There really is something special about a wedding at Franklin Park Conservatory. It has become something of a wedding mecca in Central Ohio and not just for the obvious reasons. Obviously, a conservatory will have a lush landscape for photos but our conservatory has so much more.

First and foremost, the Franklin Park Conservatory has multiple areas where couples can get married or have their reception: The Wells Barn, the Palm House, the Brides Garden and so much more. In addition to multiple locations within the location, it’s just plain gorgeous. Dale Chihuly is a reknowned glass artist and he has multiple pieces on display at Franklin Park. That artwork was a real draw for Laura and Bob. I totally understand why.

Because of their love of the glass, I tried to incorporate it into many photos from their portraits on down to their details.

I think the shoe picture was one of Laura’s favorite photos and honestly, if you know me, you KNOW I love a good pair of wedding shoes. Shoes are an art form all their own. Perhaps I should write a blog post entirely devoted to wedding shoes. Hmmmm. But I digress.

The beautiful thing about Bob and Laura, aside from their love of artistic glass, is their easy going style. They were so relaxed on their big day! I loved watching them with those closest to them, celebrating their brand new union. One great bonus to the pandemic has been smaller and more intimate weddings. There’s something special about them.

It’s like ra-aa-ain on your wedding day….

Rain is always a concern on wedding days but the old saying is that rain brings good luck. It also brings a lovely sheen to the bricks outside the Palm House. Am I right?!

Best wishes to Bob & Laura!! And if you’re planning a wedding at Franklin Park Conservatory, I sure hope you’ll consider me. I know all the sweet spots for photos.

xoxo

Donna

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The truth of the matter is that there are an awful lot of Central Ohio photographers. I mean…. a LOT! If I’m being honest, a bunch of them are even talented. 😉 Being keenly aware of that, means I am incredibly grateful when you amazing, good looking, very smart people choose me to be your photographer.

Don’t tell all those other photographers but I get the best clients. No question. You invite me into your lives to document ALL the good stuff: newborns, family photos, senior photos, graduations, business photos, engagements, weddings and so much more. I get to do something I love and you get to enjoy photos for years to come.

And hopefully, I do a good job and you’ll want to tell ALL your friends about me. The truth is, my sweet little business relies on referrals. So, if you are one of the folks who have spread the word about my little biz, THANK YOU!!

Omar came to me as a referral and I was so happy to get to photograph him! I mean. Did you get a look at those dimples?! And that smile?! Come on! He was a little shy about photos at first but it didn’t take long for this dazzling smile to come out and I’m so glad it did!!

The dimples!!

He didn’t want a full photo session, just a few images to mark the occasion. There are so many high school senior guys who are content to have smaller sessions. Their whole goal is to keep it short and sweet and make mom happy. Well, I was happy to oblige. Would I have gone full tilt and done more photos? You bet but I’m really happy with what we captured.

The next time, I get to thinking about all the Central Ohio photographers out there, I’ll remember, you picked me. And that… makes this photo chick very, very happy. Have an awesome day!

xoxo

Donna

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I am biased.  I can’t even pretend I’m not. Her family is pretty darn special to ours.  Her mom is a rock star and a very dear friend of mine.  Katie’s little sister is my daughter’s best friend and her older brother was a dk senior a few years back.  I LOVE this family!! 

We began the session at Grange Audubon and followed up with some German Village flavor thrown in. A little nature with a little city thrown in. It’s the perfect combo for every session. Yay, variety!

No downtown photo session would be complete without a black and white image that screams “urban”.

This photo is absolutely one of my favorites from her session. Katie’s style and fashion sense shine through.

Katie is so good at this photo thing!!  She made my heart skip a beat with the pink skirt that she MADE!! I had told her I had been wanting to do something like this and she took the idea and made it her own with Converse and an adorable hair bow.

There she is! Katie being Katie. This session was an absolute blast to photograph!

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Hi Frankie!  Welcome to the family!!  Your brother, Steve, is really excited you’re here.  

No…  Really…  He is happy you’re here.  

Okay…  I guess it’s time to be normal…  I was just having so much fun with Frankie and Steve and cracking myself up at puppy sibling rivalry.  But seriously, how stinkin’ cute are these pups and their parents?!!  When I saw that my friends, Lauren & Rob were getting a new pup, I had to get photos!!  I had visions of wrapping Frankie up like a new baby but…  she had other ideas.  Enjoy the photos!  We could all use sweet & smiling pups these days!

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Cole is an awesome kid.  To see him at swimming, playing with and mentoring the little swimmers tells me his chosen field of teaching will be absolutely perfect for him.  I have no doubt he’ll be a great teacher.  We only did a quick session and will do more later but I truly enjoyed our time together and I look forward to taking more photos again soon.

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(Pardon the iphone photo) When I got home, I found that the box wasn’t empty.  It turned out there were two trays.  The visible one was empty.  The hidden tray was quite full.

