Daphne Photo Studio

Free To Succeed Tour

Kelly — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:53:01 +0000

Last Thursday Jess from studio3z and I headed to Indianapolis for the Free to Succeed Tour. It was a pleasure to hear David Jay speak and share his story – too bad not every photographer can have a success story like his!! DJ is an amazing speaker and although some of what he had to say was very practical, he definitely challenged me to think of things in a slightly different way and to really examine my reason and desire to be a business owner. I came away very excited and inspired, so be looking for some new things around here sometime in the near future.

Check out some of the cool people I met:

Cathy & David

Betsy & John

Shyla

Erin’s Modeling Session

Kelly — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:02:00 +0000

Just to give you a fair warning, this is a PG-13 post! This was one of my favorite shoots all year! It reminded me of the good old days back in college when I had a new project every week. My good friends Maria & Ashley were my faithful willing models and we were always going to crazy places to take pictures. Only back then, I was lugging around a huge 4×5 large format manual camera. Although I loved every minute of it, I must say I’m thankful that digital cameras have come so far. It was MUCH easier to climb around the bridge you will see below with my digital camera than it was with the large format.

Erin does some modeling on the side and when she asked me to take some shots of her for her portfolio, I was flattered and super excited. Although we had never met before the shoot, I knew a lot about her because she is engaged to my friend Aaron. Donny is actually going to be a groomsman in their wedding next Fall. To me, Erin is one of those people you feel like you’ve known forever after hanging out with her once. She was so nice and easy to get along with…and she’s not afraid to tell you what she thinks – I wish I could be more like that sometimes.

As you will probably tell from the images, Erin is a natural in front of the camera! We started at the railroad tracks and after getting yelled at & threatened by a mom who thought we were “completely inappropriate”, we moved on. Erin & I are convinced that they only way she could have even seen us is if she was following us and spying on us – oh well! She was not afraid to get down and dirty, and even though she was a little afraid to climb the bridge – she did it anyway. (And just as a side note, the bridge was completely secluded so there was no threat of anyone being offended by the bathing suit pictures).

Erin ~ you were awesome to work with and I look forward to getting to know you better! You are gorgeous and are going to be such a beautiful bride next year :)

Sneak Peak / Out of Town

Kelly — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:59:08 +0000

I’m getting ready to leave for Mackinac Island for a few days and I can’t wait!! I will respond to all calls & emails when I return on Wednesday the 27th. Here’s a sneak peak from Erin’s modeling session that I can’t wait to blog when I get home:

How well do you know yourself?

Kelly — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:33 +0000

Inspired by a new friend & fellow blogger (this is reverb), I decided to take the short version of the Myers-Briggs personality test. Last November a group of us took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test during a church leadership retreat and I was very interested to see how the results compared.

I’m sure most of you are have heard of and are aware of the Myers-Briggs test because it is probably the most well-known and respected test available. StrengthsFinder takes a slightly different approach and is quickly gaining popularity. The basic premise of StrengthsFinder is to realize your strengths and concentrate on those rather devoting too much time on improving your weaknesses. Tom Rath (the author) believes a person will be much happier and more fulfilled when he/she is living out their strengths rather than constantly fighting the uphill battle to improve weaknesses that he believes are ingrained during childhood and will more than likely remain weaknesses throughout our entire lives.

Tom Rath’s goal in concentrating on our strengths is not meant to give us an excuse to give up on our weaknesses, it is meant to give us a strategy for managing them. Also, the whole point in taking the test is to discover and distinguish between strengths & weaknesses. Once you know what they are, you have a better understanding of yourself and will hopefully be able to figure out ways to work with your weaknesses (i.e. teaming up with someone who is good at something you’re not, etc.).

All in all, I think both tests compliment one another and are a pretty accurate representation of who I am. I encourage everyone to take some time to discover, in your own way, who you really are if you haven’t already. I know for me it has been incredibly eye-opening and has given me a better understanding of why I think the way I do and why I do the things I do, etc. Obviously neither test (or any test really) is a COMPLETELY accurate representation of who you are, but sometimes they can help you better understand yourself. Plus, I just think they’re fun!

The short version of Myers-Briggs can be found HERE. Unfortunately, you have to purchase the StrengthsFinder book new in order to get the code to take the test, but you can find it all over for only about $10.

