365-day Photo Challenge Book Now Available

It is finally here!

It being the beautifully bound production of my 365-day photo challenge.  Now see the rich beautiful images you loved seeing every day on Facebook as a lovely, one-of-a-kind coffee-table book.

What a journey this challenge was for me.  My growth as a photographer is visible image to image, day to day. It was truly an amazing experience!

The book is available for purchase.  Check it out and get yourself one!

365-day Photo Challenge by Chrissy Kruger-Gruendyke | Make Your Own Book

Inspired by an artist | Milwaukee Area Photographer|

I love those evenings when I get to out of the house and participate in something inspiring. Last night was one of those times. I attended a talk by Alec Soth hosted by the Haggerty Museum of Art. Soth is an American photographer that produces large-scale photography projects. His photographs are part of collections at museums such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Walker Art Center. And he is also part of the current exhibition at the Haggerty Museum, "The Truth is Not in the Mirror: Photography and a Constructed Identity." You can check out Alec Soth's blog to learn more about him. But this is my blog so I am going to talk about what I think...

What I liked about Alec Soth's work is its photojournalistic feel. His photos tell a story. He approaches them all as experiments and trials, which is basically how I feel about a lot of my photography work. I kept thinking back to my 365-photo challenge. The photos in that collection document my journey to learning more about photography. I would say that it documents my year, but it really didn't. There are a lot of milestones and moments from last year that do not appear in that collection. Most of the images are of what I saw around me. My motivation was to stretch my abilities at the various stages of photo making (subject, composition, camera settings, shooting, post processing, etc.) But just because it isn't an accurate telling of my complete life, it is still a story and one that I am extremely proud of. I love that you can see my development as a photographer from one photo to the next. I love that each photo has its own back story. I love that there are some photos that I absolutely hate because those are the ones I probably learned the most from.

For those of you not in the know. My 365-day photo challenge was a photo project I did Dec 7, 2009 - Dec. 6, 2010. The rules were simple: produce and post one photo per day for a year. I posted my work to my Facebook page. I call it a challenge because it was -- I was often frustrated. But it was just the push I needed to make myself "figure it out". I learned a great deal during the year, but by the end, I realized I still have a way to go.

Soth said something really interesting that stuck with me "I am embarrassed to say I am a photographer because who isn't". Isn't that the truth? Everyone takes pictures, right? Every middle-class parent seems to have a DSLR camera. So what makes me so special? What makes me think I can be an artist? I haven't quite figured that out yet. Perhaps that's what the next leg of my journey is about...finding my photographic voice and answering that question. If so, Alec Soth was the first to send me on my way with some encouraging words. At the book signing after his talk he wrote:

And with that I am on my way...

New Year Resolution

Let's face it, we all have room to improve. Somehow it seems so refreshing to commit to improving yourself as the calendar changes and a new year begins. So here I am on Jan. 1st declaring one of my new year's resolutions while actually doing it. That is, of course, to making blogging a priority and to update my blog regularly. It isn't easy. Writing takes a lot of effort and I am often too exhausted to want to think that much on the blog. Lucky for me (and you), I am a photographer so I can let my images do a lot of the talking.

2010 was an interesting year for me. I feel like I reinvented myself with actually and legitimately starting my photography business. It was not easy. Maybe that is why I was/am so determined. Photography challenges me every day and as a result I feel like I am growing so much. I am so grateful to the many people out there that have cheered me on, taught me something and genuinely believed in me -- especially my husband and daughter. I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store! I have so many wishes, dreams and plans...I hope I can make them all happen.

The past few months have been filled with holiday joy. My holiday special was pretty popular and I got to capture some beautiful moments along the way. I will end this blog with a few of my favorites from those sessions.

Happy new year, everyone! I look forward to sharing more and more on this blog here on out. Cheers to the possibilities in 2011!

Holiday Session | Chrissy Rose Photography | Milwaukee | Maternity, Babies, Children, Seniors, Bridal, Wedding, Families |

With the holidays right around the corner, it is time for holiday sessions! These shots were taken in a mini-session format at Doctor's Park in Fox Point. Doctor's is one of my favorite locations because of the beautiful park and Lakefront beach. It is a little hike, but who doesn't love a little fresh air!

This sweet family was a little nervous starting out. They've never had family photos taken! I was honored to be their first photographer and I hope they had as much fun as I had. Baby N was such a cutie and he made all the right faces for me. Here are some shots from our shoot.

Baby on board | Chrissy Rose Photography | Milwaukee | Maternity, Babies, Children, Seniors, Bridal, Wedding, Families |

I met up with this beautiful expecting family in the Third Ward...what a location! It was an awesome Sunday morning -- a little chilly, but we had a great time and got some awesome photos. I had to bribe the little one a little with m&ms and jelly beans and we ended the session with a a very sticky, mickey-shaped lollipop, but it was all worth it. I am sure I completely ruined her breakfast since the family was headed out for pancakes after the session...but I think mom and dad were OK with it after seeing what cute photos were were able to get as a result.

I love the extra attention they paid to their clothing. It made such a difference for over all style in the photos. Spending that little extra time and money to coordinate wardrobe is so important to making great stylized photos. The outfit on the little girl is actually the same outfit I have for my daughter to wear for our family holiday photos. We are scheduled withAngie McMonigal on Nov. 6th. All our outfits are ready to go...have been for weeks now, so what does my hubby do? He dresses our daughter in the outfit on this very morning and she shows up wearing it when we met up for breakfast. I was a little shocked! That is what I get for not hiding it from unsuspecting dad (even though I showed him the outfits and told him all about my plans...) Of course, it ended up with eggy and ketchup on it. Luckily I was able to get it out so we will still look great for the photos.

Well, here are some of my fave photos from the maternity shoot.

Hello, agian! | Chrissy Rose Photography | Milwaukee | Maternity, Babies, Children, Seniors, Bridal, Wedding, Families | Lifestyle Photography|

Well, it is just shameful how long it has been since I last posted anything on my blog. That has a lot to do with how wonderfully busy I have been. The summer was insane with photo shoots and family time. Now we are almost through October and it is hard to believe we are heading into the holidays - eek! In addition to continuing with photo shoots, I have been developing my business and building my website. The website is now live! Check it out at www.chrissyrosephotography.com. I have portfolio galleries, information about pricing, and tons of other stuff. I can hardly believe that one year ago, I set out to build a photography business and here I am now a professional photographer. Someone pinch me!

This summer I attended a workshop by Courtney Fries and it was an incredible experience. I admire her work so much and I was thrilled to learn from her.

I also made a few significant upgrades, including a new camera body, new lens and Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3. WOW!!! I said goodbye to my old canon dslr and I am now shooting with the magnificent Canon 7D. It was actually hard to let go of that old gal, but the new one is so awesome!

I am so grateful to all the encouragement, inspiration and support I have received from friends, family and professionals I deeply admire. So here I am saying hello, again and this time it is as an ambitious professional photographer. There is just no stopping me now - ha!

Here are some photos from the past few months. Enjoy!

Almost didn't make it!?!?

Can you believe that I almost didn't make it to this shoot? I was heading to the shoot from another function -- coming from the opposite direction and I got COMPLETELY lost! GPS failed me...it doesn't happen often, but when it does it is a disaster. Furthermore, I didn't have their phone number to call them - YIKES!! Luckily they waited for me because we got some awesome pictures! This family was awesome to work with and they were so understanding! I hope the great pics made up for making them wait.