Innovative : Laugh... Love... Live!

Commin back from Cali...

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:47:00 +0000

Well, the workshop is over and I had a blast... Nate and Jaclyn are awesome both as people and photographers... Much love homies! I want to thank them both and tell them how much I appreciate there hospitality and Nate's wicked sense of humor. For all you photographers out there who have been looking for a workshop to attend, this is the one! Go to their blog and watch for the next one... I heard it's coming very soon!

Here are my loves Ayden and Bentley (Becca, I love you to honey!)... I miss you and can't wait to see you later today!

Sneak Peak : Belly Session

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:08:00 +0000

On Friday afternoon I had the opportunity to photograph a very cool couple... Dustin and Sarah. Sarah is due to deliver their first child in June and after meeting them just once I can tell that they are going to make fantastic parents! It was a pleasure getting to know them and I can't wait to photograph their new arrival.

Congratulations guys... talk to you soon!

Fathers Day Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:24:00 +0000

Mothers day is almost here and Fathers day is just around the corner so moms you have another two weeks to get your sessions completed if you want to get your prints back before dad's big day. If you haven't emailed to book your session do it now, I have a couple of openings that just became available.

Here are a couple of the fathers day gifts I gave to myself!

UPDATED: Here are a couple more self gifts!!

win.32GB iPod Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:33:00 +0000

For those of you who know me you know that I quit photographing weddings about 2 years ago. Well, after attending WPPI this past March and meeting some amazing photographers and seeing how the wedding industry has changed over the past couple of years my wedding fire has been reignited!

To kick of my renewed love for wedding photography, I am giving away a shiny new 32GB iPod Touch containing all of your bridal, engagement and wedding day images together valued at over $800. How do I enter you ask... well the only way to enter is to book a wedding with me between now and June 2nd, 2008 and if I did my math correctly, that's 40 days! So ladies... if you want to impress your new husband-to-be this could be a great chance. If you book a wedding during this time, your names will automatically be entered into the drawing... it's that simple.

Deciding who wins will be left up to you... my loyal blog readers. Sometime in early June, I will post images of each couple along with a short story about them at which time you will be able to vote for the couple you would like to see win.

You can find out more by emailing me today.

blog.FaceLift

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Well I figured it was time to give the blog a small face lift. I have had a black color scheme since my blog debuted and I thought it was time for some change. Hope you like the new look... I am in the process of creating a new site and I will probably revamp the blog when the new site rolls out so at this point I've decided to keep it simple.

Thanks to all of you who visit or have RSS'd me.

If you've been here before, you know that I always include images with every post however this time I am running late and I don't have time to. I promise I will make up for it later.

Care to join me in California?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:21:00 +0000

Since I will be in California in early May I thought I would invite you to come with me. I have beach sessions available for $200 each for the first two people who email me with the words "Beach Me" in the subject line of the email. This is a great opportunity to replace those old family portraits with a beautiful new canvas gallery wrap wall portrait... or maybe you want your senior portrait done on the beach instead of the same places everyone else is doing theirs... or perhaps you are recently engaged and would like to have a a romantic engagement session as the sun sets behind you. You may need some new images of your children playing in the sand. What ever the reason, I will be there and ready to photograph you in all your glory!

I only have two session available so if you are interested let me know quick before the sessions fill up. I hope to see you there!

Here is a quick collage of a beach session that I did in Laguna Beach.

dear.BRIDES

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:21:00 +0000

Are you planing a wedding... are you looking for some wedding inspiration? I came across a site while blog stalking Jessica Strickland's blog and I thought I would share it with you!

Snippet & Ink offers daily wedding inspiration and they have ideas and photos for pretty much any color scheme you can think of. Check them out and let me know what you think.

The images below are just a sneak peak of what you will find on their website. Be sure to add them to your rss feed because they add new stuff every day.

Retro/Vintage theme

Water front theme

Backyard theme

I was going to put this one first but I didn't want to scare anyone away. This one is for all you wild and crazy brides who aren't afraid to be different!

Sneak Peak... Belly Session

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:01:00 +0000

As I have mentioned before, I love maternity sessions! Here is a sneak peak at a maternity session I completed recently with the wonderful Mrs "K" and her beautiful daughter. We had a lot of fun... at the end of the session, big sis colored on mom's belly with markers(don't worry, they were washables)... and then she decorated herself.

These next two are my favorites from the shoot.

Dear Music Lovers... check this out!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:27:00 +0000

I had the honor to photograph the concert of an extremely talented singer-songwriter named Alison Sudol better known as A Fine Frenzy. She is currently on tour for the release of her debut CD One Cell In the Sea. If you haven't heard her music you are missing out on something very special. She has only been playing the piano for 4 years and the guitar seriously for about 2 months. I was introduced to her music about 6 months ago and I have been a huge fan ever since.

Here is the video for her most popular song... Almost Lover!

Here are some images I took at the show.

Here I am with Alison before the show.

This is Buddy... one of the opening acts.

