My hosting company is having server issues, and my entire site, email & most images on this blog have vanished... There are hundreds of people trying to get a hold of them so I suspect that I'll be down for the good portion of today. If you need to reach me, please call me at 540.336.5651.
...going to go try and calm myself with some triple chocolate fudge ice cream...
As some of you know from an earlier post, my Uncle Ronnie lost his very short & harsh battle with cancer late last year. The Warren County Relay for Life is coming up in June, so I wanted to do something in his memory. He loved all three of his children so very much, and I thought that it would be nice to make a donation from child portrait proceeds coming up. So, if you have been wanting to have your child's portrait done, but have been procrastinating for whatever reason, DON'T wait any longer! I will be donating 50% of all child portrait proceeds from now until June 6 to Relay For Life. This can include newborn sessions, babies, toddlers, small children & teenagers (don't forget senior portraits for the Class of 2009!). I have LOTS of ideas, and I'm always open to yours. I will spend 1-2 hours with your child in the location of your choice. No cheesy backdrops, no scary old men or mall rats trying to make your child "pretend" to be happy. Just natural, genuine emotions that you have grown to love and cherish :)
I don't have a goal, but I will keep everyone updated on the size of the donation as it grows!
It's official! 2008 is completely booked!!! I have no more dates available for weddings, unless there is a cancellation. Also, I already have several 2009 weddings booked, so if you're planning a 2009 wedding make sure to talk to me soon!
We've just been running in circles since we returned from WPPI, that I haven't had a chance to even think about Vegas. This first post is just some shots around the strip, since this was the first time for both of us. Tomorrow I'll post some images that we took of each other, mostly so Jon could practice directing his subjects more easily. I have something way cool to post after that (for me anyway). And the next day, I have something even cooler to post for Jon & me. But we're not there yet...
Tonight, I'll show you some shots we got while being tourists :)
We stayed at Excalibur. I love this place!
Yeah, I know I'm a dork! I don't care though, we had fun!!!
Definitely "Sin City"...
I'm anxious to see what kind of awesome hotel this becomes next year!
We went to lots of parties & met so many great photographers, but we were having so much fun that we forgot to bring our cameras most of the time! Here's a shot of us after coming back from a super-fantabulous party with all my favorite photographers at 2AM... (and we still made it to the first class at 8:30 the next morning!)
We are both so looking forward to next year's event! We learned so much, and we are so hyped up for all of this year's weddings coming up! This is definitely going to be a great year for us & all our brides! Remember to check back over the next 3 days as I post more from Vegas!!!
Later!
We're heading out the door to start our adventures in Las Vegas for WPPI!!! Be patient, because as soon as we return there will be new sessions to post as well as some shots from our trip! We will return all emails and phone calls when we return on March 24. See you soon!
Jon & I just came in from freezing our toes off watching the Moon slip into the shadow of the Earth. As many times as I've seen this, it's always amazing to see it again. And to see it with him just makes the whole experience pure magic!!!
Speaking of the magic in the sky, we have officially set our wedding date for August 16th, 2008... yes, that's THIS summer!!!! It will be a late evening ceremony on an organic farm in Luray, VA, and we will be celebrating with our family & friends under a 12-hour full moon with the mountains of Skyline Drive as the backdrop! More details to come!
As we warm up on the couch together, I am booking all the final details of our Vegas trip next month. For those of you who don't know already, we are making the trek out west March 14-21 for WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International), which is the best photographers' convention/tradeshow/workshop line-up ever, as some of my mentor's would put it! I am SOOOO insanely excited, and I can't wait to meet some of the photographers that I have drooled over the past few years! Not only that, but I'll be coming back with so many new ideas to try out on my 2008 couples, and new products that will ROCK this area!!! Can you tell I'm cheezing bigtime?!? Jon is sitting here giggling at my excitement, but he's really excited too. He's been wanting to become a bigger part of this business for so long now, and this is really going to boost his confidence. We will be attending lots of classes/seminars taught by some of the top photographers in the world...
