New site is up!!

So if you have been following you know that we've been working on launching a new site for a while & today is the day. It's here at www.emilytroutmanphoto.com. And it's time for me to say goodbye to my little blog that started it all...I will leave it up for now though to remind me of where I started. So go ahead and update your RSS feeds to my new site which is a site and blog combined! Much love to all of my readers and clients who have gotten me to this point. :) Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Taking my own advice.

As I was feeding my kids breakfast and shoving some bagel in my own mouth this morning, I did the usually twitter scan. I saw all these posts about a kid named Sterling Davis & major brain surgery so naturally I checked it out. Amazing story & they are still on a crazy ride with Sterling's surgery today - check out their blog. After already having wet eyes, I thought I should check in with libby ryder's story. I was bawling by 7:30 in the morning while watching my kids eat breakfast.

If I am honest, this was a great way to start my day - with prayer, perspective and humility. Prayer for these families, perspective on what I so often dwell upon, and humility to remember who God is and what he has done for me. Today in honor of Sterling and Libby, I choose to celebrate life.

I made it a point to video tape my kids playing this morning and I took my camera to the park! These days pass us quickly and I don't want to forget.

*On the website front..I sigh. My awesome designer hubby had a last minute design project come in over the weekend that was a pressing matter so the website will hopefully happen this week. But I will not obsess today...it will happen.

The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot

Ever hear that saying before? It pretty much means a skilled or knowledgeable person commonly neglects to give his own family the benefit of his expertise. GUILTY! It's super sad but I've realized that I have taken more and way better pictures of other people's children than my own this last year. That's terrible isn't it? Well there's a few reason that this has happened over the last year. Mostly it's because I am the mommy and not just the photographer! I am busy meeting my kids every needs and keeping our lives together. In all honesty, and this is HARD TO SAY, there isn't even a great picture of my two kids from their first birthday party. Their first birthday party for heaven sakes! Why? Because I was the party planner, hostess, mommy, etc & photographer fell way down on that list that day.

It's sad to me. I thought that I would just spend most of their first year of life smiling at them and taking pictures along the way. Instead I have been overwhelmed with what it means to be a mom, homemaker, and businesswoman. All of these are wonderful things that I cherish, but they can often be big shoes to fill. I am trying to make a commitment as we move forward to make time to photograph these sweet babies (who are more like kids now)! I need to schedule them in like any other photo shoot and be intentional about it - and hire an assistant to help me :) I also can't be so hard on myself, it's OK at times to grab the point and shoot to capture quick moments in our lives. Ahhh..feels good to confess this, get it out there, and hopefully move on into a future full of many more Troutman memories that I am intentional about capturing. Thanks for listening internet friends!

Behind the Scenes and Bookings

Hey reader friends! For those of you following me on twitter or facebook, you know I went to my 10 year high school reunion over the weekend & had SO MUCH FUN! Here's a pic of some of the gang...

I know that the blog has been a little slow, but it's August, everything is allowed to be slow! I kid, I kid. Anyhow, I have been working on putting finishing touches on my website which will hopefully be launched over the weekend. It's been a long time coming but I have been happy with this little blog but ready to take the leap into a more professional site. Ok more on that soon....

As for BOOKING A SESSION - are you interested in family photos this fall? Are you a senior entering high school and need a senior lifestyle photo shoot? I am now booking for fall since I am already filling up and busy with weddings through October. Email me if you want more info, emilytroutmanphoto@gmail.com.

Photo Tip - No Glossy!

One pet peeve I have.... glossy finish on photos. I think that this happens to everyone who goes through fine art school, glossy is a no no. Think about it, every finger print or crinkle shows right up! So friends today's photo tip is to please, always order luster finish on your prints. I think the only time glossy is OK is on a beautiful metallic paper. Of course, if you are ordering professional printing, there are lots of pretty options like linen finish or a matte paper. Please just no more run of the mill glossy finish - you will thank me.

Mommy Inspiration for Monday Morning

I woke up today and felt a bit like I was on a merry go 'round with another week beginning. Where do I start? Clean my house, go to the bank, go grocery shopping, attend to my photo business needs, look at the tedious to do list that includes dealing with insurance issues.....I wanted to pull the covers back up over my face! Of course as I heard the sweet giggles and squeals coming from the twins room, that was not an option. My feet hit the floor and I hit the ground running - right to the coffee pot. I was thankfully reminded though that I have "been given fullness in Christ" (Col 2: 10) and that it's going to be OK. One step at a time.

