Vintage Christmas cards

These postcards are both beautiful and very unique!  These would work well with beach themed Christmas sessions. With sand colored beaches, shells and sand between the toes.    

This is the 3rd and last Christmas postcard set I offer to clients.  

Some tutu fun…

This is just the beginning of the tutu fun I plan to do……the question is if my daughter will be a good model, she got out of the skirt faster than I could run with a camera indoors!

 

Tutu is free to be used for client sessions, size is 9mo-24mo. It’s a lovely shade of pink and brown.

 

 

 

Woohhoooo – I got my business license!

I sent the check in about 4 weeks ago, and they withdrew it about one week ago so I knew it was on it’s way. It’s in my hand now!! 

So I am now a proud sole proprietor and tax paying photographer of North Carolina!

In Choosing Your Photographer…

A child’s childhood and other special moments in life, are short.  This seemingly underscores the value in selecting a photographer who is a right fit with your needs.  Below are some tips you can use to help you in this important process:

 

Personality:

 

It is so important to spend time with your potential photographer,  interview them, ask them questions, hire them for an engagement shoot, etc.  This allows you to get an understanding of their personality and whether or not they seem easy to work with.   Any good photographer will expect questions and expect you to want to review their work.  If a photographer is hesitant to meet or show his or her work, run away as fast as you can!

 

Are they a professional?

 

A hired photographer should be a true professional.  With the advent of inexpensive digital cameras, many people think that a camera and some business cards is all that is required to effectively run a photography business.  It couldn’t be further from the truth and that mentality typically results in problems down the road.  A professional will have a website, an e-mail address, a portfolio (online or hard copy), a business license, and will be happy to furnish these items upon request.  It is not necessary that photography is their only source of income, but it certainly helps if they take it seriously enough to do it legally and properly. Doing so implies a vested interest in your satisfaction and quality of images. 

 

Budget

 

When creating your budget, it is more important to spend money on a photographer for whom you love their style and work, versus spending less money on a mediocre  photographer who gives more “items” in the package.  

 

Photographer’s Style

 

Do you like candid moments in a grassy field and at the beach, playful magazine style images, artistic effects, or do you find that you gravitate towards traditional posed images?  Each of these styles (photojournalistic or traditional respectively) have their place in modern portrait photography and some photographers cater to both.  Regardless it is important to look through examples and decide what you like, then find a photographer who specializes in that style. 

 

What are you getting?

 

Digital Media:

 

It is very standard these days to have the option of purchasing the digital negatives.  Many photographers offer this at a premium (since it reduces their print sales and also does not allow them to control the print quality and subsequently their reputation)    While the per image cost is not cheap, these are archival, color managed, quality prints and the last thing you will want to do is hire an excellent photographer and then print their work at a discount store to save money.   (That’s why I don’t offer high-res files to my clients, only low-res for web usage)

 

Albums:

 

Albums are also changing for the better.  No longer are you required to have prints placed in a page with a pre-cut mat.  While this classy, formal album has its place, many modern couples are going the route of digitally designed and printed coffee table books or hard cover albums.  These elegant offerings have the advantage of running full page (even double page) images with smaller images on top of them, creatively laid out, resulting in a modern published book feel.  These are excellent quality and do not require you to obtain actual prints first.  

New blog face

What do you think?  I wanted something less busy and more simple than my former blog template.  Now my colors also match. 

What’s going on otherwise?  I’m working hard on getting attractive products for my clients, and revisiting some older work with some new edits.   

My kids both have a cold, and I have gotten into some poison ivy and that’s no fun!  So right now I don’t want to leave my house.

A super duper cute princess

What a fun little sweetheart!  Thanks for the session!

The little girl had so many beautiful dresses, we were at a nice location and the sun was setting over the trees. There’s so many keepers and so many photos I want to show you, but I can’t show you all 25 that the mom ordered, so I’m trying to compress some of the favorites into storyboards.

 

 

Session Album with about 20 of your favorite images

For many moms it’s hard to choose and pick out pictures from a great session.  So I am going to offer a session album for my clients, with about 20 favorite images from the session.  That way you will be able to keep all the favorite photos from your session without having to get them printed on several, small, separate prints!  Not only that, but they will be printed in a modern, hard press printed book with stylish templates. 

I will get a sample book printed soon and will take photos of it when it’s done. Also, feel free to ask me to bring samples of products that you are interested in, such as gallery wrapped canvases and the book too.

Back from the North Carolina Zoo

Well, that sure was fun. It was one of the  best Zoo’s I’ve ever seen.  Very child friendly too.  Well….minus some of the tortoise-in-action…which I of course had to take a picture of.

Here’s some highlights:

 

 

My special birthday offer!

On my birthday, October 10th,  I will offer a super special deal for anyone that books and pay their session with me that very day.  

$50 session fee, 25% off prints AND a complimentary 8×10 print!   Just in time for Halloween!  An extra fee may apply to location outside Carteret county.

Some Halloween cards

 

More awesome custom postcard designs – Halloween with some spice!    The background papers can be exchange with these cards.

These cards can be customized further by using these little extra clip arts!