Antisdel.s Story

What senior pictures look like when it's 111 degrees...

It's hard to believe that just a couple weeks ago it was so incredibly hot, but I have proof. This is an image of the dashboard of my car while in route to one of our locations in Louisburg during a senior portrait session with Shelby.

As you can see, it really was 111 after I started driving. When we first got into the car, it actually showed 112 but I wasn't fast enough to shoot that picture. We were on our way to photograph Shelby in her pink prom dress at the big tree. I also have proof that I was not sitting in the car shooting out of the window. Although, now that I type that, it sounds like a great idea to hold onto for future scorching days.

Below, is an image of me, Kia, photographing Shelby while she poses on the tree. I love calling someone a trooper. Shelby definitely was a trooper.

 

 

But, Shelby didn't just climb up on the tree which was somewhat shaded for the gorgeous images below...

She also ran through the tall grass in the beating sun with these really fun pink wings on and a hat full of flowers, no less. I love her pink wings and barbie pink prom dress. So fun. So playful. So hot. Literally!

 

To see more of antisdel's senior portraits, go to our senior website at www.antisdelsphotography.com.

Bohemian Princess Sessions Now Booking August 30 - test images

As you can tell by our new blog header, the main image on the antisdel.s photography website and the main image on antisdel.s photography facebook page, I loved the results from our Bohemian Princess Test shoot images. Ever since I saw these gorgeous metal crowns handmade by an artist in Palm Springs, I envisioned this session. I actually have one more crown that was just shipped yesterday to use for the session as well - a delicate silver one for our littler girls.

Of course, we also made our own crown for the image below out of paper to go with the dress Ashlynn's mom made for her. We attached a hair piece by Rosie Face to the crown. You can check out Rosie Face on Etsy here.

We still have times available for Bohemian Princess and Bikes & Trikes on August 30 so call to reserve your time today if you love this idea, too.

Above, Liberty is wearing a hair piece created by Wendy Turner with Oing Oing. Check out her site for custom ribbons, hair pieces as well as the supplies to create your own here.

My daughter, Kessa, designed Ashlynn's crown below. You can make and bring your own crown if you'd like. That's the great thing about being a "bohemian" princess at antisdel.s photography - anything goes!

Below, Ankita's feathers are another way to put feathers in your hair, great for something not permanent for your littler girls. These feathers are from Rosie Face and we'll have them for our sessions.

In the image below, Ankita is wearing a darling skirt and leggings from Mommyshop. To find out more about purchasing these or similar pieces which would work great for the Bohemian Princess session, go here.

Bikes and Trikes Test Shoot at antisdel.s

Jacob came in for our Rugged Cowboys session in May, but when his mom saw my model call for the Bohemian Princess test shoot, she let me know he would be available for test shoots if I wanted. It's always nice to know you've got someone interested and excited about working on a project with you so I took the encouragement and set up a test shoot for the Bikes & Trikes sessions that are scheduled for August 30.

I knew Jacob's mom had great taste so I asked her to bring some urban clothes for our little test shoot. We tried out our vintage trike, a cool spidey bike and even the red flyer wagon at our loft studio in Louisburg, Kansas. 

 

 

I have to say I love it when a plan comes together. These bike sessions are going to be so fun and evocative of childhood. I could see it in my head, but it's always a joy to see what I've envisioned come out in the images. My kids love flying around on their bikes. We even had to buy Kessa special biking gloves on our recent vacation for her to really ride her bike fast.

 

 

Sometimes, our Make Believe sessions are all about the look of fantasy but other times, like with Bikes & Trikes, it's all about what you can Make Believe in the moment. My bike was usually some sort of horse, 
 specifically a chestnut horse with a flowing, flaxen mane and tail who frequently reared up on the back wheel, I mean his hind legs.

What was your bike when you were a kid?

Join antisdel.s identity project!

When creating this year's high school senior portrait advertising, we realized that antisdel.s photography is turning 17 so the studio is the same age as a high school senior. How fun is that? It seemed significant to me. So, we've started a special project with any high school seniors who have their senior pictures at antisdel.s photography.

