Fashion and Senior Portraits San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Snohomish - Kristi Sanger

Scottie and Megan, Seattle waterfront wedding - seattle wedding photographers

2011-10-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

Can I just start by saying this was hands down the most fun I have had photographing a wedding EVER. This was one of those weddings that wedding photographers drool over. From the amazingly fun bride and groom (Scottie & Megan), to the most awesome group of friends they could have asked for. And let's not forget their incredible families!

When I first heard the wedding date (October 8th, 2011) I was bit nervous about our Northwest weather here in Seattle, but they could not have asked for a better forecast. The sky was stunning and I was actually a little too warm (due to overdressing, shocking I know). The sun was beautiful, the sky was blue and the clouds were truly a work of art. Not to mention the uniquely beautiful location at the Fisherman's Terminal on the Seattle, WA waterfront. We even got to sneak out to the Lighthouse for some of the couple and family portraits.

Megan and Scottie were a riot. I don't think I have ever laughed so much during a wedding. They were playful and fun and it was very obvious they are head-over-heals for each other. They also had a great group of friends and family who helped pull the day off. I have to give a shout out to Dane, Megan and Scottie's good friend. I'm telling you this guy was like the superman of wedding coordinators. He not only took care of all of the details of the day, keeping us on schedule but he also served as the florist, interior decorator and cake cutter. If there was an Oscar for wedding coordinators he would get it. Although I have to acknowledge all of the other people who helped. From the cake to the decor to the buffet and last but not least the vacuuming (thanks to the father of the bride) as well as a special thank you to Scottie's dad who officiated the wedding.

Well I think you have heard enough from me about their day so without further adieu, bring on the pictures! Enjoy :0)

Senior portrait and fashion photographers in San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and Snohomish.If you like what you see here on the BLOG, our WEBSITE, SENIOR PORTRAITS site or on FACEBOOK please give us a call. We would love to work with you!

Seattle Photographer's Adventure to the East Cost {Kirkland, Boston, San Diego photographers}

2011-09-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest things about photography is the network of amazing professionals you get to work with, learn from and if you're lucky become great friends with. I have been very fortunate in my career to have formed several close friendships with some of the most talented and nicest people you will ever meet. One of these is Dannielle Gleim, Owner and Photographer of Vella Photography located in New Hampshire.

This {and the next few} blog posts are a sampling of our whirlwind 11 sessions in 5 days of glorious fun and fabulous (real) clients. Amidst equipment failures, rain, thunder & lightning storms, rescheduling and little to no cell & internet coverage we still managed to pull out some of the most amazing photographs we have ever created... Because that's just what professionals do :0) I hope you enjoy looking at these images as much as we enjoyed working and creating them together.

And to kick things off we'll start with two images the talented Dannielle Gleim captured of me.

Blessings,
Kristi-Kristi Sanger Photography

Senior portrait and fashion photographers in San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and Snohomish. If you like what you see here on the BLOG, our WEBSITE, SENIOR PORTRAITS site or on FACEBOOK please give us a call. We would love to work with you!

Your Right, My Right, Copyright? {Senior photos San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Snohomish}

2011-06-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone has heard of it. We’ve all seen the annoying blue screen you can’t fast-forward when you rent a movie. Believe it our not at one time or another you have even agreed to abide by it. Ever read the fine print on any online discount photo printing site, warehouse, supermarket, big box or drug store counter when you get an image printed?

But what is a copyright?
In its simplest form of explanation “Copyright describes the rights given to creators for their literary and artistic works”. See the Professional Photographers of America’s “Understanding Photographic Copyright” for the full article. The article is a quick, easy reference with bullet points that include some facts that you may be unaware of. But for now we’ll try and answer why it’s so important to photographers and their clients.

They are my portraits after all, aren’t they?
To answer that simply, yes... and no. Haha, bet that cleared things right up. Just kidding, keep reading and hopefully it will make more sense in just a moment.

Yes it’s true, the images are of you (or your family) and you have spent a good deal of money on some carefully chosen products with just the right image. “So why can’t I take my 8x10 I just spent $xxx amount of money on” or “my web only digital file and get a copy made at Wal-Mart or snapfish?” Because unless you purchase either the rights to print or the full copyright of the image(s) the creator (photographer) still hold the copyright to the image and ultimately has the final say on how and where the image can be posted or printed.

Most of the time, the determining factor comes down to money. Yep I said it, money. Look at it this way, you are commissioning an artist to create something original, that no one else can produce to the exact standard or likeness of what you have received in those portraits. Basically you are purchasing an “original” piece of work that can only be sold to you (or your immediate family). As amazing as you are, no one else is going to purchase an image of you to hang on their wall. Therefore it’s a product that the photographer can only make an income off one time.

What if I want to purchase the images and get them printed where I want?
My first piece of advice would be to do your homework. Be honest and realistic about why you want digital files as opposed to actual prints. Also try and determine how many images you will really be printing and for what purpose? Do you just want proofs or do you want fully edited, jump off the page of your favorite magazine images? Keep in mind that “fully edited” images vary in quality due to print sizes and mediums (photographic paper, canvas, books etc.). Do you just want 4x6’s for scrapbooking or do you want to print a 30x45 canvas gallery wrap? Most people are somewhere in-between.

Second, find a short list of photographers whose work you love, not just like but love. Then see if they are willing to sell the image files by looking at their website or giving them a call. We may say “I’m sorry but we do not offer that at this time” but we won’t bite, promise.

And last how much are you willing to spend? Photography is usually a for profit business. So don’t expect to pay any less because you are not getting an actual print. The cost of the piece of paper an image comes on has very little to do with the final price. Factors like the photographer’s skills & ability, experience, training, equipment and cost of running a business (insurance, utilities etc.) all determine the price. If the photographer does decide to make the digital files available for purchase there is no add-on sale or residual income from that session. So with a realistic idea of what you will pay for a great professional photographer you may find that purchasing the digital files are not really what you are looking for.

Let's get back to that "Copyright" thing.
I cringe when I see a statement on photographer's website or blog that says "includes copyright". Really? Because once you sell your copyright you don't have any other privileges concerning the image(s). The client or new copyright owner now determines how and what can be done with that image. This means you as the photographer now need to get written permission to use the image on your blog, website, social media account or display in your studio.

What I think they really mean to do is offer a limited use license. A limited use license allows the copyright owner to give permission to use the image for a specific purpose, such as printing your senior photos at Costco. What it doesn't allow you to do is make a profit off of the image by selling it to a 3rd party without written permission.

Basically what we're getting at here is copyright is a pretty big deal. It protects a photographer's right to make an income and provide for their family and retain creative control of an image they created. I hope we were able to shed a little light on a somewhat touchy subject. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below or feel free to email me. And because I know you are dying to know, yes we are now offering digital file packages for purchase ;0)

Senior portrait and fashion photographers in San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and the Eastside. If you like what you see here on the BLOG, our WEBSITE, SENIOR PORTRAITS site or on FACEBOOK please give us a call. We would love to work with you!

A new generation Part 2 {Photographers Snohomish, Seattle, San Diego}

2011-03-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Coaches contact us at kristi@ksphotography.org it inquire about our newGEN SPORTS photography for youth sports organizations.

A new generation of sports photography

After having recently returned from a week long photography conference in Palm Springs, CA I came back inspired and ready to raise the bar yet again in my own photography. While in California I had the opportunity to see so many amazing photographers from around the country. One of the speakers was the phenomenal commercial and sports photographer Joel Grimes. Joel has been privileged enough to photograph some of the world’s greatest professional athletes. His client list includes basketball star Jordan Hill, Olympic Silver medalist Kerron Clement and professional volleyball player Noel Frohman. Impressive for sure, but I saw no reason I couldn’t offer something similar here in our local communities youth sports programs.

