Wow, you guys are awesome…way to swoop in and give your opinions and votes in 24 hours!!! We even consulted one of our fellow photographers who is from Lynchburg, but now lives in a much bigger, open-minded city. She understands the “conservative vibe” of this area but also our photography style. Thanks Amy!!!
After much debating and even prayer….YES…God DOES care….we have decided to go with:
DRUM ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Now you may look back at the voting and comments and think….UMMMM…didn’t the majority vote for E? Yup, you are right about that. The majority of you did. It does have the most “mass” appeal. I mean we LOVE this photo, it is the shot we have on our postcard business cards…so we hand it out all the time…BUT…BUT. There are a few schools of thought we needed to be true to.
1.- We want to make a presence in this magazine. We want you to stop when you see the ad and go “whoa!” We also want to rule out anyone who would look at that photo and say…”I wouldn’t want a shot of me and my husband like that.” Great, there are tons of photographers that will give you a much more conservative and posed documentation of your day. That is the beauty of photography..everyone has their own style. We love to capture the RAW, unposed moments. We asked Sarah and Jeff to kiss…this was the moment we captured…and it is AWESOME. It is the passion that every couple should have on their wedding day.
2.- We will have one major spread of photos displaying our favorite “golf couple” showing the fun, classy, beautiful wedding that Kaely and Doug’s wedding was. We also have another article written about us with more of our photos and the publishers have a disk of images to use as stock images throughout the mag they will give us credit for….so we have tons of press in this magazine showing our scope and range. The ad needed to be a show stopper. You know when you flip through a magazine you rarely look at the ads, well I would say ours would catch your eye. Memorable.
3. We are about to make a MASSIVE price hike in two months when this magazine drops….so not only will we be separating the curds from the whey on our conservative style brides…we will also be gleaning a higher end clientèle. This is extremely necessary. God is growing Kellan Studios by leaps and bounds and we have been blown away by his provisions for us financially. I could never stay home with Chloe and Bennett and we certainly could have never afforded to move without God blowing our socks off with all the bookings this year. However, I also need my husband to be around more. So less weddings for more money is GOOD BUSINESS!!!! We are swimming with the big dogs now and we need our prices to reflect that and we need to be able to upgrade our equipment…..that ain’t cheap my friends seeing as we have to buy in duplicate…..Have you priced TWO Canon 5D’s……plus lenses and lighting? Keep it on the back burner…we will be selling one of our 20D’s later this year and holding on to one as a back up…anyone, anyone, anyone in the market????
So tonight I shall romance my husband with the sweet sweet cheesy goodness of homemade mac and cheese…thank you Donna at Spuddy Buddy…..I can’t wait to try your recipe!!! I am a painting fool right now getting the kitchen painted and parts of the bathroom. Don’t get me started…we still have no freaking bathroom. We do have a 95% tiled floor, a 20% tiled bathtub….progress right? So we still have to take baths….slow goings on baths! I mean tonight is Valentines Day…that means you do the “good shave”. I have a humongous belly and a little bathtub. The gymnastics are simply stunning if not incredibly comical! Wish me luck.
Ryan’s gift was a slam dunk for V-Day. I love remembering something he mentions and actually recalling it on the day I need to. I am horrible at being thoughtful..HORRIBLE!!! Can we say gift card queen!!!!
Anyway, what do you give any graphic designer nerd????? (If this is your husband…then go get these for him…he will love you!)

The study of the typeface Helvetica. Yes, I have had my hand slapped plenty for using the word “font” and not typeface which he has explained to me eleventy billion times the difference, but my eyes glaze over and my brain starts smoking. Me no compute!
The runner up was non other than a Helvetica mug…oh yes…there is such a thing:

But they have been sold out for months…..sadness.
My last runner up was this bit of nerdery office decor. This would have been great in Ryan’s office, but it is WAYYYY over priced.

