Welcome to my third small business spotlight of the season! If you missed the first two, you can find Life Force Creatives here, and Obsidian Reflections here. My hope is to show you a few amazing small businesses you can support during the holiday season and beyond. Each time you purchase something from a small business, you are supporting an individual, a family. You are helping to pay their bills so that they can continue bringing you beautiful products and amazing services. We appreciate your business more than any big box store, or big business where it just goes to someone with plenty of money already. So please consider supporting the businesses I plan on sharing here over the next couple of weeks, as well as others in your community!

Let's meet my next spotlight! Wait...it's me! I figured since I am running these spotlights I should share my business as well as let you get to know me a bit.  

For those of you who don't know, my name is Shauna Kruse, and I am the owner and photographer for Kruse Images & Photography. My main focus is drool worthy book cover photography, but I also love doing family photos, senior portraits and more.  Read below to see how I got started, some of my favorite photos, and a couple of deals I am offering to readers of this blog.

What services do you offer?

As I mentioned above, my main focus is providing exclusive book cover photography. I work with some amazing models, and have galleries full of gorgeous photos that would be perfect for book covers. I have a little bit of everything, from cowboys to sexy santa, hockey and football, sweet couples, and steamy shots that would make any reader want to pick up your book and check it out! I am beyond proud and honored to have my photos on over 400 book covers, and it still blows my mind when I get to hold one in my hand. I work hard for my authors and offer payment plans on my images.  Below are just a small sample of some of my favorite photos that are available.  If you are an author and would like to see more please contact me.

In addition to book cover photography, I also offer family photography, newborn/maternity, senior portraits and more. I typically do outdoor shoots since it is so much easier to capture a family's personality when they are outside enjoying themselves. There's something pretty amazing about the fact that so many of my images are on walls and in albums all over the world.

Why did you start your business?

I was raised in a small business household, always helping my parents with our business, whether it was rolling beeswax candles while we watched TV at night, helping to bottle the honey with my dad, or going to shows with them to help sell our product. I was always a little entrepreneur, making beaded earrings, wreaths, or dream catchers to sell at the craft shows. So it only makes sense that I ended up starting my own business. Why photography? It's something I've been passionate about my entire life, since my mom gave me her old camera when I was 8 years old. I was always the one carrying my camera around and get togethers, and parties, and after getting my degree in Environmental Policy & Planning, ( no, not photography...) I somehow ended up in Lake Tahoe, taking family photos at Heavenly Ski Resort. After moving back to Seattle with the same company, a weird turn of events left me unemployed, I decided to go all in on my business, and here I am. 

Then in 2014 I discovered that I could combine two of my passions, reading and photography, and now have all of these beautiful books on my shelves with my photo on them. You can check out my authors and covers here.

This year I am also offering a nature calendar that highlights the beauty of the Pacific NW. There are 12 of my favorite nature photos taken around the area by me! It is perfect for you or for gifts! Click the photo to order. 

Holiday special:

Mention this blog, and receive $50 off any photo session, or $50 off any exclusive book cover. Contact me to book, or to see the galleries if you are an author.

What is the best way to contact you?

Through the this website, or on my facebook page.

Also make sure you are following me on twitter and instagram

Thank you for joining us! I hope you will check out my site and book a shoot or consider using me for your book cover. You can also do some Christmas shopping for yourself and your loved ones in my store, or with my new calendar.  If you have any questions, please see the contact information above.

And keep an eye out for our next spotlight: In My Spare Time. Brenda has some amazing, creative items and will also be offering some specials through this blog!

Thank you for supporting the individuals and families who own small businesses!