Just a reminder ...

I just wanted to remind all of you who placed orders for Santa Portraits that we will be contacting you by email as soon as they are ready. Once notified, you will be able to pick them up at The Centre.

Thank you again for such a wonderful opportunity to serve your family !

Santa Bloopers

We wanted to thank everyone for sharing their kids with us this past Saturday!

Santa was more popular than ever this year! We had over 100 kids show up on Saturday to give their letters to Santa. It was SO much fun!

(For those of you who weren't able to make it, don't worry...we'll be back out at The Centre this Thursday from 4-6 in the evening.)

I think my favorite part about this event is seeing so many of your kids grow year after year. Here is just one example:

You can see how much this little cutie grew.

Some of the children were amazed by Santa and his beard.

As you can imagine, for every dozen kids who love being on Santa's lap, there are a few who need coaxing. :o)

I hope you guys will enjoy these bloopers as much as I did.

What funny stories these parents will have to tell their children years down the road when they are all grown up. These images are sure to spark a few giggles from the kids too!

The images above are BEFORE and AFTER portraits. This little guy was not fond of Santa. As we do with other hesitant kids, we set up for a Peek-A-Boo Santa portrait and hid Santa behind the set. This little guy did great when there was no Santa in sight; he sat right down in Santa's big chair and gave me a great smile. Then it happened...he heard Santa rustling in the window. Once this little guy realized Santa was right there it was all over--the tears began to flow!!


The image below is probably one of the funniest images we captured that day. As you can see, this little guy doesn't care how he hits the floor as long as he gets down there.

This little one was such a cutie!! You can tell his mama is just out of reach. :o)

Displaying Santa Portraits

Looking for a creative way to display all those Santa portraits during the holidays? Here is a perfect way to preserve a keepsake for your child.

Start by choosing a reprint package that will give you an extra 5x7 of your child with Santa. (Although you can create this keepsake with sibling portraits, we do suggest that you take advantage of the inexpensive opportunity to photograph your kids separately. This creates the perfect opportunity to build an individual, unique keepsake for each child of their own. This will allow for mom's and dad's to keep a collection of the siblings together and have something for the kids to take with them when they begin celebrating the holidays with families of their own.)

Next, have a mat cut and framed with 4-6 openings to place your Santa Portraits in. (Since these images will be a special holiday decoration to be displayed around the tree every year, I would suggest using a red mat.) As each year passes, fill in another opening to your matted collection. As your collection grows, you will not only be able to see how much your child grows year after year, but also all the funny reactions your child had to Santa.

What a wonderful keepsake this will be for your kids as they grow up and share the holiday season with their kids.

(As always, if you need assistance creating this type of display we would be more than happy to help you. We carry a wide assortment of frames and matting.)

Santa Clause is coming to town !!

Come one......come all.
No matter how big or small...
...newborn or older !

Bring the kids by and join us at The Centre this Saturday and Thursday for pictures with Santa. Hot chocolate and cookies are provided by The Centre. The kids are sure to have a memorable time.

Collins Photography Food & Diaper Drive

Tis' the Season...the Season of Giving !

Come help our our community by donating food items and diapers.

There are no session fees for Portraits with Santa, but we do encourage you to bring a donation (big or small). Donations are not mandatory but just a suggestion so you can take advantage of this great opportunity to give. Items collected during our Santa event will be donated to our local charity organizations.

As an incentive, we will be offering coupons from Collins Photography (towards your next studio session) for those of you who donate. Coupons will be good through the month of March. (Some restrictions apply.)

(Donations can not be accepted in replacement of purchasing reprint portrait packages. They will only be accepted as a gesture of giving in leu of a session fee.)

Suggested Items:

Package(s) of unopened Diapers in any size.

Canned Vegetables

Canned Fruit

Boxed Food that has a long shelf life.

Remember....try to keep it healthy and simple !

Something that everyone eats and is easy to cook.

Family Living Country Style

We went on a little excursion to the family farm for this session.

This farm was very sentimental to everyone in the family. I can see why.....it was so pretty there. Throughout the session I heard all kinds of fun stories of how they spend their time there. Before their house was built nearby, the parents said they would get Taco Bell, drive out to the barn and eat in the loft so they could enjoy the view. How sweet!

I think these kids are as close as it gets to cloning their parents.

As you can see above, other than a few minor differences, the youngest is just like his father and below the older is just like his mother (even down to the matching eyecolor). Amazing!!

Thanks guys for showing me around. You really have a great location there!

Danielle

Danielle's images turned out amazing!

What a fun girl to work with.

As you can tell, she looks like she has done this a million times--she comes across so naturally.

We found this great little spot with some fall colors.

Danielle, thanks for your excitement about our work.

We look forward to working with you again in the future!

Cora

I love this image of Cora in the water!!

When girls come in for a senior session, some of them aren't sure what to expect. I'm sure 50 degree water on a 60 degree day wasn't in the plans. Like Cora, most of them jump right in there and love the experience. Senior pictures only happen once!! It's all for the love of the game right?

History in the Making

The more I sat and talked with this mother and daughter, the more I was awakened to the history being recorded in this session. I know to them their lives probably seem ordinary and average, but as the session began to unfold, it was evident to me how much time and love they invested into their relationship. As I look at each captured image, it's almost as if I can imagine video clips of their life together. I was truly astounded at how much this daughter honored, respected and cared for her mother. Hands have a history too!

Throughout our lives, we all have a choice about what we put our hands to. I hope that when I look back on my life, I'll find that I have learned from this mother and daughter's example. I hope that my hands would not be idle through the years but that I would make choices to care for and nurture my relationship with my children. When life turns around on me and old age sets in, I want to look back with no regrets and enjoy the investments I made in my children.