With my new inspiration, a few new lighting tricks and a good handle on what it takes to create a great image, I was off to put everything together. I set out to do a test photo shoot right in my own back yard… literally. So we grabbed one of the local youth athletes for a quick session. I was so excited with what we created I couldn’t even wait to write up this blog post; I just had to show them off! Gotta love Facebook and Twitter :0)

So now what? Well I suppose that’s where you and I as parents come in. Now that I know what can be done with youth sports photography I can’t imagine ever paying for another same old, same old image of my own kids again. I would love the opportunity to offer these high quality and dare I say “fashion forward” images to your family. And although I would be honored to be your youth sports league photographer of choice, at the very least I hope I have helped start a new trend in youth sports photography. My ultimate goal is that what I have started here will raise the bar for every youth sports photographer; and that you and I will benefit from it. I know I now have a new standard of what to expect in the sports photographs I purchase of my own kids and I hope you do too.

A new generation… {Photographers San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish}

2011-03-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

A new generation of players Part 1

And yes that is unfortunately me in the picture. As you can see I am not above public humiliation. Don't worry, the picture will make more sense in a minute.

I believe in every business, but particularly the photography industry, you must be willing to evolve. The current ebb and flow in this new economy seems to be keeping us on our toes even more than before. Never again will we be able to rely on great images alone to get the attention of new clients and keep our doors open. Just as the fashion styles change with the seasons so too it seems just as quickly our portraits must as well. But I think if you are willing to embrace this new way of doing business you will be much happier and more skilled at your craft than ever before.

This new wave of photography trends that keep rolling out start with, and I believe, are driven by the commercial fashion industry. The fashion world seems to have an almost immediate effect on senior portrait photographers and drives what high school seniors and their parents are looking for. The next to follow would be wedding photography and engagement photos. And further down the new trend food chain and where the influx in evolution seems to stop is family portrait photography.

But wait; aren’t we missing a whole segment of in demand photography? One which seems to be the most frequently purchased by young families this day and age? Other then professional athletes who grace the pages of Sports Illustrated and like publications, let’s be honest we have settled when it comes to sports photography.

I can’t honestly say there is a significant difference in the sports images I have from when I was a kid and what is being offered for my own kids now. Considering a typical family purchases sports images of their children anywhere from 1-6+ times a year (depending on the number of children you have and the number of sports/teams they participate on) I am a little surprised we have settled for the same old, same old. For whatever reason we as consumers have stopped expecting the same level of creativity and excellence we do with other types of professional portraiture.

So now what? Check out A New Generation part 2 to find out how I would like to start moving forward again in the realm of youth sports photography.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Adobe CS5. Did you know? {Photographers San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish}

2011-03-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

What I wish I knew a year ago...

Before I start I just want to clarify this is not a PC vs. Mac debate or even an Adobe Photoshop CS5 review. Just simply one photographer talking to other photographers (or aspiring photographers) about what I discovered and wish someone had told me a year ago.

After years of being a PC based photographer, several computers, laptops and hard drive replacements later (all making for one very slow editing system) I decided I would try my luck on “team Mac”. So just over a year ago when yet another desktop PC stopped working I made the switch and purchased a 27’ iMac desktop. At first I had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved that it was super fast but it sure did have a learning curve. I mean the mouse didn’t even have a right-click?!? After some internet searches and a few phone calls to some friends who were Mac users I finally had the hang of the thing, kind of… Only problem was my entire photo editing software library was PC based.

As any savvy business owner I took a good look at my finances and decided reinvesting a couple thousand dollars in software I already owned was not the best choice at that time. Luckily there was an alternative, a program called Parallels. Parallels lets you run windows based software programs through something called a virtual machine. After you install Parallels on your Mac you may then load any windows operating system, and finally you can install your PC based software. Sweet, now I was up and running. I had my new iMac with all my photo editing software loaded on the virtual machine. At that time I was running Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Bridge and various plug-ins and presets for the two.

However a few months in I started having trouble and was running out of memory on the windows side, which was causing major slowdowns in editing and opening image files (photos). Finally two weeks ago, shortly after returning from my photography training in Palm Springs, CA I had trouble even opening Photoshop up at all. Let alone opening any photographs or files to edit. That was the last straw; I was determined to go all Mac no matter how much it cost. At this point I decided my sanity was worth the monetary investment.

I started pricing out all of my software again, writing down the cost of each program and plug-in. After seeing the total I decided this was ridiculous and there must be a way to run my already purchased software on my Mac. I searched every term I could think of and finally came across the terms “cross-platform” and “license transfer”. Let's backpedal for a moment, because I had been asked over the last year by friends and other professional photographers why I hadn't made the full switch over to Mac. I told them all my software (especially Adobe Photoshop CS4) was all PC based and unfortunately I could not afford to reinvest in everything again at that time. Everyone sympathized with me but apparently no one knew it was actually possible to use my current software as long as I was running the latest version! Let me repeat that because it’s apparently either an “inside industry secret” that no one wanted to share or no one actually knew about it!

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I got! After days of research, well actually months if you count all of the times I had tried to find information on it before but didn't know what to search for on the internet, I finally found some random Q and A forum that was asking the same question. According to one post as long as you had already purchased the program it wouldn’t cost you a dime to make the switch from PC to Mac! You just need to call customer service to obtain a new copy, sign a form saying you had destroyed your PC version and they would send the Mac one right out.

At that point I decided to search Adobe's website for some solid evidence. A few hours into that and not getting anywhere I gave up and searched for a phone number to call to ask if that was in fact the case. Finally after 3 rounds of being on hold (*sigh* don't ask) and trying to use their call back feature I got a tech support guy on the line. He confirmed that as long as I was running the latest version of Photoshop I just needed to download the Mac version and my current PC serial number would work. "So all I need to do is purchase the Mac version of the CS5 upgrade and I would be set?" I asked. He said yes. Hum, well call me a skeptic but after putting up with this problem for over a year I was not about to get my hopes up, purchase the upgrade for Mac and then be told I was misinformed. So I called back, waited on hold again for over 40 min. (this time to a sales rep) to make sure this information wasn't too good to be true. The sales guy confirmed and the rest is history as they say. And I didn't even have to sign the paper that was mentioned in the earlier Q & A forum (still not sure where that info came from...)

I guess it really was that easy. In a matter of minutes my couple thousand dollar reinvestment in software ended up only costing me the $199 upgrade price. Turns out all of my editing plug-ins for Photoshop are also cross-platform compatible. So for all of you who want to make the PC to Mac switch but are worried about your Photoshop software your wait is over! Although I wish it hadn't taken me more then a year of to figure all of this out, going all Mac was one of the best decisions for my business I have ever made.

I truly hope this article helps any fellow professional photographers out there looking to make the switch from PC to Mac. I know it would have saved me a years worth of headaches. So from everyone here at Kristi Sanger Photography, we wish you all happy and fast photo editing :0)

{Above are a couple of images I was able to edit in less then half the time it would have taken me on my PC}

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: Photographers San Diego, Photographers Seattle, Photographers Seattle

spaModel Michelle T {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2011-03-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

This beautiful young lady is the second of our featured 2011 spaModels. Michelle came to the Senior Portrait Artist event from John Ratchford, owner and photographer of Ratchford Photographic co. in Nova Scotia (that's in Canada for those of you who didn't know ;0)

Michelle has such an amazing look to her and was such a natural in front of the camera. It would be really difficult to take a bad portrait of this girl. In fact, I couldn't find a single photo of her I didn't want to post! We will actually be featuring more portraits of Michelle when we feature one of the guy models she worked with later on this week. Shhhh, don't tell because we haven't revealed the photos yet :0)

Now we could go on and on about SPA, the spaModels program and the awesome photo shoots and locations in Palm Springs. AND the awesome photographers, amazing portrait studio sets (done by none other then Kia Bondurant herself)... But we though you might want to hear all about it from one of the models themselves, in her own words. Thank you SO much Michelle for writing down your thoughts about your experience in Palm Springs.

