Recent Session

Just have to tell-all about my most recent photo session. I photographed a couple who is getting married, and took the official Engagement portraits. Those were all fine & dandy, but the couple's 3 year old daughter was ADORABLE! OMG! She is just a little peanut, and by looking at her, you would never think she was already 3 years old. She just did amazing! I wish every child (including my own) could be so well behaved during a photo session! Grandma was there helping with the little one as well, and then I learned the "bribe" was, she got to go to McDonald's afterwards. I asked her "Ooh are you gonna get chicken nuggets?" and this little girl replies "Nope french fries & WATER!" I looked at the adults with a puzzled face, and they all were giggling about that is all this little lady likes are FRENCH FRIES, and WATER. That's all she wants when she gets to go to McDonalds! No pop, no ice cream, Too funny! So I just kept mentioning this during the rest of the session. I took engagements of Mom & Dad, for their up coming wedding, and took family photos as well & had the little lady in a bunch of poses as well. I just had so much fun photographing this little lady! She is not only an adorable little girl, but personality above many adults I have met! I did take this little girls 6 month photos, and was amazed to see how fast she has grown! I cannot wait to take the wedding pics with her in her flower girl dress!!

Keeping up the blogging...

So I am still not into the blogging yet. Funny, because I am told I am a blabber-mouth so you'd think that blogging would be all for me! I just find my website a bit more fun to play with than the blogging... perhaps this will change. Maybe if I KNOW more people are reading my blog perhaps I will get more "into" it.

Our family recently went to Brainerd, MN. We were able to stay at one of the (many) waterpark hotels there, and the kids had a BLAST! This one in particular was great for my 2 year old twins as it was zero-level entry so I actually walked around chasing them with jeans & sweatshirt on (I am not being seen in a swimwuit until I lose more weight). The room was neat too, as it had a kids bedroom that had bunk beds that looked like a tree fort. FUN!... However our twins are still in cribs at home (I know they SHOULD be in beds... but having 2 sneeking around at night freaks me out!). so them on the bottom bunk meant they were up most of the night coming to tell me they were up, or scared.

I ordered in a ton of new photo equipment, and the last of it I need to pick up at the post office. My ring-light is the last to come in, I am sooo excited to get that!. I got new baby posers, new lights, several new lenses, and just all kinds of fun things! My hubby gives me a questioning look everytime something new is delivered. I have my 3 old doors, and old barn wood I have been begging my hubby to make stands for, so they do not need to be leaned up against anything.. and I am still waiting. I have a lot of old barnwood & old windows in my studio. The "shabby chic' look I have always been a fan of. I have actually been known to be the "Window Lady" from the local expos/shows as My main photo-frames are all old windows from the farm I used to live in. People ALWAYS stop to see my window displays & comment to me. I even get calls "Are YOU the window lady from the wedding show? I have called 2 other studios & am l0oking for the window lady". So I have made my own little niche in my area with my windows.

Well this is all I have to say today! Until next time...

BLOG

So... I hear having a blog is just the MUST-HAVE thing now days. So here goes. I have tried it before, but my not-so technical skills never figured out how to link it to my website, so I finally called my website company, and easy as 1-2-3, or so it seemed. I still have to go back & check it out to see if they are really linked together now.

OK... if you are new to my business here is a bit about me...
My name is Kellie Allyn Martinson, & my photography business is Kellie Allyn Photography. When I was in college & writing up my business plan assignment I had no idea if I would get married & if I did what my last name would be, so I decided to have mu business with my first & middle name. In my Family the 1st born son is always named after the Father but called by their middle name. So when I was born a girl, my mom decided to have my middle name still a family name. My Uncle/God-Father is named Allen, and Allen was my Great-Grandma's maiden name. My mom went with a feminine form of Allen and had my middle name be Allyn (pronounced: Al- LYNN). Anyway, so that is how that came about. My own maiden name was Bazoff, and in school was called Buzz or Buzz-off.. so I prayed when I met "Mr. Right" he'd have a normal easy to spell name. My married name is now an easy Scandinavian name Martinson.

Anyway... While in high school I was on the yearbook staff, and in 10th grade my art teacher pulled some strings & they let me be in the photo class a grade early. I took & developed B&W pics for yearbook, and just got hooked. I remember being in the darkroom and it felt like Christmas morning as I waited for the images to appear on the prints. I loved doing the B&W darkroom stuff! I took photo classes then until I graduated, and also took photo & graphics classes at the vo-tech. When I went to college for Profession Portrait & Wedding photography I felt like Ha! all the photo classes I'd taken I'd be a step ahead! WHOA! Was I mistaken. I went to a country-bumpkin high school, who did not have any technology. So when I got to college I was dumbfounded with how much more advanced they were! To use a medium & large format camera I was never so freaked out! All I had ever used before was a 35mm or a point & shoot.

In College, I learned to love the medium format.. never did like large format all that much. My favorite was the hassleblad. I learned all about how the cameras & the setting actually worked, and how lights effected everything. It was a fun program. I was even made president of the "Images" club in the college program and had set up a studio tour at Ken Lunderby's studio. Ken's kids & I went to the same high School, and back in the day Ken was like a GOD in the photo-world. All my fellow students were amazed I knew Ken Lunderby & that I could get a tour of his studio which was in my home town. Him & his wife have been idols of mine since I was about 13 years old & I went to the local home & garden show and I saw a portrait of one of my friend's & her family on display in Lunderby's booth & I thought THAT is what I want to do when I grow up. So if I have the pleasure of getting Ken or Kathy Lunderby to read this THANKS! You guys are amazing!

Ok... moving on here. My favorite thing it weddings & high school seniors. I do photograph other things, but I feel my best photography is with the high school pics & weddings. I will photograph babies & kids, but have a friend who just does amazing baby pics that it is hard to even try when hers are so neat! I usually photograph babies & kids of my former clients who I did their wedding or high school pics. It is easier when I know them already. When it comes to weddings I just LOVE them. Again, as a kid I doodled wedding dresses all the time, and have always loved weddings. I just feel so honored when a Bride hires us for their wedding! For weddings I am into both traditional & the fun snapshots. As Grandma always wants the traditional posed ones! Funny the traditional poses are always the images I sell way more than the fun un-posed ones. I have a couple of gals who work for me who help to get the "unposed" shots while I am doing the formal traditional poses so it all works out well!

Me personally...
I married Spencer Martinson. Spencer & I both went to the same high school even though he was 3 years older than I. I was the snotty cheerleader... and even as a freshman, and he was a senior I used to pick on him! Years later I ran into him at a bar while I was bar tending and we became friends. 5 years after that we got married (I asked him to marry me! hey it was a leap year!) we now have 3 kids. Zander who is almost 7, and twin daughters Julia & Laura who are 2.

Now that I have given you way to much information... wait for my next blog. Ha ha ha...

ONE-DAY SENIOR SALE!

It is finally SPRING! We will be doing our family outdoor session special in May, and this year we are doing a ONE-DAY SALE on Friday, April 23rd for High School Seniors. You will have from 9am-4pm on April 23rd to call & make your appointment. By making your Senior photo session on this day you will get 50% off any senior photo session! You can call or EMAIL us to take advantage of this special!
763-682-7054
Kellie@kellieallynphoto.com