I thank God for newborn sessions like Logan’s. He was perfect! It amazes me how tiny he was. I’m pretty sure he weighed at least 7lbs, but compared to Hudson weighing in at a whopping 9lbs, that’s TINY! He was so sleepy and cuddly I could have stayed there all day snuggling him. What a sweet blessing! Also, Sarah’s mom was there throughout the session and snagged a couple “behind the scenes” photos of me working. I thought it would be fun to share a couple! Looking at them reminded me just how much I LOVE my job!!
And the finished product…
I was SO excited when Criselda Sweet messaged me about maternity photos. I can’t even believe she’s having TWINS!! She definitely makes pregnancy look easy. Her and Johnny are so thrilled to be welcoming a baby girl and boy into their home in a few short months. We had a blast downtown taking some “Sweet” photos of her baby bump, (I had to make a cheesy sweet joke at least once)! Feel free to Pin images you like!
I waited over a year to photograph Katrina and Aaron’s wedding and all of that time anticipation built. Let me just say, their wedding did NOT disappoint! These two are such a fun-loving couple and their adoration for each other is undeniable. The Clayton on the Park proved the perfect venue for this couple’s big day providing some pretty awesome back drops for their photos! Congratulations Kat and Aaron Fox!!
I am so excited to announce the gender of sweet baby Baumert #2!! Not sure how big brother Timmy feels about it though haha!
For those of you who remember, I was really diligent about working out during my pregnancy. BUT I have to credit Lindsey Shooter for it 100%! This sweet friend is starting a pregnancy personal training company called Preggercise. I was SO blessed to be one of her first clients and I truly believe our sessions contributed to my super easy delivery, (with a 9 pound baby mind you). Well I’m excited to introduce the newest member of her family, Beau Shooter! Isn’t he precious?! Not to mention his nursery might just be the best ever. Congrats DJ and Lindsey!!
Sometimes when you’re photographing a wedding you hit a sweet spot. The lighting is perfect, the setting lends itself for creativity, the couple is warmed up and looking GOOD. That’s what happened with this series of photos I snapped at Kat and Aaron’s wedding last month. Check it out.
The Giving. Jon and I planned to use all the money I made this year from Christmas photos for gifts for our family. I knew it wouldn’t be much because I didn’t want to take on that many sessions this year. Hudson is surprisingly needy and takes up a lot of my time 😉 However, after lots of prayer and some serious conversations we decided our money would be best used elsewhere. All of our friends and family have everything they need (and want for that matter), but in light of recent disasters that is not the case for most people around the world. Jon and I decided to give 100% of my profits this Christmas to the Red Cross for Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts and that’s exactly what we did. Thank you to everyone who booked sessions with me. YOU are the reason I was able to give this Christmas.
The Business. I want giving to set the tone for Keira Grace Photography in 2014. I’ve always wanted my business to be a part of something bigger and I’ve been relatively successful in doing so with Free Photos Free People. My prayer would be to use what God has blessed me with (my photography) to bless others in need. Three thousand dollars was raised last year to benefit victims of sex trafficking in India, Fiji, and right here in Phoenix, AZ. I would love to set a similar goal for 2014! I will keep you posted as opportunities to join me arise!
The Future. Next year is going to bring a lot of exciting new things for KGP- a new website, logo, style, focus…to name a few. The more I do photography, the more I see a need for something true. Something lovely and authentic. Something innocent that seals our most treasured moments in a way we never have before. I want 2014 to be an adventure. I want it to be a time for me to explore new avenues and I want you to join me. This creative process is going to take time and patience is not my strong suit, but I feel God calling me to something more and I can’t ignore it. I’m hoping you’ll be blessed by these efforts as well!
The Images. Here are some images of the beautiful families I got to photograph this winter. These sweet faces have been through joy, struggles, anticipation, new beginnings, new life, and most importantly LOVE in 2013. I was so blessed to take their photos this Christmas season and want to THANK them for helping me give to the Philippines!
A few weekends ago I got to photograph the Gold family up in Prescott, AZ. Haha get it? Pure “Gold”? Okay okay. Anywhoo, I brought my fabulous friend Rachael with me and we had such a sweet time with this family. I’ve known Stephanie since High School and it was wonderful to reconnect with her and meet her adorable family. Stephanie is one of few people who can genuinely be described as a little ball of sunshine! She has this uncanny ability to light up a room when she steps into it. Bryan is an unbelievably fun dad- the kid’s faces are proof of this! And the way he loves Stephanie is enchanting. It was so encouraging to get to know their story and hear how God has worked in their lives!
Jon and I have been seriously blessed with some amazing people to live life with. Last Saturday was definitely proof of that.
Eight adults, two newborns, a 2 year old, and an 11 month old made the trek down to Wilcox, Arizona on Saturday. I told my friend Lauren that I was planning on going to Wilcox and her response was, “Oh no, I’m sorry”. Don’t fret though, Wilcox is more than desert wasteland! Out in the middle of nowhere, there is a beautiful apple orchard, (and apparently wine country). I was so excited to get my camera out and document this adventure. This was the first time I’ve really used my camera since Hudson was born, besides his disastrous newborn photos, and I could not be happier with the images of these precious people.
We’ve decided to make this an annual trip and truth be told, I can’t wait til next year!
Hey all!
