Kaptured by Kristen Photography | Kristen Lanoye | Los Angeles Child Photographer

New blog and site!!

2010-04-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Kaptured by Kristen Photography has a brand new website and blog - check them out here!!

Shiny and new . . .

2010-04-05T22:16:00.001-07:00

This little beauty was just three days old when I went with my bestie to the hospital to meet her and snap a few shots of her. The light in the hospital room was perfect and she slept soundly for us until we tried to get her naked :P Here is a few of my favorites . . .

Awesome newborn hats by Chugamugs Baby Wear

Graces . . .

263 : 365

1. Surviving a horrible Monday at work
2. Ordered some cute new sandals :)
3. Wedding referrals from my awesome past brides and grooms
4. No laundry in my laundry basket - I hate having laundry to do
5. A date with one of my favorite sitting charges coming up!

264 : 365

1. Finding some favorite candies from my childhood at the grocery store
2. It started raining this morning right after I walked in the building to work and it was done by the time I went to lunch :) I hate rain unless I can be cozy at home
3. New slip on Vans - I can barely reach the laces on my tie shoes :(
4. According to Babycenter my baby can now open his eyes :)
5. Joe talking to my belly <3 I know he's going to be the best daddy ever <3

Gorgeous siblings . . .

2010-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here's another few pics from my minis of a beautiful little girl and her adorable brother . . .

Graces . . .

261 : 365

1. A relaxing Easter with my family
2. Watching Megan and Abby hunt for eggs with the three little guys from across the street
3. Mani/pedis with Katie and Megan after brunch
4. Cherry pie - yumm
5. Just submitted my go-live request for my new site! Should be up tomorrow :)

262 : 365

1. Getting presents from the Easter bunny at almost 28 years old :P
2. Personalized wrapping paper - Megan and Abby's presents were wrapped in their names :)
3. Working in the kitchen with my baby <3
4. Cute new dress and sandals for our babymoon :)
5. Had McDonald's breakfast this morning to celebrate the end of Lent

A few more!

2010-04-02T23:07:00.001-07:00

Cuties from my minis that is :) I just finished up this set and am on to day one at Delthorne - thanks everyone for your patience!

Graces . . .

259 : 365

1. The return of Friday night dinners with the family :)
2. A nice visit with William's nana today
3. Coloring Easter eggs with Meggie
4. Watching the same Veggie Tales over and over again with Abby
5. Listening to Abby sing the Veggie Tales theme :P

260 : 365

1. Date night with my baby tomorrow <3
2. The launch of baby's new blog :) A place to document the going-ons of my little family <3
3. Shoe shopping with mom and the girls
4. Abby and her new Elmo Skechers
5. Sweet Factory - love that place - brought me back to my high school days today :)

More cuties . . .

2010-04-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished editing a few mini sessions - here are two more cuties from the day :)

Graces . . .

257 : 365

1. 25 weeks pregnant yesterday - can't wait to meet my little guy - I hope he looks just like his handsome daddy <3
2. Finally took a belly pic - I've been putting it off but I definetly want to document his growth :)
3. Two more days until Lent is over!!
4. Celebrating Easter with my family on Sunday :)
5. Crepes for Easter brunch - yummmm!

258 : 365

1. Creamy bokeh from the 50 1.2
2. A new action that I love, love, love!!
3. My site and blog are almost done :)
4. Shooting a six month old on Saturday - one of my favorite ages - they can sit but not run away :P
5. Buying a bathing suit tomorrow for our babymoon - two weeks!!!

Spring minis day two sneaks!

2010-03-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone that came out to both days of minis - I had 24 shoots altogether and about half were new clients. I love my regulars and I love meeting new clients so I had a blast! Here are some of my faves from day two:

Graces . . .

255 : 365

1. My updated logo and new site :)
2. Sold a gift certificate today :)
3. Starbucks runs with my baby <3
4. My new super fast card reader
5. Getting off early

256 : 365

1. Finding my "discontinued" shampoo at the store
2. Started a new blog for baby so I can document the rest of the pregnancy and his life :)
3. Abby having a tea party with Shadow
4. Almond Roca
5. Booked my 30 week 4D ultrasound!

Drowning . . .

2010-03-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

I'm drowning over here in spring mini pics - 20 sessions worth! I just started editing day one and am loving the images so far. Here is a sneak peek at two of my favorite kiddos - I have shot these guys a few times and will see them again in a few months :)

Graces . . .

253 : 365

1. My new blog!! Hopefully it will be live this weekend - don't have much time to work on it until then :)
2. Slip-on shoes - it's getting hard to bend over to tie my shoes :P
3. When someone thinks your idea is so cool they want to do it too - they say copying is the best form of flattery :D
4. Jersey Mike's - yummmy - found a new lunch spot today :)
5. Wrapping presents - I LOVE wrapping - and shopping of course!

254 : 365

1. Nearly booked until baby comes and two shoots for after!
2. Baby's new shades :P
3. Three weeks till our babymoon!!
4. Carter's coupons
5. Great customer service - it's hard to find these days!

Beautiful baby blues . . .

2010-03-22T22:11:00.001-07:00

I met up with this family in Manhattan to capture some six month pics of their gorgeous daughter - she had the prettiest blue eyes. Check out some of my favorites from the morning . . .

this one totally cracks me up - it was her first time at the beach and she didn't quite know what to make of the sand on her hands :P

and some graces . . .

251 : 365

1. My new camera!!
2. Getting through a rough Monday at work
3. Making it through my three shoots yesterday after two days of minis - I was so sore I could barely walk!
4. Seeing my littlest clients grow up before my eyes - I can hardly believe it each time I see them!
5. Five days in a row of Abby next week :)

252 : 365

1. Almost Easter - then I can have McDonald's breakfast again!! I've been doing really well - hardly crave it at all anymore
2. Bought baby's hospital picture outfit today :D
3. Kleenex brand disposable hand towels - the box says - "your hands are only as clean as the towel you dry them on" - they had people like me in mind when they designed that product :P
4. Two Verizon rebates on their way to me!
5. First client inquiry from my Daily Breeze appearance :)

Spring mini sneak peeks!!

2010-03-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone that came out today for my spring minis - I saw quite a few of my regular clients and met some new ones. I had a great time shooting all of the gorgeous kiddos and families! Here's a sneak peek from my day . . .

And my girls :)

and some graces . . .

249 : 365

1. Making it through 14 photo shoots in one day :)
2. My bestie for letting me borrow her wagon :)
3. Joe for bringing the wagon to me at the park and then coming back to bring me lunch midday <3
4. A beautiful first day of spring!
5. My awesome clients :)

250 : 365

1. Breakfast for dinner
2. Three shoots tomorrow and then family dinner!
3. Soaking in a warm bath after a long day
4. Massages
5. Three trips to Target in three day :P

New pics and PUBLISHED!!

2010-03-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago I got an email from one of my brides saying that her wedding was going to be featured in the Daily Breeze and would I send them some pics. Of course I was happy to and today that wedding showed up on the very first page of the South Bay Wedding Guide insert in the Daily Breeze as the featured wedding of 2010 - how awesome is that! If you got the Breeze today be sure to check it out :) I was sad that the paper didn't mention my second shooters - Alison Conrad and Erica Adams because I don't deserve all of the recognition - it was a big wedding and since I can't be in two places at once there's no way I could have captured everything without their help. Check them out - they are awesome!

On to some recent pics now that I'm mostly caught up on posting older sessions - I met up with this family in Redondo about a month ago to take some family pics and one year shots of their gorgeous little girl. Check out some of my faves . . .

We caught some cake shots at the end of the shoot - the birthday girl wasn't too happy about her hat but she cheered up as soon as she dug into that cupcake!

and some graces . . .

247 : 365

1. My work has been published!!
2. My new Blackberry - old one kept freezing up
3. Start of spring minis tomorrow!
4. 23 weeks pregnant and saw the baby on ultrasound today - all is going well!
5. Joe drove around to buy me lots of copies of the paper today <3

248 : 365

1. Some fun props for my minis
2. Chicken strips from Wingstop - yummy :)
3. Mail in rebates :)
4. Payday!!
5. All minis are booked and paid for - I can't wait to see everyone there!

Abby's new 'do :)

2010-03-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

Well, after an eventful Saturday evening involving our flight getting delayed and getting stuck in an elevator amongst other things I am home and have been going non-stop the last two days. I had two shoots yesterday, lunch with my bestie, did four loads of laundry and had family dinner then it was back to work today. I have a couple of galleries that I finished in Mexico that need to be uploaded - the connection wasn't strong enough there to accommodate the large files - so if you're waiting on pics from before I left you should have them by tomorrow night :) Now to the title of my post . . . Abby's hair had been growing in a bit uneven so she went for a hair cut while I was gone and I just love it - it's so cute on her :) Here's a couple of pics . . .

And one of my Meggie who I can't believe just turned 10! Am I getting old or what?!

and some graces . . .

245 : 365

1. A wonderful vacation with the best boyfriend ever - I am so lucky <3
2. Back to work today - I am blessed to have a job to go to - especially with this little one on the way :)
3. Going back to Mexico in December so the baby can meet Joe's family!
4. Seeing my nieces for the first time in two weeks - love them <3
5. How cute Abby looks with her new haircut :)

246 : 365

1. Coming home to some awesome custom onesies from Lindsay - you're really missing out if you don't check her out :) Her work is going on canvases in baby's room as well :)
2. Getting a new phone this week
3. In N Out for lunch after ten days of tacos :P
4. Spring minis this weekend!
5. My dad and brothers made it back safely from Mexico (they were in a different part for a different reason this weekend)

Catching up cont . . .

2010-03-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

A few more sessions and I'll be all caught up to the present :) I met up with this cute family at Delthorne park. Check out some of my favorites . . .

Graces . . .

243 : 365

1. Finding Diet Dr Pepper in Mexico :)
2. A wonderful visit with Joe's family
3. Spring forward this weekend - love long days :)
4. Long chats with the lovie on IM
5. New recorded Grey's episodes to watch when I get home

244 : 365

1. My polka dot Jansport :)
2. Snuggle time :)
3. Fresh tortillas
4. Photo shoot Sunday morning to get right back into the swing of things :)
5. Shopping tomorrow before we leave!

Catching up cont . . .

2010-03-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

Remember this little cutie?? Well I had the pleasure of shooting him again and this time he had a new addition to his family - check them out :)

Graces . . .

241 : 365

1. Dreaming about Coffee Bean - can't wait to go when I get home!!
2. Joe bought a webcam today so his mom can see the baby whenever she wants :)
3. Baby boy finally has a name and it's related to this wonderful man - but we aren't announcing it just yet :)
4. Panera with my bestie this Sunday!!! I'll have one of everything!
5. Listening to Joe playing Conquian with his family :P

242 : 365

1. Caught up on all of the blogs I read while I've been here :)
2. Can't wait to see my family on Sunday - especially my nieces!
3. Girl Scout cookies waiting for me when I get home . . . hopefully
4. My awesome clients - I appreciate each and every one of them :)
5. Emails from mom while I'm away

Catching up cont . . .

2010-03-10T21:56:00.000-08:00

Well I took so long to post these two beauties that I'll be seeing them again next week :P I have a few more sessions to post and I'll be caught up with all of my holiday shoots :) Here are a few of my faves of these adorable twins . . .

Graces . . .

239 : 365

1. 22 weeks today! 18 to go :)
2. Watching a movie in English in the middle of Mexico in a theater nicer than some of the ones in the south bay :P
3. It's bonus week at work :)
4. First car payment on the new car due this month - I LOVE my new car
5. A coupon in my email from Carter's which I'm going to go use next week :)

240 : 365

1. Finding old friend on Facebook that I haven't seen in years
2. Beautful homemade gifts for the baby from Joe's family :)
3. Tortas with eggs and cream cheese - yummmm
4. Ten days of relaxation with my baby before we become busier than ever!
5. Babymoon coming up!!

