I was digging through my web traffic analytics and caught a steady stream of new web hits from Brenda’s Wedding Blog (back in Dec.)! I didn’t even know she featured one of my shots from Hollie’s Couture Bridal session on her Eye Candy Friday column! Super cute! Thanks, Brenda’s Blog, for featuring this shot back in December, and thanks to all of her blog readers for stopping by!

Check out her post on Purple inspirations here: http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/blogs/2009/12/4/eye-candy-friday-v46-purple-for-the-guy-and-gal.html

Caity has the best boyfriend ever!

I got a call from Brant a couple months ago, while sitting in my “virtual office” – the Tire Kingdom waiting room. He was looking for an awesome Christmas present for his girlfriend, Caity. I vaguely remember going over the details of what a fashion portrait session entails while random men pretended not to listen to my call. Quite frankly, I can’t think of anything more awesome than spending a day with me and Jillian, so I was super excited to get an email from Caity about her new present!

One of the cutest parts of the day was when I excitedly beckoned for Brant to show him one of the captures from the back of my camera, and squeeled, “Doesn’t she look beautiful!” Brant took a second and looked at the image, then said, “I always think she looks beautiful.” (I’m sure one of Brant’s baseball buddies will punch him for that one…)

Oh, to be 17 again!

I LOVE shooting these senior-fashion sessions, because it’s like playing “Model for a Day” with my clients! Not that it’s a stretch for Caity, the senior volleyball player, who stands taller than me barefoot (I’m 5′9″). So you’d think I’d be all over the long shots, right? Nope! This girl has the most amazing skin and gorgeous green eyes – I took every chance I got to shoot nice and close.

Can you believe this is only Caity’s teaser? I still have a ton of photos to dish out! So sit tight and hang out on my blog for a bit. Don’t forget to leave a little comment to let Caity know how awesome her boyfriend is (as if she already didn’t!)

And Brant – thank you so much for bringing Caity to me! You were an awesome fan-holding-paper-moving-location-finding-clothes-carrying-boyfriend-assistant, who ended up sitting through hours of gossip about Jimmy Choo and wedding gowns. I hope you guys love the photos as much as I loved working with you! (Oh, and PS, Brant, don’t ever call me ma’am again! haha)

Jillian Caro did hair and makeup for both of Caity’s looks today!

I just LOVE her eyes in this one!

Brant gets a shiny gold star for finding this door (even though it turned out to be a REALLY smelly outdoor bathroom)

I figured I’d make Brant get at least one shot with Caity, since they were all the way out here!  He obliged, but I’m not sure how happy he was about it!

We finished up right as the sun was going down. Just enough time to grab one last shot by street light.

You know, there are days…. we all have days like this…. where you feel like you just can’t do anything right. You’re creatively crunched, can’t sleep and obsessing over every shot you take, every missed opportunity and every lead that goes another direction. I feel like I go through these phases, and it’s only by the grace and support of my fans, friends, colleagues and loved ones that I’m able to look past the dark days.

As artists, let me just tell you – we suffer! We torment over every last detail, because big or small, from the most grand wedding to a quiet elopement – every client is equally important. They become our friends, and we want the best for them. We become personally involved in our shoots, in providing something new and exciting to our vendors, stylists and of course – the clients who put their trust in us. The pressure is on to deliver, and deliver we must.

I can’t seem to say it enough - love your photographer, because they will pour their heart and soul in to every moment that they’re with you; whether that’s on your wedding day, on the phone, or on their editing screen. Allow us to be creative! Realize that, sure… anyone can pick up a camera and become a photographer, but it takes heart and soul to be an artist. It can’t be taught, and it can’t be learned. It’s not as simple as a click of the shutter, or a turn of the aperture. We’re visionaries that have a passion for the craft that we have spent years to perfect. We respect others in our field; we learn from them, we mentor them, we share with them – and sometimes, we even have a little therapy lunch session with them.

Don’t pit us against each other. Don’t try to negotiate our pricing by telling us what another would do. Because we know “the other photographer”, we’ve shared a drink (or a large dinner and sangria) together. We respect each other.

I have a “green” personality, which means I need constant reassurance that I’m doing a good job. Some would say it’s a defect. It’s probably not good considering I’m in a career field full of opinions and objectivity. But this week, I have seen some really wonderful comments on my work – along with my third blog feature (just this week!) – and wanted to share them with you. To some, it may seem small and trite – but a sweet little comment can go a long way when your day is a little less bright. (I totally didn’t mean to rhyme that last sentence).

Twitter: @AllPhotogs – Highlighted today @kristenweaver – pretty dang amazing photographer in Florida. http://bit.ly/buJLYX
Twitter: @OneWed @kristenweaver is such a talent! You MUST check out this gorgeous West Palm Beach featured wedding!! http://bit.ly/5C7L2e
Twitter: @collagesnet @kristenweaver is on the blog! Check out these engagement images. Right after rain is my favorite. http://ow.ly/10hV4
Twitter: @scarlettlillian @kristenweaver You Rock!

“I wanted to write you a bit of fan mail after your Website of the Week launch! I absolutely LOVED that whole shoot! I’ve been looking at it all week, and forwarding it to other people! So, if you get any strange emails you can blame me!” – Ashley King, Collages.net

“What a breath of fresh air to meet young talented females here in our own town whom have recognized their god given gift and built a career around what they know best, and what’s even more amazing is that they have done it all on their own. All my thanks to Kristen Weaver, Melanie Pace and Jillian Caro for the most amazing shoot!!! You girls ROCK!!!!” – Mona Moayer, Model

I was stoked today to find out that I was featured on AllthePhotographers.com! You can check out my feature on their blog HERE. And the comments on the blog – seriously so sweet you guys! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (PS… for those of you who don’t know – if you like a feature from a photographer or a blog post, definitely leave comments on that blog! It tells us that you were there, and you like the work we’re doing! Remember, I need constant reassurance…hehe)

OneWed.com is like ‘my peeps’. I’m an uber-happy advertiser, my clients LOVE how easy it is to post reviews and they give me awards! It almost couldn’t get better… except that they have featured me the other day on their bridal blog, Savvy Scoop!

Getting emails like this, makes me insanely happy: “I must admit… I find myself envying your amazingly cool job and incredible talent when I see the stuff you post.” (from the Savvy Scoop writer).

So when she emailed me to feature my gorgeous West Palm Beach wedding with Nick and Nicole, I was more than happy to send it over! I LOVE how she put the photos together and hope that it helps other brides see just how fabulous a little rain can be on your wedding day

You can see the entire blog post on Savvy Scoop here.

So guess what I got in my email today!?

Lindsey and Jason’s Celebration Engagement Session was chosen as Colleges.net’s Website of the Week!

You can read about it on their blog, or check out the photos by clicking below!