"SPA models was hands-down one of the greatest experiences of my life. I loved every second being down in Palm Springs, I made some great friends and met some amazing people! I worked for two years to make it, and when I finally did I could not be any happier. With the help of so many amazing photographers, the Antisdels & the Bondurants, it was a fantastic week! I learned so much, between so many talented photographers, you couldn't help but leave a shoot feeling enlightened and special! All of the shoots were perfect and gorgeous, and I feel as if everyone had a special bond while shooting. I had the time of my life there, I'm glad many others have the chance to experience what I had!"

{Below are a few more of the photos we capture of Michelle at the Indian Canyons in Palm Springs, CA.}

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

one good picture {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish Photographers}

2011-03-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

Today I got a pleasant surprise when I checked my Facebook profile. My good friend and fellow photographer Dannielle Gleim from Vella Photography in New Hampshire posted a picture she had taken of me at the Riviera in Palm Springs. As silly as this may seem the excitement I get from seeing a well composed and executed portrait that makes the subject look and feel beautiful just never wears off, especially when it's one of yourself. Now I know exactly how my clients feel when they see their senior portraits and family photos :0)
Unfortunately because I am the one behind the camera 99.9% of the time I don't get to see exquisitely done, professional portraits of myself very often. I know shame one me for not having them done more often. What is it they say about a builder’s house never being done? Yeah I am pretty sure that applies to photographers and their families too. I am however no longer going to let that be an excuse to not have my own family’s photos taken every year. I hope you will join me in this challenge. Even if it’s just for your yearly Christmas cards, find a good, professional photographer to create something that will make you smile every time you see it.

Need some tips on finding good professional photographers? We’ll list a few here for you.

1. Check out their work. Take a look at their website, blog and Facebook account. Make sure you view several images of the same person/family. This will ensure that the one amazing image wasn’t a happy accident.

2. Make sure they offer high quality portraits and products such as canvas gallery wraps, coffee table books and custom framing.

3. Ask them who they use for their lab. You might think this is a strange question but while places like Snapfish, Costco and Walmart are great for snapshots, you want your family portraits printed at a high quality professional lab.

4. Ask what kind of things come standard. For example every print that leaves our studio is fully edited, uv coated (for longevity and protection), textured and mounted. We also include a frame for every image 11x14 and larger, package everything in high quality boutique packaging and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Now that you know what to look for, pick up the phone and schedule your senior, family or newborn session today. Then the next time you see that portrait of yourself or your family you will have a smile on your face too.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Senior Portrait Artists - Leah Palm Springs CA {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2011-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to start our Senior Portrait Artist feature model with this amazing young lady. Leah has such an amazing personality. She is a total blast and complete joy to work with. Her natural ability to model is quite astounding. This young lady just falls into poses so naturally and can go from hysterical laughter to a stunning serious face in a matter of seconds.

I first heard of Leah from one of my fellow Senior Portrait Artists {SPA} Photographers and good friend Dannielle Gleim from Vella Photography in New Hampshire {where she got her senior portraits taken}. Leah decided to enter the spaModels competition put on by SPA {senior portrait artists} each year and was an instant favorite of the judges. And although she didn't make it to one of the 15 event models, she was invited to model in the Lights Camera Fashion runway show and our "Don't get caught" post event photo shoots.

SPA does a fabulous job of choosing outstanding hotels to host the event and locations with in the surrounding area for our photo shoots. This year was no exception. The host hotel for this year’s event {Riviera Palm Springs} was also the first of our portrait locations for Leah. The second location we got to photograph Leah at was the famous Ace Hotel {also located in Palm Springs}. And just incase you were wondering if we were all work and no play, have no fear. This year we got kicked out of our balcony shooting area at the ACE Hotel because the cast of HBO's Entourage was staying there. {see the image of Leah sitting in the hallway next to the railing} Good times for sure!

Senior Portrait Artists event 2011 - Palm Springs {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish Photographers}

2011-02-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

First I want to say thank you to so many people, Senior Portraits Artists, the spaModels, the on location shooters (Joey Jones Exposures photography, Troy Bordsky Pathogen Ink Photography, Chris Routt Mr Foto photography, Ken Keringer Studio K photography just to name a few) You guys were amazing to shoot with and learn from. I can’t say thank you enough for sharing your knowledge and skills with me. I learned so much and had an absolute BLAST doing it! I also can't say enough about Kia & Andy Bondurant and Sana & Todd Antisdel for putting together the best senior portrait event each year. And I want to give a special thank you to Dannielle Gleim from Vella Photography for all of her hard work behind the scenes. You rock!

OMGosh! I don't know what I loved most about our recent trip to Palm Springs CA. The California sun, the speakers & shooters from the Senior Portrait Artists 2011 event, my roommates and amazingly talented fellow photographers I hung out with all week. Or maybe one of the super fun locations we photographed our models at The Palm Springs Air Museum, the famous Ace Hotel & Riviera Palm Springs , the Date Festival in Indio, CA and SO many more!

As we post some of our favorite portraits we captured we will help you get to know more about the spaModels, Senior Portrait Artists, Palm Springs and the 2011 SPA event. Stay tuned because Leah is up first!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Experimental Portraiture day 2 baby! {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-12-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

Just one word needed to describe day 2 of Experimental Portraiture... AWESOME! I hope you all caught day 2. If not then you NEED to purchase the DVD from creativeLIVE (click on link to purchase). Simply awesome. It was nothing short of brilliant to watch Jeremy Cowart in action creating a whole new photography portfolio (including raw editing) in less then 90 minutes.

I also can't say enough about the whole creativeLIVE crew. EVERYONE from the producer to the chat room monitors (lol, sorry Kenna and Susan I can't remember what your "official" title was) to the sound & video guys and the set crew. SO fun, professional and beyond what I ever expected. This was such a great experience for me and I am sure everyone who was a part of this Experimental Portraiture production. If you are a senior photographer, family photographer or commercial photographer I strongly encourage you to watch each and every creativeLIVE web-cast and purchase the DVD sets. You simply can't go wrong.

I have gotten a few "how did you get to be a part of that?" questions from friends and fellow snohomish, monroe and east side photographers so I'll let you in on a little secret... (shhhhh, don't tell) but every time they do a class they ask for video submissions. haha sorry not really a secret but that's one of the only ways to get to a seat in the CreativeLIVE class room and see this all first hand. So next time they ask for video submissions to fill class seats FOR GOODNESS SAKE SEND IN A VIDEO! And as long as you're not completely crazy you should have a pretty good shot. (sorry Celeste I couldn't resist ;0)

Well I'll start working on the next blog post about my AMAZING help-portrait Seattle experience, complete with images soon. For now please enjoy a few more pull backs from day 1 (day 2 will be posted soon to facebook)

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

creativeLIVE say what?!? {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-12-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

If you are a Kristi Sanger Photography FB friend or "liker" then you already know (because I am SO freaking excited!!!) that I have an incredible opportunity to participate in a live web broadcast put on by the amazing folks at creativeLIVE for a workshop called Experimental Portraiture with Jeremy Cowart.

