Life Is All Around

Sneek Peek for Tiffany

What a heavenly  little girl! I have just started proofing these, so here is a little preview for you, Tiff!

The Secret Garden

Does your day ever start out happily normal, and somewhere along the way you stumble across a delightful suprise that changes the whole course of your day?

Easter Sunday was a day like that for me. We had a fun morning of egg hunting, candy for breakfast, that sort of thing. We went to my mom's house for Easter dinner, and my girls were looking so cute in their Easter finest that I decided to bring along my camera. Not just the camera, but the whole load of gear. i was ready to take some pictures, if you know what I mean. My girls are always my hardest subjects...imagine the stress that can come with getting your kids pictures taken, but then imagine on top of that that you have to actually take the pictures. I can't really just sit back and relax, because I have such specific ideas in my head about what I want, so I spend most of the time taking deep breaths and trying not to yell things like "don't make that weird face!" and "look at me! where are your eyes?". My mom lives in a neighborhood that doesn't have your typical Arizona stucco homes, it is full of big wooden garage doors, courtyards full of twisting ivy, and cobblestone driveways. We went into her front yard and since we were all parked in my mom's driveway, I started taking pictures in her neighbors front yard. After a little while her neighbor came out to say hello. She asked if we wanted to go into her backyard where there were more flowers. I almost said no thank you. I almost did. I didn't want to intrude on Easter, and I was thinking, this is Arizona, how many flowers can there be? But I found myself saying "Sure, we'd love to."

I walked into her backyard, and my jaw just dropped. I had stepped from the hot Arizona sun into a real life Secret Garden. Never in my life have I seen such a beautiful little paradise, really a photographers dream. There were flowers of every color, patches of clover, different child size tables and chairs...it took me a minute to take it all in, but once I did, I got down to business. Chayse was being an absolute dream, and usually she is my most difficult subject. Well, i take that back, Brooklyn is my most difficult, but that's to be expected and she holds that title without any fear of replacement.  The setting was just absolutely picture perfect, and I had so much fun with my kids. They are so beautiful.

So, the point of the story is, if a sweet lady named Mary Sandra ever wanders into your life and offers to take you into her garden....do go.

(click on any photo to see it bigger.)

holding on to spring

It's funny how you notice changes in other families more than in your own. I have known Catie for a while now, ever since our husbands were slaving away in grad school. We had two kids each then, and out babies were just babies. Now, we each have a new addition, and suddenly our big kids are missing teeth and reading books, and we now have little ladies instead of baby girls toddling around the playpool in spongy shoes and palm tree pony tails. I never seem to notice as my own kids grow...it happens in that comfortable way that slowly creeps up on you when you  see someone every day.  They become taller, they speak more clearly, they come up with new expressions and grown up thoughts. When I was editing these pictures, I kept thinking about how grown up Catie's kids look, and how they were just babies. It's really true, isn't it? They grow up so fast.

I was just remembering a time when we lived in California, our little families just starting out, with our husbands all over the state  learning all about anesthesia. I was talking to Catie telling her how frustrated I was, how I wished that I could do something. I had that heavy feeling of more years of school ahead...more long nights alone while Justin worked a 24 hour shift at the hospital, more dinners with only me and the girls at the table because he was stuck in traffic on the 10 or at the library studying. I was saying how I wish that we could hurry up and be done with this school stuff so we could start living and I could do something. I always remember what she told me, and I have thought about out conversation many times over the past few years. She said her mom had told her that our lives have seasons. We would always be mothers, no matter how old our children grew, but they would only be little for such a short time. This was our season. We would have plenty of time in life to travel, to go back to school, to work if that's what we wanted. But right now, our kids were just babies, and they soon would not be...they would be leaving us to go to school all day, they would be losing teeth and having sleep overs and just plain growing up. Life is so short, and it goes by so fast, and though we may seem stuck in the moment, wishing we could move on to the next phase of our life, we should just stop, take a deep breath, and realize that this time in our life is fleeting, and it's precious.

I've decided to do just that. I'm going to close my eyes and let the golden afternoon sunlight hit my face. i'm going to take a deep breath and smell the heavenly smell of orange blossoms. I'm going to hold onto spring, this spring, for as long as I can. Becasue I can feel this season in my life passing me by. It's lovely, and it's here, and before I know it, my children will have grown again, and the babies I once held will be outof my arms and out into the world. This is my season, and I'm going to keep it close to my heart, and try to remember everything.

I'm really honored to do what I do. It's not just taking someone's picture to me...it's capturing that moment in time...so that one day, we will remember them just as they were.

Preview for Catie

For many years to come,

if I am ever feeling down

i will look at this photo, and surely,

most surely,

I will SMILE.

