Horsholm Little Ones session - Anna & Christian

*To view a slideshow with all of the pictures from the session, click here!*

It was all dark dark clouds and gloomy sky on my drive down to Horsholm. Drops of rain starting to hit the windshield. And then I came in the house, and saw this little blond girl hiding behind her mamma, a shy smile on her face. Little ray of sunshine to cheer up the day :)


Anna quickly ran to the coffee table and pulled out pens and drawing books, so focused on what she was doing, her little feet twisting this and that way as she decided which color to use, her tongue almost sticking out at the corner of her mouth.


Little, beautiful soul, and her mamma's biggest sunshine.

And her little brother too.


Look at these big blue bright eyes, wouldn't they just lighten you day too?



Christian and I had fun playing on the bed, rolling around, playing hide and seek. He gave me his all, this little charmer :)

At some point Anna dragged me by the hand and told me we were going outside. Which apparently I had agreed to with her earlier when we were playing...ha the fun of not speaking Danish perfectly, I get myself in unexpected situations. And it was raining some outside, but I had promised to her....and I am SO glad that we went out to play. Anna was so happy and relaxed outside that I manage to get some of my favorite shots of her....well, the few I could catch, because she was very fast this little girl, and she gave me some good exercise running after her with my camera :)





I feel so lucky that wonderful people keep opening their house to me, sharing a bit of their life, and let me capture their little ones, just the way they are. With messy hair, markers all over their fingers and mudd on their shoes. A little messy, definitely not "perfect", but hey, life itself is a little messy, after all. And sessions like this one with Anna and Christian will just just make me smile all day long :)

*To view a slideshow with all of the pictures from the session, click here!*

sneakpeak Little ones session - Anna & Christian

More to come in a few days, but here is a quick sneakpeak of my latest Little Ones session with Anna & Chirstian in Horsholm last Friday :) Such beautiful kids....can't wait to share more soon!

Finding focus

I've been avoiding the blog these past few days.....I came to the blog a couple of times. Then I ran away as fast as I came.

I've been trying to find focus, but these days I am making slow progress. I came back from Seattle after the CreativeLive Jasmine Star workshop with a list of things to do that was as long as the distance to the moon and back. And I am getting lost in the very middle of that list. That list, it's loooong. And it's full of things that are all very important..."of course they are all important!" says the perfectionist in me.


So what have I been doing to try and find my focus? Well first, I asked the CreativeLive Five (Sachin, Victoria, Nate & Stephanie) what they had been focusing the energy on after the workshop. They all came back to me with amazing plans. From rebranding their business to broadening their network, and just about everything in between....and my mind still went blank.


So......I completely let go. Put the list far far away from me, and picked up a book instead. And read, and read, and read. And going on walks with my little girl. Because I usually puts these off, you know? Because "I am so busy" and really a walk would get in the middle of my plan.........but then I actually go on the walk, and I can hear my brain saying "thank you girl!" outloud.

Especially when the sky is as blue as it was today, and fall berries are coming out everywhere - like every bush around is blushing.


Sometimes, when you are trying too hard, the best thing that you can do for yourself is just to ride the wave a little bit and see where it takes you....

Little Ones session - Dagmar & Laurits

*To view a slideshow with all of the pictures from the session, click here!*

Dagmar came running to me as soon as I walked in their house, and right away I fell in love with her. There is something exciting about photographing little ones. Like Forrest Gump always says, they are "like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get". Unlike adults who can just "fake a smile" whenever needed, little kids just give you who and what they are right off the bat. And as photographers it's our job to capture the essence of these little souls' uniqueness and what makes each of them so special....even though that means running a marathon session trying to chase a little superman all around the house :)


So Dagmar... she won me over from the first smile, this little girl. Gorgeous gorgeous, such a beautiful smile. I knew when I stepped in the house that she was just going to make my morning...and add to that, she responded to my bad jokes in my broken Danish....what else could I ask for from her!


"Dagmar, where are you?" to Dagmar lost in all of her dolls and plush toys on her bed. "I AM HERE! I AM HERE AUDREY!". "Where Dagmar? I can't see you!". Giggles giggles giggles.

Little girls' giggles are just magical.


