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Award Winning Family Photographer | From Maternity & Babies to Seniors & Underwater Space Coast - Brevard County FL Child Photography | Birthday Session | Crooked River - Saint Marys GAThis 5 year old loves ballet, playing the piano, playing sports, and fashion. She showed me a few of her ballet twirls, but mostly I loved capturing her exploration and curiosity. Miss E and her family are about to set off on their next adventure and I'm going to miss them! Here are a few favorites from her session.
Thank you for continuing to trust me to capture your growing family... be of luck to you all on your next adventure! <3 Kim Owner/Photographer-Artist Kimberly Tank Art & Photography Need updated pictures of your kiddos? Contact me today for more information on scheduling a child or birthday mini session! First Birthday Cake Smash | Jacksonville FL Baby PhotographerCan this sweet baby really be 1 already? I have loved watching her grow and capturing these milestones for her parents. Here's a little progression from the last year:
We had Miss E's first birthday session in her home, so I was able to complete the above timeline of her all on the same spot where we did her newborn and 6 month pictures. We also did a couple with her birthday poster and then it was time for cake. If you follow my Facebook page, you've already seen the before and after, as well as one of my favorite shots of Miss E covered in cake. Keep scrolling to see the progression. It was so fun doing this session!
I laughed so hard when she started crawling away and smearing icing as she went. Don't worry, the icing was easily cleaned up and I even did the cleaning while mom cleaned her up. <3 Kim Owner/Photographer-Artist Kimberly Tank Art & Photography Want to capture your baby's milestones? Contact me today for more information on scheduling your baby milestone or birthday session! Extended Family Session | Amelia Island Vacation Photography | Fernandina Beach FLWhen this momma called me, she was planning a trip to come visit family on Amelia Island for Memorial Day weekend and wanted family pictures done while here so she could have some summer beach family photos to change up their walls full of fall family photos. And since they were coming to visit the girl's great grandparents, they wanted to include them in the session as well. I love including grandparents and great grandparents in photo sessions. It is such a treasure for the little ones to have these pictures when they grow older. I know I wish I had more pictures with my grandparents, who had all passed before I graduated high school. Even their great-aunt joined in the photos and she hadn't had family pictures done since she was two years old! Mom was so laid back about the session and didn't stress about the wind or when the girls ended up getting wet. They rolled with the flow and made for easier captures! I loved being able to capture them playing together on the beach (and it was the youngest's first time at the beach), as well as capturing those family portraits they wanted for their walls. Thank you C family for trusting me to capture your family memories! Here are a few of my favorites from the session.
<3 Kim Owner/Photographer-Artist Kimberly Tank Art & Photography Need to update your family photos or get some on the wall? Traveling to the area and want to capture your family vacation time? Contact me today for more information on scheduling your family session! Goals and Books | Family Photographer | St Marys GA | Fernandina Beach FLPersonal confession... I pick up my phone WAY too much and find myself distracted by all the things I could check: Facebook, email, etc.
Some days I focus so much on my to-do list that I don't take time to play with and just be with my son. I mean, the whole point in wanting to stay home with him was to actually get to spend more time with him than if I went back to teaching. So this year I knew I needed to focus on being less distracted and more present. One of my goals/resolutions for 2016 is to Be More Present. My phone has started to become an addiction and it needs to stop. I went for so long without joining the crowds of smart-phone users and once I bought one, it became a downward spiral. Every time I walk by it, I have the urge to check it. I sometimes excuse it away and blame the fact that my husband is military and when he isn't home I feel like my phone/social media is my only connection to the rest of the adult world. Or that I keep it close by in case he calls. And then there's the fact that I use social media for my business and want to answer client emails as soon as I am able. I know that I am better about leaving it be when I have him home or someone is here to visit. But I need to do something about this now before it gets worse. I started by turning off notifications and moving apps that distract me the most into groups and not on the first screen so that they are less visible. I try to put my phone somewhere out of view and set some simple boundaries for myself to get me weaned off my phone and it's gotten a little better but I still have a ways to go. So when I recently decided to try the Audible free trial, I used my first free book credit to get Hands Free Life by Rachel Macy Stafford (which I had put on my wish list earlier this year). I listened to it on a road trip and it was exactly what I needed. I LOVE this book. I am still working on implementing the strategies in the book, but I'm already seeing the positive changes. Once I finished listening to it, I went and bought her first book, Hands Free Mama as well. I loved this one also and plan to listen to them both again and I bought the physical copies of both books so I can have them to reference back to when I need/want. So why am I sharing this on my photography blog? Because like many of you reading this, I am a mom, and I found myself becoming way to distracted by technology, my to-do list, and what the world expects of me and started to lose sight of what I really wanted. And maybe one of you reading this can relate to this as well and can start getting back to what really matters. The NAPCP retreat I went to in January of this year had the theme "Make it Matter" for this year and I feel like this ties right in to that too. I've been at this for a couple months now and have days I feel like things are getting so much better, and days where I feel like I'm failing again. But overall, I can see that my phone is loosing it's grip on me. I have been setting boundaries for myself and find that I resist the urge to pick it up as often as I was. Of course there are days when I've been sick or just really feeling lonely and I end up picking it up more often than I should. But then there are the days when I do really well at leaving it in another room and doing something fun with my son. Just last week we finished putting together a model of the solar system since he's been so into space and the planets lately and he loves it. A few days later, we made a mock volcano and used baking soda and vinegar to watch it "explode."
