cindy cieluch photography . blog

Shout out to Ali for her mad posing skills.  She thinks it’s so I can test my lighting or practice poses.  Honestly, it’s simply for a good hearty belly laugh.  XOXOXO Ali!  The reason why you’re so *fantastic* is because you’re usually laughing harder than me!

“OK, act like you’re embracing the groom.”

“Show me gansta.”

“You’re a smokin’ hot bride glowing in the doorway.”

“Hello, Vanna White!”

“Work it, girlfriend.”

“Give me the Titanic pose.”

Have a mustache?  Don’t have a mustache?  Doesn’t matter!  Hairy and non-hairy peeps alike can take advantage of the Mustache March Sale + Contest!

As many of you know, my husband is in the Montana Air National Guard.  Every year during this dreaded month, pilots and aircrew try their darndest to grow out a mustache.  Most are funny, some are scary and a few actually look good.  Read about this hairy tradition by clicking here.

Well, Matt’s mustache growth period didn’t last long.  He shaved his off today!  He claimed it was bothering his skin - haha!  At first I was going to post photos of him, but trust me - you do not want to see him with a mustache.  It is NOT a sexy sight.

So instead…I took pics of some of our favorite little munchkins - the Kisers! We ate breakfast at Perkins this morning and made them sport these very sophisticated mustaches!  Grayson looks like a Super Mario Brother and Pennington looks straight up adorable!

CONTEST: Now I’m wondering how YOU would look with a mustache!  Email me a picture of yourself workin’ the ’stache and the funniest/most creative person will win an 11×14 ($80 value).  The deadline is Wednesday, so hurry up and send in your photo to cindy@cindycieluch.com

SALE: 15% off in all active online galleries until THIS FRIDAY ONLY.  That includes prints, standouts and canvas wraps!  When checking out, you must plug in the promo code: MUSTACHE

7 days in Las Vegas + the world’s largest wedding n’ portrait convention = sensory overload!!!

This was my second time to WPPI and I loved my approach this time.  My first go around, I was a bit psycho…going to every class, trying to meet everyone and passing out my business cards like it was my job.  This time, I slowly and quietly soaked it all in.  I went to a few presentations that completely inspired me, like Jasmine Star and Elizabeth Messina.  I also checked out a handful of booths at the trade show to see the latest and greatest in albums and products for the studio.  Then after all of that, I still had time to catch up with my friends!  Thank you to Trish + Jared for letting me crash at your pad and thank you to Leisa for driving nearly 2 hours to have a quick lunch with me!!!

A huge highlight during this trip was to hang out with my new friend, the fabulous Melanie Nashan of Livingston.  Melanie was one of the WPPI platform speakers and she asked me if I could help her out and, more importantly, get to know each other better.  Uh, yeah!!!!  I’ll help a Montana sistah out!!!  Melanie talked about marketing, getting your images published and a bunch of other super helpful photography things.  My words are not doing her presentation the justice it deserves.  Guess you just had to be there!!!   :-)   Melanie - THANK YOU so much for asking me to help you out during WPPI.  FUN FUN TIMES!!!

Melanie uses a lot of hand gestures when she’s talking - I LOVE THAT!

She talked about how her family and life led her to photography.

Raffle winners had to work the hula hoop to earn their prize.

This beautiful photog won a photography workshop in Livingston this summer!!!!  You go girl!

Jennings is one dedicated mama.  She brought her brand new baby boy!  SOOOO cute.

Melanie asked us where we wanted to eat.  She said we could pick anything….and we chose In-N-Out Burger!!!  I’ll take a $2 burger any day.

Melanie + Priscilla, owner of Ro Sham Bo in Bozeman and the heart + soul behind Priscilla Foster Handmade Books

Me + Margaret, who works at Ro Sham Bo

I could give Ali several titles: “assistant,” “second shooter,” “album designer extraordinaire.”  But my favorite is: friend.

Last year was a crazy year to say the least….and she joined our team in the nick of time!  Ali starting working with us in the midst of 14 weddings (with 4 out of town and 2 out of state), my husband Matt leaving for 5 months, album orders up the ying yang, a huge commercial project and making final plans for our downtown studio space.  For the first time since I launched this business nearly 3 years ago, I am caught up!!!!!!!  And that’s due to Ali and her excellent work ethic.  She is prompt…so prompt that sometimes she needs to wake me up!  Ha!  She is fast…so fast that she finishes album designs, orders and special projects before I even ask about them.  She is friendly…so friendly that she dropped off all of our last-minute Christmas orders at clients’ homes!  She is thoughtful…so thoughtful that she knows my latte drink by heart and randomly brings me homemade scones (I DO NOT ASK HER TO DO THIS!).  And last but not least, Ali is a talented photographer.  She shoots all weddings with me and her style complements mine perfectly and naturally.  Ali studied commercial and food photography, so her candid and detail shots are stunning.

SOMEONE PINCH ME!!!!!  Honestly Ali - you’re a dream come true.  Matt and I are blessed to have you on our team.