Catching up cont . . .

2010-03-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

Well I unexpectedly have wireless internet in Mexico so I've been able to keep up with the outside world via email and Facebook and I can keep catching up on my blog posts :) This little cutie's mom warned me that she might be a tough one to catch smiling but lucky for me she loved playing in the leaves so I was able to get a few of her adorable smile - check out my faves . . .

Graces . . .

237 : 365

1. Technology in unexpected places :)
2. Playing hours of cards with Joe's grandpa
3. Vacations :)
4. So many of my regulars coming to spring minis! And lots of new clients too!
5. Manzana Lift

238 : 365

1. Dominos pizza for lunch today - getting a bit tired of tacos
2. Sleeping until I wake up on my own - no alarm clock!!
3. Two new pairs of maternity jeans waiting for me when I get home
4. Custom onesies for the baby from Lindsay waiting for me too - check her out and have her make something for you - she's awesome!!
5. Agua de fresa

Catching up cont . . .

2010-03-02T23:38:00.000-08:00

I never shared the pics of this gorgeous mama to be and I've since had the pleasure of kapturing her beautiful baby boy so I thought I'd post a few of my favorites from each shoot now . . .

and some graces . . .

235 : 365

1. Last day of work tomorrow for ten days :)
2. This time tomorrow we will be on a plane to Mexico to see Joe's family
3. All packed :)
4. Taking my laptop with me so I can keep up with my editing :)
5. A last minute coffee with the bestie before I leave

236 : 365

1. Booked two new clients today :)
2. A super fun birthday party for one of my regulars coming up!
3. Joe got a job offer today!!
4. Going to play Conquian on the plane with Joe and with his family when we get to Mex:)
5. Tacos!!

Catching up cont . . .

2010-03-01T21:59:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I never posted any pics of this super cute family. We met up at Seal Beach pier - one of my favorite spots for great early evening lighting :) Here are a few of my faves . . .

Graces . . .

233 : 365

1. Joe and Aaron's successful meeting today :)
2. Packing for Mexico!!
3. People who do what they say they're going to do
4. Finally finding some "cute" maternity jeans - even if I have to send them back for a bigger size :(
5. All client disks and prints from finished sessions are mailed out :)

234 : 365

1. Hearing how happy my lovie is in her new relationship :)
2. Remembering the early months with Joe and knowing that I have the best boyfriend ever
3. Joey's Smokin' BBQ - yummmm :)
4. March and April shoots are almost completely booked!
5. My awesome second shooters - thanks Erica and Alison!!!

Wedding bells . . .

2010-02-28T22:21:00.001-08:00

So I promised I'd share a few pics from the wedding I shot that is going to be featured in the Daily Breeze in March :) Here are just a few of my favorites - you'll have to pick up a copy to see more :)

and some graces . . .

230 : 365

1. Celebrating Grandma's birthday with the fam :)
2. Leaving for Mexico this week!!
3. Powered through a monster pile of laundry this weekend!
4. Gauchos from Old Navy - so comfy even with my expanding waistline :P
5. A super cute shirt for baby from his Godmother to be :)

231 : 365

1. My gorgeous, loving, funny, talented, brilliant, thoughtful caring boyfriend <3
2. That I know said boyfriend will be the best daddy ever to our little guy
3. Finally seeing Shutter Island on the third try
4. Road trips with my bestie to shoot two day old bebe girls :)
5. A huge turnout at the Change for Chad tournament today - it's so nice to see so many people come together for a great cause!

232 : 365

1. Watching my dad try to keep up with Abby as she runs full-speed down the block
2. Jon's Donuts :)
3. Tomorrow is March - four and a half months to go!!
4. Got a huge print order from the lab :)
5. How much Josh reminds me of my Grandpa Stan - all of the same ideas and rantings :P

Adorable family :)

2010-02-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

I know I'm skipping around a bit but I just finished editing this session from the end of January and I had to share some of my favorites of this gorgeous family. Their two kiddos were just the cutest . . .

And one of the kids in their holiday outfits :)

And some graces . . .

228 : 365

1. 20 weeks pregnant today!! Halfway there - can't wait to meet this little guy :)
2. Day two of my spring minis is nearly booked!
3. "Complaint Free Relationships" by Will Bowen - great book
4. A great deal on ad space in the Daily Breeze :)
5. Lunch with one of my favorite people on Saturday :)

229 : 365

1. Shooting in a great new location in Orange County on Saturday
2. A pieced together lunch from three different places because my pregnant mind can't figure out what I want to eat :P
3. Shooting an awesome event for a great cause on Sunday :)
4. Three day work week next week
5. Cord blood banking

Catching up cont . . .

2010-02-22T23:34:00.000-08:00

I promise I will share some images from my wedding that will be featured soon but first . . . remember this little beauty?? Well here she is now at six months - gorgeous as ever and sitting up like a pro :)

and some graces . . .

226 : 365

1. My beautiful niece Megan turned 10 yesterday - I can't believe how the time flies!
2. See's Little Pops :)
3. Girl Scout cookies are here!! Baby boy has been waiting for his Tagalongs and Samoas :)
4. Super cute baby gifts from my clients :)
5. Bags full of maternity clothes from my clients :)

227 : 365

1. Placed a huge print order tonight - I love getting boxes from the lab
2. My baby has a big meeting tomorrow to pitch an idea for his screenplay :)
3. Dinner with my bestie at Joe's work - yummmmm
4. Surprising my baby at work :)
5. Ordered some super cute maternity jeans from Old Navy :)

Catching up cont . . .

2010-02-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some pics last night and realized I never posted these two cuties . . .

Graces . . .

224 : 365

1. A successful second trimester ultrasound - baby boy is healthy and growing right on target :)
2. One of my weddings is being featured in the Daily Breeze!! I will share some pics this weekend :)
3. A belly full of sushi after date night with my baby <3
4. A fun model shoot today!
5. That the rain waited until after my shoot to start :)

225 : 365

1. Meeting a gorgeous newborn tomorrow :)
2. Finally big enough to fit in my maternity clothes - starting to look pregnant and not just fat :P
3. Watching Invention of Lying in bed with my baby <3
4. Flights are booked for our trip to Mexico - ten days visiting Joe's family :)
5. Hotel room is reserved for our babymoon in April - can't wait!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

I just got home from an awesome Valentine's date with my love and wanted to share a pic of my gorgeous Valentine's roses:

and some graces . . .

220 : 365

1. Homemade cards
2. Feeling the baby move during the movie :)
3. Home dopplers - I love hearing baby's heartbeat whenever I want
4. Ultrasound on Wednesday!
5. My growing belly - baby boy is getting big and strong

221 : 365

1. Picked out the cutest bedding :)
2. Hours of research to find the safest and best gear for the little guy
3. Yoga tomorrow!
4. All of Abby's new words - Gammaw is my favorite :) She says Auntie now too :)
5. Seeing daddys interacting with their baby's and knowing that my baby will have the best and most loving daddy ever <3

222 : 365

1. Valentine's day presents from mom :)
2. Saltwater taffy from Knott's!
3. A fun evening with two of my favorite sitting charges
4. A shoot at the beach with an adorable one year old
5. The book Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields

223 : 365

1. Meggie is turning ten in a week - I can't believe how the time flies!
2. Afternoon naps
3. It's the year of the tiger - can't wait to meet our little tiger in July :)
4. Sugar Babies
5. Spending the perfect day with the best boyfriend on the planet <3

Catching up cont . . .

2010-02-05T23:59:00.003-08:00

Yet another of my fave families with two of the cutest little guys - LOVE their red door . . .

Graces . . .

218 : 365

1. An awesome Friday off spend with my baby - brunch, a double feature and a sushi dinner (minus the raw fish for me!) :)
2. Shooting a wedding with Joe in San Diego tomorrow <3
3. Bought the baby his first outfits the other day - they were too cute to pass up!
4. Books that are better than the movies - Dear John is a perfect example
5. A great episode of Grey's Anatomy

219 : 365

1. Spring minis are completely booked!!
2. A blog stalker in Palos Verdes who loves my blog so much that they visit every day :P
3. A new blog coming soon and some changes to Kaptured by Kristen :)
4. A bag of new maternity clothes from Mom's trips to the outlets this week!
5. Super Bowl Sunday = girls day while the boys are at their party :)

My girls . . .

2010-02-02T00:06:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Abby found a bubble machine that I had had in my trunk for photo shoots and never used and insisted that my dad get it out for her. Since he can't say no to his granddaughters we were out on the driveway in the dark last night playing bubbles. Abby got the biggest kick out of it though . . .

And one of my Meggie just because I can't post one and not the other :)

Graces . . .

217 : 365

1. Corner Bakery has caffeine free Diet Coke in it's fountain sodas!!
2. Getting through a really rough billing day
3. Coming home to an unexpected visit from Megan and Abby <3
4. Tuna on toast on Wednesday - yummmm :)
5. Two different kinds of cereal for dinner - the baby and I couldn't agree :P

Catching up cont . . .

2010-01-31T22:35:00.000-08:00

Looking back through my holiday sessions - more than three quarters of them were repeat customers - that is awesome :) Here is another of my favorite families with two of the cutest boys . . .

Graces . . .

215 : 365

1. Abby and the bubble machine - pictures to come :)
2. Hearing Meg and Abby chasing each other around laughing - the best sound ever
3. Abby walking around with one of my dad's books - looking like she's reading it except it's upside down :P
4. First Target trip in the new car :)
5. A fun shoot today with a super cute family

216 : 365

1. Four day work week this week - don't know why but my five day work weeks seem sooooo much longer :P
2. Played Bunco for the first time with an awesome group of girls - super fun!
3. How cute Abby looks in her Chugamug hat - even though she won't wear it long enough for me to take a picture :(
4. The Happines Project by Gretchen Rubin
5. Finally starting to look pregnant and not just fat :P

Catching up cont . . .

2010-01-31T00:13:00.000-08:00

I'm back with another holiday shoot with another of my favorite families - I love repeat clients :) We headed down to the pier to get some shots of this adorable little girls first time in the sand - check out some of my favorites . . .

Graces . . .

213 : 365

1. Got a brand new car today - bigger and safer for all of the precious cargo I carry and will carry soon :)
2. Dinner at BJ's with mom and Joe :)
3. Saw VI - love scary movies!
4. Sleeping in tomorrow!
5. Meggie making it to the spelling bee at school - she's so smart!!

214 : 365

1. All of Abby's new words - she's talking so much now!
2. A nice visit with friends
3. Getting cute cards in the mail from family and friends
4. Finding my Pinkberry gc from Christmas that I thought was lost while cleaning out my old car - yummmm
5. Baskin Robbins Mint Chip :)

Catching up cont . . .

2010-01-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

I know, I know - I missed a day already. I had to be at work super early today so I could leave early so I crashed last night after the gym. I have started working out for a healthier pregnancy :)

Now I'll go back in time to my holiday shoots and share some of my favorites from each session. The family I am posting today are regular clients of mine and have referred tons of people to me :) and their little girl is just the cutest . . .

Graces . . .

210 : 365

1. Tomorrow is Friday!
2. Meeting the new addition to a clients family very soon!
3. My shipment of Chugamugs Baby Wear hats is on it's way :)
4. Heard baby's heartbeat today - nice and strong :)
5. All but one of my 13 spring mini sessions is booked!

211 : 365

1. Grey's Anatomy is back from holiday hiatus!
2. Dad surprised us by coming home a day early :)
3. Back to billing next week - work has been sloooooooooow with the system down the last two weeks.
4. My new 1 TB My Book - filled up two others already
5. Shot two gorgeous weddings this month - two more coming up in March!