I am also pulling inspiration from a mother of 7 and an encouragement to me, Cortney Novogratz, "Whether it’s one child or ten, all of us as mothers are doing the same thing – it’s a balancing act. If my two daughters go on to become mothers, they’ll be the same: you have to have some kind of outlet. You have to have something to call your own. Because when the kids have all left home you still want to be living a full life. And it’s very exciting to have something that you love and you are able to earn money from. The satisfaction and rewards you get from that help to make the juggling act easier." It's good for me to be concerned with the matters of my household but also a great thing to pursue my own dreams of running a business. So mama's out there - what do you want to pursue today?

Sweet Shiloh

Oh the sweetness of a new little one! :) Shiloh is just over a week old and sweet as she can be. She didn't seem to be bothered by me taking pictures of her or moving her around or even the few wardrobe changes we did to her! It's always fun for me to get to do a newborn shoot, but especially for good friends it means all the more. As always, I am honored when a friend asks me to capture their life moments, especially a new addition. I bet you will just want to reach in these pictures and grab her little cheeks..I know I did! Congrats Curtis, Shawna, Caanan and Charis on the newest addition to your great family!

My Meghan (& Matt, of course)...

It's going to be hard to keep this one brief, both in words and pictures. Meghan blew into my life 3 years ago. I had met her in passing before that because we had friends in common but really started getting to know her a few years ago. I discovered she was sort of a mini- version of myself (sorry meg if that's not a good thing :). We got annoyed at the same types of things, laughed at the same ridiculous things and shared a deep affinity for starbucks...hey I think many a relationship has been built on less! We quickly became good friends. I always felt like we were on a peer level but I took on a big sister type role with meghan while she was at UD. There's lots I could say of course but for the sake of that brevity, I will just say that she is a "forever friend." A forever friend is the kind that you can always call a friend no matter where your lives take you. You will always be connected. You will always have a part of you that is joined with them.
Needless to say it was a great honor when she asked me to photograph her wedding and an even greater honor in actually doing so. It's an amazing thing, to be the one capturing the life moments, the little time capsules that people will look back on to remember. I always walk into a wedding day thinking "these are the pictures these people's grandchildren will look at" - it's a great dose of humility and a challenge for me. As with anything, it can feel routine for a photographer at times but reminding myself that for each couple this is THEIR moment...it never gets routine then. And then later I have my own moments as I first look at the images and start editing them. There was this one picture from this wedding that seemed to say it all to me, it literally took my breath away. It might not do that for others, but for me, knowing Matt & Meghan....it was the ONE. I love being able to do that for people, being a part of one of the biggest days of their life. So without more writing I will attempt the pictures that should be worth thousands of words :) Best wishes Mr. & MRs. KING!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy the epic post... I really struggled on this one to choose...I just about put up a slide show of all of 'em :)

Bowman!

Hey friends - vacation was great (more on that later) but it already seems long gone since getting home yesterday at 2am :) I am back in full swing and working on a session I did right before I left. Sweet Bowman is 6 months old and was SUCH a good sport doing an outside shoot in a billion degree weather. He laughed, smiled, wiggled and sat up like a big boy! You can definitely see why his parents are so smitten with him. Enjoy!

Friday Confessions - Vacation Edition

1. I waited until the last minute to pack today because I truthfully am not a fan of a lot of my clothes right now. I packed my favorite trusty outfits and pray that they fit the vacation needs :) I mean really, it's a beach vacation so I will spend 90% of the time in my bathing suit (another dreadful thought :)

2. My husband is the man - got the car all packed. I really should've taken a picture of all the stuff he got in the back of the highlander!

3. My poor dog used to be like my baby, now he left the house to go on his own vacation at my in-laws and I didn't even say goodbye, sorry Doz.

4. I love traveling and getting to eat whatever I want on the road (remember that I think McD's is awesome). Vacation calories are free :)

5. Got some good books packed and I am hoping I will actually get to read them!

6. Swore I wouldn't let my kids get addicted to the tv in the car.....thank goodness for the DVD Player :) I am sure it's going to be our life saver during this ride!

7. Although I love what I do, I will be happy to put my photo business on hold for a week. I know there are a couple of you waiting on me from your sessions, you will just have to be held over with your sneak peeks & trust that it's worth the wait!!

8. My husband and I disagree in driving styles and directions...18 hour car ride what?!! pray for us :)

9. I have a coupon for a free starbucks drink that I can wait to hit up before we leave tonight :) not sure which delightful drink I will choose!


Have a happy week friends and we will be back in action the first week of August! August!?? WHen did you get here?? :)

Growth...and a SNEAK PEEK!

Meghan's Sneak Peek....


