As I, the great and mighty (alright, just great) Kristen can't keep up with posting to two blogs...all future blog entries will be HERE.  That's essentialimagery.com/blog.  Update your browser favorites and subscriptions and the like, people!

Those of us that have straight, straight, utterly straight hair know the glory that is...curly hair.  Lucky.

I've been having fun playing with these commercial shots for Gilding the Lily, a brand-new clothing line designed for...greyhounds!  A few cross-processed samples are shown below. 

Pictured above -- the Diva hat (starting at $25), the Uptown Hound (formalware starting at $99), and the raincoat (starting at $49).  Leave comments for the lovely creators of these pieces, Barbara and Susan!

On a photography note -- LIGHTROOM!  I finally installed that bad boy, and WOW!  It cures my need for instant gratification, as it's even faster than Photoshop at making my images look poy-fect.   

Isn't he the cutest?

These two were in the studio a few weeks ago -- and, while they charmed the bejoobies out of me, I haven't gotten around to blogging them until now.  Finnegan is *hysterical.*  He makes all sorts of silly expressions -- and no, I didn't ask him to pose like a GQ model.  That comes naturally.

The THIRD person to e-mail me at GATEWAYK@gmail.com gets a FREE Suburban Urban session at the studio! 

What the heck is a Suburban Urban session?

It's a 30-minute outdoor portrait session aimed at creating fresh, funky, urban looks without braving Philly traffic.  Bring lots of layers -- hoodies, scarves, hats, sweaters, boots, etc... -- and we'll switch up your kiddo's look constantly while shooting away!  It's designed as an Essential Imagery sampler, and is valued at $49. 

You've all seen Mr. Austin before, but this time he's been urban-ified.  Isn't he the most darling thing to ever wear a happy little striped hood?  I recommend bringing something hooded/funky/different for your kiddo's baby sessions...by 9 months, your kid has got personality, so let 'em show it!

Reese is an overachiever.  She's crawling and standing with help and generally advanced in motor-skills for her age, all while being unbelievably cute.  I've been playing with my own form of processing for portraits, so I hope you enjoy it!

Little Crinkle-bug!  I love the way Reese smiles! 

Someone asked me this week what my favorite thing about my job is, and I said, "I STILL fall in love with every kid I meet.  STILL."  Which means I'm exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I should be doing. Thanks for making that possible. 

Meet Hatcher.  He wasn't sure he liked me (not even a little), then he took a snack break and loved the camera right up.  Isn't he just friggin gorgeous?

And this totally cracks me up...little chub-uh-lub!

I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the studio lately...we've put some major effort into upcycling household items to make them useful again, and also changed out lots of displays and product offerings!  (Yes, my desk is a door.  A really, really neat door from an old house.  And I heart it.) 

Brooke is a fabulous soul, and we got along smashingly.  She's working on marketing and promotional materials for her songs...wouldn't this make a great CD cover?