I have been featured!

Posted on October 11, 2011

I am super excited to announce that I have been featured on the Des Moines Wedding Savvy blog! Des Moines Wedding Savvy is a fabulous little blog all about planning a wedding in the Des Moines area. I am honored to be included as a feature on their Real Wedding Wednesday. Be sure to stop on over and check it out, and leave a comment as it is always nice to see those. This is my personal favorite image from the day:

Kate and Ben ~ An Ames, Iowa wedding

Posted on September 28, 2011

Kate and Ben had a fantastic…but WARM day for their wedding. Everyone was such good sports though and despite the heat we had a great time and have many fantastic images to show for it. Below are a few of my favorites from the day. There are two images in the collage from my fantastic second photographer for the day: Cassie Scott of Garnet Photography. I really encourage my couple to go with the second photographer option if it works for their budget…so many times that Cassie (or any of my other second photographers) are able to get a second angle that really adds to the coverage of the day. I offer collection with assistants and with second photographers, both are great options and I would be happy to discuss the differences with you if you are looking for a photographer for your upcoming wedding.

Anywho…back to the details! Kate and Ben were married at the Iowa State Memorial Union in the Great Hall. What a fabulous space! The ceremony was held, we did a short session in the Great Hall and then we headed outside to the ISU campus for a location session while the MU staff “flipped” the hall to reception mode. Due to the heat and the ready availability of a party bus the wedding party decided to take a little trip over to Olde Main Brewing Company in downtown Ames. I am simply in love with their staircase…the light…the angles…photographic sweetness! 

Lisa and Joe ~ A Des Moines wedding

Posted on September 21, 2011

Lisa and Joe are quite possibly two of the sweetest people I have ever met, and I know a lot of sweet people! We had a wonderful summer day for their wedding, not too hot and just the right amount of sun and clouds. The ceremony was at St. Mary of Nazareth in Des Moines with the reception following at the Hyperion Field Club. Both of these venues are beautiful places to photograph in…combine that with such a fantastic couple and it was truly a magical day. St. Mary’s has some fabulous old trees that are wonderful and create a bit of a fairytale kind of mood. One of the groomsmen happened to have a football in his car…so we used that for a few images. I love how Joe is so into the football thing in the images! They had a sweet little candy buffet that coordinated perfectly with their colors of yellow and grey…very cute! Then of course there were the center pieces which Lisa and a few helpers designed and put together themselves. This was a fabulous wedding and I really enjoyed the day. I am trying out some new software for creating the image collages for the blog…let me know what you think of it.

Marci and Jake~An Iowa City wedding

Posted on September 21, 2011

Well helllllooo readers! Long time no see right? I know…I am horribly behind in my blogging! I have been so busy with wedding season and portrait sessions that the blogging has slipped a bit. And I have so much fantastic stuff to share! I am going to start with Marci and Jake a very sweet couple that got married in Iowa City in June. They were blessed with some fantastic weather and working in a new location was fantastic for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Ames and Des Moines weddings…but it is exciting to get out to new places and try out new locations. The challenge adds a nice little edge to the day. There are a lot of images for this post as we used several locations.

So, there is a massive blog post! As always, I was blessed to work with such an amazing couple, thank you Marci and Jake for including me in your wedding day. Marci and Jake have a fabulous album on the way too…so be watching for some images of it when it arrives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brides needed~ Carisa Keeling~Iowa wedding photographer

Posted on June 25, 2011

This little project has been a HUGE undertaking for me and I am finally almost ready to reveal it.  I am getting ready to launch a brand new magazine style investment guide for my 2012 weddings.  But before I start passing it out I need to get a few more eyeballs on it.  I will be honest, proof reading has never been my strong suit!  LOL To encourage a bit of participation I have devised a little contest.  I am looking for a few brides (no more than 10) that will look through the brochure and give me some honest and thorough feedback on it. Grooms, if you are interested you can absolutely join in the fun! Everyone who participates will receive a 10% discount on their collection if they book a 2012 wedding with me in the next 30 days.  Just to sweeten the deal one lucky participant will save a whopping 40% on their wedding collection!  The wedding would have to be on an available date, of course and would need to be booked by July 30th. This little contest will only be open to new wedding clients. Are you a current or former client of mine and you want in on the fun too? You know I love you guys, so if you want to participate I will have a little something special for each of you.  In true CKP style, it will be something unique to you that I think you will like. Perhaps a complementary family session, a discount on a print order, a set of custom birth announcements…it just depends on what I think might “fit” for you.

