Kim Stahnke Photography

2010-01-11T05:21:00.047-10:00

Medina County Photographer / Brunswick Ohio Photographer / Medina Ohio Photographer / Strongsville Ohio Photographer / Wadsworth Ohio Photographer / Northeast Ohio Photographer / Summit County Photographer / Wayne County Photographer / Cuyahoga County Photographer / Lorain County Photographer / Kim Stahnke Photography is a Senior Photographer, Wedding Photography, Engagement Photographer, Family Photographer, Newborn Photographer, Children Photographer, Maternity Photographer, Baby Photographer, Event Photographer, Couple Photographer, Natural Light Photographer, and an On Site Photographer.

I Heart Faces - Photo Challenge "Best Face Photo"

2010-01-11T04:49:00.001-10:00

So I heart faces is celebrating their 1 year birthday. I came across this site last year, shortly after it was created, and it really sparked my interst because is was about photography. Since that day, it has helped me challenge myself in ways I didn't think I could. I love to see what other photographers come up with. It really helps me to be more creative with my own picture taking. So this week is best face photo, and it could only be a picture we have taken in Dec. or Jan. Well I did this photo shoot for this little girl in December. When we started the photo shoot it was 26 degrees. She needed this photo shoot for some head shots for her modeling, so I guess she got some great practice on how to model in freezing weather. She did great and this was one of my favorites of the shoot. When choosing this picture for this weeks challenge I was thinking of putting some special effects on the picture, but each time I changed the picture, it just took away from what I captured, so I have pretty much left the picture alone. So aside of fixing a few blimishes on her face, and sharpening the picture a bit, what you see is what I took, and sometimes I just like it that way.

Be sure to check out the other great photos at I Heart Faces.

I Heart Faces - Hilarious Outtakes

2009-12-20T05:24:00.001-10:00

I wanted to post this on my photography site because I originally had it on my personal blog, but my picture was actually chosen. It took second place from one of the guest judges for the week. The theme was "hilarious outtakes", and well this picture speaks for itself. It did crack me up how this couple was trying to walk their dogs, but the dogs couldn't walk strait for anything, so this is how most of my pictures looked. I didn't care because it was cute!

You can follow this link - I Heart Faces - to see where my picture was posted. If you scroll down far enough you will also see the picture of mind listed on the week "Autumn Beauty"

A Model Photo Shoot!

2009-12-10T08:40:00.000-10:00

I had two photo shoots scheduled last Saturday, and all I can say is WOW was it cold. I was meeting this little girl Megan and her mom at 10am in the morning. It was a whopping 26 degrees. I wasn't sure if we were going to pull it off or not, but we did. Megan was such a trooper. She did exactly what I asked, and she never complained once. She was needing these pictures for her portfolio for modeling, and I guess that is why she was so easy to work with. She is a natural. We headed inside buildings a few times to warm up and grab some different kinds of shots, but I'm glad I got to do this photo shoot because it proved to me that I can do photo shoots even if it is cold. I honestly never felt cold the entire time, because I was in my photography zone, and that pretty much preoccupied my brain so much that my brain didn't have a chance to register that I was cold.

A Christmas Photo Shoot

2009-12-02T04:59:00.034-10:00

I Heart Faces - We Heart Tooshies

2009-11-30T08:51:00.002-10:00

So this theme for this weeks challenge at I Heart Faces came at a perfect time because I just got this shot of my son just a few weeks ago. I was trying to capture a few pictures worthy enough to put on our families Christmas card this year, and I asked my son to just look at this Christmas book while sitting on my little red chair. He decided that he didn't want me to take his picture so he politely turned around, and then I grabbed this shot. I love this picture because I got a better picture then I could of ever asked for if I posed him like this. I love the fact that you can see santa so perfectly in the book, and yet see his cute back side at the same time. My son was trying to avoid me taking his picture and instead he gave me a very unique picture, which is what I strive to do anyways. Unfortunately as cute as this picture is, I will not be using it on my Christmas card. I still want everyone to see his cute little face. Be sure to check out the other great pictures at I Heart Faces.

Happy Anniversary to Ashley and David!

