Kelly Nelson Photography

The M Family

Kelly — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:10:23 +0000

Over the holiday weekend I had the pleasure of meeting yet another incredible family for the Inspiration Through Art project that I’ve been a part of. Mr G. was born 6 weeks premature, and his family soon learned that he had a chromosome abnormality called 18q-. His life thus far has been marked with seizures and surgeries, but at 3, he’s thriving. He’s just begun attending school, and welcomed a baby sister into the family earlier this summer. His family and I met up at Big Gunpowder Falls State Park in Maryland. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. M family – I know you said that that you often get studio pictures taken, but I hope these capture the spirit of your family from a totally different perspective. As I was editing these photos, I really can see the love that you all have for each other. It was a pleasure to meet you and share some time with you last weekend.

Chalk Love

Kelly — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:06:40 +0000

As I mentioned in my previous post, today was back to school day. Last week a friend posted a link to a website called Kindness Girl, who described something she called Guerrilla Goodness: Sidewalk Chalk. I posted the link to my group of mom friends, and got such a great response, that we decided to spread a little of our own Chalk Love in honor of Back to School. Here are a few of my favorite images taken last night and this morning as we decorated the school to spread a little back-to-school cheer to our kiddos.

Huge thanks to all who came out and volunteered – especially Alison, Nicole and Kate who took my suggestion and made it into a reality. We had about 20-30 helpers, and it took less than an hour to get it all done. Can’t wait to do it all again next year!! :)

It’s the Most Wonderful Time….

Kelly — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:53:21 +0000

of the year!

That’s right – today is the first day of school here in Loudoun County. Here in the Nelson house, that means it’s the first day of First grade for my big man. We only have half day Kindergarten here, so First Grade means you get to do all the big kid stuff for the first time – eating lunch at school, finally getting to play on the real playground, having specials like PE, art and music. He was pretty excited. I’m shocked that he went to sleep last night.

In the classic tradition of taking a photo on the first day of school, I give you Big C – First Grade edition.

Joined by Little C, Preschool edition – coming soon to a dancing show near you. Check local listings.

My Boys.

The S Family

Kelly — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:34:05 +0000

This weekend I was honored to meet the S family for another Inspiration Through Art (Formerly Littlest Heroes Project) photo session at the Botanical Gardens on the Mall in DC. Little Miss E. was diagnosed in vitro with Turner Syndrome. She was given a slim chance of survival to full term, but defied the odds and continues to be a strong fighter. At just five days old Miss E and her family went through the scary ordeal of major heart surgery, but she’s recovered beautifully, and obviously brings her family a lot of joy.

She’s a tough little fighter, but she definitely showed us her glamourous side on Sunday.

Our session was even more special because her Grandma was visiting from the West Coast, so we were able to get some shots of all the girls together!

Where Did the Summer Go?

Kelly — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:58:10 +0000

I can hardly believe that it’s August 31 today. This summer has flown by for the Nelson family. In less than a week, I’ll be welcoming home my first grader from his big first day of school! As we move into September, I am excited to announce that I am completely booked for weekends through October. If you would like to schedule a weekend session in November, please contact me as soon as possible to reserve your spot. I will not be scheduling any sessions from Thanksgiving through the New Year.

Several people have asked if I’m going to be bringing back Holiday Mini-Sessions. I’d love to have an idea of the level of interest in scheduling this type of session in early November. Mini-Sessions last only 20 minutes, with 5-10 photos to choose from. They are perfect for getting a great shot for holiday gifts or cards. If you’d be interested in this type of a session, send me an email at kelly@kellynphotography.com. If there is enough interest I will set aside a weekend in November and maybe we’ll get a photo worth drooling over…

This little cutie is from my most recent Inspiration Through Art (formerly Littlest Heroes) photo session. Check back later this week to hear her story and to see my favorites from our session.

