the beginning

I've moved!

2008-05-08T13:34:00.003-05:00

My blog has a new home. Please bookmark my new site!
Mollie Kendall Photography {the blog}

Another Wonderful Session

2008-04-18T09:14:00.003-05:00

I had a wonderful time with the V family last Saturday. We choose my favorite park and the weather was simply gorgeous! A touch on the cold side for April, but beautiful clear sunny skies. The kids stayed busy running, playing... making wishing well wishes and quacking at turkey ducks (inside joke). Relaxed kids make for a photographer's dream. I might have had more fun than they did!

I am heading out on vacation but promised them a sneak peak at their session. Here are a few of my favorites. Thank you guys, Enjoy!

Congratulations Cutie Patootie Winners!

2008-04-15T02:17:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to the following Cutie Patooties!! #1, #6, #15 and #7!

They have each won a FREE session and 11x14 wall portrait. Mollie will contact each winner via email with details.

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered the 2008 Cutie Patootie Contest. To those contestants that entered, but did not win, please contact Mollie if you would like to schedule a session at 50% off the regularly priced session.

A *HUGE THANK YOU* to the following photographers that served as judges for the contest. Click on their names to link to their websites.

Alicia Caine Photography
Bamboo Smiles
Karen Beyer Photography
Tiffany Hix Photography
Jodi Davis Photography
Marlo Yoshimoto Photography
Kimberly Ann Photography
Patty Cake Photography
Tiny Miracles Photography
Images By Laura
SDG Photography
Simplicity Photography
Portraits By Christa
Claire Hill Photography
Simple Expressions Photography
Joey Lu Lus Photography

Here They Are! The Cutie Patooties!

2008-04-09T07:12:00.003-05:00

(drumroll...)
Here are all the entries for the Cutie Patootie Contest.
It's up to the judges now!!

Good luck everyone!! I will email the 2 winners, as well as any potential referral winners on April 15th. I will also list them here on my blog. When I post the winning patooties, I will include link information on each of the judges.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

Note To Self...

2008-04-08T22:25:00.001-05:00

"Get professional Photos of Your Children"

I saw this article on a fellow photographer's blog. She found it in "Real Simple" magazine. I thought it was a good read. Thought you might like it too. ;)

Color Me Happy

2008-04-04T15:12:00.003-06:00

I won a photo contest sponsered by Keye42 and my most favorite camera store Precision Camera! The prize is a $50 gift certificate for the store so now I can cross off some things off my ever growing shopping list!!

Thanks to all who voted on my behalf!

Imagination

2008-04-03T11:49:00.003-06:00

I have to say... am having sooo much fun editing! I really walked away with more shots than I expected from Skye Hardwick's Soulographer Workshop!

The setting at Pioneer Farms was perfect.

The models were simply adorable.

I really didn't expect to get quite as much inspiration out of a simple weekend, but I most certainly did. The abundance of backdrops and models is allowing my imagination to just run. Skye brought so much insight, both in business and creativity. You can see some of Skye's images from the weekend on her Soulographer Blog.

Here are a couple more images of my own.
Hope you enjoy them!

The most amazing photo session ever...

2008-04-01T23:11:00.003-06:00

This past weekend I spent three wonderful days among some amazing talent! I had the opportunity to shoot with Skye Hardwick as well as 25+ other incredible photogs. We visited the scenic Pioneer Farms where we were met with 17 amazing child models. I can't wait for my portrait taken by the rock star herself to arrive in my inbox!! I picked up some great information to help me along in my growing business as well as walked away totally inspired! I hope you enjoy some of the images I took away from the event.

2008-03-20T10:12:00.003-06:00

At the demanding.... er.... request, of several people, I am cross-blog posting an entry from my personal blog from a few weeks back. It is another "tooting of my own horn" but I refuse to feel guilty in that I am very proud of what I have learned and accomplished. It is the one thing that I have earned on my own and is truly mine. (grin)

----------------
I belong to a few photog groups and troll quite a few blogs. Some are informational business-wise. Some have a lot of great teaching articles. Some are of great inspiration with beautiful photos. One in particular is a professional photog group. It's hard hitting and frustrating with true hard hat critiques, way hard core photographers, but this is what I need to press on and get better. I'm thick skinned so I can hang right? It has helped tremendously but on the same note, has seriously made me doubt my abilities. Sometimes a girl just needs some sugar!