2009-11-27T07:38:00.000-10:00

So I had the priviledge to spend the day with Ashley and David on their one year anniversary. I have know Ashley since she was a wee little girl, and now she is all grown up. I had such a wonderful time with both of them, and they were both fair game to do anything I asked. We started the photo shoot at their house, and after some photos in the front of the house, Ashley told me about her antique bike she had. Stuff like that is a photographer's dream. We had so much fun using the bike, and we appreciate the neighbor letting us use his barn. Then later we headed up to the small town down the street from them, and then Ashley and David told me about the train, once again a photographer's dream. Then Ashley shared that they never got any engagment pictures when they got married, so we threw a few of those in there as well, even though it was there one year anniversary. It was great having such variety in our pictures in one photo shoot. Thank you Ashley and David for a great day! I hope you had a great anniversary, inspite of spending some of it with me.

I Heart Faces - "Autumn Beauty" Picture Contest

2009-11-16T09:40:00.002-10:00

So this is a great theme this week! I love capturing the changes of seasons with my kids through pictures. The only problem with getting enough leaves for my kids to play in at our home, is that we built a house 6 years ago, and all our trees are still to small to produce enough leaves to make worth jumping in. So we did the next best thing, and grabbed our rake, and headed to the park by our house. The crazy thing was, while my daughter was raking the leaves, she found a snake. So I spent a few minutes trying to get this snake far away from us, so it wouldn't bother the kids while they played. I'm surprised my daughter was even okay to play in the leaves after that. I love this picture so much, because you can see the expression on my son's face without seeing the front of his face. This is the first year that he got the point of playing in the leaves, and it was so much fun!!!!! Be sure to check out the other great pictures at I Heart Faces.

I once again was thrilled to have found my picture chosen as one of the top ten picks of the weekly challenge of I Heart Faces. This week I got the number five pick. I absolutely love challenging myself with the weekly contest with the unique themes. There are some absolutely amazing pictures on there every week, and I'm honored to even fall in a category with some of these photographers.

Introducing My Own Custom Christmas Cards!

2009-11-06T04:49:00.000-10:00

So I have finally had a little time to sit down and design my own line of Christmas Cards. They do run a little more then my other cards, but the advantage is that you can fit more pictures on them. I can also design someone, their own personal card for a minimal fee, so if that is something you're interested in let me know. So be sure to take some time to check out all the new cards and keep in mind that I can put any personal message on the card that you want. These are also listed under the Christmas Cards, so be sure to add the correct Christmas card number to your order sheet.

The bond of sisters!

2009-11-02T11:01:00.000-10:00

So a family at my church approached me awhile ago about doing a photo shoot for them at their home, and a few weeks ago I had the priviledge to do that. This family was so much fun. They cracked me up most of the time, and I would have to stop taking pictures for a bit so I could just laugh with them. This family is so close and it was fun capturing that in pictures.

So after we got some family shots, the rest of the family came out to join them. This was a tough thing to pull off, as well as funny, but I think we got a pretty good shot of all of them.

So I decided to get some couple pictures and lets just say the dogs were getting a bit jealous. Check out the next photo with the dog between them. It just cracked me up!!!!!

These two sisters are just gourgeous!!!!

So after a bunch of serious pictures we decided to go with something completely different!!!

Okay, back to serious again!

So towards the end of the photo shoot I asked if anyone had anything else they wanted me to take, and the two sisters said they wanted me to recreate two pictures from their childhood. So they described what the pictures were, and the next two shots were specially for them.

Then I asked the girls if they like to wrestle and the next thing I new they were wrestling for me.

And then we ended with a nice picture of the two of them. After this photo shoot I was wishing I had a sister when I was growing up. The two of them seem to have so much fun together. I have two brothers, but after this photo shoot I realized it just isn't the same. We ended our time together with some wonderful hot chocolate. What a fun afternoon!

Boys will be Boys!

2009-11-02T10:30:00.000-10:00

So later the same day as the last photo shoot I had the priviledge to do pictures for another family with boys. All I can say is boys will be boys. They are more interested in being goofy, then getting a nice precious picture for mom and dad. So with that in mind I set out to do what I had to do to get the right picture for the mom and dad. I think we got some good ones, but with boys at this age the classic one's are the one's with the goofy faces.

This one is my favorite of the boys!

So after all the tough pictures were done, we let the kids just play and have fun. I actually love capturing kids playing.

Then we ended our session with some good old fun in the leaves.

Now thats a rap!

Braving the Cold!!!

