This past weekend I was asked to photograph a single mothers luncheon. This was more then just a luncheon it was a full fledged catering to single moms.

I was a single mom for 4 years of my daughters life and however hard those times were, those years of bonding between my daughter and I can never be replaced. We are absolutely close and as strong as I was for her, she was that strong for me.

I remember the nights crying and her tiny little voice telling me not to cry, that I had her. Those four years were precious and really made a great difference in my life and hers!

I knew that ministering to single moms was a GREAT idea, moms have a way of giving, dying to themselves and not looking back, for single moms it a double duty as they play both mom and dad! I was so honored to be such a small part of this event.

What started small grew, as any great idea, it just kept growing, by Sunday there were over 200 woman signed up. TWO HUNDRED WOMAN! That is amazing.

Besides food and refreshments (candy on every table) there were hairstylist, manicurist, masseuse, tax help, fashion advice and giveaways.

This was no minor league effort, this was major, it was bigger then you or me. It was massive.

I was witness to tears and smiles! I talked to one woman who wore a wig because she never had time to get her hair done, she tossed her wig that day! I did not see one bad hair cut that whole day. I received a hug in the parking lot and thanks for everything!

I saw women relax and have a good time, I saw women enjoy watching other woman getting pampered. It was such an blast to talk to people and hear their stories, to share mine.

I just captured the event with my camera, but so many gave SO MUCH time, effort, money and talent.

It’s such an honor to belong to such a good work at Church On The Rock!

This blog post is for the Professional Photographer. I’ll be back to regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow with some awesome shots of 200 woman! You won’t want to miss it.

But for today…It’s all about tools!

Everyone knows I’m a preset maven! I LOVE presets. I’ve bought them, been given them and I’ve created them. Along with presets I have a couple amazing actions and tools that I use on a regular basis that I love and one I could not do without.

When I first started shooting weddings someone gave me the link to this site and at first I resisted, you know, it wasn’t free. Was it worth it?

That was quite a few years ago and tonight I remembered how I hesitated to acquire this amazing photographers help!

Okay okay, so here’s my favorite photo aid: Noise Ninja

I don’t care how good you think your megapixels are, your going to need Noise Ninja. It’s my favorite of all helps.

So I’ve shared mine…What’s yours?

Oh and just a fast heads up. Totally rad is having an awesome sale that ends tomorrow night on it’s actions. Don’t drag your feet, I’ve got both sets now, and I love them….TRA is amazing.

If you’ve got them, or if you’re just getting them, let me know what you think!

I’ve been SO busy, but I hate to be one of those bloggers that apologize but, seriously, I’ve been busy.

So, what have I been doing? Dare you ask?

Well, you know we relocated and today, yes today I unpacked the last box! Now that may not be a big deal to you, but, I’m thrilled. I never wanted to be one of “those people” that after 2 years still had boxes in the basement! So, now that I am off that list, I can get back to life as I know it. Yeah, right!

I’m not a person to wish I would have!

Now, my April, I’ll have you know April is totally booked. I’ve got a session each Saturday and one on Sunday. I’m shooting a single mom’s luncheon this Sunday and I’ll be in Kansas City from Thur. – Sun.

My life rocks! I say it all the time, I’m blessed to be doing what I do!

So a few days ago, was not as shiny as all my days and my daughter sent me a few pics of Ami. Ami is way amazing and awesome. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba (have you seen that show, it’s scary, lol) he now calls it “Waba, Waba). Ami is full of life and really has his little life all tangled up in my heart strings!

If these pictures do not make you smile, there’s not much hope! They sure made my day.

So, here’s to Ami and to you, my fabulous blog readers!

I’ve had a chance to hear this fast talking amazing financial lecturer Joe McGee. I’m hooked on his style and wisdom. Sign up for his newsletters you won’t regret it!

Recently he listed a few “keywords” to help us fulfull our dreams. I’m all about fufilling my dreams. I live an amazing life. I’ve got an amazing family, I get to travel and I also get to join in with one of the biggest celebrations in people’s lives. I’m blessed!

So, to fulfill YOUR dreams, you’ve got to start by identifying your goals! What do you value most in life? For me, it’s family, that is why I won’t shoot more then 25 weddings a year. I want to enjoy my family on those other weekends!

Pick your top five most important things that you value most and post them here. I’d love to hear from you and see your goals and dreams!

Here is the list to get you started:
Achievement Adventure Boldness Career
Children Community Diligence Discipline
Education Effectiveness Enjoyment Excellence
Faith Family Finances Growth
Happiness Hard Work Health Honor
Independence Intelligence Leadership Legacy
Love Marriage Merit Obedience
Philanthropy Professionalism Security Self-Control
Success Time Travel Vision

I’m also all about lists….you really really REALLY need to do this…
write where you want to be (your goals) in five, ten, and twenty years from now.

Read Joes post to get more ideas to do this!

