Kimberly Ann Photography

by Vanessa Lenz            Kim Billings of East Troy is quickly making a name for herself locally by capturing moments with her camera. With a recent decision to work as photographer fulltime, her name is likely to spread even faster.  Her business, Kimberly Ann Photography, evolved after the birth of her daughter Caitlynn in 1998. Billings said she wanted to catch every moment on film and even took up scrapbooking to better document life with her new baby. Soon after, Billings started to get her scrapbook pages published in publications for Creating Keepsakes Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens.  Her interest in photography intensified when her husband John bought her first digital single-lens-reflex camera. “I started taking pictures and it was incredible. It was like magic,” she said of its ability to fire off multiple frames at a time.  Billing’s photography business started as a part-time venture while she continued to work in the engineering department at Wisconsin Electrical Manufacturing. After each job, Billing’s clientele grew as more people asked if she could take photographs of them too.  “I realized this is my passion. This is what I loved to do,” she said.  Over the past two years Billings has grown even more serious about her work. As a self-taught photographer, she worked to learn as much as she could about her camera and honed her ability to use technology and respond to light. Billings said she is continuously trying to educate herself on new technology.  Today, Billings provides on-location, custom photography. She specializes in infants, children and family portraits and senior photos.  “I travel to their home or their choice of another location whether it be a park or an urban type of session,” she said. “New moms are extremely excited to find out that yes, I will travel to them with my traveling studio and they do not need to leave the comfort of their own home with their newborn baby.” Billings said she tries to shoot in natural light as often as she can. “I love the look of natural light and natural locations as well,” she said. “Interacting with the child and getting the natural expressions and smiles not the cheese grin in and out sessions that you get from chain studios.”  Billings said she also likes that every client has a story to tell and likes to capture them through different phases of their life. It’s not surprising that Billings tends to build longstanding relationships with the people she photographs. With the use of her blog, Web site and Facebook account, Billings has made discussing and sharing her photographs a natural extension of her photo shoots.  She offers sneak peeks from her latest sessions, a client proofing option as well as descriptions of her most recent shoots online. Billings also encourages visitors to post comments and share their thoughts on her photos.  In her most recent blog entry, Billings described a day she spent photographing “miracle twins.” The twins were conjoined at birth and given a small chance for survival, but remained happy and healthy at 2-years-old.  “I was so honored that they let me into their home and into their lives to take these photos,” she said. “…[I] was immediately drawn to the candid photos because I could feel the emotions in the photos and it brought me right back to being there with this family.”  She also detailed her experience as volunteer photographer for recent American Cancer Society events, “Strides Against Cancer” and “Shooting for a Cures.” Billings, whose mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, said the organization’s work is “near and dear” to her heart.  Billings said it’s the desire to capture such “lasting memories” that keeps her inspired.      Billings’ Web site can be viewed at www.KimberlyAnnPhotography.com. 

As most of you already know, my Mom was diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer last October. She recently finished her Radiation treatments and is well on her way to receiving a clean bill of health. As you can imagine, this was quite a scare for her and all of our family. But, she is a fighter and is winning her battle against Breast Cancer. This has motivated me to do what I can to help in the fight against Breast Cancer in Honor of my Mom and all the other men and women who have endured the same fight.

I will be volunteering my services at the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk” put on by the American Cancer Society at O’Donnell Park at the Milwaukee Lakefront on Saturday, May 3rd. I am asking all of you to join me in the fight by participating in the walk or by simply making a donation.  

You can get more information about the walk and putting together a team by going to http://www.cancer.org/docroot/par/PAR_2_Making_Strides_Against_Breast_Cancer.asp.  If you would like to walk but don’t have a team, feel free to contact me 262.492.3893.  My sister has a team and as she always says “the more the merry”.  She would love to have you join her team.  And then, you can stop by the booth of Kimberly Ann Photography and have your picture taken. So, let me know if you would like to walk with my sister and her team and I will get you the Registration information ASAP.  If you can’t join us on May 3rd and would like to make a donation, you can donate by clicking the link above to donate or make a check payable to “The American Cancer Society“, send it to me and I will make sure they get it.  It’s for a GREAT cause.

Please feel free to call me if you have any questions. I hope you will join us in making a difference. ~Kimberly

The final product from your photo session with Kimberly Ann is the creation of beautiful portraits to display in your home and to enjoy for years to come.  However, if you are anything like me, you see all these gorgeous photos but say “what the heck am I going to do with them?” “How in the heck am I going to hang and arrange them?”  Yep, that’s me too.  So, I want to help with a wall display inspiration guide.  The best way to display your portraits is to compliment the images and the style of your decor.  Whether that be wall portraits that are to be framed, beautiful gallery wrapped canvases, or standout wall mounts.  With photography from Kimberly Ann, wall groupings make sense.

Here are a few samples of what I have to offer you.  Whether it be before your session, during your session or after your session.  We will talk about your ideas and where you would like to hang your artwork.  From there, I will create a wall gallery (or two) that best meets your needs with photos from your session.

If at anytime you have any questions or ideas, feel free to ask or let me know your ideas.

Click on the images to see a larger view and while you are visiting leave me a comment and let me know what you think.