Rapid City Portrait and Wedding Photographer | Kendra Jean Photography

Cold and snowy! | Rapid City

2011-12-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas weekend with loved ones! We did! Now we have company for a few days, so the fun continues!

We didn't have a white christmas as we were hoping from the snow storm just a few days before. but that ended up only giving us a tiny bit of snow(the picture of the kids on the card was all we got!). And then it promptly warmed up to the high 40s! So most of it melted within a day or so. But I am not complaining about the high 40s weather, the kids can play outside. :)

So since we had a "brown" christmas, I thought I would share some "white" pictures!

These first ones are from the beginning of December on the way back from Gillette. We got stuck in Sturgis, because the freeway was shut down (only for a few hours good thing!). The wind was blowing all the fresh snow around and that top image was pretty much our visibility for miles! Quite nerve wracking:)

A few shots from out my window.

These last ones were from a cold frosty morning. We woke up to bring the kids to school and everything was beautiful and white! Had to go drive around and take pictures!

Checking out of here now, time to enjoy our company!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

I wanted to pop on here real quick and wish all of you a joyous and happy Christmas season!!

(last minute shot out in the front yard a couple days ago! First year we didn't do the good old self timer to get us all in the picture)

I will be back after the holidays sometime :) We will be spending our Christmas day here at home, and next week looking forward to COMPANY for a couple nights! Then with about 4 weeks left until baby, I may not be on here to frequently...

But, we will be missing all of our family back home and in WA & MN! Wishing we could be part of all the festivities.

Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

"F" Family Mini Session

2011-12-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

And the last session I had time to squeeze in before we left!

Such a pretty little girl!

Her hair was so long and naturally curly, but Mom decided it was time for a hair cut! So we had to get a picture of her hair before she went and got it chopped.

Love this one!

"C" Family Mini Session

2011-12-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

This was another fun family I had the chance of photographing before we left to Rapid city! They were also past clients of mine! I shot their wedding as well, so it was great to see them again!

What some handsome boys you guys have!

And a darling little, energetic, girl too! She sure was on the move. A very active 18 month old :)

So cute, brotherly love!

"N" Family | Holiday mini Session

2011-12-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Another Mini session! Thanks to all of you guys that put up with the heat, so we could get you in before I left!

I shot this family last year, as well as "O's" newborn images! Fun to capture the same clients year after year and watch their families grow and change.

Such a cutie!

Of course older siblings always want to hold and snuggle and kiss with new baby at home, most of the time when babes is trying to sleep! But when it came time for the two of them, this older brother didn't want anything to do with baby for more than .5 a second!

mmmm.. these rocks don't taste to good.

Such a perfectly adorable little family of four!

Happy little guy...

Precious Little Lewis

2011-12-09T13:34:00.002-07:00

I got back yesterday from a very quick trip out to Seattle.

We were driving out to Gillette Saturday morning, when we got the news that one of my newest little nephews passed away during the night. We continued on and spent the afternoon at Church for Sunday school program, and services. Although my heart was heavy, they were constantly in my thoughts, we spent the night and headed back home Sunday.

I was able to fly out early Tuesday Morning to be with my Brother, his wife and their kids. I am so glad that I was able to spend a short time with them and offering my love and comfort during those hard days.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them, that God gives them strength in the coming days to accept his will.We have great comfort in knowing that he is now in the arms of Jesus, and he is a precious Angel watching down on his family.

"Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on his gentle breast;
there by his love o're-shaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! tis the voice of angels, borne in a song to me
over the fields of glory, over the jasper sea.
Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on his gentle breast,
there by his love o're-shaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.

Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe from corroding care,
safe from the world's temptations, sin cannot harm me there,
free from the blight of sorrow, free from my doubts and fears;

only a few more trials, only a few more tears.
Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on his gentle breast,
there by his love o'er-shaded, sweetly my soul shall rest" SHZ 594

Remembering little Lewis, his mom&dad, and his brothers&sisters, in our daily thoughts and prayers.

Custer State Park | Rapid City

2011-12-07T07:10:00.001-07:00

And the rest from our drive through Custer State Park! Apparently we got lucky seeing all these animals, the few people I have talked to have said they never saw all the different animals on one day!

Turned off on the road to get in and first thing, saw these white tails. Of course the kids wanted to stop and watch each and every moving creature. :) They all just LOVED watching all the prairie dogs dash from one hole to the next, standing up, making noises at each other etc! The only thing I didn't get a picture of.

The animals mixed in with all the beautiful scenery, made the perfect day!

Also saw lots of white tail Bucks.

