New office!

I officially signed a lease on a new office space in the Farnam 1600 building on 16th and Farnam in downtown Omaha.  Yay!!  It's really small and there are some issues with the space, but it is mine and I love it already.

I invited the wonderful Jen Broderick over to the studio to help give me some perspective on what she'd do with the space and if she'd shoot in it and how she'd shoot it.  I literally almost never shoot indoor portrait work since I'm always off shooting on location or outdoors, so Jen was the perfect person to ask to help me.  She has a beautiful studio in the Hotshops building and does an amazing job shooting kiddos, families, and newborns both in the studio and on location.  If you're looking for family photos, definitely check out here work here.

I was thinking a totally different direction with backdrops etc, but Jen encouraged me to use the walls.  So I tried it.  On myself... And it's a tad embarrassing.  But  I was the only subject available since Kevin was busy watching the Husker game and I figured that I'm very used to looking at my own face and if I didn't like the way it looked in the light than I would never want to shoot a client like that.  Probably not the most proper way to do it, but I only want to photograph people in light that makes them feel beautiful.  I really love all the light in the eyes from that huge north facing window.  Also my office is literally tiny but I was pleasantly surprised with how much space I actually had to shoot.

I didn't always get the focus right since it was self focusing on the tripod, but I wanted to get a rough idea of the light.  I think Jen was right about the walls.

Also, I'm going to post this next embarrassing photo of myself to demonstrate the importance of over-doing-it on your makeup for photos.  I put makeup on in the morning.  I took these photos (not intending to post them - only to test out the light) around 3:00.  Obviously any lip gloss I might have put on in the morning was long gone.  I took the next two photos after putting on some bright red lip gloss and a ton of blush, and it still doesn't look like I have much makeup on, but my face definitely looks better.

Without lots of red lipgloss and blush:

The next two photos with "lots" of lipgloss and blush:

Kassie + Lee: Omaha Engagement Session

August 11, 2013: Kassie is a really good friend of one of my good friends Nina. Which means we're friends. And every time I hang out with her we have a million things to talk about and I have a great time.  I was SO excited when she asked me to be part of her and Lee's wedding. This was one of my first times really hanging out and getting to know Lee. And their adorable dog BEAR!  Lee is super fun and we all had a great time!  Can't wait for the wedding.

If you know anyone getting married in Nebraska soon, I would love to talk to them!  I've got about 10 spots open for next year!  Email me at amandajkohler@gmail.com

I'm a regular! Omaha wedding photographer: Client meetup!

There are few things that I like more than a great bottle of wine and meeting an awesome new friend. I took this picture a few weeks ago to celebrate the first time I got called "a regular" at La Buvette but I never posted it.  Yes, I realize that's embarrassing that I'm proud of that.  But I really love getting to know people and really getting to know a place, and La Buvette is one of my favorite places.  

Tonight I just got back from another amazing client meeting at La Buvette though, so I went back looking for this picture from a few weeks ago.  Laura and I spent the first 45 minutes talking all about traveling and then we finally got chatting about the wedding.  I'm so excited that I get to be part of Laura's wedding on May 3rd.  That makes me officially half-way booked for 2014 and completely booked in both May and June.  Thank you so much to everyone that's referring me to family and friends.  It really means so much to me.

I took this first shot of the bottle of wine to show how messy (yeah that's my kitchen and that's embarrassing) and not cool the scenario was, and then how simply by lowering my vantage point, and using the light from the overhead bulb from my kitchen light without moving anything you can create something much cooler.  Every time the background sucks and it's unavoidable, I get low.  It doesn't matter what camera you have -- if you don't like the background in your photo, getting a lower vantage point can make all the difference.  Or if possible I get high and shoot down.  If you guys like these behind the scenes shots let me know and I'll try to post them more!

Heather + Brett: Omaha Country Club Wedding Sneak Peek

August 27, 2013: Oh man. I should probably start taking it easy on these sneak peeks... I try to only post a photo or two, but I've definitely already gone overboard here. Heather and Brett are super awesome though so I can't help myself. Check out their beautiful wedding this weekend at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Nebraska.  I love the shot of Heather's mom and Brett's mom dancing!  Such nice people.

If you like these photos and are getting married in the Omaha area or doing a destination wedding, I would LOVE to talk with you more.  My email is amandajkohler@gmail.com or you can shoot me a quick text at 402.677.4803.

Can't get enough of Heather and Brett?  Check out their engagement photos here.

Kassie and Lee - Engagement Photos Sneak Peak

August 19, 2013:  Lately I've been really trying to work on using one spot to get a bunch of different looks (and as quickly as possible). Engagement sessions are always super relaxed with plenty of time to go exploring, but that's not the case during the actual wedding day so variety in a single location is something I've been trying to consciously work on during engagement shoots.  Here are a few examples of using one spot for a bunch of different looks.

More to come Kassie :)

And one photo of them with their adorable dog Bear :)