I am humbled and thankful for growth in life. Not just the evident, physical growth we go through like my toddlers experience daily but also the ways that we evolve as people. I am especially thankful lately in how much I feel that I have grown as a photographer. It's important to keep moving forward in things, if you ever feel like you have ''arrived" you better check yourself because it's probably not true. I am sure there is still more to learn. I can tell with every wedding I do that I improve, even if slightly, and not just the final product images but also the way in which I work and anticipate what's next. I am thankful for every photographic experience I get because it pushes me to keep going. I also am thankful that with continuing to refine my skills and knowledge, I am producing even more quality images. Not to mention that better gear definitely improves the possibilities!
I think back to the first real wedding I was the solo photographer and...cringe. I had ONE CAMERA and FILM and I am pretty sure I didn't have a clue! It was a month after I graduated college and you would've though all those hours in the darkroom, etc would've prepared me but no. Thank goodness it was outdoors and the bride had all the confidence in the world. I think that was also the day I fell in love with wedding photography :) So thanks Terry & Mark if you are out there and reading this!

Friday Confessions...

I think that weekly confessions are sort of cathartic so I will try to keep them up. Here goes for today!

1. I have eaten a chick fila twice this week for lunch, love that place! And I just learned that kids meal toy can be traded for ice cream, fabulous!

2. I really want to run a marathon in my life but I am a scardy cat. I should really face the fact that I am getting older though and should do this sooner as opposed to later.

3. My to- do list has grown instead of shrinking this week with the prospect of going on vacation next Friday! I have never packed a family for a week long trip before, good times here we come :)

4. I secretly dream of being an interior designer and daily dream of ways to update my house. If time and money were no object, there would be lots of projects going on around here. Just read an awesome book on this front, check out Downtown Chic if you need some inspiration.

5. I am re- reading Sense and Sensibility, gotta love some nineteenth century love quests and excellently spoken English.

6. I am also reading Dave Ramsey and letting him kick my financial butt. Why is managing money so tough sometimes? I think Jesus said it well, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

7. My first real concert was New Kids on the Block, circa 1988. Yes friends, I am sure I was rocking neon, keds, and lace bottomed leggings to rock out to Jordan, John, Danny, Donnie and Joey :) Did I mention I was a second grader?? Bless my parents.

8. Love my hubby for bringing me home a costco frozen yogurt in the 104 degree heat - seriously can't be beat :)

9. Even photographers can have horrible photos...I took my kids to a park by myself last friday like an idiot to try to take some pictures. I keep saying I am pretty sure I have better pictures of my clients kids than my own! It was hot, they were distracted and it wasn't a success but here are two pics that made it worth it :)



Happy Friday!

Money I never regret spending...

Every bride has ideas about what she wants for her wedding day. Some girls have dreamed about it since childhood and others just start to dream about it when they fall in love. I fell into the latter category, once I knew I found the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I started hiding bridal magazines under my bed. No joke! I didn't want to be all out in the open with it, it was my little way of dreaming about being married to Matt without wanting to jinx it. I know...who can jinx what God wants?! Anyhow, I digress. Once we were engaged (I can share that story another time) and the wedding planning got in full swing, tons of decisions were being made.

I remember very clearly researching photographers and feeling a little lost. I started narrowing it down to people who could give a personal reference for their work. My mom reminded me that her friend from work's son, John, graduated a few years ahead of me from UD with a similar degree to myself and that he was shooting commercial work as well as weddings. At the same time, the lady I was interning for had a part time assistant that also shot weddings. I started tracking down both leads. The one guy was just so sweet and was willing to do the day for an UNREAL price (I am ashamed now for even asking someone to do a wedding for that price :) I met with him and saw his body of work, which was solid but it just wasn't ME. I would not have gotten images that were my style or how I wanted to remember my wedding forever.

I just kept going back to John's work...it was ME! It was how I wanted to remember the day and his price was TRIPLE the other guy (but it still was EXTREMELY fairly priced for the going rates and the work entailed). I finally made the decision to move forward with John because I knew I wouldn't regret it. And I don't regret it one bit to this very day almost 4 years later! John was great to be around all day, did a fabulous job and is someone now we call a friend. We happily referred him all over the place and he happily got lots of work. I still happily refer a bride to him if I am unable to do their day.

So brides,what's the lesson here? Find a photographer that you love and as long as their price and products are within reasonable limits for yourself, make the sacrifice. Cut corners in other places, I mean lets be honest flowers are gorgeous but they die. Pictures are forever. What kind of images do you want your grandkids to flip through and say "this was you all young and pretty and skinny grandma?" :) Shoot I say that to myself already!! haha...Happy Thursday!

Sometimes bigger is better....

