Sweet newborns
Kiddos
Couples 
Family
Posted on October 25, 2011
The time has come, and you will love what we have in store for you! It’s time to get those gorgeous photos taken for Christmas gifts, Greeting cards, and that wonderful gallery wrap that you’ve been wanting. If you’re not really feeling up to being in the photos this year, but definitely want photos of your children (come on, who doesn’t want photos of their kids 
), then don’t worry. You can still book your session, still order cards, and get those wonderful images for the gifts, and order a beautiful gallery wrap of your children. After all, I’m a mom, and I know that we love shopping for our children, but not always us. So don’t let that stop you from getting your beautiful kids photographed.
We have a fabulous promotion going right now as well.
With your paid session, you will get your choice of a 24 pack of greeting cards, OR a 16×20 mounted wall portrait. If that isn’t awesome enough, there is MORE! With a $250 dollar order or more, you will also get a beautiful 3×3 frame from The Organic Bloom! These frames are gorgeous, sweet, and would look fabulous with an image from your session in it. You can hang these on the tree, hang them on the wall, or put them on a small easel and display on a counter or desk. You can pick whichever style, and color you want.
You definitely don’t want to miss out on this fabulous promotion, so book yours SOON! We have limited availability left for Christmas delivery, so don’t wait!
Posted on October 13, 2011
Well hello there! Is it me, or does anyone else feel like they are sometimes clawing for the side of the bucket they’re swimming (or drowning) in? Man, this year seems to feel like it’s the craziest year yet. Molly has tons more homework than she has in the past, Lily is right there in the action of homework, dinner, cleaning, everything, and well Brett…he’s busy as well. When people ask how my husband is, I sometimes joke, and say “Who? OH!!! Is that who comes to my house late at night, and talks to me for a little bit, before going to bed?” I think our lives our definitely crazy, and I keep waiting for it to slow down, but I don’t think it’s going to. It’s October already, and it hasn’t slowed down yet. So, I will just continue to make it through, and do my best at keeping this family sane. Luckily, I have a fantastic planner from the wonderful company MomAgenda, and it definitely helps me remember things. It’s such a fantastic little thing, and sad to say that I also have things scheduled on my phone. Yep, I think my “hard drive (my brain)” is getting a little full, and it’s time to start looking at purging some things. Lol.
Anyways, let’s get onto our feature for this week. She is joining us from Oregon, and of course, I met her through one of the forums. She replied to a post that I had posted, and she was so nice in her reply, and I totally knew she knew exactly how I felt. She’s a total sweet heart, and a momma herself, so she knows the craziness that I was referencing to earlier. Let’s meet her, say hello and check out her fabulous work!
Kristina Brewer of Kristina Kathrynn Photography & Design
Central Oregon and Portland Metro Photographer
http://kristinakathrynnphotography.com/
Where are you from? Where do you currently live?
I’m an Oregon girl, born and raised. Born in Portland, moved to a tiny miserable little town no one in the world has ever heard of named Burns, and as soon as I graduated high school I got the heck out of dodge and moved to Bend, Oregon and have stayed put ever since.
What does photography mean to you? What attracted you to photography?
Photography, for me, is a sense of self. Being a mom and an Army wife consumes the majority of my time and energy and I love it! But photography is something that belongs to just me. I can share it with my family to whatever degree I like but the creativity, the work, the client relationships…that’s just me. It helps me to center myself and is a constant reminder that while I adore my husband and babies, I’m still a valuable person outside of being a wife and mommy. I don’t have one of those stories that begin with “I’ve been taking pictures as long as I can remember”…I honestly became interested in photography at the end of 2009 when I had the opportunity to study abroad and live in Italy for 3 months. I started to see the architecture there from different angles and in different lighting and began experimenting with my little point and shoot. When I got home I decided to pursue the field and went on to soak up all the knowledge about photography that I possibly could!
Describe the area of photography you specialize in? Why did you choose this area?
I’ve just narrowed down my specialty in the last few months, wanting to give myself time to shoot all different types of sessions and figure out what I really love. So I now specialize in seniors and couples. I simply adore photographing both of these styles. Seniors because they are all so fresh faced and optimistic! Spending a couple of hours with them is so refreshing and reminds me of that feeling we all had at one point of standing on the edge of the rest of our lives! Couples because there is something intrinsically romantic about capturing the look on a man’s face when you tell him to remember the first time he ever met her, and the look of pride on a woman’s face when she’s thinking about how proud she is to be loved by him.
