I'm TWENTY-SEVEN!!: Chico California Photographer

Okay, how did this happen? How did I get SO old!!?? When I tell people I'm old, they give me a hard time. Usually they are much older then me, so I get that. BUT, what I mean is, for the "young" part of life I am on the OLD end of it. Does that make sense!? Haha. I'm leaving my 20's and they are FLYING by. What an amazing time in life and full of the most life changes I have ever experienced.

I got married in my 20's. Graduated College in my 20's. Started my business in my 20's. Had my first baby in my 20's. Okay, now this post is sounding like I'm celebrating my last year in my 20's, haha! I'll stop now ;) My point is that I'm getting old and it's crazy. Each year goes by faster then the last. I can hardly keep track of days and months. Good thing everything is well documented! I really can't complain though. Life is so so good. The Lord has blessed my life so much and I am so thankful! I am married to one amazing man, who makes my life complete. I have the sweetest little boy that brings me SO much joy. I get to do what I love in life and my business is thriving. I have the best family and in-law's in town ;)

Like every year, there are things to look forward to and goals to be met. In case you are curious I've written a few of those here for you ;)

I am looking forward to:

~My hubs 29th bday in August...boy oh boy am I going to tease him ALL year long about it being the last year in his 20's! hehe
~Shooting 9more awesome weddings this year!
~My first big bridal show in August
~Doing Ryden's 1 1/2year photos in August
~Seeing Taylor Swift in concert in August!!!
~Fall/Halloween! I love love love that time of year and really enjoy trick or treating with the family and now taking ryden(!)
~Christmas :)
~Ryden's 2nd Birthday in Feb (I know it's not for awhile!)
~Continuing to book weddings for 2014 ( I love my job!)
~Hopefully more traveling and another trip to Disneyland(!?)
~Spending time with wonderful family and friends :)
~Hopefully going to WPPI in March!!

In general, going on more adventures, striving to live life to the fullest, soaking up EVERY moment. Because it really does go by SO fast. Here's to another awesome year!

Katelyn :)

Business Update: I'm a Wedding Photographer(!): Chico California Photographer

Hello lovely people! For those of you that are loyal fans and have been following my work for the past few years, you've probably noticed many changes. Which is very important and expected as I grow as a photographer and business owner. One of the main changes being, shifting my focus to being a Wedding Photographer and no longer a Wedding & Portrait Photographer.

This change has been slow and natural as my business has progressed and moved-forward. It was only recently that I have decided to focus on Weddings & Engagements and no longer promote myself as a 'portrait photographer' as well. This decision was based on a few things. One of the main things being the continued increase of growth in shooting weddings. Every year since I started in late 2009/early 2010 I have set increasing goals as to how many weddings I'd like to book each year. Every year I have reached that goal and then some. This year being my busiest year yet with booking 18weddings. As weddings and engagements increase my time is being soaked up with them, which leaves less time for portraits.

As my business is shifting in the direction I always hoped, the desire for this change is not only for the lack of time for portraits, but more importantly the desire to pour all my energy and drive into shooting amazing weddings and engagements full of passion and creativity. I want to give them my all and continue to move forward with them, pushing my skills to the limits and reaching all my goals!

Now for all of you faithful returning portrait clients of mine, no need to freak out! I will not leave you hanging ;) I plan on still making time to shoot portraits for my wonderful returning clients. If my schedule allows, I will also make time to shoot a few new portrait clients, but those will be very limited. My main portrait months will be only March & November. The best times for spring or fall photos. Again, I will make a few exceptions, but those will be on a case by case basis.

Since the beginning I have loved shooting weddings SO much and knew that was where eventually I'd like to focus my business. I am so so grateful to firstly the Lord for so richly blessing my business and then of course my husband for being the best business partner and supporter ever!

Thank you all for being part of this amazing journey! I SO appreciate your support, encouragement and faithfulness to choose me as your photographer. If you do desire to book a portrait shoot for this November for fall photos, please contact me now to snag a spot. Again, there will be VERY limited spots, so please if you really want one, let me know. You can email me: katelynowensphotography@gmail.com. You also are welcome to email me anytime with questions :) Love you all!

Katelyn :)

Be excited!!! This lovely wedding hits the blog this week!!! ;)

Fort Bragg- Wedding Sneak Peeks!: Jackie & Daniel

This was such an AMAZING wedding! I absolutely loved shooting in fort bragg! We had the best weather ever and I know we were all so grateful for that! Enjoy a few of my favorites from their day. There were just SO many favorites to share! ;)

Katelyn :)

Fort Bragg Here We Come!: Chico California Photographer

We are off to Fort Bragg this weekend!! One of my favorite places to visit! I use to go there almost every summer with my family growing up and it was always so much fun. So many memories made there! Sometimes we would stay in a hotel and sometimes we would camp. Ocean camping is the best kind there is!

Jackie & Daniel are getting married on Saturday in Fort Bragg and I can't wait! I know it's just going to be a beautiful wedding. I mean, you can't really go wrong getting married with a jaw dropping ocean view behind you! Shooting a wedding in Fort Bragg is one of the few places on my photography 'bucket-list'...so as you can guess I'm so excited.

This will be my 5th and final wedding for this month! I seriously CANNOT believe June is already coming to an end. I cannot believe I have already shot 4 weddings this month...how did that happen? I remember in the past when I have shot 4 or more weddings in a month, you blink and it's over. It's been such a fun month!

As much as I LOVE shooting weddings, I am a tad excited that I have a few weeks off from shooting them after this one. I will have a little more time to get a ton of editing done, shoot a few portraits, continue to book and meet with brides for their 2014 weddings, update the website with new season photos(!), and prep for my wedding Show in August!! Gosh, that is a pretty overwhelming list when I look at it, but I can't wait to tackle everything!

This weekend, other then shooting an awesome wedding on saturday, I plan to enjoy EVERY moment of our mini-vacation spending time with my boys. This will be Ryden's first time in Fort Bragg...I know he will just love it. He is seriously the BEST little traveler! He loves it.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! I leave you with a photo of my sweet boy at 5months that I forgot about and stumbled upon recently. I cannot believe how much he's changed!!

WPA Rock Garden Engagement: Heidi & Joe- Chico California Photographer

Sometimes I go back in forth in my love for different types of lighting. I normally prefer warm, soft light, taken a couple hours before sundown. We all know how unprdictable the weather can be and often I do shoot on an overcast day. I really love this type of light as well! The colors are rich and vibrant and soft. PLUS you can shoot anywhere because there are no shadows.We ended up with overcast lighting for Heidi & Joe's shoot and I just loved it!

These two were SO cute!! They were so natural in front of the camera. Joe (like a lot of grooms) was so good at making Heidi laugh and because of that we got the BEST photos. Real, natural interactions, showing who they really are :)

Heidi & Joe live a few hours away, so we met in the middle in Sac. We shot at the Sacramento Rock Garden. It was a lot prettier then I expected. I did not see ANY rocks, just lots of lovely flowers. Heidi & Joe, I cannot wait for your wedding in Healdsburg next month! Enjoy my favorites from your shoot!!

Katelyn :)