16. What are some things you’ve learned about photography through the years that have taken your photos to the next level?
Honestly, for me it has been about being true to my own style. I like bright, clear, colorful shots. It took me awhile to figure out my real style but I am always happiest with images full of color and texture. I’ve learned a lot about post processing as well. But for it has been even more about getting the shot perfect IN CAMERA. I don’t do any crazy edits on my images. I sharpen for the web and boost the color (sometimes…and only if needed). I don’t typically run a lot of different actions either. I work really hard to get my images tack sharp in camera and I’m always searching for the best light. I don’t always find it 
But I’m always trying.
17. My question is when are you adding to your family again through adoption???
I love how people assume that once you have adopted you are going to do it again. There is something about the process that is addictive in a strange way. I once had someone tell me to “just be satisfied with the kids you’ve got”. And I am. I consider each of my children to be a gift from God and I adore them all. But I figure if you are going to collect something…kids isn’t a bad way to go. It sure beats silver spoons or tacky shot glasses. For my real answer though….see #3.
18. I have a SLR, but thinking about up grading. What next?
Not sure if you have DSLR (digital) or not. Definitely go digital if you aren’t already there. It is hard to provide advice without knowing what camera you have. And to be fair to all of the Canon peeps out there…I’m a Nikon girl and I’m pretty lost in Canon Land. As long as you still have things on your current camera you don’t know how to use…I’d stay stick with what you’ve got. I’m still shooting on a Nikon D90 which is considered an “amateur” camera and I am more than happy with it. There are still features I don’t know how to use and I can’t think of any reason (right now at least) to spend the money to upgrade!
19. Your house always seems so clean and well organized but you craft-how do you do both?
You people and your perceived cleanliness! I think I need to have you all over for dinner some night so you can see the truth for yourself! ORGANIZATION is my friend, though. It took me 4 years in this house to find the perfect organizational tool for all of our craft stuff. It had to be convenient and close by. And the containers had to CLOSE because the bucket thing was a nightmare for my kids. Have I ever shared the shelves in our laundry room? I had Mr. P and my FIL build floor to ceiling shelves and then I bought CLOSED storage rubbermaid tubs at Walmart to fit each shelf. I labeled each bin and now there is NO EXCUSE when someone forgets to put the markers away. I’m a genius I tell ya!
20. My question for you is-Do you still sing? Church choir? Karaoke? Sing your children to sleep?
Yes. No. No. and Yes. For a couple of years I sang here in town with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus. But the commitment became too much once we had multiple kids. So now I just sing in the shower. Just kidding. That would wake people up. I sing a special song to each of my kids before bed and they will NOT sleep until I sing it. Even Danny knows his song and loves it. If he hears me sing it to one of the other kids he claps for me. {he’s so sweet} I don’t sing formally anywhere though!
21. How do you get Danny’s skin to look so creamy smooth in photos!?
Well it helps that he is DREAMY in person too I usually reduce the noise on most of the pictures I post on the blog. In photoshop go to “filters” in the pull down menu…select “reduce noise”. You can play around with opacity and intensity until you find your magic spot. That helps to smooth wrinkles and skin blemishes. MCP also offers some skin correction actions that are very popular (I haven’t tried any of them because I have my own special formula but people seem to love them!)
22. What is your best advice for the upcoming holiday card season for coordinating on a budget?
I’m assuming you mean outfit coordinating? I am probably not the best person to ask about that as I always seem to be able to “justify” clothing purchases for pictures. I hate to say it…but the clothing really can make or break a photo session. That being said…that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank trying to look great! THINK LAYERS! Especially with fall sessions. Wear more layers than you typically would and add texture through sweaters, scarves, and pattern. So many people shy away from pattern and it often gives the photo SO much interest. Wear jewelry. Throw in a wild card. You don’t all have to match perfectly…just try to keep the color tones the same intensity. Don’t dress the kids in hot pink and lime green and wear a white blouse….please! Long gone are the days of everyone in white and denim (major snooze to me!) There are several stores out there that carry coordinating lines through each department like Gymboree, Crazy 8, and Children’s Place. Or shop your closets because you probably already have some pieces that will work. Borrow from a friend who has kids the same size. I have been working on our fall family pictures outfits and most of the items we already owned!
