Limesmile Images - Newborn, Baby, Infant, Child & Children's Photographer Lakeville MN

It’s been such a long time!

Limesmile Images — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 19:30:40 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been almost two months exactly since I’ve posted. A lot has changed since August 30th. The first announcement, you may have seen if you follow me on Facebook. But just in case you haven’t seen it there, I made some pretty big changes from a business perspective and one of them was to no longer accept any new clients or sessions for the time being. Does it mean forever? I hope not – probably just until 2011 rolls over! I love photography and it’s a passion that is hard to set aside, but I needed some time off to re-evaluate my business model and goals, take some time for education and family, and have a little breather over the holidays.

The second exciting announcement is that we (meaning my husband Shane and I) have started an internet-based coffee sales company! This is wonderful for me because I am sort of a coffee nut, but also because it is a charitable-based business, where a portion of each coffee sale goes back to a charity we’ve selected. We believe that it’s important to help people right here in the USA, and have been working on ways to give back however we can. We finally landed on a business model that makes sense for us and also something that would generate revenue for charitable organizations. We are still working out the kinks for the Web site, so it isn’t live yet, but I will share it here with you so you can check back and follow along! Roasted Hope Coffee: www.roastedhopecoffee.com. Be sure to bookmark us!

Lastly, it has been a wonderful fall. Aside from the recent gale force winds, I’ve had some pretty great sessions over the last couple of months. I will be posting some of my favorite picks from those sessions here in the next couple of days.

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

Sunshine, On My Shoulders….

Limesmile Images — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:12:31 +0000

Makes me happy I can’t help it – I think of the classic John Denver song when I see beautiful sunsets. I don’t really recall the words to most songs, but this line has stuck with me since I was a kid (along with “grandma’s featherbed”).

This family, oh how patient they were with this crazy weather we’ve had! I believe this was the fourth time we rescheduled this session! We had a big bruise on a cheek from a fall at daycare, rain, dismal gray skies…And finally, a sunset that was just right. Happiness!

I really looked through these images for awhile, trying to decide on some favorites. I have many more than what I am going to post here, but wanted to be sure I at least got some up for your sneak peek! More to come very soon!

And what I had such a great laugh over, mom and dad, is the fact that your younger daughter made the exact same face as your older daughter did in our last family session! It is hysterical — can’t wait for you to see it in your gallery

-Kelli
Capture. Create. Cherish.

Crooked Day :)

Limesmile Images — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:51:36 +0000

It wasn’t until about 6:00 tonight that I realized it is actually Tuesday, and not Monday. Well that’s a good thing, in my book. But it goes along with how I must have been seeing the world today, which is from a crooked perspective. I have been sitting at my computer for the last three days, sometimes in 12+ hour stretches, and today I just needed to get out of the house, and tear my kids away from the Wii. As great as they are becoming at Elebits and Nerf -N- Strike, they needed a break too.

I grabbed my camera gear and we headed out to an antique place nearby, and did some exploring. We had so much fun! We saw chickens, antiques, cars, airplanes, more chickens, chickens pooping (my boys found that fascinating and funny!) and chicken statues. I would have taken many, many more pictures but by the time I had filled up one memory card, we were all sweating, full of sand, and I was dirty and sopping wet from rolling around on the ground, plus the humidity and my apparent new gift – hot flashes.

As you will see from these images, it is definitely a crooked day for me. But that’s ok. Sometimes, it’s nice just to view the world from a different perspective and enjoy the ride.

I loved the colors on this old VW camper

Fun on the tube swing!

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

Belly + Baby = Bliss

Limesmile Images — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:46:31 +0000

My husband and I have this amazing connection with Lexie’s family, both professionally and personally – so I was really excited and honored they asked me to take her maternity photos. We had such a beautiful location and gorgeous subjects! (Matt even told me he was a newspaper model when he was a baby – just look at those eyes!) This young couple is expecting their first – a baby girl, and it was so much fun for me to work with them and see their excitement as they are about to become parents. Gosh, what an amazing time for them. Many blessings to you both, and I cannot wait to meet your darling daughter

I adore maternity photos and had a very tough time choosing which ones to share here on the blog. (And yes, there are so many more of my favorites I will put into your gallery!) So here are some of my personal favorites. Thank you both for an amazing session!

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

A Morning in the Park

Limesmile Images — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:08:53 +0000

The last time I saw these kiddos it was nearly two years ago. My, how they have grown! They are such beautiful children, inside and out, with wonderful manners and happy little personalities. I had such fun with them – we explored the park, climbed up on stuff (what two year old boy doesn’t love that!), went swinging, and lastly fed the fish and birds. What a great time. Here are some sneak peeks!

I am working to get everybody’s previews up and galleries done before we head out to Yellowstone next Monday on an RV trip! Yippee! So please watch for e-mails from me when your galleries are ready

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

The BIG Family Picture | Minnesota Family Portraits

Limesmile Images — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:20:32 +0000

I have worked with members of this family in various capacities over the years — some children’s photos, some family photos…But this year was THE big one – ALL 30 family members together in a photo! I had so much fun with this group, and kudos to them for sitting and kneeling on various plastic bags as the ground was so wet and the clouds threatened to yet again, unleash another storm. Thank you again ‘B’ Family, for inviting me to capture your memories! I am truly in awe at what a great and close group you are.

Mom and Dad celebrate 50 years of marriage this year!

And then there were mom and dad’s kids:

And their spouses…

And then their kids…

(Yes, they did all smile at the SAME time — craziness!!!)

With some attitude…They were awesome with the wind and cold, too. BRRR!