I became familiar with Jeremy's work a few years back when my sister-in-law gave me his just released book called Hope In The Dark (see link for more info on the project). You see when I first got started in photography my passion and dream was to use my talent to bring awareness about social injustices around the world to the American public. And there was now this book by a photographer doing exactly that! I was an instant fan of Jeremy's to say the least. Fast forward a few years later and now this same amazing photographer who worked with NGO's (non governmental organizations) doing my dream job was coming to an event I had been wanting to attend (see Senior Portrait Artists website for more information). I totally jumped on that and got to meet him last year in San Diego. He even told me to email him with any questions I had about working with non-profits etc. Well truth be told I kinda chickened out and never emailed him :0/

Fast-forward (again) to last Monday night: While at a planning meeting for the Seattle Help Portrait event happening this Saturday (see Help Portrait for more information) where I meet Kenna and Susan (so sorry if I got the spelling wrong ladies) and was told they were looking for one more photographer to fill a seat at Jeremy's Experimental Portraiture workshop w/ creativeLIVE. Um YES PLEASE! Lol, so here I am sitting at home now blogging about my pretty incredible journey to today and I'm still on cloud 9.

Turns out Jeremy is still an amazing talent (like you needed me to tell you that) and still completely down to earth. It is so awesome to be able to learn about who Jeremy is as a photographer and see how he creates the amazing images he produces. To be able to see first hand in a small group setting what goes on behind the scenes in various situations and photo shoots he encounters is priceless. And thanks to the awesome team at creativeLIVE we all get to experience it for FREE. Are you kidding me?

I don't know about you all but I am so jazzed to go out and try something completely new and different with my art. To bring back the excitement that is creating imagery and not just selling a photo. Why did you become a photographer in the first place? To sell a piece of paper with someone(s) likeness stamped on it? Or to create a one of a kind piece of art that excites you and everyone who sees it. Think about it...then go experiment!

Please enjoy a few shots I got today below :0)

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Pumpkin Patch Time! {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-10-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

I think family is one of the most important things in life. Part of making family memories is either developing or caring on some family traditions. One of my families favorites comes in the fall. First we visit a local pumpkin patch and search for that "perfect" pumpkin. The last several our search has lead us to Bob's Corn in Snohomish. Great place to visit with the family!

After we get our pumpkins home the kids and I search the internet for pumpkin carving designs. This year Kiela picked a funny face and Isaiah picked the Husky Dawg (for those of you who think I have lost my mind and can't spell dog, it's the University of Washington's mascot). While the kids are carving I get to dig through all of the "guts" and pick out all of the seeds. The roasted seeds has become one of our favorite fall goodies. Now I know what your thinking but they are really good... Really! I'll even post my recipe below so you can try them for yourself. But If you try them please let us know here or on facebook what you think of the recipe. Happ0y Roasting!

Kristi's roasted pumpkin seeds:

1. Clean seeds throughly getting all the gunk off.

2. Lay seeds in a single layer out to dry on a dish towel (or 2 or 3) depending on the amount of seeds you have.

3. Dry either completely or if your like me and don't want to wait that long, lay out until almost dry (sticky, not slimy)

4. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt. Make sure you have enough salt to flavor the seeds but don't go too crazy. Boil seeds in water for about 20-30 min. (hint: I also added a table spoon of dry garlic)

3. Lay seeds out to dry again until they are not wet. Sticky is ok, just not enough to leave water on the cookie sheet.

5. Line cookie sheet(s) with foil and coat lightly w/ olive oil and spread seeds in a single layer on the sheets leaving enough room to "stir".

6. Bake in oven heated to 300 for 60-90 min, stirring every 15 or so minutes.

7. Cook until crispy and brown (or slightly brown if you don't like them crunchy).

Vuala, there you have it. Better then store bought pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

http://www.bobscorn.net/home.html
If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Celebrate everyday life - the Frantz/Montheith family portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-10-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an incredible family. I am so excited to finally get to share a few images from their family portrait session.

Back in August I was contacted by Erika Newhouse on behalf of the Cancer Society's Relay for Life. She asked some local photographers if they would be willing to donate family portrait sessions to one of two raffles to help rase funds to find a cure. One was a general raffle that participants and spectators could purchase tickets for and the other was a cancer survivor raffle. We jumped at the chance to donate to both right away.

To make a long story short we found out a few months back that baby Ella and her family received our donation of a 2-hour family portrait session and an 8x8, 20 page Simple Design coffee table book. Having heard just a small bit of their story I was esthetic they had won the item. You see at just 12 months baby Ella is already a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with cancer at just 8 weeks old. With the tumor already the size of a grapefruit at that time they are pretty sure she was born with cancer. I can't wait to share more of their incredible story with you, but I though it best you hear it directly from Deanna, Ella's mom. We will be posting a link where you can donate to the cancer society in honor of Ella or a loved one in your life. For now please enjoy this glimpse of a true celebration of everyday life in photographs.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Is There A Perfect Time? {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-09-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I came across an article by a photographer named Deb Schwedhelm in Tampa about the perfect time to have your family portraits taken. This reminded me about some portraits I took of my grandma about 9 months ago that I posted on our Facebook page. Below is a glimpse of my personal story and why Deb's blog post prompted me to remind everyone that there really is no "perfect" time to get your family portraits taken other then now.

"I had the privilege of photographing this beautiful young lady known to my family as Grandma Edra. She is my grandma and my kids great-grandma.

The last time I was able to photograph my grandparents was a few years ago Thanksgiving weekend. I drug my whole family (in-laws included) out to a beautiful park in Vancouver to do family portraits for everyone for Christmas. Well everyone obliged the then new photographers request, but wasn't thrilled to say the least (lol,that's family for ya).

Just a few short months later my Grandpa Bill was diagnosed with cancer. He lost his battle just after Christmas, not quite a year after his diagnosis.

Needless to say everyone was so grateful we now have those precious memories of Grandpa Bill before he was sick. This is why I feel so privileged to be able to photograph my grandma these short years later. So please enjoy her images below.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Fall Family Portrait Specials are here! {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-09-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yes it is that time of year again. Ready or not fall is here. With fall comes many wonderful things like candy corn, Starbucks hot caramel apple cider or pumpkin spice latte and snuggling under a blanket by the fire with our loved ones. But by far the best thing about fall is the beautiful, vibrant colors that dot our landscape. Fall provides a wonderfully painted backdrop for your annual family portraits. Fall portraits are a beautiful way to decorate your home with your own family. In celebration of the beauty that is fall we are offering some amazing bonuses on family portraits this year.

Choose from any of our Fall Family Portrait Specials:

Save $100 on your Beyond Portraiture session (family portraits)

Or

Purchase any size portrait from our Wall Décor selection and receive 50 FREE custom Christmas cards. (see images for samples)

Or

Purchase any of our Canvas Cluster Collections and receive a FREE gift print package (collection seven). That’s a $455 value for FREE and includes any seven gift size prints in any pose you choose!

Fall is here and gone in the blink of an eye here in the Seattle area, so don’t wait too long to give us a call to schedule your family portraits.

Blessings,
Kristi
Kristi Sanger Photography

tags: seattle area photographers, seattle photographers, Snohomish county photographers, photographer, photography, Monroe wa photographers, Washington State photographers, Snohomish wa photographers, Maltby wa photographers, Woodinville wa photographers, Sultan wa photographers, Gold Bar wa photographers, east side photographers, Redmond wa photographers, Kirkland wa photographers, Sultan river, stevens pass, Duvall wa photographer, Senior, seniors, senior portrait photographs, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, family, family portrait, family portraits, Christmas, Christmas pictures, Christmas cards, Christmas card, photo card, photo cards, photo shoot, experience, album, coffee table book, canvas, high school, woodinville high school, children, child, school, fall, autumn, winter.

Senior Experience photo shoot Haley S - senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-08-16T09:26:00.001-07:00

Senior portrait photo shoots on the water seem to be all the rage right now and I am SO excited they are! Haley chose one of my favorite spots for her Senior Experience photo shoot. We started here at our Monroe WA portrait studio with my magicians (i.e. hair and make-up artist!) then we were off to the water near Sultan. Other then one minor spill in the water the session went off with out a hitch. (Don’t worry it was my flash not a person). So with out further delay please enjoy this preview of Haley’s senior portrait photo shoot. But first I must give a shout out to Kristina Merwin owner of Salon Kristina here in Monroe for the gorgeous hair and Sequoia owner of My Flawless Make-up in Kirkland for the amazing airbrush make-up. You ladies ROCK!

