22 days old for his photo debut and quite the charmer! Lucky for us he had smiled for the first time that morning prior to our session so I was able to get some very sweet little smilies between him and his mama. He has 2 big sisters that weren’t able to join in the fun, hope to include them later this summer so stay tuned 
Charming Baby Charlie
April 5th, 2012Mahtomedi Family Fun Night ~
April 2nd, 2012
I was absolutely thrilled last week to get a call from an old friend that his amazing wife would be running for the Minnesota House of Representatives and was I available to update their family photos! What an exciting reason to get together and capture this wonderfully busy time in their life with their two adorable, young boys.
Since spring came early this year we were able to go to their favorite neighborhood park and run around on the playground equipment, throw sticks in the pond, and head over to their local coffee and ice cream shop, Coffee Cottage in downtown Mahtomedi to end the evening. Stacey is busy working fulltime as well as raising her two boys but she is very excited to to hit the campaign trail. For anyone in the area she is in House District 43A (Mahtomedi, White Bear Lake, Birchwood, Maplewood, Willernie) and you can learn more about my friend Stacey at her website www.staceystout4house.com
New {Modern Headshots} for savvy business professionals!
March 31st, 2012With having a small business myself I find so much enjoyment in meeting and connecting with other women doing the same thing. Being a mom and running a small business, no matter how big or small is a ton of work! But a ton of rewarding work at that I find often times women refer to their businesses as ‘the first baby’ or ‘third baby’ or whatever number it may be because it truly is like having a child in the fact you are most likely thinking about that business ALL. THE. TIME. Well maybe not allll the time but it’s somewhere in the back of your head most of the time. It seems that while note working you are inspired about something you want to do for your business or you think about something you are working on or needs to be done for your business, or maybe that is just me and quite possibly, because I love what I do However it shakes out, I am always drawn to and love talking to other women who light up when speaking of their passion, their small business, their ‘other child’ so to speak.
Here are a few fabulous women I’ve had the chance to meet over the course of the past few weeks – talented, compassionate, savvy, and seeking the balance we allstrive to meet with our families.
Mish Mash Studio www.mishmashstudio.com
Attune Acupuncture: http://www.attuneacu.com/
A girl named Michael: http://www.girlnamedmichael.com/
Domata Gluten Free: http://www.domataflour.com/
Now Booking SPRING!!
March 22nd, 2012I love the smell of the air in the spring! Last week we stepped outside and my son said ’hmmm, it smells familiar’ !! I love how smells do that, bring you right back to a familiar place and that is what it has felt like since we got home from spring break. Like a promise of new beginnings. How amazing and refreshing.
What else it means it we can start outside sessions sooner than usual and I’m excited about that! If you want to get on the calendar while the flowers are blooming and it’s not 105 degrees in the shade (like was the case many times last summer!), April – June is a great time to do that! Let me know!
Rocky Mountain High
March 21st, 2012
Sunrise each morning from our deck – was really hard to leave this! Horses at the ranch below.
One of my favorite family traditions of all time!
For the 15th straight spring break in a row we headed to Winter Park, Colorado for some spring skiing with my family and it was amazing as always. My sister moved out west 16 years ago and after a fabulous ski trip her first winter out there we’ve been going ever since. We continue to go to Winter Park because my parents can take the Amtrak train right into downtown Fraser so it works out so slick and has become something we look forward to all year long.
Over the years we have watched Winter Park go from a fairly small family/local Denver ski area to a bustling, international Ski village that has hit the map as a popular ski desination. To accomodate our growing family we have been staying at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch for the past 10 years and it’s SO AWESOME for anyone who heads to this area with their kids and want recomendations on lodging. You are just 10 minutes from the mountain and the cabins/ranch can comfortably fit your whole family with tons of great family-oriented activites. My kids have as much if not more fun at the cabin and ranch with all the offer – swimming, roller skating, sledding and skating and one of their very favorites, the arts and crafts center. We spend hours there each visit and it’s a highlight because you can choose anything your heart desires, huge creations that would involve a lot of time and $ at Michael’s arts and crafts to orchestrate not to mention a huge mess at home so this is a win/win for us all
Here are just a few highlights from our trip this year. I had promised my family I’d only bring a small, old camera so that I’d not be preoccupied with taking photos so it was tough for me at times – being surrounded by such beauty and not having my usual equipment but I was better able to focus on the quality time together which we had tons of and it was so wonderful and nothing can compare to that
our cabin nestled in the hill. the grounds used to be buried in tall pines but a beetle came in over the past 5-8 years and destroyed many of them 
tiny town of empire on the way up the pass.
we all painted something to be fired in the kiln – not an arts n crafts project we take on after school at our house and every nite is game nite or cards. 
