Haute Shot

Haute Little Coasters!

2012-02-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

This is the image I won 2nd place with at last month's Professional Photographer's print competition in Houston. There were many things about this image that I wanted to change but due to time constraints were unable to accomplish in time for last month's competition. I am, however, going to re-shoot this for other competitions so I can show this version! :)

I LOVE Pinterest and have many folders on there. Come follow me!

I found this and want to share! This is from Positively Spendid... she always has cute little ideas and recipes.

It was reposted by Midwestern Sewing Girl and is such a cute idea I wanted to share.

I love fun little crafty ideas and may start offering short little make it and take it type classes. Let me know if this is something you'd be interested in!

~K

Haute New Year....

2012-01-19T17:56:00.000-08:00

So many things happening already this New Year! I just got back from New Orleans where Imaging USA was. This is the largest Professional Photographer's Association convention of the year as it is the National/International convention. I was so happy for one of my best friends, Richard Sturdevant, who won the Grand Imaging Award! Other great friends were awarded their Master's designations as well.

I attended lots of great classes and learned more and more in each one. I felt like my head was going to explode by the time it was over!

For people looking for a photographer, please be careful these days. There are so many people coming into this industry and so many people are being taken advantage of. A topic of discussion was many stories about people paying photographers and never receiving their products, people paying a great deal for wedding photography and the supposed "professional" showing up with no lights and one camera and having equipment issues - so no photos on one of the most important days...also people that are unsavory, with criminal backgrounds, etc...When you hire someone that is supposed to be a professional to photograph a child, be careful and make sure you know about the photographer and you don't let the child out of your site. If you hire a photographer and want boudoir photos, be careful when they want to take your photo at a hotel or some site not located in a studio. Make sure you know enough about your photographer that you are safe! Also, there is an app now called "Been Verified" that is free and you can check backgrounds (criminal included) so check your photographer's background if they don't have a studio or you are not sure about them!! There are a lot of good, trustworthy photographers out there of course but just be careful!

I was very happy to win 2nd place in the print competition in January at the Professional Photographer's Guild of Houston. I was also voted in as a Board Member at Large. I love my photography family and was honored by this. Our guild has almost 400 members with a very active print competition each month so placing is an honor.

Gearing up for Valentine's Day so contact me to book your session!

Also, I'm engraving for Francis Ford Coppola this Saturday so email me for details!

Have a great weekend!
~Kelly

Haute Awards...

2011-12-06T17:25:00.001-08:00

I know I said I was signing off until after the new year but I had to come back because I am very excited to say that the Professional Photographers Guild of Houston had their awards banquet Sunday night. This was the first day of our Winter Convention and Mini Trade Show. We had Doug Box, John Woodward, Richard Sturdevant, Doug Gordon, and Kirk Voclain as speakers. It was a fantastic learning experience!

The awards banquet was so much fun. I won Best of Individual (Portrait), Best of Illustrative AND Photographer of the Year for 2011! These awards are based on print competition image scores. The highest score in each category determined the winner of the Best of awards. The Photographer of the Year award is determined by the highest scores averaged together. To be considered one must enter a minimum of 5 print competitions, then the highest 3 scores are averaged and the highest average score is the winner.

I was very honored to win these awards!

Signing off again! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

xoxo
~Kelly

Happy Haute Holidays!

2011-11-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Signing off the blog and anything else that requires updating until next year! Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving...a VERY MERRY Christmas... and a Happy New Year!!

In January the following boudoir special will be available so the prints can be ready for Valentine's Day...Then watch for the newborn special!

I'll post engraving locations for Valentine's Day in January.

Until next year...
~K

Photos before the Holidays....

2011-11-21T17:20:00.000-08:00

These will probably be the last photos I am able to upload before the holidays! We had a fun road trip through Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas with me shooting, us gathering pecans, and my son and husband clay shooting!

I've photographed this old church ruin before but after noticing more decay to the building, I wanted to shoot it again because I'm not sure how much longer it will be there. This Church was built in the 1840's and I so wish they would maintain what's left of it but obviously not.

As the sun went down I painted it with light. It's amazing how different the same subject can look simply by changing the light.

These prints are soon to be on sale in a little boutique in Mississippi.

The holidays are fast approaching and as usual my schedule with engraving takes over. I'll be at Macy's Galleria this Black Friday and Macy's Memorial City Saturday. Great time to buy fragrance and get the engraving for free! I'll be engraving both days for Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and YSL!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
~K

Haute Newborn...

2011-11-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

This year is winding down with the holidays approaching and my engraving schedule is doing it's typical crazy thing now. I'll be posting my engraving schedule on the Facebook page so check it for dates, times and locations!

I'm trying to finish up the remaining sessions for the year and editing... and running behind so I appreciate the wonderful clients I have and their patience.

Now to post a photo...This little girl was the most precious thing to photograph! She was a little model at After Dark in Tucson. Tucson was so fun and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with Lindsey Adler, Brooke Shaden (again), Chuckie Arlund, and many others!

