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Kristy Merrill Photography bio picture

Hello!


I am so glad you are here.

I am a natural light, on-location photographer specializing in individual portraits. 

I have two amazing boys, one fiercely loyal dog, two loving kittens, and one cranky cat.

I like to have fun with my photography and am just a little bit silly.

I love Photoshop.  I love Lightroom. 

I like comments.


Kristy

Chillies

Bankhead girls

These girls deserve so much credit for their hard work during our photo shoot!  It was absolutely freezing, but their spirits stayed high and they moved from location to location without complaining.  I adore their pink cheeks!

Bankhead kilts

Austin and Kristi (mom and dad) also deserve credit for bringing blankets and coats so the girls could stay warm as we moved around.  Austin goofed off, danced around, and did whatever it took to keep the kids entertained and happy.  I need him to be my personal entertainment assistant!  Think he’s interested?  Thanks, Bankheads, for a wonderful time with these chilly girls.  I love the kilts!


Family Portrait … with Crumb

If you know me, you know that I love including a family’s pets in their portraits.  I have included dogs and cats many times, but a Bearded Dragon was a new adventure for me.

Just look at this handsome guy!

Crumb, the Bearded Dragon

I have never been a huge fan of reptiles as pets (at least in my own home; I have worse luck with them that house plants), but after seeing their family pictures with both pets, I am tempted to add one to our group!  Okay, probably not, but he was the best behaved kid I’ve worked with lately.


Norton Family

Potter, Party of Seven

I knew the Potter family way back when … when each of us only had one little boy.  Look at them now!  We had so much fun playing and running around in the fall leaves.  Let me tell you … these kids are fun!

The Potter Family

Kelleen & Girls

Potter Boys

Justin and Amelia

Justin & Amelia

Justin and Amelia are getting married!  I was so happy to spend a fall morning with these two taking their engagement pictures.

Urses

Aren’t they both just completely gorgeous?  They were also game for just about anywhere I wanted to shoot: in the middle of a river, hiking up a hill, and even being a little goofy when I asked.  They are such a fun couple and I’m so excited for their future!

Amelia & Justin

After the amazing time I had working with these two, I decided it’s time to specialize in engagement sessions.  Who knows?  Maybe in a few (okay, Melanie, quite a few) years, I’ll be taking their family pictures with their kids.


Time for Valentines

I am so excited about these Valentines! I’ve already chosen which ones Nate will give to his second grade friends and which ones our family will send out. How fun is it to be able to have custom designed, professionally printed Valentines?  Keep reading for the scoop, and you may scroll all the way down to see the other card styles: the front and back of each card is shown, and anything you want can be printed on either side!

eleven

Valentine’s Day Promotion:
• 30-minute minisession
• Minimum of five images to choose from for your cards
• 50 double-sided minicards (2×3.5) for $75 OR
• 25 full-size cards (5×7) for $125

The wording on these cards is completely customizable, so I can print the greeting from your child and/or family, leave a blank space if you’d like to write your own, or both! You may also mix and match designs if you’d like some minis, some full-size, or different styles for different kids.

Please contact me soon to schedule your session, and plan for at least a week from the date of your shoot to receive your custom valentine cards.  If you aren’t able to schedule a photo session and would like to use one of your own photos to order cards, please contact me directly for pricing information.

fiveeight

two

fourtensix

Gillette-Summers Peek

gillette-summers family

Amy Knudsen Gillette is a lucky woman, I tell you. The light for her family photo shoot in the fall and the weather for her double family photo shoot in the winter was perfect! It was supposed to be a terrible storm, but someone knew that Amy deserved good light.

doug&amy

Amy and her amazing kids are joining forces with another amazing group: the Summers family. Amy and Doug are getting married this summer, and this weekend was the last time for at least two years that everyone would be together. See? I told you they needed that good weather!

topher

I ask you: have you ever seen a 16 year-old so enthusiastic about a family photo day? Topher is seriously a great kid. Everyone in this family was so much fun and cooperative on a cold January day. I can’t wait to show you more!

Model Search

Alex

My kids know that when I pull out the camera, they are in for a long haul. They have trekked with me to the mountains, local parks, scary urban neighborhoods, and our own house more often than they’d care to remember.

Lately, I’ve been working on perfecting my RAW skills and on white balance adjustment. Sadly, my kids had no interest in modeling. Thank goodness for my willing cat Alex.

Of Sushi and Goals

I admire all you goal-setters who have posted all your 2010 goals on your blogs.  I really do.  However, I like to set my expectations just a tad lower … maybe one goal at a time?  And I’ll see how it goes before I commit to it.  Is that bad?  Does it defeat the whole nature of the whole goal-setting endeavor?

sushi

What does sushi have to do with my goals?  I could make it a goal to learn to love sushi, but really, I don’t.  I order teriyaki salmon when I go out for sushi with friends.  But this sushi looked so lovely I couldn’t resist taking its picture.

I am not skilled at food photography, but I’m going to work on it this year.  Starting with sushi.

Merry Christmas

Ro & Newt
I adore my two little boys and am thrilled that they were feeling cooperative on our own family picture day.  Hope you and your loved ones are enjoying a great season and have a very Happy New Year!