Haley is one of our senior models from Woodinville High school in Woodinville WA. She has an amazing heart and work ethic. Not only does she play for Woodinville High School on their girls basketball team, she also volunteers with youth basketball programs in the Woodinville and Redmond area. Way to go Haley, we are proud to have you represent our senior portrait studio!
If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: seattle area photographers, seattle photographers, Snohomish county photographers, photographer, photography, Monroe wa photographers, Washington State photographers, Snohomish wa photographers, Maltby wa photographers, Woodinville wa photographers, Sultan wa photographers, Gold Bar wa photographers, east side photographers, Redmond wa photographers, Kirkland wa photographers, Sultan river, stevens pass, Duvall wa photographer, Senior, seniors, senior portrait photographs, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, train tracks, model, photo shoot, experience, album, coffee table book, canvas, guitar, rail road, high school, woodinville high school.

Senior Experience photo shoot Kristen W senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-08-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Kristen is one of our 2011 senior portrait models from Woodinville High School. This girl is one of the sweetest seniors I have meet! Although I must admit I have the best models this year (all you ladies ROCK!) and Kristen is no exception. Kristen had an amazing retro style photo shoot for her Senior Experience session but both her and mom loved her model shoot images! I'm telling ya professional hair and make-up can take great images to that "amazing" image level.

Kristen is a referral from another senior portrait model, Haley S. Thanks Haley sharing your fabulous senior portrait experience at our Monroe WA portrait studio! You both have been amazing to work with and I can't wait to see more of your Woodinville High School class mates in here for their own senior portraits!

Here are some of her faves from the premier ordering session!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, Maltby wa, Woodinville wa, Senior, seniors, photographs, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, train tracks, model, photo shoot, experience, album, coffee table book, canvas, guitar, rail road, high school, woodinville high school.

Having Some Fun! My portraits - Kiela {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-08-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason last night we had this amazing red/orange glow in the sky and I just HAD to take advantage of it. So who do you grab on short notice when you have the creative itch and you're a photographer? Your kids of course!

Now usually I don't recommend photographing your own kids because they are so over having their picture taken (as many other photographers will attest to). But I must say Kiela did a FANTASTIC job. WTG baby girl!

And as you will soon see in our video slideshow she is quite the little ham when she models :0)

Why hire a professional {Wedding Photographers} - San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers

2010-07-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

As a professional photographer who photographs high end weddings I know the difference between what you will receive from a true professional wedding photographer and an amateur (or weekender). As wife I think back on my own wedding day and can express firsthand how devastating it is to not have images to look back on. Let alone portraits that told the story of my day. {something I regret to this day, even after 12 wonderful years of marriage}.

Being a true professional wedding photographer starts with the creativity and artistry that goes into the photographs but is only the beginning. Great wedding photographers also possess a superior level of professionalism and is one of the most important things you should consider when interviewing wedding photographers. Other things to consider are the quality of product that is offered and the satisfaction of past clients (the best way to measure their level of professionalism). Might we also suggest you find out if they are a member of any major photography organizations such as the Professional Photographers of America, which will add a level of accountability.

So in hopes of deterring any brides from making the tragic mistake I did I urge you to check out this article {and video} from the Professional Photographers of America.

{btw we have been proud PPA members for the last 3 years and couldn't imagine life with out them.}

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, wedding, weddings, engagement, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, picture, vancouver, portland, OR, bride, groom, flower girl, professional photographers of america, ppa, professional, professionals.

Senior Experience photo shoot - senior portraits Jordain S {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-07-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

This lovely young lady is Jordain and she comes to us from Sultan High School in Sultan WA. We had a blast at her photo shoot hitting the portrait studio here in Snohomish and two outdoor locations in Maltby WA and Monroe WA. I think I even got more dirty then she did while photographing on the train tracks in Maltby. Just like the bright, fun, bold clothing Jordain wears she has the personality to match. We laughed so much during her senior portrait photo shoot I'm surprised we got so many great "serious" expressions. haha Especially after we put mom in charge of the reflector! But you'll have to ask her about that ;0) While you're getting the 411 on that don't forget to ask her for a senior model card!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, Maltby, Senior, seniors, photographs, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, train tracks, model, photo shoot, experience, album, coffee table book, canvas.

Senior Experience photo shoot - senior portraits Katie K {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-07-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Katie is one of our wonderful 2011 senior portrait models (check out her april photo shoot images here) We were so excited to see her again for her regular senior portrait photo shoot earlier this month. Katie arrived with exactly what every senior girl needs for her session: mom, a bag of cloths, a bag of shoes and LOTS of accessories! Now if you remember correctly Katie was the one who was just raring to jump in the Skykomish River last time. The water at this beach was a lot warmer and we even got a seaweed spa treatment out of the deal :0) I don't know what it is about this girl and water but it sure does work! Check out some of the spectacular senior portraits we got of her in Edmonds WA at the Edmonds Marina Beach park below.

Katie came to us from Snohomish High School and found us on a friends FaceBook page from some senior portrait images we posted. To find out more about our senior portrait model program visit our senior portrait website!
If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, woodinville, Everett, Senior, seniors, photographs, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, water, beach, model, photo shoot, experience, album, coffee table book, canvas, mulkilteo beach, mulkilteo beach park.

Baby photographers - Baby J {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-06-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Recently we made a post on Facebook asking for baby models ages newborn to 16 days old. We were specifically looking for this age because *most* newborns are sleepy at this age. Haha, well little baby J didn't get the memo. Although he didn't sleep a wink during the session we were able to capture quite a few gems from his first official photo shoot. It gives me great pleasure to announce for the first time (in professional portraits) Baby J!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, woodinville, baby, newborn, babies, photographs, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, vintage, model, photo shoot, baby plan, album, coffee table book, canvas.

Kristen's on the blog! senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-06-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Paging Dr. Torres. This is our newest model Kristen who just happens to look like a young, gorgeous Sara Ramierz (Dr. Torres on Grey's). Check the out in our 2011 models album on FaceBook or check them out below! Don't forget to ask Kristen for a model card (It will save you lots of dinero)!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, photo shoot.

THE NEW SENIOR SITE IT UP! {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-05-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please..... The long awaited and highly anticipated new website (seniors) is now online! You can access the new senior site from our NEW URL at kristisangerphotography.com OR via our same SPLASH PAGE ksphotography.org by clicking on the Seniors tab! We would LOVE to know what you think!

Also keep a look out for our new wedding and portrait sites coming later this year!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot.

Rashell senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-05-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Rashell is one of the latest models in our studio model program. We started the morning off at with the ladies at My Flawless Tan & Make-up out in Kirkland. As always it was a pleasure to work with such talented make-up artists. With our 3 hour session we got in some outfit changes and several different looks. Here are a few we have had time to work up. Don't worry though we will be posting more later along with her promo video. Enjoy!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, mercer island, bellevue, model, models, photo shoot.

Katie's Model Video - senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-05-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Katie is one of our 2011 senior models who was a blast to work with. We just love the fact that she wanted to get wet in her prom dress! (honest we didn't even have to ask her) Please enjoy this promo video of some of our favorites from her model session.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot.

Monica E Model Video - senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-05-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

Monica was actually our first 2011 model we signed this year. She has been a joy to work with. Having previous modeling experience has definitely helped her personality shine through her images.To be a part of the KSP modeling experience give us a call or just ask Monica how to sign up! Model space is limited so don't wait.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot.

