This is a first for me. Up until recently, I’ve been only offering my photos for purchase sometime after the session via my online gallery. And well, the ability to help my clients figure out where they want to hang photos or what size they should order just wasn’t possible. Customer service fail. So I decided that it would really help my clients if I could show them what their walls would look like BEFORE they made a significant investment in large prints or canvas wall art. So that’s what I did for Jackie. We did the session and 2 weeks later, I came to her house with my iPad and helped her ‘see’ what her walls would look like with my photos on it. The first photo shows a completely unedited photo from my iPad of Jackie’s wall and my photo superimposed to size.

And this is the photo Jackie took of her wall after she received and hung the canvas prints.

Amazing! Oh, technology, how I love thee! No more measuring tapes and pencil marks on the wall. This example is just one of many we took that day. It was fun spending the afternoon ‘decorating’ her beautiful home.

Anyhow, here are some of my favorites from her session. Seriously, how cute is this family?!

If you are in the mood to view all of the photos we did in 3 minutes and 44 seconds, watch the video I made for them here. The song is ‘Beautiful World (Featuring Chris Hoyer)’ by Gordon Pogoda.

Thanks again to Jackie! The sneak peek photos of her family that I posted on Facebook have hit a record number of ‘Likes’ and comments for ANY of my photos to date. I guess I’m not alone in thinking that they are just really, really kind and beautiful people.

By the way, if you want to be kept up-to-date on all the madness that is my photography business, click on that Facebook link and give me the Like-a-roo. Thanks! -kw

Here is the information for the upcoming class in Willoughby Hills, Ohio. The class will be taught by the amazing Katie Leverenz of Corpus Christi, Texas. She has been with doTERRA for over a year and has a wealth of information to share. You won’t want to miss this insightful class on March 10th, 2013!

Click on the flyer to see a larger image.

Thanks to Katie for agreeing to travel all the way to Ohio from Utah to spread her knowledge of these incredible essential oils. Hope you can join us!

A couple of years ago, I shot a bunch of my friends in an attempt at, for lack of a better term, ‘Glamour’ photography. Since then, I’ve studied and practiced and was finally ready to make another attempt at glamour photography. Well, I asked my friend Jackie to model for me, and she was thrilled with the idea. With no budget and fewer assistants, I asked my sister to help me with this shoot. She graciously accepted so we got to work. Sonya fixed Jackie’s hair to look just the way I wanted it, and Jackie’s teenage daughter applied make-up at my direction. We shot this in the spare room at my parent’s small condo. No fancy studio. No make-up artist. Just a bunch of gals making it work and having a good time. Here are my favorite photos from that shoot.

I can’t decide if she is more Heather Locklear or Shaina Twain. Perhaps a bit of both?

My little 3-year-old watched in wonder at ‘pretty Jackie’ and even joined in the fun when we caught her wearing Jackie’s lacy red bra on her head. Then about a week later, my daughter grabbed my phone and wanted to take pics of me. She told me where to put my hands and which way to look. Kids learn so quickly, no? So I know who my next assistant is going to be…

How great would it be to see your Mom in glamourous photos like these? Or how great would it be for your kids to see YOU as a beautiful, attractive women? Seriously, it would have blown my mind to see my Mom looking like a real, sexy woman when I was younger. If you want to give your Mother a session like this for Mother’s Day or if you are ready to see yourself all glammed up and ready for the spotlight, send me an email at kw@KristenWerden.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Big thanks to Jackie, Arianna, and Sonya for helping me put together this updated glamour portfolio! It was really great seeing you again, Jackie!

Interested in a Glamour or Boudoir session? Check out my session fees and get ready to shine!