I will be running a newborn session special in January so stay tuned!

Winter Convention & Trade Show

2011-11-11T12:07:00.001-08:00

The Houston Professional Photographer's Guild is having a 2 day Winter Convention & Trade Show next month. It's going to be a great experience with 5 very well known speakers and ends with our end of year party! You won't want to miss this! For more information and to register go here: http://www.ppgh.org/2011convention

Deadlines...

2011-11-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

Will post some photos soon! I have deadlines to make in between travels and engraving events! Arizona was SO much fun and except for a little rain one morning the weather was gorgeous!! Engraving events are about to take over for the holidays so I will not be able to post much until after the New Year...more later!
Have a fantabulous weekend!!
~Kelly

Haute Fabulous Jewelry....

2011-10-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

I often think back about the different careers I've had in my life (yes I am ADD but that's not a bad thing!) and love where the path has led me. I was trained at the Paris Jewelry Institute and my first career was as a jeweler. I'm a certified jeweler and am a gemologist, although after so many years away from the industry I'd have a lot of catching up to do if I wanted to go back into it - but I don't.

I worked for my father the entire time I was a jeweler - although he didn't own a jewelry store - he actually was a Dallas Police Officer but saw a business opportunity and put his daughter to work at it. So I worked in a lab for him designing jewelry in wax, carving the wax, casting the gold, setting diamonds and other precious stones, and repairing jewelry. I did this for almost 15 years in the Dallas area.

Fast forward to today... one of my biggest clients is a jewelry store. I LOVE photographing jewelry!

Photos I've shot of jewelry have been featured in Modern Luxury Magazine, Antique Shops & Designers, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Paper City Magazine, Uptown Park advertisements, and the Buzz just to name a few.

Haute Shot will have some very good news to announce soon so stay tuned!!

Have a great weekend!
~K

Busy busy....

2011-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

This has been an extremely busy past month with no end in sight! It's also been very inspiring for me because I've been able to spend a lot of time with other artists. Last Saturday I spent in Austin with the fabulous artist Brooke Shaden and had SO much fun. It's great to get re-charged and inspired...food for the soul.

I'm working on competition prints and photographing wonderful clients. Have a great week!!

~K

Fun & Busy Week!

2011-10-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

This last week was spent half vacationing and half at the SWPPA print competition. I sat in and watched judging all day Friday and it was VERY interesting to say the least. One of my prints merited so that automatically makes it merit at the National level. I'm very happy about that. I can now post that photo! The other print I entered will be entered at National as well.

Facebook was lit up Friday about the judging. It seems that SWPPA has the toughest judging every year. That's ok, I merited so I am happy!

I'm catching up on work with jewelry ads this weekend and will be shooting all week. Gearing up already for the holidays as well!

Have a great week!
~K

Haute Happenings....

2011-09-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Another lag in updating and again I've been so busy but having lots of fun!! I've been engraving for Fendi and of course for individuals, and gearing up for the holidays.

I engraved 16 decorative perfume bottles this morning even though we blocked out this week for a vacation week. We are going to enjoy a couple of days having fun before this weekend's SWPPA convention! I love going to PPA conventions to see all of my photographer friends!

Have a great week and will post again after SWPPA!

~K

Seriously Haute Times...

2011-09-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Texas is hot and literally burning up! We need rain desperately! There have been almost 500 homes destroyed today in wild fires around the state and my heart goes out to those that have lost everything.

My husband and I went out of town for the holiday weekend and came through the area that has been the worst hit just prior to it becoming so bad they had to close the highway. I can't imagine losing my home and everything in it and it only reminds me to have all of my photos stored somewhere else as well as at my home.

Again I've let the little blog down because I've been so busy. Not only is my work life busy but my personal life is always a whirlwind too! We've added a new family member...her name is Chi Chi...

...and she is SUCH a little diva. She is precious though but very demanding and time consuming but so much fun!

I love trying new things and have been wanting to "paint with light" for some time now. It requires a lot of preparation and is not as easy as it sounded but was so much fun! My husband actually helped with the prep on this one and was having as much fun as I was during the shooting process. I'm going to incorporate this type of lighting as much as I can with other things because I loved it!

This week I'm working on editing photos of jewelry, a business head shot, a maternity shoot for a very sweet mom to be driving almost 4 hours for me to shoot her, and I'll be working for Fendi with the launch of their new fragrance! Busy week!!

Have a great week and let's all pray for rain!!
~K

Haute Simones...

2011-08-05T13:32:00.001-07:00

I've been SO busy and haven't had time to keep up the posts so today I am making the time!

I'm so sad for this week to come to an end...I've spent the week with photography/lighting masters from Canada, Joseph and Louise Simone. This is the second time I've been fortunate enough to do this. The first time was in 2008 and I enjoyed it as much then as well. They are the dearest, sweetest people and are so generous to share their knowledge.