Bellies and babies

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:42:00 +0000

I have been getting some requests to show some of my maternity and infant images so I figured I would post some here. I really love doing maternity sessions and working with new parents because they are always so happy during this stage of their lives... preparing for a new addition can be very exciting. It can be even more fun when there are siblings who want to participate in the session especially if they are toddlers... it's fun to see the interaction between the toddler, the mom and the belly!

Hope you enjoy these!

WOW... I can't contain my excitement!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:21:00 +0000

All my fellow photographers will understand what I'm talking about but for those of you who are not photographers let me explain. I just found out yesterday morning about a photography work shop being hosted by two of the most talented photographers in the world... the wonderful Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser from This Image Is Found based in sunny San Diego. As I scrambled to print the registration form and fill it out, I realized that I was no where near a fax machine or a scanner so I drove 25 minutes to the nearest scanner (that I knew of) so that I could get my registration in to ensure my front row seat. Anyway, I'm happy to say that my registration made it in time and I am so excited to be a part of this experience.

Laguna Beach at sunset.

Where do you find your inspirataion?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:07:00 +0000

It amazes me all of the places that inspiration can be found if we are just open our eyes and our senses. A lot of my inspiration comes from books, other photographers and entrepreneurs as well as my family and friends. If you watch the news regularly you can easily be blinded by darkness but if you choose to fill your life with uplifting thoughts and surround yourself with positive successful people you will be amazed at the potential you have hidden within you. Don't let fear hold you back from inspiring others and reaching your full potential.

Most people spend their entire lives worrying about what they don't want to happen and then when the thing that they have been worrying about finally happens, they say "I just knew this was going to happen to me... ". Have you ever heard the saying that your thoughts become your reality? I firmly believe that this is true... I know many worrier's and most of them are miserable. If only they would use their minds for more productive things. I went to a self help seminar once and one of the points that the speaker made was that "life was for laughing, loving and living... not whining, worrying and working." This is what drove me to name my blog Laugh... Love... Live!

As Jesh De Rox says... "If you are not meeting your full potential, you are more than likely not inspiring as many people as you could be and the rest of us in this world are suffering because of it."

Please leave your comments to this post and let me know how you find your inspiration and how you keep fear from running your life.

Live Life... Love Many... Laugh Often!

Since it's not polite to post without including images...

Thought this image was only fitting considering the text on her shirt.

I had to post this image because the expression on his face reflects I believe how we've all felt when the fear of failure creeps up on us... that's to far, I don't think I can make it... I can't quit my job to start my own business, what happens if I fail?... <insert your fear here>.

But just like him... if you aim high and shoot you can make it... and the next time you face a big challenge it wont be as scary! (the ball did go through the net, not under it. LOL)

Here is my beautiful wife at Cold Stone with a little German Chocolate something or other stuck in her teeth... at least that what she told me it was.

Need some organization in your life?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:35:00 +0000

Starting with April, I will be posting a monthly calendar. You can download it and print it if you would like or you can use it as a digital background for you desktop. Feel free to send this link to your friends and family so they can have one too. Each month will be different so keep checking back to see if someone you know makes it onto the calendar.

Here is the first one. Feel free to let me know what you think of it... you can post a comment or email me.

After listening to all of the wonderful photographers at WPPI, I brought a lot of great ideas home with me and I am going to be implementing as many as I can. I have some that are in the works right now so stay tuned to see what else is coming. I should have a big announcement sometime within the next two or three weeks!

What happens when 20,000 photographers converg on Las Vegas?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:51:00 +0000

Wow... I was so blessed to be in the presence of some of the most talented photographers in the world this week in Las Vegas. The annual WPPI convention brings in about 20,000 photographers world wide each year to Bally's and Paris for one of the best photographers conferences in the world! I met some amazing people and made many new friends.

My favorite presentation from the show was given by the wonderful Jesh De Rox. Jesh is extremely gifted and is one of the neatest people you will ever meet! He spoke about why building relationships is so important. He also spoke a lot about fear and what he called misplaced fear. As he describes it, this is the fear that holds us back and keeps us from doing amazing things.

Listening to Jesh was just what I needed, his words hit me with so much sincerity and inspiration causing me to reevaluate what is important in life. Thank you Jesh for sharing your soul with all of us who were fortunate enough to share two and a half hours with you. You are truly an inspiration and I'm sure your "Spiral Upward" project will be a huge success!

Here are some images from my time in Vegas and some of the friends that I met.

It's only fitting that I start out with some images of Jesh.

Here I am with Rhett Olson, Megan Reeder, Shellee, Kellee Smith, Stacey Young, Jesh, Amy Seely, Michelle Andersen and Joshua Gene.

This is the amazingly talented and funny [b]ecker!

Me and Kenny

There are many many extremely talented female photographers around the world... here are two that have inspired me and had a huge impact on my photography.

The SUPER SWEET Jasmine Star

and the SUPER SWEET Lori Nordstrom

This is me with the beautiful Barbara... she took good care of us at the Le Village Buffet inside of the Paris hotel.

Here I am with Lauren... I don't know who that is growing out of my right shoulder. Hahaha

Here are some images that we took at night just outside of the Bally's hotel. I must have thought I was pretty cool wearing sunglasses at night. Hahaha

Here are a couple of shots of me taken by my good friend Michael Lloyd.

