With Thanksgiving just a few days away it’s the perfect time to reflect on the blessings that came into our lives in 2011. We have so many stories to share with you from the events we photographed this year, but first we need to start with our biggest blessing – all 7 pounds 15 ounces of him – our son Eli.

We planned to have Eli at home, but after 21 hours of natural labor at home plus another 9 or so hours at the hospital it became apparent that a C-section was necessary. This image wouldn’t have been possible without our birth photographer, Kelli Collins, who let Curtis borrow her gear since no one else was allowed in the operating room besides Curtis and myself. Even though I didn’t want Curtis to “work” on the birth day of our child, I cannot thank him enough because he photographed Eli for the first time right as he was being born. And despite having thousands of photographs of our lives together, this is one of the most precious by far.

Eli – 2 days old

Eli at home – 1 week old

One of my favorite portraits of Eli, not only because he’s so stinkin’ adorable but the memory behind this photograph. While setting up for this shot he peed in the mixing bowl at least 2 times! Don’t worry, it’s since been washed!

Eli – 4 weeks old and learning to smile

Who wouldn’t give candy to this cutie?! No, we didn’t take him trick or treating this year but we’re definitely looking forward to eating all of his candy earnings next year!

Eli – 8 weeks old

With so much going on, sometimes we forget to appreciate the little things we take for granted. This holiday season, take a moment to stop, think and be grateful for all the blessings, big and small, in your life. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Before the holidays we had the pleasure of photographing 4 month old baby Trinity and her parents. When it’s cold outside we enjoy having the option of photographing inside our studio. Family portraits can also take place at your home or favorite outdoor location!

Her “Tiny Elf” hat was absolutely adorable!

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Our good friends Christy and John’s little man Conner turned 1 year old recently. And to commemorate this epic moment in his life, they brought him by the studio for a fun shoot…that turned into a massacre! A fun and ultimately very funny massacre that is. See for yourself:

We started off with a mirror and a little window light. He wasn’t nearly as intrigued with his own reflection as he was with Emily’s.

What’s a birthday celebration without balloons?!

And lots of them…

raining from the sky!

What can we say, the chemistry between us and our subjects is…electric!

And so it begins…

“Seriously…this is all for me?!”

“ooooooooo the sugar is hitting me!!!!”

“uuuggghhh the sugar is hitting me uuunnhhh.”

“I am so gonna get you guys back for this!”

“mmmm CHOCOLATE!!! Where have you been hiding all my life?!”

(Picture an opera singer voice) “I looove CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!”

Happy Birthday Conner! We enjoy watching you grow, just don’t do it too fast.

Thanks to Christy & John for going along with our idea. It was uber-messy but definitely worth it.

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Tis’ the season…for some cute Holiday Portraits of little babies! Here is one lil’ bundle of cuteness that wasn’t afraid to don her Santa hat for us. Check out Baby Natalie and let the awwwwws commence.

Isn’t she just adorable with her Santa hat and matching Santa hat booties?!

We also got Mom and Dad in the mix for a few family portraits.

It’s not too late for Holiday Portraits of your little ones so call or email us to hear about our special offer.

Happy Holidays!

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Here’s highlights from another fun Family Portrait session, this time with Christy, John and Conner. Be sure to check out the slideshow at the bottom for extra cuteness!

Left: Cute & Cuddly baby. Right: Punk Rock baby.

Little kids just love to grab at anything. This time it was John’s nose and hair.

“Child of the Corn”

Left: A “corny” rendition of “American Gothic”

Since it was almost Halloween, we had to get Conner’s incredibly cute Monkey costume involved.

Just love how it looks like the monkey is smiling for the camera.

Not sure what Conner was thinking at this exact moment but his expression is priceless!

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Emily and I have really been enjoying all the family portrait sessions we’ve been doing lately. It is a nice change of pace from weddings and keeps us thinking about new and exciting ways to capture people, their personalities and their relationships. Check out some highlights from a couple recent shoots.

Elizabeth, Jeff & Bolen

Little Bolen was so cute trying to pick up that big pumpkin. Check out the whole sequence of events in the slideshow below.

Wanna know what prompted these priceless expressions? Check out the slideshow below to see.

Kids are lucky because they can do expressions like this and it’s hilarious whereas adults looking like this would just look weird.

Luckily we ended the shoot on a happy note.

Kris, Steve, Jack & Kyra

Sig, the family pooch, was the model doggie and helped complete the family portrait.

