Shoot & Share Contest 2017 // k.H.a. lifestyle photographer // Columbus Lifestyle Photographer

March 20, 2017 By // by kate

So in January when the Shoot&Share contest opened for submissions, I thought about it.

Then I walked away and I thought about it some more.

And the final day that they were accepting submissions, I did it, I did the big scary and hit submit for my favorite 50 photos from the past year. To a contest that is 100% based only on the images, no names, no watermarks, and no branding (aside from the styles that we’ve all spent thousands upon thousands of hours (dollars) on defining and perfecting).

To a contest that is 100% based only on the images, no names, no watermarks, and no branding”

The next few weeks are spent voting. Obsessively. From pretty much any device that we could our hands on, we voted. (I say we because pretty much of all of the TEN THOUSAND photographers that entered more than 300,000 photos) were voting.

And working, and, running households, and voting.

I even got my husband into it, showing him different sets, with him talking about how cool the shots were.

This, from the man whose analytical and mathematical mind never ceases to amaze me, but who’s general response to my work when I show my him screen as I’m editing, or have finalized a photo, is “that’s nice” (invariably the same response be it a wedding portrait of a bride, or, one of a set from a recipe that I’m testing.) He got into these images as well.

It was fantastic.

Top 10% in Shoot&Share 2017. @khalifestylephotography @cookeatexlore Share on X

So then the voting ends. The working and the running a household continues, and in the back of your mind, you know that the results are coming out. So you watch the results come out, and wait.

This year, this first year that I entered, I was THRILLED whenever I got a new favorite. The contest (Thank you Andrew Barlow) sends out a note letting you know that someone else voting liked your images enough to want to save it to look back at later.

There are photographers who were getting 300 likes, and I’m over here, THROUGH THE ROOF excited when I ended the contest with 11.

For those of us who knew that we hadn’t made it to the finals, but knew that we’d made it a hell of a lot farther than we’d ever imagined (I’m lookin’ at you So Smith Photography (and, BTW, WE DID THIS!) had to wait until after everything else had been announced to find out where we’d placed.

And today, we found out.

Out of more than 300,000 photos that were entered across the categories, I had one in the top 10%, and two in the top 30%.

I am so proud of myself, and I’m even more proud that two of those three photos are my shots for Cook.Eat.Explore (the food blog that is the other side of my business)

It’s been a very eventful and interesting past year, and I am so happy to have placed the first time out of the gate.

Stick around, we have fun things coming up this year.

El Dorado Dry Lake Bed Styled Shoot // WPPI 2017 // k.H.a. Lifestyle Photography // Columbus Lifestyle Photographer

March 4, 2017 By // by kate

WPPI‘s annual conference is (like many) in Las Vegas each year, and is one of the biggest of the industry.

This year, I flew down with Capri, the amazing photographer and creative behind Capri Aristry Photography, and we dove in head first.

Although the conference started on Monday, we got in on Saturday afternoon, because, well, Vegas.

Capri’s brother in law picked us and our outrageous amount of luggage up at McCarran, we hit up Whole Foods and the liquor store for room snacks and cocktails, dumped our stuff in our room at the MGM and off we went.

The next day, after getting breakfast at the Wynn’s buffet, we headed out to the dry lake bed of El Dorado.

Capri set up a loosely styled shoot out for anyone who was in town and wanted to get together to shoot before the crazy of the conference started, talking her brother in law and his wife (and her friends) into modeling for us, during the Super Bowl, no less.

For those of y’all not in the photography world, a shoot out is where a bunch of photographers all photograph the same models. It’s a fun atmosphere, you can bounce ideas off of industry colleagues, network, and above all, get to get creative.

Ophelia, Capri’s sister in law, talked a few of her friends into coming out as well, and tapped on some of her connections for florals.

Enter Mylo.

I got to ride out to El Droado with Mylo and lemme tell ya, this woman is AMAZING.

She’s a killer florist, wonderful woman, and all around kicks ass. If you’re in Vegas and need florals, you HAVE to get in touch with her. She owns Mylofleur Floral Designs, and everything she does is gorgeous. (she also plays piano for Cirque du Soleil.)

One of Mylo’s friends is a fashion designer, and she had the foresight to bring a couple of the Herbio Brown couture gowns with her.

The light in the desert is unlike anything else. I can’t wait to get back and get my camera out again.

I most definitely cannot wait to get Mylo in front of my camera again either.

To my fellow photographers, (and, anyone else who may be heading to Vegas) I’d definitely suggest making a trip next year to the WPPI conference. The photography industry is always changing, it was nice to learn new things and connect with amazing photographers. The site Vegas.com has awesome hotel and flight package deals if your heading that way for any other conferences that might be happening this year.

Event Photography

.what to expect.

Event coverage is FUN. I love being able to capture the details of your event, from the fine details of the tables and decor, the Emcee, the presenters, and the signage. I love all of it.

.planning.

I’m a firm believer that in order to capture the truest emotions and the most genuine interactions, the relationship between yourselves and your photographer is hugely important. As such, I like to sit down with my clients, both long time and prospective, over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine at the end of the workday as an initial consultation for all events.

Once we’ve both decided that we’re a good fit, we’ll walk through k.H.a. lifestyle photography’s event photography contract, both signing, a retainer of 50% of your total package will be paid, and then the planning starts.

Email me your ideas, link me into your Pinterest board, or tag us @k.h.a.lifestylephotography on Instagram. Send me links to articles that has shots you like, my only goal for your day is to make sure that you love the final images. I can best serve you when I have a crystal clear idea of what you’re wanting.

.product delivery.

Once your event has been captured, it will take me no longer than two weeks to develop & finalize your gallery. Once it’s complete, we’ll have a reveal session at which you will select the images for the products you wish to order. After all selections have been made, it will be approximately two weeks until delivery.

This is where event photography can vary a bit from a normal portrait session. Depending on the coverage options and package that is built, a digital gallery may be made available as well.

Questions? Let’s sit down for a cup of coffee!

#khalifestylephotography #cookeatexplore #theladyh

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