...okay enough of my chatter... we're going back out to admire the fiery glow of the Moon, and the great view of Mars (directly overhead)! GOOD NIGHT!!!!
Okay, so I'm feeling a little frisky today & I want to share a little love :) I am giving away 3 free couples' sessions! I was going to make them engagement sessions, but I know there are couples out there who aren't engaged yet that definitely deserve a good fun portrait session! Heck, even if you're married already you can take advantage of this also!
Yes, there is a little catch... just a little one. I am only doing these on this Saturday or Sunday in Winchester, VA. So, if you're out of town this weekend, then I apologize but you're out of luck :( All you need to do to take advantage of this crazy promotion is to contact me using the contact form on my website, and let me know who you are & when you can be downtown this weekend. There is absolutely NO obligation to purchase anything from me, I'm just looking to have a little fun this weekend & try out some new ideas. Don't worry if you've already hired another photographer for your wedding, or if you've already had an engagement session done elsewhere... they can't blame you for taking advantage of this offer, can they? I didn't think so ;)
Good luck!
**UPDATE: As of Friday morning, I've only had one response on this offer! I think some of you may be fearing the 40 degree weather. I promise we'll keep you moving & warmed up... and if you're still skeptical just send me an email & I'll send you some links to some of the ideas I've had with winter wear that looks AMAZING!!! You really don't want to pass this up! **
Since this is the first post of 2008, let me say "Happy New Year" to everyone who may be tuning in! I hope everyone had a safe & memorable New Year's Eve!
As for me, I am finally all moved in to my new home, and I'm loving it! I never thought I could miss having a kitchen all to myself so much! I also want to thank everyone who has emailed me or left comments here congratulating me on my engagement. I appreciate all your kind words & thoughts :)
The next several weeks will be very busy setting up appointments with brides of 2008/2009. I will still be posting however, so don't forget to check in every now & then. As a matter of fact, hopefullly by the end of this week I will be posting a really unique group senior portrait session that I think you'll really enjoy... That's all I'll say, so you'll have to come back to check it out!
Since 2007 has been such an awesome year for me in some respects, I wanted to do something cool to end the year out on my blog. I came up with a slideshow dedicated to all my super-fantabulous couples of 2007. Originally, it ran over an hour, so I had to cut out a TON of pictures! Actually, I am showing the entire slideshow at the Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase tomorrow with all the fancy transition & motion effects included... oh, and better music too! For the purpose of the blog, however, I've shortened it just a bit :)
I am FINALLY launching my new website tonight (getting rid of that ancient site of mine!) & marking my official step into the modern world! I'm so excited, and hopefully everyone will love it! I wanted to let you know that while everything is being finalized, the website may be down for up to 48 hours. Images on this blog will also be affected for a short time. Also, any emails that you send may possibly not reach me properly, so if you need to contact me, please give me a call! 540.336.5651
See ya on the other side :)
I wanted to show you samples of the Save the Date cards that I am now offering. These cards can be mailed just like any postcard to your wedding guests to let them know that you will soon be getting married. This is very helpful to those guests that need to arrange travel, or for weddings that will be taking place in peak family vacation times. I don't know how many weddings of friends/family I've missed because the formal invitation was not sent until after I had already made my vacation plans for the year! These can be as simple or as intricate as you desire. You choose which images you want on the card, and I design them to your liking. Right now, I charge $85 for each set of 50 that you purchase.
Here is the front, which is printed on glossy cardstock that really stands out:
And the back is black & white:
Just thought I'd pass along some exciting info! Remember a couple posts back I introduced "Funky Formals"? Well, I decided to submit some of my first Funky Formals session to the national website that shows off some of the best images from around the country, and guess what?!? They picked some to put up on the site! These were of Catie, who is a natural in front of the camera. Actually, you'll be seeing more of her in about a week or so, because we just went out yesterday and did a group Funky Formals session with her & two of her friends! We all had such an awesome time, and these images definitely show it... I can't wait to post them! I really love my job :)
For now, make sure to check out the website showcasing the nation's revolutionary seniors here: www.letsgettrashed.com
Here's one of the shots they chose:
I've been so super-busy lately with editing, so I have a few posts to catch up on in the next few days. Also, we're preparing for Sunday's excitement at the Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase! We have an entire room in the beautiful White Hall Manor to ourselves for this show, and we've got lots of planning to do to keep our guests occupied! Hopefully, we can have everything done in just a few short days.... everyone should come out and see how we do!
