Relatively Speaking...

This entry is titled “Relatively Speaking” because the family in the pictures are related to Krista and I.






When planning this session, Mom told us that her daughter Julia might not cooperate in front of the camera. Well we've handled situations like this in the past, and we were ready with all the tricks we normally use on little kids to squeak out a few good session pictures.


We were even ready to use some things we learn in a recent Sandy Puc seminar "Tots to Teens." Turned out, we used very little from our bag-o-tricks because Julia cooperated extremely well. As a matter of fact, we captured so many cute images of her that it was hard to narrow them down for touch-up and editing.





Here’s a preview of a few images from that session.

Fitness Modeling

Last week we finally got the pleasure of taking pictures of Sarah. Sarah is a relative of ours that we’ve been trying to schedule a photo session with for quite some time. Busy schedules on both sides have delayed us getting together to take pictures, but we finally managed to find a date that was open for us all.


The main purpose of the session was to add some new fitness style images to Sarah's modeling portfolio. As you can see, I think we got some nice shots for her to use.


Since the weather was rainy that day and we couldn't go out, the entire session was shot in the studio. Hopefully soon, we’ll be able to get on her schedule again for some photography out side.



Sarah - It was good to see you again, and we hope you had as much fun doing this session as we did.

The Smiths

We had a session with one of the sweetest families a few weekends ago. We had intentions of doing the session outdoors but the weather ended up being terrible that day.

Lucky for us their house was gorgeous and it made for some great portraits. Hopefully next time we are able to make use of their beautiful yard as we intended to that day.

Thanks again! We had a great time!

A chilly afternoon at Savage Mill

Last weekend we had the privilege of shooting a family at Savage Mill. Lucky for us, we found lots of great spots for the kids to play and be themselves. The area was full of statues for the kids to climb on, a big red barn, and a beautiful church court yard.

Zach was full of energy and personality. He loved to have his picture taken. Aly took a little longer to warm up to us, but she very quickly broke from her shy shell and all of her adorableness shined through.

Their Grandmother was in town during the photo shoot, and we were able to get her in a few shots as well. Some of them ended up being our favorites from the day!

Brandi, we are so glad to have met your family and boyfriend. You made this "sneak peak" blog posting very difficult for us… way too many wonderful pictures to choose from. We look forward to seeing you all again!

Spring is finally upon us.

This month has been interesting. Snow showers mixed with sunshine, rain the next week and the beautiful signs of new life….spring is finally upon us.

We are very excited about the coming season! We love to get outside and enjoy the weather with our clients. The cold always seems to keep people home and you can only have so many studio shots. We love to change it up taking pictures against any backdrop the earth has to offer, and have you going home with portraits that are unique and fun. So, if your looking to get some nice spring photos, we are ready when you are!

Contact us at kandastudios@verizon.net to set an appointment.

In the mean time, here are a few spontaneous shots of my son enjoying the warm weather for the first time this year.

Creative Sessions

What do you mean we are not getting paid for this?

That’s right; sometimes we as artist need a creative outlet that’s not driven by money. Something for our own fulfillment. When we don’t have a customer’s need to satisfy or meet, we are free to experiment and try some of our own ideas and techniques. Not only does this give us a creative outlet, but it helps us to improve our techniques for those future paying gigs.



For those creative sessions, we usually call on someone to model for us. Sometimes this model may be a relative or a good friend. Other times we pull from the resources of groups like the web based Model Mayhem. When using people from MM, the shoot becomes an opportunity for all of us to practice our tradecraft. Ultimately, everyone involved in this type of shoot walks away with images to freely use as they wish.



Recently we contacted Carrie, a Mayhem friend and model, and set up a day and time for one of these creative sessions. We had a couple of shot ideas we wanted to try, and then we were just open to experiment. As usual, it’s always enjoyable working with professional models. Just point the camera at them, and they know exactly what to do. They can really make the photographer’s pictures look good…and as you can see, Carrie did just that.

Thanks for a great session Carrie!