212 : 365

1. Planning a babymoon in April :)
2. Mexico in March to see Joe's fam!!
3. Six months till my maternity leave - I'm counting down!
4. Gym time with the bestie <3
5. New props for my upcoming newborn shoot :)

Catch up . . .

2010-01-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well I finally finished editing my last shoot from 2009 last night and thought it was about time I started posting some of the shoots that kept me so busy the last few months. But first I have to share a few from a more recent shoot - remember this little guy? Well check him out now!

Six months old and showing off his teeth and sitting skills! He is one of my baby planners and just gets cuter every time I see him :)

And now for some graces!!

207 : 365

1. It's a boy!!! I have always wanted boys and of course Joe was hoping for a boy so we are both thrilled that we will be welcoming a son come July :)
2. Parent's that are always there to help out - no matter how old I am
3. Typing 60 wpm with 100% accuracy :) That Catholic school education did pay off :P
4. Finally catching up on my pics from 2009
5. No more morning sickness :)

208 : 365

1. Getting some really cute maternity clothes for Christmas - not quite big enough for them yet but pretty soon!
2. Two of my friends are pregnant at the same time and our due dates are close - we can go to Stroller Strides together :)
3. Starting prenatal yoga classes on Monday
4. Awesome photo clients who have offered me maternity clothes, help with my nursery, baby-sitting and lots of other help!
5. Some custom artwork for the nursery by my favorite artist Lindsay Heinzen - check her out and have her draw something awesome for you!

209 : 365

1. 4D ultrasounds - super cool!
2. Coffee with my bestie <3
3. Seeing two movies with my baby <3
4. The Blind Side - GREAT movie!
5. RA Sushi - no I'm not eating raw fish - just cucumber rolls and edamame :)

Lots more sessions to come - I'm going to post one a day until I'm caught up with my blogging and graces :)

My next big project . . .

2009-12-30T11:54:00.001-08:00

Well, I told you I had two big announcements coming up - the first was the Giving is Awesome contest which I am super excited about - I can't wait to meet all of my winners :) The second is this:

Yup, Joe and I are expecting a baby this coming summer :) I have been quite sick the last few months which made it really difficult to keep up during holiday portrait season - I appreciate everyone that was patient and understanding of the wait. I am just starting to feel better now and am catching up with everything so you will be seeing lots of posts soon :) I haven't decided how long I will be shooting in 2010 - I will be playing it by ear depending on how I feel but will keep everyone updated. I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T00:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in updating with the contest winner - I got home from church a bit later than expected. I have read the entries over and over and there are three families that I think are equally deserving and I just can't choose between them. So instead of one big portrait package I will be awarding three smaller ones to Kevin, Yolanda and Julie - each will get a session, disk and $100 print credit. Free sessions with disks will also go to Lauren, Cicely and Megan for nominating these families. Thank you to everyone who sent in nominations - you haved helped me to open my heart and mind this holiday season. I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas with their loved ones and I will be back soon with lots of holiday portrait sessions that I have been waiting to publish until all Christmas cards have gone out :)

Giving is Awesome!!

2009-12-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $650 worth, to be exact. Whether it's canvas or albums, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a free shoot with disk - a $175 value. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in southern California. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story to kapturedbykristen@hotmail.com by 11:00pm on December 23rd.

The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve -- get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,

Kristen

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T23:17:00.001-08:00

Well hello my poor little neglected blog - I have been so busy with work, shooting and editing - trying to get everyone their pics in time to order prints for the holiday - I've hardly had time to breathe let alone blog but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and share a few pics from a recent session. I met up with this family about a month ago and their little girl was just adorable - here are a few of my favorites:

and I know I'm waaaaay behind on my graces now but I'll share a few in the spirit of Thanksgiving and then catch up after I'm done with the holiday rush . . .

205 : 365

1. Holidays spent with family and friends
2. Lots of yummy food
3. Cameras that are still under warrenty when they die in the middle of a session
4. Boyfriends who rush to bring you your back up body when said camera dies in the middle of a session
5. A successful holiday mini day - 13 back to back shoots and great pics from all sessions!

206 : 365

1. A day spend with my phone turned off
2. All of my Halloween mini disks burned and out the door!
3. Seeing so many repeat clients for holiday sessions!!
4. Supportive, understanding parents
5. One more month until shut down at work :)

I have two big announcements to make in the next couple of weeks as well as tons of pics to post from my holiday sessions so stay tuned :)

Up next . . .

2009-11-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

this little cutie :) His parents have been waiting most patiently for their pics - I appreciate everyone's patience during the holiday madness - I'm working as quickly as I can to get your proofs to you!

Graces . . .

203 : 365

1. Lunches with my lovie at pollo
2. Successful Halloween mini sessions!!
3. Seeing how much some of my regular clients have grown since the last time I saw them
4. Yoplait Light Key Lime Pie - yummmm
5. Only two more holiday minis left!!

204 : 365

1. We have entered my favorite season of the year - holiday season :)
2. An extra hour of sleep Saturday night
3. Two fun maternity shoots yesterday
4. Going to see some of my favorite baby-sitting charges this week :)
5. Edamame

And now an item of business - my prices will be changing as of January 1, 2010 - session fee will now be $125 for any day of the week and will cover only time and talent. Disks and prints will now be available for purchase seperately. Sessions can be pre-paid through December 31, 2009 at my current pricing including disk and used at any time next year. Contact me with any questions or to pre-pay your future sessions and lock in this years pricing!

Mini sneaks :)

2009-11-01T00:56:00.001-07:00

I just uploaded the images from my mini sessions today and wanted to post a sneak for everyone that came out :) These are not necessarily the best pic from each session - just the first one I saw from each group that I liked :)

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

Had a very busy day today with my minis in the park and then hanging out with my nieces - thank you to everyone that came out today for the minis - I loved seeing all of the costumes!! A special thanks to my older brother as well - he made a trip to the feed store last night after work to get my hay bales and then woke up early this morning to bring them down to the park for me - I love my family :) I will be posting sneaks from the minis soon but in the meantime here are my favorite girls - these two make me smile :)

Another gorgeous family :)

2009-10-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

I met up with this adorable family at the park a couple of weeks ago - the kids did great with a little candy bar bribing and we got lots of cute shots :) Here are a couple of my favorites :)

After the shoot I found out that the mom has known my older brother for years - the south bay really is a small place :)

Graces . . .

201 : 365

1. Dinner at the Grinder to celebrate a wonderful man . . . my grandpa
2. Spending a difficult day with the people you love - makes it a bit easier
3. Megan and Abby - they ALWAYS cheer me up <3
4. Coming home to a HUGE print order from the lab on my doorstep :)
5. Watching Grey's with mom and Joe

202 : 365

1. That I'm feeling better today - have a busy weekend ahead!!
2. That I finally caught up on all of my personal pics and got them sent out to the fam
3. The two adorable chairs I bought today - gonna try them out at my shoot tomorrow :)
4. Friday's off
5. Ikea with Katie :)

I should be just about caught up on my graces by now - I'll have to go back and count :)

Just a note . . . there will be some changes to my pricing in the new year - stay tuned for more info!

One year . . .

2009-10-28T23:04:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 26th marked one year since the passing of my Grandpa Stan and more than a year since I have pulled in the driveway on Sunday and saw this . . .

the passage of time has not made my loss any easier, has not made the missing diminish, has not stopped the random tears when I hear something or see something that reminds me of this great man that used to be a part of my every day and is now just a memory. In fact, the passage of time has only made me sad to know what he has missed - how much Megan and Abby have grown since he's been gone, how many holidays he would have complained about being at but I secretly knew he enjoyed. How he doesn't know that I don't live at home anymore and how he won't walk down the aisle at my wedding or be at the birthday parties for my kids. No, the passage of time hasn't helped at all - it's only made the missing worse and the sadness more profound.

Monday night my family and I went to the Grinder for dinner in honor of my Grandpa - he used to go there every day and read his paper and have coffee. It helped a bit to be with the people I love in a place that he loved spending time. I hope we continue the tradition always.

I miss you Grandpa <3

Tiny sneak . . .

2009-10-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Isn't this little guy the cutest?? More of him to come later ;)

Graces ...

199 : 365

1. Lots of adorable 2 year olds in cute Halloween costumes :)
2. A smiley, happy 6 month old
3. Downloaded and backed up all of my CF cards tonight
4. Shooting a wedding with my bestie tomorrow!!
5. A totally fun bride and groom :)

200 : 365

1. Going to bed early . . . like now :)
2. A quiet Friday evening at home with my baby
3. Appliances that are under warranty :)
4. Getting REALLY close to being caught up :)
5. Tons of referrals from one of my clients!!

One year . . .

2009-10-22T01:51:00.000-07:00

This little guy just turned a year so we met up at the Orange circle to take a few pics to document the occasion. I had a blast looking through these because he had the cutest expressions and he made quite a mess with his cake at the end :P Here are a few of my favorites:

Graces . . .

196 : 365

1. The Halloween section at Target :)
2. Awesome props for my Halloween minis!!
3. Java chip frapuccinos - yummy :)
4. Bristol Farms for lunch with Katie and Christine
5. BLTA

197 : 365

1. Just placed my biggest print order ever!
2. Shooting an old friend and his girls :)
3. An AWESOME new shoot location
4. Starting gym and weight watchers tomorrow - time to get healthy!!
5. Booked two weddings this week :)

198 : 365

1. Freshly washed shoes :)
2. A great deal on pumpkins!
3. San Diego on Sunday
4. Shooting with my bestie on Saturday!
5. Second shooting for one of my favorite bloggers :)

Time flies . . .

2009-10-21T00:23:00.000-07:00

It seems like just yesterday I met this little guy and now he's already three months old and as cute as can be :) Here are a few of my faves:

Can you tell where he's going to college?? ;)

Graces . . .

194 : 365

1. Happier than I've been in a long time :)
2. Almost caught up on the massive pile of laundry I had to do :P
3. Abby's new christmas dress :)
4. Saw one of my past brides today :)
5. Found out my mom and I are going to be work neighbors!

195 : 365

1. Monopoly at McDonalds!!
2. Secret Santas this year :)
3. My brother tivo'ing Wow Wow Wubbzy on his tv so Abby can watch it in his room :)
4. Sale tent at the Mattel store
5. A new soccer pic of Meg to put up at work!

The start of something beautiful . . .

2009-10-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

holiday portrait season that is!! And I couldn't have asked for a more fantastic family to start off the season - gorgeous, fun and willing to do anything I asked :) Here are a few of my favorites so far:

Graces:

192 : 365

1. Holiday portrait season!!
2. That I can shoot at the beach through the holiday season - only in CA!!
3. Announced my holiday minis today and already booked 3 slots!!
4. Meeting another beautiful newborn this week :)
5. Booked two maternity sessions today!

193 : 365

1. Holding a sleeping True :)
2. Abby being bounced on the exercise ball - pics to come!
3. My sister in law is home safe from Colorado :)
4. My baby just got home from work <3
5. All the candy on sale at Target :)

And the info for the holiday minis:

What: A 30 minute holiday session for your family and/or children!
When: Sunday, November 22nd from 9-4
Where: Delthorne park in Torrance
Includes: Session and disk of 20-25 edited images
Cost: $50 for up to 4 people - $10 per additional person

You will have your disk by December 1st to allow time to order prints and holiday cards in time for Christmas! Session must be paid in full to reserve your spot. Three spots are already taken so contact me today to reserve yours!!

Just gorgeous . . .

