Kristine Paulsen Photography – Lifestyle Portraits, Editorial and Wedding Photography in Missoula Montana

Dip me in the water…

Lisa did more than “dip in the water” during our Trash the Dress session last Friday.  She reclined in it, and managed not to freeze!

Her photos are absolutely stunning, and I cannot wait to hear what her husband has to say about his present!  It was really a blast photographing for Lisa.  Her mom came as well (and did a great job keeping Lisa’s cute lab, Bailey, in line) and we all had our fair share of laughs.  (In case you are just stumbling across this and haven’t read previous posts – Lisa chose to do a Trash the Dress session a year after her wedding day, as a one-year anniversary/birthday gift for her husband, Tim.)

Take a look for yourself at the following selected photos.  I had such a difficult time picking out my favorites – there were so many – but these are the ones I came up with.  Enjoy!
-Kristine

Tim is a hunter, so Lisa thought it might be kinda fun to see what a gun prop would add to the photos – cool idea!  Not very often you see a bride with a gun!

I’m loving the hairlight in this photo.

Laughter!  Yay!  (I’m loving the Tevas here, too.)

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It’s time to post a few of my favorite shots from Emilee and Ryan’s (extremely chilly!!!) engagement session.  Like I said before, you’d never be able to guess that the temperature was a bone-chilling 25 or so degrees.  What pros these two were!

Emilee got to see her edited photos for the first time today and I was lucky enough to be on the phone with her to hear her exclaim over them.  Definitely a great way to start the day – I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful it is to be able to make people so happy!

Also, just a quick mention – I had a blast photographing a Trash the Dress session for Lisa the other day.  She’s being very sweet and having the photos done as a one-year anniversary/birthday gift to her husband (which, to all you ladies out there, is a fantastic gift idea!).  Thank goodness the temps warmed up a bit.  We were even lucky enough to have the sun peek out from behind the clouds, too!  And, drum roll please, she braved the frigid waters of the Bitterroot River to get some stunning photos.  (And I got to wade in, too!  Brrr!)  Selected photos will be posted soon!

But again, enough of the chit chat.  Now to Emilee and Ryan’s photos!

Cheers!
-Kristine

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One of my former colleagues from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently posted a link to an article (also written by a former Seattle PI-er, Andrea James), and I thought I’d include it in my blog as well, since, hey – I’m a photojournalist!  And I’ve gotta say, I think Andrea’s right on!

Also, before I get to that, I just wanted to write about my fun engagement session with Emilee and Ryan last weekend.  They were such great sports (it was freeeeezing outside – maybe 25 degrees?!) and always kept smiles on their faces.  Their photos are looking absolutely beautiful (you’d never know their teeth were chattering), and I can’t wait to post a few soon.

Ok – here’s the text from the blog post as well as the link to the original site.  Enjoy!

-Kristine

Five reasons you should hire a photojournalist

The original post can be found at:  http://andreajames.net/five-reasons-you-should-hire-a-photo-journalist/

You are:  In charge of marketing for a corporation. Organizing an event. Planning a wedding. Starting a blog.
You want: Beautiful, memorable photos.  Images that will grab the viewer’s attention, and hold it. A new head shot. A creative Christmas card.
You need: A photojournalist with daily newspaper experience.

Here’s why:

1. Photojournalists don’t make excuses — Things do go wrong, but a photojournalist who has worked for a daily newspaper is trained to do superior work, and quickly. She cannot come back to the office with no photo. The paper is coming out tomorrow, a photo is needed. She is used to operating under pressure.
2. Versatility — What I love about newspaper photographers is that they can do anything. My P-I colleagues often found themselves shooting a natural disaster one day (they all own rubber boots), a concert for the arts section the next day, and then a cake  for the food section the next.
3. Consider your moment captured — How much would you pay to make sure that THE moment of your event is captured forever? This is what photojournalists are trained to do every day. At my own wedding, I knew that I didn’t have to worry about making sure our photographer (and friend) was capturing crucial moments. He was everywhere. When I saw the photos, I was delighted and saw new aspects of my own wedding that I had missed.
4. Photo journalists are problem solvers – Tell me, how do you make a photo of a technology company interesting? As a business reporter for nearly five years, I got to profile some really cool companies — but a lot of times, these companies performed a service that just wasn’t visually interesting. But I rarely worried about this — I knew we’d have a publishable photo for the newspaper because the photographer would think of something I never could have.
5. They’re the best of the best — Newspaper journalism is cutthroat. Thousands of people want to shoot photos for newspapers, particularly in a big city like Seattle. However, just a dozen actually get to do it.  In short, they’ve been vetted.