Couple of the dirt roads along our travels.

First site of the Buffalo Herd!

Watch out for these guys! We had our windows down, and these burros were standing in the road so we of course slowed down. They dashed towards our windows and stuck their heads in, before we could even stop or shut our windows! Just a tad startling ;)

Morgan was just loving it!

After driving around some more away from the herd, went further down the road and there was a few huge buffalo right next to the road. They were giving us quite the look! I finally had to tell Paul to put some space between us!!

He was right there! Unbelievable! I wish I knew how to post video clips off my camera on to here! Got one of the this guy and you can hear how excited the kids were.

Heading out of the park and we saw this Bighorn sheep with his little herd.

And of course a few antelopes roaming around.

Was super fun! and I can't wait to go back with the bigger zoom lens!

"J" Family | Holiday Mini session

2011-12-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

Another one of my quick mini sessions before we moved up here to Rapid city! I am so glad that we got the chance to squeeze these in before I left.

These kids were all cheesers! Such a cute family. I know I say that about all my clients, but it is true for all of them!

The 5 brothers.

and 3 sisters.

Mount Rushmore | South Dakota

2011-12-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable that it is already December! Hope all of you enjoy your Friday and your weekend!

Here are just a few pictures from our day trip out to Mount Rushmore/Custer State Park! They are only about 25 miles or so from our house here in Rapid City! It is so pretty back there!

The kids excited about seeing the "Presidents"!

The weather was perfect!

One of the tunnels along the drive.

More pictures next week of all the animals we saw!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T07:24:00.001-07:00

Our first thanksgiving without a house full of cousins/aunts/uncles/grandma&grandpa! I was in charge of making it all, instead of the typical one or two things each! We had a quiet, relaxing day. It was beautiful weather and we actually had the windows open for a bit! It did warm up to the 50s afterall ;) We ate our dinner around 12:30ish, then the big kids went with dad to the playground, while I stayed home with sleeping baby. We have lots to be thankful for this year, but I was missing all my family back in AZ!

Lots of playing outside, before and after lunch.

And of course lots of yummy food!

"M" Family | Scottsdale Family Photographer

2011-11-29T08:27:00.001-07:00

Here is one of my last sessions before heading out to Rapid City! Such a fun and adorable one too!

So sweet!

The more serious one...

And the goofy one!

We love Mom and Dad! So cute.

First snow! | Rapid City

2011-11-28T07:27:00.003-07:00

We got back to Rapid City on Sunday, went to our house and unloaded our stuff from both vehicles, let the kids explore the house for a bit and then made a few trips back and forth between the storage for some of the more important boxes and our BEDS! Then monday morning started off with early schedules of school and work. During the first week, while getting adjusted and a little more comfortable in our new home it was very busy! Running around, setting up appointments, running to storage, unpacking, etc. made the week fly by! Friday morning started getting cold and by Friday afternoon the snow started coming!

At first the kids couldn't believe it and watched it through the windows, but of course Caitlyn being the first to get out there and play they all eventually followed.

Here is the start of it Friday evening...

It snowed most of the night and still had a light flurry for most of the day Saturday, but here was our view out our back door on Saturday morning! The tape measure came out and it was already at about 6.5 inches and was still falling.

So pretty!

And the view out the front window! Of course we didn't have any type of snow shovel, so we were a little stuck in our driveway!

Finally Sunday the snow came out and the kids couldn't wait to get out there and play! They had to go check out the playground...

And first thing, they wanted to go sliding on the nice hill right down the block, so off to walmart to get a little sled! They loved it and they sure got alot of use of the sled in the next few days...

They had so much fun, and they can't wait for more snow!

The dogs weren't impressed with the freezing weather, but over the next few days when it warmed up back to the 40s, they were liking it out back!

And just one snap on a drive through town.

It is so beautiful to look at, but not so fun when you need to get out to school in the morning! But we are slowly adding to our snow clothes pile, we got our shovel, and window pics ready to go for the next storm!

Our Big Move! Phoenix to Rapid City, South Dakota

2011-11-25T08:56:00.015-07:00

I hope everyone had a special and fun Thanksgiving day with friends/family! We had a nice day full of yummy food with just our little family! The first time ever that we weren't with a houseful of my family!

But before we get to those pictures, we gotta get through our move first. ;)

A few years ago, Paul decided to change careers, so he started school and graduated as an RN in May of 2011! When he started school RNs were in a huge demand and most getting hired were getting sign on bonuses and such. After he graduated, things were a little different! Places were getting pickier with hiring, wanting more experience and many not taking new grads at all. So we decided to try out of state. After only a few weeks, he got hired on at Rapid City Regional Health!