2009-10-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

I met up with this family while they were vactioning in Seal Beach at the end of the summer - I nearly forgot to post their pics since it was one of the last sessions I edited on my laptop - what a shame that would have been. Here are a few of my favorites from this fun shoot :)

Graces . . .

189 : 365

1. Put the deposit on our new house today :) Moving in a couple of weeks!
2. Couples Retreat - great movie!!
3. Date night with my baby :)
4. Dinner at moms - yummy!!!
5. Fresh oil in my car as of this afternoon

190 : 365

1. Four brand new tires - also as of this afternoon
2. A mom and dad I can always count on
3. A wonderful, loving supportive boyfriend <3
4. Fruity flavored kisses from my baby :)
5. Colgate Wisps

191 : 365

1. Two Snap-on brothers who know the shops that will give me the most honest quote and best deal
2. A playdate with two of my favorite girls tomorrow
3. Going to Target and actually remembering what I went for . . . after forgetting it last night :P
4. Mom playing with her new ipod touch :P
5. First Halloween shoot today - an adorable monkey and super cute Thomas the Train :)

I love this . . .

2009-10-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

I was just looking through some pics from a few months ago and I found this story Meg wrote and illustrated in chalk on the driveway at my mom's house during one of our Sunday night dinners - I love that she believes in fairy tales. I hope her life is nothing but happily ever afters . . .

Pretty as a rose . . .

2009-10-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

This little beauty belongs to a softball teammate of mine from high school and her husband and she was just a doll. Here are a few of my favorites:

This pose inspired by the talented Alexia of Ty Bebe Photography

Some graces . . .

187 : 365

1. Adorable knit hats - especially these - order yours today :)
2. Laughing Cow Light cheese wedges
3. Big Wheat Thins
4. Just booked a super cute 3rd birthday party :)
5. Halloween festivities begin this weekend!

188 : 365

1. Brand new windshield wipers
2. First rain of the season
3. Flannel jammy pants on sale at Target!
4. Zip up hoodies on sale at Old Navy
5. Warm clothes weather :)

These two have my heart . . .

2009-10-13T01:57:00.000-07:00

Most of you already know about my nieces but just in case you are new to the blog and because I haven't posted about them in awhile this post is dedicated to them :) My older brother and his wife have two girls - Megan (9 1/2) and Abigail (2 and 2 months). They are the closest thing I have to my own children and I love them more than anything on this planet - I'd lay down my life for either of them in a heartbeat. Megan is just about the smartest 9 year old I know - she is a great kid and I am positive that she will grow up to be something fantastic. Abby is super smart as well and just has the cutest little personality ever - I just love them so much <3 I live about five minutes from them so I'm lucky enough to be part of their daily lives and so I of course take a ton of pictures of them but hardly get a chance to work on them since I'm so busy with my client pics. Here are a few recent shots of them:

Graces . . .

185 : 365

1. Listening to Megan and Abby run through my mom's house laughing and playing
2. Watching America's Funniest Videos with Megan - her favorite thing to do on Sunday nights :)
3. How excited Abby gets when she sees stickers
4. That she then proceeds to decorate herself and everybody and thing around her with the stickers :P
5. Megan having the biggest cheering squad on the team at her soccer games :)

186 : 365

1. That no matter how bad my day is or how down I am - seeing my girls and hearing them yell "auntie!!" always makes me feel happy :)
2. That they are always happy to see me
3. That it's wayyyyy more fun to buy new clothes for them than for myself
4. Abby having a "tea party" with Papa John
5. How my dad just melts into this blubbering mess around his granddaughters - they could get away with just about anything :P

No words . . .

2009-10-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

are necessary - this little girl is just gorgeous :)

Graces . . .

182 : 365

1. Taking a leap and chopping my hair off . . . and loving it :)
2. Japanese relaxer :)
3. A super fun fashion shoot coming up!
4. An adorable lollipop prop from my bestie
5. Trading with an awesome stylist

183 : 365

1. Franken Berry cereal - yummmm
2. Febreeze Swiffer Sweepers
3. Sam's club :)
4. Tortillas you cook yourself from Costco - double yummmm
5. Friday tomorrow!

184 : 365

1. Yoplait whips
2. One of my supervisors putting a sign up in his old cube that says "bank owned - foreclosure" :P
3. Seeing a friend on my morning tea run
4. Being Karen's neighbor for a day :)
5. Dinner dates with my baby :)

End of summer fun :)

2009-10-08T01:02:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting this gorgeous family the day before school started for some end of the summer fun at the beach. Adorable twin boys, a beautiful little girl and loving parents make for lots of great pics - here are some of my favorites:

Graces:

179 : 365

1. Catching up on my graces!
2. Going through my goodies from Get Tha Funk Out and finding all sorts of gift certificates and coupons for awesome stuff!
3. A new adorable knit hat to try at my newborn shoot Sunday :)
4. Saw one of my newborn clients today - he's three months old now! Time flies!
5. Made some announcements about packages and policies :)

180 : 365

1. Wonderful thank you emails from clients - I love my job :)
2. Heater weather :)
3. Talked to an old friend today . . . always great to catch up
4. Friends who do what they say they are going to :)
5. Abby and Papa watching tv together in his chair <3

181 : 365

1. Abby asking for "wow wow please" :)
2. Megan becoming an awesome soccer player - pics to come!
3. Megan, Joe and I playing games at the fiesta and winning about 10 new stuffed animals for her collection - on top of the 10 she won with Uncle Josh about an hour before
4. An email from mom with "whazup" in the title - I nearly peed my pants laughing!
5. Starbucks editing sessions with my bestie :)

These guys are up next . . .

2009-10-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

stay tuned :)

Graces . . .

176 : 365

1. Strawberry blow pops :)
2. Pocky
3. Buy one get one for a penny sale at Aaron Brothers
4. Walking into a clients home and seeing a 20x24 print of one of my pics hanging on their wall :) and a few smaller ones in frames :)
5. Another road trip Sunday!

177 : 365

1. Averaging two new client inquiries a day :)
2. Help with my advertising stuff from the greatest artist ever Lindsay Heinzen! Commission her today :)
3. A parking spot near my house :P
4. MCP's Bag of Tricks!
5. Finding my Tejava tea at Ralphs when I thought I'd have to go to Trader Joe's to get it :)

178 : 365

1. A visit from an angel in my dreams
2. Dreams so vivid that when you wake up you can't figure out for a moment if it really happened
3. Finding a great short hair style to try - getting my hair done this week :)
4. Honeycrisp apples - expensive but yummmmmmy :)
5. Grey's Anatomy Thursdays :)

Three months old . . .

2009-10-06T01:59:00.001-07:00

I met up with this little beauty a couple of weeks ago to capture some three month shots. She was absolutely gorgeous - looked like a little doll :) She was happy too which makes my job pretty easy :) Here are a few of my favorites:

and some graces:

171 : 365

1. A turn-around trip to Phoenix to shoot a beautiful wedding <3
2. Seeing a friend I haven't seen since I was 14 :)
3. Arriving home safely
4. Traveling with Grandma - great company and even better conversation
5. A visit to the casino - always fun :)

172 : 365

1. Making it home in time for family dinner
2. A fun family shoot in Balboa - gorgeous beach and fun alleys :)
3. Orange circle
4. Visiting the aquarium with Katie, Abby and Joe :)
5. St. Catherine's fiesta - yummy food and lots of old friends :)

173 : 365

1. Making through a very busy billing Monday very short-handed
2. Crisp fall weather
3. New advertising campaign
4. Getting my hair done this week!!
5. Running into a friend at Kinkos :)

174 : 365

1. Halloween minis are officially booked :)
2. Only three weekend openings between now and December 5th :)
3. Learning more about my Grandpa <3
4. A fridge full of yummy drinks after my trips to Target and Ralphs
5. Remembering all but one item on the grocery list - better than normal :P

175 : 365

1. We found the perfect place :)
2. Joe's home for the next few nights <3
3. A new cozy blanket
4. Papersource
5. Newborn shoot this weekend :)

Balboa fun. . .

2009-09-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

I met up with this family in Balboa park - a new location for me and it was just gorgeous. Their little girl was such a ham and we had fun capturing a few CA memories before they move out of state in a week or so. Here are a few of my favorites:

and some graces . . .

167 : 365

1. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - cute movie :)
2. Fiesta coming up this weekend!
3. Watching Meggie play soccer
4. Joe filming Meg's game in HD :P
5. Meg saying she's playing her best because Joe is at her game :)

168 : 365

1. Two of my favorite sitting charges are talking and potty-training - they grow up so fast!
2. Melissa and Doug puzzles
3. Putting on a successful birthday dinner for my mommy
4. Phoenix this weekend to shoot a friend's wedding!
5. Roadtrip with Grandma :P

169 : 365

1. Abby giving Shadow hugs
2. Wipeout marathons at William and Katies!
3. Chili's triple dipper
4. Fall flavors are back at Starbuck's and Coffee Bean!!!
5. Trying new shoot locations with friends

170 : 365

1. Seeing my pic's framed on the walls at client's houses
2. Ordered my Gina Lee pics :)
3. Less than three months till my favorite holiday - CHRISTMAS!!!
4. Slightly cooler weather this week
5. Honeybaked

Double the fun :)

2009-09-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on posting sessions and graces I figured I'd post another one tonight in an attempt to catch up :) Thank you to all of my clients who have been waiting patiently for their pics - my new computer is helping drastically as it is much faster than my laptop was - I will be caught up in no time :) I met up with these adorable one year old twins a few weeks ago - at first they weren't too sure about me but we ended up getting lots of smiles and laughs out of them by the end of the shoot - here are a few of my faves:

and some more graces . . .

164 : 365

1. Celebrating the birth of the number one lady in my life . . . mom <3
2. Going to see one of my two favorite girls play soccer tomorrow - and of course taking pics!
3. Back to school sales - I'm not in school but I LOVE buying school supplies - notebooks, highlighters, sticky notes, planners - LOVE it all :)
4. Boring poor True to sleep during lunch with my bestie :P
5. Receiving a huge order of awesome pics from my lab :)

165 : 365

1. Gorgeous 3 month old baby girls :)
2. New blog followers
3. Aaron joining Facebook :P
4. Lay-flat press books from WHCC
5. TONS of new towels to replace my ruined ones

166 : 365

1. A little over a month until my favorite time of year begins
2. Almost time for fiesta
3. New wedding connections
4. Anniversary roses
5. All About Steve - funny in a stupid kinda way :P

Another brand new baby girl . . .

2009-09-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting this little gal and her family a couple of weeks ago - she was just darling and let me pose her however I wanted :) Here are a couple of my favorites:

Graces . . .

160 : 365

1. 23 new funky photog pals :)
2. An awesome weekend in Balboa
3. Lots of new portfolio images
4. Tons of free photo goodies and discounts
5. New advertising ideas

161 : 365

1. New business cards with my new logo
2. New packaging for my disks and prints
3. Seniors!
4. New pricing
5. Encouragement from four awesome mentors!!

162 : 365

1. Cookies shaped like cameras and CF cards :P
2. Boxes full of goodies
3. Lunch on the sand
4. Learning new photoshop tricks
5. New Totally Rad actions and textures

163 : 365

1. Neck and back massages
2. My awesome Get Tha Funk Out t-shirt :)
3. Early Christmas presents
4. Two truths and a lie
5. Leaving Balboa inspired and ready to take my business to a new level :)

Get Tha Funk Out . . . Seniors!