SPA 2010 - senior portraits {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-04-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I had the opportunity to attend an amazing educational event last January put on by the Senior Portrait Artist (of whom I am a member). Here is a small highlight video of the week. Some of Kristi Sanger Photography's images even appear in the clip! Enjoy :0)

SPA 2010 VIDEO
If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, CA, San Diego, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, model, models, spa models, photo shoot.

Gretchen & Conrad wedding photographs {San Diego, Seattle, Snohomish photographers}

2010-04-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I had to privilege of photographing the wedding of Gretchen and Conrad. What some of you may not know is Gretchen is my mother-in-law. Being a widow for almost 11 years this wedding was a celebration of new beginnings and second chances. As an extra special touch my daughter Kiela was the beautiful flower girl and my husband & son were asked walk the bride down the isle. This quant little wedding lasted well into the evening and ended up hosting over 250 guests. So with out further ado please enjoy this small sneak peek.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, wedding, weddings, engagement, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, picture, vancouver, portland, OR, bride, groom, flower girl.

Expert Advice - Airbrush make-up

2010-04-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Having been in the industry for 5 years now we understand the importance of certain elements and how they effect the quality of the final product. You may have noticed that we recently added the options of professional hair and make-up for your photo shoot. Because just like a bad hair day can through off your whole day, professional make-up can make your whole photo shoot experience. So this will be the first of several "Expert Advice" posts with some of the most talented beauty professionals in the industry.

Airbrush Make-up vs. Traditional Make-up

Traditional make-up application is perfect for everyday looks (same with mineral make-up). It looks beautiful to the naked eye and lasts most of the day doing normal activities.

For that special occasion ….Airbrush make-up application is amazing. When doing the Airbrush make-up application, a silicon based foundation is applied with a small detailed airbrush gun so that the mixing and blending is done perfectly without brush strokes. Have you ever tried to cover a blemish with concealer only to rub off half the product when you attempt to blend? Since the airbrush gun never touches the skin the concealer and foundation go on perfectly and stay there.

The proper preparation to the skin is also essential to how the make-up shows in harsh photography lights and with a powerful camera lenses. Not to mention how fabulous it feels to be pampered and taken care of for a special day like your senior photos or prom. You should still look like you…only flawless!

Sequioa is the head make-up artist and owner of My Flawless Tan & Make-up in Kirkland. To find out more about all the services My Flawless Tan offers visit her website at:My Flawless Tan

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, picture, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, head shot, glamor, make-up, mua, artist, airbrush, my flawless, models, model.

Marc and Erin

2010-04-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Marc and Erin have a wedding coming up in August of 2010. I had so much fun shooting their engagements pictures! They are so cute and fun! I had a blast, thanks for the fun you guys! Did I mention they were fun ;0)

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, wedding, engagement, weddings, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, vancouver, portland, OR, picture.

Katie's Model shoot

2010-04-19T11:24:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Katie our latest 2011 model. Katie came out with her mom and two photo assistants (friends) last week for her model shoot. We had a blast from the fabulous hair & make-up (by Kelly & Sequoia) to the frigid waters of the Skykomish River, to the streets of down town Monroe. We all had a great time and by the end of the day I think it was apparent by all that Katie really likes getting her picture taken ;0) Please enjoy this sneak peek of her shoot!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot.

Haley 2011 model

2010-04-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot, woodinville.

jordain's promo video

2010-04-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Jordain

2010-03-26T19:28:00.001-07:00

We had the pleasure of working with Jordain last Monday. Jordain is one of our fabulous 2011 senior models. When working with our models or any of our seniors for that matter we always recommend they bring in several outfits. We let them know we won't get through all of them but it's better to have more on hand, just incase. Well Jordain took our advise to heart and according to mom Kelly "brought her whole closet with her". Haha, well we certainly had plenty of options!

If you like what you see go a head and give us a call. Don't forget to ask Jordain (or any of our models) for a card with money saving offers and extra cash off your session!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot.

Mr. Smiley

2010-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

This is adorable Mr. B! We have had the privilege of photographing him since he was just 3 months old. Although he has changed and grown up so much (he was born with the cutest strawberry blond hair) the one thing that hasn't is how happy this little guy is. From the moment he waled into the studio to the time he walked out the door Mr. B had the biggest smile.

So with out further delay here is Mr. B's sneak peek!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington,family, kids, children, newborn, families, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images.

Here's Haley

2010-03-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

This beautiful young lady is another of our 2011 models. We had so much fun with Haley and her mom starting with hair by Salon Kristina and make-up by Flawless Tan and Make-up! We started local with some downtown images then back to the studio. It was also Haley's birthday last Wednesday so we couldn't help but bust out a cake and sing "happy birthday" before we let her go :0)

Don't forget to ask any our our models how to rock your senior pictures and save some cash on your session!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

tags: photographer, photography, monroe, WA, snohomish, washington, senior, seniors, slide show, video, pictures, portraits, images, fashion, high school, model, models, photo shoot, woodinville.

GO BEARCATS!!!

2010-03-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

This was the first year my son played in an AAU/select basketball league, and the first year my husband has coached many of these players. Although it was a long season (just ending last weekend) and tough schedule for everyone (as many as 3 practices a week and 2 games each Saturday not including tournaments) it was a great year. I enjoyed watching our sons and coaches (thanks Nate and Tom!) grow as individuals and as a team. Here are some of the highlights from the 5th grade Monroe Bearcats select 09/10 season. GO BEARCATS!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

The 1st of many....

2010-03-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Monica the first of our fabulous 2011 senior models. Monica was a ton of fun to work with on this shoot! She had a great, fun attitude which is what we look for in our studio models. I can't wait to work with Monica again on her Senior Experience and Family Portrait sessions later this year!

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Satisfaction what!?!

2010-03-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

As I was talking to a friend yesterday she was expressing how scary it can be to commit to investing in professional photography "because you never know if you're going to like them or not". I said "well you know we offer a satisfaction guarantee right?" At that moment it occurred to me that I haven't really made a big enough deal about our studio's guarantee policy. So here it goes.

If after you commission us for your portrait session or photo shoot you get to the ordering session and hate them all we will redo the photo shoot. No questions asked!. Well what if you love them at the (projected) ordering session but something is not quite right with the print or product when you come to pick it up? We will fix it until you are completely satisfied. That is why we insist on picking them up in person. When you come in and see them for the first time we will look over all of your products and images together to make sure you love them. (and we'll be honest, we just love seeing your face when you see them for the first time! We get a lot of hugs ;0) And finally if we just can't get anything you are thrilled to display in your home or give as a gift, let us know when you come to pick them up and we will give you a FULL refund. Yep it's that easy and that is how confident we are that you will absolutely LOVE your images.

So if you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK then fear not. And for goodness sake pick up the phone and book your session :0)

Kids Speak

2010-02-17T12:39:00.001-08:00

This funny kids story comes from a long time friend from high school. She posted this cute little story about Brody her preschool age son on her facebook and kindly gave us permission to post it her for all of you. Thanks Raina!

"So Brody and I are baking cookies for his Valentines social and he says, 'I don't want to be a baker anymore. I just want to be myself.' Where does he come up with these things!? :)"

Too cute, it sure made me laugh when I read it.

If you love what you see here on our blog, on our WEBSITE
and on FACEBOOK give us a call. We would LOVE to work with you!

Why Kristi Sanger Photography?

2010-02-11T13:37:00.001-08:00

Check out our newest video and then ask your self "How do you want to be remembered?"

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Kids Speak-part one

2010-02-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

I though it would be a fun idea to add a new section called "Kids Speak" that tells the funny thinks kids say. My 4 year old daughter Kiela is hands down the biggest (and smallest) smart aleck I know. I lovingly refer to her remarks as Kiela-isms. So this weeks Kids Speak comes from a few weeks ago just after I returned from a business trip. Kiela was helping me unpack my suitcase. Now any time I travel or go on a photo shoot I like to throw in a few snacks and one of these snacks is usually some fruit bars. So Kiela pulls out two of them, holds them up in the air and yells "bar fight!" My husband and I about died laughing and poor Kiela looked at us like "what are you guys laughing at?".

