Chloe and Jacob

 My niece Chloe Grace recently turned 6. Sadly her Hannah Montana party was postponed due to her becoming sick.  We took her 6 year old pictures while she was in SC over Thanksgiving. This sweet girl really knows how to rock out!

 This is one of her favorite outfits she informed me. I love the greenery in these pictures. 

 Check out this amazing old video camera I found in my parents attic!  After several shots I got several that were fun and natural. This is always what I wait for. 

 The red and pink hats are from OMG vintage clothing store. They looked great with her tiger print jacket!

 Happy Birthday Chloe.

 Jacob, my nephew, decided he wanted a few pictures taken as well. I was a freshman in college when he was born.  Man time flies by. 

We also took a few family shots for their Christmas Card. Here is my personal favorite.

Marie's Maternity Fashion Shoot

 

Marie met me out at the Rock Quarry Garden located in Cleveland Park last week before Thanksgiving for her maternity fashion shoot. We started out with one of her favorite outfits. I love the birdcage I found at Buncombe Antique Mall for this shoot. 

 This girl had no qualms about climbing on rocks despite being in her 3rd trimester :)

 Absolutely Stunning!  This entire outfit is from OMG vintage clothing.

 I love how peaceful she looks in these. Funny side story. There was another family at the garden doing Christmas pictures during our shoot. They were quite curious about Marie's belly...so much so it could be considered as staring at points.  Good thing I brought along a wrap for cover up until they moved on. 

 These last two are a couple of my favorites. Marie has such a natural smile that is calm and peaceful.  Her sweet baby girl is due in 2012 and I can't wait for the newborn shoot when she arrives :) 

Congrats Marie and Drew!

Maggie and Emma

Phill and I have dear friends who are blessed with two sweet little  girls.  These two are absolutely precious and they are exactly 364 days apart!  To begin our cloudy afternoon session, I set up a tea party. I found the holly hobby dolls in my mom's attic along with the tea set that was mine as a child.  Andrea, their mom, had these fabulous blue suitcases in her living room as decor.  The worked nicely with the ones I brought along. 

Maggie and Emma are wonderful at make believe play.

I spotted this chair at the Buncombe Antique Mall and fell in love with it. It is for sale along with its pair by the way :) 

Ive become a fan of the "serious look" kids often give me.  If I have to choose between this look and a fake smile Ill chose this one any day!  The girls loved this child size guitar I used from the antique mall as well. 

These are my favorites from the day! This mirror is called a Gentleman's Mirror as it was used for a man while he shaved.  For me, it made a great child size full length mirror!  I brought along my sterling silver mirror, brush and comb; keepsakes from my own childhood. I set this up and then let Emma play.  These turned out just beautiful. 

Then Maggie wanted a turn. I love hers in black and white. It has a classic feel to them. 

 Can you believe this small field of grass was right beside their house! This made it super easy for clothing changes and prop set up. Another treasure of a find in the McKee's home was this vintage child size sofa that was Andrea's when she was a child. It has since been recovered.  The look Emma gave me in this shot below is adorable and priceless.

 One of my favorite props to use with children is a wooden box turned upside down. It always adds a vintage, rugged look to the portrait. Check out her brown eyes. Gorgeous. 

 To finish the afternoon, an array of hats and a yellow chair :) 

Paisley and Mason

Meet the sweetest brother and sister EVER!  Yes, they are TWINS :) 

We actually had  to postpone their shoot to wait for these precious outfits to come in as their sweet mom ordered them online.  

By the way if you are looking for a unique Christmas gift consider something like this red tractor that you can purchase at Buncombe Antique Mall on Wade Hampton! 

 These two were born premature and have a very special bond now at the age of (almost 3). 

 Did I mention they like to have fun? They broke out the moves in front of this old Tractor we just walked up on. I love when I find hidden treasures like this on photo shoots. :) 

 I love adding a fun vintage chair into any photo session.  This brown cushioned chair worked great with their color scheme!

 Even though they are twins, they are definitely two different kids. I love how the pictures above and below capture the personalities of Paisley and Mason. 

 If you are wondering where I found these great hats, Ill tell you!  Mason's hat I found at Miracle hill Thrift store with tags still on from Baby Gap. SCORE! 

Paisley's red hat below I loaned from OH MY GOODNESS! Vintage Clothing. You should check them out on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/omgstore 

As the sun was setting, I could not resist to include a few shots with these precious raggedy Ann and Andy dolls I found in my mom's attic along with the Ann in a Box. 

Thanks Paisley and Mason for joining me in SC for your 3 year old pictures!  I hope to have the opportunity of watching you two grow up :) 

The Groover Clan

Welcome to the Groover Clan Blogpost.  With this post I am also introducing three new words that I will are beginning to define my newly found style.  I feel as though the journey over the past two years has lead me to try many different things and I have finally found my groove...at least for now! So here it is and I hope you enjoy.

VINTAGE 

Mixing old and new has become a new passion of mine and I am excited that I have found an antique store and clothing store who are willing to help me out with this!  If you are in the Wade Hampton Area drop by OMG (Oh My Goodness) Vintage Store.  The owner and her daughter have been just amazing in helping me put clothing together. Side note, she can look at anything and tell you what era it is from. 

CLASSIC 

I absolutely adore this picture.  It encompasses who the Groovers are, at least a snippet of them. They are all reading their favorite books. Great idea Annie! 

There is something about Sophie and her free spirit that I just love.  Even at the age of 3 she has this model look down pat!  There is no posing this child as she loves to play.  This leads me to my final word:

WHIMSICAL 

So there it is: I am officially defining my portraiture: 

Seek Joy Photography 

VINTAGE, CLASSIC, WHIMSICAL 

Artistic Portraiture by Katie S. Preuss 

I would love your feedback!

The Habig Family

Pulley family

Meet the Pulley Family

As a teen and college student I was the babysitter for Carrie's older sister, Cammie's children.  It was fun to see Carrie with her sweet children during this photo shoot. 

 There is always something special about a mother daughter bond.

I love how his sweet little hand gently touched his daddy's face. 

Bailey is in the first grade this year. She informed me her favorite subject is "recess". 

 I am venturing into props and I think they really made these portraits come together.  The hat, wooden container and holly hobbit dolls all come from the treasures I found in my mom's attic :) 

This basket and old teddy bear (that was mine) also came from my treasure hunt in my mother's attics.  Look at this smile!

 The lighting was perfect to give these portraits a vintage look I was going for. 

sweet curls and smile

I wanted Carrie to be able to remember all of these beautiful baby curls.  I was able to capture this when he turned around in the chair. Perfect!

 I tried to capture real emotion in my portraits.  This was taken after discussing knock knock jokes. :)

 The backlighting coming from the trees was gorgeous!

I love the fall colors in this shot. 

Enjoy!