2009-09-13T02:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend I am attending the most awesome photography workshop ever and have learned a ton so far. Today we had a shoot with a great group of seniors and even though I'm about to fall over tired I had to stay up and edit a few to share :)

We also shot a family, kids and an engagement session so stay tuned for more :)

Day 9: Brand new baby girl :)

2009-09-08T23:11:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting this little sweetie when she was just 9 days old. She was the perfect little model - hardly crying and falling asleep for a bit so I could get some snuggly, sleepy pics. Here are a few of my favorites:

Graces:

156 : 365

1. Moms and Dads who save the day
2. Oatmeal and Honey Shampoo by Catwalk
3. Bathtubs full of sand after a super fun beach shoot!
4. Opening my freezer and seeing Otter pops and chicken nuggets and opening my closet and seeing puzzles, crayons, Uno and movies - all of my nieces favorite things so they can come visit anytime :)
5. Clean sheet night :)

157 : 365

1. Being nearly booked for the rest of the year - only have about 4 more openings!
2. Joe and my anniversary tomorrow <3
3. Second shooting for an awesome wedding photog :)
4. Three days till the most awesome photography workshop ever - can't wait!!
5. Flexible clients

158 : 365

1. "Borrowing" another photog's prop at the beach ;)
2. Catching up on my Graces and sneak peeks!
3. Air conditioning
4. Slightly cooler day today
5. Remembering I have a new pair of Vans in the closet from my birthday last year that I haven't worn yet :)

159 : 365

1. Going to get a new desk for my new computer - my new workspace will greatly improve my productivity :)
2. A gift from another photog - a totally awesome print of the Hermosa pier at sunset - already matted and ready to frame :)
3. Understanding, loving, forgiving boyfriends :)
4. A date to play choo choos with my True :)
5. Meeting a potential bride and groom :)

Another fun family at the beach . . .

2009-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm just about caught up on my beachy shoots - I met up with this super fun family a few weeks ago in Hermosa and had a great time capturing some fun shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

some graces . . .

152 : 365

1. Family poker nights
2. Iced tea
3. Labor day sales at the outlets
4. Last lake day of the season
5. Celebrating the birthday of the number one man in my life . . . dad

153 : 365

1. Homegoods
2. New props
3. Swapping sessions with awesome photogs
4. Only one more time slot left for my Halloween minis
5. The sessions I donated auctioning for wayyy more than I expected :)

154 : 365

1. Shoots with adorable brothers
2. Clients who bring their own props
3. Shooting an awesome event to raise money for some incredible people
4. Seeing some of my clients come out to support said event
5. Shoots in Griffith park

155 : 365

1. Finding the chair I've been looking everywhere for
2. Getting something off my chest that I've been carrying around for a long time
3. Dreams about my Grandpa - I miss him soooooo much
4. Hugs from Abby
5. Maple Brown Sugar Mini-Wheats

Even more sandy fun . . .

2009-09-03T03:48:00.001-07:00

I met up with these adorable twins and their parents in Redondo a couple of weeks ago to capture some fun moments in the sand. Here are a few of my favorites:

and a few graces:

149 : 365

1. My awesome boyfriend who bought me an awesome new computer tonight - I am now editing pics on a way faster computer with way more memory and a 23 inch 1080p HD monitor :)
2. My editing time will be cut in half
3. Free upgrades to Windows 7 - not really liking Vista too much
4. Seeing Abby's adorable face in 23 in HD :)
5. Selling lots of disks from the reunion I shot in Santa Barbara - what a fun crowd!

150 : 365

1. Shooting an awesome event for a great cause
2. The people who planned and executed said event
3. A GREAT turnout at the event - so nice to see people come together to support someone they love
4. My Jason Orpe MOJO Fest t-shirt :)
5. The shoot I donated auctioning for a great price! :)

151 : 365

1. My parent's birthdays are coming up - love celebrating my two favorite people!
2. Dad's who race over to fix whatever is wrong within an hour of receiving my call
3. Afternoon breezes
4. Coffee dates
5. Friends who do what they say they're going to do :)

Two more beach shoots, some bebes, some gorgeous families, another set of twins and a couple weddings coming up!

More sandy fun . . .

2009-08-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

This family came all the way from Bakersfield to see me :) Well not really but they took time out of their family vacation to book a shoot with me and drove an hour to get to the shoot which still makes me feel pretty darn special :) Here are a few of my favorites from our evening in Manhattan Beach:

146 : 365

1. Keeping up with my blogging three days in a row
2. Having a network of photog friends to shoot with and bounce ideas off of
3. Date nights with my baby
4. Gorgeous newborn models and their awesome parents :)
5. Seeing an old friend from middle school soon!

147 : 365

1. My lamp is fixed :)
2. Picked out my new computer :)
3. One of my besties is graduating from college in a month!
4. One month till my favorite time of year begins
5. Two weeks till my anniversary with Joe <3

148 : 365

1. Shooting with one of my favorite photogs
2. Remembering that I lent my point and shoot to mom and it is not in fact lost like I thought it was :P
3. That Abby gets upset when I leave - I'm so sad when she cries but I love that she loves me :)
4. Outlet shopping with Katie :)
5. The adorable photo album Meggie gave my parents of pics of her in Hawaii - looks like she had a blast!! My nieces are so beautiful - I am blessed :)

Halloween minis are almost completely booked - only a few more spots. Email me today to reserve yours!!

Sisters at the beach . . .

2009-08-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

So in continuing with my beachy theme - here are a few of my favorites from a Seal Beach session with two adorable sisters:

and some more graces:

143 : 365

1. A great response to my Halloween minis - announcement below :)
2. Seeing how much my repeat clients have changed since I last saw them
3. Booking an awesome wedding in Phoenix in October :)
4. Botanical gardens
5. Pomegranate raspberry red tea from Snapple

144 : 365

1. G-Force
2. Going to check on Shadow and finding out she had a "party" while everyone was gone :P
3. Two more newborn sessions coming up - love brand new bebes :)
4. People who plan awesome events that benefit really great people in need
5. Change for Chad - visit the site and do what you can to help - I will be at the event on Sept 4th - special session discount to anyone that comes out or donates!

145 : 365

1. Friends of Jason Orpe - visit this site as well and do what you can to help - I will be shooting the event this Saturday - hope to see you there - special session discount to anyone that comes out!
2. Shooting fun high school reunions in beautiful Santa Barbara
3. Incoming print orders on Zenfolio :)
4. Catching up on sleep
5. Nailing exposure in camera :)

And an announcement :)

Kaptured by Kristen Photography is teaming up with Ty Bebe Photography to bring you Halloween mini sessions!

When: Saturday, October 31st in the morning
Where: El Retiro park in Torrance
What: a 30 minute session of your child(ren) in their Halloween costume and a disk of 10-15 high-resolution images
Cost: $25 per session (up to three children per session)

So far we have about ten families interested and are in the process of making the schedule for that day - if you'd like to reserve a spot or have any questions please email me at info@kapturedbykristen.com

Tons of beachy fun!!

2009-08-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

Well hello my sad little neglected blog :( As of today I have 24 days worth of graces to post and about 12 client sessions. The next couple that I will be posting just happen to all be beach shoots - different days, different beaches but sandy fun all the same. I met up with this family a couple weeks ago in Redondo and we got REALLY wet trying to capture a great family pic :) Aren't these two little girls the cutest?

some graces:

139 : 365

1. Efficient payroll departments
2. Very helpful benefits people
3. Finding the lens cap I thought I lost and was about to replace
4. Tiny, newborn baby girls
5. Adorable 11 month old brothers

140 : 365

1. Mini sessions in Balboa park :P
2. Super fun 4 year old girls
3. Said 4 year old girl standing behind me making faces at her parents to make them smile while I'm shooting :P
4. Arizona Diet Green Tea with Ginseng - thanks Erica!!
5. The dollar bins at Target - also curtosy of Erica :P Lots of cool stickers for Abby and Hannah Montana/High School Musical stuff for Meg

141: 365

1. Feeding the ducks with Abby
2. Naps on the couch
3. Julie and Julia - cute movie :)
4. Movie dates with my bestest new friend!!
5. Anywhere with Erica and True - always a fun time!!

142 : 365

1. The passing of time - doesn't heal all wounds but does help ease the pain
2. Adorable poodle parties :)
3. Any time spent with family
4. Abby's new words
5. Megan's excitement over her new Pixos :)

I will catch up on my graces a few a day and will be posting tons of pics in the next couple of days so stay tuned!!

Casting call!!!

2009-08-11T00:41:00.000-07:00

Do you have a newborn and want a free photo shoot??? I'm looking for newborns to add to my portfolio - no older than 14 days. If you are expecting a baby in the next couple of weeks or have a brand new one you're willing to let me shoot please email or call me to set up a shoot - I will include a disk of up to 40 edited images as well :)

New . . .

2009-08-11T00:23:00.001-07:00

New bebe that is! And what a cutie he is!! I'm sure his mom and dad have been anxiously awaiting their sneak all day as I've been trying to post this for hours - technology has not been my friend today - my blackberry keeps crashing, yahoo wouldn't let me send an email for hours and my photo sharing program is having issues - argh!!! Since it's way past my bedtime I will update my graces tomorrow and just share a few pics of this gorgeous little guy tonight :)

Wonder where he gets his good looks?? Wonder no more - he's got a great looking set of parents :)

Only four weeks old and look at him hold his head up - he was so strong!!

Tons of graces and an adorable family :)

2009-07-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy with editing lately and have tons of pics to share but haven't had the time. I've been dying post this family though - this was by far my easiest family shoot ever - Benjamin was the happiest baby and just smiled the whole time making it super easy to get lots of cute shots. Here are a few of my faves:

Now to catch up on a ton of graces . . .

129 : 365

1. Two years of love, happiness and fun with my beautiful niece Abby
2. A fun birthday dinner at Souplantation
3. Abby's excitement over her presents
4. That Joe had the day off and was able to come to the birthday festivities
5. An Abby Caddaby party for Abby :)

130 : 365

1. A clean bill of health for Suki from the vet
2. Baby gauchos
3. Mini sessions in the park in San Diego
4. Thank you cards from my brides
5. Pancho's

131 : 365

1. Buying cleaning supplies in bulk
2. Losing weight
3. Booked two weddings this week
4. Broccoli cheese soup from Panera - yummmmmm :)
5. Ice cube trays from Karen :P

132 : 365

1. Remembering I have money left on a Hollister gift card from my bday :)
2. Grandma's
3. Thinking about the cat stories my Grandpa and I would be telling if he were still here :(
4. Garage door is finally fixed
5. Coming home to a parking spot open that's NOT under the tree - my car is already covered in sap :(

133 : 365

1. Going to mom's to wrap - she's got tons of wrapping paper and ribbons
2. Chocolate Parfait Nips
3. An abundance of tomatoes from mom's garden
4. Shadow
5. BRC burritos from El Pollo Loco

134 : 365

1. Churros
2. OC Fair
3. "Homesick" by Mercy Me
4. Towels on sale at Target - clean towels are one of my favorite things
5. Candelite

135 : 365

1. The Time Traveler's Wife
2. The Last Juror - John Grisham
3. Looking through old yearbooks
4. A trip to Santa Barbara
5. The park with Abby

136 : 365

1. Booking up for holiday pics :)
2. Sunday afternoon birthday get-togethers
3. My dad trying to pronounce Wow Wow Wubbzy - pretty comical
4. The fact that he even knows what Wow Wow Wubbzy is
5. Quiet Friday nights

137 : 365

1. My first holiday season in my own place coming up - can't wait to decorate!
2. Running into Gina in Manhattan Beach :)
3. Lots of material to upload to my portfolio
4. Networking with other photogs
5. Learning new tricks in Photoshop

138 : 365

1. Shooting a wedding Sunday that one of my besties and her two beautiful girls are in :)
2. Chuck E Cheese birthday parties
3. Huntington Beach engagement sessions
4. Trading sessions
5. Ceiling fans

Lots more pics coming up and I'll try to keep caught up on my graces :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Abigail!!!