Here is an image that I took of Mike.

Here is the very cool Rhett.

Ooops... contact Info might be nice

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 10:16:00 +0000

I have been getting comments and occasionally emails from my web site and blog junkies (hahaha) informing me that my contact info is relatively hard to find. I agree that I have not made this information easily accessable during the construction phase of my new site and for this I would like to extend my sincerest apologizes!

If you are prospective client, fellow photographer or just someone wanting to say hi my email address is studio@innovativephotography.net. If you would rather not email, I do read all of the comments that are posted here so don't be shy.

My web site is coming soon although it's a little behind where I hoped it would be.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:05:00 +0000

I have never been a big fan of Christmas, in fact up until the last couple of years I have dreaded it. I couldn't stand the crowds, the commercialization, anything. Now that the kids are old enough to really enjoy it I have found myself getting all wrapped up in the spirit of Christmas.

This time of year tends to bring out the best in people (unless you are fighting with someone over the last Wii on Christmas eve... haha). It's a beautiful thing when people come together to help out those in need. Seriously, every where I look I see random acts of kindness. I'm continually inspired by peoples willingness to give.

From our family to yours... wishes of a happy and safe, goofy and silly unselfish holiday season!

For those of you who did not receive a Christmas card in the mail from us, here is the front side of the card that we sent out this year.

The images of Becca and I were taken by our son... looks like he's already a better photographer than his dad... hahaha.

Cancer Awareness

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 17:19:00 +0000

Last year I announced a personal project that I was starting to bring awareness to and help raise money for cancer awareness. This is an ongoing project that I continue to work on so I am still looking for people who are interested in participating.

If you have survived cancer or are currently fighting the disease I would love to hear your story... how you felt when you were diagnosed, how this disease affected your life, your loved ones, etc. Along with your story, I would like to photograph you and GIVE you all of the images from your session on a CD.

If you are interested in finding out more, please feel free to email me for more information.

New website comming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:58:00 +0000

In case you haven't noticed I have been having some issues with my website. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and I am in the process of creating a new website that I hope you will all enjoy. Stay tuned to my blog... I will be posting updates regarding the site.

In the mean time, here are some images from a shoot I did with Josh this past weekend. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the images.

Winter is coming... only a few Christmas sessions left!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:46:00 +0000

If you are thinking about getting portraits for the holidays don't wait, book now. If you place an order by November 9th your prints will be sure to arrive before Christmas. Any order placed after November 9th may not arrive before the holidays. Christmas card orders need to turned in no later than November 1st.

I had a shoot this past weekend up one of the local canyons and I was amazed at the beautiful colors that surrounded me while driving... no, I wasn't doing drugs. The colors in the valley should be changing very soon so enjoy Fall while you still have time.

Has anyone seen the tooth fairy?

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:07:00 +0000

"A" lost his first tooth last night and he was so excited. He was such a champ, he wanted to do it all by himself. Anybody know the going rate for the tooth fairy now a days? LOL.

Digital Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:00:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of attending Digital Fest at Picture Line over the weekend. I spent a lot of time at the Hasselblad booth testing out their H3D 31MP medium format digital camera... WOW... I think I'm in love! I am going to pick up the images I shot with it tomorrow and I can't wait to check out the 90MB files it produces. Thank you Bruce and Jeff from Hasselblad for allowing me to play.

While there, I also had the pleasure of attending a presentation given by the wonderfully talented Vincent Laforet. Check out his website for some amazing photography. You might also see his work in National Geographic and the New York Times.

Thanks to Picture Line and all of the wonderful vendors and speakers.

Meanwhile, here are a few images that I shot with my camera at Digital Fest.

Special session announcement!

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 04:21:00 +0000

I am trying something new with my sessions which I think you will all like. I will be shooting in downtown SLC all day on Saturday October 6th and I am limiting the number of sessions to 4. The available time slots are 8:00AM, 10:15AM, 1:00PM and 3:15PM. These sessions will go fast so if you are interested go to the contact us section of my website and email me ASAP to secure your spot!

These sessions are $225 which includes up to two hours of shooting time and all of the hi resolution images from your session on a CD to take with you when your session is over. This means that you can print off as many images as your heart desires... Christmas is right around the corner!

Incase you are questioning if you would like to schedule a downtown session here are some images from a recent session I did downtown.

Peter Breinholt Sundance Concert

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 05:40:00 +0000

For those of you who don't know, Peter is a popular local musician with quite a following. He performs every fall at the Sundance Amphitheater in Sundance Utah and if you've never been, I would highly recommend going but bring a blanket because last year it snowed!

Here are some images from the concert, you can see more in the scrapbook section on Peter's website.

Way too long...

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 16:12:00 +0000

Wow, it's been way too long since my last post. I have been pretty busy and I have been shooting a lot of stock photography as of late. Here are some of my favorites, I hope you enjoy them.

Baby K

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan Christensen) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 06:15:00 +0000

Wow, it's been two months since my last post. Hopefully these images will help make up for that. This is baby K and she was so great during her shoot.