Elders Ridge Photography

Brittany + Garrett — Engagement Portraits — Beaver, PA

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Emily Smith

Early Sunday morning a few weeks ago, Brittany and Garrett met up with me at this river-front park in Bridgewater. When we started talking about where to do the shoot, I brought up this park. I had done a few portraits for a maternity client here this past February when it was, like, 20 below and gale force winds…results were still beautiful despite the ridiculous conditions! Brittany and I both love the rivers in Beaver County, so she liked the idea and we went with it.

We would have different light than I did for the maternity shoot since that session took place at 5:30 p.m. and this session had to happen before 1:00 p.m., so we met up at 8:00 a.m. Luckily this location has many options no matter the time of day.

The morning sun was shimmering on the Ohio River behind this train bridge – perfect! And luckily, all the trains that came did not cross this bridge…funny story though: the switch track is right in front of the bridge, so more than once my heart nearly stopped as I heard the train whistle and then saw the engine coming straight at us…and then the train diverted left. Whew!

A fun coincidence: the tracks here run P&LE (Pittsburgh and Lake Erie) trains…and Garrett is from Erie and Brittany from Pittsburgh (well, the Pittsburgh area! Close enough!!). Their destination wedding will happen this fall. Best wishes, Brittany and Garrett!

Posted in Engagement Pics | Tagged beaver county pa photographer, engagement portraits, ohio river, train bridge portraits

Hannah 2 year Portraits — Children Photography — Brady’s Run Park, PA

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Emily Smith

My session with Hannah and her mom, Amanda, could not have gone better. Amanda and I have been planning this shoot for several months and the weather spoiled our plans back in March. The weekend we planned for originally was really cold, freezing rain, and just general yucky-ness.

The evening of this shoot, we couldn’t have had better conditions! Spring light makes me nervous because it is very harsh and blue most of the day, so I scheduled the shoot for 7pm thinking that would give the sun time to “soften and yellow up” as it often does near sunset. Combine with the money location of the shallow stream behind the ice rink at Brady’s Run, I soon realized we hit the jack pot!

When Amanda set up the shoot with me a few months ago, she said she wanted to do a fairy princess theme. I sent her some pics of my “vision” and she and her friends and family created Hannah’s outfit. Her friend Jewels made Hannah’s dress and her sister made the flower head piece.

I have been fortunate enough to capture beautiful Hannah through the lens every year of her life so far and it is so awesome to watch her grown up! I am so jealous of her curly hair and all the adorable bows and clips and headbands Amanda can style her up with. Thank you, Amanda and Hannah for letting me be a part of your lives!

Posted in Babies and Families | Tagged bradys run park, children portraits, fairy princess portraits, photographer beaver county pa

Jarid + Brittany – Engagement Portraits – Indiana, PA

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Emily Smith

Talk about putting the pressure on, about an hour before I met up with Jarid and Brittany for their engagement portraits, Jarid texts me and says “I want to surprise Brittany and propose to her today during the shoot.” Ummmm….ok, no pressure on me or anything!!:) Just like MY engagement, Brittany and Jarid agreed to get married and started the wedding planning before the ring arrived. Difference: Brittany clearly was able to keep it together and not freak out on her fiance about not having a ring the day after he special ordered it. Yeah….not my proudest moment!:) As you can see in the second picture below, Brittany was wearing a black rubber band on her ring finger in place of the ring (I wore a yellow twist tie from a bag of Wonderbread – classy!!). Jarid had a bunch of ideas about how he wanted to propose, but they all just kept getting “stolen” (blame those “he went to Jared” commercials!), so he thought he’d surprise her at the photo session. He planned to hide the ring in her shirt pocket and then as she was adjusting her outfit at the beginning of the shoot, she’d find it. SO! That’s how our day began!!