Which is why I visit Better Photo.

Daily dose.

They have a monthly contest. I enter every morning. Over many many months now, I have been getting more and more praise and given 'editors picks' on a more regular basis. Bonus I get lots of private emails from some AMAZing photographers there, in support. Its wonderful! Just what the doctor ordered.

However, I'm well aware that it's a 'Shiny Happy People' site where all who leave comments on your photos are Prozac-laced. It's a superb ego boost. But never any true critique. Better Photo is a contest with 31300 photos entered monthly from photographers literally all over the world. Crazy odds to win right? Especially since they have only 363 finalists. Out of those finalists, ultimately there is just 1 winner each month. There is also 1 first place award in each of the 10 categories and 10 2nd place winners in those categories.

Today I'm sick. I'm icky and sad. I want to crawl into bed and sleep. And then I open my email. It read that one of my photos has made the finals. WHOA! I'm absolutely blown away. Then again within the hour... I get another email showing me this.

And while there is no tangible prize. I'm still just Tooooo excited! I get a new free fancy schmancy portfolio on their site, which I've wanted. Talk about an ego boost...

----------------

Cutie Patootie Contest!

2008-03-18T10:51:00.015-06:00

Exciting News Everyone...
Announcing Mollie Kendall Photography's

If you have a cutie between the ages of 6 months - 14 years, enter NOW!!!
What will the winners receive you ask?

Two lucky cuties will each receive
1) one complimentary session with Mollie ($50 value)
2) one complimentary 11x14 print and ($50 value)

But wait, there's more!!! Two more lucky winners will each receive a complimentary session and a $20 print credit just for being the referral person to the two Cutie Patootie winners!! So pass this contest around to anyone you think may be interested in photos of their Cutie Patootie!

Email one web-sized picture of your child (350 pixels wide) to
Molliekphotography@yahoo.com

The Fine Print....
Make sure we can see your child's face. No professional portraits will be accepted... just your snapshots please!

Winners of the "Cutie Patootie" contest are not eligible to also win the referral contest. Meaning, one person cannot win two sessions. If there are no referral winners, then the 3rd and 4th place cutie patooties will be winners as well. Confusing enough? ;) Ultimately there will be 4 winners total.

The judging will take place by several of my professional out-of-state photographer friends, not by me.

All applicants must live within 30 miles of the Leander, Texas area.

Enter your "Cutie Patootie" by April 8th. Winners will be announced no later than April 15th via email and on my blog.

The session location will be determined by Mollie, whether it is on location or in studio. Mollie will have complete creative control of the session. You will LOVE your new portraits!!

Deadline for submission is 3:00 PM on April 8th, 2008.

4 winners will be chosen. So pass this link around to your friends and GET THOSE PICS IN!!

Maternity Shoot

2008-03-14T20:09:00.005-06:00

I had such fun today. My good friend Dawn allowed me to practice again with another maternity shoot. We took pictures a few weeks ago full body so this time she wanted belly shots only. I had some more ideas and she, being a photographer, was ready for more photos. They are, after all, hard to take when you are your own subject ;)

So here are a few, D. I am anxious to share them with you but I know you are busy this weekend with your Blessingway. I'll get you the full size images when you return! Hope my more fancy versions come across in these smaller sizes.

Texture Land

2008-03-07T08:20:00.005-06:00

Every serious photographer must go through a period where s/he seeks out and perfects their specific style. I have taken the straight clean shots and find them lacking. Pretty yes, but I need more in my images. I've spent a lot of years digital scrapbooking but got away from it when my photography obsession began to rise. These days I prefer to spend free time with my camera, but my more artistic background still wants to come through. I am finding my images beginning to take a more artistic turn. I see them as so much more interesting and out of the ordinary. Hopefully future clients will enjoy them as much as I do.