Last year $3,000 was raised to help rescue women out of sex slavery here in Phoenix, in Fiji, and in India. I wanted to follow up and let y’all know how hard your money is working to do just that!
Let’s Talk Harvest.
What’s Harvest India you ask? Harvest does countless amazing things to help people in need in India, sex-trafficking is just one of them! Check them out HERE. A check for $1,000 was sent to Harvest India the beginning of this year. Where does that money go you ask? You’re so inquisitive! To answer this questions I’d like to introduce you to Jeff Gokee, Chairman of Harvest India USA.
And now, a letter from this strapping gentleman!
Sustainable change…this is what transforms cultures. At Harvest India this fuels what we do. We don’t want to just go into the red light districts and bless them for one day; we want to create sustainable systems and solutions.
This year Keira Grace photography partnered with Harvest India to be apart of that change. With the money donated we’ll be able to continue the process of rescuing these oppressed women, getting them counseling, medical help, housing, food, teaching them a trade, and educating their children. We stand next to these woman and say that “Jesus will never leave or forsake you, therefore we make the same commitment to you. “
I can’t thank Keira Grace Photography enough for your generosity. While beautiful pictures capture moments in time for us, Keira through Free Photos Free People is not only doing that but also helping create a new picture for these rescued ladies.
Thanks for being apart of the solution!
Cheers,
Jeff Gokee
Chairman
Harvest India USA
So it’s true! Your donation to Free Photos Free People has and will make a difference in lives across the globe. Harvest India isn’t the only organization to be blessed by your donation, but we will get into that another time!
My poor neglected blog!!! I’m sorry it’s been terribly too long since I’ve updated you! The past month has been the most emotional, challenging, foreign, exciting experience of my life. For those of you who don’t know, my husband Jon and I welcomed a sweet baby boy into the world! He is perfect if I do say so myself. Being a mom is infinitely harder than I ever anticipated, but also more rewarding and fulfilling than I ever dreamed. After four weeks we are finally getting the hang of things and I was freed up today to get a little bit of work done.
Now, deciding to take newborn photos of Hudson myself was probably the dumbest decision ever. I know how much goes into a newborn session and how tiring they can be, but what I didn’t anticipate was how exhausted I was going to be before I even started this session! Needless to say, it was a lot of work and unfortunately I wouldn’t say my best. However, I do believe my baby is particularly handsome so that pretty much saved the day. You would never have guessed he screamed and cried through 90% of the session! Without further adieu, introducing Hudson James Kielmeyer!
I can’t believe over a year ago I was taking maternity photos for the Jones family! Wow, time flies. It has been an amazing blessing watching Jack grow this past year. He just has the sweetest smile! Needless to say, I was stoked to watch him snag his first piece of cake! Congrats Danny and Jennifer, one year down and so many amazing years ahead. Happy Birthday Jack!
Maybe it’s my own baby bump that’s attracting me to so many maternity sessions or it could just be the fact that I’m surrounded by six pregnant friends. Whatever it is I’m lovin the baby bumps these days and so is my blog! You might recognize Stephanie from my last post about preggercise. Her and Chris are expecting their sweet baby boy any day now! Their session was so much fun, including a hike to the top of a parking garage, (never a dull moment). I’m so excited to meet Hudson’s future friend. Congrats Robertson’s!
As some of you may know, I’m 8 months pregnant! One of the things I really wanted to be committed to in pregnancy was exercise. I didn’t want to just cancel my gym membership because I was afraid of hurting the baby, but I also didn’t want to keep working out blindly not knowing what was safe or not. I know that exercising while your pregnant can make for a smoother delivery, help you stay in a healthy weight gain range throughout your pregnancy, and really help in losing the baby weight after delivery. There’s definitely a million more benefits to exercise, (pregnant or not) so I needed to find a way to do it safely. Enter Lindsey.
After a brief conversation with my friend Lindsey, a personal trainer, she told me that she wanted to specialize in pregnancy workouts. She had been learning all about trimester specific workouts and even how to get the baby involved in the workout post-pregnancy. I was thrilled! I’m pretty sure we started my sessions almost immediately after that conversation! Since Lindsey comes to my home, it’s been super convenient. I am so incredibly grateful for the difference it’s made throughout my pregnancy. Pregnancy has not been a smooth ride for me, (who would have thought I would be so uncomfortable and exhausted?!) but I can tell that pushing through these workouts and continuing to exercise throughout has made a huge difference so far.
I’ll be blogging again about Preggercise after Hudson comes, but for now I’d love to share some of the marketing photos I did for her. Also, if you’re interested in setting up sessions with Lindsey or simply want more info about Preggercise, you can email her at lindsey@preggercise.com.
Big thanks to my models: Jessica Lambros- 2nd trimester, Lauren Johnstun- 3rd Trimester, and Stephanie Robertson- 3rd Trimester
Katie and I grew up together in dance so I was thrilled to hear from her that she was getting married and wanted me to photograph it! There’s something special about photographing a wedding when you know the couple. Although I didn’t know Tyson before they hired me, it sure felt like I did. He has the sweetest, friendliest disposition and I immediately knew why Katie fell in love with him. They are perfect for each other. Their big day at Inspirador was gorgeous! A huge thanks to Diana with Simply D Photography for helping me capture this wedding. Congratulations Tyson & Katie!!