Jarid and Brittany live in New Mexico and they thought I was so awesome, they flew here to have me photograph them….haha…just kidding!:) Well, they really DO live in New Mexico, but Jarid grew up near Indiana, and since their wedding will be in NM, they wanted their engagement portraits and “save the date” announcement to reflect Jarid’s background. And nothing is more Indiana PA than Christmas trees! It is the Christmas Tree Capital of the World, you know! We shot at Blue Spruce Park, downtown Indiana (or as the townies and college kids call it “uptown”), and at Flemings Tree Farm. Brittany and Jarid wanted a nice contrast to the New Mexico desert…and I think we found it. Only bummer was Brittany wanted snow…and we didn’t have any snow. Well, some flurries were flying at the tree farm, but that really didn’t come through on the pics.

All in all, I was really happy with the results…Brittany and Jarid made it easy! They are, like, model-photogenic and the love they have for each other really shown in their interactions, so really all I had to do was click a button.:) Best wishes to Brittany and Jarid!!!

Posted in Engagement Pics | Tagged blue spruce park, couples portraits, engagement pictures, flemings tree farm, indiana pa engagement portraits, Indiana pa photographer, photographer Indiana PA, saltsburg pa photographer

Happy New Year – Goals for 2013

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Emily Smith

Happy New Year!! Yes, I’m a few weeks behind, but being out on maternity leave, the days blend together and it feels like one long perpetual weekend, complete with endless hours of HGTV and optional showers. If I weren’t keeping close track of my daughter’s day-to-day age to somehow predict when she will finally start sleeping through the night, I’d have no idea what day it is. But on to those goals!

So yeah, 2012 was a pretty crazy year! I found out I was pregnant on February 26….6 days later, I was attacked by morning sickness that lasted for 4 months (take THAT Kate Middleton!), two months later, my ginormous son caused me to strain my umbilical hernia so no more lifting or exercising for me (as if I really WANTED to do either!), along comes July and cue the pregnancy pains – I could barely walk, beautiful Mary Louise was here November 1, and then the holiday blur, and the next thing I know, my house smells like pork and sauerkraut and I’m vacuuming pine needles from the living room floor (it’s a tradition ’round these parts to make pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day for good luck in case you didn’t get that reference). It almost feels like all that stuff happened over 3 years, not 1 year. Nevertheless, again, feeling very blessed and thankful for a healthy family, hubby and I still have our day jobs, kids are growing great, all is well! The business got a little neglected…but can you cut a pregnant woman a break? I sure did!

Last year, I made 5 goals for 2012. Here they are with the results:

1. Rethink my online presence and increase traffic to my blog. I did this! Hooray! I got rid of my flash-based website and drove all traffic to my blog and moved my URL over to WordPress. I’m also using Facebook a lot more, too, and sharing previews there instead of on my blog. My blog has been doing awesome – 4200 views in 2012. It’s search engine friendly and I’ve been receiving many more inquiries, so that proves people are finding it. I didn’t quite make my goal of 50 views per day, but I did increase to 11 views per day on average…considering I didn’t post more than 15 blogs, that ain’t bad.

2. Photograph 15 new sessions (not counting weddings or commercial photography) Blame it on the baby! I only did 9 new sessions in 2012. And 3 of them were of me and my kids! I think that’s cheating!!:) If we go quality over quantity, I think some of my best work was done in 2012, so yay for that!

3. Maximize my gear Eh…I’d like to say I did…certainly doing better work, but not maximizing my light kit. Not a complete fail, but I had bigger intentions when i made this goal.

4. Take my family portrait Originally I wanted to take portraits of ALL my family…and I only did me, the hubby, and the kids. Again, not a complete fail, but not complete either.

5. Take 12 “just for me” photographs Thumbs DOWN. Way down. Did not do this at all. I’m sure I could go through my cell phone and find 12 pics I snapped anytime I saw something that inspired me, but again, not what I had in mind when I made this goal.

Overall, pretty poor showing! But, that is more motivation for me to hit my goals out of the park in 2013! In no particular order, here they be!