So started our hectic and last minute move from this house of 8 years!

We were undecided as to whether or not he would go by himself to get settled into work, find a place to live etc. And me and the kids stay here in our home until he could get a 4 or so stretch of days off to come back and pack us all up to bring us to our new home.

Well, after looking into tickets and deciding that his schedule may not allow for him to leave for at least a month or more, we decided that it would be best for all of us to leave together! So from the day he got hired to the day we left was pretty much less than a month!

To pack us all up in this one big truck and get all moved out of our house! In the few days before we left, the flu bug struck our house and Paul and a few kids were throwing up, still kept on packing up between barfs! Well, I got the luck and the day we left it hit me and 2 of the other kids!! Good thing we went prepared and had a few buckets in the car with us! So we didn't have any messes to clean up!

This was somewhere in Colorado on our second day of driving! Since I was sick the whole first day, didn't take much pictures :)

We started hitting snow shortly after leaving Pueblo Colorado the second morning. Such a beautiful, but cold, morning!

And of course at our stops the kids had to get out and play in all the SNOW! Something they never get to see:) They were so excited! All though in the packing up hustle to get out of the house, we lost a pair of shoes, so she was barefoot! BRRR!

These were somewhere near Gillette Wyoming, where we stopped for a few nights. We left our dogs, and the 2 oldest kids at a friends house to make house hunting a little easier in Rapid City!

This is near Rapid City, I want to say maybe near Spearfish? we came over a little hill and this was in the valley. So pretty with all the yellows still!

Once we got to Rapid City, we checked into a hotel for a few nights. Our "home" from Sunday-Friday morning! Not very fun ;)

Little munchkin, my baby only for a short 8 more weeks!! He is going to be in for a shock getting kicked out of baby status!!!

Of course between house searching, we did a little sight seeing! This was Friday morning, before heading over to our house to sign papers and get our keys!

Whew Finally found a house, got everything signed and got our keys! So another quick trip off to Gillette to pick up our kids and dogs and some of our stuff we left there!

Stayed at my cousins house and woke up Sunday Morning to snow! So our plans of leaving right away in the morning were delayed due to the thick layer of ice covering all the roads! It had rained pretty good before the snow, so roads were bad.

The kids of course didn't mind! They were outside playing away! The boys were sliding down the street on pure ice and loving it!

But, it came time to leave and we all headed back to our new home in Rapid City! :) The big kids were so excited to explore their new home and they all happily picked out their bedrooms first thing. We also got the kids enrolled in school the week before, so they started school the very next day. It took them a couple days to get used to everything and make friends. But they have already made some and are getting more and more comfortable each day.

More pictures to come next week! Also stay tuned for my last sessions from Arizona. And for those of you here in Rapid City looking for a portrait or wedding photographer, stay tuned! Have some specials coming your way:)

Still here and getting moved into our new home here in Rapid City!

2011-11-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

It has been such a whirlwind of the last couple weeks! We are now moved into our new home and slowly getting settled! Thanks to not having internet connection until today, I have gotten alot unpacked, put away and decorated! Starting to feel more like home.

I will be updating the blog in the next few days with some pictures, posts etc!

Those of you here in Rapid City, I will be having a sweet deal coming up for spring to jump start the business in a different part of the country, so stay tuned!! Can't wait to start meeting new clients out here, and capturing memories for all of you:)

We are Moving!!

2011-10-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that right!! We, as in me and my family are moving to Rapid City, South Dakota! Which means KJP will be moving there as well! So if you happen to know anyone in the Rapid City area, pass my name on to them! We will now be a Rapid City Family and Wedding photographer!!! I have been getting inquiries for 2012 weddings here in town, and if I do get those, I would travel down here for you weddings at no travel charge!

We will be moving as soon as we can, but since this is a very last minute and not really expected move, when me and the kids move out there to be with Hubby, all depends on how fast he can find us somewhere to live! On a whim, we decided to try applying for a job for him in a few other states in which his license can be used. SO online we went and started applying at our top 3 choices for out of state. That was only a couple weeks ago, and last week he got his first call/interview with Rapid City, (our first choice, since it is the closest to some friends we know in WY!) and had the second interview yesterday and he got hired!

So as this is all still very fresh and exciting and very stressfull! I am super excited and ready to start a new adventure somewhere new! I have been an AZ girl my whole life, so this will be a huge change to actually go somewhere where I have no family, and actually gets some seasons and weather change!!

