Chris and Katie Humphreys

Thirst Relief!

Just a reminder that the Thirst Relief Auction starts TONIGHT!  Katie and I both are going to be available during WPPI for a mentoring session, (if you're not going to WPPI we can do something over the phone or in the future if you like).  We're also matching the winning donation with our own donation to Thirst Relief. 

There's also tons of other photographers who are doing the same thing, so go check out the auction site!

Thanks so much for donating to an awesome cause.  To learn more about Thirst Relief International go check out their site.

I think I'm in Love....

Well, that's maybe an exaggeration, but only slightly :)

Our dear friends, Rachel and Andrew of LaCour have built an amazing team that has developed a program called ShootQ.  ShootQ is a studio management software for photographers that is designed to help streamline all the functions we do to keep our businesses running.  Now, if you know me (Katie),  you know that I looooveee organization. Yeah, I really did just say that.  Call me crazy, but I'm a nut for excel spreadsheets, categories, lists....you name it and if it has to do with organizing, I love it!  Up to this point, I had developed a system that worked pretty well for running our studio - the problem was, it was made up of excels, quickbooks files, address book, another organization program, etc - and I always had to monitor and make sure that I was keeping track of it.

Then, along came ShootQ.  I've been talking with Rachel and Andrew about this for months now, but just hadn't had time to sit down and really look into it.  Finally, I got my butt in gear this month and actually looked into it, signed up, and I am seriously amazed.  This program takes care of everything I was trying to manage on my own, and the biggest difference is the way that it automates our workflow.  Even Chris, who is definitely NOT into organization (and that's an understatement! :) ), has absolutely loved getting to use it and loved that we can both be looking at the same information since it's a web based program.

Since now is a time when many of us are reflecting and evaluating our businesses as we look forward to the coming year, I just had to share with you my new love :) We're still in the very beginning phase of implementing it, but couldn't be more excited about the changes we see coming in our business.  If you haven't implemented a system for keeping your business on track and monitoring what's happening, definitely check them out! 

Reflections on Power....

I’ll start off this post apologizing for the seemingly randomness of the topic.  It’s honestly just something that’s been on my mind the last few days.   :)

One week ago today, Katie and I took the time to watch Barack Obama take the oath of office (during the first of two times!) to become President of the United States.  One thing that has really struck me this past week is the idea of just how powerful the President is.  

In one 35 word oath, Barack Obama went from private citizen to the most powerful man on the planet.  Four Star generals will take their orders from him, the leaders of other countries answer the phone when he calls, the stock market rises or falls on the words that he chooses.

And yet that got me thinking about how powerful we each are as our own individuals.  We have the power over our minds.  We have the power over our thoughts.  We have power over the words we speak from our mouths.  We have power over the things we do each day and the way in which we do them.  We have the power to affect ourselves and other human beings.  

While we may not (individually) have the power to destroy the world, or have people rise to their feet when we enter a room, the power we do have is actually much more practical.  We may not be the commander in chief of the world’s most powerful military, but we are each the “president” of our own actions and the way we go about those actions.   

Sure, it may not be as outwardly cool as having your own bullet proof, custom designed limo, helicopter, and plane, but it is a power that we don’t acknowledge or think about nearly often enough.  I think if we’re really honest with ourselves, we don’t want to admit that we’re powerful.  We don’t want to think about how much power we actually have since it’s easier to think about the few “cool” powers someone like the President has.  Ignoring the power that we have is a clever (albeit poor) excuse for not making changes in our lives that we know we need to make.  It’s much easier to pass ourselves off as powerless to change a situation in your life, in your community, or in your world, than to rise to the challenge and harness the power you do have to make a difference.  

So if you’re up for the challenge, go ahead and revel in the power that you as an individual actually has.  Feel free to even get caught up in a power trip if it’ll help you.  Just use that power to positively effect the world around you and while marching bands won’t break into “hail to the chief” when you enter a room, people will enjoy your presence just the same.  :)

As a side note: here's a super cool collection of Inauguration Day photos that I found on Gary's Blog. 

Also if you wanted to see a crazy 1474 megapixel image from the inauguration click here!  