Following are links to three Seattle-based photojournalists and companies whose work I can vouch for, and that I respect:

1. Stuart Isett — New York Times photographer, freelancer. He also shot my wedding. (Link to his Web page.)
2. Red Box Pictures — Seattle photography studio business started by former Seattle P-I photographers. (Link to company Web page.)  [Kristine's comment: these guys are GREAT people and GREAT shooters!]
3. Marcus Donner — Newspaper photographer formerly with the King County Journal. He also teaches an excellent class for amateurs — to really help you get the most out of your point-and-shoot, or higher end camera. (Link to his Web site.)

Why did I write this post?
Newspaper photojournalists are best-kept secrets in terms of professionals-for-hire. They often let their photos speak for themselves, but I wanted to give some other concrete reasons beyond pointing out that they take good photos.
I did not get any money or anything from listing the above photographers. Stuart shot my wedding in 2008 and we paid full price, as any professional deserves.
Also, I’d recently read this story about a U.K. couple whose wedding photos were abysmal, and they sued the photographer. It occurred to me while reading it that I never had any such worries. Because I hired a photojournalist.
And finally, all three photos at the top of my home page index were shot by photojournalists. Their names are at the bottom of the page.

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I just finished editing the photos from Amanda’s senior photo shoot that I blogged about previously.  In case you haven’t read that post, the shoot was so much fun, and Amanda was rocking the photos!  And, we completely lucked out on weather.  Yay for some sun!

Anyway, the photos will speak for themselves, so I’ll stop with the chatting.  Check them out!

Cheers,
-Kristine

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What a beautiful day for some senior portraits downtown!  I met up this evening with Amanda to photograph her senior portraits – and what a fun walkabout session it was!  It was so nice to make photographs for such a nice young lady – and I can’t wait (as I’m sure she can’t wait) to see the resulting images!  I’ll post them soon!

Cheers,
-Kristine

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It was a good night for dancing at the Union Club this past Friday since the Whiskey Rebellion were the music-makers for the evening.

I had a great time shooting some quick (very quick – 10 minutes quick!) portraits for the band out back of the Union Club.  Handily enough, there happened to be fire escape on the building, which we used as a portrait prop.

We all dashed back inside so the band could get started, and they’re great!  I highly recommend checking them out at their next gigs – one of which will be at the Jack (bar and saloon) in Lolo.  (And this bar is awesome, too!  In fact, from what I know, it’s kind of legendary.  I highly recommend checking it out too – you can’t go wrong with a bar that has a hollowed out tree trunk set up as a swing, right at the bar!)

Anyway, check out some of my favorite shots from the evening – and take a listen to the Whiskey Rebellion when you’ve got a chance – and don’t forget to kick up those heels and dance!

Cheers,
-Kristine

Fun with fire escapes!

I was seriously digging the lights.

And some couples came out to dance, which was nice to see.

Crooning into the mic.

Having fun with an upbeat piece.

Working the chords.

Some drumstick action.

Singing away.

The whole band!

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I just wanted to post some of my favorite shots from Maria and Eric’s wedding on the 18th of September at the Doubletree Hotel in Missoula.

We did some fun portraits before the ceremony down by the river, and though the light was really bright and the sun was hot! (poor Eric!), you’d never know it from their happy demeanor, and I got some nice shots of just the two of them.

The ceremony was sweet – Eric’s mother officiated – and then it was reception time. Everyone I met was really very nice, and I even received one of the kindest compliments from a friend of Maria’s. “You’re the nicest photographer I’ve ever met!” I was a little taken aback – “Really?” “Yes, most other wedding photographers are barking orders to people.” Wow. I was so completely flattered. Thank you!

Maria and Eric’s cake was from Bernice’s Bakery (popular choice!), and had a huckleberry filling. The cake was gorgeous, and accented with calla lilies. Maria’s bouquet was also comprised of calla lilies, and the table centerpieces featured them as well. (Maria and friends/family arranged the centerpieces – they were so beautiful!)

But enough talk – now for the photos!

Kisses down by the river!

Such a sweet kiss with a pretty sparkly water background.

And a beautiful smile from the bride.

“We’re doing what with the umbrella?”

Mother and son.

Maria and Eric having a private moment amidst all the activity going on around them before the ceremony.

Walking down the aisle.

Gorgeous cake from Bernice’s.

Everyone needs a photo of the cake – it’s nearly irresistible! (see the hand!)

This little guy was so unbelievably adorable. We had a little game of “can Kristine get a picture of a precocious little 2-year-old?” I think I succeeded.

Next up for me: photographing the Whiskey Rebellion at the Union Club tomorrow night, and an engagement session this weekend. Both will be a lot of fun! Hoping for great weather come Sunday!

Cheers,
-Kristine

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