Want to stay up-to-date with current news and latest photoshoots at Kristen Werden, Photographer? Excellent! Head on over to Facebook and give me the ‘ol thumbs up. -kw

Poor Taylor froze her little tushy off during this session. She wanted a winter theme and braved the freezing temperatures on the last day of 2012 to get it. I was perfectly comfortable out there in the cold what with my thermal underwear, down jacket, snow boots, hat and gloves. I bet she needed a hot bath and a stiff drink to recover from that ice-cold day… Anyhow, to do these senior pics, we met up at the beautiful and rustic Harper Farm in Mantua. These photos are my favorites from the first of her two sessions, the second one to take place in the springtime. Stay tuned for that one!

As pretty as Taylor is, you would think she spends a lot of time in front of the camera. Well, she actually prefers the back of the camera. That’s right. She is an avid antique camera collector and amatuer photographer! Check out her work on Instagram at tay_wer.

Taylor LOVES cats. So when these two cats came strolling out of the barn, Taylor was all smiles, as you can see…

She’s as big-hearted as she is beautiful and I’m looking forward to seeing her do well for herself and many others in the future.

Special thanks to the Harper Family for letting us shoot on their amazing property. Harpers, you rock!

Looking forward to the springtime session with you, Taylor! -kw

Here is the sweet, adorable, bright-eyed Mica. Sure seems too alert to be only a mere 9 days old, no?

She is the first newborn I’ve photographed that spent more time awake than asleep. It’s all good, though. With those beautiful eyes, who’s complaining. Who?!

Check out these little booties. I want a pair!

Congrats to Randi and Doug on your new little baby girl and thanks for letting me photograph her. She sure is a sweet little thing. -kw

At the last minute, I was asked to shoot a surprise 60th Disco-themed birthday party. Yeah, they had me at Disco.  I was really hoping that it was going to be as fun as it sounded. Let me tell you, these guests DID NOT disappoint! There were so many cool and fun 70′s outfits at this party, I was surprised that people still had these types of clothes. One girl was wearing a floor-length, long-sleeved flowery bridesmaid dress. Sure, it looked great at this party. But I thought to myself, “Who holds onto this stuff?!” Well, someone with more closet space than me, that’s for sure. Not only that, there were funny references to the 70′s such as cocaine-laced nostrils, massive chest hair, and a fake ball-fro you could get lost in. Even the DJs dressed up for the occasion. It was great fun! Anyhow, here are a few of my favorites from the party.

Happy Birthday Jim! -kw

Thinking about upgrading to the new iPhone 5? Well, before you sell that old iPhone or give it to your child to play with, listen up.

A few months back, the minutes expired on my pay-as-you-go (PAYG) phone. And while I love the ‘ol PAYG phones, I kind of got tired of carrying around two phones. (Totally petty, I know.) It wasn’t actually two phones per se, it was one cellphone and one old iPhone, which without a phone plan, was just a newer iPod Touch. You see, I have a hand-me-down iPhone 4. Frankly, I don’t actually NEED a smartphone, I just need a working cellphone, which is why this conversion works for me. The WiFi and other features of the Apple products are just a bonus. And it’s grown on me. Anyhow, since the minutes were expiring on my cheap PAYG phone, I asked my Tech-savy husband if I could just convert my iPhone 4, i.e. ‘fancy iPod Touch’, into a bona-fide PAYG phone. His stern answer: NO. Not one to back down so easily, I did what I do best. I researched online. Within five minutes, I found an old blog post explaining how to do such a thing. But that blog post was for converting the iPhone 3 into a PAYG phone. The size of the SIM cards have changed from the 3 to the 4 and 4s, so I had to dig deeper.

In a nutshell, I needed to find a PAYG plan from a company that sold a phone with a removable SIM card. The phone doesn’t matter whatsoever since I’m not planning to use it anyway. I just needed the SIM card and a PAYG plan. Many of the smaller PAYG phone companies that have helluva good minute and text plans don’t have SIM cards in their phones. What they have, I don’t know. It’s really a pity, though. Last year, I had a PAYG phone from Platinum Tel that cost me all of $85 for an entire year of calls and messaging. Talk about a steal! However, I was willing to pay a bit more just so that I can use my iPhone. Plus, that old phone had a tendency to drop calls which kinda sucks.