…and was well thanked for his cooperation.

Jack and Kyra were some of the most well-mannered children we have had the pleasure of meeting. Of course we had to bring out a little of their goofy side for some shots too.

Steve’s parents happened to be visiting so we included them in a few shots. They were such a happy couple and obviously still very much in love, which is always great to see.

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

In celebration of our favorite time of year (Emily’s birthday is right around the corner…not to mention pumpkin carving and Halloween), we are offering Free Family Portrait sessions. It’s also the perfect time to create a unique family portrait for your holiday cards.

We’re looking for families who want to get outdoors and have some photo fun with us at local state parks, pumpkin patches or even a bonfire with some smores!

Free sessions are for a limited time only so call today to reserve your spot!

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

A couple of the many fun shoots we’ve done lately (and that we are behind on blogging) were for two wonderful families. Here are excerpts from the family albums we did of their shoots. Enjoy and if you would like to have something similar for your little one or your whole family, just give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to capture your loved ones in a unique and fun way.

Teresa, Joe and little Ryan
Little Ryan has the cutest cheeks on the planet!

The many faces of Ryan.

Showing off his first two teeth with that smile. Too cute.

A family portrait.

A slightly different family portrait.

Katie, Dan and little William
We loved this cute series of him running to mommy and daddy and the beautiful, loving hug that followed.

William certainly has the whole #1 thing down. What a smart little tike!

More family sessions (plus a whole lot more) to come so check back soon.

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Recently we had the privilege of photographing Scott Pilgrim, one of the awesome DJ’s with Jumping Jukebox, and his wonderful family at a place that’s near and dear to their hearts…Death Valley! They have three beautiful children, and one practically adopted boyfriend, and they were all so much fun! They wanted to have a nice holiday card to send family and friends that was less “Christmas” and more “We bleed orange”. Check out the card we designed as well as some of our favorites from the shoot.

The boys being boys!

Here is the front (on the left) and the inside flap.

The awesome pano inside along with a clever saying that Marti came up with.

The back side.

To the Pilgrim Family,

We had an amazing time with all of you. Thank you for entrusting us with your family memories. We look forward to doing the same next year when Andrea graduates

With Christmas being just two short weeks away, most of us are already starting our holiday traditions. Buying the first carton of eggnog, putting up the tree, decorating the outside of the house…and it makes me remember how I spent Christmas as a kid. Curtis and I had very different holiday traditions. He was a Christmas Eve present-opener, whereas I believed in Santa and set out cookies and milk (and a carrot for the reindeer of course) before bed.

This year, we’ll be celebrating in a way that we have only done once before. The year that we got married, we flew to England to spend Christmas with my sister, who has lived there for several years. This year we’re crossing the Atlantic again and spending the holidays with her. We’re so excited to get our holiday cheer on…British STYLE! On Christmas day we’ll wear colorful, paper crowns and open crackers to see what lame toy is inside. Will it be a mini screw-driver or perhaps a plastic army man this year?

As we will be out of the country, Kismet Photography will be closed from December 15th-December 31st. We will have very limited access to email and needless to say, with the ridiculous roaming charges, we will not be checking voice mail much either. We will be enjoying this time with our family, and thank you for your patience (in advance) for the delay in email and phone replies.

Happy Holidays!

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

We hope everyone had a wonderful, stomach-expanding Thanksgiving. And we hope that those who brave the madness of Black Friday don’t get trampled on in the hunt for the ultimate sale. After all, we want you to be able to check out some of the fun baby and family shoots we’ve done recently!

Right before Halloween we did a session for baby Hope, who just turned 6 months old. We really enjoyed photographing such a happy baby and can’t wait for her first birthday when we get to do another session with her. Then we are creating an album to showcase her exciting first year! Here’s a small sample from Hope’s 6 month session.

Hope’s mommy and daddy did an amazing job decorating her room. This little princess had one of the most chic and sophisticated nurseries we’ve ever seen!

We love this one. She just looks like she’s saying “What?” with her little hand.

This is just too cute for words! We love Halloween but put a cute kid in an adorable kitty costume and we go bonkers! The pumpkin and leaves were our idea but Hope makes the portrait with her Vogue-esque pose.

It’s amazing how fast kids grow up. Since we photographed Hope, her first teeth have started to come in. So if you have a new bundle of joy, we’d love to document your baby’s first year.

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography