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welcome to my blog! |
2.6.08 (News)
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I LOVE what I do & and I love sharing it with everyone, so I'm thrilled that you stopped by to have a look!
To keep current, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
To become a facebook fan of Kristen Taylor Photography, click here.
To follow me on twitter,click here. |
And/or you can subscribe to my blog so that you never miss out! You can also bookmark this link so you can always find it.
I LOVE when people leave comments because I love knowing who has stopped by and what they think. So if you want to make my day, leave a comment every time you stop by. It's like leaving a little footprint.
Peace and love to everyone!
~kristen
P.S. Thank you, Infinet Design, for doing such an awesome job with the programming of my new blog! You are truly amazing! |
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my finished studio... finally the images you've been waiting for! |
1.26.10 (News)
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| So, although my studio has been "almost finished" for months now and I was working and meeting in it for most of 2009, I was waiting on the completion of a few details before posting images of my "finally finished studio"!!! So here it is... |
| These chairs were part of what took so long. Seriously, I searched forever to find the right fabric to upholster them with. I ended up driving to Chicago to go to the Merchandise Mart to find the right fabric! |
| I had this partition wall built so that this corner (left image) could be used as a three-dimensional backdrop. I simply take down the framed collage for a blank backdrop wall, and I specified that my contractor not put any outlets or light switches on it so that I wouldn't have to retouch them out. And I'm SO lucky that my studio gets such amazing natural light! |
| Another thing that took a while, but was well worth the wait, was this inspiration wall. I hired an amazing artist/painter to mimic the pattern from my wallpaper to create this border. The wall is magnetic so that, as I find inspiration (usually from fashion magazines or catalogs) I can tear it out and stick it right on the wall. This wall is right next to my desk, so the imagery seeps into my brain almost through osmosis! |
| This is the view from the meeting area looking into the office area. There aren't any windows back there, so I chose reflective wallpaper which would bounce back the light from the main windows. Oh how an understanding of light can come in handy! |
| And here is a view of the office area... |
| Did I mention that I have an obsession with mirrored furniture??? |
| Since the studio is so peacefully cool-toned, I decided to go a little wild with the styling of the bathroom. My husband kind of freaked out when he first saw it because it's so pink... but I reminded him that it's not in our house so why should he care?!?! |
| And these are photos of the (rather boring) kitchenette and storage area. |
| I kind of feel like this was a weird episode of MTV Cribs!!! Anyway, I hope you like it! |
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shannon & steve are married! |
1.26.10 (Weddings)
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Ok, I frequently write that weddings are a BLAST because I really do love shooting weddings... but seriously... this New Year's Eve wedding was a MEGA BLAST! If I have to work on New Year's Eve, this is exactly the kind of wedding I want to be shooting. The bride and groom were beyond awesome (seriously... just look below to see how they light up around one another), their wedding style was super uniquely cool (they LOVE historic Detroit more than anyone else I've ever met), the vendors were all amazing (some of my favorite people to work with), and there were sparklers, boas, top hats, and confetti (and who doesn't love that?!?!).
The Colony Club was the PERFECT venue for this classic Detroit wedding. Misty Trompeter and her team from Bells & Bliss did an AMAZING job with the planning, Gourmet Invitations totally rocked the invitations and other print materials, and Dan Nichols was and always is a super cool DJ! |
| Hello gorgeous eyelashes... |
| Awe, I LOVE first look moments!!! Just look at their expressions... |
| Shannon is radiant... inside and out. And Steve is her perfect match. |
| This image on the left is one of my favorites from the entire season. I just love the glow. |
| Shannon is allergic to flowers and so she chose to use feathers instead... which was AWESOME!!! I love the feathers in her hair... |
| ... and she did a "bouquet" of feathers... |
| I LOVE the bridesmaid candles instead of bouquets... |
| This is the moment right after they came back up the aisle, when they escaped into the elevator. Steve looked inside his new ring to read the inscription... which reads "whoop whoop". I just love their expressions!!! |
| And, also because Shannon is allergic to flowers, they had oil lamps as the centerpieces. The table cards were made from vintage postcards of Detroit landmarks and Shannon and Steve hand wrote notes to their guests on matching post cards. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Detroit loyalty and personal touch! |
| Instead of a cake they cut a donut from a local shop. Their Detroit loyalty is ENDLESS!!! |
| Ok, as a woman I'm familiar with the basket of mints, perfume, etc which is often in the ladies room. But it never occurred to me that there might be a men's version! Shannon's maid of honor created this awesome kit for the men's room... I think it's super cool and the condom tree is extremely conscientious! |
| The confetti was amazing, it really was. But, since I positioned myself to be right next to the bride and groom at midnight, I was PUMMELED by the confetti and so for a while I couldn't even change a lens without fearing that massive amounts of confetti would end up in my camera. It was INSANE... but really wonderful at the same time!!! |
| Congratulations Shannon & Steve! You really are a special couple and I wish you the best always!!! |
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product feature... wall collages! |
1.26.10 (Products)
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| Introducing a new product... the 24"x36" wall collage! It's for those who, like me, aren't into hanging giant photos of themselves in their house. It showcases 46 images and the background is customized to match the either the image collection or your house. I love it because it's totally in line with my classic meets modern style! |
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corporate headshots... kristen taylor style |
1.21.10 (Portraits)
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I was recently asked by Realtor and very good friend of mine, Pam Truex, to shoot some headshots of her and her team of Realtors. While I shoot corporate headshots on occasion, I'll admit that it's not the most exciting part of my job because generally some suit in a corner office dictates that the headshots have to be very formal (or in other words, typical and boring).