After almost no sleep all week I started not to post this photo but oh well. I love them dearly and respect them so much as photographers and just precious people.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Little Red School House which is the Dallas Professional Photographer's 2 day seminar they hold every year.

I absolutely love workshops and seminars because they allow me to meet so many great photographers, they inspire me and rejuvenate my spirit!

I can't wait to get back home and put into practice new techniques!

Have a great week!
~K

Haute Key....

2011-07-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, Key is her name and she is beautiful and again made my job so easy.

Today has been spent editing photos and it's been great. I love editing but I do get a little tired of being on the computer all day!

I'm also working on the website to be able to sell prints, texture sets, templates, and for client login. It's a huge undertaking and is very time consuming even though I am doing it through a company specializing in Professional Photographer sites. Not sure when it will be ready but I'll post it here when it's live.

Have a great rest of the week.... tomorrow will be spent in a Dentist's chair for me. :0/ More later...

~K

More of Melanie...

2011-07-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

Another black and white of Melanie....is she beautiful or what!? She made my job SO easy!

I haven't had time to do the composite yet but hopefully soon. I've had a request to do the graphics for a CD cover of a Southern Gospel Band and will hopefully start working on that this next week.

On a personal note... just purchased a recumbent trike - 3 wheel sort of bicycle - and it is SO much fun!! No photos to post of it but maybe after I get everything installed on it that I am getting! :0) Must get exercise and this was sort of a fun way to talk myself into it!

Have a wonderful rest of the week and upcoming weekend!

Haute Shot....

2011-07-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

Melanie is such a pretty girl!! I realized I uploaded the painted photo and not the black and white so here is the black and white...

Working on a composite for her and will upload that as soon as I get it finished!

Have a great week!
~K

Happy 4th of July...

2011-07-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of our service men and woman!! We can celebrate our Independence only because of you!!

Ok... a couple more photos of Montana and then I'll stop. It was so pretty and we had such a wonderful time! I'm NOT enjoying Houston heat right now. When we walked out of our Inn it was in the 40's in Big Fork and when we landed it was almost 100* in Houston. ugh...

I think this was a field of canola but am not sure. They were everywhere and absolutely beautiful!

Wildlife was abundant!

Now...back to editing photos! This beautiful lady was so FUN to shoot! I'll post more of her photos as I get them edited.

Again...Happy 4th of July!!
~K

Haute Montana...

2011-06-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

We are having so much fun here in Montana! Thought I would pop in since I finally have internet access and post a couple of photos...

So the photos just do NOT do justice to the actual views we are seeing here. It's beautiful, the air is so clean, the weather is absolutely gorgeous, and the sky goes on forever. We now understand completely why they call Montana "God's Country!"

The water is actually that green in the lake right now. They said it was from so much water flooding in. We hired a guide and went trout fishing and had a great time but it was so cold - which was amazing to us South Texas peeps used to 105*...

This poor little guy was dinner...along with a few more. A local restaurant here cooked them for us and served platters of sides. The food here has also been amazing and never have I visited any place where the people are more friendly! It's just been a great time! I had so much fun spending a few days with sweet Trevon Baker. His photography of Montana is absolutely beautiful. He has a newsletter where he showcases his photos so do a search for Trevon and his "Today in Montana" photos!

Have a fantastic upcoming 4th of July!!
~K

Haute little newborn...

2011-06-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

I had the most hilarious and fun shoot today! This precious newborn - that sleeps all the time his mommy told me - stayed awake longer than he ever has. Of course that's because we were trying to shoot newborn photos and needed him to sleep! That's ok, we had a lot of fun anyway and I had the joy of holding him as much as I could!

My sweet granddaughter is 5 and my son and his wife adopted her just before her 2nd birthday so I LOVE shooting newborns and getting to hold them!

Again, everyone have a great upcoming weekend and hopefully I'll be able to post some next week but if not next post will be around the 4th of July!

~K

Haute Happenings....

2011-06-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

Short post tonight....I'm so excited that my print received a 2nd place ribbon tonight at the Professional Photographer's print competition! So now I have 2 first place, 1 second and 1 third place ribbon for the competition prints!!!

Newborn shoot tomorrow and I'm taking my good photographer friend Melissa Dobbs with me. I'm hoping she and I partner up more often in the future!!

Then I'm off to shoot with sweet Trevon Baker in Montana on Friday!! I'll be shooting in Montana for about 9 days so more when I return in July!!!

Have a grrrrrreat summer!!!

~K

Haute Engraving Event...

2011-06-18T17:48:00.001-07:00

Today was spent engraving men's fragrance bottles for Givenchy. Again, Justin Timberlake's Play was the #1 selling fragrance. I love engraving fragrance bottles for all of my stores, vendors and even magazines.

This week is going to be crazy busy! I will be finishing things up to get ready to leave for Montana. I have just one session this week because everything else was rescheduled. I'll be doing a newborn session and will hopefully have time to post a photo before I leave.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!
~K

Haute Jewelry...

