closeIt was a great week, full of fun adventures and relaxation!!
Highlights from the Feder week::
Girls weekend with wonderful women from my church
Two days off school, one for MLK, and the other because of sub-zero weather
Science fair projects
Awana Parent night
Swimming to burn off lots of pent up energy
Planning for the new quarter
Annnd lots of fun with deer and duck heads with my friends Kate and Jenny while shopping, laughed so hard I almost peed my pants!!
Another week has flown by and all I can be in thankful as we continue to be blessed by our good and gracious Father! If you have not already read, this is my personal project for the year. Join along with me or see last week to read more about it!
Highlights of our week:
Sledding and finally being able to play outside after a frigid MN week
Getting 5 inches off my hair and going the darkest I have ever gone (still getting used to it!!)
Homework and prepping for the good ‘ol science fair!
Blustering and driving winds leading us back indoors to play and create
Starting a Bible Study with one of my girl friends from church on Philippians (using my “K” notebook that one of my crafty friend’s gifted me with!)
Pool time for the kids
Last year I got to a point where I was really annoyed that I was taking all these photos of my kids with my phone (conveniently, because I always have it on me) and doing nothing with the photos. (sound familiar?!) My kids would sit four hours scrolling through all the photos and movies that we took during the year enjoying them and reliving them. I remember doing the same thing, although my mom was super great about getting those 3.5×5’s into photo albums so my sister’s and I COULD look through them when she was at her wit’s end during the day!
I had started my real life project earlier in 2013 determined to get something out of the photos when my sister, reading through the posts, challenged me to put a book together of the entire year from the blog posts for my kids, a yearbook in some way. Because I am already taking the time to blog, what an easy way to relive the year week by week and see what has happened during the year and get a book out of it! I only was able to get through 18 weeks, but I am in “progress not perfection” mode these days (thanks to some wonderful posts I have been reading about goal setting by Lara Casey)!!
Are you up to join me for the challenge?? Maybe you don’t want have the time to get into photoshop and play around, maybe you just instagram, tweet, or Facebook it so that at the end of the year you can gather all your hashtags and go through them. Or you could even go one step further and PRINT them for am album!! I am planning on using instagram with my photos with a the hashtag of #federfamily52weeks and then putting it together in an 8×8 book form at the end of the year. Whatever it is, let’s get those photos off our phones and do something with them so in the future our kids can have a tangible thing to hold and page through.
In the coming weeks, I am working on trying to put an action together in photoshop to get the workflow to be faster. If I can accomplish this, I will post it to share!
So for all of you who follow my personal life, here it is, raw and in full form for my own personal project of 52 weeks!
Week one highlights::
Trip to Mill City, two days back to school, two days off of school! Record lows, two weddings, como zoo trip, making lots and lots of crafts and projects, being inside… A LOT!
Hey Karen,
I think this is great. Have you ever used Dropbox? I love it. When I take a picture with my phone, I can open the app and it automatically downloads it. Then I can access it on my computer, and even share the file with others. So easy.
2013 was a great year. Crazy enough it was my 11th year in business and within the year I was able to photograph weddings in and out of state, photograph families and newborns, grads and many, many children. I am so blessed to say that I am exactly where I want to be and feel overwhelmed with the support from friends, family and wonderful clients. Since I was in middle school it was my dream to own my own photography business and shoot photos until I could no longer. I am blessed. So very blessed!
2013 holds the record year for me for photographing and doing the most family sessions I have ever shot in a year!! I was also challenged and pushed to define my target audience and work on some of the business items that were pushed to the back burner in the last 9 years since having my own kiddos.
So in 2014, here is what is new for me…
1) New branding, new logo, new packaging. After working with the talented Meg Long, I can happily say that I feel like my branding now fits me. It embodies who I have become over the duration of my business and I absolutely LOVE it!
2) New blog site (finally!!)
3) New web-site and design (set to come out in March or April!!)
4) Studio openings!! I am so thrilled with the opportunity to work with First Day Photo and to be able to use their beautiful space to photograph beautiful clients, especially in the chilly months of winter. Owning and having my own studio is something I aspire toward, but I have committed myself not to go this direction until all my kids are in school full time (which crazy enough will be in September of 2014!!!)
5) Lastly, celebrating and starting my 12th year in business. It is so crazy to think that while in college this dream was becoming a reality, and I am put on the “seasoned” list of photographers.
There is so much still to learn and other opportunities that I can’t wait to delve into and like I said earlier, I can’t wait for the 2014 year and what the Lord has in store for the business and life for the Feders. Thanks to all for making the journey with me and for helping to form the business into what it has become.
Here we come 2014!!
Photo credit:: Gina Zeidler
Congrats on starting your 12th year in business! You are an inspiration to me as I start my 2nd year here in Virginia. I have the drive and vision and can only hope to be doing this full time one day and be celebrating my 12th year. Keep doing what your doing because I love your photos and your doing a great job!!
such exciting things up ahead! you ARE such an accomplished photographer… happy for your past success and the future of your business!
Congrats Karen!!! Wished we lived closer to take advantage of your talents:). You are such a blessing to everyone you photograph!
Congratulations! So excited to see your business continue to grow.
Woohoo! Congrats and so excited to watch your work another year! Love the new look & watermark on the photos you’ve posted.
From our family to yours, have a wonderful Christmas and happiest 2014!
What a joy it was to capture Lizzy and Ryan and their now family of five! Adding these two sweet twins to the mix definitely brought life and so much joy to their session! Congratulations to you both!!
From their engagement session, to their wedding, to the birth of their first daughter and now to their second, it’s been a joy and honor to be able to photograph couples like the Wargo’s as their life changes.
It’s what makes my job so meaningful and fulfilling! Congratulations Hannah and Jake, your family is beautiful!
Including siblings in your newborn session… yes or no?
My answer is always yes.
It might feel a little chaotic in the moment, but those are often the images you end up treasuring the most—the real connection, the tiny interactions, the beginning of a new family story.
I’ve loved watching the Luong family grow through all three of their children’s newborn sessions, and those sibling moments are always some of my favorites.
If you’re wondering how it all works (and how we make it easy), I wrote a full blog post about it! Check it out in my stories
#newbornphotography #minnesotaphotographer #familyphotography #siblinglove
NEW WEBSITE. SAME HEART.
After a long time behind the scenes… it’s finally here.
And I want YOU to be one of the first to experience it.
So I made it a little more fun 👇
✨ I’m giving away TWO mini sessions for 2026 ✨
How to enter:
• Visit the new website (link in bio)
• Look around
• Enter the giveaway
That’s it.
If you’ve been thinking about booking photos this is your sign!
Tag a friend who should enter with you below and add to your stories for another entry!! (Make sure to tag me!!)
Based in the Twin Cities area and available for travel worldwide.