And, from the phone call to his first day is less about a month of time, we get to pack up our house, get a renter, move across the country and unpack in a new house! Looking around here all I can see is LOTS to get done in such a short time!! So I am already starting! I am going to find some boxes today and start packing up our 8 years, 2 adults, and 5 kids worth of stuff!:) This is something that we were not totally planning on doing, but it is happening now and we are all super excited for the change!!

We will be moving and starting out in a completely strange new place very soon, and I can't wait to see what is in store for us!

Now something exciting for you guys:

Unfortunately that means my mini sessions that I have planned for the end of the month will be cancelled, because, I don't know if I will be here or not!! But I am going to do a SUPER SPECIAL DEAL for your last chance to get your family photos done with KJP before we relocate! :)

SO, I AM OFFERING MINI SESSIONS for $65, that's right only $65, but they must be done by October 19th! It will be for a 25 minute session either at DC Ranch Market Street in North Scottsdale, or Saguaro Ranch Park in Glendale. Since it is such a low price, you will get your images emailed to you instead of on a disc shipped!

This is the last chance to get your holiday session done with me before we leave, so if you have been debating or deciding to sign up for your session, now is the time! I will try and schedule multiple session on the same days, so I do not have a specific day/time, let me know what works best for you, so we can get you in!

Remember the sessions must be scheduled for a date on or before October 19th, so I can have your photos done before the end of the month. :) If you would like a session, be sure to email me at info[at]kendrajeanphotography.com and I will get you an invoice! Session must be paid for at the time you book your session!

Baby M {Scottsdale Newborn Photographer}

2011-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

This little guy was just adorable! I LOVE newborn sessions, and this one was about 5 or so days old. I always squeeze in time to schedule a newborn under 2 weeks old. If you would like to schedule your newborn photo session, we can plan a little ahead of time around your due date, but you know how those babies like to come on their own schedule :) So, after you have your baby, let me know and we can fit you in within 10 days!

Anyways here a just a few of my favorites of this guy.

Thank you for letting me capture your little bundle of Love! And congratulations once again!!

Wall art Wednesday | Print grouping inspiration

2011-09-28T09:44:00.002-07:00

Here is another collection of images I have pinned onto my Pinterest.

Source: laurawinslowphotography.com via Kendra on Pinterest

I love this one! I have a similar set up above our couch. I have a 3x3 square of 12x12s tho, so a little smaller:)

Source: tarawhitney.com via Kendra on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kendra on Pinterest

Source: laurabrettphotography.com via Kendra on Pinterest

And I love these frames! So many fun ways to display your images!

Source: bloggingwithholly.blogspot.com via Kendra on Pinterest

I would love to see what any of my past clients have done with their images! Send me an email or share it on my Facebook wall! Also, if you are a photographer, feel free to email me images of your ideas too:) would be fun to keep this up and share all the great ideas out there!

Holiday Mini Sessions! | Glendale and Scottsdale

2011-09-22T12:38:00.002-07:00

Mini sessions are here again, still have some openings! Be sure to get your spot today! You can see all the details here in the original post!

Wall art Wednesday | Print grouping inspiration

2011-09-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

I am loving Pinterest! As I am browsing, I pin all things that catch my eye. I realized I am getting quite the collection of different wall art/print groupings, so I will start sharing those on here:) There are so many fun ways to display your images.

So here you go, enjoy and maybe get inspired to do something with those images that you have sitting on your computers, discs, or where ever they are currently hiding;)

These ones are a collage of images that can be printed on one large Canvas or one large mounted print, many ways to get them printed. But I thought they were a fun way to have one piece of wall art displaying many images!

Source: designaglow.com via Kendra on Pinterest

Source: laurawinslowphotography.com via Kendra on Pinterest

Source: designaglow.com via Kendra on Pinterest

Source: laurawinslowphotography.com via Kendra on Pinterest

I will post some more another wednesday!

"J" One year old | Glendale Portrait Photographer

2011-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Meet little J! This little guy is such a happy, spunky, typical one year old! He has been walking for a little bit, and he just thinks(or knows?) that he is in charge! The clouds blocked the sun and the wind picked up about 5 minutes before the session started, so it was a little cooler! But it was still hot!

Seriously! How cute can he be! He was loving the attention!

A few with mom and dad! Love the one below, he is thinking he would rather be getting all the attention on his own...

...so, he decided, he's outta there!

Such a sweet little guy! Thank you guys for having me capture him at one year old!