23. My question for you is how do you stay so slim??
It comes with the territory of not being able to eat anything that tastes good It is funny. In our society you would NEVER tell someone “hey….you are huge…you need to loose weight!” But you would not believe how many times complete strangers have told me that I am too thin and should “fatten up”. My dental hygienist once told me I was too skinny and mentioned that I must work really hard to stay so trim. I told her I had a crippling health condition that caused my stature. The look on her face was priceless and let’s just say she didn’t ask anymore questions. We had a realtor once who told me “go eat a cookie” every time we got off the phone. Needless to say….she didn’t work for us for long I actually work to keep my weight constant. I realize some people would probably like to run me over with their cars. But skinny girls have feelings too I actually really struggle sometimes with my lack of figure. It would be nice to not look like a pre-pubescent teenage boy!
24. What do you put in your kids lunchbox?
We are a hot lunch kind of family. Making lunches is an awful lot like cooking which I try to avoid like the plague. If I do make a lunch (has probably happened 5 times in the last 3 years) it is basic and boring. I have absolutely no creativity in the kitchen!
25. How did you get through the days of waiting and waiting? What helped ease the longing in your heart for it’s missing piece?
Great question that brings back a flood of memories. I’m going to be brutally honest…it was HARD. Danny was so sick so much of the time that we waited for him and my heart was always in a state of torment thinking and worrying about him. I spent a lot of time praying for his health. And I kept BUSY! We got so many projects done in our house while we waited to meet our sweet boy! As soon as I finished one big project, I started the next. I just kept dreaming up new things to keep us busy. We added the craft room, added built-ins, decorated his room, painted the living and dining rooms, slipcovered furniture, and did a complete outside overhaul. Keeping busy and getting my mind focused on our house helped to pass the time!
26. So do you keep your flash on your camera a lot or just use it occasionally?
Nikon SB900 and I pretty much always use it inside!
27. What happen to WIWW?
Mostly, summer happened to WIWW. But I need to get back into it. I’m still trying to dress each day. Some days are better than others. I’ve wondered if anyone missed it…I have always felt a bit weird about posting pictures of myself…but I enjoy the WIWW posts on other’s blogs so I gave it a try. Maybe I’ll get my act together and try it out again!
28. My question, when are you going to start personal shopping?
Now that sounds like fun! Anyone in Lincoln need me to shop for you?
29. My question is, how do you keep your house so clean? Your living room always looks so tidy in your pictures.
Wow. I didn’t realize how many questions there were on cleaning. If you’ll notice…I don’t do a lot of panoramic views of our family room. I crop out the dirty socks and Goldfish crackers. Although I will admit…right now my house is ridiculously clean. But that goes with having it on the market. And it is EXHAUSTING!
30. I would like to know how you get that beautiful sofa to your photo sessions!
I load that bad boy into the back of my swagger wagon. I drive that couch all over Kansas City! Have couch…will travel!
31. Where are you going out of town?
I went to Minnesota with 3 of my besties from high school. We hit Junk Bonanza and then crashed at a friend’s cabin on the lake. It was quite possibly one of the nicest weekends of my life. I have a load of pictures still to share from our time together of us junking, boating, eating, and just hanging around!
32. Where do you find your rings for your wreaths? Also, where do you get a lot of your fabrics?
Initially I found a lot of them at the Dollar Store but mine has stopped carrying them. You can get them at any craft store though! I haven’t bought fabric at a fabric store in YEARS! Have you seen my stash? I’ve even paired down and it is still ridiculous (especially since I don’t really sew much anymore). I have been collecting vintage sheets but those don’t count as fabric, right? For home decor fabric I always go to Home Fabrics at 119th and Metcalf (for all those local peeps). It has CRAZY good prices!
33. You may have already answered this but do you have a cleaning schedule? your home appears tidy! also, what camera equipment do you use??