How long have you been a photographer?
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 1/2 years professionally.
Is it only you with your business, or do you have an assistant?
Yup, it’s just me! My husband does help out as much as he can in loading and unloading the car when I use large props, he helps scout locations, and he’s becoming more interested in learning the ins and outs of shooting in manual so he can act as a second shooter….we’ll see where that goes!
Are you self taught or have you attended formal schooling? What workshops/seminars have you found useful to you?
I don’t know if I’d say I was self taught since I’ve had the help of many, many other photographer’s who’ve been kind enough to write blog posts, books, etc. but I haven’t taken any formal schooling outside of one digital photography class during college that quite frankly didn’t teach me a whole lot. I think if you’re willing to make mistakes and go by a trial and error process you can learn much more on your own by reading and experimenting than by just having someone tell you what they do.
Morning or night owl?
I hate the morning….loathe it. I am far more efficient after about nine at night than any other time of the day. Could be because it’s also the quietest time around my crazy house!
If you could describe your style of photography in 4 words, what would they be?
Simple, Vibrant, Fun, and Timeless
Who is your family? Include some pictures of them since we all know that our family is always in our photographs.
Let’s see…I’ve been married for 7 1/2 years to my handsome husband who I’m super proud of because he’s currently working towards an Officer’s commission! And we have two hilarious, adorable, frustrating, smelly boys. Our oldest, Noah, is 4 1/2 going on 30 and our youngest, Sawyer, will be turning one on October 12th (not fair!) and has the most contagious cheesy, squishy little grin you could ever imagine. How I got stuck in a houseful of boys I will never know…
What is a project that you would like to do this year with your photography?
Hm….I would say my project for this year is to scout and catalog as many places as I can find for sessions. I tend to stick with a handful that I know offer perfect lighting and atmosphere and haven’t taken the time to find more….that’s my plan.
How do you balance work, and your family?
Balance? Ha! I don’t even know the meaning of the word. The best I could say is that I work A LOT during the late night hours. 
We all want to know…what’s in YOUR bag? What lens could you not live without?
I’m pretty basic at the moment. I really want to completely rock the equipment I’ve got before I upgrade. I shoot primarily with a Canon 40D (though I still have my very first rebel as well) and my 50 1.8. I also have a 55-250 which I originally wrote off because it was a kit lens that came with my rebel, but I’ve recently been experimenting with it and find that it actually does pretty well! On my list is the 5D Mark ii or the 7D and a couple of new lenses, but for now I’m content to learn how to use my 40D inside and out.
If you could photograph any person in the world, who would it be? Why?
I’ve thought about this a ton and I really can’t think of anyone. I would have to say that I would like to photograph my boys more than I do. They’re facial expressions and mannerisms change so fast as they grow up that it makes me want to have a picture of every single moment!
If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be?
A graphic designer….oh I already do that! Ha Ha…No, in all seriousness I would probably be a doula. I was lucky enough to stumble in to having a home birth with my oldest and then of course repeated the experience with my second and fell in LOVE with home birth. So I’d probably be a doula so I could help other women have the best birth experiences possible!
What are 4 words your husband would use to describe you?
Ha Ha Ha! I asked him this question and he said “Oh no! I’m not answering that loaded question!” When I finally got him to give a serious answer he said “Sexy, Hard-headed, Loving, Family-oriented”
What helps keep you motivated with photography?
What keeps me motivated is that I am constantly surprising myself. I’m not one of those people that ever gets overly confident about ANYTHING. Whether it’s my photography or my branding design I always question my abilities. There is no way that I can ever know everything there is to know about either subject, I’m constantly learning so every time my sessions turn out just like I imagined, or a client falls completely in love with their new brand, I’m surprised in myself and my abilities to create things that others find value in and my love of photography and design is renewed again. Every. Single. Time.
Tell us about some of your long term goals (with photography or personal life)?
Hm… ha ha, totally unrelated to photography…one of my goals is to be like my grandma! All my life her house has been so stocked with food that any time you wanted to make a meal she had about ten of each ingredient! I’m the opposite of efficient when it comes to making sure to have the stuff we need on hand. Which results in many last minute trips to the store and way too many meals out for the family! So I’m going to try and become more like her and try and keep my house stocked with food! Nothing too interesting, but it would be sure make my life easier!
