Tempe | Kayla Renckly Photography

Posts Tagged ‘Tempe’

Cranberry Sauce Recipe | Foodie Friday | Surprise Portrait Photographer

December 11, 2009

I love cranberry sauce! I’m not talking about the kind that comes out of the can, the one that has ridge marks and comes out in glop. That one reminds me of Spam, somebody out there likes it but why eat it when there are so many better things? No I like the homemade whole berry cranberry sauce. Maybe it’s because it reminds me of my grandmother and the holiday meals she cooked. Maybe it’s because it tastes so much better and has a real texture. Or maybe simply because I have a fear of possibly artificially colored red food (allergy, I know it’s weird). Whatever the reason is, I love cranberry sauce. It makes fantastic leftovers (think a turkey wrap with lettuce, cranberry sauce, and cream cheese…mmmm) and is super easy to make!

Fresh cranberry sauce
*from the Ocean Spray bag*
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 12-ounce package Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

Directions:
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups.

As the berries begin to pop
Cranberry Sauce Recipe Surprise Portrait Photographer

The finished product
Cranberry Sauce Recipe Surprise Portrait Photographer

Tips I’ve accumulated:
-If you think cranberry sauce is too tart you can use orange juice instead of the water (you may want to cut back the sugar). You can also use diced apples along with the cranberries to make a cran-apple sauce.
-Keep a close eye on it as it boils, it makes a big mess if it boils over! Trust me on this one.
-You can make this ahead of time and store overnight in the refrigerator, either serve cold or bring out early to bring to room temperature.
- It can also be made in the crockpot! Crockpot Cranberry Sauce
- And I saw this recipe for Catalina Cranberry Chicken in a Kraft Foods Magazine that looks delicious!
- And I’m looking forward to making cranberry, white chocolate, and macadamia nut cookies!

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Tags: Adults, arizona, AZ, boudoir, chicken, child, Children, cookies, cranberry, crockpot, Engagement, Family, food, foodie, glamour, Glendale, maternity, Mesa, Newborn, Peoria, Pets, Phoenix, photographer, photography, pin-up, portrait, Recipe, sauce, Scottsdale, senior, Sun City, Surprise, Tempe, Wedding
Posted in Foodie Friday, Recipe, Side Dish | 1 Comment »

What is Custom Photography? | Wednesday Wisdom | Surprise Portrait Photographer

December 9, 2009

Another installment of Wednesday Wisdom where I will try to answer FAQ, share articles and inspiration.

*Part 1 of a 3 part series*
What is Custom Photography?
compiled and written by Marianne Drenthe

The photographic art you choose to place on your wall is ultimately the result of the vision of the photographer. This vision, coupled with what you wear to your session, the environment, the lighting, even the mood the subjects are in at the time of photographing creates the work that you will want to proudly display on your walls forevermore.

Your first step in the process is more about determining who you are, who your family is and then seeking a photographer that reflects your style. For instance let’s say your family is extremely outdoorsy and loves playing on the beach. You start determining what style you like, browse through photography website portfolios and determine if any of the styles exhibited there would be a good fit with your life and family style. You have already determined that you should probably seek out a beach type photographer (that is if you live near a beach) and then begin narrowing the field down a bit.

Finally after a bit of internet research, you have narrowed it down to two photographers who do what seems like solid work, the sort of outdoor beach look you desire. It is now time to ask yourself: Do you like photographer A’s style over photographer B’s style? Is it because the people in the images of A’s style are having a great time and it seems very caught up in the moment vs. B photographer more posed, looking in the camera images? If this is a case, you probably like LIFESTYLE photography or perhaps even take it a step further and define your desired style as a PHOTOJOURNALISTIC photography style. The photographer you probably should choose is photographer A because their style is very similar to the style you desire.

What custom photography ultimately is all about is choice and experience (as in THE experience). Custom photography is about finding someone who will photograph your family, give you devoted 1:1 attention without worry of the next ‘in line’ or the feeling of a crowded portrait studio. A custom photographer will typically show you a fairly extensive gallery culled to only show the good images that meet the photographers’ creative sensibilities. Often the images are fully edited images-color corrected with blemishes and undereye circles removed. Custom photographers are also known as boutique studios, offering a range of products and unparalleled service. Think Lexus vs. Hyundai, think Nordstrom vs. WalMart.

Custom photography should have you, the client and your experience in mind.

Originally posted at www.professionalchildphotographer.com, posted with permission of author.