So, without further ado, here are my results:

StrengthsFinder:

These are my top 5 strengths (in order) and the book’s explanation of the strengths.

1. Responsibility - I am emotionally bound to follow through with anything (large or small) I commit to

2. Includer - I want to include people and make them feel part of the group

3. Belief - I have certain values that are enduring - these values cause me to be family-oriented, altruistic, spiritual, & ethical

4. Achiever - every day starts at zero and I have to achieve something tangible to feel good about myself

5. Input - I am inquisitive & have a busy mind

Myers-Briggs:

ESFJ (Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging) and my personality makes up about 10% of the population. From this test I learned:

-My primary mode of living is focused externally…I tend to deal with things according to how I feel about them

-I am a people person, I value friendships & true relationships, I tend to be able to easily empathize with people, I can usually see the good in just about anyone (this is also listed as somewhat of a weakness because ESFJ’s sometimes have a hard time accepting a difficult truth about someone they care about)

-I am responsible, dependable, committed

-I am service-oriented

-I am energetic/driven/self-sacrificing (sometimes to a fault)

-I am sensitive and tend to wear my heart on my sleeve

-I have a strong sense of what is right & wrong

-I tend to control environments around me/I am stubborn

-I act on emotion and can be irrational, naive, & vulnerable

-I do not see situations in black & white, but rather every color of the rainbow

-I am impulsive

-I cannot stand conflict or criticism, nor am I the best at conflict resolution

And just because a photography blog post is not complete without pictures, here is a shot I got while taking Corey’s senior pictures. We were walking to a bridge and I looked over my shoulder and spotted this graffiti on a dumpster. I couldn’t resist!

Corey’s Senior Session

Kelly — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:07:16 +0000

Corey’s dad Bill thought taking Corey’s senior pictures was going to be my hardest job yet. I am happy to say that he was wrong! Like my cousin Rachel, I remember when Corey was born. He was so cute – a super smiley, tow-headed little guy with big blue eyes! Corey is not “technically” my cousin, but that’s what I call him. His dad and my mom grew up together, so I’ve known Bill my entire life. Bill works at Miami University (where Corey plans pursue his degree in zoology when he graduates), and that is the location Corey picked for his senior pictures. It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous location to photograph. Corey and I, along with his mom & dad and their dog Lucy, had a great time walking around the campus and taking pictures. Like most guys, Corey was not jumping up and down with excitement at the thought of getting his senior pictures taken, but he was a great sport and flashed that great smile of his every time I asked. When we were all finished, he announced that he was relieved because his face hurt from smiling so much!
Corey ~ Your face pain was totally worth it because we got some great images! Just think, you’ll never have to sit through senior pictures again – exciting, huh? Thanks!

Liz & Joey’s Senior Session

Kelly — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:27:11 +0000

Liz & Joey are just so cute! They are twins and come from a large family - of 7 - and let me tell you that each each person in their family has their own unique personality! Joey & Liz, ironic as it might seem considering they are twins, are probably the most opposite! Joey is smart, sweet, soft-spoken, and responsible whereas Liz is always the life of the party, outgoing, fun, and isn’t afraid to test the boundaries (hopefully she won’t kill me for writing that - haha!). I think the only thing they actually have in common is their passion for dancing & singing. Aside from their different personalities, though, the twins really do get along great.

Their family owns a house down on Norris Lake where they spend most of their Summer boating, wake boarding, skiing, tubing - you name it, they’re into it! We were able to squeeze their senior session in when they came back to town for a few days. Joey & Liz were extremely laid back and easy to work with - not to mention photogenic! I also need to add popular to that list because we ran into one of their friends at every place we stopped to take pictures!

Joey & Liz ~ Even though we were all sweating to death by the end, I had a great time hanging out with you guys and taking your pictures! Thanks for being so easy-going & fun :)

Rachel’s Senior Session

Kelly — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:47:08 +0000

OK I’m finally getting around to blogging Rachel’s senior session. This session was so much fun and unlike most senior sessions I do. I guess it helps that Rachel just so happens to be my cousin, so time was not a factor. We actually made a day out of it and had a delicious lunch at the adorable Greenup Café before we got started. Since Rachel lives near Washington D.C., she was not familiar with the area and was totally up for going wherever I wanted (even better – haha!). We definitely got lost in the moment of all the locations we explored and I had an incredibly hard time picking which pictures to blog because Rachel seriously looks perfect in every picture!