2009-11-02T10:02:00.000-10:00

A few weeks ago I had a photo shoot scheduled with a family at 11:00am on a Saturday. It was just a bit cold at that point of the day, and it was in the 40's for most of our photo shoot. When I first got there, the boys were running around which I thought was a good idea, to let them get use to me, and I always like to start with the toughest pictures first, so we can get them out of the way. So here is what the youngest boy thought of our photo shoot.

So at that point I knew I had to get this poor little boy more use to the situation, so I went over and I let him look at my camera and I got him more familiar with the thing that I was pointing at his face. I also have a two year old boy, and truly they are the one's in control of a photo shoot. So after a little time this little guy made his way over to join our photo shoot.

So after some tough shots, I let the kids run around a bit more to get warmed back up.

After this photo the youngest one had about enough of me. He decided that he wasn't going to participate any more, no matter what we bribed him with. The only pictures we got of him was capturing him when we least expected it. Later the parents told me that they realized he was teething, which made a lot of since, because his hands were in his mouth for a lot of my pictures, and his nose was running a lot. Poor little guy, I wouldn't want someone in my face taking pictures if I had a tooth that was ripping through my gums. My only regret after this shoot, was that I wasn't able to get any of the boys together by without the parents. The youngest was like glue to his parents, and that moment just wasn't going to happen that day. Sometimes as a photographer, you have to move on and not get upset if you don't capture exactly what you want.

My most favorite part of this photo shoot was taking the kids in the alley and playing hockey. Even though I only got pictures of the oldest boy, it was worth it because I really think I captured him in a unique way. It was the parents idea to bring the hockey gear because the boys are obsessed playing hockey at home all the time. I loved it!!!!!

All in all a great photo shoot, and one I'll remember. These kids were adorable, and spite the cold I think I captured some memories for this family that they will always treasure.

I Heart Faces - Halloween Dress Up

2009-10-26T04:42:00.001-10:00

I'm honored that this photo was chosen to receive the honorable mention at the I Heart Faces. I love to challenge myself every day with my photography, and I heart faces gives me the opportunity to do that each week in their photo contest. Their are some amazing photographs posted each week!

My son's favorite thing in the world is trains, so what better thing to dress up as, then a train engineer!

Be sure to check out the other favorites at iheartfaces.blospot.com

A New Location!

2009-10-22T09:51:00.000-10:00

So I spend some time finding new locations, so that when someone ask me where should we get some pictures done at, I will have some ideas in the city their interested in. So a few weeks ago, me and my daughter went scouting a new location I found. Alisha is a senior, so she is more then happy to model for me. She gets more senior pictures, and I get to see how the location will look in a picture. I have to say we found a good mix of everything in this new location. You will just have to contact me if your interested in pictures and I'll tell you where this location is!!! It does make for a great spot for senior pictures, and we hit all of these areas in less then 2 hours. Here are a few of the best pictures of the day!

A Model Photo Shoot!

2009-10-22T07:07:00.000-10:00

So I had the priviledge to some pictures for two little girls that do modeling. Their mom was needing some updated pictures for their portfolio, so that is what we set out to accomplish. I had so much fun with these girls. They were very cooperative and the time flew while we were taking pictures. We had the most beautiful fall evening to do these pictures, and we got done right before it got dark. I hope after doing this photo shoot I will have the opportunity to do other pictures for mom's who have daughters in the modeling industry. It was fun, and the results were amazing!!!!

Batteling the Rain!

2009-10-22T04:02:00.001-10:00

This was a great photo shoot, but we had a challenge with the weather. It was raining all day, but about an hour before the photo shoot it stopped. It was just enough time for things to dry up some. We met at a park and luckily all three boys were as happy as could be. It was a little chilly but we kept moving snapping pictures as fast as we could. We were about 25 minutes into the photo shoot and it started sprinkling. I thought to myself no big deal, we will do a few photos under the trees, as we were standing there talking about what we were going to do, it started downpoaring. I guess the photo shoot was done at that point, or at least at the park. My house was pretty close so we headed there, and of course it wasn't raining there. We finished up the shoot with some cute shots of the kids. I had a few more I wanted with mom and dad with the baby but at that point the baby had enough. These boys are just so adorable, and I had a ton of fun in this photo shoot!

Family Of Three, Along with Two Dogs!

2009-10-22T02:21:00.001-10:00

This photo shoot was a lot of fun, but we did run into a few snags. Luckily I have been learning to go with the flow, because if I don't I risk not getting the shots that I need for the families. The place that we had planned to do this families pictures was closed when we got there, even though I and the family checked the website before planning it. So we decided to head to the park, and try to capture some moments, but what we got instead was this.

