Sara and Andy started their journey together while attending law school in Minneapolis. A simple walk between a party turned into a simple discussion of Wisconsin or Minnesota having the better college hockey team. After falling in love and graduating they moved back to Appleton to pursue their careers as lawyers. Sara and Andy planned a very beautiful wedding day. Highlights included some pampering at Michael John’s Salon, a beautiful ceremony at St Joesph’s and a classy dinner at Butte Des Morts Country Club. Enjoy the video, enjoy the photography…congratulations to Sara and Andy!
Yesterday we had our first Kim Thiel Photography Ice Cream Social! Ellen and Cindy from Cold Stone Creamery in Appleton stopped by to serve up some yummy creations. Our photobooth was rocking and making people silly. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to let us show our appreciation for your support. Congrats to Carrie B on winning a free family photo session! Carrie had the closest guess to the number of photo slides in our vase (189 – actual was 162). We hope to make this an annual event so stay tuned about this time next year.
Over the Winter Kim and I (Jason) spent a lot of time thinking about Senior Portraits. We thought about the experiences we both had and what we wished we could be able to look back on. For me my Senior pictures didn’t capture anything about who I was. It was one of those 2 outfits get in and get out deals – the photographer probably didn’t even know my name! Why couldn’t he have been able to capture more of what I was about. I’d LOVE to have a sweet picture or video of me with headphones next to my turntables spinning away with a little dramatic lighting for extra flair! Oh well, unless a time machine is invented I guess that’s not going to happen. But we still do have the opportunity to give today’s high school Seniors what we missed out on! We are all about story telling and taking time to know what our Seniors are into. With our top senior session, THE {FAMOUS}, we will actually make a short film about something our Senior loves doing (and of course capture their Senior pictures too)!
Recently I completed work on one of our Senior’s films. The story is about Jordon and her passion for Kaukauna Softball and what it takes to be a champion. We worked on the story together and then put it into action. And we really did shoot the softball practice session at 5 AM! Take a look and I hope you agree that this Senior has a lifelong keepsake! Welcome to Kim Thiel | Cinema, a perfect accent to the incredible photography Kim captures daily!
When you enter the grounds of Whistling Staits golf course in Kohler, WI you are transported to a different landscape and moment in time. A sense of time is lost to the rolling hills and influence of Irish tradition. I am so excited to be a part of Paul and Erika’s wedding at the Straits Irish Barn this Summer! The backdrop of the lush course and ocean (ok its Lake Michigan but dream a little!) feels like such a fairy tale wedding to me. I met up with this sweet couple for their engagement photography session and to get a sneak peek at where they will say ‘I do’ and begin their new life. Take a breath, smell the ocean, feel the sun and be in love…
Ever wish you could have more vivid memories of your past? Jason and I have talked a lot about what we wish we had for deeper memories. One of the main time periods that we wish we knew more about ourselves is in high school. We graduated with the typical yearbook and awkward senior picture. Neither of which captured much sense of style or who we were. So who were we? Of course just like any high schooler we were just beginning to find out who we were, but to now have a glimpse of ourselves at the beginning of that journey would be priceless. And its why we have refocused on how we want to capture “senior portraits”. Its not always enough to just have portraits. We introduce to you {FUSION}. A mix of audio, video and imagery to our senior packages. Our top package, THE FAMOUS, allows a class of 2011 senior to have us capture a memory of their homecoming or prom or a particular activity they love to do.
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Last weekend we had the privilege of spending an afternoon with Jordon as she prepared for the Kaukauna prom. Is your memory of your prom this vivid?
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We daydreamed, we shopped, and we put our dreams into action. Our newest senior session for Appleton seniors, THE {VINTAGE}, mixes the organics of nature with the beauty of antique chandeliers and chairs. See for yourself in our latest Class of 2011 Senior Model session.
We’ve been thinking about senior pictures all Winter and thought it’s time to add our flair to them in a more focused way. What way is that? Well we want to begin approaching our senior sessions like we shoot weddings. Weddings are all about capturing those special candid moments when real personalities are showing – we want the same for our seniors. No fake smiles, no fake pillars to lean against. We do all of our sessions outside on location which gives us unlimited sets and incredible lighting. Its relaxed, action oriented, and most of all free from the confines of a studio.