As we were walking around taking pictures, I felt a sense of surrealness all day. I couldn’t believe I was taking Rachel’s senior pictures – I mean I remember when she was born – she can’t possibly be a senior already! Most of the time, I don’t feel much older at 26 than I did my freshman year of college, but there are times when I am reminded that I am in fact an adult. I remember her mom and my mom comparing our baby pictures. We looked almost identical, except of course my pictures were a little more faded than hers. She has grown into an absolutely gorgeous young woman – much more super model-ish than me!

Rachel ~ thanks for hanging out with me and smiling for hours – haha! I had an absolute blast and wish you lived here so we could hang out more often!

Herbal Tea & Tropical Waters

Kelly — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:34:01 +0000

Happy Tuesday! I realize that I am WAY behind on blogging, but I do have good reasons. When I met with Ian @ Maslov Photography a few weeks ago to discuss wedding details, I was so impressed by his home office. My brain immediately started going into overdrive about all of the ways I could improve my own home office – which in my opinion was not functional. Some of you may be able to relate to the madness…but when I get an idea like this in my head, I dive in head first and don’t quit until it is perfect. This is one of my strengths, but it also a weakness (as Donny so kindly pointed out – haha) because I tend to forgo sleep & sanity until the project is complete. I also wanted to get it done now because we will be out of town later this month and then September, October, & November are going to be crazy busy!

When we first moved into our house almost 2-1/2 years ago, we painted the office a mossy green color and we have hated it ever since. But, like life goes, it was low on the priority list of things to change, so we have lived with it until now. This past week, amidst photo shoots and family get-togethers, I planned out what I wanted to do in the office – and then my plan extended to our bedroom. On Saturday, my friend Brooke along with my parents came over to help us so we could get all of the painting knocked out in one day – and other than a few touch ups – we did!

So far our bedroom is completely put back together (other than new wall décor I’m planning), and the office should be done tonight or tomorrow. I am so excited to post pictures (when everything is presentable) because the colors turned out even more amazing than I expected! We went with “herbal tea” for the office and “tropical waters” in the bedroom. Sounds like 2 things I could use right now- haha! Since I don’t have pictures of the rooms yet, here are my favorite pictures that came up on google when I typed in tropical waters and herbal tea. Enjoy!

Coming soon…

Rachel’s senior portrait session
Joey & Liz’s senior portrait session
Corey’s senior portrait session
Erin’s model shoot (happening tonight!)

Thanks to Riandreu for this image:

Andrea & Scott ~ engaged

Kelly — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:13:24 +0000

My cousin Andrea did not feel like going out, but it had been a long time tradition for her and a group of friends to go out every August to celebrate their birthdays…so her friend FINALLY convinced her and she ended up out on the town. Little did she know that she was going to meet her soul mate that night. Scott just happened to be a friend of a friend who came out to celebrate with the group as well. They met, and even though neither of them were necessarily looking for a relationship, sparks flew. The rest is pretty much history!

I have had the privilege of watching their relationship grow from the beginning and it has been a beautiful transformation. They just recently got engaged while on a mission trip together in Brazil and are planning to get married on June 27, 2009. I think they are absolutely perfect for each other and I can’t wait for the wedding because I get to actually be a guest and party with them!

Let me just tell you that their engagement session was a BLAST! I don’t think either of them knew (Scott especially) what they were getting into when they asked me to do their session. It ended up being an all night event with a break for dinner, but it was totally worth it and Scott was a great sport. They have such great natural chemistry and it was such a pleasure to photograph a couple that is so head over heels in love.

It was REALLY hot, so they took a break to freshen up…

Two are better than one…

Kelly — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:06:13 +0000

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding for Ian of Maslov Photography. It was the first time in a long time that I shot a wedding completely solo. Although everything went just fine and I hope to blog some of the images from the wedding sometime soon, it made me realize just how fortunate I am to have Donny by my side for all of the weddings we do. Not only does having two photographers present at a wedding help lower the stress level of the main photographer, it really gives couples a much better representation of their wedding day. Obviously a solo photographer cannot be two places at once and will often miss a great candid moment happening on the other side of the room because he/she is busy composing a different shot. With two photographers, couples get a much broader range of pictures that tell their story. Thank you, Donny, for all of your hard work in helping me pursue my dream…I couldn’t do this without you!