Why have a photographer at your babies birth.

 I have had three babies.

Each labor was different.
Lexi took her time. I pushed for a hour or so.
And the epidural worked like a charm.

I have one picture.
It was taken with a fun saver.
nuff' said.

Ashlynn was fast.
I didn't have time to even get a IV.
OR a epidural !!!!

I have no pictures.

Myka was born during the age of camera phones.
So I have a few blurry camera phone snaps.

I don't remember the face my husband made when i was pushing. Or when he saw his daughter for the first time.
I never got to see what was really happening when the nurse was weighing her and checking everything out.

 I can't remember the details the day, like what room I was in or what the nurse looked like.

And even if i would have had a friend with a camera there the snap shots would be just that.

Snap shots.

 I want art.
There is NOTHING more beautiful then the birth of a baby.

YOUR baby.

Having a professional photographer there to document our birth experience means you will have beautiful images that you will treasure for the rest of your life.

It is not intrusive. Or strange. It is a way for both mother and father to experience the day as it is happening without worry of getting all the right shots. And a way to experience it again and again.

Right now I am offering portfolio building prices for birth photography. It can be a home or hospital birth.
I will meet with you before the big day to discuss every detail of your birth plan.
When the time comes you can guarantee that i will be ready to go and very respectful of your privacy.

Within 24 hours of your birth session you will have a online slideshow of beautiful images documenting your story from start to finish.
You will receive a high resolution cd with printing rights of all your images within 3 weeks.

Here is what one client had to say about having me as her birth photographer

When I got pregnant with my last baby I knew right away that I wanted a photographer to document the birth, it was something new to me, but I was super excited to try it out. I thought Lauren would do awesome because she has such a friendly & warm personality & I love her photos! Sure enough she was great to work with, she kept in touch with me throughout the pregnancy & when the time came & the baby was on her way Lauren was prompt & totally prepared! She was also very respectful of my wishes and my privacy, she & I discussed in detail every aspect of what I wanted weeks in advance, she was pretty much up for anything. I never felt like my privacy was being invaded. It was great to have her there during the labor & the birth, she's easy to talk to, and was very sweet & thoughtful, slipping out to do detail shots here & there when she saw I needed rest. I would recommend Lauren to anyone for this type of photography! Even though Lauren & I barely knew each other to begin with, when it was all over I felt like I'd had an longtime friend in the room with me. Not only is she great to work with, her work speaks for it self. The final shots left me teary eyed, and OH SO THANKFUL that I'd chosen to do this. It's so great to see the birth of my beautiful daughter through this amazing perspective! I feel like it truly captured the story of this wonderful day in our lives. If I were ever asked if I would do it all over again, or do it with future births, my answer would be "a thousand times YES!!!" Thanks again Lauren, I will cherish these photos forever! "


Contact me at laurenkenna@gmail.com for rates and more information.

Incredible... { Arizona birth photographer}

My phone stayed by my bed for four nights straight.  
I was getting comments on facebook asking me if it was "time" yet.
My camera bag was packed and ready to go at a moments notice.

My clothes were laid out and my husband was on alert.

You may be asking what was going on. What event was putting the Mitchell house on such high alert ?
I , Lauren, was getting ready to photograph a brand new life coming into the world.
Now , I could just write this post and say I photographed a birth and it was awesome.
But that explanation would do no justice to the experience at all.

I photographed a human being. A child of God, a being who was knit together in her mothers womb first breath. I got to see what a mothers face looks like the moment she sees her baby for the first time. I was able to photograph the smallest of details at one of life's BIGGEST events.

It

was

AMAZING !

I want to do it again. I am offering portfolio building specials for birth photography. E mail me for more info.


Here is one of my favorite pictures of the day.
And you can see the rest here.
 

 

what I love......

Booking weddings

Holiday family sessions

donating children s vitamins to this cause

my personal blog

learning how to make nifty photo collages

What do you love?

This is cool .

I love doing creative different things with my photography. I am so excited for this month. I am photographing a bridal shower that I know is going to be stunning ! And I have the chance to shoot a birth !! Ekkk !!!!!

What a honor to be asked to capture such a special moment in a persons life.

The beginning of a new one.

Yes, I do love my job.

oh, hey everyone who reads this ( I know people do ) in fact i had TWO people this weekend tell me they read my blog !!

WAHOO !!!

Moving on... I started a new blog to document my personal life. Not that I don't like sharing personal things on here. But i wanted a place that I could blog about my family more, my faith , what i am making for dinner.

You get the picture.

The new blog is here. I will still be updating here all the time but it will be sneak peeks for clients and tutorials for the most part.

Please join me over here too. And leave a comment !!

Seriously i live for comments. its vain and silly i know but its nice to know that your words and thoughts aren't just bouncing into cyberspace.

NOW on to the super cool macro picture i took today with my NOT macro lens. Nope, believe it or not I took this



using my nifty fifty ( 50mm 1.4 )

I found the tutorial here. If you have a dslr camera you can do this with any lens you have. Take the lens off and flip it around. Use your hand to FIRMLY hold the lens in place and look through your viewfinder. You have just created a macro lens !!

Now its not going to be the best focus because you cant manually focus or use auto focus. You just have to get really close to the thing you are photographing. Just keep moving in until the object is in focus.

I can't wait to play around with this more. I fully plan on using this trick in October at the weddings I am photographing !!

Leave some love and check out the new blog !! leave love there too !!

I am happy today !

Because lexi is Star student this week and I am taking her a special lunch at school and eating it with her.
Because Myka and I made a fort out of blankets and pillows and then we played Polly pockets in it .
Because tonight is the Flourish women's conference at my AWESOME church. last years was life changing for me. I was at a rough place in life and i remember driving home late at night literally screaming at God. I know it sounds wrong to scream at God.