When you come in for your session, bring in some pictures from when you are little and be prepared to tell us a little bit about who you are now and who you were when you were a little cutie. We just started this off on a whim, but the identity project is turning out to be much more than we expected.

We are excited to see how it grows and where it goes. What's next?

To see some actual senior identity prints (although weren't mom and I so cute?) click here to go to the antisdel.s senior site.

Congratulations to Mrs. Kansas!

I just heard that Susana Kingsley just won the title of Mrs. Kansas. Congratulations, Susana!

 

Susana is an amazing wife, mom, community leader and so beautiful is well. I'm very excited to see that she also won Most Photogenic. Since we took her pictures, we get to share in the win a little bit as well.

Good luck in the Mrs. America pageant in March. All of us at antisdel.s will be rooting for you!

Here are some great articles about Susana. I know she's going to use her win to make a big difference.

http://www.mrskansas.net/meet%20mrs%20kansas.htm

http://mrsmiamicounty.blogspot.com/

Fresh Ideas at antisdel.s Holiday Mart Booth

We had a great time hosting our booth at this year's Junior League Holiday Mart. This is the view as you entered the show floor. We had a great space right at one of the doors.

 

This is the view from the other direction. I was so worried about fitting all of our framed images into the space. Dad had the super idea of hanging the groupings of our new custom painted frames at the top of the tent. 

The pink and green framed images of Adali in the above image won't be on display in the studio. They were a birthday gift to her mama, Jamie, my sister-in-law. So you will want to enjoy them here in this image. They are from an on-location session, Sana, her grandma, photographed last summer at their home.

We teased that the whole booth was pictures of the grandchildren. This image of Adali playing dressup was in the position of honor at the back of the booth. We've gone old school and printed it on archival paper and mounted it on some beautiful kraft tissue. Mom did the artistic presentation with this image.

I'm so glad to get these frames up for display. They've been languishing in the back waiting for me to do a photo session of Beale with clothing to match the red, teal and light blue colors. What was I thinking? Who needs clothing when skin matches everything.

 

I know we are missing one of the children in this gallery display. When we get this up in the studio, all 3 children will have a canvas alone, but I am very excited to be able to show this new way of displaying your portraits. This grouping is 2 inches deep which makes a really nice presentation.

These brightly colored ornate frames are still a favorite with me and I think they will be for quite some time. Don't you love this baby with the Christmas beads in the red frame? Those eyes!

And below is an example of a new mirrored frame line and another of the custom painted line with a wedding picture. Yes, that's a wedding picture from Kelly and Brad's wedding last month.

This image of my 4 kiddos will be floated and framed in a distressed white frame and hung in my living room. I love the corrugated cardboard my mom, Sana, mounted it on. Very clever.

Feel free to come into the studio to browse some of our updated sample albums. This is a shot of that area with our chocolate candy. That was a favorite spot.

This year's client gift were these really darling handmade rings. I loved the whimsy of the big diamonds in the rings. 

Mom and I posing in the booth. I think you can actually tell us apart here although we are both dressed very brightly. Can you tell we love color?

This image of my kids as angels got a lot of fun comments for Chilton's tough guy part of the image. I've finally created a gallery wrap canvas to go over my fireplace that I said I was going to do on this blog last spring. It's going to look super and the boys will be glad to see they are part of the family (our previous family portrait hanging over the fireplace is just with the girls - but my hair looked really good and I haven't wanted to change it)

The other image below is a vintage tin frame in my favorite color, turquoise. We do not have those frames in stock, but they can be specially ordered.

Here is a crowd around the booth. I think it's always fun to see the space in action. Natalie is working it in this image. I didn't get to photograph Michelle or Dad in when they hosted the booth.

but I did make sure that I was photographed working the space. Got to have proof that I'm super hard working. Know what I mean?

A Handful or a Heart Full?

Children are a handful sometimes, A heart full all the time...
-- Author Unknown

 

 

Don't ask me why Sephine decided to do this pose. Most of the time, I really enjoy the process of directing a photo session - the poses, the concepts, the clothing.... But when I photograph Sephine, my second daughter, all that goes out the window. She brings something quite unexpected, cartwheels certainly, and her own brilliant brand of humor, playfulness, poutiness and in this image - surprise.