1. Give back. I’ve been so fortunate over the years and been given so many opportunities, I want to pay it forward somehow. I’d like to volunteer my time and services to a charitable organization and/or event…know of any?:)

2. Run a Facebook promotion to bring in new clients. I got something in the works for seniors! High school ones, not blue-haired ones.:) And did you know it’s the 30th anniversary of A Christmas Story…and I just happen to have something that could make your Christmas cards super-special and hilarious….

3. Review and update the business side of this business to make sure I’m up to date with all the business-y stuff. I have an offline checklist that I’ll keep to myself. It’s boring anyway.

4. Let’s try for those 15 new sessions! And this time, I won’t include my own family in the total count. Although, I will take portraits of my children often…not just “snaps”.

5. At least two blogs per month…at least 4 Facebook posts a month…with the intention of increasing my daily audience and engagement. Maybe I can get to 200 likes??

So there it is! Looks like I got a lot of work to do!:) Good thing I am having a really great time with this business! I love my clients and can’t wait to meet more!

Happy New Year to you and best wishes in 2013!

Posted in About the frustr8dvideographer

Mary Louise — Newborn portraits — Saltsburg, PA

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Emily Smith

Ten days ago, our second child was born. After birthing a 10 pound giant with my first, this 8 pound 5 ounce nugget was a piece of cake to deliver…and I’ve been feeling fabulous since giving birth. Again, completely different than with my first. Mary Louise is healthy, sweet, and quickly falling into a very manageable sleep pattern (God bless her!!), so that has also contributed to my feeling fabulous and being up for putting together her newborn portrait session. Before she was born, I knew I was going to be doing a photo shoot with the newborn, but since we chose not to find out the sex of the baby, I had to keep my ideas gender neutral. Well, I stumbled upon the grass blanket and the pumpkin beanie hat on Etsy. BabyBirdz makes the grass blanket (and tons of other photo props perfect for newborn portraits) and the pumpkin beanie was made by TextilesOne (SO many super-cute hats, I have to restrain myself!!). Perfect props for a little “harvest baby” photo shoot. So here’s my girl! This is just the first of MANY photo shoots that she will endure over the years! Hopefully she is as narcissistic as me and will love being photographed!:)

Posted in About the frustr8dvideographer, Babies and Families | Tagged baby photography, indiana pa newborn portraits, Indiana pa photographer, saltsburg pa photographer | 1 Comment

Max’s 2 year portraits — children portraits — Saltsburg, PA

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Emily Smith

My baby isn’t a baby anymore!:) Max turned 2 in September and since his favorite past time is visiting our grape arbor and eating the concords, that’s where we did the photoshoot. And not because that was my decision, but because he wouldn’t leave the arbor to go where I wanted. Luckily, we got the shot…and a few other cute ones, too. Happy Birthday, big man!

Posted in About the frustr8dvideographer, Babies and Families | Tagged children photography, Indiana pa photographer, saltsburg pa photographer

My family portraits, Fall 2012 — Family portraits — Saltsburg, PA

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Emily Smith

If you have stumbled upon my blog and are scrolling through the latest posts, you might think you’re seeing duplicate posts. No…just copying a portrait session I did for my own family portraits!:) I didn’t plan on taking any portraits of myself when I was pregnant because I was convinced that I looked not-so-cute …and fat.:) Well, then I read this article about women avoiding pictures for all the reasons I was, and why that is such a mistake because then there’s no record of what you looked like when you were younger/pregnant/etc…and your children will want to see their mother as a young woman and when she was carrying them inside of her. So yeah, I made the boys humor me with a quick family portrait session in that lovely field across the street.:) A tripod, remote, and my best friend Photoshop helped make these portraits a reality.:)

Posted in About the frustr8dvideographer, Babies and Families | Tagged family photography, family portrait session, family portraits, indiana pa family photos, indiana pa family portraits, Indiana pa photographer, saltsburg pa photographer