I'm still trying to find a balance with my to-do list and spending quality time with my son. I emphasize the word quality because we spend almost 24/7 together since he's only 4 and we are homeschooling. So unless I'm off at a photo session, he's pretty much with me all the time. But I have to work and get things done around the house so I'm still working on balance. I know it's not an overnight achievement and I need to keep working towards that balance and hopefully I'll be at least close to that soon. Right now I know that things are getting better and moving in that direction anyways. Perhaps it's time to re-listen to those audio books and refresh my desire down this path of being more hands free. Thanks for reading! <3 Kim Do you or have you struggled with this too? Have you found something that has helped? I'd love if you'd share! P.S. I don't make money from the links provided, I just wanted to make things easier for you to find if you wanted too! Sunrise Beach Family Session | Fernandina Beach FL Family PhotographerI'm going to try to write this post without blubbering... I have had the joy and pleasure of capturing this family's milestones over the last 3.5 years and watching their family grow. But this family is so much more to me... I met Mrs. B through La Leche League when my son was just 2 months and her oldest was 9 months. I still remember E sitting on a picnic table throwing cucumbers around and pretending to eat them. I hadn't even thought of starting my photography business yet as I was just trying to keep my head above water with the whole new mom thing (with a deployed husband). It takes me sort of a long time to really develop a friendship but I knew I liked her early on and looked forward to the monthly LLL meetings when I got to spend some time with my new mommy friends and get support at the same time. Fast forward later that year when I was sort of interested in trying to do more photography but not entirely sure anyone would actually pay me, nor did I know anything about business or how much to charge. Mrs. B commented that she liked my work and would love me to do newborn photos for them when #2 arrived in February. She somehow trusted and believed in me before I really believed in myself. It was then I decided to launch my business. My son was still little so I took it really slow the first year and didn't take on many sessions. The following year, I was ready to do more and get my name out there but I needed someone to watch my son, someone I could trust, and that person was Mrs. B. If it weren't for her, I probably would not have the business I do today. She believed in my work and supported me from the very beginning. But it's not all about my business, I value her friendship so much more. I don't think I'd be the mom I am today without her support and friendship. It started with LLL, and continued with our little pre-school homeschool group and playdates with the kids. She's so much better at words than I am but I hope she knows how much she has meant to me these last 4 years. So the part that really gets me blubbery is that they are transferring soon. Ah the military life. And I'm going to miss them terribly (as is my son). They'll no longer be just down the street and we won't see them each week at homeschool co-op. I'm thankful that I'll still be able to watch them grow from afar through Facebook and I'm sure my son will want to Skype with them too. This is their last family session with me before they head off on their next adventure. We decided the kids would all be happier in the morning, so we planned a sunrise session, and the sunrise was beautiful! Everyone was in a good mood which made this session so easy! Ok, it may also help that they know me so well and are used to me putting a camera in their face. But really, it turned out to be one of my favorite sessions. And now that you've read (or skimmed) about how sad I am to be saying farewell to this family in a couple months... here are some of my favorites from their session.
(You may notice there are photos of Dad with the kiddos and not Mom... don't worry, that's because we have a special session coming up for just Mom and the kiddos!) Thank you C family for trusting me to capture your families memories these last several years and for having me a part of your lives. You have all been such a special part of my life. I'm going to really miss you all! <3 Kim Owner/Photographer-Artist Kimberly Tank Art & Photography Need to update your family photos or get some on the wall? Contact me today for more information on scheduling your family session!
8 Benefits of Doing a Summer Beach Session | Amelia Island Family PhotographerSummer is here in Southeast Georgia and Northeast Florida. School is out, beach days are abundant, and yes, it's hot. But don't let the heat deter you from booking a family session this summer. I happen to love summer sessions, especially when they're at the beach. So why would you want to book a summer beach session? 1 - Take advantage of the beautiful summer sunsets (or sunrises) at the beach.
