Good afternoon, everyone! I hope you are all doing well and having a great start to your week!

For this week’s blog – I wanted to catch up, share some upcoming plans, and chat about my upcoming Fall Festives Creative Sessions. This is my first time testing out my new, upgraded way of hosting seasonal “mini” sessions, so I wanted to talk a bit about what you can expect if you happen to book a slot!

As always; grab a comfy seat, your coziest blanket, and your favorite evening beverage – and let’s dive into all of the fun together!

But First, Let’s Catch Up

The last time we spoke, I told you all I had the privilege of shooting at Lizzie’s All-Natural Products’ Grand Re-Opening. Since then, I’ve been deep in my editing cave while preparing for some really exciting upcoming plans! I’m so excited to tell you all about everything!

Updating my Branding Photos

It’s so hard to believe I’m already passing 6 months since my rebrand from K.COLLECTIVE to Ruhe Liebe (with my one year coming up just as quickly)! It truly has been such a challenging yet fulfilling 9 months so far, and I really couldn’t have gotten this far without the support I consistently receive from family, friends, and clients.

While I always want my brand to feel like a warm, familiar place to call home – I also do believe that it’s important to keep your branding images fresh, especially if you’re like me and not so much into long production days with multiple outfit, makeup, &/or hair changes. In a perfect world, I’d like to continue updating my branding every 6-9 months so my headshots, etc. always reflect my personal and professional styles at that time. This time around, I’ll be using these to help me launch and showcase my 2027 season!

As always, I’ll be seeing Emily (can you tell I’m a creature of habit? LOL) – because she truly always helps me perfectly execute all of my ideas. I really cannot wait to see how these come out, and to show all of you!

Visiting my Haven (Coffee)

If you know me – you know I LOVE (need) an iced coffee. Also, as many of you know, I had the pleasure of working with Kash & Zach of Haven Coffee in Raleigh for my very first Styled Shoot that I hosted at The Skyroom back in early Summer. I also was so pleasantly surprised to see them at a Styled Shoot I modeled at for Oath & Ivory in Durham.

Next weekend, I’ll be paying them a visit at an event they’re serving at for some updated brand photos for them (and of course, another cup – or two – of their Salted Maple Iced Coffee). As always, I’m so excited to see and work with them for a third time. They’re truly some of my favorite people I’ve worked with in the event industry, and I cannot recommend them enough if you’re ever considering a Mobile Coffee Bar for any of your upcoming events!

Second-Shooting with Lusuriello Photography

Last on the list for my current plans for September, is Second-Shooting with Lusuriello Photography towards the end of the month. I’m always so nervous and excited when it comes to Second-Shooting (am I weird if I say I almost always feel more nervous Second-Shooting than I do shooting on my own?), but of course am looking forward to this experience on so many levels!

For this event, it’ll be one of my first times feeling confident enough using a 24-70mm lens for an event. I thought it would be much more daunting of a change, but also still wanted to have more practice with the lens at 1:1 shoots before renting one for an actual event. I can’t wait to not feel like I’m running all over the place all throughout the night (LOL)!

I’ll always treasure times like these where I can see the practical differences in the levels of my confidence, experience, or quality of work. I feel like such a giddy little kid every time I learn a new piece of equipment of editing technique.

All About my Creative Sessions

When I did my Rebrand back in January, I really went into a deep-dive on the different aspects of my business – both behind-the-scenes and in regards to my Client Experience. One of the things I “felt called” to look more into were my Mini-Sessions.

Spoiler Alert: I don’t think 30-minute sessions are really my thing.

At any Mini-Session I’ve ever done – I (almost) always feel the same ways:

• Rushed/Cramped for time – especially when children are involved
• Occasionally constricted on creative freedom or ability to truly reflect
• Like I have to choose between a dynamic gallery or “playing it safe“

Because of those feelings/reasons – I decided to completely shift the way I approach my Seasonal Creative Sessions (at least for now). Instead of back-to-back 30-minute sessions, here are the changes I’ll be implementing going forward;

• Seasonal Creative Sessions will be extended to anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour. This will not only obviously allow more time for creative freedom, posing, and working with children – but will also serve as a great barrier in situations like late arrivals, wardrobe malfunctions, etc.
• With that, minimum number of photos guaranteed in each gallery increase to 20. This number was chosen thoughtfully, as because these are Seasonal Creative Sessions – and therefore, usually include props, costumes, etc. (more things to direct/work with/around) – I know that these sessions will not be carried or executed in the same way as a “normal” hourly session.
• With the increase in time per slot and photo count, comes an increase in price to $275. This one, I feel, is pretty self-explanatory.

This Fall’s Creative Sessions are currently live and available to book at the following links;

WINSTON-SALEM: Click Here to Book!

RALEIGH/DURHAM: Click Here to Book!

All pertinent details are listed in the booking descriptions! I cannot wait to see you there!

As always – I love you guys, and I’ll talk to you soon!

Katelynn | Ruhe Liebe