2011-06-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

I spent the day today photographing gorgeous jewelry. Since designing and creating jewelry was my first profession about 31 years ago, I LOVE photographing beautiful jewelry. This is just a sampling of the pieces I shot today:

I am still editing and trying to get caught up but I'm almost completely finished. Yay!

Have a great week!
~K

Haute Happenings...

2011-06-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to catch up and am so thankful I have the sweetest clients ever! Thank you for being so patient! I'm working hard to get everything finished before I leave in 2 weeks! I've rescheduled everything except for 1 session so I should get everything finished.

I'm also looking forward to really being able to relax, enjoy and photograph some of the most gorgeous scenery too! Hopefully the snow will be completely melted by then! It's so strange to think of encountering snow when the weather has been setting record highs above 100* here in Houston!

I'm on my laptop and everything I have been working on is on my Mac so the only thing I have to post right now is another print. :-)

Have a great upcoming weekend! Mine is going to be wonderful!
~K

Trying to catch up....

2011-06-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Yay, finally the kitchen is finished and now I have the 'fun' task of unpacking! That's ok, I WILL get it done!

I love doing maternity photos and I love it even more when they are repeat customers. And I am excited about doing the newborn shots when this little boy arrives.

I'm getting caught up on editing and I have more shoots scheduled before I leave for a wonderful photography trip to Montana. I'll be with the sweet and very talented Trevon Baker shooting models and plan to spend one day shooting at Glacier National Park! Trevon is a Master Photographer and so talented. Hopefully we'll have time to go to Flathead Lake as there is an island there with wild horses I'd love to shoot as well. I am so blessed to be able to do what I love and to do it with so many wonderful photographers in this business! I have such a supportive 'family' of photographers and it's always great when you have that in whatever business you are in. Speaking of which, one of our sweet photographers lost her mother this past week so prayers go out to Maria Bernal in Austin, Texas. Maria is a fashion photographer there and does beautiful work and is just a very sweet and talented friend.

Summer has arrived in Houston, Texas. We have been setting record highs which makes it hard to photograph outside but not impossible. I've just learned to have the session well planned in advance so we can be quick and efficient during the actual shoot so give me a call and let's schedule your session today!

~K

Crazy haute times.....

2011-05-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Things are crazy - as usual - but super busy. This week I've had to take time away from shooting to spend on my house. Kitchen re-do and for the past 2 days I've had a professional organizer helping me get organized at home! AMAZING the difference 2 days can make! I have LOVED it! I can't wait for my kitchen to be finished...but it's made for a great excuse to eat out every meal! :0)

Thank you to my clients that are being so patient waiting for their photos! I am working on them as I can but next week is still the expected delivery time! In the meantime, here is a precious little peek for one of you:

I can't wait to get back to shooting next week but I must admit this week has been a much needed break! Next week is more editing, shooting jewelry, preparing ads, and I am still trying to make time for my next competition print!!

Have a great holiday weekend and remember to thank our vets!
~K

Haute news...

2011-05-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yay! I won 1st place again last night in Houston's Professional Photographer's print competition! I've entered 3 times now and have won 1st place twice and 3rd place once. Last night there were almost 30 entries. Houston and Dallas are considered the closest to the national scoring in all of the Professional Photographer's chapters so it's such a great honor to have a print worthy of merit but even more so when it wins within the top 3 of all the images submitted. I wish I could post the photos here but competition prints are rarely found on the internet due to the conflict of potential judges seeing them prior to judging. Judges have to "0" themselves out if they know anything about a print prior to judging it so it's best to keep them as private as possible until they have run their course through the competitions. The Texas print competition is next so I am looking forward to entering.

Yesterday I had the privilege of spending time with Mike Fulton and Cody Clinton of Tri-Coast. They are so fun and amazingly talented. I learned a lot and really enjoyed their workshop.

Tomorrow is another maternity shoot and I'm looking forward to trying out some new techniques. And then it's time to work on another print I have in my mind...that I just need to get from my mind to a complete image and will be the first time I shoot strictly for print competition - instead of shooting and then turning the image into a competition image.

Have a great week and weekend!
~K

The latest...

2011-05-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week at Texas School! It takes a good week to recover but I've been going non-stop since returning. I engraved for Givenchy Friday, Saturday and Sunday, went out to shoot first thing Monday morning to get the last photos needed for my next print competition entry and then worked on it all day yesterday. I'm ALMOST finished and can't wait to enter it next Tuesday and get to do a mini workshop with Tri-Coast on the same day. Today I shot jewelry and prepared an ad for Paper City Magazine's Bridal issue. It's been crazy...