Surprise Newborn Photography
If this doesn’t answer all your questions on the topic please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help. If you have any ideas for future posts please let me know!
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Tags: Adults, arizona, article, AZ, boudoir, child, Children, Engagement, Family, glamour, Glendale, inspiration, maternity, Mesa, Newborn, Peoria, Pets, Phoenix, photographer, photography, pin-up, portrait, Scottsdale, senior, Sun City, Surprise, Tempe, Wedding
Posted in Wednesday Wisdom | No Comments »

I Love Love | Sneak Peek | Scottsdale Engagement Photographer

December 7, 2009

Recently I attended a fundraiser at a Tempe bar, Casey Moore’s Oyster House, to benefit the Tempe Veterans Foundation put on in part by my sister-in-law. My sister and a group of her friends were also there to help support the event, and have fun of course , and I had the chance to meet them and spend the evening laughing over fish and chips and a few drinks. One of her good friends is engaged and needed photos while his fiancee was in town for Thanksgiving so we made plans to meet in Scottsdale that weekend.

Of course right before I left the house to drive to our meeting spot, I was informed that it was…raining. Yup, the desert does get rain, and of course it would be that day. So I scramble to find an umbrella, I do own one of those right? I found it buried under the kids toys in the backseat of the car and headed out across town. In my head I came up with all these great ideas for a session in the rain and got excited to do something totally different than normal. And then guess what? It had stopped raining by the time I got there and it appeared to have mostly dried up. *Poof* went those ideas, but as soon as I met Andy and Jamielee I knew this was going to be fun. They are constantly laughing and playing off each other, snuggling in sneaking a smooch. It doesn’t hurt that Jamielee is gorgeous! And hey I’m excited to know a brand new chiropractor (she’s graduating this month).
Scottsdale Engagement Portrait Photography
Apparently we stumbled upon a really hot spot for photo sessions (there had to 5 others in the same little park) and had to compete for locations .

I love how natural they look in front of the camera, of course it makes it easier when they were telling each jokes-something about a bear and a bunny doing their business in the woods…
Scottsdale Engagement Portrait Photography
We walked around Old Towne Scottsdale for a little while, shooting here and there and then wandering into a few allies where we came up with my new tagline- “some of my best work is shot by smelly garbage dumpsters” or something to that effect. Funny enough it happens often that some of the best lighting and backdrops happen to be right near a stinky trash bin, good thing it doesn’t show!
Scottsdale Engagement Portrait Photography

As we wrapped it up and headed back to the cars, they kept up the affection and fun. I snapped this picture as we walked past an older married couple and I smiled as I heard him say to his wife, “I love love.” Me, too.

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Tags: Adults, arizona, AZ, boudoir, child, Children, Engagement, Family, glamour, Glendale, maternity, Mesa, Newborn, Peoria, Pets, Phoenix, photographer, photography, pin-up, portrait, Scottsdale, senior, Sun City, Surprise, Tempe, Wedding
Posted in Adults, Engagement, Wedding | 2 Comments »

Pumpkin Pie Recipes | Foodie Friday | Phoenix Portrait Photographer

December 3, 2009

I know I missed last Friday (I think Thanksgiving was a good excuse ) so I’m doing a double feature today to make up for it. One is a regular pumpkin pie and the other is vegan/allergy friendly.

This first recipe is based on a recipe from PickYourOwn.org, I of course changed it just a little bit . I chose this one because this year we had good intentions of making jack-o-lanterns when we purchased our pumpkins but we ran out of time (and weren’t at home for trick-or-treating anyway). So rather than throw them out I was sure I could use them for something. You could use this recipe for a pumpkin pie pumpkin and cut out most, if not all the sugar (check the site for a regular recipe).

Pumpkin Pie (from a Jack-o-lantern pumpkin)
*do not use one that you carved, it has started to grow bacteria or even fungus after being exposed)
Ingredients:
1 c. sugar or 3/4 c. honey (I used 1/2 c. sugar and 1/2 c. honey to make it a touch sweeter)
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4 eggs
3 c. pumpkin puree (check above website for tips to making pumpkin puree)
1-1.5 cans evaporated milk (I used 1, it was liquidy enough)
2 crusts (yes I used store bought, Pillsbury, I’m sure homemade is better but I’ve never made one and this was my first ever pie)
*Need 2 8″ or 9″ round pie plates* (I used glass pyrex)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Prepare pie crusts.
2. Mix together ingredients using a mixer until mixed thoroughly (make sure there are no spice clumps)
3. Roll out pie crusts and press into pie pans (get out any air bubbles). Don’t poke with a fork. Tuck any edges under the top of the pie plate, make it pretty if you want.
4. Pour the mixture into the pie crusts, splitting evenly between the two. It will be soup-like so be careful moving them.
5. Cover the edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield. From experience (and a friend’s suggestion for the next time) cover them before starting to bake, it’s hard to put foil on after it gets hot.
5. Bake at 425 for the first 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 45-60 minutes or until toothpick/knife inserted comes out clean (mine was done after an additional 35 minutes, gas oven).
6. Cool completely on a rack and then refrigerate over night or serve warm. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.

