CRWStudio {st. louis based wedding and portrait photographer}

do you remember back to the beginning of the year when we held our annual look back contest?? seems like for-ever ago, doesn’t it? anyhoo, my good friends and beloved clients andrea and dave won our little contest and we immediately knew what we had to do for it. why was the decision so easy, you ask? well, their son, douglas, is o-to-the-b, obsessed with trains. so yeah, it became a no brainer for us.

in the midst of all the summer craziness we finally were able to get together and we headed out the the transpo museum and the whittle train store for our session…and i gotta say, i am *loving* what we were able to get.  i’ve done a few sessions with douglas now we always have a good time, even despite heat index temps in the 100′s. so, without further ado,  below is a little sneak for ya, i hope you enjoy! be sure to stay tuned for more!

happy living,

ro

so, what originally seemed so incredibly far off, is quickly sneaking up on us…baby “a” is due date is just 2 1/2 months away!  and, of course, it’s just suddenly dawned on me that i have a million and one project and event ideas (for both the studio and our home) to complete in those 2 1/2 months. eek!

so, without further ado, here are the last of the studio events before our little family of 3 becomes 4!

the first event is our break the rules school picture day on august 28th ! it’s an evening of super quick, super fun regular mini and mini mini sessions at new town. we have a 15-minute session for the older kiddos (grade school and up, excluding seniors) and a 30-minute session for the younger kiddos or if you want pictures of multiple kids or your whole family. all the details are in the flyer below. just call or email if you’re interested!

our second big event is the official opening of our no cheese photography workshop on september 19th! this workshop is great for anyone who would like to learn how to use their camera a little better. mama’s with kiddos and families, grandmas who are lost when it comes to their cameras and anyone who is who is the official shutterbug at parties. here’s a little more info:

our no cheese workshop focuses on teaching parents how to take better pictures of their kids, but the techniques and info can be applied to subjects of any age! it focuses on concepts you can easily put into practice, just by understanding lighting, composition, perspective and age appropriate techniques.  you will walk away with a 70 page presentation manual that includes cheat sheets and quick tips for common situations which will help you improve your photos immediately… just by taking the time to assess light, change up their angle, and remember a few quick tips.

topics include:
* training your eye to find the light,
* composition and perspective,
* lens and focal length selection,
* tips for great images at any age
* output: downloading, storage and printing
* high level review of exposure
* auto and semi-manual settings

if you can’t make it next month, you could always host your own workshop (we can still have it in my house though)! all you need are 5 of your friends and family members and voila, we’ll have ourselves a workshop! and the best part? as the hostess, your workshop fee is waived! below you’ll find a little more info, including cost and what’s included. again, just call or email if you’re interested!

and last, but definitely not least, is our big last hoorah wall art sale! various sized gallery wraps and metal prints will be on sale throughout the month and the sale includes both portrait and fine art images. so, whether you’ve had a session with us and would love a great family canvas for your wall or your decorating your home and need some cool flower or farmer’s market images, this sale is for you. please see our promo card below for more details!

i’m in the process of uploading some flower and farmer’s market fine art images to a gallery today! check back tonight or tomorrow for the link!

happy living,

ro

so, you’re tired of the monotony and in/out customer service of big box studios but you’re still not sure if the investment of having a session done by a local, lifestyle photographer is worth it. boy, do i have a solution for you! CRWstudio’s mini sessions! they’re the perfect way to test drive our services without the major commitment of a full session. you may be wondering if half an hour is enough time to really capture a person or a family’s personality. it certainly is! of course, if you were to do a full session, we’d have even more time and location options to capture images that make you your family shine. but half an hour is still enough time to give you a handful of such images. below are just a few images i’ve captured during  mini’s,  you can also follow this link to see a few more. or better yet, schedule a consultation and i can show you even more!

oh yeah, i almost forgot…the awesome hostess swag. if you interested in earning free prints and products from us, all you have to do is host a day of mini sessions. what does that entail? you sending me the names and email addresses of those you think would like some awesome family pictures. yep, that’s it! you give me info and i’ll handle the rest…and you get cool free swag!

if hosting is your thing, i host them myself several times a year and will be posting on here when they are. just stay tuned!

in the meantime, go here to find out the really cool stay cool photo product we now offer!

happy living,

ro

i love me some fresh produce almost as much as i love me some chocolate…and that’s saying a lot. red ripe, juicy watermelon…sweet, sweet corn…gorgeously imperfect heirloom tomatoes. i’m drooling just writing this.

my hubby does a wonderful every year with our very productive backyard gardens (yep, we have three of them! go hubby!) but there are times when we have to supplement our gardens throughout the spring, summer and fall and when we have to do that, the first place i head is thies farms here in m-heights.

not only do they have great produce, but they also have a whole crew of super nice, smiling faces. and they have some really cool events throughout the year as well…a strawberry festival in may, a watermelon festival in september and the super awesome pumpkinland all fall. we’ve taken h to pumpkinland the last couple of years and he adores it!

well, you may have guessed by now, but this week’s friday faves freebie is a $10 gift certificate to thies farms!  just leave a comment telling us what your favorite fruit or veggie is and why and the gift certificate could be yours! their certificates are good at both their m-heights and hanley locations and you will love what you find there!

good luck and happy living!

ro

man, i’ve been a bit of a slacker recently, eh? i’m so sorry. i promise to make it up to you! first with some really cool peaks and very soon with another friday faves giveaway!

here’s a peak from baby cora’s session. isn’t she just such a sweet doll??? her mom went with one of our baby clubs so i get to take many, many more pictures of cora over the  next year. i can’t wait!

from babies to seniors. here are some sneaks of the beautiful molly, one of our 2011 senior models. we did her big year session at the glen echo country club braving crazy heat and the impending arrival of a hundred golfers and i think we did a fabulous job! what do you think? would you believe me if i told you the first image was taken in a bathroom??? how fab is that room? oh, and the fella in the second image? that would be the insanely nice and handsome andy, molly’s boyfriend. did you know that seniors can have friends participate in their sessions? pretty fab, eh?

this is molly braving the heat…you wouldn’t even know that it was well over 90 degrees when we took these, would you?  she knows how to rock a session like no one else!

well, that’s it for the sneaks. stay tuned tomorrow for a friday fave freebie!

love,

ro

today’s post is super short and sweet and it involves a freebie for one lucky reader! below are two things that made me smile and brightened up my day…

the first is a little gift h “made” for me at school. i got it this morning and my heart melted. the second is my favorite drink in the whole wide world…a pudding tea with boba! with the various textures, it can be a little intimidating but, you have to trust me, it’s sooo yummy! so, the giveaway part of the post…well, as much as you may want my mother’s day flowers, i’m afraid i’m keeping those. but i am giving away a free gift certificate to st. louis bubble tea! and don’t fret, if you’re not quite up for trying a pudding tea with boba, you can get different flavored teas without the extras. and they also have slush-like drinks for when it gets really hot. all  you have to do is leave a comment telling me  if you’d be adventuresome enough to try a drink with boba and/or pudding.

happy living,

rochelle