Texas School is the best week of learning, networking, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. The instructors there are the best in the US. Registering for TS is one of the most anticipated times of the year because at 11:01 when registration opens, people all over are sitting at their computers with their finger on the Enter key. Some classes fill up in a nano-second and Richard Sturdevant's class was one of those. Richard is very well known throughout the US for his Photographic Artistry and is the only photographer in the history of the Professional Photographer's Association to ever score a perfect print case in competition. This means he made 4 perfect 100 scores on his prints. It's hard enough to get a merit - which is an 80 or above - but to receive a perfect 100 is extremely difficult so to make 4 of them is astounding. Richard's work speaks for itself. He is a fantastic teacher and a dear friend and I loved getting to spend the week with him in class. I learned a lot and can't wait to use some of the techniques for client photos.

My main goal when I first started doing photography professionally was to hopefully one day license work. I am almost to the point that I have enough work in my inventory to do that so I am looking for a good licensing agent and attorney. If any of you know of one please private message me with the information. I personally have created prints, metal prints and canvases to sell but I need to reach the right markets for the images I have and can do that better by licensing. Again, if you know of someone good let me know. I have a dear friend that licenses her artwork but she doesn't recommend her people - they haven't been that good - so please let me know of GOOD people! :0)

Have a great week and weekend!
~K

Haute Happenings...

2011-04-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm falling down on the job when it comes to the blog! Trying to keep my head above water... :0) It's been crazy and it's not slowing down anytime soon. I shot the owner of a Thoroughbred with her horse this past weekend in Lubbock and have created a print of the horse. I can't post it here because it will be submitted in the next Professional Photographer's print competition. I have won 1st place and 3rd place the past two times I've entered and am hoping for a great score on this one as well! Here is a photo of her with her horse, she specifically requested this shot and was very happy with the results.

I've photographed jewelry this week and also a maternity session and am trying to get photos edited before this weekend. Saturday I'll be engraving for Givenchy, email me for times and location. Sunday I leave for Texas School and can't wait to spend the week with my favorite photographer and dear friend Richard Sturdevant! Then it's back to Houston Friday to engrave for Givenchy Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday for Mother's Day. Again, email me for times and locations.

Here's another new print for sale in my etsy store!

Have a great weekend and week and hopefully I'll have lots to report from Texas School!

<3
~K

Haute Etsy store....

2011-04-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

I have a storefront on etsy that I sell prints on. Check it out... store name is hauteshots.

The newest fine art print just added is:

I was out of town last week at a workshop with a fantastic artist/photographer/friend and was so inspired! I love to take workshops from great artists!

This week will be photographing a lot for stock. I need to refresh my libraries and need new images!

Have a great week!
~K

It's soapbox time...

2011-04-03T12:41:00.001-07:00

Today has been one of reflection and laughter...lots more of laughter though after reading some things on the internet having to do with this business! I've been out of town and had missed all the drama...:0)

The business of photography can be very serious and very comical all at once! For anyone thinking of getting into this business, understand first that it is one unlike any other... I know from experience because I've been in probably every other in my lifetime! Ok, I'll admit that I'm fairly old... FAIRLY! I've done a lot in my life and it's not always been easy, whose life is... right? But I've had a great ride in each and every thing I've done. Saying that, I can also say WITH EXPERIENCE that I have always seen a pattern when it comes to the arts and any business having to do with the arts. EGO...I've noticed that anything having to do with the arts seems to bring out a lot of ego in people, but especially newbies and especially these days.

This past month the photography industry has had a lot of photographers speaking out against each other and by doing so being forced to choose sides over one fairly new "rock star" photographer. The controversy has pitted a lot of photographers against each other in this business. What's so comical to me is that all of the controversy revolves around this "rock star" photographer ---- that is basically BRAND NEW to this industry. I say brand new because he has only been a photographer - not a professional photographer but a real-live-brand-new-to-a-camera photographer for about 5 years...and yet he is already a "rock star"...in his own mind. ??? Actually the only difference between him and any other brand new photographer is he hired a public relations firm. That doesn't make him a good photographer though...quite the opposite actually. This isn't the first time this has happened, there are a few other "rock star" photographers out there that have had controversy swirl around them and the main thing they all have in common is --- they are all fairly new to this industry.

I started out as a jeweler and gemologist (designed and created fine jewelry) about 30 years ago. In that industry I ran across numerous newbies that had this same ego issue. I've also done marketing, decorative art, taught art for over 6 years, I've had my art win numerous awards, been displayed in a museum and been purchased by people from all over the world, I've also won 2 ribbons in the last 2 months for 2 of my images, but never in all my years have I thought I did better work than others... or most... nor have I thought I knew enough to charge thousands to teach what I knew or think I knew enough to write a book or charge enormous amounts to spend a few hours sharing with you my “amazing talent!” I'm probably just the opposite of the newbies these days. I've always been my own worst critic – which to me is a good thing as I have always had a driving need to become better at whatever it is I am doing! I've always enjoyed doing what I do but I've been more concerned with learning as much about what it is I'm doing and doing the best I can do - which is never good enough for me - than promoting myself and trying to deceive others.