The J Family {Duck, NC}

Kelly — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:17:52 +0000

Sorry for the long absence. My boys and I took a much needed vacation to the Outer Banks last week. We had a wonderful time, and I had the chance to catch up with my first college friend…

When I walked into my suite at the University of Virginia on the first day of first year, I was a little bit worried. You see, my roommate-to-be had sent me the traditional “getting to know you” letter (yes, we wrote real letters then), and she described herself in every way as the complete opposite of me. When I showed up at school- me with my floral comforter, her with her black one; my secret antiperspirant – her crystal deodorant stone; my Birkenstocks – her combat boots… my fears magnified tenfold. Fortunately, in the room next door, there was a similar mis-matched pairing, and Kathy and I found safety in each other. I can remember countless nights standing with her at fraternity parties, trying to force ourselves to enjoy the awful beer and wondering how anyone could actually claim to like the stuff, her teaching me how to drive a stick shift, and then actually letting me take her car occasionally, her teasing me as I went off to my “coke dates” where I would actually study with the guys from my engineering classes – no one ever seemed to believe that that actually happened.

As the years passed, we drifted apart, but recently reconnected on Facebook (have I mentioned how much I love FB?). When she found out that I was going to be in the Outer Banks of North Carolina at the same time that she’d be there with her girls, we set up a photo session at Duck Town Park. It was wonderful to see her again, and her daughters were adorable.

I was thrilled to learn that Kathy is expecting a third addition to their family later this fall. Even though she didn’t think she was far enough along to take real maternity photos, she obliged me with this one. With one obvious exception she hasn’t changed a bit since first year!

Miss L is getting ready to head off to kindergarten this fall, and Kathy wanted to capture some images of her little girl before she started losing teeth… I think this was my last shot of the day. I always love it when I end on such a good note!

Miss M put on quite a performance on a little stage we found at the Duck Town Park. She gave a wonderful rendition of Jingle Bells – I believe this shot was part of the grand finale :)

Kathy and her girls were staying at her parent’s house while on vacation. They came along and were great assistants, and they even got to be in a few shots!

I’m going to end with my two favorites – sitting by the Sound…

Kathy- it was great to see you again and to meet your beautiful girls. I hope it won’t be another 13 years before we see each other again!

{For those who were wondering, I think of each pairing in our suite, my roommate and I actually got along better than any other pair of roommates did… the fact that we didn’t ever try to do anything together probably helped….}

Together

Kelly — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:00:12 +0000

I updated my blog template this weekend, and am in the process of setting up some new galleries to showcase my work. This gallery is the Together Gallery which includes images of families, couples and siblings. I’m still in the process of working out all the kinks with this new setup, so I apologize if things go haywire. If you run into problems with how anything is performing on here, please let me know!

Growing

Kelly — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:51:23 +0000

I updated my blog template this weekend, and am in the process of setting up some new galleries to showcase my work. This gallery is the Growing Gallery. I’m still in the process of working out all the kinks with this new setup, so I apologize if things go haywire. If you run into problems with how anything is performing on here, please let me know!

Beginning

Kelly — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:02:37 +0000

I updated my blog template this weekend, and am in the process of setting up some new galleries to showcase my work. The first one to go live is my Beginnings Gallery, which includes maternity and newborn images. I’m still in the process of working out all the kinks with this new setup, so I apologize if things go haywire. If you run into problems with how anything is performing on here, please let me know!

Sometimes, Size Matters

Kelly — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:01:16 +0000

Over the past year, I’ve noticed something really interesting…

People are scared of big pictures.

Most of my clients up to this point have bought 4×6 prints, a few 5x7s and an occasional 8×10. They’ve paid me several hundred dollars for the session, went through all the stress of picking out clothes, got the whole family up early, cleaned faces, combed hair, bribed the kids with treats, squirmed through a photo session, and walked away with a few prints that will sit in a frame on the bookshelf somewhere.

Each time an order comes in; I ask, “Did you consider a larger print for the wall?” Every time I’ve heard the same answer: “We’re not really big picture people…”

Somewhere along the way, it’s become ingrained in us that an 8×10 print is a huge enlargement, and that to display anything larger than that on our walls would be immodest. I admit, I’ve aided and abetted this fear by not showing samples of larger prints… Today that changes.

I purchased a fun new tool last night that I hope will illustrate what I’m talking about. As a photographer, I know that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are three for you.

8×10 image

16×20 image

20×30 image

Notice how your attention shifts from the fireplace itself to the picture above it?

I love this new tool and I can’t wait to start providing my clients with customized examples of how amazing their photos could actually look hanging on their walls. There is also an option for creating wall galleries. I can’t wait to get started and create my own display of my family’s photos from our session this summer!