Thank you so much for letting me share this experience with both of you. I know you never intended to walk into my studio and teach me anything, but you did. As God would have it, I walked away with many reminders about how precious and rewarding relationships between a parent and child can be!

Many blessings to you both!

As luck would have it .....

I don't really believe in luck, but I don't find it a coincidence that this family ended up having their session on a day that was as gorgeous as this one was. It is rare to have a setting as beautiful as this for portraits. What a blessing it was to share that day with them. They have been my clients since their oldest daughter was a baby. Over the years I've had a chance to get to know and love their family.

It was a very cold day so we took turns putting coats on and running back to a car to stay warm. Despite the cold, these girl did great!

Thanks again guys for allowing me to be a part of your family over the years!

I count it among my many blessings to have the opportunity to know you!!!!

Every Session has a Story!

Rarely do I ever complete a session and not have a story to tell--this session was no different.

This session tells the story of two sisters...

...and a Grandma. :o)

As a Christmas gift to her daughter, this grandma decided to arrange for her grandkids to visit(from out of town) so she could have their portraits taken. As you can tell, this day was pretty cold. We had to stop periodically so the girls could huddle under grandma's jacket to warm up.

I love this image. It wonderfully captures these little girl's personalities as they were that day. As the older sister runs off to explore, the younger one stays closer to home. As you can tell, they don't necessarily like doing the same things at the same time. :o) That always makes for an interesting session. :o)

We had so much fun playing together as we explored. We made our way down to the water and found some of the biggest leaves I think I've ever seen.

We finished off our session by making a few leaf angels.

Thanks again girls for such a fun time!

Don't Forget!!

Don't Forget!!

Christmas is just around the corner. Now is the time to get your holiday shopping done early by scheduling your portrait session - a gift that will "keep on giving" year after year.

(Unlike that tie or kitchen appliance you received last year which ended up in the yardsale. hehehehe)

Sessions are currently booking two weeks in advance. November 30th is the deadline to have your session photographed and receive your final prints back before the holidays.

ONLY 35 DAYS LEFT!!

Jess

Gorgeous!

Here is what Jess had to say about her session with us:

"Senior pictures at my school were almost boring because they were all the same. I wanted different pictures that truly represented who I am and that would stay in people's minds forever. Kim made my dream come true. I now have portraits that reflect who I am at this point in my life. I will cherish these forever." -- Jess

Every year there are a few seniors whom I meet that seem to stand out.

Jess is definately one of those girls.

I loved listening to all her plans for school and how self-disciplined she is to reach her goals. One thing I adore about Jess is her excitement for the moment. She absolutely loved her Senior Year experience; even with her portraits, she decided that once just wasn't enough. She decided to double the fun and booked two sessions with us. I really enjoyed having the extra time to visit with her!

The top two images are from her recent session and the image below is from her session this summer.

Fall...la...la...la...la

Let the Fall Season Begin!

Right now is a great time to schedule fall portraits of the whole family or just of the kids.

Kellie and Joe, who have been clients for several years, had their fall session last week. These were their first family portraits with their newborn daughter, Rylie.

We asked Kellie to share a little about her experience with our studio. Here is what she had to say:

"We have had Kim capture our family portraits since our first daughter Jordyn came into our lives three years ago. We had seen some of Kim's portraits and wanted to make sure we had portraits of our girls and our family that we could treasure for a lifetime. Our first portraits of the girls were taken when they were just a few weeks old and we will treasure them forever; along with the first pictures of us as a family."

"We never have the probem of not liking the pictures. The problem is that we like them all and have to decide which ones to pick. Kim does a wonderful job of helping us decide what shots would go well together and how to arrange them on our wall.

Kim works so well with the girls. She can make them smile and interact with her and get some of the best shots!! We like working with Kim because we get unique shots that capture the moments and expressions of each one of us."

"Jordyn enjoys being a little ham for Kim. She has gotten to know her over the past 3 years and gets excited when she knows she gets to see her for pictures. We know that Rylie will be the same way as she grows also."

"Thank you, Kim, for being patient and working with the girls to capture the moments of our family as we grow and change." --Kellie

A Lot in Common

Recently, Sarah and Jason drove in from Salem for their maternity session.

Isn't Sarah cute!! I think pregnant women are SO beautiful!!

Sara and Jason are expecting a bouncing baby boy.

We laughed so much during our session as we realized how much we all had in common. Sarah and I related really well since our husbands are similar in many respects. We also found out that we all have a love for traveling. And not just for travel.....travel with the purpose of eating at new places. I think we've decided that Alaska should be the next adventure so Jason can fish king crabs for dinner. :o)

Thanks guys for driving in. I really enjoyed getting to know you both.

I feel like you guys are old friends already.

My Favorite Little Avery

Here are some images from a recent family portraiture session we had with "My Favorite Little Avery."

She's the only little Avery I know. :o)

Every girl needs a set of these eyelashes. Aren't they gorgeous !!??

By the end of the session, like most nine month olds, Avery had pretty much had it. Although, exploring in the water seemed to keep her interested - she was amazed at her reflection.

Once again, I am blessed to have such great people in my life. Thank you Dawn and Ryan for your enthusiasm about our portraiture. I am honored that you continue driving from Jefferson City for our services and have chosen us to be your family photographer. Thanks !!

Kylie

I could tell at the beginning of the session Kylie was a little nervous (as are most seniors when we get started). She was so sweet and soft spoken but very trusting all at the same time. :o) As you can tell from the images her personality of being soft and quiet really takes form.
Here is what Kylie had to say about her experience with us.

I was nervous as to how the images were going to turn out but I knew that Kim is a great and creative photographer and that my images would turn out ok.

Every pose and place where the photos were taken were very unique and I enjoyed my session.

-- Kylie