Picture Perfect

Preston and I had some Fall pictures taken in October. We love them! Our friend and photographer Whitney Lewis was able to get us a few of the pictures as a little preview to the shoot this morning. We're looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos next month.



I have a little project in mind that I want to do with these pictures but I'm afraid it won't be executed for a a couple of months. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get going on my project. :)

The "Fruits" of Our Labor

We don't really have a garden this year but we have kept up on our apricot tree and white grapes. Yum! Can anyone say, "delicious apricot cobbler and grape juice"?

A New Direction

First off, I should have mentioned this a few weeks ago but Preston was accepted to the University of Utah and will be going back to school for his masters degree next fall. On top of that, he tried out and made the stunt team! He has already started practice and is loving it. Can't wait to get great seats at the games!

Also, I am no longer working with Muddy Boys!! Yesterday was my last day. I am happy to be done and excited for my own start....
I got my business license in the mail today!

Red Petal Photography, LLC
by Kara Nilsson

I consider myself an amateur but on my way to professional wedding and landscape photographer. I've got two weddings this month and starting in June, I will be selling prints to the government. My photos will be displayed as decoration in VA hospitals and adult family homes. As I get my name out there, I hope to expand and sell to more branches of the government.

As for this month I will be busy getting my website up and running, a logo created, and building my portfolio more.

Oh happy day!
I mean weekend... I mean month... no...
I mean year!

Welcome to my Home, Spring!

I'm Going to Shoot a Bride

No silly, with my camera! hehe. In fact not just one bride but two! Yep, I will be shooting my first two weddings this coming May and the first one is on my Anniversary! Cool, eh? I am very excited, anxious and a little nervous but I know my friend and mentor, ScottJarvie, will have me prepared and feeling more confidant by the time May rolls around. Until then I have engagement and formal shoots booked to help me prepare more although, I can't compare them to a wedding day shoot! Woof! Big responsibility!

I know I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks (again) so I thought I'd share with you some February accomplishments and updates.

1) Mentioned above!
2) Preston got a wicked awesome yearly review with his boss. I am so proud of him!
3) Preston and I will be in Switzerland exactly one month from yesterday :D
4) We have trained Duke to roll over and shake
5) We have been successful in fighting our urge to buy movies. (believe me, if you know us, this is a huge accomplishment!)
6) I have made some awesome, stylish (if I do say so myself) curtains for the back room in our house. Pictures to come.
7) And last but not least, we have begun the process of moving our stairs by tearing down the ceiling in the basement.

Hurray!

Kara's March goals:

1) STICK to my workout plan (it's been difficult with my busy photography nights and weekends).
2) Spend as little money as possible in Europe.
3) Save, save, save!
4) Cook dinner at least 5 nights a week.
5) Kick butt on my photography shoots!
6) Update my blog more often and with interesting posts.
7) Go to the Temple twice!


That's it for now, friends. Sorry this post was so boring. I will post again soon. xxx

P.S. Check out my updated photography blog if you haven't already. I'm pretty excited about the engagement shoot I took the other day! I love being able to see improvement in my own work and finally being some what satisfied with it :D

Busy Bee!

Hi Friends,

I'm sorry I haven't posted much. I have been meaning to tell you all about our winter vacation but so many exciting things have come up these past two weeks. All my time has been stolen.

Two weeks ago I applied for an internship with an incredible photographer, Scott Jarvie. He accepted me!! My nights have been dedicated to photography for the last week and will continue to be for the next 4 months. I have learned SO much! I feel confident that my own work will improve quickly and my own business will be established within the next six weeks. My first big shoot will be this wedensday morning. Scott and I will be shooting the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera and their CEO. How exciting!! And plenty more exciting shoots to come! I am honored to be working with Scott and very excited to learn from him!

I will try to post a little more but if I don't, you know why!

The Carpenters!

Hurray for Christmas Pictures! Our good friends asked if I would take some pictures of them for their Christmas card this year. At least I think that's what they said they were using them for haha. This has been my favorite shoot yet! It seems every shoot I learn so many new and different things to improve myself on and I think it's finally starting to pay off a little. I'm still no where near flawless and there are many more things I need to correct myself on before I acquire the competence I would like to have but in the mean time, I'm having a BLAST while learning and practicing!

The Nilssons - Edited!

I've been doing some more editing on photos and I thought I'd post some of my creations! I'm a little excited about them :D

The Nilsson Family

Over the Thanksgiving break, my sister in law asked if I would take a few photos of her family. I must say, I think I am the luckiest aunt in the world to have all of these incredibly adorable looking nieces and nephews. Good genes run in the Nilsson family.
This shoot was a little more difficult than the usual because it was noon and the sun was directly above us. It seemed as if they had to squint their eyes no matter which direction they were facing, however, I think we were still able to get a few good shots. Here are a some of my favorites...

Preston's 2nd Love :)

Preston loves his bike! Before the weather got too cold, we decided to get some pictures of him and his bike.

Jobie!

Jobie is such a gorgeous girl! She is so much fun and really knows how to work the camera. Jobie is Preston's stunting partner so while we were at it, I got a few shots of them doing some cool tricks.

Did I mention I've been working on my logo?

Krista & Kalisa - Roomies

Krista has always been a good friend to Preston and I. She was kinda enough to offer her beautiful self as well as her gorgeous friend, Kalisa, as models for a few fall photos. We were out late shooting so some of the photos are a little dark and grainy. We'll have to be sure to get out a little sooner next time. These girls are awesome!