Kelly Chandler

There are a few big milestones in life.  One of them is turning 13 and officially becoming a teenager.  Taking photos to mark the milestone was super fun with this crew.  Here are a few favorite photos from our session.

I loved that they were still able to be playful….despite their new teenage status.

Breathe, just breathe…..I kept reminding myself of this necessity in life as I powered through the busiest fall season in my 10 year career.  I’m fortunate to have a client base that is consistent and new portrait and wedding clients that find their way to my work through referrals.  I am grateful to all of you for keeping my business strong in these crazy economic times.  I also took on a new project that involved photographing 750 people.  The production involved in that and the processing work for my staff was incredible.  Couple all this with 2 kids and a husband who are all on the go and of course the holidays, and you can understand why I kept saying, “breathe, just breathe”. 

I thought I’d take the first few weeks of the year off to refocus my life and catch up on all the things that were put on the back burner.  I ended up having a bunch of newborns and pregnancy shoots that I just didn’t want to push out into the end of the month……and that was a good thing as a few of the pregnancy shoots went into labor shortly after our sessions. 

Blogging certainly took the furthest backseat of them all.  I just couldn’t justify spending the time to blog when I had client photo deadlines.  So over the next few weeks, I’ll try to catch up on some of the most memorable and fun shoots that I did over the past few months.  I might not get a lot written, but I’ll try to at least get the photos up so you can see the joy that I was able to experience with the wonderful people I’m so privileged to photograph.

This beautiful little family was a delight to photograph.  If you ever question, “when is the right time to photograph a newborn”…remember these photos.  They are really tiny for such a short time and capturing the newborn stage in the first few weeks of life is ideal.

This was my favorite shot from a wedding last month at Newcastle Golf Club.  We took a golf cart just after sunset and ventured out on the course. Erin and Mike were willing to do whatever I asked, including trekking into the tall grasses for this shot.  Thanks for being so adventuresome you two, it paid off. 

Most schools require yearbook photos to be in by the middle of October….early November at the latest.  If you haven’t already called me for your senior high school photos, now is the time.   Space is limited.

Do you ever wonder what makes a baby smile when they are sleeping?  This little angel was so sleepy and looked completely content to just be snuggled in a warm blanket. 

I’m behind on my blogging by months.  For those who check regularly, I’m sorry.  But this time of year, I’m lucky if I remember to breathe.  Weddings, senior photos, family portraits, sports photography and my incredibly busy family keep me hopping.  I promise I will catch up with photos from all the amazing events and clients that I’ve been privileged to photograph. 

 I did this shoot months ago and was amazed at the flexibility and grace of this ballerina.  I felt like I needed to go to a yoga class after we were finished shooting. 

 How do you bend over, stand on your tip-toes and balance long enough for me to take photos?  My jaw dropped when I saw her do this. 

 Well, maybe I should do that yoga class….and focus on remembering to breathe.

I have a client looking for some baby models for a commercial shoot. Products are baby blankets and specialty bibs. Baby must be sitting independently and be approx 6-12 months old. You must be willing to sign a model release and bring your child to my studio at a mutually agreeable time. You will receive ten - 4×6 prints of your baby using these products in exchange for modeling. Email an image of your child to info@kellychandler.com. All photos will be passed along to the commercial client who will make the decision on which models are a good fit for their product. I WILL NOT BE SELECTING THE MODELS. Deadline is August 5th for all submissions. Only those who are selected will be notified by the commercial client by August 12th.

It is rare that my family gets a weekend away all together.  With both kids extremly active in sports….my husband and I often have to divide and conquer.  Thanks to the support of both sets of grandparents, even when I have a wedding, my kids have someone at every single event to cheer them on from our family.  I feel so lucky to have that support.  This weekend was unique.  No conflicts…just baseball….all together.  My entire family went to Pasco for a  baseball tournament.  The Chandler grandparents even drove over to cheer on the team.  I couldn’t have been more fun.  My son plays for a wonderful team with good-natured and talented kids.  Not to mention the parents are super fun too which is always a bonus.  

I took my camera to the event and photographed every game to share with the team.  There was lots of action to capture and I’ve edited down the photos to the top 459 images….yikes.  I had to share a special series of photos….my son hit his first “Out of the Park Home Run”. 

My husband happened to be leaning on the fence at center-field directly where the ball went over his head.  You can see Grandpa Chandler with his back turned looking to see where in the parking lot the ball landed.  Even my dog is watching the ball. 

His face says it all.

The team was so excited for him…they all ran out of the dugout to hug and high five him.

What a great weekend.  I couldn’t have been happier to have been there with my family to see his first one hit out of the park. 

People always want what they can’t have…and I want curls like these.

Not sure why, but this photo cracks me up.  These twins are adorable and I love how he is busy checking out her boots as she looks over to Mom like, “he’s not doing what he’s supposed to”.

I know it is tough to think about having a baby and getting photos taken within two weeks of the delivery…..but the itty-bitty baby photos are so precious.   The window of time to capture your tiny newborn is not that long.  These photos were taken of a baby just one week old.  Now, don’t feel bad if you have a newborn and he or she is older than 2 weeks.  We can still capture your baby beautifully.  But if you still have your bun in the oven, book your appointment now.  I am always willing to move my calendar around to accommodate newborns while they are freshly baked from the oven.   And if you aren’t yet up for a visit to my studio, let me make it easy on you and come to your home.

Daddy took some time to play with big brother.

Mom and Dad holding precious perfection.