Modern Headshots for Modern Professionals
March 21st, 2012I have been loving all the headshots I’ve been able to do over the past year – it’s such a great compliment to the children and families I spend most of my time on capturing. I find it incredibly rewarding, all the wonderful new friendships I’ve made in doing these because it’s only natural – someone has their camera in your face for an hour you naturally get to know each other fairly well I know people can feel a little vulnerable, even awkward at first and I love when we are finished that they say it was actually comfortable and FUN! That is the highest compliment in the dance that we do together – to bring out and showcase the best of one’s self Here are just a few examples of the amazing people I’ve photographed over the past year for business and personal. 
Fun frames to display your photos!
March 7th, 2012I have been getting more inquiries and orders for the colorful, whimsical frames I am offering!! These frames are handmade with such fine craftsmanship for a modern and vintage look all wrapped up in one. I will have more sample displays to illustrate the difference between a standard frame and one of these ornamental frames - they definately take your art to the next level! The frames come in a variety of shapes and colors and I can order these for past clients/images too 
Waiting for Baby Girl
March 5th, 2012
I absolutely love this family! I have had the pleasure of photographing them over the past 2 years and was so thrilled when I learned they were expecting again! I was let in on the little secret in the fall prior to them announcing it as it was just around the time we did photos that they were aware of this wonderful news I LOVE being the first to know – this is a such a privilege and perk of the job, being privvy to special information like this 
My Photography Display in Maison Galleria ~ Downtown Stillwater
February 16th, 2012Maison Galleria / Live Beautifully ~ Decorate Passionately
One of the very best things about living in Stillwater is downtown Mainstreet. Contrary to what some of my western suburban friends tend to think (you know who you are!), and from what I remember growing up and visiting my grandparents, downtown is not just about antique shopping. I mean YES, they are still there but they are not the majority yet they add so much charm and character to this historic town.
What does in fact, fill the quaint retail landscape is a wide variety of boutique clothing and gift stores, stylish home decorating shops, wine bars, hair salons, photography studios, art galleries, and pretty much anything & everything your palette desires in terms of cuisine. It’s truly a wonderful place to visit during every season because of the walkability along with the variety of shops you can experience in such close proximity. Not to mention, every other week or so there tends to be a festive community/family event, a Ladies Night Out , or an Art Crawl planned – there is always something fun going on!
Since living in Stillwater the past couple of years my family and I have come to love and spend a great deal of time enjoying all downtown has to offer. One of my very favorite stores is Maison Galleria - mainly a home decor store but they also carry jewelry, hats, scarves, baby headbands and hats by Fancy Schmancy Pretties and other gifts as well as an interior decorating service. I love this beautiful store not just for the wide variety of products they have but as much for it’s warm and inviting ambiance and friendly sales staff. When invited to collaborate on a photography display inside the store I was thrilled! What an honor and such a beautiful place for me display a little gallery of my images. The project is nearly complete – we are still searching for the perfect chandelier to illuminate the room as well as some other items to spruce it up. But for the most part, it’s together and I’m excited to share this with you and hope you will go and check it out when you are down along mainstreet! I will be changing up the displays upon the approval of my clients so you just never know who you may recognize on the walls
If you get a chance to get downtown this weekend (actually, beginning today), Maison Galleria along with 15 other stores are having a ‘rummage sale’ or bazaar type sales where they are closing out holiday items and have brought in past merchandise and even personal items to sell so it’s kind of a unique opportunity to hit some big sales. 
2011 Year in Review {Family Sessions}
February 3rd, 2012WOW what a year! I knew I was busy and covered a lot of territory across the metro but I guess I didn’t realize the full scope of that ‘busy-ness’ until I started to pull this highlight segment together. Look at how much fun I had! I am so blessed to have a job that allows me to continually meet and spend time with so many wonderful people and families, many of them year after year.
Over the past 4 years of Teresa Hermes Photography I have come to realize that documenting a family with my camera is by far, my favorite type of session. And by family I mean 2 or more people Of course I love photographing individual babies/children. And yes! I love photographing grownups too as you’ve maybe seen a lot more headshot sessions popping up on my facebook page this past year. I love the variety I am able to achieve in these sessions because an adult is a bit more reliable in following cues and directions than a 2 year old is It’s simply a different kind of energy that goes into these sessions. So I do love it all and how no two sessions are ever the same – I thrive on that! But I find I am most fulfilled and enriched by documenting a family. I think much of this stems from watching my own children grow up much faster than I ever believed they would – and how much I cherish every image I have of our interactions together – playing, hugging, kissing. It takes those special moments and freezes them on paper… forever. I am continually looking at our photos and marveling at how quickly they went from baby to toddler to school aged siblings in no time at all. This is what makes me so passionate about capturing your interactions – the silly smiles and laughs, the tender hugs and kisses, and everything in between.
This post is just a quick snapshot of it all! I wish I could include all my sessions but the post was growing too long as it was. You can view most all of my sessions on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/teresahermesphotography if you wanted to see something that is missing.
Thank you again to all my friends and clients who allow me to do what I love doing! xo