In 1979, interviewers surveyed new graduates from Harvard’s MBA Program and found that:

84% had no specific goals at all
13% had goals but they were not committed to paper
3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them
In 1989, the interviewers again interviewed the graduates of that class.
The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no goals at all.
The 3% who had clear written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97% put together.

Time to get those goals written and posted so we can see them and be reminded of them daily!!!

So, post your thoughts, I’d love to hear them

Yesterday was a beautiful day, it felt like spring was in the air!

We scheduled a Saint Louis Photographers meet at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, HELLO! What an awesome place!

It was the last day of the orchid show and I knew I had to get some shots of those orchids for my daughter. She LOVES them. It’s an inside joke, but you know, they don’t sell orchids in NE Ohio!

We gathered at 11 and shot the orchid show and the gardens, then we travelled down the road a few to “The Hill” famous for it’s homemade, family owned Italian Restaurants, we picked Guido’s and we spent the next couple hours just networking, chatting and sharing ideas.

That’s what it’s all about folks. It’s not about photographers competing for who has more, who is better, but gathering to share ideas and thoughts and creativity. I can say out of everyone there, we were all individuals, very creative individuals with a lot of important things to say.

We’re going to do it again! I promise!

Every year at the bridal shows we participate in we give away 10 free engagement sessions and 1 free wedding day!

I’ve never thought of posting the winners till someone asked me “are our names going in your blog” HELLO!!! You don’t have to ask me twice!

I’ve always been asked why we do this, there are several reasons but the biggest reason is, Because we Love what we do, and we feel so blessed to be able to do it that we decided three years ago to Give Back!

We feel you should always give back when so much has been given to you, so this is how we choose to do it.

So here are our winners:

Allsion Stewart
Heather Abernathy
Kristine Hrenak
Michelle McLaughlin
Tim Wagner (let’s here it for the boys!!!)
Sharon Rust
Val Kasen
Christy telker
Karen Harmon
Michelle McCoy
Jessica Avila

if for any reason the above prizes are not awarded we will move on to the next picked names so we can fulfill what we promised we would do!

So Congrats, Ladies and Gentleman, we can’t wait to meet you and shoot your special moments together!

On Sunday I had the opportunity to head to St. Peters and participate in the 2009 Bridal Bliss Bridal Expo.

Raquel came in from Ohio and we had a really wonderful time in a new market for us and met a lot of really nice people.

We were located between a Golf Course and a Travel Agent! The smell of the food was amazing and then the people… a non-stop flow of brides, grooms, friends and family! We had some wonderful conversations. We met a family whose brother is getting married, for the first time, he’s 53. We met another woman who between her and her future husband they combined 82 years of marriage, both widowed and going to walk down that aisle one more time, together. And our Texas Groom who wants his engagement pictures outside Busch Stadium in matching Cubs shirts. Yikes!

We met an amazing group of people who shared one thing on that one dayThey were going to marry the love of their lives and they were looking for people to share in that day with them.

I love the Bridal Shows that I am able to talk with the people. I loved listening to your life stories and getting to know you all.

It was great to meet you all. I hope you all enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed doing it.

To all my new vendor friends, it was nice to meet you, yes even you pole fitness lady! Yes, she was there, with her pole and no I did get on it. But it’s a new big thing in the realm of fitness and fitness parties.

From the smell of the meatballs, that drove Raquel crazy (I ate one and they were GOOD!), to the health and fitness, all around great show.

Thank you St. Peters. See you next year!

I just had a conversation with a bridemaid about an upcoming wedding and we were talking about how “it’s all about the bride”. I laughed and told her, you know, you’re right, when I do a wedding it’s all about the bride, I consider her “MY BRIDE” I make sure what she wants (even if it’s not a photography related subject) she gets!

I don’t consider the groom “MY GROOM” So, I started to think…I love my brides and grooms and absolutely love to shoot them and capture that emotion between them!

SO, this one is for the boys, the grooms, MY Grooms to be!

I was reading a friends blog and came up with this idea. If your a guy out there, just looking for a different way to ask the love of your life to marry you. I’ve got an idea. Yeah it’s a stolen idea but it’s an awesome idea!

So, gentlemen that want to have their proposal captured by Creations Photography, here is what we will do.

We’ll find a beautiful location (or maybe there is a place special to the both of you) We’re going to hide and wait for you to come to the pre-planned place and as you spend some time together and as you ask her to marry you, Creations will capture that moment then, we’ll take the both of you on an exclusive engagement session.

So contact Lisa or Raquel and set up your very special Session! Cost: $200.00

Sure, it had to happen AFTER all our business cards were made and the bags are stuffed for the bridal show, but come on, it’s an Iphone! I got the best deal around

Please make sure you check out our website for updated information.

Contact Lisa: 636_542_1309

Also, my partner Raquel has started her own blog…keep tabs on Raquel at:http://www.creationsstudio.wordpress.com

So you can keep track of Lisa here and Raquel at her blog.

It’s going to be a great year. We are so excited at the brides we’ve been hired to photograph and we can’t wait to show you the beauty and glamour of their days!