2009-07-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

I know my poor blog is neglected - I am just way to busy keeping up with editing to post :( Today however is a very special day so I had to come on and say a couple words. I know I have like ten days of graces to post but today I want to recognize one of the most special graces in my life. I have two beautiful nieces - Megan and Abigail. I love them as if they were my own and would do anything for them. Today we celebrated Abby's second birthday with dinner at Souplantation (she LOVES muffin tops and mac n cheese!) and cake back at my brother's house where she got a few of her presents. I cannot believe two years has already passed since this little girl came into my life - she has grown into such a big girl with the cutest little personality. I look forward to watching both Abby and Megan grow and celebrate many many more birthdays. Happy Birthday Abby - Auntie loves you soooo much!!

Tasha + Chad = Married <3

2009-07-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

A while back I had the pleasure of capturing Tasha and Chad's special day. They have been waiting very patiently for their images and I just sent their gallery off to them so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites:

The adorable couple:

Some details:

and even though I was a sweaty pig by the end of the night I had to take a pic with my awesome bride - such a sweetheart!

some graces . . .

126 : 365

1. Patient brides :)
2. Trader Joe's Sparkling Mineral Water
3. A lighthouse wedding this Saturday!
4. Big hugs from Abigail
5. Pulling up to my parents and seeing Megan and Abby running to my car :)

127 : 365

1. Joe has a day off tomorrow
2. Modern medicine
3. Target leggings
4. Swiffer products
5. Roxy sunglasses

128 : 365

1. A super cute invitation for Abby's second birthday party
2. Clients posting links to my site on their Facebooks :)
3. Stocking up on Old Navy flip flops
4. Pureology products
5. Lots of great movies coming out soon!

A mother's love . . .

2009-07-18T00:40:00.001-07:00

I recently met up with my friend and fellow photographer Anna of Ohana Images to take some shots of her for her website and she brought the older of her two sons along to "help" me shoot :P I caught these two pics of them together and loved them - there's something about a mom's bond with her boys . . .

and some graces:

123 : 365

1. That Joe has a new job even if I don't like the hours :(
2. Shooting an old softball friends wedding in January - I am super excited!!
3. No wait at the doctor's today :)
4. Being totally caught up with my laundry
5. Finally catching a pic of one of Abby's expressions that I have been trying to capture for weeks

124 : 365

1. My super great super supportive photog friends - LOVE them
2. That it stays light until after 8:00 - even though I normally love the time of year when it gets dark early 8:00 sundowns make it easy to shoot in the evenings
3. Designing Abby's birthday party invite - I cannot believe my baby niece will be two in just a few weeks - where has the time gone????
4. Talking about my grandpa at family dinners - love keeping his memory alive
5. Catching up on my reading

125 : 365

1. Finding a great sale on Diet Dr. Pepper :D
2. All six full memory cards have been downloaded and backed up - yes I had six 4GB cards full and waiting to be downloaded :P
3. Finding an awesome new shoot location
4. Carnation Instant Breakfast with Light Plain Silk - yummy :)
5. No bills in the mail all week :D

I'm alive . . .

2009-07-14T23:16:00.001-07:00

I think this is the longest I've gone without updating my blog . . . I have been so busy shooting and trying to keep up with my editing that I haven't had time. Add in some computer issues and the fact that I've been feeling pretty crummy the last few days and you get twelve days of no posts :( Which means . . . twelve days of graces coming right up :)

111 : 365

1. Celebrating the 35th birthday of the greatest guy ever :)
2. Friends and family night at the new restaurant Joe is chefing at
3. How cute my baby looks in his work clothes :)
4. An awesome party with Joe's friends from both LA and San Diego
5. Lake days with friends and family

112 : 365

1. Shooting a wedding this weekend with two talented photogs
2. Celebrating 4th of July with our friends the Kelsos :)
3. Catching up with Courtney
4. Location suggestions from photog friends
5. Photo comments by my future wedding photographer :)

113 : 365

1. No kitty messes for a couple days :)
2. Ice Age 3 - super cute movie
3. Seeing pics of my Meggie having a great time in Hawaii - snorkling and paddle boarding and looking gorgeous on the beaches of Kauai
4. Talking to her on the phone and hearing what a great time she's having
5. That she's coming home Friday :)

114 : 365

1. Visiting Nana with Abby
2. How a Johnny Rocket's balloon can entertain Abby for 30 min - makes for some cute pics too :)
3. How much Abby loves her books - we went to Barnes and Noble and she was just in hog heaven
4. Cleaning out the cooler after a lake day and finding three half drank Capri suns that Abby put back in the cooler after opening :P
5. Abby and her cheetos - it's a beautiful thing!

115 : 365

1. Lunch with Erica and True - always a great time!!
2. Joe calling to say he's on his way home from work - I hate his new schedule - I miss him too much :(
3. Emails from mom inviting me to dinner :)
4. An hour wait at the doctor instead of the normal two hour wait
5. Super sweet docs who take the time to really listen

116 : 365

1. Lunch with my favorite sister in law at my favorite place!!
2. William's dad coming to surprise his Nana for her birthday :)
3. Tweets to @kapturedbykris :)
4. James Patterson "Sundays at Tiffany's"
5. Becoming friends with my photography clients :)

117 : 365

1. Long weekend at the lake with my Uncle Steve and Auntie Di coming up soon!
2. Booked a holiday photo shoot for November already :)
3. Haircut appointments with Geri - she's totally awesome if you're looking for a stylist in the south bay!
4. A shoot with the happiest baby ever - he just smiled away the whole time - no prodding needed
5. Coupons!!

118 : 365

1. Having the most supporting, loving, patient boyfriend ever - the fact that he's gorgeous is an added bonus <3
2. Abby's love of anyone's drink but her own :P
3. Tejava unsweetened tea from Trader Joe's - super yummy and cheap too!
4. Junior Mints
5. Black chucks

119 : 365

1. Sales at the Gap!
2. Blackberry IM
3. Suki being silent all day until she hears Joe pull in the driveway - then she starts meowing super loud - she loves him :)
4. Funny profile pics :P
5. Finding a shirt in the very bottom of my laundry pile that I thought I'd lost :)

120 : 365

1. Black gauchos from Old Navy - love them - wear them everywhere :)
2. Only a few months away from my favorite time of year :) I LOVE the holiday season
3. Northrop offering insurance coverage for domestic partners :)
4. Abby "talking" - wish I spoke her language!! :P
5. New black chucks

121 : 365

1. Hearing Joe pull in the driveway after a 12 hour day at work :)
2. Being notified that large orders are being placed for my pics on Zenfolio :)
3. Canvas Cash Sales at Simply Canvas
4. Designing my new business cards :)
5. Working on a super fun advertising idea :)

122 : 365

1. A great price on an awesome pink cooler on wheels :)
2. Evite :)
3. Finally finding shorts that fit and are the right length
4. My farmer's tan from shooting outdoors every weekend :P
5. Making time for the important things in life :)

And because every post must have a picture - here's a recent on of my two favorite peeps - can't believe Abigail will be two in just a couple weeks - the time sure flies!

Lots and lots of client pics coming up so check back soon :)

Here comes the bride . . .

2009-07-02T21:11:00.001-07:00

I'm just about finished editing this wedding so there will be lots more to come - stayed tuned for more pics of this beautiful bride and her handsome groom :)

Graces:

109 : 365

1. Four day weekends :)
2. Reconnecting with an old friend today on Facebook - LOVE Facebook :)
3. Joe started a new job today
4. Funny plumbers - almost makes up for the huge mess they leave behind!!
5. Got a huge order from my lab yesterday - lots of gorgeous prints to mail out tomorrow!!

110 : 365

1. An unexpected check in the mail :)
2. Fried yucca with house italian dressing
3. Fresh fruit salad
4. Swimming with my Abby and Meggie Saturday
5. Albertson's fried chicken

Just a few more . . .

2009-06-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

of my favorites of these two cuties:

and a whole lotta graces . . .

105 : 365

1. My Sister's Keeper - movie was every bit as good as the book - maybe a little sadder though :(
2. Random unplanned movie nights!
3. 27 more calender days until I'm a full-time photog!!
4. 12 more work days until I'm a full-time photog!!
5. Suki and Natasha sleeping all squished together on the couch :)

106 : 365

1. Family pics this Sunday - ALL of my family on my dad's side :)
2. Shooting a one year birthday party for twins this weekend!
3. 4th of July at the Kelso's :)
4. Homemade strawberry rhubarb pie - yummm!
5. Change of plans for Joe's birthday :)

107 : 365

1. Caught up all of my outlook mail today - printed out all the ones that need to be addressed before I leave the company
2. Only one weekend photo slot open in July and one in August - summer's almost completely booked!
3. Two and a half months till Get Tha Funk Out!!
4. A full day of fun with my Abby next week!
5. Planning a lake day with my uncle and his family

108 : 365

1. Attended a beautiful wedding for my cousin and his bride - I wish them a lifetime of love and happiness <3
2. Taking pics at a wedding for fun :)
3. Joe going to see Transformers with my brother - so I'm off the hook!
4. Planning my next free shoot contest :)
5. A semi-relaxing weekend coming up!

Fun at the beach :)

2009-06-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago I met up with these two cuties at Manhattan Beach for some fun - we had a blast :) Here are some of my favorites:

Graces:

103 : 365

1. Super fun time at breakfast with my favorite two new friends :)
2. Panera - yummy!!
3. The Proposal - great movie!
4. Going to bed at a decent hour for once
5. and taking an unexpected nap :P

104 : 365

1. Fun photo shoot this morning :)
2. Lunch with Anna and her boys for her birthday :)
3. Dinner at mom's - breakfast burritos!!
4. My cousin is getting married tomorrow - I love weddings!!
5. Shooting a fun first birthday party tomorrow :)

A few more . . .

2009-06-24T23:42:00.001-07:00

of this cutie:

and some graces:

102 : 365

1. One of my favorite little portfolio models is turning 3 tomorrow :) Time for new pics!
2. Breakfast with my favorite new friends tomorrow!
3. Finally found a black and white action that I love :)
4. Sunflower seeds and diet Dr. Pepper - can't edit without them!
5. Cake for my birthday today again :) We only celebrate birthdays at work at the end of each month :P

Super cute twins and a bunch of graces :)

2009-06-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

Seems like I'm always playing catch up on this thing - I'm finally catching up on my editing - only two weddings and five more family sessions to go :) I'm also behind six days of graces so I will catch those up now:

096 : 365

1. PB & J Jamz :) Especially yummy when you toast them!
2. Suki sleeping on top of her food container - so there's no way we will forget to feed her :P
3. Two "new client inquiry" emails in my inbox today - referrals from my wonderful clients of course!
4. Four weeks in a row of three day work weeks!
5. Tomorrow is my Friday :)

097 : 365

1. A day this past Sunday to celebrate all of the dads, step-dads, uncles, grandpas, single moms who do the work of two parents and any other family member that acts as a dad :)
2. That I was blessed with the best dad ever, two wonderful, wonderful grandpas - one of which was missed so dearly this father's day (plus a couple adopted grandpas!) and my brother who is an awesome dad to his two beautiful girls :)
3. Relaxing days at the lake - don't see too many relaxing days right now :P
4. Breakfast potlucks at work
5. An awesome facebook friend who keeps doggies from being euthanized due to overcrowding by networking and fostering them - there are some really awesome people in this world

098 : 365

1. Super fun playdates with my awesome new friend and her super cute son :)
2. Finding the perfect supplement for my photo income - no more being stressed about being laid off :)
3. Dinner to celebrate Seannie graduating!!!
4. Megan on her heelys :) (pics to come!)
5. A whole day with Abby coming up :)

099 : 365

1. An awesome shoot with my uncle and his family - love any excuse to see them!!
2. A cancellation that leaves me with one entire day free - a rare occurance these days - what to do?
3. Flip flop tan lines from shooting at the beach every weekend - anyone that knows me knows I don't get any kind of tan line - I'm about as white as they come :)
4. The Gap outlet - one of my favorites :)
5. My cousin is getting married this weekend!!!