But I was... hes cool with it.

I screamed out my heart to God and he listened. Boy oh boy did he listen.i want you all to picture the magnitude of screaming i did here. I'm talking I shook my fists and pounded on my steering wheel. I was crying so hard my chest was heaving.

When i came home and walked in the door. Things were better. I wont go into detail , but they were better.

Now I m at a different point in life. I have different crossroads. But I am waiting to hear from god. this time I will do the listening.

The weather is cooling down here and that makes me all sorts of happy inside. A few days ago Lexi and her BFF were outside giving eachother pedicures. It was so cute.And Myka was in the thick of it.
She thinks she is a big kid.

I want to leave a legacy

How will people remember me ? A few days ago I was blessed enough to chat on the phone with another photographer who lives on the other side of the country. I have never met her in real life. She found my page through facebook  after dear friends of hers mentioned my name to her. She e mailed me with a few questions. I asked if I could call her because I think I am better on the phone.
After we chatted about photography for a bit we started talking about our faith. About having a relationship with a God who alive and living inside us every second we are on this earth.  We each feel that this gift of photography is meant to glorify God. To help speak louder then words ever can about the hurt and pain in this world. And the beauty and love that the human spirit is capable of. 


I hung up the phone feeling refreshed and whole. Did I mention that the friends who mentioned my name to this fellow photographer were my husbands aunt and uncle ? My friend shared with me what a blessing they had been in her life. How they made her feel loved at a time in her life when she needed it the most. 
What a awesome thing to have someone say about you. She used the words they changed my life. How AMAZING !!   When I die someday ( a long time from now I hope ) I desperately pray that someone will say that about me. I pray that someone will say that about our family. I want my children to see us helping people. Speaking love and life into others.


I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy 


Amen !!

Speaking of legacies and families. How adorable are Kathleen and her family. We met for a family session id downtown Gilbert on a particularly stormy Arizona day . The rain stopped just long enough for us to take some awesome pictures. My favorite part of the session was when I had to practically beg them to stop kissing !!


*hehe* So adorable. I love when couples are that in love :)  


Within minutes of ending the session and getting into my car the sky opened up and poured down rain. The wind was so fierce I had to pull over and wait the storm out.


No complaints here though. I love the rain. We don't see it enough in Arizona !!

 ps
the inspiration for this post can be found here. I love this song !!

What to wear .

So the date is set, the location is chosen, and the family has agreed to it. YES! You are ready to take family portraits. For some of you, this is a yearly ritual. For others, this is your first time.  No worries.  Either way, I am here for you.

We will get through this together.

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from a family after they have booked their LaurenJean session is, "What should we wear? " The answer is simple, and yet, so broad. The short answer is, "Whatever you are comfortable in ."  But that statement is vague.  I mean, we are all comfortable in our yoga pants and a big T shirt.  But I don't recommend showing up to your family portrait session wearing either one.

What I mean by comfortable is, dress in clothes that make you feel like you. If you hardly ever wear a dress or a skirt , don't wear one to your session. It will show in the pictures that you feel out of your element and slightly awkward.  However, if your little one insists on wearing his superman cape and rain boots, don't fight it. We will take some great pictures of him in his " uniform" and then we will talk him into a change of clothes.
The sky is the limit when it comes to wardrobe options. The style of family photography is changing. Portraits used to be a one-size-fits-all experience. Everyone wore the same color , crammed themselves into a studio somewhere, and smiled awkwardly at the camera.  And that style worked for a long time.  Even now, it might work for you, but if so, I'm probably not your girl. 

Let me explain...

One of the key elements to a successful portrait session is location.

Parks are nice.

But downtown is better!

Does your family like baseball? GREAT ! Lets shoot on a baseball field. One of the perks of being a natural light photographer is that the world is my studio. The location of your shoot will play a huge role in your family feeling comfortable. And because we will be shooting in some not-so-traditional locations, you want to make sure that you are dressed in clothes that you can move around in. I will ask you to stand up, sit down, walk toward the camera, away from the camera, etc...  So if you decide to rock out in high heels, make sure you bring along some comfy walking shoes as well.

Speaking of shoes, shoes and accessories are an awesome way to show some personality and add some color to your pictures. Pairing a fancy bracelet with a pair of jeans looks fantastic!! Or, choose a pair of hoop earrings that bring out the color of your eyes. If it is winter, scarves, hats, and layers of clothes look awesome and add dimension to your pictures.  If it is summer, think big sunglasses and flip flops.

COLOR is a HUGE thing with me . The more color you can add into a picture, the better.  Many families ask if everyone should wear the same color shirt. My answer is that you want to make sure you are all wearing colors that compliment each other, but not necessarily the same colors. You also want to make sure that the solid prints and patterns on clothing don't clash with each other, as well.  Example:  if brother is wearing a red shirt and red plaid shorts do not dress sister in a pink striped shirt and flower skirt. Not only do the colors clash. but the patterns will appear way to busy in the picture and will draw the attention away from the most important part of the picture, YOU !!!!

And, of course, there are a few wardrobe choices that look good on no one in pictures,

spaghetti straps

short skirts

short shorts

plain white cotton T shirts

So let's review..........

1. Wear something that reflects your personalty and your children's personalities.

2. Wear clothes you can move around in and possibly get a little dirt on.

3.  Accessories and layers are an AWESOME way to add some dimension and color to your pictures.

4. You can never have too much color. Just make sure it's not everyone in the exact same color and that all colors compliment each other.

5. Dress appropriately for the seasons. Don't dress in layers if your session is in August.

I hope this helps give you a idea of what to wear when we meet. My goal is to make sure that you have a fun session that produces timeless images that reflect your family's true personalty and genuine interaction with each other.

Please e mail me at laurenkenna@gmail.com to schedule your session :)