Some sweet little twins! {Kansas City Newborn Photographer}

I had not had any twins in MONTHS when these boys' mama contacted me! I was very excited to finally have some twinkies in front of my camera again! The session was quite long, as one was awake while the other slept....but the images turned out to be among my favorites ever!

Thanks for coming and being so patient!!

Something different (Kansas City Portrait Photographer)

So I woke up from a dream last night (strangely my dream was about tuna fish which I can't explain but did have for lunch today bc of that dream) and while I was falling back to sleep I had an idea!

Here's what I want to do.....most of you remember when I did Portrait Parties several years ago...I met a lot of you that way. I want to bring BACK the party.....but instead of me taking your kids pictures, I'm going to teach YOU to do it.

Lets face it, most families have a nice DSLR or two now.....and although it does just fine on auto, that camera can do more! And I wan to show you what it can do!

So what this will entail is :

A hostess (or host, I'm not trying to be sexist here) to have the party at their home. Provide the guests and the snacks/drinks.
A 2 hour time slot (can be weekend or weekday or evening).
Each guest needs to bring a DSLR (or a film SLR if anyone besides me still owns one), lenses and a notebook for note taking!

What I will teach you:

What all those settings do
Iso/shutter speed/aperture
Depth of field: what it is and how to exploit it
Metering natural light
How to find good light
Creativity in your pictures

The cost for this intensive 2 hour course is $100 per person. The minimum party is 5 attendees and the maximum is 10. The host/ess does not pay the course fee.

Let's get started everyone!!!! Who will be first? I'm excited....

And hungry for more tuna......

Womens Only Self Defense Seminar....please come!

I am taking Krav Maga which is an Israeli martial arts course. We are not only doing great conditioning but every class contains valuable self defense drills. I feel fantastic, empowered and strong!! I cant stress enough how amazing it feels to take down an "attacker" twice my size with just a few well-placed punches, kicks and twists!

This Saturday, March 19 from 1030-1230 pm, my instructor in Krav Maga is holding a Womens Self Defense seminar. He will be demonstrating tactics, combatives, drills and strategies for dealing with all types of issues : Harassment, Abuse, Rape Prevention, bullying and male intimidation! It will be fact-driven (serious but not a downer...we all know most men are amazing...we have great husbands, boyfriends, brothers and bosses!!), action-packed (wear comfy clothes, you will be training!) and you will leave EMPOWERED!

Imagine walking to your car from the grocery store and some guy 2x your size grabs you by the ponytail and starts to pull you into his van...do you know what you would do? I didnt...we ran that drill and I immediately panicked! I thought I was cool under pressure, but I folded! Didnt scream, didnt set my body weight, didnt do ANYTHING! Had that been an actual attack, I would have been taken. Luckily my instructor taught me the defense and we ran it again....until its muscle memory....until I dont have to "know" what to do...,my body just does it!!

You dont have to be super-fit (heck Im certainly not!), super strong or super-agressive. We all know bullies pick on people smaller than they are....dont be that person!

Learn to protect yourself AND your children! Teach your kids that Mom is strong and confident!

I hope I see you all on Saturday! I cant wait!!!

RSVP required, but if you just want to email ME, thats a good RSVP too....I can let them know you are coming!

If you are a KC Premier Martial Arts member, this is a free seminar. If not, its a $20 donation to their charity, Premier Kidz Foundation.

More info: www.kcpma.com or 816-746-5728 KC Premier Martial Arts is located at 1847 NW Vivion Road in Riverside (2 doors down from the old studio location)

Parents Night Out....

The martial arts studio where my kids and I train is launching a Parents Night Out and the owner has asked me to be a part of it! Its a fun thing for me bc a) I love kids obviously and b) I really love the programs that his place offers! So when I was asked to help get the PNO program off the ground, I was excited!!

Our big debut is this Friday night from 630-1030. Its 20 bucks per kid, we will be eating pizza, doing karate, playing games, crafts, hnaging out. You can sign up online at www.kcpma.com under the "Event Registration" page.

I will be there with your kids the whole time, Eric Siley, the owner and chief instructor, will be there the whole time (he will be doing the instructing of course) and it will be fun! My kids will be there and I hope lots of their friends!!

Hope to see you Friday night!

My life right now (Kansas CIty Photographer)

So I haven't blogged in ages.....some of you know why and some of you just think im lazy lol.

Truth is, things didn't turn out exactly like I wanted.....I thought the big studio and the events and the trappings would be what I really wanted to do with my life/career....turns out I was wrong.

I loved that studio space.....the light, the room, the furniture, the smell of fresh bread from next door....but as I worked and worked to pay the rent, I started to fall apart! Late returning calls and emails, missed orders, no time for birthday cards like I used to send my clients. The more trappings I acquired, the more I lost sight of why I became a photographer.....to build relationships with my clients....treat them as friends....have them know they are valued.

So last fall I decided to scale things back....do less and give my loyal clients more. So this week I closed up the studio space and packed away some of those trappings....I'm going backwards, but in a good way...I'm going back to what I loved about my photography....the simple smile of a toddler at play, the joy of a family having their first family session in years and making a shy high school senior feel like a super model!

I am also going to blog more....not just about my business....but about my life! I want to share in your lives and I want you all to share in mine....so I want to share some stuff I'm doing now for ME, too!

I am still running...I have a 5k this Saturday, running a 10k at rock the parkway in April....the trolley run for team Carly Jade, and of course hospital hill! I am also training in 2 new fields: Krav Maga which is a hand to hand combat training program, and Cage Fitness which is a Mixed Martial Arts inspired workout. It's all amazing and I feel the best I have in years! Not to mention I'm getting quite fit for the upcoming swimsuit season!! You can check out these classes at KC Premier Martial Arts (www.kcpma.com)...which is located just 2 doors down from the old studio location....

My kids are busy, spring sports wil be starting up and we will be on the go as usual. Both my boys are also still in karate and doing great with it! Keeps them out of trouble!

I am looking forward to this new fresh spring weather and my new fresh look....new website and stuff will be launched very soon too! Its a great life and I'm grateful for it every day!!

Wandered out to my "backyard" {Kansas City Family Photographer}

I love families....I love how they laugh and tease each other with ease....I love how excited they are (ok, the Moms) about getting family portraits done....and I love how they dont complain (out loud anyway) about tromping through the woods so I can capture them in a patch of light no bigger than my dog.

This family was terrific, and we had the best lighting....I love my backyard..... ;)

More What to Wear {Kansas City Family Photographer Susan H. Robichaud}

A couple of more options in the What to Wear for Fall Family Portraits....geez, this is HARD work! Im glad I am a professional PHOTOGRAPHER instead of a professional FASHION DESIGNER! I couldnt do it....just putting these ideas together took hours, LOL

I guess that means I am not very fashionable...oh well, YOU can be!