I've never like having my picture taken. I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment. So, you can imagine that it's a bit mind boggling to me that this past year I've actually PAID to have people follow me around with a camera. Not only that, but I've begun to enjoy the process, as well as the results.

It started a little over a year ago when I met Kimberly Gauthier. At the time she was an aspiring pet photographer who had photographed a few play sessions of the poodle meet up group I was a member of. I commissioned her to take some fun pictures of Caly with maybe a few of us thrown in. The session ended up leaning more toward a session for us with a few photos of Caly here and there. Looking back at the pictures, I can still see how uncomfortable I was in front of the camera. Except in the candid pictures..like when Mike was spinning me around in circles on the tire swing. -_-


I had a bit of a break through last October on the cruise where Mike proposed. I realized that I was able to actually -smile- in photos without looking like a drooling idiot. It was all down hill from there.


This past June, Mike and and I got married. Our photographer was the AMAZING Chris Schmauch. I can not sing his praises enough. The photos he got for us were beyond what I could have hoped for and his work just keeps getting better! With these photos came the realization that even though I might not always be happy with the way I look, I can still see myself as beautiful. It helps to have that 'bridal glow'. I still regret that I had the lack of will power to get my body weight to what I wanted before the wedding but it's hard to be TOO upset when I look at the pictures of that special day. I still have the hope that a few years from now I'll be able to look back at them and say, "Can you -believe- how fat I was back then? I feel SO much better now." At least I can say I'm actually working on it (the soreness from my last trainer session is a testament to this).



A few months later we did another fun shoot with Kimberly just because. I have nothing but love for Kim. Over the past few months her work has evolved and grown in amazing ways. I'm proud to say I was one of the people that encouraged her from early on and I can't wait to see what she's doing a few years from now!


The final nail in the coffin came this past weekend when I again hired Kimberly to take do a Christmas card shoot for us. Oh, I could have sent regular Christmas cards with puppies or kittens with milk mustaches but no....I just HAD to have photo cards. It's in these photos that I believe I've finally been able to go from looking awkward and uncomfortable to letting my true happiness show. And, yes, I am truly happy. My life has become complete since I married Mike and I'm exactly where I want to be. I'm glad that I can finally show this in pictures.



Of course, the poodle will always be the photogenic one of the family.