This was photographed during a test session for something exciting and new that's coming soon. We've combined everything that we love about kids and photographing them into a, you guessed it, a surprise. More coming soon.

The Pride of Creation is an Extraordinary Thing

A few days ago, I shared a quote about the Joy of Pure Creation. I was saving this quote to share later, but I just couldn't wait. The word "pride" is so often used in a negative connotation, but used in this way - pride of creation - it's so positive. My children often have "pride of creation" when they show me the stew they've made from berries, nuts and grass on the front porch or the stories they've written or the meals of play-do. 

"One does feel proud to belong to the human race when one sees the wonderful things human beings have fashioned with their hands. They have been creators - they must share a little the holiness of the Creator, who made the world and all that was in it, and saw that it was good. But He left more to be made. he left the things to be fashioned by men's hands. He left them to fashion them, to follow in his footsteps because they were made in his image, to see what they made, and see that it was good.

The pride of creation is an extraordinary thing."

from Agatha Christie's autobiography on her husband's archaeological discoveries in Nimrud

 

Here is another image from my series of portraits of our 4 children. Kessa is such an outdoor girl and she's always climbed all the trees in our yard. I've had this sort of image in my head for a year or two. So happy to have it out of my head and onto my computer. Next stop for it, printed on fine art paper and framed at the studio.

 

A Little of the Joy of Pure Creation

"One wonders where these things come from - I mean the ones that are a must. Sometimes I think that is the moment one feels nearest to God, because you have been allowed to feel a little of the joy of pure creation. You have been able to make something that is not yourself. You know a kinship with the Almighty, as you might on a seventh day, when you see that what you have made is good."

from Agatha Christie's autobiography on writing the book Absent In Spring

I haven't been allowing myself to read fiction until I complete several studio projects, but I couldn't keep from reading at all so I picked up Agatha Christie's autobiography. I had seen it quoted in several books and articles about totally different subjects and that intrigued me. Not ever having read her novels, Agatha Christie was a brand new subject for me.

The whole book was quite interesting, but this quote really took my breath away. I know exactly what she is talking about. Recently, I photographed each of my children and I felt such a "must" to create specific images of them and a great "joy" when they were created.

Every session I photograph, I feel this "must" and "joy" of creation to some degree, but there are times like these recent sessions when the sensation is quite overwhelming.

Here is another image of Chilton from that first session. Again, I had something specific in mind with our new prop, Sunshine and Chilton's favorite "cowboy" shirt.

 

 

My Desk has 2 Personalities - Does yours?

A photographer friend of mine asked people to send in images of their desks in regard to the messy vs. tidy desk debate. I was intrigued because I had just totally tidied up my work area. The problem was that when I started to photograph my desk, I realized that I have 2 sides to my desk in this case. The first side (shown below) is where I do all of my computer work for the studio.

My other other work area which is directly across from this desk is where I do my home maker things. I've photographed my canning of tomatoes and jelly making - of which I am inordinately proud, but the dinner table is right there as well where we do homework and eat together.

Because I only work at the studio 3 days a week, people often say that I have the best of both worlds - being a stay at home mom and having a career outside of the home. I'll debate later whether I think it is the best of both worlds, but I'm so thankful to have both sides of my desk.

This is as tidy as it gets. The big kids are all in school now so Beale has pulled up a chair and settled down with his blankets. That silly guy is hiding his face, too.

 

As you can see, he's a bit of an imp.

 

This is the other side. Doesn't it look so pretty?

Wild plums had a record harvest this year so I felt duty bound to learn how to make jelly and utilize them. I made Andy help me get this jelly canned and I'm afraid to open it in case they are more syrup than jelly so I'm giving most of them away.

My dad's friend, Jerry brought over 4 flats of gorgeous tomatoes which gave me this canning job. If you know anyone who wants to give me more tomatoes, that would be super. We love spaghetti in the winter with sausage and home canned tomatoes.