What blogs do you love to stalk (doesn’t have to be photography related if you don’t want)?
I actually don’t really read any other blogs. I do spend quite a bit of time on Rock the Shot, but more reading the forum than the blog, though the guest posters (which I’m honored to have been one of!) have some great articles!
When you’re not shooting, what are you doing?
Besides hanging out with my husband and boys, I’m almost always found working on brand design. I have some of the BEST design clients ever! I would say that creatively design is even more in my blood than photography. I love them both equally, but there is something so incredible about working with my clients to create a web and print presence for their business! And I’m not gonna lie, I often stay up ridiculously late just to spare some time to read. That is for sure something I can’t live without.
Where is one place you would love to travel to?
The list of where I DON’T want to visit is much much shorter! (Mexico by the way. No desire to go there at all!) But I would have to say that at the top of my list is going back to Italy. I lived in Florence for 3 months and part of my heart will forever be there. It’s like no where else in the world.
If you listen to music during editing, what music just totally keeps you going?
If I listen to music at all it’s usually the contemporary singer/songwriter channel on Pandora (think Adele, Ray LaMontagne) but I’m just gonna be honest here… I’m ridiculously addicted to watching Bones. And quite handily it is offered on watch instantly through Netflix so I just keep watching all the seasons. Over and over. That’s usually what I have on while I edit or design.
What is a quote that means a lot to you?
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
This always reminds me that I have to make my own dreams and goals happen!
If you could pick one photographer in the world to do a session for you, and your family, who would it be and why?
Well, I have to be honest. I subscribe to the idea that the less I pay attention to other people’s work, the better my own will be. So I don’t have that many to choose from as far as work I’ve seen. Of course there are many I’ve seen and loved, I just try not to follow very many regularly. But based on not only her work, but how sweet she’s always been any time I’ve interacted with her I’d say Rachel Sumner Durik of Savor Photography. Her work is so clean and crisp and from what I’ve seen of her ability to capture her own kids and letting their personalities shine through (which we all know can be IMPOSSIBLE!) I think she would do an incredible job of capturing the essential nature of our family.
If you could photograph one area of photography for a day, what would it be, why? (Something other than what you photograph, i.e. architecture, food, boudoir, birth, etc.)
Definitely boudoir. If you knew me really well this would make you laugh out loud. I am an EXTREMELY private person. Like, so private that I’ll admit that the reason I stumbled into having a home birth with my first son was because I wanted the least amount of people possible around when I delivered! So I would NEVER do boudoir images myself but I think they can be so incredibly stunning if you have someone in front of your lens that’s totally comfortable with themselves. It’s definitely a style I would love to try someday but it will have to be just the right person and setting cause I’m sure I’ll have a perpetual blush on my face!
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting out in photography, what would it be?
Find a very small handful of photographer’s whose work you love and ignore the rest. I know that sounds harsh, but if you are always following a ton of other photographer’s work you will struggle immensely when it comes to finding your own style as well as your own specialty, just because so and so photography totally rocks on the senior front doesn’t mean you’ll love shooting seniors enough to put the work into rocking those shoots. Admire, but never copy. And don’t be afraid to say to yourself “My name is Kristina and I don’t enjoy shooting families. At all.” and then stick to it. Running a business is not a walk in the park, it’s work. So why make it more work than it has to be by shooting sessions you don’t enjoy!
What magazine could you not live without?
Ha! Given the amount of car magazines, Army magazines, and Cabela’s catalogs that find their way into my mail box there’s no room for anything for me! Honestly, about the only time I ever read a magazine is when I’m sitting in the doctor’s waiting area with my son, or on an airplane and I don’t have anything particular I typically read. When I have the time to read, I’m usually reading a book.
Please include some of your favorite images….
Thanks so much for joining us Kristina! I enjoy “talking” to you on the forums, and also on FB! Your work is fabulous and LOVE your locations. I’m really starting to think I just need to bring some of those locations here. I absolutely love your design work as well, and you truly have a talent with photography and design! I enjoyed getting to know you better, and you are right on the money with your advice! Keep on rockin’! Thanks again for joining us!
