Blog - KDI Photography

Aspen, FALA Class of 2020 – Senior Portrait Photography Flagstaff

Monday, January 6, 2020

I’ve known this family for years and always love my time with them but this senior portrait session will stand out among the many in my memory. Aspen feels, for obvious reasons, very connected to the aspen trees so it was a no-brainer when we were selecting our location. Shannon & Aspen arrived, joining me at the location on a fall morning when we were blessed with no rain, the aspens vibrating with saturated color.

Getting out of the car, they scooped up Aspen’s wardrobe and the two dogs, Soleil and Penny, as we headed to the first vignette – our initial portrait of the session. Dropping her bag of clothing on the ground, Aspen threw off her jacket while her mom worked to wrangle the two dogs, their leashes intertwining. As I stood there adjusting my camera, I looked up just in time to see a sight I won’t soon forget. Puppy Soleil stood positioned with 2 legs in front the bag of clothes and two behind. Without lifting a paw, he calmly urinated with precision, directly onto Aspens entire wardrobe for the shoot. His aim could not have been more accurate if he’d been trained for such a mission. A pee-wielding, canine sniper.

Fortunately, Aspen is a consummate pro, having likely endured many unexpected snafus during her years on stage as a dancer and actress. She expressed some frustration and then, promptly moved on. She luckily had an outtake outfit or two in the car and she just laughed the whole thing off from there. She didn’t even seem mad at her puppy when she snuggled him later for some sweet portraits. Aspen graduates from FALA in the spring. May she weather all of the new experiences she’ll undoubtedly have in the next year with the same aplomb.

Flagstaff Family Portrait Photographer • Flagstaff Maternity Pregnancy Photographer • Flagstaff Newborn Photographer • Flagstaff Child Photographer • Flagstaff Senior Portrait Photographer • Flagstaff Couples Photography

Kristen Dacey Iwai of KDI Photography is a full-time professional portrait photographer based in Flagstaff, Arizona with decades of experience. Making portraits of families, pregnancy, newborns, babies, children, and high school seniors in her downtown studio and on location, she serves clients from Flagstaff, Sedona, Tuba City, Winslow, Payson, Page, Williams, Prescott, Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Arizona

Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

We didn’t want the holidays to go by without thanking all of the wonderful people that we got to work with this year.

THANK YOU!

May your holidays be beautiful, filled with your favorite things, and getting to connect with the people you love.

Here’s to a fantastic 2020!
Kristen & Keiji

The Claxton Moyer Women – Studio Family Portraits in Flagstaff

Monday, December 23, 2019

It was minutes before the session, and the raging thunderstorms hammering us with lightning finally hit their mark, throwing out my studio’s power. I wasn’t surprised, in light of the particular cohort of women I was waiting on. I’ve gotten used to preparing for the unexpected when they arrive. Sometimes there are new people joining them, or a surprise dog. Last year, there was an appendicitis scare. On this day, the dreary ambient daylight was too dark for window light portraits and the unpowered strobes refused to fire. Even my water cooler apparently requires electricity so we just… chilled for a bit. While we waited, we talked about how Eliza had tape on her legs to help with shinsplints and the soreness in her calves from running and dancing, admittedly way too much. Meg removed her toenail polish, told me about the phenomenal concert she’d seen. I could talk to all three of them for hours, honestly.

We experimented, doing portraits without any movement in the dim window light, using an ISO setting of 4000. Soon the power resumed and we turned up the Shawn Mendes and danced. Since blur was what I was going for that day, I needed to dance while shooting too. If you passed by my studio during the session, you would have seen a photographer dancing with her subjects – something I usually try very much to avoid to keep pictures crisp! Never a dull moment with this great crew.

Matisyn, Coconino High School Class of 2020 – Flagstaff Senior Portraits

Monday, December 16, 2019

She is certainly not a loud person, nor someone who seems to seek the limelight. But if you know her, you know that Maty has the best giggle. She was so patient with me bossing her around as I directed her during our senior portrait session. Even when I asked her to do something she didn’t like (a math problem in her head, for instance), she reluctantly, yet kindly, complied… Until she couldn’t contain it and burst out laughing. And her laugh is infectious, so, while she was chuckling, her mom and I were doing the same behind the scenes. It’s amazing that there are any serious portraits of her at all, really. I suspect that those were the ones that were the most taxing for her. As for taxing tasks, she doesn’t have much more time left before high school math is a thing of the past. She graduates from Coconino High School in the spring. Wishing her lots of luck, although I’m sure she doesn’t need it.

Last Minute Gift Idea – Holiday Freak Out in Flagstaff

Friday, December 13, 2019

How are you doing? Are you freaking out a little bit, like I am? I’ll be honest, I feel a lot like the little guy in this picture right now. Stressed that I won’t get it all done, especially since I have almost no holiday shopping done yet!

SO…. here’s a little idea for you. The people you love really, really want portraits. 🙂 Email or call me right now and we’ll plan and scheme to surprise some lucky person on your list. We have festive, wrapped up gift certificates in any amount for you to delight that special person.