Well right now I am cleaning constantly. But normally…no. I clean for guests and that’s about it. I am not a laundry on Monday, grocery store on Tuesday. That would entail more forward thinking than I usually can muster. I do laundry when it piles so high that I can’t get into my laundry room. Things like dusting and vacuuming only get done if someone is coming over. I am a big lover of Clorox wipes and Windex wipes.
For camera equipment: Nikon D90, SB900, 24-70mm zoom lens, 50mm lens, 85mm lens. I have a few others that I rarely use.
34. Where do you store all your photography props? How do you transport all of it to a photo shoot? Did you have to recover the larger furniture pieces you use? Last question, when will you be visiting Chicago so I can book you for a photo session?
Most of my large photo props live in the 3rd bay of our garage. Smaller pieces are used as decor in my house or are kept in our store room (like my bean bag for newborns). I load everything up in my van and haul it all over the place. You should see the look on new mothers’ faces when I pop the back of my van…priceless! I have never recovered any of the pieces I use as props. Charlotte (my mustard couch) was that glorious color when I bought her. That’s one of the reasons I fell head over heals in love with her. Although I keep thinking she either needs a twin in another color or needs to be recovered. There are A LOT of folks in KC who have used her! I guess Lincoln will be a whole new market for Miss Charlotte! And YES on The Windy City. It is one of my favorite places! You fly me there and I will hook you up with pictures.
35. Question- how do the littles feel about the move? Especially the girls since they are in school?
The girls are dramatic. They are mostly happy with period of extreme grumpiness in between. Of course they are sad to leave their school and friends behind. But they are looking forward to more time with Mimi and Baboo and cousins. They are ridiculously excited about the prospect of getting a puppy and talk about it incessantly. They want their own rooms (unlikely) and a big backyard!
36. I wonder how you are able to do all this with four children, i have three (6,4 and 2 months) and we’re still taking it day by day!
I certainly don’t do it all! The girls are very helpful. Being almost 7 and 9 they are able to do more and more on their own. Having a baby is just hard and time consuming. But once you have a few kids things are always chaotic and you just get used to the madness. You just add another plate and dinner and another pair of tennies at the back door. We pick and choose A LOT. The girls are playing soccer right now but other than that it is violin lessons only. We don’t do Girl Scouts, math club, softball, etc. One sport and music lessons. And even that feels like a lot some days!
37. Should I bring my big chunky camera to India, or should we invest in a smaller camera for the trip?
I purchased a little point and shoot to take with us to Ethiopia and returned it after 2 days. I just couldn’t get over the picture quality. I felt very conspicuous walking around Africa with my big ‘ol camera but was determined not to miss out on documenting the first moments of our lives with our new son. I say take the big camera. You won’t regret it! As a word of caution though…we flew through Frankfort on the way there and I got pulled aside into a private room and interrogated by 4 German officials because of my big flash!
38. What do you recommend for digital photo storage???
I used to back everything up on disc. A lot of people use an external hard drive…but I had a friend who lost all of her images that way and it was devastating. Now I have a subscription to Carbonite and everything is nice and secure. We had a hard drive crash last year and I was SO thankful we had everything backed up! That is a photographer’s worst nightmare!
39. Any tips for shooting in low, indoor light?
If your camera can handle it…crank up your ISO and embrace the grain There are really no magic answers to low light situations. Sometimes if it is bad enough…your best bet is to just use your on board flash and capture the memory and sacrifice technique. If you have a speedlight you can bounce that off of a white ceiling, light colored wall, or window to add more light. Or use a piece of white poster board or a car window reflector as a photo reflector. But mostly…just open up your lens as wide as you can!
40. Do you make all of the giveaway items?
Yes and no. I usually try to craft a few items and purchase a few. The bags have all been purchased and embellished by me. The wreaths I’ve made from scratch along with the hair accessories!
I think that’s all the questions!! WHEW…you all had some great questions! I hope I didn’t bore you to death with the answers!!
thanks for the opportunity at this fabulous Fall giveaway!!! ”