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We are looking for 2011 High School Seniors from Appleton East, Appleton West, Appleton North, Appleton Xavier, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Little Chute, Freedom, Hortonville, and Neenah to be models. We create an experience, not just pictures. We truly believe we can make you famous! Our models get the 1st chance to see our new direction and products! Not to mention great prizes and discounts.
Music is something that’s near and dear to my heart as it is with many of you. The sense of sound is so powerful and when paired with imagery. It has the ability to take both to a whole new level of emotion. It can bring us to tears or to our feet. Perhaps for that very reason, no human culture on earth has ever lived without it. Music is an expression of human emotion and interpreted through our own experiences.
For the past few months we have been working with Greg Waters to compose an instrumental piece to use with our wedding day fusion (photography + cinematography) documentaries we produce. Working with local artists, musicians, and vendors to provide you with the best experience is always of high importance. We recently sat down with Greg and asked him to interpret this piece and share with us what inspired him.
…people say that often so it must be true… especially if you put on a white collar and head off to work every day. Well, my husband, Jason, and I have decided that this would be a good time in our personal and professional lives to do the same. We’re changing the way we do things starting today.
Photography has been a great journey in my life. My interest began in my early teens observing my mother take care and pride in creating the photographs she took. I wanted to learn, so she taught me. With a beautiful younger sister, Kari, always willing to model and do (really) whatever I wanted her to, my interest and understanding of photography began to take shape. My family loved to travel, so everywhere we went Kari and I would head out for a photo shoot. Someday I will unveil evidence of this, but which box those memories are buried in is a mystery to me at this time.
I attended photography classes in and out of high school, mentored and assisted other photographers and even won a few awards. I was building confidence, a portfolio, creativity, style and defining who I was as a photo artist. I had found a comfortable position in retail management that allowed me to learn and grow professionally, but knew I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do. About three years ago my husband and I found out that we would be blessed with a beautiful baby in 8 months, and so began the career I’ve always dreamed of. I began photographing more family and friends and learning my craft all over again with a new digital SLR and so was born ‘kimarie artography’.
Thru these past few years I have learned that photography is so much more than taking a photo. It’s capturing emotion and excitement. It’s an experience and it’s an opportunity to be documented and smiled upon forever. For me it’s emotional. It’s artistic. It challenges my creativity. It challenged my husband.
Everyday Jason would put on that white shirt and head to the office. He would do his thing, come home to spend a few hours with our daughter, we would see each other for a few hours (sometimes minutes) and then see the energy and delight I had for the job I had done that day. It pushed him and it challenged him to create our future and so was born our second business, A PHOTO LOUNGE.
Today was Jason’s last day of wearing a white shirt. We are making a change in our life to focus more on documenting your life, spending more time with our family – both ours and yours, and loving what we do and who we do it for every day. There will be some awesome changes happening to ‘kimarie artography’ this coming year – like our formal name change to ‘kim thiel photography’. Changes that will bring your family closer, make getting senior pictures fun again and help you remember your wedding day like it was yesterday.
So this post is for Jason. Thank you for being a wonderful husband, an awesome daddy and for creating our future. I am so excited to see your passion for creativity unfold.
Somtimes when you have an idea or hear of an idea you just can’t let it go. Help-Portrait did that for me. I wanted to give. I wanted to do it for myself. I wanted to listen. I wanted to make new friends. Most importantly I wanted to make someone smile, but I needed help. I recently reached out to all my 2009 families I had photographed and asked them to share a story of a family they knew of who could use a little holiday cheer. A family that needed laughter. A family full of love. A family that just needed a lift.
When I had read the story of Tanya and Ricci’s family and what they had gone thru this past season I knew I wanted to help. Although nothing could bring back the loss of their 14 year-old son this past October, I knew I could at least bring smiles to their faces. I wanted to share with all of you the smiles that were captured and the memories made that day.