pumpkin pie, Phoenix Portrait Photographer

The second recipe is based on a recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan. I chose to make this for my my dairy, soy, and egg intolerant child and my vegan step-sister. I didn’t make a crust although she has recipes on there for that but since I had never made one before and didn’t have all the necessary tools/skills/etc I chose to go crustless in a square 9×9 pan. It turned out similar to thick pudding texture, and was a bit spicy so I would reduce those amounts unless you like a heavily spiced variety. I’d probably half the spices in the above recipe and it would be perfect.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
2 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. milk alternatives (I used rice milk although I think a richer one would be better)
3/4 c. brown sugar
3-4 tbsp cornstarch (I used 4 since rice milk is very thin)
1 tbsp molasses (I didn’t have any and used dark Karo syrup, not the same but…)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. EACH ground ginger, nutmeg and salt
1/4 tsp. ground allspice or cloves (oops I used both)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pie crusts.
2. Mix together ingredients using a mixer until mixed thoroughly (make sure there are no spice clumps)
3. If going crustless, skip steps 4-6 and pour mixture into lightly greased square pan.
4. Roll out pie crust and press into pie pan (get out any air bubbles). Don’t poke with a fork. Tuck any edges under the top of the pie plate, make it pretty if you want.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie crust, it will be soup-like so be careful moving it.
6. Cover the edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield. From experience (and a friend’s suggestion for the next time) cover them before starting to bake, it’s hard to put foil on after it gets hot.
5. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.
6. Cool completely on a rack and then refrigerate over night to finish setting up.

I forgot to take a picture but that’s alright, they didn’t look all that special even though they tasted fine. But here is a picture of my mess
pumpkin pie, Phoenix Portrait Photographer

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Tags: Adults, arizona, AZ, boudoir, child, Children, Engagement, Family, food, foodie, glamour, Glendale, maternity, Mesa, Newborn, Peoria, Pets, Phoenix, photographer, photography, pie, pin-up, portrait, pumpkin, Recipe, Scottsdale, senior, Sun City, Surprise, Tempe, Wedding
Posted in Dessert, Foodie Friday, Recipe | No Comments »

Why Are Professional Photographs Watermarked? | Wednesday Wisdom | Phoenix Portrait Photographer

December 2, 2009

As a photographer, it is my responsibility to educate my clients-whether it is on the best type of outfit for their session, the best way to preserve their images, or even copyright laws. I will try to make a point to post a weekly piece of wisdom or even just inspiration from now on so look for future updates! This first article is very important and is a very common FAQ.

Why Are Professional Photographs Watermarked?

by Cristy Nielsen & Yolanda Rowe

As parents, we do everything we can to protect our children. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street and many other ways to be safe. Photographers have the same responsibility to their work. Each photograph is important–not just because they are our livelihood but because they are portraits of special people: our clients. To protect our work and our clients, we watermark every image that appears online. We hope to discourage unethical people who steal from photographers by copying and using images for their purposes without authorization or compensating the copyright owner and subjects.

For example, let’s say your photographer posts preview images on a social networking site such as Facebook or Myspace. These photos are intended to show the client a preview of what their session images will look like. If they are not watermarked they cannot be identified back to the photographer who created the image and they could be stolen by a third party and used without permission. This has happened on numerous occasions by companies who will use photographs for their marketing campaigns and then photographers or their clients have found their images and photos on the sides of buses, on billboards, etc. Imagine finding a photo of you or your child on a flyer or website for some random company when you didn’t give permission for it to be used in that way and you will begin to understand why photographers watermark to protect their work.

Federal law is very clear on the copyright of images. The creator of the image (the photographer) is the owner of those rights. A client pays the photographer to take those images, but it does not give them ownership (rights) to what is created. Even if the client purchases a file or print it does not give the client copyright to the image. They are given a license to do certain things. This is called a Usage License and it is illegal to scan or copy it and use it in any way other than which it was intended: displaying the print itself. Even purchasing prints does not give the client copyright to the image and it is illegal to alter, scan, or copy it and use it in a way other than its intent. Copyright is held by the image creator for 70 years by law and infringement is punishable by up to $150,000 in fines PER image.

While it may seem like no big deal to make additional copies of an image, or crop out watermarks in web versions of photos, truly it is a big deal. A photographer works very hard on their images, and this is their livelihood, source of income and how they feed their family. When you copy and scan or alter watermarks out of images you are taking part of the income that they depend on to stay in business and serve their clients in the first place. Watermarking is a necessary evil to protect photographers, to protect their work and their job security. As Yolanda Rowe says “Copyright is like your vehicle. You can give someone the keys to drive it (granting permission to a client) but it doesn’t make them the owner of the vehicle.”

For more information on copyright please visit http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

*Used with permission from Author Christy Nielsen, The Nielsens*

Here’s an example of how I watermark my images:
newborn portrait photography
I place my watermark on a critical part of the photo to make it difficult to crop out and use for other purposes, but I try to not to make it so obtrusive that you can’t see your picture.

If this doesn’t answer all your questions on the topic please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help. If you have any ideas for future posts please let me know!

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