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the potter and his granddaughter:: ratchaburi, thailand

travelKristen TourtillotteJanuary 4, 2010pot factory, pottery, ratchaburi, thailand3 Comments

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meredith+ian preview

engagementKristen TourtillotteJanuary 5, 2010seattle engagement photographer, seattle engagement photography, snoqualmie pass, snow3 Comments

siem reap

travelKristen TourtillotteJanuary 1, 2010cambodia, siem reap, slums

Fireseed on Camano Island with Logan and Bonita. Thank you to these two for bringing me to Camano Island and for spending the afternoon with me. Always a delight and wonderful experience to photograph other talented photographers.
Check out my instastories to see what this frame looks like before I edited it!

Want to take your photos to the next level? Focus on everyone. There’s a reason why each guest has a seat. Focus on them too.

Swipe to see how I approach toasts! ➡️➡️➡️

It’s hump day! Instead of waiting for the day to end, sweeten it up by doing a good deed for someone else!
We are always trying to speed and push through days like this. Slow it down and make it better for someone else. Pay for the person behind you in line at lunch, ask how you can be helpful, or look someone in the eye and ask them how they are.
Enjoy your Wednesday!

Yesterday, one of my clients asked me what the hardest part is about being self employed. It was a brilliant question that I had a hard time coming up with an answer to. There are so many great things about being self employed... you have a wonderfully flexible schedule, the ability to be your own boss, and you’re in charge of the creativity. You create new relationships and friendships along the way... it’s wonderful.
I remembered this time two years ago and how I was struggling to manage my time between work and my personal relationships. Everyone else got the back burner. I declined trips, get togethers and parties because I just had too much work to do. I remember wanting that so badly to change but I couldn’t change my workflow.
Today, I feel like I’m getting closer to a good balance. I still have so much work to do, but I’m seeing so much more of my family and it reminds me just how much I wanted this two years ago.
So maybe that’s it. The hardest part about being self employed is having to understand for yourself what your priorities are. You just don’t always know it till those priorities are taken away for a bit.

Today, I decided it might be fun to share some images that were shot between high noon and four pm… I’ve found that I haven’t shared enough of these timed images on my feed and let’s face it, we all photograph at this time of day!
In the beginning, I always shied away from the high sun and kept to open shade. Eventually, I’d come out from under the trees and make sure we could capture the scene of an image, despite the light. Sometimes it’s casts fun shadows, sometimes it’s really unflattering, sometimes it’s really flattering. If you prohibit shooting in the sun, or only shooting at sunset, how will you know?
Get out there into the sun!

After posting in my Insta stories this week, it sounds like everyone wants to know more about what happens behind the scenes with my images. So for the next couple of weeks I’m really going to be trying to tell you the story behind what I share! This image was from a couple of years ago for a lovely backyard wedding on Vashon Island. I really try and utilize downtime for some of my favorite imagery as I think a lot of photographers assume downtime means rest time. It absolutely does! I really encourage your camera to stay close to your face and for your eyes to continue to wander for the right moments.
This image happened when the guests were transitioning from the ceremony to cocktail hour and many of the guests were needing to transport chairs over to the reception. Usually that would be a time to capture a few images and then move over to cocktail hour but the flower girls had found the parasols from the ceremony. I ran back over from the cocktail hour area and snagged the shot. You should have seen my sprint!

4 Things I wish I knew about being a wedding photographer before I started:

1. It’s not about me. So many of the years I spent photographing, I felt that I was the ring master and in control of everything. I needed this much time for portraits, I needed a schedule to match my ideal timeline. I quickly understood that I should go with the flow and that I’m behind the scenes. Still living through each moment and interaction but that it’s all about the couple and their guests and my ego should be put to the side. I should do a great job, but only with my talents and kindness.
2. It’s not about acquiring gear. Find the gear that you love using, master those lenses and camera bodies and then get back ups in case they break. No need to switch to the newest camera body each year or take on new gear that you’ll only end up using once a year. Perfect what you have and when it breaks, get it fixed or replace.
3. Pack snacks. I wish I let this really sink in. Pack snacks for a wedding day and shoots. Better yet, also have a high calorie protein meal before you shoot so that you’re not hungry again till dinner. Start hydrating 1-2 days before the wedding and pack a water bottle to drink from all day. Your energy will be through the roof.
4. It’s better to spend less on expenses. Save your money. Don’t write things off just to write them off. Speak with a financial advisor or CPA about this but be cautious to write off shoots, gear, equipment and travel just because you can to bring your net income down and pay less in taxes. There are other ways.

Toasts still remain my favorite part of the wedding day... there’s nothing like hearing affirmation about your couple and seeing those single tears fall down their cheeks!

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Kristen Marie Parker | Top Seattle, LA, San Francisco, NYC Fine Art Wedding Photographer