"F" Kiddos | Phoenix portrait photographer

2011-09-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful family 8. With only one boy:) I love the lighting in these pictures in our makeshift studio on the back porch at their house! I like to stay away from using flash whenever possible and most of the time will not even carry it along as a 'just in case'!

Here is the baby girl, so adorable with all the hair and big blue eyes! I believe she was about 6weeks old at the time we took these. And the weather was perfect, so we didn't have to worry about her getting to hot/cold being undressed outside.

After we did the baby, we did a quick shoot of each of the other kids. I love this one!

And of course the one and only boy:)

Such a cute family!

2011 Mini Sessions | Kendra Jean Photography

2011-09-01T08:54:00.008-07:00

Holiday Mini Sessions are here once again! Last year I had so much fun capturing the 22 new families in a 6 week period with 2 mini session dates and the others scattered through out the 6 weeks. I am looking forward to this October, to meet many more new families! You may not be ready to be thinking about the holidays quite yet, but they are fast approaching!! Once you reserve your spot for you session, it will be here before you know it, and then the busy holiday season will set in! So getting this out here this early gives you a head start:)

*****ETA******
*******HOLIDAY MINI SESSIONS ON THESE DAYS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO OUR FAMILY MOVING!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE A SESSION FOR A REDUCED RATE, THEY NEED TO BE SCHEDULED AND SHOT BY OCTOBER 23RD....*********

~~So, the two dates/times are listed below:~~

~~October 15th, 2011~~
~~Saguaro Ranch Park, Glendale~~
~~with these times available:~~
~~2:30-3:00~~
~~3:00-3:30~~
~~3:30-4:00~~
~~4:00-4:30~~
~~4:30-5:00~~

~~And October 29th, 2011~~
~~DC Ranch Market Street, North Scottsdale~~
~~with these times available:~~
~~2:30-3:00~~
~~3:00-3:30~~
~~3:30-4:00-FILLED~~
~~4:00-4:30~~
~~4:30-5:00- FILLED~~

~~(These location(s) may change)~~

The cost is $99 (+tax).
~~Which includes:~~
~~a 25 minute time slot,~~
~~an online gallery of your images,~~
~~and a disc of the edited and print ready, high resolution digital negatives to print on your own.~~

Time slots are filled on a first come first serve basis. These will fill up fast, so get your spot soon! Last fall I did these, they filled up within days. ;)

Mini Session FAQs:
What is a mini session?
A mini session is a short and fast 25 minute session, perfect for those of you that are looking for an updated wall portrait, your holiday cards and a facebook update! These sessions are so quick that there is no time for outfit changes, many backgrounds or many different set ups. We focus on capturing the family and with time left, capture a few different groupings/individual shots. These sessions go quickly and you only get the time slot reserved for you, so please try to arrive early, so we can start right on time. :)

I would like more time for different groupings, outfit changes etc. can I reserve 2 time slots?
Absolutely! If you would like to get almost a full hour session, you can reserve back to back time slots. That would give us lots of time to get many different backgrounds, groupings and time for quick outfit changes. Be sure to reserve early to be sure to get 2 back to back! These will fill up fast:)

How do I reserve my time slot?
Here is the easy part! All you need to do is email me at info@kendrajeanphotography.com and let me know which location and time. From there I will email you, within 24 hours, the contract as well as an invoice for the total amount due.Your spot will be reserved for you as soon as your payment is received! All payments are non refundable.

I have a different question?
I will gladly answer any questions you have! Just shoot me an email, give me a call, or send a facebook message!

I look forward to these mini sessions! They are so much fun for me!

(Also, wouldn't mind taking a trip this fall;) If you are in Seattle/Minneapolis areas email me and we could possibly set up a day or two out there:):))

"T" Family | Scottsdale Family Photographer

2011-08-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Another adorable little family!

She is such a little cutie! Her chubby little cheeks.... She is the same age as our youngest and this age, pretty much control the session! It was fun to see how much alike they act!

Such a doll!

And their cute parents, no wonder the kids are so cute! :)

Forstie Family | Scottsdale Portrait Photographer

2011-08-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

This session ended up being perfect! It was a very last minute, squeezed in session as their son was home on leave for the weekend. It was an overcast day, which makes for very nice lighting and we didn't have to worry about the harsh afternoon sun!

What a beautiful family :)

Aaron and Brooke {Anytime Session}

2011-08-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

It was great getting to spend a little bit of time with these two while they were here on vacation a while back! Although it was pretty hot out, we put up with it and got some great shots!

Love this old wood building!

You guys are a cute couple!

I love this one in the grove of trees :)