Wedding Photographic Society Award

I know I am biased, but I think photographers are some of the most innovative, creative and interesting people. To choose this profession they have to be willing to work in an unstructured, highly competitive, risk-filled environment. To stay in business they have to constantly stay on top of the latest developments in their field. And to stay inspired they have to stubbornly keep working through their creative process to dig deep and create some incredible images. Well the Wedding Photographic Society is an organization founded and sustained by people like this. By being a member I am surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs, am able to stay abreast of the latest developments in the photographic field and am challenged to keep pushing myself creatively. They sponsor a contest each quarter. I am happy to say that they choose my image for the first prize in the cake category. Thanks, WPS!
The couple is Caroline Swain Strehle and Josh Strehle, You can see their full wedding story HERE. The technical information is that I shot it with a Canon 30D using a 85mm f/1.2 lens. The ISO was 1000 and the exposure was 1/100 second at f/ 2.5. Cake photos used to be the bane of my existence as the flash often exposed the cake well but left the couple dark. Now I pop the light off a wall to the left or right, thus avoiding that problem. This reception was in the Fearrington Barn which is as dark as a cave with brown walls, but somehow it works out! As is my method, this was shot documentary, meaning that I don’t direct the couple at all. This particular couple was so animated and joyous that they were just a pleasure to photograph.

Read the Summer 2010 Newsletter!

Hello all! I have sent out the summer newsletter. You can read it on-line here. I wrote about how to get a great head shot, family story and wedding specials, and an upcoming charity event.

Back from the Beach

After being closed for a week the office will re-open today. We had a wonderful week at Ocean Isle, North Carolina with my older brother, Paul, and his family. Thank you, Paul, Carrie and Garrett for hosting. We love you!

I will be sending out the summer issue of the KPO Photo Newsletter this week, so look for that!

Gone Fishing

KPO Photo will be closed from July 2nd until July 12th. Technically, I won’t actually be gone fishing but we will be at the beach and I know we will eat a lot of fresh seafood. Yay! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Hot June Weekend

This weekend was hot! It feels like August already! But we had fun, nonetheless. On Saturday the kids and I went to the Nicholas Wheeler Vivian Foundation’s Annual Auction. This is a foundation that identifies families with financial challenges related to children’s medical expenses. They provide funds to offset the costs of medical equipment, prescription medications, and bills, as well as everyday necessities such as utilities and food. The foundation also works with the Chapel Hill-Durham Mothers of Multiples club to provide financial assistance for health care, education, and living expenses of families with twins and triplets. They raised an incredible $9000! I was so glad to be involved!

In this image from left to right going clockwise: a KPO Photo Family Story, which as won by Sarah Shunk. Thanks, Sarah!!! Then the beautiful Vivian family who hosted this event. All guests paid $10 to eat at an incredible buffet and all the children ate free. The children enjoyed getting their face painted by Paint Savvy. A mask and statue set was just one of the interesting things to bid on. Finally, on the lower, right-hand corner is Sarah Kenan Shunk with Piper and Avery.

The bidding was done through the computer, which was a cool way to do it.

After the event the kids and I went home to play. I had the idea of wedging our inflatable pool underneath the slide. What fun! Our neighbor, Cole, was over to help.

Then we headed inside to play. I will do a longer blog post about this later, but we have an amazing dollhouse with a long history. My uncles made it for me and my brother’s and sister when I was 5 or so. This house somehow has survived and my kids are helping to fix it up. My mom saved all the furniture and it was so interesting to see that they set up the rooms in the same way I did when I was little.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Spring 2010 Newsletter

Hello! Want to get rid of your case of the Mondays? Well, just distract yourself with the KPO Photo Spring Newsletter. If you want to receive future email newsletters, sent out quarterly, sign up HERE.

First photo in the new studio.

As I am writing this I am listening to a spring thunderstorm raging outside. I love it!

I don’t know if other photographers are this way, but I have always been somewhat superstitious/ OCD when it comes to how I shoot. I have several pre-shoot rituals and when I buy a new camera body I take great pains to make the first photo very intentional and well thought out.

Well, when the backdrops were finally hung in the newly renovated KPO Photo Studio I found myself reluctant to take my first photo in the new space. It needed to be special. What is more special than my first born turning 9 years old? Amira Olayemi Oguntoyinbo was born on the first day of Spring back in 2001, just as dawn broke and the birds began singing. She has been a pleasure from day one. I love that little lady so much. Here is Yemi and the new space. Happy Spring to everyone!

Happy Holidays from KPO Photo!

As I write this it is snowing outside! A perfect start to the holiday break! I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who chose KPO Photo this year. Your stories are absolutely amazing and I am so honored to be a part of your lives.

I also want to say thank you to Sarah Van Heusen, Scott Ramsey, Leslie Barbour, Sophia Harcourt and Dan Glasgow who brought their incredible skills to your stories in 2009.

We will be closed from the 18th until the New Year. I will start 2010 with a bang with a New Year’s Day wedding! During the break I will be checking email periodically but plan on spending a lot of down time with family and friends. I hope you all can do the same! Again thanks so very much for all of your support. Happy Holidays!!!

Warm Wishes,

Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo

Halloween is in the Air

This was a really busy week as I had the KPO Fall Special, Halloween activites, time doing mom stuff and our last wedding of the year out at Fearrington. Here is a little run down of some of the highlights.

My good friend, Nice Polido just opened a new business in downtown Carrboro called Carrboro Raw. They make healthy drinks, made on demand with high quality ingredients. It is located directly across from Weaver Street Market, just behind Spotted Dog.


Then, I just had to show this, I think, priceless interaction between a couple of two-year-olds. On the left is Hana, who came here for the fall special. On the right is Leo, my youngest. They are beyond cute.



I think for most parents, Halloween is not just one day. It begins well before with discussions of what kind of costume each child wants to wear.

Amira, after several years as a princess, decided to be a witch. So did her cousin, Vivian, with whom she spent Halloween.

Roman, who is forever making complicated plans for pirate ships, trains and treehouses he wants to make, decided that he must construct a robot costume. He had a vision and the whole family worked together to turn a box into his dream.

Finally, Leo, wanted to be a bat. This was his costume last year, when, ironically, he did not want to wear it. So much has changed in a year as now he can explain everything to me.




Finally the kids new school, Grady A. Brown, hosts a Halloween parade every year. The kindergarteners and all the teachers, who were absolutely dressed to the nines, parade around the bus lot to the loud roar of cheers from the rest of the school. The outstretched arms you see on the right belong to Amira as she shouts to her little bro.