But since I'm really good friends with Pam I had the audacity to tell her that, no we're not shooting your headshots against a backdrop, and no we're not shooting the team photo with one person in a chair and the others standing above. Her initial reaction was "but that's how every other Realtor does it", and then I told her that's exactly why we're NOT doing it! And then when I told her that they weren't even all going to be in the same photo for the team photo, she was totally confused. I told her to just trust me... and fortunately she did.
The corporate world cracks me up because it's so intent on doing things a certain way, I guess because someone seems to believe that's how it's supposed to be done because that's how everyone else does it. It's not unlike the way that so many photographers always shoot the bridal party by putting girls on one side, guys on the other, tallest to shortest (by the way, I NEVER do that). Why does it "have" to be like that? Why not do something different? What's so wrong with standing out a bit as long as it still looks really good? A message to the corporate world: it's good to stand out, it gets you noticed, it sells more products. If you're up for that challenge and need some team photos, call me. And if you need a Realtor, call Pam. She's awesome.
Anyway, here's the photo of Pam's team... |
| And here's how it looks in her fancy new website (which isn't up yet but will be soon!)... |
| And here are their individual headshots, which will also be on the website. I don't claim that these are the most wildly creative headshots I've ever done, but at least they're not against a backdrop! |
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audrey & donny are featured in The Knot magazine! |
1.21.10 (News)
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I'm excited to announce that many of Audrey & Donny's wedding photos are in the current issue of The Knot MI magazine. It couldn't have happened to a nicer couple! Congrats Audrey and Donny!
To see the feature in full-size, click here. |
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Lindsey Nartker Designs giveaway! |
1.21.10 (News)
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| Lindsey Nartker Designs is giving away a wedding day coordination collection to one deserving and lucky couple. You can nominate yourself or someone else. The deadline is Feb 1st. Click here for all the details. |
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bliss weddings & events discount! |
1.21.10 (News)
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| The awesome Amanda Freeman from Bliss Weddings & Events is generously offering 10% off of partial or full-service wedding planning to all of my clients. Check it out! |
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In case you've been under a rock, I have a new puppy. And, according to my dog trainer, I have to take my puppy outside to go to the bathroom every hour because her bladder is so tiny right now. And, apparently I'm supposed to stay outside with her for 5 minutes each time. While I was outside with her and freezing one day, I realized that I spend approximately 1/12th of my waking hours watching my dog look for somewhere to pee.
Anyway last night while waiting for her bladder, I happened to notice this "I heart Kristen" message written in the snow. I knew it had to be from my husband, who had taken my dog out the night before after I feel asleep on the couch. It felt SO wonderful to find this little message and I thought about how truly wonderful my husband is.
And I also thought about how interesting it was that I had taken my dog out numerous times earlier in the day, but I hadn't noticed this message in broad daylight. It wasn't until it was dark out and our porch light illuminated it from just the right angle that it became really visible. When they say that photography is "all about light", it really is... but it's not about how much light... it's about the right kind of light! |
| Melissa and Andy were totally up for a wintery engagement session... complete with a snowball fight and then cuddling by the fireplace. They even brought their new puppies so that they could be in a few shots. Melissa and Andy are an adorable couple (Melissa is super sassy cute and is a natural in front of the camera) and I'm really excited to shoot their wedding. |
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