Jessica & Ray

Last weekend we had a HS Senior photo session with two great teens...Jessica and Ray. By far, these were the best seniors we ever had the pleasure to photograph! We have to say that because they're family :-) Really, they were great, and we had a lot of fun doing the shoot. We even think they may have enjoyed it a little.


Usually we try to get our seniors out side for their sessions, mainly because this gives us much more to work with as far as backgrounds and scenery. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, and the temps were a little on the cold side. So, in the studio we stayed.


After a few individual pics of Jessica and Ray, we got them together for shot or two. The session ended with a requested shot of them both together, and included some props they brought along. This was a fun picture that would be used later in an invitation to their graduation parties. The shot ended up really looking cool, and we'd like to post it here, but we can't right now. That would just ruin the invitation for those of you on the invite list, wouldn't it? Although, we're sure that if you keep an eye on the High School Senior Gallery of our web site, it should show up there sometime before summer.

Well, It's almost a month into the new year, and we're already really looking forward to the arrival of Spring. Ah, how nice it will be to take our photo sessions out side again. We know what you're saying,"that picture is not from around here." Well you'd be right, it's Colorado...but it's beautiful and looks Springy!

This year we are offering a new photography package, and we think it's a heck of a deal! It's called "Baby's First Year," and includes four photo sessions for the new baby...newborn, three months, six months, and a final session at one year.

If you are you a "Mom-to-be," this is a perfect opportunity to capture photos throughout your child's first year. Add this package to your baby registry, and we'll be ready to shoot when your little package arrives. Well, not literally that first day, but within a few weeks of that day.

This would also make the perfect gift for a Baby Shower. Unlike that bottle warmer that may get used once and then thrown into the closet, this gift will be cherished for a lifetime. Years from now when that child is grown, mom will look at those beautiful baby photographs and say to herself..."that was the best gift ever!"

For more details and pricing, feel free to contact us or check out the Investment section of our web site:
http://www.gokanda.com/investment.html

Thanks,
Anthony & Krista

Tyler & Heidi

...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Last Saturday afternoon we met up with a newly engaged couple, Tyler and Heidi. Tyler proposed to Heidi just two days prior to our scheduled photo session with them.


We started shooting the session at a park where a few years ago the love birds carved their names on a bench. The names weren’t visible enough to be in any of the shots, so we proceeded to get a few photos of them sitting on the bench.


As temperatures dropped and snow flurries fell, we headed to Fells Point for the remainder of the shoot. Things couldn’t have been better (well maybe warmer would have been nice).


The falling snow was just enough to add a visual hint of winter to the photos. As the darkness fell and the lights came on, we took advantage of the great light reflections on the wet cobblestone streets.





After a while of being out in the cold, we were all somewhat chilled and needing to warm up a bit. The Daily Grind coffee shop fit the bill perfectly, so we stopped in for a cup of hot chocolate and a little heat. Never one to miss an opportunity, we snapped off a few shots in the coffee shop before heading back out into the cold. A few more pictures out side, and we were done for the day.



We had a really fun time with Tyler and Heidi. This was a memorable time for us, and we hope it was the same for them. Their love for each other shined the entire session. How could we as photographers lose with a couple that looks so good in front of the camera.



Good luck Tyler and Heidi!

Jack & Kate

We had a photo session with these kids about a month ago. They both looked so cute in their matching outfits.

Jack loved to have his picture taken. He would smile and pose for us anytime we asked.

Kate on the other hand wanted nothing more then to play. As she realized what we were doing she would scream on queue every time we lifted the camera. With a little distraction we were able to get some really great shots of her,

We have been a little behind on our postings. The past few weeks has been booked for us with photo sessions and also getting ourselves ready for Christmas. Here are a few pictures from a session we had a few weekends ago. These kids are always a joy to photograph. I still cant believe how fast they are growing.

The Henn Family

A few weekends ago we met up with the Henn family to shoot their Christmas card portraits. We scheduled them during a weekend that we thought would have the brightest leaves. Even though the sun was not out as much as we would have liked, we were able to get some great shots of the the family.

Hope you guys had as much fun as we did!

Christmas Cards

We finally got a few Christmas Card designs complete. Here are some 5x7 flat card examples we're offering this year. Go to our website for information.