100 : 365

1. My daily blog reads that crack me up!
2. New friends :)
3. My Everwood Season 2 dvds came in the mail last week!!! I already have them but the quality is horrible so I'm super excited to watch these when I have some free time (who knows when that will be :( )
4. Megan is out of school for the summer! Time to plan some auntie/niece fun :)
5. People magazine - only one I read :)

101 : 365

1. New Jennifer Weiner book coming out soon - LOVE her books :)
2. Fresh clean sheets :)
3. Cobra health insurance
4. Black chucks - my favorite shoes if I actually have to wear shoes - I wear flip flops 90 percent of the time :P
5. Awesome new photoshop actions :)

Now on to the pics - here's a few of my favorites from a recent shoot with two adorable twins that are about to turn one :)

I have two more twins shoots coming up in the next month so stay tuned for cuteness overload :)

I love this family :)

2009-06-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

I love all of my clients but this particular family was one of my first paying customers and one of my first repeat customers as well :) They have really supported me through the start-up of my business :) You can check out their holiday pictures from last year here. And here are some of my favorites from their recent beach session:

Graces . . .

095 : 365

1. My Seannie is graduating tomorrow!!! How did he get so old?? I remember camping with a little redheaded three year old that called me the "girl with the bumpy hair" - for those of you who have only seen my hair straight - it's naturally super curly :P
2. How cute Natasha looks sleeping in a little ball on the couch while I edit - every time I try to take a pic she wakes up!
3. Slowly getting caught up
4. Finished up editing a shoot with super cute one year old twins :)
5. Going to the mall on my lunch and running into Joe :) I love unexpected lunch dates with my baby <3

A look back . . .

2009-06-16T21:39:00.001-07:00

Today's post is a little different than normal because I was in Hallmark today buying Father's day cards and it hit me as soon as I walked in the door that I would only be buying one Grandpa card this year :( I realized that I never posted the pics of my Grandpa Stan that I had wanted to - my parents were out of town the week after he passed so I was busy getting things ready for his service . . . but I will post some today. First my graces:

094 : 365

1. That I grew up with two of the greatest grandpas ever (plus a couple adopted ones!) that were involved in my everyday life and never missed an important occasion and were even there for most of the non-important ones :)
2. Sunday dinners at my parent's - this is where most of my recent memories of my Grandpa Stan were made and where all of my recent pics of him were taken
3. That Abby seems to remember Grandpa even though she was so young when he died - she points at the screen and gets excited when I play the slideshow I made for his service
4. That I still think of him and miss him every single day - I don't want to ever forget
5. That from his passing I have developed a relationship with my Uncle Steve and his family - I look forward to them being a part of the rest of my life :)

And now some pics - excuse the quality of some of these - they were old pics I found and uploaded when I made the slideshow for his service:

As a young fellow - wasn't he handsome??

Walking my mom down the aisle <3

Blowing out his candles with my older brother and I - I was probably 7 or 8?

At one of my many piano recitals - I love that he's holding my hand :) Check out my puffy hair :P

Playing ping pong before Thanksgiving dinner - 2002

Dealing blackjack at one of our family parties :)

At my older brother's wedding :)

At his place at our dinner table - still doesn't feel right for anyone else to sit there on Sundays :(

His spot on the porch where he would sit every Sunday and smoke - I can't believe I will never pull in the driveway again on Sunday and see him sitting there :(

With my brothers :)

In Katie's parents backyard for Megan's First Communion celebration

He was quite amused with Abby and Abby with him - she would crawl over to him and they would stare at each other and she would pat his foot :) (see next pic!)

With my Grandma, Megan and Abby at Abby's Baptism

Blowing out his candles with Megan

With Abby at his last birthday celebration with us :(

Just a few of the memories of this wonderful man I was lucky to have in my life for 26 years - I know he's in a better place and I look forward to seeing him again some day and until them will think of him and miss him always.

A few more . . .

2009-06-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

of my favorites from my three generations beach shoot I posted yesterday - super cute kiddos huh?? :)

Graces . . .

093 : 365

1. A little closer to being caught up :)
2. Finally going to see Tate on Thursday!!
3. My IM buddy is back at work tomorrow :)
4. Joe and Aaron coming downstairs with me to check the laundry so I don't get kidnapped :)
5. Dinner at BJ's with Joe - just because I was craving spinach dip and pizza :)

Three generations . . .

2009-06-15T00:17:00.000-07:00

Behind on my graces once again - been drowning in edits this past week but am slowly getting caught up. Here's a favorite from a recent shoot that I'm working on - three generations at the beach:

Graces . . .

089 : 365

1. Mom made it back safely from Alaska
2. Cooking dinner for my family with Joe :)
3. Tri tip, rice, corn, jello and Hawaiian sweet rolls for dinner - yuuummmm :)
4. Brownies - I especially like the crunchy corners :)
5. Abby in her cute new jammies

090 : 365

1. A fun shoot with one of my favorite baby-sitting charges
2. The Hangover - slightly crude but pretty dang funny
3. Worked today so I get to take off Thursday :)
4. IM'ing with Joe while I work in the dining room and he works in his office :P
5. Shopping with Katie :)

091 : 365

1. Twin one year olds - sooooo cute!!
2. Coconut Lime Verbena from Bath and Body
3. A visit from Aaron tomorrow :)
4. Rainbow chip cupcakes :)
5. A chat with Grandma

092 : 365

1. Planning a shoot with MY extended family - our first in over ten years
2. Lake day coming up
3. Get to see my uncle, aunt and cousins this weekend :)
4. A day to celebrate the dads in my life this coming Sunday!
5. A fridge full of yummy fruit from Sam's :)

More fun family pics . . .

2009-06-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more of my favorites of the cute family I posted day before last:

Graces:

088 : 365

1. Taking a day off of laundry
2. A fun lunch with friends
3. A shoot every day for five straight days :)
4. Going to bed at a decent hour for once
5. New twitter followers :)

I'm almost done editing my Memorial weekend weddings so stay tuned for those sneak peeks!!

Family fun at the beach . . .

2009-06-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Just finished up another cute family session from last week and wanted to share a few of my favorites - it was a chilly morning but these boys were troopers and we had a blast!!

Graces:

087 : 365

1. Another productive evening :)
2. Booked two shoots today with repeat clients - I LOVE repeat clients :) :)
3. Tomorrow is my Friday - yay!
4. Blueberries for dinner - yummy :P
5. Joined a great photography forum today - looking forward to talking shop with lots of great photogs!!

One more awesome family coming up . . .

2009-06-08T23:31:00.001-07:00

I must say . . . I love my clients. I really think I have the sweetest, best looking clients around :) I have a blast at every session and as I edit each picture I remember exactly what happened at the moment I took it. So I just want to say thank you to all of my clients so far and all of my clients to come - thanks for supporting me and believing in me and most of all for trusting me to kapture your memories :) On that note - I'm in the middle of editing another great family session and wanted to share one of my favorites so far:

Today's grace:

086 : 365

1. A very productive evening after a very long day at work
2. Snapea Crisps - yuuuummmmm :)
3. Joe bringing me a chai tea latte from Starbucks on the way home from the gym AND remembering my straw :)
4. Lunch with Courtney tomorrow to celebrate my birthday - my birthday is turning into a week instead of a day :)
5. All caught up on my client orders and disks and everything is backed up onto my hard drives :)

Another cute family :)

2009-06-08T00:03:00.000-07:00

I met up with this family about a week ago at the park - they wanted to get some family pics that included their doggy Button :) Check out some of my favorites:

Today's graces:

085 : 365

1. Meeting some of William's extended family while shooting his uncle's 80th birthday party :)
2. Spending some time with friend's at their shoot
3. A beautiful day after so many gloomy ones
4. Getting caught up on my client disks
5. Waffles for dinner :)

Three of my favorite people and a few days of grace . . .

2009-06-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

A few days behind as usual . . . been busy editing pics as well as taking a bunch :) Here's a few recent pics of my favorite peeps:

and some graces . . .

082 : 365

1. BJ's Brewery with all of my favorite people except one :(
2. Receiving the most gorgeous flowers at work from my awesome boyfriend
3. Coming in to my cube all decorated for my birthday and a fabulous present from three of my co-workers :)
4. Three day week coming up
5. Abby playing on the slide :)

083 : 365

1. Shopping with mom for my birthday and finding lots of cute clothes :)
2. Olive Garden for a belated birthday celebration with Joe <3
3. An awesome shoot at a new location!!
4. Celebrating the engagement of two wonderful friends with a surprise party!!
5. Megan and Joe playing baseball in the backyard :)

084 : 365

1. Abby watching the videos I took of her the other night over and over and cracking up each time
2. A shoot with two adorable twins coming up this week :)
3. Celebrating an 80th birthday tomorrow :)
4. Gloria Jean's White Chocolate Cookie Chiller - yuuuummmmm :)
5. Almost caught up on my family sessions and then on to my weddings . . .

Love bebe feet :) :)

2009-06-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

Sooooo cute:

Graces . . .

081 : 365

1. It's my birthday in less than ten minutes :) :)
2. An announcement in the mail that my Seannie is graduating - yayyyy!!!
3. Spinach artichoke dip, pizza and pizookie for dinner tomorrow - I better not eat lunch :)
4. Got Abby on video doing her dance to the Jack's Big Music Show theme :P
5. Seeing my girls two nights in a row!! :)

My favorite girls :)

2009-06-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post some new pics of my two favorite girls - Megan and Abby but first I need to catch up on some graces - I am way behind after a busy, busy weekend with five shoots, a whole lot of editing and my birthday dinner with my family :)

Graces . . .

076 : 365

1. My first birthday dinner without my grandpa was sad but I am thankful for the 26 birthdays he was here for <3
2. That I kept my birthday card from my grandparents last year which my grandpa wrote in and I will always keep
3. That our apartment finally feels like home :)
4. Staying caught up on my laundry
5. Finally washing my dirty beast of a car after receiving a pre-paid car wash from my friend for my birthday!

077 : 365

1. Sending out pics of Megan and Abby to their far away family
2. Receiving Coffee Bean gift cards for my birthday :)
3. That my roses from last week are still alive and healthy and blooming beautifully
4. Up - best movie I've seen in a long, long time - a must see for every age!!
5. Bride Wars - also a pretty good movie :)

078 : 365

1. Lunch with Kristen and Kristen :)
2. Receiving a perfect fortune in my fortune cookie
3. Sharing a huge popcorn with Joe :)
4. White cherry icee
5. The Time Of My Life - David Cook

079 : 365

1. Newborn shoot this Friday!!!! I love bebes :)
2. A date with my awesome new photog friend and her adorable son :)
3. Awesome sneak peek of my girls on Gina's blog
4. Short weeks for the next 60 days :)
5. Melon Gatorade

080 : 365

1. Another busy weekend coming up - dinner and a movie with Joe, three parties, four shoots and a shopping trip with mom for my birthday!!
2. Booked two shoots yesterday and a wedding today :)
3. Homemade birthday cards :)
4. A fun gig coming up in Santa Barbara - gonna make a weekend of it :)
5. Three new pairs of flip flops :)

And now a few recent pics of my girls:

Just finished editing two shoots so more pics to come!!