Anyhow, it was narrowed down to two, almost three phone companies: AT&T, Verizon, and almost, but not yet Virgin Mobile. Some of these companies offer PAYG smartphones now, but you have to pay for the smartphone. If you already have one, you can’t get on one of these plans (nor would you want to because they are priced higher to include the cost of the phone). No company that I know of has a PAYG plan in place for old, used iPhones. Nevertheless, using this method got me exactly that: A PAYG iPhone. It should be noted that the ‘smartphone’ part of this phone is only available when connected to a wireless network. The phone and messaging work anywhere and everywhere. But if I want to hop online or check the weather, I need to be near and connected to a wireless network. Do I wish it was a working smartphone 24/7? Absolutely. But as a full-time stay at home Mom and a part-time photographer, there is no way I can justify paying hundreds of dollars a year for a cellphone. The hub’s company pays for his phone, so we don’t need a family plan. I do realize that family plans are BIG money-savers, so if you have a few people in your family that need/want smartphones, that is probably the way to go. Except, of course, that you have to BUY a new smartphone.

So, deciding that AT&T had the best plan for me, I set off to buy a GoPhone. I went to the local AT&T store and somewhat told the surly girl working there my intentions. She quickly told me that no, it wouldn’t work for the simple reason that the SIM cards are different sizes. Besides, these companies would make a whole lot more money on smartphones if converting the old iPhones DID NOT work. After walking out of that store empty handed, I headed over to the local Walmart. At last, I found a like-minded dude working in the electronics department. This guy seemed to know his stuff and was surprised and impressed by my idea. Right away, he pointed out the differently sized SIM cards, but then followed it up with, “But you could buy a SIM card cutter and cut it into a Micro SIM.” This blew my mind. Just. Bang. I said, amazed, “You mean you just cut the card? And it doesn’t damage it?” At this point I was getting excited. I thought that finally, my plan just might come to fruition and (bonus!) I could rub it in my husband’s face! (Say Uncle!) Well, I bought the cheapest AT&T GoPhone at Walmart but I didn’t want to buy a SIM card cutter just to cut one measly SIM card. So yet again, I ran home and researched online how to cut the SIM card myself. With scissors. MacGyver-style. This is what I found. An adorable Australian college student with a template and instructions. Man, I LOVE the internet!

Here is the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUpkX4P6FWA

Following his instructions, I cut that new SIM card (also called a Mini SIM) to Micro SIM size and popped it in my old iPhone 4. Poof! After activating the phone, it was a working, functioning PAYG non-smartphone iPhone 4. Now, it’s worth noting that I’m not a big phone-talker. In fact, I hate it. I don’t have that filter found in normal people wherein they stop talking before making an ass of themselves. So naturally, I prefer the thoughtful process of email and texting. Ah, texting. The plan that I have now, after experimenting with a few plans that proved to be not generous enough in the minutes/texts per $ area, is the $9.99/month for up to 1000 texts. And phone calls are 10 cents per minute. I rarely make/take calls on my phone, so it’s a deal for me. They have plans that have unlimited texts/calls for around $50/month, which is way more than I want/need.

While I realize that this plan is not for everybody, I do think it is ideal for me. I also think this plan is ideal for tweens or teens that want the latest gadgets, but no money to afford them. Plus, you can buy an AT&T gift card that can be used toward the minutes/text of a plan. So you don’t need a credit card to start a plan. Perhaps baby-boomers that want a phone but don’t necessarily need a smartphone could benefit from this too.

If you have any additional questions about how I did this or if you know how I can cheaply convert this phone to a bona-fide smartphone, I’d love for you to leave me a comment. Thanks! -KW

UPDATE 2/8/13: Platinum Tel now offers ‘BYOP’ or Bring Your Own Phone plans. You can buy SIM cards from them to use their plans with whatever phone you already have. Yep. I’m heading over there as soon as I run out of money on my current AT&T plan. Horray for PTel!!!