Being busy with editing has also prohibited me from telling everyone about the art show at the Shenandoah Arts Council in Winchester this month. I have 4 pieces being displayed, and I'm starting to do something a little different with my framing. Actually, I only had time to work on one of the four pieces being displayed, but next time around I will apply it to everything I show. You'll have to be kept in suspense until you go to the gallery and check it out, but I'll at least show you the image that I had to work with. The finished piece is called "Frozen in Twine", and if you happen to visit the gallery, you'll see that the name is definitely fitting for this one :)
Don't forget to come see us this Sunday at White Hall Manor in the Foyer!
Thank you to everyone who came out to the Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase to visit us on the 21st! The snow definitely put a big damper on the turn-out, but we still met lots of great couples! Jon & I had fun showing everyone the new Deluxe Coffee Table Album that I just started creating. The Slim Line version that I have been using for a few years have sold very well, so I really think that these new Deluxe Lines are going to be a huge hit! We received so many compliments about the layout of the album, and of course the great couple that was featured inside: Omar & Jennifer Kaskas. To answer a few questions I've been getting recently about the album, the layout took me about 14 hours to complete (a few hours here and there over about a 10 day period). I was rushed for time, as usual, so there were lots of images that did not make it into the album. You can view the proofs from Omar & Jen's wedding here. Within the next month or so, depending on my schedule, I will post the complete album layout for you to view on my website. The cost of the album featured starts at $470 & there are many add-ons that you can take advantage of that will tell your story even better. These prices are extremely competitive, and I am actually thinking of evaluating my pricing structure over the next few months, considering the "other guy" in Winchester is charging anywhere from $1000-$2500 for the same book, and also charges for any changes you make to his initial layout of the book. FYI, I think that since you are paying so much for a wedding book, you should be completely happy with the layout before the book is printed... but hey, that's just me... I'm sure the other guy has his reasons, as he seems like a very nice man ;-)
Of course at the show we had to have the area's very first accumulation of snow on the one day of the whole season that I was praying for it NOT to snow (can you sense a slight hint of cynicism?!?)... So, I have decided to participate in the "Official I Do Bridal Showcase" at Bowling Green this Saturday, February 3rd from 10am-4pm. This show is free to the public, and is always a very delightful event to attend for a bride. The show is smaller than the Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase, but it makes up for it's size in it's elegance. If you decide on stopping by to take a peek, please make sure you visit Jon & I in the sunroom at some point during your visit.
Since I have promised myself that I will post an image on each blog entry, here is a snapshot of Jon & I after the show...very cold & tired! Let's hope for better weather this Saturday...
I hope everyone's Christmas was as fulfilling as mine! Here's a shot of my baby, Dikata, saying "Happy HOWLidays!!!" He's such a sweetheart :-) If you look at the image closely, you can tell I did some quick Photoshop work... Dikata does not like to wear clothing of any kind, he's a true naturist at heart ;-) So, I had Jon hold the hat on him while he ever-so-loudly protested. I know, I'm so cruel. But, it's okay: I gave him a big Greenie afterwards for a peace offering, and he graciously accepted. The Photoshop work was done in a hurry, since I had only 10 minutes to upload the photo, do some magic & finally burn the cd before we had to leave for the printer to create the Christmas cards.
I'm still deciding what to do for New Year's Eve... which is somewhat odd, considering I usually have hotel reservations, concert tickets & any other travel arrangements set in stone by Halloween. I'm anxious to see how this one turns out since I'm not quite the partier I once was :) Somehow, I feel it will be just as fun... although not many can top the excitement of last year's celebration, when I had the most fulfilling elevator ride of my life... ;)
