artwork on them. we bought the coffee of the guy in line behind us at starbucks…he tracked us down at a light & thanked us so genuinely, you would’ve thought we gave him a million dollars. people are so nice. we helped some homeless peops, made cards & mailed them to friends who needed a pick me up. garrett wanted to buy lottery tickets for people. he randomly left them places with little notes or handed them out to people we saw along the way. he chose to buy 4 bunches of flowers….one for nini, one for the checker at the grocery store, one for the checker at target & one for a “sick kid” at the hospital. garrett called some of the special people in our life to “send a hug.” we participated in samaritan’s purse & are still in the process of making snowflakes for sandy hook. i’m not real crafty b ut we’ll make it happen some way! then of course the small things like asking someone how they’re doing, giving a compliment, holding doors…i was amazed at all the ideas he came up with himself & very proud of him.
taking some time off of work was fun & i appreciated being able to enjoy the traditions we do every year without all the extra distractions. john had some time off of work, too. we didn’t do much but we were all together. which is the most important part!
and then there’s new years of course! cheers to a new year! i feel good going into this one. i feel like i have a plan in order to alleviate being quite so overworked for once in my life. i think it’ll be a good one! we have a new little squirt this year & feel complete. we have built up strength & resilience after going through some very hard times & i think we are better equipped to handle things that get thrown our way. feeling blessed! happy new year everyone.
thanks for enduring this long post…now you get awarded by receiving the link to the awesomely talented krista campbell of krista campbell photography! to see how she views the holidays click here!
[…] loved that experience. those classes are so valuable. i participated in some clickinmoms projects (the way i view, the cm pro daily project), etc. courtney keim designed a blog site & i moved all my stuff […]
[…] sure to follow the circle all the way around by visiting Kelly Garvey, Houston Photographer, next to see how she views the […]
Oh my, Kelly, I can’t believe all the wonderful things you guys did this month. I am super impressed! Not to mention your images are just lovely too!!! <3
Kelly, this was so fun to read through and your photos are amazing! I am so inspired by your random acts of kindness and can’t wait to do that next year!! <3
It’s been so fun getting to know you through the blog circle. I love all the wonderful things you’ve shared. You guys definitely know how to celebrate. Your kids will cherish these images so much down the road.
Kelly, what brilliant ideas!!!! I am totally going to do this with Emily… And of course your images are wonderful–your boys are adorable!
I love this post! Beautiful images and family!
Thank you guys sooooo much!
well i did it again! i vowed to update this daily project weekly & once again i am averaging about 5 months between posts! ugh! times have been busy. well once again..this will be a picture overload. today is new year’s eve so maybe i’ll be better in the new year? maybe…maybe not 🙂 well…here’s week twenty five through (who knows, i lost track)! i’ll start again at week one 2013 tomorrow & it’ll be easy to keep up with the numbering again. thanks for looking!
happy new year everybody!!
this is my friend, jodi….jodi of jodi arego seniors. she’s not just talented at photography…she’s got the gift of being awesome at EVERYTHING! hehe. i’m not kidding! jodi’s an awesome wife…way better than me. she’s a loving momma & those kids adore her. i must admit…i was a little jealous because scott seemed perfect, too! like one of those too good to be true husbands playing football with his kids, tickling, telling jokes…ugh, no fair! anyway, back to jodi…she’s awesome, have i mentioned that? her + scott have done such a good job with those kids…i could have hung out with them all day. they have three beautiful kids (inside AND out, the best kind of beautiful to be!). she’s trained them well on the art of getting their picture taken because they knew exactly what to do!
i was sooo worried about the weather. i wanted these pictures to be perfect for jodi. she did pictures for us last year & i loved them…i had envisioned the sun being out for her session, so i was bummed. it wasn’t until halfway into the session i realized that the aregos didn’t care if the weather wasn’t perfect. they were perfectly happy with everything just the way it was because they had each other so therefore it was perfect! they are such a close knit, fun, giggly family. if my kids are anything like your kids when they are 5.5, 9 & 12, i’ll be a happy lady…i’m sure you guys are so proud!
i know you guys haven’t had pictures done in like 4 years so i felt the pressure! i hope i delivered what you were hoping for. love you guys!
it was SO nice meeting the rest of the family…i felt like i knew all of you already through jodi. she prepared me for how great all of you are but i was still blown away!
thanks for such a great time.
xoxo
LOVE LOVE LOVE these Kelly and Jodi!!! Beautiful work Kelly and Jodi your family is so sweet and you can see how much you all love each other. I don’t think these could be more perfect! <3
oh these are GORGEOUS!!! Kelly you did such a beautiful job and Jodi, what an amazing family you have! so happy…and goodness, each of you are stunning!
Oooooh Jodi you are so gorgeous, and your family always seems so incredibly happy!! Amazing work, Kelly!!
Aw! They sound like such a great family and are a great looking bunch too! Nice set of images. 🙂
So many beautiful images’
I love this session, Kelly! I just adore Jodi and it makes me so happy to see these photos of her with her family. She is absolutely one of the sweetest people I have ever met and you captured that beautifully in these photos!
Amanda Norton - These are great Kelly! You get some great perspectives!!