I've been doing photography for many, many years. I started in film and then moved to digital as soon as they first came out. But I haven't considered myself a professional photographer until the last 4-5 years. Even still, I take as many workshops and classes as I can possibly take to better my craft - but I make sure those I am taking workshops from KNOW what they are doing and are not simply good promoters of themselves. There are some really good teachers out there but before taking any photography class - learn about the photographer giving the class! And understand that if someone hasn't been a hands-on photographer for at least 10 years, they have no business teaching a class!

This new group of people though that bought a digital camera and now think they are professional photographers just amaze me. It's really sad though to see because it hurts this industry - it has hurt it tremendously! For these brand new photographers that think they know enough to give workshops or think that there would be an audience for them should they decide to write a book or give workshops - when if you asked them what a focal plane is... or what a depth of field calculator is... or if they understood what their camera's hyperfocal distance is... they would probably give you that "deer in the headlights" look! - LEARN YOUR CRAFT before thinking you are "all that!"

I'm seeing more and more of these newbie photographers wanting to be rock stars. I think this current atmosphere of celebrity hype is probably the cause but some people just have a sick need to feel important or special. Their sick need is causing a lot of confusion for anyone really wanting to learn and thinking they are taking a class, purchasing products, books, videos, etc...from someone that knows what they are doing. Deceit comes in many forms... thinking you are "that good" when you really aren't is probably the worst in my opinion.

Speaking of deceit in this business...I've had work stolen, copied, altered, my business name stolen, etc...and again, it's always been newbies doing that too!! I'm too busy trying to better my craft than to worry about the pathetic souls doing the stealing though!

That being said... there are new photographers out there really trying to learn to be better photographers. There are new photographers out there that are extremely talented. Do your research before hiring one. And if you ARE one, never stop learning or thinking you know more than those that have had a camera in their hands for years... and never think you know enough or are important enough to charge other photographers or those wanting to learn some indecent, perverted amount of money...I'm sorry to burst your bubble but you are not THAT good and all you are is a really bad blemish on this industry.

Stepping down off my soapbox now! I hope you all have a wonderful week. I'll be out of town most of this week again attending another workshop with a VERY talented artist/photographer. I LOVE learning! For me it's always about constantly working to be the best I can be at my craft.

Trashing the dress...

2011-03-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

I love bridals and trash the dress photos. This is one I took in Galveston just when the sun was coming up over the ocean...

Today was spent taking photos of fabulous jewelry! I need to upload photos of some of these and some of the ads I've done. Need more hours in the day!

Hope everyone had a great Spring Break!

Haute news...

2011-03-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Houston Rodeo is so much fun every year! We go every year to help support the youth involved and always enjoy it so much. Martina McBride was great!

It's been a busy week! I entered the print competition again this month and again my print merited! We have such a great group of professional photographers and they encourage and support each other.

Spring break has been fun but I must say I am glad it's over! I have an out of town shoot Monday and will post photos as soon as I get them edited.

Haute Junior...

2011-03-03T18:47:00.001-08:00

Devin is our Haute Shot for the day today.

I'm playing with Spyder lights and not really liking what I am seeing right now. According to Master Photographer Alvin Gee, they are difficult to get just right!

Speaking of Mr. Gee...he was so gracious to invite 3 of us photographer friends to tour his studio yesterday! We had a great lunch discussing photography, then went to his studio and saw some gorgeous work by an old Pro.

I'm currently in talks with the owner of GW Exotic in Oklahoma to photograph their animals for the park's calendars. I LOVE photographing animals and would LOVE to do this project!

My week is over! More next week... will be photographing some Seniors on Monday!

Haute Ballerina...

2011-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

I took this photo of this beautiful young ballerina last year. At some point I will get around to updating my website. Photos on there are really old and not indicative of what I am doing now. I must confess that it is difficult for me to put my photos on the web because I always hear other photographers discussing them being stolen. Well the benefits outweigh the negative aspects of it I know so bear with me... I WILL find time to get new things up! But first I have to get them organized so it's going to take awhile! :0)

Haute Maternity...

2011-02-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

Maternity photos are so much fun to do. There is always the feeling of suspense, love, excitement, and happiness with mother's to be and it carries over into the shoot.

Erin's baby boy Kade was born over a year ago - I did this shot almost 2 years ago - and she is expecting again. We have maternity shots scheduled now for her new baby in April and I am already looking forward to doing them! Thanks Erin...scheduling repeat clients is such an honor!

Today has been spent working on photos (I try to take Mondays off but it rarely works out that way!) and tomorrow I get to shoot a Senior along with a beautiful young lady so I'm looking forward to that as well!

I love what I do and am so blessed to be able to do it! Have a wonderful week everyone!
~K

Haute Print Competition....

2011-02-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

Haute Shot Photography is proud to announce that a print entered in the Professional Photographer's Association's print competition at the Houston Guild's meeting merited last night! And out of 34 entries my print scored the highest so I won a first place blue ribbon!