The poor little guy didn't get much of a nap so he just wasn't going to have much of the park. We shot some pictures for awhile which are below, and I think we grabbed a few good ones, inspite of the lack of sleep for the little guy. I then suggested that maybe he would be more comfortable at home, so we headed back to where we started, and wow I'm glad we did because I think we really captured who this family is.

When we got back to their house, the little guy did seem more relaxed. Infact we gave him this tractor to play with and then he didn't want anything but that, so we got a lot of pictures of him playing with it. Later we tricked him to get the tractor back, so we could get him to do other things.

One benefit of doing pictures at someone's home is that we can add the pets. They can make for some great pictures!

Nothing is better then some pictures of a dad playing basketball with his son, and then topping it off with some wrestling in the grass!!!!

All in all it was a great photo shoot. We had a few challenges, but that is normal when it comes to one year olds. I feel I captured this family within this photo shoot, and hopefully it will be pictures that they will enjoy for years to come. Thanks for letting me spend the afternoon with you guys. I had a great time!

I Heart Faces - Pink Week

2009-10-19T15:45:00.000-10:00

Here is a fun picture I got of my daughter. She has become quite the little model these days.

Be sure to visit the other great pink entries at I Heart Faces.

A Mini Homecoming Photo Shoot!

2009-10-15T05:52:00.000-10:00

Here is a mini photo shoot I did of my daughter and her boyfriend before Homecoming. I appreciate the two of them putting up with me and all my crazy ideas when I'm taking pictures. Hopefully they got a few pictures they like as well. I always take every opportunity to work on my photography and improve!

Dan's Senior Pictures

2009-10-01T15:29:00.002-10:00

This was such a fun photo shoot, because Dan is part of a water ski team and competes on a national level. I defintely wanted to capture that for him in his pictures, so we shot where he spends most of his time practicing. One thing that was also intersting during this photo shoot, is that we kept randomely finding things that was this bright blue color. First we ran across this blue bench by the lake. Dan couldn't figure out why I was so excited about it, but its fun for a photographer to find such random things to add to their pictures. Then we found this blue wall. Then my favorite shot of all was this blue classic car that we just happened to walk by while walking through town. I didn't think the car owners would mind if Dan just leaned on the car for a quick moment. Luckily there was no car alarm. We made those shots

real quick and we were on our way. All in all a great photo shoot.

Boy At Work!

2009-09-30T09:36:00.000-10:00

So today I ran across this adorable little work bench at a resale shop. I had to try it out on my son, to see if it would make a good prop for my photography, and I loved how he just played for the longest time. It allowed me to get every shot from every angle I wanted, and I didn't even have to give him one command. That is how I like to do photo shoots, so I guess it passed the test, and now I can't wait to let someone elses little guy play with it, while I snap picture of them at play!

I Heart Faces - Blue

2009-09-28T08:11:00.000-10:00

So this week over at I Heart Faces, the theme is blue. I came up with this senior picture I took of my daughter, and it may fall under the category of red more so then blue, however I think because of the contrast of the red wall behind her, it makes her blue shirt just pop. She also has those amazing blue eyes that comes from my side of the family. Be sure to check out the other entries at I Heart Faces.

Some Little Extras!

2009-09-26T11:41:00.003-10:00

So here are a few things that I have been working on. One common complaint that I get is there are to many good pictures and I don't have wall space for all of them, so a solution to that problem is putting a collage of your favorite photos on one picture. After a photo session for a fee I can personally design a collage with all your favorite photos. Look under prices for some different collage options.

This is a 10 x 20 print.

This is a 11 x 14 print.

This is a 10 x 10 print.

Family Portraits

2009-09-24T11:49:00.000-10:00

This photo shoot was a lot of fun. We had the perfect weather. Not to hot or cold. We had cloud coverage, and right after we were done, it started raining. As soon as we all got into my vehicle and I closed the door, rain drops started falling. It was perfect!

Girls At Play!

2009-09-23T11:08:00.000-10:00

I had so much fun with this photo shoot. It's great to capture children in their own element. These two couldn't get enough of my little tea set. I'm so glad they had fun. Infact the older one after finding my black dress up hat, wouldn't take it off. So that is why she has that on the second half of the photo shoot. That's okay it just made it look more vintage. What fun!!!!