adourn: candid joy photography

as most of you know...lanae mcbroom of candid joy photography is sharing space with me in my bldg...i am SO lucky to have her here and her talent is so fresh and individual! she was featured in the chatfield newspaper, and i wanted to share it with all of you! the partnership has been so wonderful with her and the studio turned out amazing!! and a special thank you, as well, to jim siebenaler, of siebenaler construction for doing such a great job on the renovation....one talented man!

http://www.hometown-pages.com/main.asp?SectionID=44&SubSectionID=182&ArticleID=47499&TM=50061.29

Chatfield photographer's joy blossoms in new studio

Chatfield photographer's

joy blossoms in new studio

PHOTOS BY GRETCHEN MENSINK LOVEJOY/BLUFF COUNTRY NEWSPAPER GROUP

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

Lanae McBroom's shutter interest has blossomed into downtown candid joy.

That's something to hang on the wall.

"I've always had an interest in photography, but it wasn't until my daughter was born in 2007 that it really blossomed into a passion," said McBroom, proprietor of Candid Joy Photography, now located in downtown Chatfield in Melissa Wood's furniture rehab store, Adourn.

"I didn't want to miss out on anything and felt the best way to capture those special everyday moments in life was through photography," she added. "After a while, I started taking some of my friends' kids' and family pictures, and from there it's all history."

Her very first camera was a "simple point-and-shoot," but she bought her first digital, single-lens, reflex camera in 2007 and has since upgraded three times to her "baby," a Nikon D800, in order to stay in focus while on the run after little ones.

"I feel like I'm always adding new photography gear to my collection. There's always something new to try out," McBroom added.

Since that means she's always the photographer and rarely the subject, she's pleased to be capturing portraits of her children and other people's families.

"The majority of my personal pictures are of my kids and husband. However, I have a little photographer-in-training sidekick, Olivia, my five-year-old daughter, who has her own camera to take pictures with. I very cautiously allow her to shoot with mommy's 'big' camera when I want to be in the picture," McBroom shared. "She comes with me on a lot of sessions and has her own cameras to use. It's a lot of fun to see her point of view and for her to enjoy taking pictures alongside of me. I look at it as a little mommy-daughter bonding time."

Portraiture has been McBroom's passion, photographs that are "bright and fun with a vintage flair."

"From the beginning, I've personally been drawn to portrait photography the most," she continued. "Don't get me wrong, I could and do spend hours gawking at any and all types of photography, but there's something about the connection with the subjects in portrait photography that has always drawn me in."

She said she is primarily a newborn, infant, children's, senior and family photographer.

"I love to do themed, stylized sessions, making sure that each session is unique and personal to each of my clients," McBroom explained. "I usually run a couple mini session specials throughout the year for Valentine's, Easter, holiday and friends sessions that are stylized to fit the theme at hand, as well as special promotions which are usually announced via my Facebook page and/or my website. But weddings...absolutely no weddings are in my future."

She especially enjoys meeting her clients and creating for them the photographs that show who they are.

"The best part for me is interacting with all of my clients, building relationships with them, capturing their life as it is now, and getting to act like a kid again with all of the little ones that come to visit me," McBroom stated. "I truly enjoy the entire process of planning, shooting and creating the final product. After all of the prep work, session time, and editing is finished, the biggest reward for me is seeing the final product and knowing that I am going to be delivering a cherished piece of art to each of my clients."

She added, "I love getting to know them and their children. And what is even more fun is when they return for their next session and the kids are running to me with excitement because we get to see each other again. I'd say that right there is a huge check mark on the success side of things for me."

McBroom is very excited to have her first official studio space. Prior to Jan. 1, she was running the business out of her home.

"Up until the past six months, the space I was using was working for me. But over the past year, my business has grown immensely and has led me to my studio space here with Melissa at Adourn," she said. "I love props, anything and everything vintage, and that has been a true connection between Melissa and I....me joining with Melissa at Adourn sort of just fell into place."

She elaborated, "We had talked about networking together, prior to knowing I was going to be joining her in the building. After a couple of failed potential business locations, the pieces of the puzzle just started to fall into place. We knew we were going to be working together anyway, so we decided we might as well pair up and share the same space."

McBroom said Wood was gracious enough to hand over complete design and renovation control to her in the back of the building. "She and Tony had already restored the original gorgeous wood flooring. We exposed the original brick wall on one side of the building, and my contractor, Jim Siebenaler of Jim Siebenaler Construction, did an amazing job creating a one of kind pallet wall, complete with barn beam finishing and an original barn door."

Now that she's relocated from her home to her new Main Street studio, McBroom is still thankful for the people whose accolades have gotten her there.

"Being a small business owner, I rely heavily on word of mouth advertisement," she said. "I would never be where I am today without the kind words my clients have passed along to others about me. And in reality, a referral is the biggest compliment I could ever receive from my clients. My business is more than just the pictures that are taken. It's about providing an experience for my clients that they will be able to cherish forever."

McBroom keeps busy even when she's not behind the camera. "For those that know me well, the question may need to be reworded into 'What don't I do?' In addition to Candid Joy Photography, I also work part-time at Mayo and teach piano lessons. When it comes to leisurely time, you'll most likely find me spending time with my daughter, son Kash, and husband Jeremy - who coaches high school basketball here in Chatfield - and running the streets of Chatfield early in the morning. What can I say? I like to stay busy," she concluded.

Candid Joy Photography is located in the rear of the Adourn shop in downtown Chatfield, at 218 S. Main St. For more information, log onto McBroom's website at www.candidjoyphotography.com, e-mail her at candidjoyphotos@hotmail.com, or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/candidjoyphotography.

She is in the studio by appointment only.

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and here are a few photos of the LOVED pallet wall and barn door....!