Published on Wedding Chicks!

Jocey and Amy, the awesome brains behind Wedding Chicks just featured some of our work (always a cool feeling!) 

This particular shoot which was done at Marvimon in LA was also featured in Bride and Bloom, and couldn't have happened without the ever talented design eye Lyndsey Hamilton and Matthew from Artfool as well as Ceci (who did the stationary) and Vanilla Bake Shop who had AMAZING desserts (I admit we tried one or two.... or 5).  :) 

Anyway, here's the link to the feature on Wedding Chicks...

Dan and Courtney's Wedding

Right after the New Year, Katie and I had the total joy and honor to travel out to Boston and go and celebrate with one of my childhood friends as he got married.  Dan and I go back all the way to grade school and so being able to not only witness, but document his wedding, was a true blessing.  Many of his groomsmen were our fellow friends from high school, so in many ways it felt like a big reunion!  His now wife, Courtney, is the absolute sweetest girl and while I wish we had more time to hang out with her, it was immediately obvious that she's a perfect match for Dan.  We couldn't be more happy for them both.  :)

Here's a few shots from the weekend:

Loved this shot during the rehearsal with Courtney and her dad-

One of my favorite getting ready images as Dan's dad (who was also the Best Man), prepared himself and collected his thoughts. 

Courtney's mom helping Courtney get ready....

The boys...

I loved this awesome light coming into the church....

Courtney and her girls...

Courtney's dad giving her away at the alter.

I loved the character of this church!  It was built before the War of 1812! 

Courtney gets major leage props for braving the FREEZING Boston cold weather!!  I think it was right around 25 degrees or so out and she was a total trooper for getting the shot.  :)  Luckily, despite the bone chilling cold, we had some great light!

 Dan and Courtney took a carriage ride over to the receptio-

Dan and Courtney, thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of your day. Dan I couldn't be more thrilled that you found the perfect girl for you!  :)  Can't wait to do a fun ski trip out in Colorado at some point soon!  :)

Aimee and Scott featured in Elegant Bride!

Last July, we had a fun opportunity to shoot a surprise engagement party that our friend and wedding coordinator, Lyndsey Hamilton was helping Scott plan for his soon-to-be fiance, Aimee.  You can see our original post from the fabulous party here!

We were really excited when we found out that Elegant Bride wanted to feature Aimee and Scott's engagement party in their winter issue that hit stands this month!  It was such fun to see the photos featured from their wonderful night- many thanks to everyone involved!

The Schuurman Family!

While we were in Colorado over Christmas, we had the great pleasure of meeting up with the Schuurman family to do some family pictures!  The fun story behind this shoot though, is that Danielle and I (Katie) actually went to high school together!  We were classmates in high school and even ended up on the same cruise boat when our families went on vacation during spring break!  Danielle and I actually haven't been in touch until a few months ago when we found eachother on Facebook! (Such a strange, small world!)  When we connected, I found out that Danielle had since gotten married and had two children since I last saw her!

We decided that next time Chris and I were visiting my parents, we would definitely get together to do some family pictures!  I was thrilled to see Danielle after many years (8 I think?!) and we had such a fun time playing with her sweet kids.  Here are some favorites from their session!

Here's Danielle with their little daughter, Callie-

We did the shoot at Danielle's parents' home, so it was fun to get a few with Danielle and her mom- three generations of the girls!

Their adorable son, Landon!

The kids weren't quite as cooperative when they didn't have their toys! :)

I love this one of dad and son playing outside!

Callie preferred staying warm inside though!

Look at these tiny feet!

Thanks so much for letting us spend time with all of you!  We were so excited to meet your little ones and reconnect after all these years!

The Longest Day: Episodes 1 and 2!

You might remember our post a little while back about a fun Reality TV Show that we were asked to be a part of for WPPI.  You can read all about it in our previous post, but we were excited to hear from Ron that the first episodes are now edited and ready for everyone to view! :)

These episodes go behind the scenes of both teams (Chris and I were put on opposite teams!) and it's a fun look into the making of each team's final movie.  Check out episode 1!

See episode 2 here!

Hope you enjoy!!