I love family photos.  And they don’t have to be of my family.  I love that moments get captured and kept forever so you can bet I looked at every one of those slides.  I loved seeing the photos of our local high school homecoming.  I was sure someone had accidentally donated their precious memories and I knew I couldn’t just get rid of them.  I held onto them.  I called our school district to see if they could help me but as fascinated as the person on the other end of the phone was, I never got a return phone call.  I made a few other calls but nothing panned out.  I put this beautiful box on my shelf.  It sat there until today.

For whatever reason, this afternoon I realized that the internet might be able to help me solve the mystery of who this family is and help me reunite the photos with their rightful owners.  I scanned a few dozen of the photos and created a facebook post.  And that’s where things get crazy—like this world is REALLY small kind of crazy. I have this gorgeous, funny, smart awesome friend named Stacey who I adore and who (wisely) is not addicted to social media.  She moved from our little town of Dublin to Southern California a few years ago.   Of all days to decide to see what’s going on in Facebook world, she chose today.   I wasn’t on her news feed.  She saw that I liked a mutual friend’s photo and clicked on my name to see what I’ve been up to.  She saw this post about the mystery family—a mere fourteen minutes after I posted it.  People…  SHE KNEW WHO IT WAS!!!  I had goosebumps on my goosebumps!

Can you believe it?!!  I mean.  Really…  What are the odds that the mystery family and I have a mutual friend?  She went to middle school with one of the young men in the photos.   His name is Tom.  She called me and we conspired about how to let this family know we have these photos. She found Tom on facebook.  She tagged friends who knew him.  I tagged him in the post and I sent him a message on LinkedIn with my phone number.  Within another 20 minutes, he knew about the photos and we were talking on the phone. 

He was as blown away as we were.  Turns out, he moved from Dublin to California, too.  He only lives a short distance from where Stacey does now!!! His parents had downsized from their family home and as we all know, downsizing means donating…  to Goodwill…  for me to find… and after 3.5 years….  to give back to them.  His parents are less than 3 miles from my home.  I am meeting them in a few days to return their slides to them.

This is just a handful of the nearly 300 slides contained in that tray.  I love the stories:  family get togethers, school functions, the sports, the love…  Honestly, it just really makes a heart happy.  Apparently, a lot of people agree.  Our local news channel heard the story and shared it on their website.  How wonderful to see good news being shared.

See the story HERE.

I hope this made your heart as happy as it did mine. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Happy Easter!

xoxo
Donna

The post A MIRACLE ON THE INTERNET appeared first on dk photographic.

Babies are just the best…  I find being around babies to be a big stress reliever and I like to consider myself a bit of a baby whisperer.  So….  when I got the chance to hang out with baby Micah, I was on cloud nine!!  

I mean…  LOOK at him!!  Could he be more gorgeous?!!  And he was an angel!!  I predict a supermodel career for this handsome little man.  BIG congratulations to his parents and I can’t wait to hang out with him again!!

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Since I have a lot of clients that really want photos in the fall leaves, this presented some scheduling challenges for me.  God bless those that stuck to their appointments and took the leaves at whatever color they had.  I was so grateful that people didn’t try to switch and reschedule that I opted to use my friend Photoshop to give them what they wanted.  

Here’s a little Before and After for you….

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So as I was sitting on the couch wishing I had accomplished a lot more today, it dawned on me.  I can still write up a cute little blog post.  Right?

Now…  This one won’t be what you’ve come to typically expect from me.  It’s a session but it was really meant for a business.  Have you ever heard of Zip Zone?  It’s an adventure park right off of Route 23 North of Columbus and  when they added a new attraction, they wanted some photos for social media.  That’s where I came in.  

I have to say, I don’t think I knew what I was getting myself into.  I was climbing.  I was walking across wires and wooden bridges.  I was many feet up in the air—with my camera—photographing people who are FAR more adventurous than I am.  And as humiliating as it is to admit, they were quite a bit younger than myself.  

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Are you a resolution maker?  I am but not really…  This year, instead of making super specific personal resolutions that I’m not very good at keeping, I’ve opted to make some solid business goals that I can definitely achieve.  I want 2018 to be a great year!

In the past several years, I’ve been holding steady.  I haven’t really tried to grow the business.  But that’s all going to change this year.  And I’m asking for your help.  

If you know someone who is looking for a photographer, please think of me.   

Of course, weddings will always be a love of mine but I’m especially looking for studio work:  Families, Seniors, Babies, Preschools, Business Head Shots and more….  I will be putting together a referral bonus program so be certain they tell me you sent them!!   Bonuses will include discounts on future sessions and gift cards.  Who doesn’t like a good gift card?!!  

So…   

Send me those fabulous high school juniors & seniors…  

Send me those adorable families…

Send me the sweet babies and their gorgeous mamas…

Send me the fantastic couples…  

 Heck…  Maybe it’s about time YOU get in front of my camera!!

 To entice you all….  

I will be giving away FREE 45 minute sessions during the month of January, a $99 value. 

That’s right…  FREE…  Photos must be taken in January to qualify.  

Schedule your appointment NOW by emailing me:  dk@dkphotographic.com

Aside from free sessions, I will be offering Valentine mini-sessions later this month.  Stay tuned for more information.

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