More to come! :)

Delight

I am so thrilled. I am just SO thrilled!

I am combining my love for photography, art, and decorating to launch the premiere of Delight, my custom art line. These exclusive pieces are designed by me from start to finsh to create something truly unique. No two will ever be the same.  For the text, use your favorite quote, song, or write a personal love letter to you child...the sky is the limit! All colors and fonts are hand picked  for that special touch. Mounted as a Gallery Piece, they are texured and sprayed for preservation. They come to your home as a 20x20, ready to hang, without the need for a frame. These are a must for anyone looking to present a beautiful and personal piece of custom art in their home. Please see my website for pricing information.

Just a few examples, more to come soon!

My first wedding was such a thrill! I have discovered that I l-o-v-e wedding photography! I couldn't have wished for a sweeter, more in love couple to work with on my first wedding day shoot, they were just a dream. I'm exited to share some of my favorite's with you!

On a business note, I have decided to release high resolution CD's. It's a digital world we live in, and after countless requests from clients who want to archive their session, I have decided to make them available. You can see my website for pricing information.

So, here we go...hope you don't mind just a few :)

The Temple Collection

As listed on my website here, Mesa Arizona Temple prints are now available for purchase! The first two in The Temple Collection are as follows:

Pricing is as follows:

Prints:

16x24 $175

24x36 $275

Gallery Pieces:

16x24 $275

24x36 $350

Prints are mounted on artboard and sprayed with a preservation coating. You may choose Lustre or Metallic finsh.

Gallery Pieces are available in Lustre or Metallic finsh, sprayed, come ready to hang and do not require a frame.

Please contact me for shipping prices if you live outside the Gilbert AZ area.

...there's no place like home

It's good to be back! I had such a fun time in Chicago, what an experience!

Audrey is fantastic...what a cool person! She is a delight just to be around, and her loft is incredible. It was a great experience.  I took lots of pictures on my trip, but here are two that I took on Friday when we walked around a fun neighborhood called Armitage, where we ate mini everything at Minnie's, and drank mud-thick hot chocolate at a purple shop that I can't remember the name of.

The flight home was one I will never forget! About halfway into the trip, we flew sratight into a storm that had us jerking and dropping and curving and basically I was holding onto Maggie for dear life. i've never been that close to actually thinking I was really going to die, and it didn't help when Maggie would say things like "I think were going down!" :) I'm a much more nervous flyer than she, and even she was a little teary. Let's just say I have never been so afraid in my life, but thankfully we made it home safely with only minorly permanent emotional scars. It will be a long time before I board another plane!

Now that I am back home I am getting back to Spring Break and Business. Lots to do! If you are a client, you can refer to my website at any time for updates on pricing and policies. One thing to note is that only purchased prints will be archived  for one year. Any unpurchased images will be deleted 60 days from the day you recieve your slideshow.

Another business note- Kristyn McBride Photography is going Green. I will now be emailing the welcome packet instead of mailing it, which you can choose to print out or keep as a digital refrence. We will save a tree or two together! :) Wedding contracts will still be mailed out.

One last thing that made my day- I was reading Entertainment Weekly today, and guess what I saw?! Sneak peek pictures from two movies being made of my two favorite series of books- Twilight and Confessions of a Shopaholic! I love these books and as we speak they are being made into movies! I am hoping that they will be anywhere close to as good as the books.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

I'm off to see the Woulard (and the Wizard)...

Can you FEEL the exitement coming off of the page? I am SO exited! Tomorrow I leave for a 3 day girls weekend with my friends Maggie and Shannon! We are heading to Chicago to see the one and only Audrey Woulard! She is a fabulous photographer whose work you have probably seen in Pottery Barn Kids. It's going to be a great learning experience as she opens up her business to us and teaches us a few new tricks!

While we are there we are also going to Wicked! This will be my 3rd time seeing it...I know there are other musicals out there, but Wicked is my favorite, and not to be missed if I am in the same city. I get goosbumps just thinking about it!

I am so looking forward to a few realxing days exploring Chicago and taking lots of photos with my friends. What more could a girl ask for?

Brooklyn has been pretty sick this week, keeping us up at night and generally spreading misery all around her. I have a kink in my neck and a permanent indent on my hip from carrying her around 24/7, so this trip could not have come at a better time. As long as Maggie and Shannon aren't sleepwaling snorers, I am in for 3 nights of bliss. Brookie is feeling better today, thanks goodness, so I thought I would leave you with a few pictures of our 19 pound 1 1/2 year old. As we always say- "You gotta love her!"

I will be back in business on Monday, so all calls and emails will be answered starting 3/17. Talk to you soon!

A Preview for Alyssa

...who may just be on her honeymoon right now!

My first Wedding was yesterday, and what a thrill it was! More to come soon!