Jillisa and James~Engaged ~ Iowa portrait photographer Carisa Keeling

Posted on May 8, 2012

I love spring-time engagement sessions, but we do live in Iowa and the weather can be unpredictable! We had to post-pone this engagement session due to some crazy strong winds the afternoon we had originally planned. About a week later, the weather was perfect and I had a fabulous time with these two! You can tell that James is completely smitten with Jillisa, who is such a sweetheart! These two are simply fun to be around, their smiles are infectious and they are the type of people who just improve your mood simply by sharing space with them.

Congratulations on your engagement guys! I can’t wait until October and your wedding, I know it is going to be fabulous! Thanks for having me as your photographer!

Emily’s portraits~Iowa Photographer Carisa Keeling

Posted on May 1, 2012

This set of images doesn’t really fit into a category perfectly. It was a little bit senior portrait mixed with a little bit business head shot. And it was a LOT of fun! It is always a blast when you get to try out new things and play with new equipment and have a model that is willing to work with you. Emily is actually my cousin, and she is graduating from college soon and will be looking for a job. I told her we could do some basic head shots and then we would try out some other things to. Congratulations to you Emily! I hope the “real” world is all you want it to be and more!

My sweethearts~Central Iowa children photography

Posted on April 26, 2012

Every once in a while I decide to try and take a few images of my own kiddos. Ok, it is more than once in a while…it is pretty frequently. It is actually so frequently that my little boy typically runs from my camera and even my camera phone! But I know in my heart that these memories are so fleeting, the innocence of their childhood will only last for this brief period of time and I really want to capture that in a way that will really and truly help me hold on to it when they are grown. Most of the time, I get nice images, but to be honest…taking images of your own kids is one of the hardest things a photographer can do. It is really a challenge to wear the mommy hat and the photographer hat at the same time.

Tonight, was a rare and special night…a night when I was able to capture just a little of hint of that amazing innocent quality that make these two so precious to me. Even more importantly for me, I was able to get these images and still be in the moment with them. So what if they are not in matching clothes and the shorts Ava has on are two sizes too small (she keeps insisting she wear them). For me, these images are perfect…just the way I want them because this was exactly how they were tonight. Happy, joyful, full of hope…I can look at Ava and see a little tiny glimpse of the woman she will be some day, and in some ways that makes me just a little sad. They just grow up so fast.

So, these images are important to me, and I love them. One of the things I am guilty of is always thinking I will make a wall art piece with the next image when her hair is pulled back, or when  he doesn’t have dirt on his face. Well, not this time. These are going to be gracing my office wall in the very near future. And yes, I will get some gift prints to the grandparents too!

Little Mr. L~children’s portraits by Carisa Keeling

Posted on April 23, 2012

Mr. L was about the most charming little guy I have met in recent history. He was sweet and so full of expressions. We had a great studio session and he was very cooperative as I changed things around and he changed clothes. I was amused to see that he also had a little Sofie the giraffe…Ava had one of those when she was little too and he was dearly loved.

Olivia turns 2~Central Iowa portrait photographer Carisa Keeling

Posted on April 21, 2012

It is hard to believe that I have been taking portraits of little Miss Olivia for two years now. It is such a fabulous joy to get to watch these little ones as they grow and change. She looks so much like her mommy, who happens to be one of my dearest friends. Olivia was pretty easy going to most of her session, but the expressions really came out when we went outside just before sunset. I love the ones of her smiling and clasping her hands together with the fading sun streaming through her hair. The little boy in the last images is actually my son, Blake. He is about 6 months older than her and he was in a cooperative mood towards the end of the session. Normally, he runs and hides when I get out my camera! I guess I have taken a few too many images of him!

Thank you Kendra and Andy for letting me capture these moments for you!

Baby A~Central Iowa newborn photography

Posted on April 21, 2012

I love having little newborns in the studio! So sweet, so innocent, so adorable! Little baby A was indeed all of these things. She has two older brothers and I think it is safe to say the entire family was excited to have a little princess. I have a sneaking suspicion that she is going to be a tad bit spoiled, but aren’t all girls supposed to be that way?

Keep in mind, the best time to schedule a newborn session is before you have the baby! I really like to keep my newborns penciled into my calendar so that we can get the session completed in the first week. That is the best time to get the curly, sleeping, dreamy images.

Little Baby J ~ A newborn session from Carisa Keeling Photography

Posted on January 4, 2012

Here is another fantastic newborn session! This little guy was so sweet to work with, but we were starting to think that he would never fall asleep for us! But once he did, we were able to get a lot of great images. This is why it is so important to get these tiny ones in before they are 2 weeks old. In fact that sooner the better. Once they are alert enough to know what is going on it is much more difficult to get them to go all nice and sleepy for the session. Of course, sometimes the newborn session is a bit longer than a typical session…everything revolves around the baby and what they are comfortable with. Great chance for me to get a few baby snuggles in too, that might be my favorite part!

Little Baby C ~ Ames, IA photographer Carisa Keeling

Posted on January 4, 2012

Oh how I love my newborn sessions! There is just something amazing about having a tiny baby in the studio. They change oh so fast, and I love that I am able to capture these sweet precious moments. Little C was a fantastic baby to work with, and she has some pretty amazing parents too. If you have been considering newborn portraits the best time to do them is before the baby is 2 weeks old. My schedule has been filling quickly, so I really recommend that you contact me before your due date to tentatively arrange for a time. If you would like more pricing information on newborn sessions please drop me a line through the contact form.

A Maternity session~Ames photographer

Posted on May 31, 2011

I just had to share a few images from a recent maternity session.  I have had a lot of requests to see some maternity images…so here ya go folks!

In a few weeks I will be sharing the images from the newborn session too.  In fact, these clients will become regulars on the blog as they are the newest members of my Little Ones program.  If you are pregnant I invite you contact me for more details on this program.  It is a fantastic value, but more importantly, it is a wonderful way to document all of the changes that occur so quickly in that first year.

 

Rebeka and Scott~an engagement session by Carisa Keeling Photography

Posted on May 31, 2011

Recently I had the opportunity to meet up with Rebeka and Scott for their engagement session.  Fabulous weather, an easy going and fun couple and plenty of time made for a fantastic session.   We photographed the session on the beautiful Iowa State University campus.  I know I am a bit biased, but the ISU campus is really hard to beat in beauty this time of year…well, almost any time of year really.  :-)  I am really looking forward to Rebeka and Scott’s wedding which will be this coming fall.  Oh, and afterwards, we are going to do an post wedding day session.  I hesitate to call it a “trash the dress” session, as I am not sure yet how much trashing Rebeka will be up for…but either way, it will be a fantastic opportunity for more fabulous images in her gown.  Day after or trash the dress sessions are great additions to your wedding package, if you are interested drop me a line through the contact page above and I can give you more details.  You do not have to be a current wedding client to do one of these sessions with me, though current clients do get fantastic deals

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