If you enjoy our Kids Speak stories or have a few of your own you would like to see published here please email us at kristi@ksphotography.org.

What do you use?

2010-02-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

I get asked a lot from friends "What kind of camera do you use?" and "What photo editing program do you use?". After talking with them a bit further what they are really asking is "I am thinking about purchasing ______. What do you recommend?" So after getting this question on my personal FaceBook page today I though it would be good to post the Q & A here.

Question:
What computer program do you use for your pics? For forever I've looked at typical ones but i didn't know if you've had luck with certain ones.
I use Photoshop CS4. For personal use you could try the much less expensive (and easier to figure out) Elements version. That's what I recommend to anyone who wants to do some editing but isn't a professional photographer or graphics designer.

Question:
"Also what type of camera are you using? For five years I've been eyeballing some and haven't forked out the money quite yet."
Personally I'm a Canon girl. I use the 5DM2 (5D MarkII). It's a fabulous camera but the lens investment is almost more important then the body itself. It gets pretty expensive purchasing the L glass but it will help you create amazing images.

I would recommend getting started with something like a 40D, 50D or maybe even a rebel. Those are all DSLR's that have interchangeable lenses and won't cost almost $3k for just the camera body. Those should give you some pretty good images of your family and let you play around and be more creative then your typical p&s (point and shoot).

I hope this answers some of your most frequent questions. If you have more I would love to hear them. I won't always have the best answer or even the most appropriate answer for the situation but I will tell you what I do and what works for me. Happy shooting!

SPA models fashion show!!!

2010-02-02T17:03:00.001-08:00

Check out our latest video from the SPA fashion show!

Want to see more? Want to have a shot at modeling for the countries top senior photographers? Want a week long modeling experience and walk the runway at SPA? Then ask us how you can take part in our SPA models competition. Kristi Sanger Photography is scheduling senior portrait consultations now. Give us a call at 360 568-8052 or on the web at ksphotography.org.

Fun in the sun!

2010-01-26T13:13:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few of the many awesome images I came back from SPA (Senor Portrait Artists)with. I can't wait to use everything I learned in San Diego here at home in Washington! Please enjoy this sneak peek!

P.S. If you enjoy our work we invite you to give us a call. We are running a casting call for our 2011 Models program. The application is available here on our blog (search Models wanted) or on our website.

To see more images from San Diego check out our FB page: Facebook | Kristi Sanger Photography

Baby Emmalyn

2010-01-20T18:48:00.001-08:00

As many of you know from Face Book I had the wonderful opportunity to go to San Diego for THE premier Senior Portrait organization's yearly event. While there I also got to see my dear friend from HS and her 3 week old baby girl (oh and her husband David too :0)

I am so excited to now post her proof slideshow. If you enjoyed her slideshow and images please let us know!

Calling all Twilight Fans!

2010-01-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

Have you been dying to have your senior pictures take with this signature movie look? Well your search is over. Give us a call and schedule now for your 2010 or 2011 senior pictures and tell us how much you love that Twilight look.

360 568-8052 or Kristi@ksphotography.org

Tis the season for engagement photos!

2010-01-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

This wonderfully cute couple is my sister-in-law Erin and her fiancee Marc. Here is a very small sneak peek of their save the date photo shoot. The rest of their shoot will be up North in the Monroe neck of the woods for finishing out their coffee table book.

Although it was REALLY cold and we only had about 20 minuets before we froze (lol, my opinion) we had a great time. Congrats Marc and Erin!

Class of 2011 Models Wanted!

2010-01-14T14:09:00.001-08:00

If you are a high school junior this year then we are looking for you! If you think that you would enjoy being a part of the Kristi Sanger Photography Modeling Experience please fill out an application and send it back to us with a recent snapshot! Apply today for one of the most exciting modeling opportunities in Washington.

Check list

1. Download and complete the model application

2. Recent photo or snapshot.

3. Email application and photo to models@ksphotography.org Subject “2011 model application”

Newborn Images

2010-01-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some images from a recent newborn session. Such a sweet and beautiful baby girl.

2009-11-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

At Kristi Sanger Photography we love being involved with our community and giving back. As part of that involvement we like to donate to local charities and schools. These great images are from one of our auction goers and her family. I had such a great time photographing Kelly, Scott and Corie and can't wait to work with them again!

FREE yearbook photo day!!!

2009-09-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

That's no typo. When we say free, we mean FREE. FREE YEARBOOK PHOTO DAY is sponsored by: Kristi Sanger Photography.

Don't want to get suck with the school photographers photo for your senior years yearbook? Well now you don't have to. For one day only come in to the studio for your FREE yearbook photo. Choose your background and make your selection that day! Call us TODAY and reserve your spot. Space is limited. 360 568-8052

Nick senior 2010

2009-08-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

This is Nick and he's a 2010 senior at MSH. We had a great time out at his place for the first half of his photo shoot. He has some beautiful property with an amazing view of the cascade mountains. We even got a mini work out in when we had to push his vehicle to just the right spot for some images.

Hope you enjoy this sneak peek of his portraits!

The perks of having your own blog

2009-07-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

One of the perks to having your own blog is that you can pretty much write about what ever and who ever you want. So today I will be writing about the new senior boys All-Star champs for Washington State. Congratulations to the Evergreen Senior All-Star boys team and my future brother-in-law Marc, who helped co-coach the team.

My kids and I got to watch several of the games leading up to and including the championship game for the team composed of 15 &16 year old boys from the Vancouver, WA area. They were all close and hard fought, which made the games even more fun to watch. The last one was no exception and came down to the last inning. The team won all three of the games that we got to attend so naturally my kids think they are the teams good luck charm and are mystified as to why they will not be flying to Cali this week with "uncle" Marc. Sorry guys, maybe next time!

We will keep you posted on how they do in regionals.

Check us out on Facebook!

2009-07-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Yes it's sad to say, but I update my Facebook page more then my blog. I know, I know. But let's be honest you all would too ; ) So if your updating your status or just seeing what your friends are up to, stop by and check us out too.

And you heard it here first, become a fan of Kristi Sanger Photography on Facebook and leave a comment or review and you will be entered into our new monthly drawing for a $75 gift certificate. You can also receive additional entries by referring us to all your facebook palls. Just remind them to leave us a comment w/ your name so we know who to give the credit to.

Here comes the bride

2009-07-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wedding season is in full swing here at Kristi Sanger Photography and now is a great time to take advantage of our 2009 pricing for your 2010 wedding! Book before September 30th and secure your date at this years prices. You already know we have great service, superior images and a fantastic style. So now that price isn't an issue, what are you waiting for?

Still need more convincing? Well check out this slideshow from our latest wedding, then pick up the phone and schedule your consultation.

Congratulations Class of 2009!

2009-07-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations class of 2009. You made it! Now before you move on to bigger and better things, take a few moments and take in all that you have accomplished and revel in your successes. We wish you the best in all your new endeavors.

P.S. Don't forget to thank mom and dad too.

Here are a few of our favorites from the class of 2009

2009-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

Don't Forget

And the winner is...

2009-05-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulation Eli for finishing in the top 10 for Seattle's cutest kid's . Eli place 8th (for the Seattle area) in the Nation wide contest that helped raise over $167,000 for the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep organization.

Because of his top 10 finish Eli has won a beautiful framed 16x20 portrait of his winning image. To see a complete list for Seattle's top 10 finalists visit sandy puc models top 10 and scroll down to Seattle.