More Haute Shot photos to be posted soon. I've been SO busy I haven't had time to update the blog so hopefully I'll have more time coming up but I'm so busy working on photos right now and Valentine's Day engraving events put me behind! I promise I'll catch up soon!

Upcoming events...

2011-02-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

I'll be engraving for Givenchy this weekend for Valentine's Day. Saturday we'll be at Dillard's First Colony in Sugarland, Sunday at Macy's Almeda Mall and Monday at Dillard's First Colony again. Purchase any Givenchy fragrance and the engraving is complimentary! Wonderful Valentine's Day gifts!!

New Haute Shot for the day...

2011-01-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Today's Haute Shot is beautiful Sarah!

Sarah was really sweet and fun to photograph. She started out shy but let me add some color to her and had fun with it. I'm sure you agree she is very "model-esque!"

We had a wonderful time at Imaging USA and were sad we couldn't work out the schedule to stay all week! I saw a lot of photographer friends and it was great getting to shop. We had so much fun at the PPA Charities party and were very happy to be high bidder on the grand prize of the evening... a very large canvas print of Richard Sturdevant's "Dead Man's Hand" that won a 100 in SWPPA's print competition. Richard was featured in PPA's magazine last month because he is the first photographer in history to score 4 100's! BWC - a fantastic professional color lab - printed the 60"x40" print that is now hanging in our home!

Along with being able to enjoy this wonderful piece of art, we were thrilled to be able to donate to PPA Charities providing smiles to those children that benefit from Operation Smile!

Haute news!

2011-01-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

We are on our way to Imaging USA. This is the Professional Photographer's Association's largest convention of the year. I couldn't wait to post though because I received some FANTASTIC news today! I can't go into detail yet but let me just say that I am THRILLED with what's in the works. Check back soon - hopefully - to get the full report! YAY Haute Shot!

More Haute ads...

2011-01-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Another ad done for the Buzz Magazine:

I'll be leaving tomorrow for the Professional Photographer's Association's largest convention - Imaging USA - in San Antonio. Not sure when I will update again but keep checking back for more Haute Shots!

I hope we don't get "iced in" in San Antonio again this year! Not sure why but every year there seems to be some major arctic blast that sends unusually cold temperatures to South Texas. If so, we'll just have fun anyway. There will be more photographers in San Antonio this weekend than at any other time in the US all year! If you are in San Antonio, don't do anything you don't want others to know about because chances are, it will be caught on film (digital)! :0) Have a great weekend all...

Haute Ad...

2011-01-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

I'm going to switch things up today and post an ad photo instead of a new Haute Shot for the day...

Wayne Smith Jewels in Uptown Park is the jewelry store to go to when looking for something unique. I love doing their ads and photographing their jewelry for customers, web, ads, and for their www.1stdibs.com storefront. Always one-of-a-kind and simply gorgeous!

Haute Shot for the day...

2011-01-07T13:14:00.001-08:00

Our new Haute Shot for the day is.... Kyla!

I've spent the last two days photographing some of the most gorgeous jewelry for my favorite jewelry store I do commercial work for - Wayne Smith Jewels in Uptown Park. I've created 2 ads and am working on 2 more and will try and get those posted soon! If you need jewelry, and even if you don't NEED it... :0) go there!

Haute Shot...

2011-01-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

Our Haute Shot for the day is.... Jennifer!

We are getting back into the swing of things after the holidays! I'm doing a lot of commercial work right now for a jewelry store in Uptown Village along with doing ads for various magazines in the Houston area. I'll try and post some of those as soon as I can but I want to go through all of the girls first!

New Haute Shot

2011-01-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!! We took our regular vacation between the week of Christmas and New Year and went where there were NO people. It was very relaxing and just what we needed!

Our newest Haute Shot is Faith!

Lot's of new things coming up soon so stay tuned. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Haute Jackettes....

2010-12-16T18:29:00.001-08:00

Our Haute Shots for the rest of the year are the Jackettes!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

We will be engraving every day now in the department stores until Christmas. Below is our schedule so if you need a fantastic Christmas gift, come to one of the stores on the date and time listed, purchase your fragrance and have it engraved for free!

Dec 17 (1:00-4:00) - Baybrook Mall - Dillard's - Department wide event.
Dec 18 (11:00-7:00) - Macy's Memorial City (men's) - Ralph Lauren, Armani, YSL, Diesel
Dec 19 (10:00-6:00) - Macy's Galleria Mall (men's) - Ralph Lauren, Armani, YSL, Diesel
Dec 20 (TBA) - Dillard's 1st Colony Mall (women's) - Givenchy
Dec 21 (11:00-7:00) Macy's Willowbrook Mall (men's store) - Ralph Lauren, Armani, YSL, Diesel
Dec 22 (11:00-7:00) Dillard's Deerbrook Mall (men's) - Ralph Lauren, Armani, YSL, Diesel
Dec 23 (10:00-6:00) Dillard's Baybrook Mall (men's) - Ralph Lauren, Armani, YSL, Diesel

Follow us on Facebook for reminders or to find out about any changes! Email me with questions!