So, if you are up for it drop me an email through the contact page above and let me know you are interested in the “Proofing contest”.  By the way, the winner of the 40% discount will be selected by random number generator. Here is an image of the cover of the new investment guide: featuring Marci and Jake a fabulous couple from my recent wedding in Iowa City. Sneak peak from their day coming very soon!

Nicki and Drew are married! ~Wedding Photography by Carisa Keeling

Posted on May 29, 2011

Nicki and Drew had an amazing day!  I was fortunate enough to be their photographer and it was a great experience.  Nicki has such an energy to her…and it is infectious!  The whole day was very upbeat, fun and entertaining.  It was also quite obvious that these two are very much in love.  Their families and friends were a fantastic group and really showed their love and support of the happy couple.  We started the day photographing the final preparations in the bride’s room. The bridesmaids assisted Nicki into the dress and then it was time for the first look. Most of my couple choose to do their group photo session before the wedding, but I like to make sure that the first time the groom sees the bride is still special.  Drew was so patient!  He must have stood at the front of the church for close to 10 minutes before Nicki came down the aisle.  She was so excited she nearly sprinted down the aisle.  It was a very special moment and very touching to see.  Then the wedding party, my assistant and I all headed outdoors for a couple of location sessions.  A couple weeks before the wedding we had spotted this fabulous barn while we were driving around.  Nicki’s mom later called the owners to ask if we could shoot there on the wedding day.  They were more than happy to share their home with us, and it was a great location!  The environmental portraits were just fantastic! Below are my favorites from the day, at least a small selection of them anyway!  I had to trim back a little or this blog post would have been in a little unmanageable in size.  I hope that you enjoy looking through the images, be sure to leave Nicki and Drew some love in the comments section.

 

I have decided that I have the absolute BEST clients in the world.  I have been so blessed with couples that are fun, entertaining and that make the wedding day just fly by.  Thank you so much, not only Nicki and Drew…but all of my clients!

Emily and Kevin ~ a wedding by Iowa wedding photographer Carisa Keeling

Posted on May 23, 2011

Well, wedding season is officially underway at Carisa Keeling Photography.  What a fantastic way to start things off too, Kevin and Emily were a wonderful couple to work with and despite a little bit of rain and some down right chilly temperatures we had a fantastic time.  Photographing this wedding was an wonderful experience, it was very obvious that these two are totally in love with each other.  The love and support of their families and friends was something special to see as well.  I had a bit of a hard time choosing my favorites for the blog, but these are the ones that made MY favorites list.

Be sure to check back often, as the wedding season is going to be a busy time and there will be lots of fabulous images to take a look at.  If you know of someone getting married next year, be sure to have them check out the site…I am filling up dates quickly.

Enjoy!

Rain drops can be fun!  Kevin, Emily and the entire wedding party were troopers…it was COLD when we were shooting these…not that you can tell to look at them

I really like the intimate feel of this image and I just had to use a black and white conversion that simulates the “feel” of film.

This moment was right after Kevin and Emily were introduced for the first time as husband and wife.  I always like to capture the moments right after the couple exits the church as emotions are so high at that time.

We stopped into Olde Main Brewing Company for a little mini session to give the rain a chance to let up for a few minutes.  This stairwell had such fantastic texture to it.