Josh, Holli, and Hayley — Family portraits — Saltsburg, PA

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Emily Smith

Our good friends, Josh and Holli just had their first baby…a sweet baby girl, Hayley. It was early fall when we did their portrait session (yes, again, I’m behind! The napping baby is allowing me to catch up a little!) and I had been scoping out the field across the street from my house: “amber waves of grain!” and the sun sets right behind it. Perfect!!:) When they asked me about portraits, I was thrilled they were willing to make the trip out to our place and I knew we were going to use that field! I also had just recently purchased a “grass” blanket for use in my upcoming newborn session, so I figured we’d give that a try, too, when doing Hayley’s portraits. I found the blanket on Etsy from BabyBirdz (if you follow the link you can see they do all kinds of newborn accessories). So during the sweet light, we rocked out this shoot. And now that my baby girl is here, I see many duplicate portrait sessions in Hayley’s and Mary’s futures. Try the portrait on Mary, perfect it with Hayley.:) Sometimes it’s good to be the friend of a photographer!:) Enjoy the pics!

saltsburg pa photographer

Posted in Babies and Families | Tagged baby photography, family photography, family portraits, indiana pa family portraits, Indiana pa photographer, portrait sessions, saltsburg pa photographer

Donna and Elle – Family portraits – Indiana, PA

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Emily Smith

Again, I’m a little behind on posting some of my sessions! Terrible! I guess I could blame it on being 9 months pregnant, but being 9 months pregnant hasn’t really kept me from doing much else, says the girl who is feverishly laundering all neutral baby clothes, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing, moving stuff, still working full-time, etc. in preparation for our latest arrival due in a few days. I would really like the baby to arrival early, but if it is anything like my first, it will hang out nearly 2 weeks past its due date. So we’ll see! And now on to my portrait session with Donna and her granddaughter Elle. Donna and I used to work together at IUP before she retired. Her group of “lunching ladies” actually purchased this session for her as a birthday present. What do you get for the woman that has everything? A portrait session!! GREAT idea!:) Donna’s birthday was several months ago, but we decided it would be best to wait for some nice weather since spring isn’t exactly the most beautiful time of year here in Indiana. We did the session in Donna’s backyard that her and her husband Terry have meticulously cared for…beautiful landscaping, an awesome waterfall and pond complete with a mini bridge that is “Elle size”, and a great swing set for Elle. Donna is helping her son and daughter-in-law (Elle’s parents) by watching Elle while they’re at work…and she just loves it! Donna that is! I’m sure Elle loves it too, but Donna’s face just lights up when she tells me about their daily routine…inspecting all the trees, swinging together, visiting the neighbors…sounds like a great day! So that’s what we based the session on: their daily routine. Elle’s cute little jean skirt is just too cute and wait til you see her baby blues! Adorable!! We had a great time and Max and I are very excited to visit them when he drop off their prints in the next few days. Enjoy!

Posted in Babies and Families | Tagged backyard portraits, children photography, family portraits, indiana pa baby portraits, indiana pa family photos, indiana pa family portraits, Indiana pa photographer, portrait session, saltsburg pa photographer

Kait + Justin — Pittsburgh, PA Wedding

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Emily Smith

In May (on my anniversary weekend to be exact!) Marti (of martiaikenphotography.com) and I had the pleasure of capturing Kait and Justin’s big day. We had an absolute blast and came away with some stunning portraits. Kait and Justin were married at St. Lawrence O’Toole Catholic Church in Lawrenceville. Something I’ve never seen before: a folk band in a catholic church! It was pretty amazing and just added something special to the entire ceremony. After the ceremony, we traveled to Settler’s Cabin park to take the portraits and then to the reception at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. The day was hot, but not too hot. We had great sun (and shade) for the portraits at Settlers Cabin. One of my favorite shots of the session was the entire GINOMOUS bridal party lined up outside of a park bathroom. It was a totally random find, but Marti and I thought it was hilarious. We hope everyone else did, too. The bridal party was tons of fun, so I think they were into it.:) On to the reception…awesome entrances, tear-jerking speeches (by the groom’s brother!), TONS of cookies, beautifully decorated…and the party was still going strong when Marti and I left at the end of the night. If I weren’t pregnant, we probably would have stayed and party-rocked with everyone else! Best wishes to Kait and Justin!