Haute Shot for the day...

2010-12-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

Is...Danielle!

The Galena Park dance team was so fun to photograph!

Christmas is quickly approaching as we all know and for great personalized gifts, come to Macy's Memorial City tomorrow between the hours of 11:00-7:00 and purchase fragrance with complimentary engraving! Great personalized gifts!! I'll be engraving for Vera Wang, Calvin Kline, Sarah Jessica Parker, Marc Jacobs, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Kenneth Cole, Lagerfeld, Kate Moss, David Beckham, and Chloe. Email me with any questions!!

Haute Shot for the day...

2010-12-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

Our Haute Shot for the day is Calisto! Such a cute girl! Be sure and check back soon for our next Haute Shot!

Today was FINALLY a day spent away from the camera, computer and no engraving! So much to get done before Christmas... so little time! I start engraving next Wednesday and will be in different stores every day until Christmas! Send me an email if you want to know where I will be each day and the hours but I'll post them here as well prior to the events.

Haute Shot for the day...

2010-12-10T19:28:00.001-08:00

Adriana is our Haute Shot for the day!

Busy day today too! This season is wonderful of course but so tiring!!

I want to mention Moody Gardens Festival of Lights. We went tonight and I want to let everyone know that there are still public places that keep Christ in Christmas! They have an entire area of displays of the Christmas Story with a huge speaker telling the story. It was wonderful to see and hear so if you get the chance this season, support Moody Gardens and visit. It's a wonderful experience.

Haute Architect and his Haute wife!

2010-12-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

Our Haute Shots for the day...

I made a quick trip in the middle of editing photos to take photos of the owner of Architrave Construction & Design and his wife for their upcoming ad in the Bay Area Houston Magazine! I will try to start posting all the ads I do photos for!

Such a cute couple!

Check back tomorrow to see who our newest little Haute Shot is!

Little Haute Shot!

2010-12-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Our Haute Shot for the day is Alyaha!

We had so much fun shooting the dance team yesterday! Very tiring but fun! Since I'll be engraving every day starting next week for Ralph Lauren, Armani, YSL, Givenchy, Justin Timberlake, Vera Wang, Calvin Kline, and many more... it will be January before we have up all the little Haute Shots!

Tomorrow I'll be shooting the owners of Architrave Construction for their ad in the Bay Area Houston Magazine!

Busy season but so much fun!

Haute Times...

2010-12-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

Haute Shot is looking forward to creating a lot of little Haute Shots this week. Will be shooting a dance team of really pretty young girls! Can't wait!

We are still working on ads for our favorite jewelry store client. They have kept me busy this year with photographing jewelry and their ads for Paper City, The Buzz, etc...They just moved to their new location so if you are looking for jewelry this holiday season go to Wayne Smith Jewels at Uptown Park!

Also on the agenda is getting a good photo of the City of Pearland's sign designed and built by Architrave Construction.

Again, I'll try and get some photos posted! :0)

Haute Holiday Happenings...

2010-12-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hi all… Ok, I’ve been asked numerous times “why don’t you have a blog?” and the answer has always been “because I have a life and am too busy to be telling everyone what I am doing 24/7″ :0) but I gave in and created this blog over a year ago! Well, as you can tell I haven't been very dedicated to keeping it updated.

So to start this off… I’ve had an extremely busy past few months and it’s been a time for magazines! I took photos for a store that may be featured in Elle Decor Magazine – (many problems with the whole trademark thing on that one and wish we could hurry and get that problem solved but I am SO resolved to fight it all the way to the end because I have invested too much into this not too!!), I was sent interview questions from an online urban magazine and have sent them my responses and I was hired by Marie Claire magazine to work for them for the launch of Justin Timberlake’s Play for Women. It’s been fun and very busy.

I am realizing that making my website more of a priority may be a good thing as well. I’m so “old school” and most everything I do is in person and by word-of-mouth – I am so fortunate in my daily life to come into contact and have access to people all over the world and have built my business that way – but ok, the web has its purpose so I’ll play along. :0) I’ll try really hard to update the OLD, really bad photos on my website as well with more current work. Again, it’s a time thing but I am going to work on it… soon! hahaha… Maybe I should make that one of my New Year’s Resolutions!!

Hopefully the blog is set up to receive your posts as well but if you attempt to post and cannot, please let me know so I can correct the settings!

~K

Christmas Giving

2009-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.kingdomtwindom.com/2009/11/red-river-nm-small-town-with-big-heart.html

Looking for a way to give this Christmas and win a Red River vacation? Then Kingdom
Mama (Red River's Sarah Valente) is blogging for you!

Kingdom Twindom: Red River, NM: The Small Town with a BIG Heart!!
www.kingdomtwindom.com

Back to Haute Shot!

2009-07-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

Haute Shot!