How funny are those?
Thank you again everyone who voted and commented, we really did evaluate each and every word you said and appreciate your input and enthusiasm. I will leave you with a quote from Ryan this week.
He walked into the living room and randomly said,
“If Bennett turns out as good as Chloe did, I am going to start studding myself out because I make cute kids.”
Oh Ryan! You wish.







i love this whole post. i agree on the picture after you explained it. i am all for it and think that’s AMAZING. you’re right. go with yer gut.
secondly, i am the WORST at thoughtful gifts. i am just bad. i try. i think i buy good things. that’s not my point. but nice gifts are not necessarily thoughtful. ugh. i just lack the gene or something. sniff. way to go, kel.
and lastly, i will now take that comment ryan made and throw it away. ew.
i’ll give it to you that your ad is a showstopper.
good choice for business, congrats guys–i’m looking forward to seeing what you do in the future!
Chrissy-
In the immortal words of Chazz Michael Michaels, “Drink it in!”
Mmm I love how it turned out with all the words… it looks awesome.
Love it! You are going to do so well. I am so thrilled for you both. You have such an awesome talent. Words cannot express how happy I am for you all.
I do know of someone in the market for a camera like the one you’re thinking of selling. She just emailed me yesterday mentioning she has been looking for one. So, when you are wanting to sell yours she would probably be interested!
great choice. of course i was drawn to that picture the most. No one is going to flip past that one for sure with out a little heat. great job guys. The other thing is - it’s totally you guys you know? passion that’s what i think of when i think Ryan and Kelly. happy Valentines Day!
Well I need not say anything here. I am in full support of this decision.
(p.s. I WIN I AM THE BEST MARKETING GENIUS ON THE PLANET)
Ahem.
Also I want that Helvetica book too, I know it’s incredibly geeky but the designer in me wants it. needs it. fascinating.
also I have visited that ecards site about 600 times in the last hour and it WILL NOT let me send David a naughty card!!!! BOOOOO.
It keeps saying: “Too many connections”. I’ll give you a connection!
anyway happy valentine’s!
I LOVE both gift ideas. Too cute. And I doubt i’ll be in the market for the 20d, since i just purchased the Canon XTi, but if you ever have any lenses at a price that I could maybe afford - please let me know. I have a few that I’m saving up for, so it might work out.
Happy V-day!
I think that photo will drum up some sweet business for you guys.
Congrats again!!
That picture is definitely a showstopper. I feel silly because you wanted to rule me out
My hubby would never allow me to show anyone a picture of us like that…
I love the picture, I think it captures you guys and your awesome whimsical style just perfectly.
My husband tried to make me watch the font movie and I flatly refused. Luckily he was able to round up one of his typeface buddies and our 18 month old son to watch it with him. He is so geekily into typeface that two of the speeches at our wedding included jokes about it. I guess we are all allowed to geek out about something.
How did I miss these posts? Did I really not check your blog for a few days….what is happening to me? Sorry, I didn’t get to vote. I love the one you picked. Good risky choice!
We actually may be interested in your 20D. We have the 30D, but we need a back up since we are doing so much photography jobs lately.
And Seth already has that movie or else I would have bought it for him.
He loves it and always asks me if I want to watch it.
I agree with what you said about the ad stopping you in your tracks. Way to go! It looks awesome, can’t wait to see the finished product in the mag.
You guys DO make cute kids and GOOD luck in the tub, shaving, with a belly! Haha!
The Ad will be fantastic!!! I really do love that shot!
Oddly enough I made Hoomemade Mac and Cheese last night too. It was the hubby’s requested meal!
that ad will definitely be a show-stopper! makes sense what you said about your clientele, too - i’m so proud of you guys!! i think you made a good choice with the photo - and it looks great with the caption…
love you! i need to call you soon…
-HH
PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT! It is the right one and I knew it the second that I looked at it. Going with your gut it the only sure way to live your life your way…The ad is going to be great! Make sure to post where its at and when it comes out in what magazine. I know you may have said where, but for the love of god you know I can’t remember! LMAO
I hate to say it, but you know Ryan could probably make good money…Chloe is some horrible kind of cute as hell..
I want the 20D. I am so looking for one already!!!! Keep me in mind please. I have been doing small jobs for all the babies in my moms group so I need to upgrade my equipment fast! They are paying and I am getting so many more requests all the time.
I can only wish that one day I have even a smidge of the talent you possess. Love that pic its the only one I voted for.
Right on. Wise reasoning! I absolutely agree!
I kind of want to do a little jig and say I win, I win! But ya know, that’s just me! I love the way the ad turned out.
Can you tell us the name of the mag so we can pick up a copy or will it be a local thing?