And her little brother, oh her little brother. Don't you want to get lost in these big blue eyes? Little charmer that he is, cant' blame his mama to be so proud to be his mama! I was going to steal him away and bring him home with me :)





Maria and Jan made me feel right at home when I came to photograph the children, spoiling me with tea and cookies....now you see why I had a REAL hard time to leave. Hellowwww, cute kids, endless supplies of tea and brownies? Sign me up to live in their house! :)


*To view a slideshow with all of the pictures from the session, click here!*

O-Love

My O-Lovameter is going through the roof this week. Troels is in London all week for work, so it's been just the little Olive and me, jumping around the living room and watching the first autumn winds blow through the trees in our garden. She just makes every moment feel special. And every day I think I can't possibly love her more.....and the next morning I wake up and realize that my love for her quadrupled just overnight.

Her and her dad - the best things that ever happened to me. Word.

Playing games

Feels like the story of my life these days. Not that I haven't been busy working, mind you. But like they say "Work hard, Play hard".....well, it seems that I have a tendency to get the two mixed up together :) Ooooooooooopsy!

....like when Troels and I disagree on something...or need to make a tough decision...or when there's a job that needs to be done but nobody wants to do it (uhm uhm, do I hear changing diapers???). Well we could easily argue.....spend hours analyzing who's right and wrong....but instead we play games That's right. We play Rock Paper Scissors all the way. It's like magic. Rock or Paper it out and the problem is gone before it even came! I think that in 50 years if Troels and I are still married I will owe it to Rock Paper Scissors :D Maybe that's what we should have had engraved in our wedding rings, "Rock Paper Scissors forever".....I kid I kid my love. Well, kinda :)

And so, remember the three words Jasmine* kept talking about during the CreativeLive training in Seattle? The three words that should define your style/brand? Well, it's been so hard for me to decide on JUST three that define what I do that I've totally wanted to go Rock Paper Scissors on my three words. How deep of me, uh? :) But in the end, here are the three words that keep coming back to me: pure, vibrant, fresh. What do you think? Does this work? Or am I completely off?

And talking about playing games at work, last Saturday I had the most fun of all sessions with little cutiepie Dagmar and her adorable brother Lauritz - oh the blue eyes this little baby has! We rolled around and made bubbles and climbed Dagmar's apple tree in the backyard. After spending the whole morning with her, I am not sure if Dagmar ever stops laughing and giggling...ever :) I'm loving the way the pictures are turning out - and hopefully their parents will like the pictures just as much! So without further ado I give you a sneak-peak at one very handsome little man and one beautiful little girl.

But there's a lot more, and I'll have a slideshow of all the pictures for you by end of week/early next week... so come back soon for more! :)

Xoxo - Audrey

Laura & Billy - The day they said "Forever" in Seattle - Jasmine* & CreativeLive workshop

I don't know a lot of people who would do what Laura and Billy just did. No no no, I am not talking about them getting married :D I am talking about them getting married in front of thousands of strangers, with 6 cameras around them. I am talking about doing a first look on camera the day before the wedding, just so that other photographers could learn from this. Pretty selfless, to say the least.

And just from spending a few hours with Laura & Billy, watching them getting ready for their biggest day......

....this I know: that they have the most beautiful and generous of souls.

That they love life and that life loves them back.

That they LOVE to laugh.

That they LOVE to love.

And because of all that, that they are surrounded by wonderful friends and family - and they deserve every bit of it.

The biggest thank you again to Jasmine* for allowing me and the other CreativeLive 5 (Sachin, Victoria, Stephanie & Nate) to join her in capturing Laura and Billy's beautiful day. And to CreativeLive, for starting this whole thing in the first place and providing such great training for photographers. The impact of what you are doing is beyond anything seen before.

For more pictures of the day and a beautiful slideshow of pictures, go read Jasmine's beautiful post (click here)....you won't regret it :)

What makes little (and big) girls smile....

* A big warm cup of warm cocoa - because yes, it's already THAT kind of weather here in Denmark! So cocoa. With a straw. Because drinking cocoa without a straw would be a total waste of cocoa. Sipping my cup made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, this feeling of "I'm back home and everything is alright" that I was craving after my crazy-long trip back from Seattle.

*Daddys who buy their little girls pink helmets and take them on their first ride on a bike. If that's not pure-sugar happiness...

But if I'm gonna be fair, I should also share a "before" picture of the ride. Because when we put her on the bike, she was looking at me with her "What-crazy-thing-are-you-guy-going-to-make-me-go-AGAIN?".