This image just had to be the finale to the post!  Emily told me the story of these vintage pools balls.  She was in an antique shop and someone told her about seeing something similar at a wedding.  So she grabbed a set of pool balls that, while they don’t match each other…they do bear a constant reminder of the wedding date!  What a fantastic idea.  Thanks Kevin, for bringing the pool ball supports too!  If you are getting married I challenge you to think of a cute prop that you can use in your images…if nothing else it provides fantastic entertainment and creative juice for your photographer!

Kevin and Emily, again thank you so much for having me involved in your big day!  I wish you happiness and love to last a lifetime!

Jeanna and Charles are married ~ Ames wedding photographer, Carisa Keeling

Posted on January 17, 2011

Now that things are a little quieter, I have some posts to catch up on!  Jeanna and Charles were a fabulous couple to work with.  Jeanna is such a warm and caring person and you can tell that Charles is just totally head over heals in love with her.  We started with a portrait session with just the two of them on the Iowa State campus.  The colors were amazing, and the weather was pretty cooperative!

After we finished up at ISU we headed over to Snus Hill winery for the ceremony and reception festivities.  What a gorgeous setting for a wedding!

We had a gorgeous sunset to work with.  These were some of my favorites from the entire day.

Jeanna and Charles~Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your day!  I had a great time and you were a pleasure to work with.

Stephanie and Ryan ~ Wedding Photography by Carisa Keeling

Posted on December 5, 2010

As usual things have been a little crazy in my life lately.  My little girl Ava just woke up from her nap and comes into my office… “Whatcha doin’ mommy?”  When I told her I was blogging some wedding pictures she wanted to watch.  So she sat on my lap to see what I was doing.  ”Mommy, who is that?” she asks as she points to the computer screen.  I told her that the picture was of Stephanie, one of my clients.  ”She is really beautiful mommy.  Is she a princess?”  Stephanie and Ryan are a bit of a fairy tale couple, they are just that sweet and caring…not to mention easy to work with.  The images that follow are some of my favorites from their wedding day.  I hope you enjoy looking through the images.

Stephanie’s dress was beautiful and the light coming through the window at the church really showed the details nicely.

A simple and beautiful image of Stephanie.  The church has some beautiful light to work with in a variety of location as you will see in the next few images.

The above image was captured just as Stephanie walked up the stairs for the ceremony.  I think you can tell she is just a little bit nervous, but gorgeous none the less.

I love the look on Stephanie’s father in this image.

This was a great set of images.  The sun was getting low behind the trees and the light filtering through was wonderful.  There was just a touch of sun flare which added to the mood.

Stephanie and her family spent a lot of time and effort on the decorations.  The reception hall looked fabulous and the decor was perfect for a fall wedding.

Stephanie and Ryan decided to go with one small decorated cake to cut and then a variety of cupcakes.  The result was beautiful and delicious!

I am always looking for unique and different places to put the wedding rings for their formal portait!  ;-)  This topiary served as a perfect backdrop.

God served up an amazing sunset for the close of the evening.  The colors were so bright and awe inspiring.  I just had to ask Stephanie and Ryan to step away from their party for a few minutes to catch a couple of quick portraits.  I think the results were definitely worth it.

Stephanie and Ryan, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your wedding day.  I truly enjoyed it.

Abbie and Brian are married! ~ Carisa Keeling Photography, Ames Iowa

Posted on September 19, 2010

Another fabulous couple and a fabulous day.  Abbie and Brian are such sweet hearts, and they are just absolutely adorable together.  We got some great shots and they even braved the mosquitoes for a few minutes at the end of the night.  It was worth it, those evening images are some of my favorites from the day.

I just loved the expression on Brian’s face in this shot!

Abbie just lit up with the most beautiful smiles if I asked her to look at Brian.

I love this image.  It has such a romantic candid feel to it.  Abbie was an extraordinarily graceful bride and this image captures a little of that.

It is a little hard to decide, but I think this is my favorite image from the day.  The best part, you can’t even tell that the mosquitoes are eating us all alive!  Abbie and Brian, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your day.  It was an honor and a blessing.

Next Page »