The next set was taken with my brand new tilt-shift lens.

This may be my fave!  Ali was workin’ it!!!

There was still a bed frame in this incredible old, abandoned home.

There’s the bed frame…see it???

You’re beautiful, Ali!  Thank you for asking me to take new portraits of you and for EVERYTHING else!

Calling all fellow photogs!

If you need help, inspiration, tips, information and basically anything related to album design…you NEED to check out Studio ATG’s album templates and brand new album design blog!

I just got my hands on the templates and they are THE BOMB…especially for wedding albums and engagement guest books.  But you can use the templates for any type of album!  The layouts are clean, modern and SUPER easy to use.  That means less time in front of your computer…and more time behind your camera.  Yeah yeah!

And the BLOG.  I’ve never seen/read a blog that’s solely dedicated to album design until this one.  It’s got all sorts of design solutions and examples.  Check out the links!

I also promise I’ll be posting more sessions soon.  It’s just been a bit crazy lately with tons of shoots back-to-back: 3 newborns, 3 families and 1 senior.  OH, and somehow Matt and I managed to sneak off to Big Sky to go skiing with his family.

Here’s a few photos from one of my recent family sessions.  I LOVE the Huffman family…more on the way soon!

That was the headline in the Great Falls Tribune today.  Yep yep.  It’s true!  We’re opening up a studio!  The old Montana Bar sign is down…and we’re moving in.

After months of meetings, talks, prayers, plans and designs, we’re ready to move forward.  I’ve struggled with the whole idea of having a “studio” because my approach to photography is to get people outside and away from the traditional studio setting.  I love bringing my camera out and about, meeting with people at their homes, discovering new places, and capturing personalities and stories in natural settings.  That’s why I will continue to do that.

The studio will mostly serve as a gallery, office, viewing area for photo ordering sessions, a cozy place to hang out…and yes, every once in a while…I will use the studio for certain types of sessions.

Remodeling is underway on the old Montana Bar, which is on the 6th block of Central Avenue next door to The Living Room salon.  There’s still a lot of cleanup and remodeling to be done, but I’ve already fallen in love with the space.  The location felt right as soon as Matt and I walked through the door.

We’re still not quite sure exactly when we’ll be opening our doors.  This has been a longtime secret dream of mine, so we want to make sure everything is *just* right.     I’ll be sharing photos of the progress with you…and will let you know when the grand opening party is.  Thank you a million times for all of your support!

What a weekend.

6 extraordinary women shared more than photography tips with me.  They shared their passion, love, fears, hopes and dreams.

We talked about how we got into photography, why we’re still doing it and what we hope to accomplish.  Our journeys are all very different, yet most of our goals are the same…..

Capturing memories for families.  Making people feel special.  Helping clients let go of their insecurities.  Letting go of our insecurities.  Seeing the beauty in everyone.  Remembering that photography is not about proving, it’s about preserving.  Not waiting until the perfect time to let someone take your picture.  The best time is now.  The person you are today is always beautiful.

That realization led to this photo shoot exercise.  We had hoped to hit the beach to take pictures of each other, but the weather was less than ideal.  Rain was pouring and the wind was howling, so we decided to stay on the balcony.  And when you think about it, who cares about the location when you have 7 passionate photographers squished together?

We forced ourselves to think out of the box.  We experimented with settings, ideas and compositions.  We let the raindrops drench our hair and our lenses.  It can be intimidating taking portraits of a bunch of amazing photographers at the same time, but I wasn’t nervous. I felt an amazing sense of calmness and happiness around these inspiring women.  Plus, I wasn’t going for technical perfection.  I just wanted to remember all of the emotions I felt at that moment.

I will never, ever forget this weekend with the Lincoln City Posse.  Want to see more?  Click here to see what Mel + Sara of Whitebox Weddings captured.

Thank you Kathy…

Thank you Darcie.

Thank you Heather.

Thank you Kelly.

Thank you Sara.

Thank you Mel.

The Whitebox Weddings workshop is not a workshop at all.  And I couldn’t be more happy about it.

Mel + Sara of Whitebox are some of the most down to earth chicas I’ve ever met.  Click on their website link above to see for yourself.  All of their images are fresh, vibrant, fun, colorful and real…..a true reflection of their personalities.  It’s also the way they approached this workshop.  They wanted to make it more than surface photography talk and lessons.  Yeah, we’re doing some photography…but it’s as Kathy would say, “beneath the surface.”

The 7 of us women have spent all weekend doing this:  Talking until the wee hours of the morning.  Shooting each other in the rain.  Crying a little bit.  Sharing little photography “secrets” here and there.  Laughing until we just about peed our pants.

All the photographers I’ve met here in Oregon are inspiring, encouraging and…..well, I’m still searching for the words to describe what this weekend means to me.

In short, I’ve got a new view on photography.  I’ll tell you what I mean soon….but I’ve got to get back to the girl talk.  We’ve got one more night of nonsense!  Until then, here’s the view from our cozy beach house on Glenenden Beach.