UPDATE 2/25/13: PTel’s SIM cards are the big ‘ol mama-jamas. So I used the video mentioned above to cut it. I decided to go with the Real Pay-As-You-Go plan and then bought a hotspot from Virgin Mobile. Figured that way I can use the WiFi for my phone, the kid’s Kindle Fires, and a future iPad that I’m toying with the idea of buying. That hotspot was on sale for $83 and change, then costs $30 per month (no contract) for 4G of data, which is more than enough for our needs. I could easily bump it up to $40/mo. for 5G and so on, but 4G should be plenty for now. Next task: Come up with a creative name for my hotspot… Oh, it is ON!

Remember my friends, Peas and Carrots? Welp. They finally did it. It’s done. They went ahead and got married.

I second-shot this wedding under the wonderfully sweet and friendly Renee with Studio Elle Photography. She generously let me do my thing and we worked together swimmingly. (Go ahead and check out her work. Seriously. She’s as sweet as she is talented.)

I really enjoy shooting documentary-style, and second-shooting weddings is the PERFECT opportunity to do just that. You see, Renee (or any other main photographer) gets all the must-have photos while I fetch the Gatorade and the groom’s Dad whom is shmoozing with the guests somewhere outside. (Yeah, I’m talking about you, Frank.) Yet when all are present and the main photographer is ready to go, she can do her thing comfortably and then I can creep along the sidelines and grab candid photos of things that happen during the day. Things that go unnoticed by most people. But for the stunner in the white dress and the dude by her side, they are the shots that trigger wonderful memories of that beautiful day. The big, huge day when rings and last names are shared.

Here are some of my favorites of that day…

Shoutout to Justine Collier with The Hair Specialists in Hudson. She and her crew did an amazing job with the bridal party’s hair and make-up!

Biggest heartfelt congratulations to the lovely Jaime and the wonderful Matt as they begin sharing bills and peeing with the door open. Uh, I mean marriage. Begin an everlasting and loving marriage.

-KW

About 6 years ago, while getting my teeth cleaned, I sat there and listened to the dental hygienist give a hilarious rendition of something that happened to her during a trip to Ireland. She was charming, funny, big-hearted, and it occurred to me… very similar to a former coworker of mine named Matt. In the months and years that followed, I made a mental note to attempt to introduce these two if the opportunity ever presented itself. You see, Jaime never seemed to be ‘in between’ boyfriends whenever I visited the dentist’s office. And besides, Matt wasn’t always ‘living in the area’. So after 4 years of waiting for the timing to line up, while secretly hoping they each WOULDN’T marry somebody else, they were finally single and ready for a blind date. My email to both of them was this:

Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 11:13 AM

Subject: peas and carrots

Matt and Jaime,

Ok… Things you guys have in common:

Love golf (Why, I cannot imagine)

No kids

Never been married

Both easy on the eyes

Early 30′s

Both adore your nieces/nephews

Both funny

Both participated in marathons/triathlons

Living or have lived in the sticks

Both passionate about non-profits and/or volunteering

Both bad at checking your email, dammit

I’m sure there are more. But that’s my attempt at getting you two together finally. Now, discuss…

So there it is. The initial introduction. And as they say in the movies, the rest is history. The wedding is only days away and I am proud to have been asked to second-shoot their wedding. So excited!

Back to business… This is my first attempt at Engagement Photos. Although Matt and Jaime both claim to be uncomfortable and awkward in front of the camera, you would never suspect so with these pics!

To Matt & Jaime, enjoy the last few days of wedding planning and thanks again for including me in the celebration! I can’t wait! -kw

Check out these pics I did of wicked-smart, Wickliffe track star Steven!

Best of luck to Steven at Ohio University!