Eli's winning image

Dad's and grads promo special

2009-05-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

As promised in last months news letter we have two fun offers for you.

Mom's hop in the car with the kids and head to the studio because we are offering our three panel composite and studio session for only $99! That's three 5x5 or 5x7 images of your choice arranged in a three panel display. This arrangement makes a beautiful accent to any home decor.

Our second offer is for our 2010 grads. Book and complete your session before August 15th and receive 1/2 off your session fee! Remember all senior sessions include a complementary summer family portrait session. So book now while the weather is great and save.

Dad's promo runs now through Sunday June 14th 2009.

Senior promo runs now through August 15th. Sessions must be booked no later then August 14th are based on availability.

We've moved!

2009-05-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

We've moved to a beautiful new location and are super excited to share it with you. In celebration of our new place we are offering all of our current clients a $50 gift certificate! And if you have never had the pleasure of having your portraits taken by us we are offering a $25 gift certificate for you.

Our contact information has change a bit as well. Our new number is 360 568-8052 but our email and web address are the same.

Some restriction apply. Please call for details.

Here's Eli

2009-03-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Eli is our 3rd cutest kid model in the National Charity Model Search competition. His mom was very excited to help us raise funds for the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep organization. And let's be honest, who wouldn't be?

Eli was all boy and proved it to us at his model session. From jumping to climbing to playing with a "car" (you'll have to ask mom about that one) ; ) He was a ton of fun and a bundle of energy. But at the end of the day the cheerios won Eli over and Eli won us over with this, our favorite portrait of his session. Who knows, maybe next time we'll even talk "sissy" into joining us!

Follow this link to VOTE FOR ELI.

Pretty in Pink

2009-03-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, meet our second cutest kid model Sydnee. She even picked out her own fun outfit complete with the pink cowgirl hat! She was a ton of fun to have at the studio. It was great when she dressed up in a pink tutu and danced for us.

If you think Sydnee should be the Seattle area cutest kid you can CLICK HERE to vote. Don't forget our image submission deadline for entering is March 25th, but you can still vote until April 2nd. Good luck Sydnee!!!

Congratulations Hunter!

2009-03-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

He was our first official National Charity Model Search entry! We had such a blast with Hunter during his shoot. From his awesome curly hair to his playful personality, what's not to love.

If you would like to vote for Hunter while supporting a great cause follow THIS LINK. Remember each vote is only a $1 and if you vote 25-49 times you will receive a $25 gift certificate for your very own portrait session. That amount doubles to $50 when you cast 50+ votes. So what are you waiting for! Follow Hunter's link or any of our other cutest kid entries to vote and help support Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.

Is your child America’s Cutest Kid?

2009-01-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

Exciting New Blog Announcement:

Is your child America’s Cutest Kid?

Kristi Sanger Photography is participating in the National Charity Model Search to select “America’s Cutest Kid” and to raise funds for charity.

We’re looking for cute children ages 18 months to 14 years old to model for a portrait to be entered into the contest.

Models Search Special:

$25 entrance fee, which includes a 20 minute model session and one image submitted to the national gallery.

Finalists will be determined by online votes. Anyone may vote. Each vote is $1, and all proceeds from votes benefit the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. (NILMDTS.org)

Grand prize national winner will be determined from the 50 city finalists. Winners selected by photography and modeling industry experts.

If your child is selected the national winner, you’ll receive many prizes, including a $5,000 US Savings Bond and a Canon PowerShot G10 digital camera.

If you’re interested in entering your child(ren), please call the studio at 360 863-8457. For more information about the contest, go online to sandypucmodels.com.

Everyone meet Ryan,

2008-10-01T14:21:00.001-07:00

Ryan came to us at the beginning of the 2008/2009 school year as a referral from the Chriscaden family (thank you!). I had the opportunity to meet Ryan and his mom before our "mini" session. I say mini because Ryan had a cast on, poor guy, so we were only able to do his yearbook images this go-round.

Ryan was great to work with. With his laid back personality and naturally great smile, how could you not like this guy. We are looking forward to finishing out his session when the cast comes off later this year. But in the mean time we did get some really great shots of him we thought you would like to see.

Giving back

2008-09-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, family, past and present clients,

For the past several months I have had the privilege of teaming up with an 
organization that has become very close to my heart.  The organization is called 
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.  It is a non-profit founded about 3 years ago by 
Cheryl Haggard and photographer Sandy Puc`. 

The local news paper, The Monroe Monitor, has graciously offered to highlight 
this great org. in this weeks news paper.  If you would like to get more 
information on this organization please view the Monitor story at 

http://www.monroemonitor.com/Issues/090208issue/0902083.pdf

or the NILMDTS web site at http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/


Thank you for taking a few moments out of your day to find out more about this 
wonderful organization and the healing they help bring to hurting families.   

Blessings,
Kristi Sanger
Kristi Sanger Photography

Senior Year Kick-off!!!

2008-08-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge and view details.

2008-07-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Meet baby "A" everyone.

2008-07-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

At just two weeks old with such a beautiful face and such amazing eyes, baby A doesn't really need any introductions. But that didn't stop her from making a lasting impression on mommy and me ; )

Let's just say that naked newborn portraits are anything but boring, and this session was no exception to the rule. Before we even got one click of the camera, mom had to be wiped down and I had to change my whole outfit. It was all worth it though when you get a glimpse of what we captured on "film" (digital that is).

Confessions of a bad blogger...

2008-07-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

OK so I don't keep on my daily....fine weekly blogging. But I'm working on it! = )

Below is a slide show I have featured on my myspace profile of one of our last 2008 senior sessions. Although Andy wasn't sure about the whole folding chair on the train tracks thing, he was a good sport about it and we were able to capture some great images.

Congratulations to Andy and the rest of our graduated 2008 seniors!!!

Andy

2008-07-15T14:58:00.001-07:00

2008-04-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

How fun is this! Playing dress-up AND getting to stand on the furniture?

2008-04-15T13:57:00.001-07:00

Rain or shine AA Baseball is in now in full swing. And let me tell you it's mostly rain =( But hey what's a little rain when you get to watch your son pitch in his first game-right?

You know as a parent It's nice to know that some of what you try and teach your children really does stick.

2008-03-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

Cute story:

My nine year old son and two year old daughter were praying for dinner last night and I decided to take the opportunity to remind them of what Easter is all about-and it's not the bunny. So after the prayer I said "Thank you Jesus" and they both raised their hands straight up into the air and with the biggest grins they could fit on their faces yelled "THANK YOU JESUS!"

What a blessing to see such a wonderful child like faith. Wishing you Easter blessings from our family to yours.

NEWBORN PORTRAITS!

2008-03-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE naked baby pictures. What could be more cute? So I thought I would share some images from one of our latest sessions.

These are some of mom's favorites.

2008-03-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

The days are getting longer, the sun is starting to shine and the weather is getting nicer-I think Spring might be arriving on time this year! (knock on wood) Soon the flowers and trees will be in full bloom, what a wonderful place we live in. I just love spring in the North West.

Right now is the time to schedule your family portraits. Or maybe there are those of you who have procrastinated scheduling your senior portraits. Come on, you know who you are ; ) But don't worry; it's not too late to get some amazing images just in time to send out with your graduation announcements. You can always reach us by email at kristi@ksphotography.org

New site, new blog, new models

2008-03-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

With our new seniors only site now up and running we thought "why stop there?"

With that in mind it's time to launch our search for The Next Big Thing 2009 models program. If you think you have what it takes to be a part of The Next Big Thing model program give us a shout out and we'll send you the details of the program and resume form. Just send it back to us complete with mom's signature and a current photo of yourself and you will be on your way to be The Next Big Thing model at your school. Space is limited and the deadline for submitting your completed resume is June 1st 2009. Inquires should be submitted to Kristi@ksphotography.org. Good luck!