I had another mini photo shoot today with my own personal child model! With this session, my focus was to ultimately practice some new Photoshop texture techniques. Initially the subject was not my focus. But, J has so much character in his expressions, he's just a photographer's dream. I was able to get the best of both the photography world and the Photoshop world in these images.

Absolutely Beside Myself

2008-03-06T08:56:00.004-06:00

I have a list on my personal photoblog, A Thousand Words, entitled "People I Heart". It is a list of photographers that I admire. One of the artists listed there is a woman named Skye Hardwick. Her site is ironically titled, Work of Heart Photography. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her work!

Through a series of websurfing destinations, I ended up on her workshop blog, Soulographer. Skye is famous throughout the country for her children's photography and I thought, "How amazing to learn from her". So I'm trolling around and sure enough, she's heading to Austin this month. Sadly though, it's long been sold out. Feeling frisky, loaded with coffee and on a whim, I emailed her. Are there spots. Is there a waitlist. I'd sell a child to attend and have the opportunity to work with you. What are the chances right? Her workshops are kept to 25 photographers to ensure one on one. Austin is the only stop in Texas and this is her LAST year to do workshops! Photogs from all over would want to attend. Not sure what I was expecting since I couldn't possibly afford to attend, but within a few hours I received an email back from the rock star herself! There Was a sudden spot open but I had to pay within 24 hours to secure it!! She just hadn't posted of it on her blog yet. What timing!!! Fate I tell you.

The workshop includes not only the chance to watch her work and learn what she has learned in running a business, but also includes an amazing list of door prizes, access to her private mentoring message board, all her business forms, a CD of her workflow and more! I'm speechless, truly.

So now, the mother to only one, I look forward to AMAZING chance to work with Skye.

Breathing Color into Life.

2008-03-03T22:23:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite subjects in this whole wide world and I had the pleasure today of spending an afternoon together alone. We headed over to Round Rock since Leander just doesn't have any real great "kid fun" for a rainy stormy day like today. He has, what many photographer's in the biz call, Photographer's Child Syndrome. He'll smile on cue for me as soon as he sees the camera to my face. And with a grin as adorable as his? I eat it up!

2008-03-02T17:32:00.009-06:00

A little brag if I may?!?

I am a member of a local group, the Austin Photography Group. They recently started a monthly photo contest where the 450+ members can submit a favorite photo for the members to vote. Grant it, the first month there were only 28 submissions and who knows how many votes, but ultimately, my submission won. I was so excited. There was no prize. No publicity. But people out there appreciated my work and I couldn't be more thrilled. The announcement:

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------

January's Photo of the Month Contest:
Alright everyone, the results for the January Photo of the Month competition are in!

Tying for third place:
Congress Sunset - Jeff Langloss
Sleeping Beauty - Alex Whitman

In second place:
Don't Do It - Adrian

And, tying for first place:
Extreme Photography - Peter Tsai
L E A N - Mollie

There can be only one Photo of the Month, and this month we have a tie. This means that we'll be having a run-off for the first 5 days of February to see whether Peter's or Mollie's photo wins the coveted title. So send your vote now via email regarding which photo you think should win for the month of January!

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------

The run-off results for the Photo of the Month competition are as follows:

L E A N by Mollie wins

Congratulations to Mollie for winning the very first Photo of the Month held by the Austin Photography Group!

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------

More exciting to me that winning one?
Winning two ;)

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------

February's Photo of the Month Contest:

Well, the votes have been counted. Once again there was a great cross-section of photography represented and the votes were very close. Thanks to everyone for participating. So heres the results:

Coming in 3rd:
White Rose by Charles

We had a tie for second:
Antigua Street by Dave
Congress Ave. Bridge by Ron

Coming in first...:
Reminders by Mollie
Congratulations to Mollie, this is her second month in a row to win.

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
Just a little toot of my own horn. It is so nice to have that validation from your peers!!

.