So I remember in the college days when I used to spend HOURS in the darkroom...yes friends, darkroom. I mastered using scissors, a can opener and film reel all in pitch dark..that was a big day when I could crack that film canister open, get it wound on the wheel and perfectly stash it in the black canister hoping to expose some hidden treasure on the role. Then I would spend hours with my film cut into little strips, slipping them into the enlarger and doing even more experiments printing my own film. So many great memories in that basement in Taylor Hall at UD.
I share all this because I got a little reminiscent working on this week's wedding. I blogged the small collages and I realized some things are just definitely better big! I remember the first time I went from printing 8 x 10 sheets in the darkroom to 11 x 14 .... oohhh things got prettier and made more of a visual impact. My instructor said "once you go bigger, you don't want to go back" but if you ever have purchased photographic paper - you know why us college kids went small! I used to have to work for the price of paper..I digress. Yesterday's blog collages were like "oh those are nice little snapshots" but when I look at them I don't feel the weight of the emotion and beauty that I see in the larger images. I wish every bride could come to my house after the images are done and watch them go by on my big purdy computer screen. Bigger is definitely better!!

So thanks for going through the growing pains with me as I work it out in life, photography and business! Here are some bigger versions of the beauty of Lauren & Adam's day!

(I just realized that I used the word "so" to start at least 3 sentences, bear with me while I work it out with my writing. I tend to write like I talk, so I guess I say "so" a a lot :)

Congrats Lauren & Adam!

Lauren has been a very lifetime friend of my husband, their families have literally been friends forever :) It's a real blessing in life to have those friends that you pretty much just count among the family. It was a great honor to shoot Lauren & Adam's wedding a couple weekends ago. It was a beautiful & toasty summer day in Bucks County, Pa.

Here are a handful of shots from the day! Let me know how you all like the collage viewing. I am trying it out as a way to get more imagery on the blog with a different visual twist. Happy viewing!

Don't take yourself too seriously :)

Just in case you ever wonder what a photographer does at a wedding besides photos...I have done it all from helping to get spots out of a brides dress, to helping to fix messed up bouquets or haridos that have come undone, to anything else a spare hand is needed in if I am not busy capturing a moment. When you are frequently around weddings, you get good at these little things and I especially don't mind helping in the small things that help ease a bride's mind.
My husband stole my camera at a wedding a couple weeks ago of a good friend to get a shot of me jumping on the dance floor to do the cha-cha slide. And yes, I look like the only one out there because I was starting the trend :)

Hey..if you know me, I definitely don't take myself too seriously! My advice to all the other photogs out there, yes you are a professional but please enjoy life...don't take yourself too seriously either or you just might miss out on the cha-cha slide ;) Happy monday everyone and I hope to post more later on this beautiful wedding!

Embracing New Style, Chapter 2

So today I thought I was going to go crazy with another day of 100+ degree heat outside and the prospect of not leaving the house. So where do I turn for fun and climate control?? You guessed it, the MALL :) The kiddos and I went to the mall mostly for me - to see humanity, drink a starbucks and take in a stroll. Of course these meanderings led me right to the sale rack in J. Crew, you know "just looking" and I scored big (or so i think). I took some jeans into the dressing room with trepidation, not having worn a tapered type leg jean since 9th grade (in the 90's :). Much to my elation, they not only fit (amen) but they actually looked good (hallelujah). And better yet - I scored this great pair of jeans in an acceptable size (I've been running a lot more lately, trying to lose the rest of the baby weight)....and the price tag... $15.99!!! They were original $98, then slashed down to $19.99 and then an additional 20% off clearance. SO ladies, keep on embracing new options for your wardrobe and keep an eye out for those bargains. I definitely walked a little taller out of the store with my great purchase in that pretty little gray J.Crew bag!

Sneak Peek...Lauren & Adam

SO as a photographer you are constantly watching for "moments" - moments that visually explain everything. I am getting started editing a wedding of a dear friend from this past weekend and I came to this image....stopped, smiled, and thought "this says it all." It's the first moment Adam took Lauren's hand in their ceremony and the smiles on both their faces just get me! So here's a sneak peek before the rest.....aaahhhhh love :)

Fun before the Fourth!

Last week as we were gearing up for the holiday weekend, I got to do a morning shoot with a friend and her sisters. Since everyone was in town, she thought it would be a great opportunity to get everyone together for a shoot for their mom. We had fun with all the grandkids and some of them liked my camera better than others :) Here are just a few of my favs from the day.... of course the one of all of them with the funny faces pretty much just makes me laugh! Notice the two crying to the right, this wasn't just for the "funny face" picture... Gotta love kiddos for keeping me on my toes!