2 - If your walls are full of fall family photos with cool weather clothing... mix it up and show off summer fun on your walls. I had a client come to me last month for this very reason!
3 - Lighter schedules. Yours and mine! With school out, your family schedule might be lighter and easier to work with. It's also typically easier to get a session during the summer than it is in the fall when everyone is scrambling for updated family photos for holiday cards.
4 - Capture your family vacation memories. Are you taking a vacation to the beach? It's the perfect time to have family photos done and have a reminder of all the fun you had!
5 - Summer clothing colors might work better with your vision for your session. The first time we did family photos at the beach, I couldn't find the colors I had envisioned us wearing because they were out of season. Then we did them during the summer and it was much easier finding the colors I wanted.
6 - Your photo budget doesn't have to compete so much with your Christmas/holiday budget if you do them in the summer vs. fall.
7 - Maybe you have a summer birthday or anniversary you want to celebrate and capture with a photo session. Last year, my family and I booked a summer photo session around my husband and my anniversary. It was a great way to celebrate!
8 - The warmth of summer has it's upsides... the ocean is warmer if you want to capture your family playing in the water a bit. And with the ocean breeze, a summer evening won't feel as hot and sticky as the afternoons.
<3 Kim Owner/Photographer-Artist Kimberly Tank Art & Photography Considering a summer beach session? Contact me today for more information on scheduling your family session! Select July and August dates available.
Newborn Photography | Why book a newborn photo session? | St Marys GA - Fernandina Beach FLIt sounds so cliche, but yet it's still so true... our children grow entirely too fast. The days are long but the years are short. My son is 4.5 and is looking more and more like a big kid every day. Where did my baby go?
At least I can look around my house and see the framed photographs of him as a newborn and a baby. Those memories will forever be with me and the photographs help take me back to those times that seem to have passed in a blur. My son loves to look at these photographs too and flip through the albums from his first year of life and listen as I tell him stories about when he was a baby. He can see on our faces in the photographs how excited we were to welcome him into the world and how much he is loved. The one thing I wish I had done differently was to hire a professional for our newborn photos. I was still very much an amateur photographer and didn't know anyone locally that did in home newborn sessions and I knew I didn't want to go to a studio... who really wants to leave the house with a brand new baby if they don't have to? I didn't. So I did a lot of them myself and had a friend use my camera to take our family ones, which did turn out well. But my son was cranky and I knew nothing about how to best prepare for the session and it would have been so nice to have someone else doing all the worrying, planning, and editing! I didn't get any great ones of just him because he didn't want to be put down and I didn't know enough about newborn photography to know any tricks to get him to settle nor how to set up a really good newborn shot. But I knew then, that I liked in-home newborn sessions and that I would need a lot more practice and a workshop or class to be able to provide these for clients once I launched my business. Once I learned about newborn posing, I thought I'd want to do a lot of it, but then I really loved the more laid-back, baby-led, family approach to newborn sessions in lifestyle photography. So I started doing a mix and applying my posing knowledge just enough to make sure baby is in a safe position and find the most flattering positions for new moms. Each session has a different balance to it based on each unique family. Some prefer more direction so they don't feel awkward in front of the camera, while others prefer to just let me capture the natural interactions they have with their baby while I'm there. I want to make it as easy and relaxed as possible. Bringing a new baby home is already a big change and there's no reason to stress over a photo session. If you'd like some tips on how to prepare for a newborn session and a little more about my services, check out my Newborn Guide below! (Click the image to view the guide)
Click here if you'd like to see some of my recent newborn sessions on the blog. <3 Kim Owner/Photographer-Artist Kimberly Tank Art & Photography Expecting or just had a baby? Contact me today for more information on scheduling an in home newborn session! |
Kimberly Tank is an award-winning professional photographer in Rockledge, FL, servicing Brevard County on the Space Coast in Central Florida (including Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Merritt Island, Viera and surrounding areas). Using natural light and custom on location sessions, Kimberly Tank specializes in photographing families from babies to seniors and commercial clients, both on land and underwater; providing an exceptional customer experience and helping save you time and preserve this chapter in your life's story. Kimberly Tank is a proud member and ambassador of National Association of Professional Child Photographers. Signup for my monthly newsletter and receive a FREE PDF on taking better photos of your kids! Click HERE Contact Me for more info and/or to book a session
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Kimberly Tank is an award winning professional lifestyle photographer in Rockledge, FL, servicing Brevard County in Central Florida (including Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Viera and surrounding areas). Using natural light and custom on location sessions, Kimberly Tank specializes in photographing families from babies to seniors and underwater photography; providing an exceptional customer experience and helping you capture your story and turn your memories into works of art.