Please notice how her arms are sticking out on every single picture - she kept them like this the entire ride. This little girl was probably focusing on the new exciting adventure so much that she forgot that she could move her arms at all. Poor thing. She probably got a bit of A.D.D from her mamma :)

Shall I say, it is so nice to be back home and see this little girl smile at us every day?

Xoxo, Audrey

PS: Tomorrow I'll be sharing some of my pics from Billy and Laura's wedding in Seattle, can't wait!

My brand new parachute - debrief of the Jasmine* & CreativeLive workshop

Guys - I am finally back to Europe, and it's been a long way home! From Seattle, to Houston, to Amsterdam and then finally Copenhagen.....talk about pilling up miles in just one trip :) Ching, Ching, these go directly in my miles piggy bank for my dream trip to Bali....ha, be still my heart.

But wait, back to Houston...or Amsterdam....or wherever it is that I was on Monday. I usually would mind spending so many hours in a plane, but this time I could have cared less. I had so much to think about after the workshop ended. Ideas and thoughts running wild in my little head. All of the things that Jasmine* talked about, her shinning personality and all things wonderful that she and JD are, meeting such wonderful & inspiring people as the CreativeLive Five (miss you guys!), just took over my need for sleep. And got me thinking about how, when back in Denmark, I was going to use this experience to move things forward with photography. Because it is. Big times.

Before coming to the workshop I was ready to jump off the cliff. I was going to throw myself into starting my photo business and dedicate myself to learning photography inside out. No matter how big the gap was. Because that's really what I wanted to do, and I just know that life is too short to leave your dreams on the side. Now that the workshop is come and gone, not only am I still ready to jump off the cliff - but what I feel that I have now is a brand new parachute, a parachute that will hopefully get me where I want to land. If I can direct the parachute correctly, that is -there will be strong winds pushing me to the sides I am sure, problems that I don't yet expect that will come my way.....but hey, that's just life. I feel so much more confident in my abilities to do this.

So here are my biggest take-aways from the workshop - not that I didn't want to write every single word that J* said, full of its "Awesome", "F'REAL" and "Amen Sista''" :).....but let's keep it to the things that struck me the most so that I don't spend the rest of the week writing this post :) And bore you out of your mind with that.

About running your business:

- Run your business like a business, not like an expensive hobby. Outsource what you don't like/can't do well enough. It's all about streamlining and making your business as efficient and lean as possible

- When you are about to take something new on, just think "Is this going to move me where I want my business to be?"

- Underpromise/overdeliver. This will ensure you are leaving people with the best experience possible.

- Create your own game. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses, every market is unique. Make sure you play a game that puts your strengths in the forefront.

About building your brand:

- A logo is not a brand. A brand is made off all things that make people FEEL about you and your brand. Create a connection with people.

- KIR - Keep it Real. People will connect to a much hire level with you if they can feel that they know the real you, that you are not faking it.

- Be YOU, show YOU. By doing that, you will either connect or repel. If people like YOU, they will talk about you.

- A website is your handshake, a blog is your voice. Ah, how much I love this analogy!

- Sometimes it pays off to just BE NICE. People will be more inclined to talk about you, because it's all about the experience people get.

About improving your photography skills:

- Work on the 10x10 rule (10 different poses in a 10x10 space). If you can master that, you can master a whole new range of things.

- "It is what it is". Sometimes we can't control the weather. Bad light. Small space. Or a crazy mother in law. There is no such thing as perfect conditions. It is what it is, learn to run with it in your photography and you will get stronger at your art.

- Always strive to create for yourself. Of course you need to shoot for the client. But always remember to push yourself, go beyond your boundaries. Shoot outside what you are comfortable with.

- Always look for inspiration. In magazines. In movies. In the little girl playing down the road from your house. Let your photography infuse in all that inspiration.

-Practice practice practice. You can study the perfect compositions, know the "perfect" formula to the "perfect exposure" by heart.....but there is nothing like getting down and dirty with it.

Geeze....that's a long post, hope you are still with me! Oh, and one more thing that learned is so important: having a good support system, people that you can count on for when things hit you left and right- just like J* has her JD. Just like I have the best hubby who took time off from work to take care of our little girl while I went running after my dream in Seattle. And just like this little girl, who makes my heart go boom boom every time she looks at me, and makes me want to be the best I can be for her.

Because it's important that she knows, that it's important to live your dreams.