Making Missoula family and graduation images for the Nelson family was such a pleasure! And somehow we managed to avoid the wet, strange winter rain we’ve run into this season. Much to our delight, we even had a dusting of snow to work with!

But, more importantly, I was super excited to see Carrie, Zoe and Zach again. I originally got to photograph them a little over 3 years ago for Zoe’s high school graduation. Fast forward a few years, and it was time to make some family photos again, and more graduation images — this time celebrating Zoe’s college graduation!

We all had a good time meandering around the University of Montana, from which Zoe had just graduated. It was so nice cracking up again together while making images, and everyone was just as fun-loving as I had originally remembered.

As we wandered around, Zoe told me that she’d graduated with a degree in political science with a minor in Latin American studies. She’s currently applying to grad schools for a focus on international relations and is excited for her next steps forward.

Zoe was just as fun and smiley as I recalled from our shoot those several years ago, and we had such a good time making images together (thanks for braving some of those slippery slopes, Zoe!).

To top off our shoot, the sun decided to peek through a small opening in the clouds and treated us to a really lovely sunset, which we fully made the most of.

Carrie, Zoe and Zach – thank you again for such a pleasant session! It was such a treat to get to see you all again – here’s to the next family graduation to celebrate!

On the docket: portraits and weddings! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

Kristina and I first met at Snowbowl where we both were part of the same women’s ski group. Our group was totally rad, and we quickly became friends with one another as we spent time chatting on the lifts and laughing over après ski beers at the Last Run Inn. So I was tickled when she asked me to make some images of her doing her thing, which is Missoula Montana trail running. And boy howdy, does she do this well!

I’m always so very impressed by people who run (I’d love to be one of them myself – maybe one day!). But I’m in total and complete admiration and awe of people who not only run, but run mountains! Kristina’s so good at what she does that she is sponsored by several gear companies, and regularly posts about her trail running adventures on her blog and her instagram account. Seriously, she’s amazing, goes to amazing places, and runs amazing races. Follow her!

During our session, Kristina was gracious enough to put up with my slow pace as we hiked up some hills with all my gear, and once we were to a spot we liked, man did we ever have a blast! It was so fun to watch Kristina run, and every now and then, her pup, Blaze, would join us for a few images too when he wasn’t off galavanting through the grasses. I swear, I think we laughed the most of the way through this entire session, which is always a good thing in my book.

And that light! Daaaaaang! We hit golden hour right on the head, coasted our way through that and landed straight in beautiful, glowy, sunset light. I was stoked and probably was speaking only gibberish at this point because the light was seriously THAT. GOOD. And I was beyond excited.

Of course, it goes without saying that Kristina just nailed her shots. What a fun shoot!

Kristina! Thanks again for a splendid evening – what a treat to get to do this for you! Let’s do another shoot sometime soon, but before that let’s grab a few drinks too. :)

On the Docket:

Weddings, elopements and portraits, oh yeah! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

A while back I received a photography backdrop to check out from the company Photo Pie Backdrops, which is based out of Burley, Idaho. (Hey neighbors!) I’m finally just now getting a chance to check it out, and thought I’d write up a quick Photo Pie backdrop review since the company was kind enough to send this to me at no charge (thanks guys!).

Typically I don’t use a ton of backdrops since I generally don’t spend a whole lot of time shooting “set up” scenarios. What this means is that I’m usually photographing people in spaces without making any additions or adjustments of my own because I’m documenting them as they are. Or I’m shooting outside and don’t really need a backdrop (yay for Montana’s stunning natural backdrops! – holla!). However, every now and again it’s good to have a backdrop on hand to clean up a background or to help make a subject pop.

I opted for Photo Pie’s “Neutral Old Master’s Backdrop” since I just wanted something simple and classic. Upon receiving it, I opened the package, removed the backdrop from its zippered plastic bag and then set it up. I was actually pretty surprised at how green/blue it appeared since it looked as though from the photo on their website that it’d be more of a tan/gray combo (and I initially thought they had sent me the wrong one). However, it was indeed the correct backdrop and I can see that there are definitely blue/green tones in it that I simply just didn’t pick up on when I was perusing their backdrop options. Thankfully, this wasn’t a dealbreaker for me since I’m a huge fan of the blue/green shift that’s going on in this backdrop. (Though I would love to test out and shoot on a more neutral gray/tan option too!)

I did a quick self-portrait photo shoot to test out the backdrop (sorry that you have to be subjected to my crazy faces here, but self portraits are NOT easy to do – ha!).

Also, sidenote: my poor mailman seriously must think I’m some sort of special…the wacky laughing faces are *after* I realized what he’d just had to witness – and it’s not the first time this has happened – oh my!

You can see how nicely that green/blue shift moves through the background and how the subtle printed texture looks especially lovely in the bokeh of my lens. Not too much texture in the background and not too little – juuuuust right. A Goldilocks moment!