And with grandma and grandpa!

The whole group of 30 – rock it!

Thanks for hanging in there with the cold, wind, and plastic bags gang! You are really a terrific family and many wishes for wonderful years together

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

Liz + Weston = Love

Limesmile Images — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:24:27 +0000

Let me clarify first before I post these pictures…I am not a wedding photographer (although I have some great friends who are and would gladly refer you to them!), however, this sweet couple asked to have their pictures taken before the entire family pictures scheduled for that evening (holy buckets, 30 peeps!). So I gladly agreed. And for all the windy, cloudy and crummy days we’ve had, it was so spectacular to have the sun peek out for JUST this session. When we were done, no more sun…

Congratulations you two…enjoy your sneak peek!

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

Got Frames?

Limesmile Images — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:09:37 +0000

I’ve talked about these cool frames I offer for awhile now, yet haven’t managed to post some pictures of them…until now! I rearranged my office (again) yesterday and finally moved them from my hallway into the office. Here is a sampling of them – I *heart* Wild Sorbet frames!

I love animal prints, and have this amazing zebra print chair in my living room, which sometimes was featured in portraits I took Valentine’s pictures of my kids in it, and was thrilled to see I could get matching frames! First up are two 5x7s in 6″ wide zebra frames with scroll trim. Love it!

This next one is a 16×20 print (the lollipops were kind of messy but sooo fun!) mounted in a 16×20 frame in the 6″ width. The trim style is called wavy, done in one of my favorite colors — orange, and the turquoise dots made it just right! The corner is a square style.

This one is an 11×14 that is a 4″ wide frame with rope trim and finished (beveled) edges. I have always loved the collage of this little guy!

Here is the finished style edge, rather than the square edge.

This cutie patootie is a 5×10 in a 2″ width — going home with a client of mine YAY!

The back – not your basic brown paper!

And these frames are just waiting for me to edit and print MY family pictures! Done in colors to match my office, there is espresso and robin’s egg blue, and cream. The large frame with the funky cool corners is the Parisian style, which is about 4-5″ wide, 16×20″ size and it has the wavy trim on the inside. This one will hold our family collage Shown alongside it are the cute 8×10 frames with dots – a picture of each son will go in those!

When you order your frame, we make a framing appointment and choose your base color(s), frame width, corner style, interior trim style and color (or no trim is an option), and whether you want dots, stripes, lollipop or animal prints, plus those colors! I have several color samples on hand to make your selections easier

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

P.S. Please join me on Facebook! I’d love to see you there and sometimes post little specials there that are exclusive to Facebook!

when i grow up, i want to be a little boy…

Limesmile Images — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:54:01 +0000

One of the best things for me about photographing children throughout their first year and beyond is that I get to see them grow and change, and capture it all with my camera! I love that about my job.

I’ve been photographing this kiddo since he was three months old. And today, as I looked at him now that he’s 18 months, I could hardly believe the transformation! I knew when I got home, I wanted to put something like this together:

He is starting to become a toddler now!

We had a good time with our session this morning, despite the rain showers that moved in and sent us packing a little early.

Here are a few more peeks from this morning. Enjoy!

It’s never too early to explain how the law works! This was so fun

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.

P.S. Three of the free sessions are booked! We only need one more to book by June 12th (session to take place before June 20) and all four families get 20% off their print order.

Nature Walk with Big V

Limesmile Images — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:52:15 +0000

This morning I was absolutely certain I had to take out my camera. I don’t know if it has been the weather, the end of preschool for Big V, or just anticipation and overwhelm of the future that has kept me from being very active. So, this morning as I got the kids ready for school (Sam), I put all my camera gear into the car, along with bubbles (which I forgot about later on), some candy, and off we went!

Big V and I went to a local park — one that is mostly nature trails, and I thought it would be so much fun for pictures. Vaughn though, had something else in mind. Like going home. If any of you are photographers, you know what it can be like to photograph your own kids. You can either square off and hope for the best, or you can work with bribes and hope that distractions will help. I opted for the latter.

Vaughn is *very* preoccupied with the potty – as in, a little OCD about it (no joke, he is getting evaluated for some OCD behaviors). So, he spotted the porta potty and asked to use it. I thought for a moment, and figured I could either try my hardest to redirect him with a very slim margin of success, or could let him use it under the condition of, “Mommy gets to take as many pictures as she wants. Forever and ever!” He agreed to the second choice.

I write this with shivers as I recall having to tweeze a woodtick out of my neck after this session, along with removing a crawler from my shirt. I cannot CANNOT handle clingy critters well at all. Just EWWWWW!

So, here we are with a few pictures from this morning. In order to appreciate all of Vaughn’s loveliness when he is annoyed\angry\spiteful, you have to know that his facial expressions are either accompanied by a high-pitched shrill scream, or audible grunts. This morning he was my grunter. Can you see it in the following images?

Hello Moods, Have We Met?

Oh wait, you have candy? There is almost…a halo…don’t you think?

And I can throw rocks in the lake? Which rock should I sit on mom?

Thanks for hanging in there with me, folks. It’s been a bit of a challenging spring with some new ADHD and autism evals for the kids. But, we are hanging in there!

P.S. To see who is reading closely, I am offering four sessions FREE until June 20th! NO session fee ($85 value) plus three digital watermarked images! Two sessions are claimed — and if I can get two more confirmed by June 12 (sessions up til June 20th and can be newborn, maternity, family, kiddos), then ALL four clients get 20% off their print order! Spread the word and tell your friends!

-Kelli

Capture. Create. Cherish.