2008-02-19T21:47:00.005-06:00

A good friend of mine, the lovely Miss Dawn graciously allowed me to photograph her today, putting my first maternity shoot under my belt. When your subject is a photographer herself, there is an element of pressure. She made it easy. D is very relaxed in front of the camera. Through the challenges of an indoor, lesser light shoot, I was still pleased with many of the images I came out with.
Thanks so much D!

2008-02-12T13:56:00.001-06:00

I am finally ordering some business cards. Here is an advanced peek for my graphically inclined friends for their comments and/or suggestions.

2008-01-30T11:26:00.002-06:00

And a new one for the W family.

2008-01-28T16:54:00.000-06:00

I've recently learned a few tricks and am reworking some images for the C family.
Hope you enjoy them mom!

2007-12-18T11:23:00.000-06:00

Today I had a shoot with a family on referral from a friend. (Word of mouth is just a beautiful thing!) We were actually scheduled last Friday but due to the dark skies upon us, we had to postpone. I prefer to work in natural light and this was clearing not happening. It worked out for the best because today was beautiful. Sunny skies and cooler weather. This was perfect as the kids were wearing the most adorable Christmas outfits that were a bit on the warm side. They were all too happy to be outside. Mr R was all about hamming it up for the camera. He kept showing me his different "poses". There was the "cool guy" face, the "perfect pose" and as seen below, the "surp-prised" face! His little sister, darling Ms B was the most precious little girl I've met in a long time. I love when they are so naturally smiley! Makes my job so easy :)

I think in this business I will always have something to learn and tackle with each job. We did this shoot in the family's backyard which proved to be on the challenging side for me since I didn't have my usual scenic backdrop. But we made it work and got some great shots of the whole family.

2007-12-15T21:56:00.000-06:00

Today I had a shoot with a good friend of mine's family. We headed back out to my favorite park. I was disappointed when I arrived that the shockingly beautiful, and uncharacteristic for this part of the country's autumn coloring had disappeared from the trees since the last shoot I had out there two weeks previous. Reds or no reds, it was still a pretty scene. S's family is adorable and more than willing to do all the silly things I asked. Being that their family included two twin three year olds, I was very impressed with them. D and A were so patient, walking right past all the playscapes, heading from one pose to the next. Such great kids. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day.

2007-12-06T23:51:00.000-06:00

My experience leading up to my new photography career has consisted entirely of children. Today I did a shoot for a family. Although this was my second family shoot, it proved to be a challenging learning experience. The family said they wanted more of a 'family portrait' for Christmas cards rather than the typical natural shots I usually do of children. It took a quick hand to catch all four family members, two of them two-year old twins, looking directly at me at the same time. I am happy with the shots I did manage. In the future I may entertain the idea of a clown nose or spinning hat to keep them glancing at me.

2007-12-02T21:36:00.000-06:00

I had another fun shoot today. We started off a tad rough when little S decided as soon as he arrived that it was time to go home and began to have a small meltdown. Luckily we were at a park containing ducks that provided as a quick distraction. Although this wonderful family asked what to do and how to pose, they were naturals. Funny thing... Little S didn't seem to want to pose unless he was prompted with the instructions, "Don't look at Mollie", to which he would instantly swing around with a big grin. D and K would do the same and thus I got a lot of great smiles. I think it was a wonderful session.

2007-11-29T10:02:00.000-06:00

2007-11-28T22:57:00.000-06:00

Today I had my first shoot. Well OK, not my first shoot... but it felt more like an official shoot. This was my first 'word of mouth' client. I have to thank them however because even thought I felt frightfully nervous all morning, I relaxed the moment I arrived. Such super adorable little guys! D had the sweetest highest little voice and J's blues could keep me snapping photos all day long. Here are a few teasers for mom.

2007-11-26T08:15:00.000-06:00

Shot these photos of Miss E today at a local park. Her thick red hair is just beautiful and those eyes! Just an old fashioned feel to them. I would love to dress her up in a variety of fancy hats and snap away ;)

Christmas Template

2007-11-19T07:32:00.000-06:00

2007-11-08T23:09:00.000-06:00

2007-11-07T23:28:00.001-06:00

Storyboards

2007-11-02T18:14:00.000-06:00