The backdrop itself is pretty standard, is well made, and has a pocket for hanging on a stand – I ordered the backdrop in the “jersey cloth” fabric option which boasts wrinkle resistance. According to Photo Pie’s website, their jersey cloth can be described as:

JerseyCloth: Similar to durable sweatshirt material (but not stretchy), JerseyCloth backgrounds offer a seamless, machine washable, the most wrinkle-resistant, more affordable, alternative to InspiraCloth. JerseyCloth is a heavyweight material with a soft, knapped backing. Colorfast image while still making it washable/dryable. Since it is made for photography, image surface has a non-glare matte finish. Because of JerseyCloth’s wrinkle-free nature, it can be stored folded, rolled, or stuffed in a bag/plastic crate. Comes with a top-side rod pocket, ships folded. If we could summarize its texture, JerseyCloth is: soft and flannely.

While I don’t agree that this is entirely wrinkle-free cloth (if it’s folded the fold lines will show, albeit not terribly badly), it’s still a nice fabric. And when storing this, I’ll likely roll it up to try my best to keep any wrinkles/folds out of it. It is definitely glare-free and that’s super important to me in a backdrop, so I certainly appreciated that. (Glare is a surefire way to destroy a good photo if you’ve got a backdrop set up behind your subject, and especially if you’re using off camera lighting!)

As evident in the shots above, that texture is really lovely and subtle and doesn’t overpower the subject.

The particular backdrop that was sent to me was the 8’x10′ size, so not huge, but not small either. Another thing I appreciate about this backdrop is its weight – it’s not crazy heavy and packs down pretty small, so it will be super easy to move from location to location, which is always a plus since it’s just me, myself and I schlepping my gear everywhere in my tiny car.

In the screenshot below, you can see what the backdrop looks like with the focus on it instead of the subject (i.e. it’s not fading away into the background). Also, check out the free shipping Photo Pie offers – if you don’t need a backdrop lickety split, then this is a really nice bonus as well since shipping can add up for heavier packages.

One of the other added benefits of this backdrop is how well it transitions over to black and white applications. That subtle texture looks really great in black and white as well and gives the image just another added dimension. It would feel pretty flat without that subtle texture provided by the backdrop.

See how nice and subtle that texture shows up in the above-left image? And then how nicely it just falls off as the subject steps farther away from the backdrop? (See above-right image.) It looks good! See below for another black and white example (also, hellooooo freckles!).

All in all, I’m a fan of what Photo Pie sent me. As I mentioned before, backdrops aren’t a huge part of my photography workflow and don’t use them often, but I do appreciate the classic options, and will likely consider purchasing more from this company in the future (I’m particularly curious about their solid color options).

And now – back to your regularly scheduled programming! On the docket: portraits, editorial shoots and weddings! Stay tuned!

Cheers!

-Kristine

From the moment Lynn contacted me about making images for her new Missoula business, “On the Summit,” I knew we’d have a great time. She wanted natural images that speak to who she is and her love of the outdoors, and I think we captured that pretty darn well during her On the Summit Personal Branding Session in Missoula….and we had a heckuva lot of fun doing it!

From giggling downtown whilst drinking coffee, to traipsing through wildflower fields, to splashing cool creek water, we had such a pleasant time capturing Lynn in some of her happiest places. Her husband, Juan, tagged along too, and could seriously have a side job as photo-assistant-extraordinaire. :)

I’m always so excited to see fellow Missoulians strike out in the entrepreneurial spirit (since I’ve been there and AM there!), and I’m really looking forward to seeing Lynn’s vision blossom and her business grow. If you’d like to learn more about Lynn and her business, On the Summit, you can read more at her website, which you can find here: http://onthesummit.com/

Lynn! And Juan! Thank you again for such a fabulous, fun session! It’s an understatement to say just how much a pleasure it was to make these images for you! Here’s to a great start to your new pathway in life!

On the docket: portraits and weddings – stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

Brooke was so enthusiastic when she contacted me to make some University of Montana graduation portraits and headshots of her to use for her graduation invites and in the professional world. I knew we’d have a great time working together because of her awesome positive energy. And we even lucked out with gorgeous spring weather and lovely light (although I swear, that 70 degrees sure felt like summer to me!).

Brooke’s also got THE most sparkly blue eyes I’ve ever seen – no need to visit the Caribbean – just check out Brooke’s eyes! We had such a nice time laughing and chatting about her plans for the future during our quick little session. Brooke is so excited to be graduating from the Journalism School and is looking forward to pursuing photography as well.

And if her vibrant, positive attitude is any indication of her future success, she’ll be doing very well!

Congrats again to you, Brooke! Being a college graduate is such a profound accomplishment! Here’s to a fun future ahead!

On the docket: portraits and weddings! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

It was a bit of a drizzly day when I met up with Taylor for her headshot session, but that certainly didn’t dampen her spirits or the sheer brightness and fun of her shoot. Taylor is currently touring as an actor with the Missoula Children’s Theater in the south east and wanted to update her headshots and website to reflect a more “quirky/comedic” look as she put it. So we went for bright, colorful and fun and I’d say it was a smashing success!

Taylor, thanks again for having me make these images for you – it was so great working with you! Have fun down south!

On the docket: weddings, portraits, and more weddings! Don’t miss out!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I met up with Erika the other day to make a few headshots for her new business cards (you might remember Erika from the session I did last autumn with her and her daughter). Luckily for us, the weather was perfect and we were able to create some shiny new portraits for Erika’s new job.

Thanks again Erika! It was so nice to chat with you and see you again! Can’t wait for some more family portraits this summer! :)

On the docket: engagement sessions!

Cheers!

-Kristine