Beauteous Thursday | Raleigh Portrait Photographer

Just wanted to pop in and share my good mood today!

The sun is finally shining, I had a great run this morning & feeling good.  And tonight I have the image reveal for THIS beauty portrait shoot from a few weeks ago, and yes, there will be bubbly poured!!

I don’t think I shared this image yet, because I wasn’t sure how I wanted to edit it.  You may remember the images this beautiful girl & her adorable siblings blogged HERE.

The background isn’t my favorite, but I added a texture and just love it now!

This image is also the inspiration for a project I am working on, that includes an adult sized version of this skirt and yet another lovely subject (I am so lucky) to bring the skirt alive.

I am creating the skirt based upon a recent workshop I viewed, and will be documenting the steps of my process & blogging it all (eventually!).

I am VERY excited & the shoot is a week from Sunday.

Have a great rest of your day~

Kathy

Portrait Photographer Raleigh NC

Amber | Portrait Couture | Raleigh Portrait & Beauty Photographer

Every year I have the privilege to work with the beautiful staff of Bloom Skin Spa.  Our first time together last year we had a blast capturing some really fun head shots.  You may remember them in this post here.

This year we decided to ramp it up a bit and bring in my fabulous hair & make-up artist Elaine with Elaine Harrison Makeup Artistry.     The staff was very excited when they saw their images – I blogged their images last week &you can view them here.

So now for the final piece.

I spent about an hour of this day with the absolutely stunning owner & mother of three young children, Amber.  She wanted to capture fresh fashion inspired portraits.

  I had a fun time experimenting with some creative editing as well with textures and color, a bit out of my norm but fun to do & I’m really happy with the results!

Here are some of my favorites.

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More fun with texture & color …

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Amber has an amazing and quite adorable husband … meet Ken & Barbie!

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They have a really incredible relationship.

Laughter is one of the keys to love, I always say…

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We switched things up and ended her shoot with some Brigitte Bardot inspired images… and I must say, she pulls this look off  quite effortlessly.

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Oh Amber, you even make giant hair rollers look good!

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And I pretty much had to beg her to let me share this, although I’m not sure why because she has so much natural beauty, inside AND out!

A before & after …

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Thank you Amber for another enjoyable photo shoot with you :)

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On a side note, I have definitely found a niche with my work that I am very excited about & actively working to expand.  A portrait couture studio is in sights!

If you are interested in more details about a shoot,  please email kathy@kathyhowardphotography.com and I will send you more details.

Together we will plan your ultimate dress up session, and capture images that will thrill & empower you every time you look at them!

I would be honored to capture the light that shines from inside of you.  It’s an experience you will treasure.

~Kathy

Portrait Photographer Raleigh NC

The Beautiful Staff of Bloom Skin Spa | Raleigh Portrait Headshot Photographer

It’s hard to believe sometimes how fast time flies.  An entire year ago I was commissioned to take head shots of the staff of Bloom Skin Spa. Since then I have become a patron on a regular basis, and have come to know & love this staff!

Last year I  decided that head shots do NOT need to be blah & boring, and we had a total blast making each other laugh and shine with true smiles!  You may remember THIS POST  with their gorgeous pics.

Here we are, one year later, and this year we decided to glam up the head shots a bit.  I had my favorite hair & make-up artist Elaine (see her website here) join us as well as her assistant Adrian.

The staff was treated to some pampering and I think enjoyed it a whole lot!

What they may not have enjoyed so much was the fact that I asked them to step outside for their portraits.  Originally I had planned to be inside in a well window lit  room, but it was a cloudy, rainy and chilly day.  I do know how to use my flash, but I really wanted the softness of the natural light.

Here is a back shot of the partial set (we are under an overhang to stay dry!):

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I promise you head shots with me is not boring, it is an experience and I take great pride in capturing you as beautiful as you are.

I spent  about 5-10 minute photographing each staff member, and here are some of my favorite images …

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Love these two with a black and white film effect

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The owner and I decided we would take a good hour of this day to take some beautiful & glamorous portraits of her.

These will be presented in their own blog post, but here’s a teaser for you.

Stunning.

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Did you know that every beauty & boudoir session booked with Kathy Howard Photography receives a gift card for an amazing organic facial at Bloom Skin Spa!  You will not only love the facial, but the staff is extraordinary.

~Kathy

Portrait Photographer Raleigh NC

Mom & Daughters Preview | Raleigh Portrait Photography

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous family.  Would you even believe they are celebrating Mom’s 70th birthday?!

So much beauty that I literally had goosebumps several times during this session.

Enjoy the preview!

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It has come to my attention that the images coming through in email are reduced resolution.  Until I figure out the fix, please feel free to click HERE to view high res on my blog.

Thanks you for your support!

~Kathy

Portrait Photographer Raleigh NC

On Your Walls | The Lund Family

A big part of the experience with Kathy Howard Photography is not only planning the session location & style, but what you are going to do with your images once the session is over.  This is something I discuss with every client at our pre session consultation.  A little pre-planning goes a long way towards achieving a desired look or outcome.

This particular  client just moved into a new home, and wanted to decorate her walls with the beautiful imagery from her session.

I do have some amazing software and and iPad app that allows me to not only create custom wall displays based upon your space, but it allows me to insert YOUR images into these displays so you can truly get a feel for what the final product will look like.

  It is so great, so fun & makes decision making so much easier for you!

This client had a blank wall about 8 feet wide, flanked by beautiful windows.  She had also seen my sample metal print during our pre-session consultation, and was pretty sure she wanted to incorporate that into at least one of her displays.

This is what we started with :

(By the way, I can also match your wall & floor colors during the design process!)

This is what the client ended up with.

A stunning 8 square metal print display!

And I promise you, I will be sure to photograph this display in her home for you to see, once it is delivered & hung.

I really enjoy creating these custom displays, and think it is one of the best ways to enjoy your treasured images!

~Kathy

Portrait Photographer Raleigh NC