the warthans | family farm photographer

i was in a funk.  i found myself constantly looking at other photographer's work and thinking 'i can take pictures like that - why are THEY so busy and why am i just sitting on my butt?!'  but before i could feel sorry  for myself too long mama reminded me that i had two options: hush up or do something about it.

so i emailed jennifer of warthan farms photography.

the subject line: photo-staking, inspiration-seeking, small-business-owner-newbie (aka caitlin)

i was craving someone to talk with who knew what f-stops were and jennifer's work was awe-inspiring.  my email gushed about how much i loved her images and that i just wanted to meet her - whether that meant carrying her bags or doing her dishes, i craved the physical presence of someone whose photography i admired and whose lips i could lend an ear.

i showed up to her house with a mason jar of flowers and bread-and-butter pickles. a naked MK opened the door and her husband offered me a beer. 

i was smitten.

i can't thank jennifer enough for taking me under her wing that day; showing me photoshop tricks and assuring me that what i felt about photography/life/business was completely normal.  

but that night, in her farmhouse office, i fell in love. 

her family is like none other - they're real. they're inspiring. 

as i was driving down their dirt driveway, tail lights shining on the well-used tricycle in the front yard, i called will to say: i just want to be friends with her in real life.

and friends we are :) i had the HONOR of photographing jennifer and her beautiful family this weekend. 

i am IN LOVE with their love.  and their lives.  and their babies. so getting to photograph them was like a dream come true. 

welcome to the farm :)

meet jennifer and keith - aren't they precious?!

 we had a coca-cola and hershey's kisses picnic :)

sweet avery ruth - i just love this little cutie pie :)

this one might be my favorite as far as light goes :) and i love how a.r. is looking right at me - and the expression on shelby's face!

maggie is smiling!!!!

 LOVE:

daddy and avery ruth time:

i have a thing for gingers.

these folks are the real deal ya'll: 

i WISH i could remember the witty retort keith had when jennifer suggested they get in the kissing booth - he's funny ya'll!

again: inLOVE with their love

 have to get some with the big red barn!

maggie's glasses were so stylish!!

thanks for stoppin by ya'll - show them some love on their facebook photos

PINday | just for fits and giggles

it seems like everyone has some sort of alliterative weekly blogpost and i've been feeling MAJORLY left out.  much to my disdain all of the good alliterations seem to have been stolen away before i could jump on the bandwagon (wedding wednesday, things i love thursday, mixed tape monday... the list goes on) 

SO. i'm stepping outside of the box and MAKING UP MY OWN WORD. mostly because that's what mama told me to do when i was little and no one would let me play the games they were engrossed in on the playground.  i can hear her plain as day: "if they won't let you play with them you should just make up your own game sweetie!" unfortunately that usually just meant me, sitting on the grass, shoes off, eating dirt and talking with my pre-school's resident lab, shadow... [although i'm sure you loved that little insight into my not-so-long-ago childhood, i digress]

BACK TO MY NEW (hopefully) WEEKLY BLOGPOST: i've recently become ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with pintrest - as is half of kingdom come.  i've already planned about a bajillion styled shoots, categorized every possible facet of the wedding day, constructed an entire board devoted solely to women who are skinnier than i'll ever be and compiled a list of food i will more than likely never take the time to make. BUT IT IS SO MIND BLOWING-LY AWESOME.

~

long story short: 

i wanted to start some sort of 'themed' post 

+ 

all of the cool titles were gone 

+ 

my most recent love for YET ANOTHER social media site 

= 

the creation of a new installment on the caitlinelizabethphotography blog 

aka:

PINday will consist of taking something crafty from pintrest and seeing if it can REALLY be done or if it should continue to sit on your wittily named crafting pin-board 

:)

i'm totally open to SUGGESTIONS - tell me what you want me to craft!

we should probably connect on pintrest too ;)

hebba | georgetown portrait photographer | washington dc lifestyle photographer

meet hebba.

she's a 20-something young professional trying to make it in the hustle and bustle of DC while retaining her own sense of style and personality - and she's doing just fine ;)  i've known her for two years now (known is really an understatement - we're best friends... the 'finish each other's sentences just giver her a look and she instinctively understands what i'm thinking' best friends)

she took me to the sidestreets of georgetown for her portrait session - knowing that i'm a country girl through and through, she thought the picturesque buildings with their grandeur and charm would melt my heart (even in the big city) and that they did.  

in case you were wondering: NO, she did not walk everywhere in those heels - she oh-so-wisely brought a more sensible pair of boots for hiking up and down the stone sidewalks of the city.  

there are WAY too many pictures for ONE portrait session blogpost, but know that I had to choose from over 300!  

head shot anyone?

oh how i WISH i could turn it on like this girl:

YES:

right about... NOW this frat-tastic looking BRO with a backwards baseball hat and sweatpants gets out of his car and asks:

'are you gonna put that on instagram?'

hebba's response:

back to business

mini outfit/hairstyle change/makeup re-do!  

warning: there are quite a few pictures on this staircase... we just couldn't get enough!  thank you whoever lives here! *i know you were home, i heard you sneeze when i was leaning against your door trying to get the angle i wanted ;)

fun fact: this jacket was only $13.99 at forever 21 - so much win.

so many cute details! from her headband to her bow-tied earrings <3 

thanks for stopping by ya'll - come back any time!

diy | valentine's day cards

i'm still not absolutely certain that i should post this (it's kindof going to ruin some folks' valentine's day surprise... but in the spirit of sharing all things CRAFTY with ya'll, i'm willing to forego knocking my friends' socks off with how freaking adorable their mail will be come v-day morning)

this post will help you avoid the stereotypical barbie/disney princess/toy story/spongebob square pants valentines that so many of us gave out to our elementary aged classmates oh-so-long ago.  mamas and daddys: this is a fun way to spend an evening with the kids :) it's just messy enough for them to think they're having fun and not so messy that you'll have to take off of work the next day to clean!

i had to make a trip to michael's to start off this project (although most of these things i already had in my craft box) 

these cards + envelopes were on sale for $1/10 pack

i already had the colored paper/pigment/scissors/embossing tool/embossing powder, but these precious valentine stamps were only $1 each!

this is my handy dandy embossing tool aka the crafting version of power tools - slash in reality it's just a mini hair dryer for melting the embossing powder, but power tools are way better 

the pigment and embossing powder i have used before for other projects and will definitely continue using in the future (not just for diy valentine projects)

now for the fun stuff :) i measured out pieces of colored paper to be slightly smaller than the face of the cards (you'll see what i mean in a minute)

and then cut them out, wrote something cute on them, and glued them to the front of my blank cards

i then took my stamp, dipped it on the pigment pad and placed it where i wanted the stamp on the inside of my card.  before it had time to dry i covered the wet pigment with embossing powder

once you shake off the powder, you're left with your stamp!  use the embossing tool to melt the embossing powder to make it shine :)

write something equally as cute on the inside and voila! you have a home-made valentine :)

happy (early) valentine's day ya'll!! go make something cute!

*please excuse how dark these photos are - i craft at night :)