Give us a shout. I don’t know, maybe we can change that freak out into a happy dance. 🙂 studio@kdiphotography.com or (928)779-4151

The Callahan Maestas Clan – Fall Family Portraits in Flagstaff, AZ

Friday, December 13, 2019

To be honest, I think we all knew it was ambitious. The mission: document one adorable 8 month old, as well as his 3 canine siblings, and their nice parents. We aimed to capitalize on the beautiful fall foliage in the soft evening light, hopefully timing it just perfectly during its fleeting, vibrant glory. But, as you might imagine, wrangling a human baby and 3 fur babies all at once, has some challenges.

At one point, one of the dogs got a little overexcited. In a flash, Korina, holding Benjamin, disappeared before my eyes, their faces instantly replaced by her feet flipping straight up in the air, as her puppy knocked them backwards, down the hill below where they had been sitting a second earlier. Fortunately, Korina is incredibly strong and never once released her fierce maternal grip on her son. Daniel rushed to assist and they recovered balance.

I’m sad to say, now that we can laugh about it, that I didn’t have the wherewithal to take a picture in that moment! I was too concerned for everyone’s safety to record the hilarious scene unfolding in front of me. Luckily no injuries were sustained, and we were able to go on with the session, no hospital needed!

I hadn’t seen baby Benjamin in several months and his blossoming personality had only become more lovely – if that’s even possible. He’s an easy laugher and smiler, a super sweet, curious boy. He especially seemed to enjoy playing with the pumpkins his mom had grown in their garden.

I hope, when they look back on this busy time, these family portraits will help some of the beautiful moments be less of blur in their memories.

Quinn, Class of 2020 – Senior Portrait Photographer

Thursday, December 12, 2019

We had to battle rampant, vicious, stealthy mosquitos while being vigilant against the possibility of sneaky, disease carrying ticks. There were also humid clouds of green pollen in the air. Does this sound like Arizona? Nope. We were in Massachusetts for Quinn’s senior portraits. I’ll admit, I’m spoiled here at 7,000 feet. Not much in the way of pests or humidity. But I didn’t mind any of it. Quinn is always delightful to hang out with – funny, smart, musically, dramatically and athletically talented. I treasured getting to spend time with him.

This session was bittersweet because Quinn is youngest of the four kids, the last Fay family member I will make high school senior portraits with. On the other hand, we got to complete the senior portrait wall, where all four portraits now hang together in complete and perfect harmony.

Ben – Senior Portrait Photography in New England

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

I was thrilled that he wanted to do his senior portraits with me in Rockport, MA. Time with one of my favorite people in one of my favorite places. I’ve known Ben since before he was born, he’s my nephew and also just happens to be a pleasure to be around. (No, I’m not biased!) I can tell you from years of experience, that Ben is kind, considerate, intelligent, and has an incisive, clever sense of humor. During this session, he had an entourage and between some relentless photobombing and his hilarious voice-over narration of the scenes unfolding around us, there was a lot of laughter.

Nina’s First Communion Portraits – Studio Photography in Flagstaff

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

If there’s one thing I count on when I see her, it’s her ever-present giggle. Nina’s always ready to laugh, which never fails to crack me up. Uncharacteristically, she arrived at my studio for her First Communion and ballet portraits, admitting that she was nervous. I was surprised because she never ever seems nervous. When tagging along for her big sister’s first communion portraits, she couldn’t wait to get in the room, continually asking to join in the fun. But today was all about her, so it felt different. Once we got started, it wasn’t long before we were howling with laughter, dancing, and playing. When her mom Ely popped in to fix her hair, Nina looked up at her wide-eyed, exclaiming “Mom, we are having SO much fun!”
Just like that, nervousness over.

If Nina becomes a photographer one day, I won’t be surprised. She continually art directed the shoot; “Can we do this one in black and white? Will we see the flowers in this picture?” She has a visual acuity that a lot of adults don’t seem to have!

The big complication came when we added the family’s two beloved hairless cats into the mix. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to photograph one cat but they have a mind of their own. TWO cats certainly makes for an additional challenge. A week before the session, we scheduled an introduction; a special cat visit, so they could get used to the newness of the studio and their determined photographer. It went well, they purred in my lap. However, on the day of the session, they sure had other plans! But Nina, Ely, and I persisted and were able to coax them into the scene. At end of of the shoot, we were all exhausted but victorious.

The Garcia Family Welcomes Their Son – Newborn Photographer Flagstaff

Thursday, October 24, 2019

It was the day he was scheduled to have been born. They might have been waiting for him or even in labor on this day. But instead, when their due date arrived, Mariah and Ruben were at my cozy studio making portraits with their 17 day old newborn son. It just reminds us that babies have their own agendas about when they’ll arrive!

I’d met his parents but this was the first time I got to really focus on Kade’s amazing face. He was just as delightful as his mom and dad and we made lots of portraits of his sweet little baby fingers, toes, umbilicus, ears, nose, the swirling pattern of his hair. Kade was very kind to us, letting us photograph all those details without complaint, as long as he could drink some nutrition to fuel his excellent modeling.

*The custom birth announcement we designed around all those sweet little baby details. ©KDI Photography*

I loved seeing how he fit perfectly into each parent’s arms, snuggling skin to skin next to his mom’s and dad’s artful and meaningful tattoos.

Mariah and Ruben love to play full volume modern country music, and do so often at home, training Kade to get used to sleeping thorough sounds. So, the soundtrack to our session was some rockin’ country music, a fun change of pace from the usual soothing newborn portrait session background music. It made for a shoot that really felt like a celebration. It was perfect for such an auspicious day.