Big news :)

2009-05-29T00:32:00.000-07:00

Remember the super cute family from yesterday?? They're even cuter when you can see their faces:

Graces:

075 : 365

1. Getting laid off - it's the kick I needed to pursue what I love - as of July 27th I will be a full-time photog :)
2. Encouragement from all of my family and friends :)
3. Breakfast burritos for my birthday dinner on Sunday and then BJ's for my birthday dinner on Thursday - yummy!!!
4. Coming home to roses and sunflower seeds from Joe to cheer me up :P
5. Free photoshoot contests - love them :)

Cute Family :)

2009-05-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

Monday I had a shoot with the cutest little family at their house - the yard had the most awesome lighting and the living room was like a natural light studio - I can't wait to edit the rest of this shoot - for now here is one of my favorites so far:

Graces:

072 : 365

1. Tomorrow is my Friday :)
2. One week til my birthday!!
3. My brother's doggie was found after getting out Sunday while we were at the lake
4. Lunch with Court tomorrow
5. Hanging with the kitties while I edit

074 : 365

1. Finally found my Berry Berry Kix - been looking for them everywhere
2. Had a bowl for lunch today at work :)
3. Jammie pants - love Old Navy and Target :)
4. Going to empty the dishwasher and finding that Joe already did it :)
5. Going to empty the dryer and finding that I already did it :P (I'm losing my memory at a young age :P)

Whole lotta graces :)

2009-05-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend was sooooo busy - I barely had time to sleep let alone post my graces - I had a rehearsal dinner Thursday in San Juan Capistrano, wedding Friday in Dana Point, wedding Saturday in Westlake Village, lake day yesterday in Elsinore and shoot and dinner at my mom's today . . . whew!! I had a blast though - both of the couples I worked with this weekend were wonderful, I had a blast at the lake with my family and Joe and I shot the cutest little family today. Lot's of pics coming up soon from this weekend - here's one of Joe and I that my mom took with my camera (that's my Grandma in the background :P)

and on to the graces:

068 : 365

1. Shooting super fun weddings :)
2. A day to honor all of the men and women who have served our country and have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may remain free
3. An awesome itenerary for my photography workshop in September
4. Lake days with my family and Joe
5. Abby in my mom's glasses :P

069 : 365

1. The few true friends in my life and having cleaned house of the not so true ones
2. My totally awesome customers
3. Pechanga with Joe, Josh, Bryson and grandma
4. Starting my birthday shopping trip early with a trip to the outlets and a couple new pairs of pants from the Gap
5. Paradise cheesecake from King's Hawaiian

070 : 365

1. An upcoming lunch date with Jennifer and Kimberly
2. New 4GB Sandisk Extreme III cards
3. Three day work week this week
4. Hamburgers, potato salad and corn on the cob for dinner - yummmm!!
5. Finally finding a comfortable pair of shoes to shoot in

071 : 365

1. Celebrating my birthday next weekend
2. Seeing Tate Thursday!!
3. Going back to a clean desk tomorrow - caught everything up last week
4. Watching Abby eat watermelon
5. Megan and Joe flying a kite

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!!

Adam + Elise = LOVE :)

2009-05-22T00:31:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the rehearsal dinner for the wedding I'm shooting tomorrow - I can't wait!! Adam and Elise are the cutest couple and so much fun - check out the happy pair :)

Graces . . .

067 : 365

1. Couples who are so obviously happy and truly in love
2. Seven shoots next week - good thing it's a three day work week :)
3. Finally got my logo to fit on my site - it was giving me trouble :P
4. My brother and his wife celebrating four years of marriage today <3
5. Lake day Sunday!!!!

Super cute kiddos :)

2009-05-20T23:58:00.001-07:00

Just finished up another session with three super cute kids and their parents :) Here are a few of my favorites:

Graces . .

067 : 365

1. Lots of childhood memories of my Uncle Pete - may he rest in peace :(
2. BBQ sunflower seeds
3. Having someone else design my photo album :)
4. Finally meeting Joe's friend Dave :)
5. A quiet night at home . . .

Lake Season!!!

2009-05-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

My family and I are lake people - my parents rent a space at Lake Elsinore from May to September and we go most weekends to jet ski and play in the water. This past Saturday was the beginning of lake season for us - Joe and I took the girls down to play in the water for a bit before their shoot with Gina - Abby just loved the water this year - played for about an hour before she wanted to get out :) Here's a pic of three of my favorite people in the water :)

Today's graces . . .

066 : 365

1. Tuna on wheat from Subway :)
2. Red Vines :)
3. The awesome new logo that my really cool artist friend Lindsay designed for me!
4. My ankle is healing up nicely - the redness and swelling has gone down
5. New fonts :)

New look :)

2009-05-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't notice my header has changed, Kaptured by Kristen has a new look thanks to the talent of a wonderful artist friend of mine - Lindsay Heinzen - check her out, tell her she's great, commission her to draw something wonderful for you too :) Thank you Lindsay for my new look!!!

Comment and let me know how you like it :)

I want to be a fireman when I grow up :)

2009-05-18T23:54:00.001-07:00

The Saturday before last I had the honor of shooting the cutest birthday party I've ever seen - the guest of honor was turning 2 and all of his family and friends came out to celebrate. The kids were surprised with a visit from a real firetruck and fireman who gave them all rides around the city. I got to ride along as well :) After their rides they got to spray the hose and a couple brave kids ran through the spray and got soaked! Here are a couple of my favorites - the first one is the birthday boys face when he saw the firetruck coming down the street - soooo cute!!

And today's graces . . .

065 : 365

1. Finished editing a big shoot :)
2. Two trips to Target in one day :P
3. Celebrating a friend's birthday
4. Fun quizzes on Facebook
5. Shopping spree with mom coming up for my birthday!!

Playing catch up and a cutie :)

2009-05-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger this weekend and have gotten behind on my graces. Yesterday was the beginning of lake season for my family so I took the girls down to play in the water before their photoshoot with Gina - took a bad fall as soon as we got there and rolled my ankle but I still managed to get a couple of pics of the girls that I will post later. In the meantime I will catch up on my graces and share a pic of a super cute little guy - the son of an awesome new photog friend of mine :)

062 : 365

1. Lake season!!!!!
2. Family games of Monopoly
3. Strawberry lemonade - Abby loves it!!
4. Photo shoots with Gina :)
5. NOT breaking my ankle when I fell yesterday :)

063 : 365

1. Watching Megan and Abby play in the water
2. Abby in her hat and sunglasses :)
3. Shadow laying with her front paws crossed
4. That nothing in my house was damaged in the earthquake tonight - Joe's poster fell but the glass didn't break :)
5. Two weddings coming up this week :)

064 : 365

1. Two weeks till we celebrate my birthday!
2. Abby's love of Otter pops - they pretty much cure anything in her world :)
3. Diet Dr. Pepper on sale at Target :P
4. Megan and Abby playing with their Littlest Pet Shops
5. Banana Nut Cheerios - yummy :)

Graces and snow :)

2009-05-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

061 : 365

1. I've been blogged - guess that makes it official - I'm going to pretty much the coolest photography workshop ever :)
2. Watching the Grey's finale with mom <3
3. Bath time with Abby!
4. Finally got all the girl's clothes ready for Saturday
5. Going to check out a new shoot location tomorrow :)

and a pic from Joe's last snowboarding trip of the season - it started snowing pretty hard right before we left especially considering it was mid-April:

Graces and another sneak :)

2009-05-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

Getting further and further behind on editing but I have a bit of a reprieve now until Sunday so I should catch up in no time. In the meantime here's a pic from my shoot this evening - more of these cuties to come:

And todays graces . . .

060 : 365

1. Meeting a new friend - she's an excellent photog too!!
2. Tomorrow is my Friday at work
3. Super excited for the girls shoot with Gina on Saturday - I almost have their clothes ready!!
4. Finding an old pic of my Grandpa that I don't remember taking or ever seeing - I miss him . . .
5. Cozy sweatpants

Graces and a cute kid :)

2009-05-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from editing to bring you an adorable little kool-aid faced cutie from my last wedding:

and some graces :)

059 : 365

1. Having Joe home safe and sound <3
2. Life Ain't Always Beautiful by Gary Allan - because well . . . it ain't
3. Super friendly stranger photogs
4. Twitter
5. Squeaky clean floors :P

Lots coming up :)

2009-05-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of editing a wedding, a birthday party and two family shoots with three more shoots coming up this week so as you can see I'm super busy but I don't want to get behind on my graces so I must post :)

058 : 365

1. Remembering that I started my blog first :P
2. A quiet night home with the kitties
3. That my car was okay after being backed into today - the guy was going like one mile an hour - didn't even scratch my car but shook my up just the same
4. Finally responded to all of the emails in my inbox that required responses
5. Only three more days of work this week :)

And a pic from the really awesome birthday party I shot Saturday - more to come :)

Graces and a sneek :)

2009-05-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

057 : 365

1. My wonderful mommy and all of the other wonderful mommies in my life <3
2. Cooking Mother's Day dinner with Joe
3. Ice cream cake from Coldstone - yummy :)
4. Abby looking like a mini version of my Grandma in her dress and slip ons :P
5. Getting some rest today

058 : 365

1. Finding some new books for dad
2. Catching up on my personal pics and sending them out to everyone
3. Riding on a real fire truck :)
4. Photoshoot with an old friend on Wednesday
5. Shooting the cutest birthday party ever yesterday

And more of this adorable family to come . . .

Graces and Joe <3

2009-05-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

055 : 365

1. Visiting Joe on my lunch from work
2. The plumber coming to fix our slow drain
3. A sparkling clean bathroom after said plumber made the biggest, greasiest mess ever :P
4. A new little black dress :)
5. That the new little black dress was free - a gift from a friend :)

056 : 365

1. Going to Target with Joe - even though he conveniently disappeared when it was time to pay :P
2. Getting all of my Mother's day shopping done and all my cards out in the mail :)
3. Stopping by my parent's house to visit on the way home - right in time for dinner :)
4. Two photoshoots tomorrow :)
5. A day to celebrate all of the wonderful mom's in my life on Sunday :)

And a recent pic of Joe that I love :)

Grace in the small things . . .

2009-05-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

054 : 354

1. True friends - they are definitely hard to find
2. Loving, supportive boyfriends
3. The spanish version of the gummy bear song that Tate and I found tonight - super cute!!
4. Two more days until the weekend
5. Meeting new photog friends :)

LeAnn + Josh = Married :)

2009-05-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a few pics from the wedding I shot week before last in San Diego - it was a beautiful, intimate backyard wedding:

And today's graces:

053 : 365

1. BJ's spinach dip and chocolate chip pizookie
2. Ranch sunflower seeds
3. Second chances
4. Phone calls from mom :)
5. Hallmark

Graces and a couple pics . . .

2009-05-04T23:22:00.000-07:00

I'm super busy as usual but wanted to post my graces before I get too far behind and share a few pics from dinner last night at my parents :)

051 : 365

1. Buy one get one half off Princess House!!
2. A free photoshoot contest on Facebook :)
3. Tons of responses to the free photoshoot contest :)
4. External hard drives to back up my zillion pictures
5. My friend Kimmie getting engaged to a wonderful man and asking me to shoot her engagement pics :)

052 : 365

1. Everwood Season 2 coming out on DVD!!
2. My birthday in exactly one month :)
3. Meggie Mondays :)
4. Blog followers from far away lands
5. Spicy Guacamole Pringles - for dinner :P

Abby trying on her new dress-up shoes from Grandma:)

Joe "helping" Megan pass a bunch of levels on Mario :P

Silly Abby in Mommy's sunglasses :P

Watching tv with Daddy <3

And a funny pic Joe and Aaron sent me while they were working tonight that I just had to share ;)

A sneak peek from my wedding last week coming up next :)