OrangePeel Photography|Olathe KS

What's in a name...


Well. I think it's time. For everyone out there who actually follows this humble little blog, I have news for you (if you don't already know).

A few months back, the Lord began moving on my heart that it was time to take the plunge and do this photography thing...for real. Tyler agreed. Some of you might be thinking..."Well duh. It's about time." Let me make this clear - I never had it in my mind (or heart for that matter) to be a professional anything. I have always known I wanted to be a full-time stay-at-home mommy. Let me give you a recap of how this little dream came about...

Before getting engaged to Tyler, I had barely ever used anything more than a disposable camera. No joke. Even after we got our Canon Powershot the Christmas (2006) before we got married, I had no interest in learning to use that thing. Really. Not an ounce. Then Truett was born. For the first few months I still deferred to Tyler for all our photographic needs. Then I found myself at home with a relatively new baby and a free day. What to do??? I still remember what it was like sitting in front of the computer looking at all the pictures I had taken that day. They were AWESOME. Not really. But I thought so at the time. Well, they were awesome enough to breed a small bit of curiosity inside me.

So I kept at it. I mean, I took several THOUSAND pictures those first 6 months or so after "discovering" our camera. Here's the thing about Tyler. He sees things in me that I could never see in my self. So, the Christmas after Truett was born (2008), he surprised me with a Canon Rebel XT. Oooh yeah. I thought that thing was huge. And amazing. And the best camera on the block. And it changed me in a lot of ways. I really began seeing the world as though I was looking through a viewfinder. Everything was a picture. I couldn't help it. The Lord was beginning to stir something inside of me.

I spent the next 10 months taking pictures of pretty much anything that would sit still long enough. And I would chase around the things that wouldn't. In August 2009 I was encouraged by a friend to start a photo-blog. At first I didn't even know what the heck a photo-blog was. Well, I'm glad I did it anyway.

That gets us all the way up to Halloween 2009. Truett was invited to his very first birthday party! It was a costume party and I had spent several hours crafting him into a bunch of grapes. Way too cute not to bring the camera along. While we were at the party I decided to start snapping pictures of all the other kids as well. When I got home and looked at the photos I knew I had to pass them on to the parents. Well - that resulted in my first "gig". Yep. Not even a year after getting my first DSLR, I was asked to do an honest to goodness photoshoot for some friends of ours. I can't even tell you how nervous I was. It would be an understatement to say I lost sleep over it. I guess I did an okay job because I had several requests after that (despite the fact that I was shooting with a kit lens and had very little knowledge of how to use Photoshop to make up for my total lack of photography training).

I spent the next several months reading, reading, and reading some more on technique. I'm so thankful for all the information on the web. I do have to give credit where it is due - without Tyler there is no way I'd be where I'm at in terms of the "science" behind photography. User manuals were not written for people like me. Thankfully, my dear hubby can chew one of those things up and spit it out in a way that allows me to truly understand it. 

I haven't been able to shake this bug I've caught. So, after much prayer and consideration, Tyler and I decided to do something about it. We stepped out in faith believing God was opening all these doors for His glory - not mine. We're currently in the process of getting set up with the State of Kansas as a tax paying business. We are also deep in the trenches of putting a face on it as well. We've spent the last 2 months or so deciding on a name. Other than setting prices, this has been by far the most difficult part of starting a business.

What's the name you ask? A Mother's Eye Photography? Nope. OrangePeel Photography. Huh? Yep. That's right. OrangePeel Photography. Here's an excerpt from an email I sent to some friends and family regarding our decision...

"...It was actually a joke I threw out there one night while laying in bed brainstorming at about 2am. Much to our surprise it stuck. Now I know not everyone will jive with this name. That's okay. I'll bet you won't forget it though. :)

Like I mentioned before, I've spent a lot of time in prayer asking the Lord to reveal why we keep coming back to it. First off, I love what orange peels do to the senses. They are so stimulating. I bet each of you can almost smell them just thinking about it. They have a very distinct texture and color. While the peel may not taste real great, the actual flesh of the fruit is quite tasty...and memorable. That's what I want to give people. I hope they can look at a photo I've taken 15 years from now and remember not only what their children looked like, but what they felt like, sounded like, and yes...even smelled like. That's one element of the big WHY behind the name.

The second element really comes down to my personality .... Maybe Tyler and I are way off on this, but we think OrangePeel just fits me. It's simple but vibrant. It's refreshing but intense at times. And like me...it doesn't feel so great when it squirts you in the eye. :) "

Well, there you have it. A dream I didn't even know was building in my heart is beginning to really take shape.

So, there will a lot of changes coming down the pipe. New website, new blog, new logo, new business cards, etc. In the mean time, keep checking back to stay up to date on my latest project, and keep pointing people to this site until we have our new one up and running.

We're excited about what God is doing. We're even more excited to bring you along with us. If you've made it to the end of this post - I know you're a hard core follower. :)

-Kami