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Sunday, April 29, 2007

JCPenney Sale

I'm not a huge JCPenney shopper, but I took Jean there today to get a new purse. They have this HUGE sale going on in every department and it's "Buy One, Get One for 88 cents!" She bought a new purse and I was able to pick out a $45 purse and get it for 88 cents! That's crazy! I wanted to look in other departments for deals but we didn't have much time. Just thought I'd let you all know so that you could check it out. I love a good sale!

Tonight we went over to our friends Randy and Kim's house. Kim showed me some pictures she just got done of her baby at Target's photo studio. She was not at all pleased with them and she spent $113 on them! It was great to hear her experience and how they do things. They apparently had printed out a bunch of 8x10's and tried to sell them to her for $16 each. She didn't want them but they were already printed out. She asked what they were going to do with them since she didn't buy them and they told her that they would just shred them. What a waste! She said at least the "photographer" took a bunch of pictures and she showed me the proof sheet. There was only about 30 pictures or so, so I wasn't impressed, but she said she has gone other places and they would only take 3 or 4 poses. I just cannot believe that portrait studio world. I promise you I will not be like that!

btw- I got word yesterday that sometime on Monday my site will be live!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Spring Photo Shoot Event

I am pretty confident that we won't be facing any more 30 degree days so I'd like to announce the new Spring Photo Shoot Event! The event will take place on Saturday, May 19th all day. The location of the event will take place at Lake Harriet near the Bandshell. Cost of the session is $100 which includes a 1/2 hour time slot and a disc of images.

Time slots available are:

9:30 am- booked
10:15 am- booked
11:00 am- booked
11:45 am- booked
12:30 pm- booked
1:15 pm- booked
2:00 pm- booked
2:45 pm- booked
3:30 pm- booked
4:15 pm- booked
5:00 pm- booked

and if needed 5:45 pm-

Slots have been known to fill up quickly so I'd suggest booking early to reserve the most convenient time. Also, please forward this on to anyone who might be interested!

Stay tuned for the launch of my new website! I'm just about finished and was told that it should take 1-2 days to go live. However, I'm not sure if the weekend will count. :(

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Exciting Stuff!

So, I took the rest of the week off from work in the hopes that I could get some work done with my business. I worked for hours on my new website today and I CANNOT wait for it to launch! I'm driving myself crazy because I'm such a perfectionist, but I know it will be well worth it when it's done.

My husband got home from work early and we went down to the studio and he got some work done. Everything is off the walls (except for ugly border) and the baseboard and cabinets are removed! I spoke with my landlord today and he said the former tenant will come and pick up the cabinets tomorrow so I'll soon have a clean slate to work with!

It's all so exciting and very mentally exhausting. I can't shake the feeling that I've got a ZILLION things to do. But for now, I must go to bed.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The Robbins Family

Jeremy, Grace, and Graham, almost 1. I had the priveledge of shooting the Robbins family in beautiful downtown Stillwater. Stillwater is one of my favorite cities in MN so this was almost like a mini-vacation for me! It was a beautiful warm day out and we had some fabulous late afternoon light. When Grace contacted me, she said she loved close-ups, candid moments, and black and white. I think I did a pretty good job of delivering today- I loved how their photos turned out!

Have I ever told you how much I love my job?! The fact that I get to hang out with awesome people, photographing the cutest kids, and knowing that I am capturing moments that parents will treasure forever is so fulfilling.



















Now that is just plain adorable:


















I love how this photo has an "old" feel to it:



















You can't really tell in this photo, but Graham was dancing:







































































































What Grace had to say:
Olivia-

WOW! They look soooooooo fantastic! I love so many of them! I can't wait to see the whole shoot. Thank you so much for your patience and talents, we are totally impressed and can't wait to make regular sessions with you to watch our babies grow together. I will totally show my friends too and I am sure they will be in touch with you as well!

Grace

Friday, April 20, 2007

New plates...

I got the boys new plates... heehee

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Things I want to do this summer...

-Camping
-Horseback Riding
-Ballroom dance lessons
-Learn to golf
-Take the boys to Duluth

There will be more things on the list, but these are the ones that I thought of today...

A visit with Sophia

Me and the boys had a lunch date with my sister and Sophia at Jean's house (my husband's grandmother). Owen had school today so his visit was shortened. It was Jean's first time meeting Sophia but she was very honored to be in her presence.
























Jean made me my favorite Coconut Peach Ice Cream Pie. It is to die for. It is her own creation and it won an award in the Chicago paper years back.

















Aidan was told he needed to drink his juice box in the kitchen so he found sat right at the border of the kitchen and living room... that kid... always challenging the rules!






























This was the funniest thing! Aidan had his arm around Sophia while we were doing a series of pictures. Just then, Sophia passed a WHOLE LOTTA gas- VERY LOUDLY! The look on Aidan face was priceless... then he slowly removed his arm from around her... we laughed so hard!




















All the cousins:

Sunday, April 15, 2007

The Meiller Family

Terry, Kari, and Myles, 2. I shot the Meiller Family at their home in Carver today. We ended up going to a couple of different places trying to find shade and ended up in downtown Chaska. Myles did great and is probably sleeping like a log tonight. He had a ton of energy and I don't blame him, it was so gorgeous out today... finally!


















































































































My little model...

I got the boys some new clothes today and made them model them for me right at sunset (the most gorgeous light). The big surprise is- Aidan actually let me put a hat on him! This was a once in a lifetime thing so I had to take advantage of it... that's why there's so many more pics posted of Aidan. Click on his collage to see him in all of his cuteness. ;)






































































Wednesday, April 11, 2007

My BluCake!

I entered a contest with BluDomain (my new website design company) to try to win a free website. I didn't win, but they posted a picture of my cake on their blog!

The contest was: Bake a cake and in "Blu" frosting, write your birthdate in numeral form. Mine is 8-5-77. I didn't put a whole lot of planning into it, but I thought I'd at least give it a shot. They claimed they had literally thousands of entries so I'm excited that my picture made their blog! Check it out!

------------------
Okay... did anyone else cry when they watched Charlotte's Web?! I always remember the book being sad, but Andy rented the movie for me and the boys last night and I was sobbing! Owen kept asking me all kinds of questions and I could hardly answer him because I was fighting back tears. ;)

Wii Tennis 1st Runner-up!

The Bellagala social was fun! They had a Nintendo Wii hooked up to a giant screen and we had a Wii Tennis Tournament! It was my first time playing and Andy and I were a team. We made it all the way to the championship round and lost in the 5th match. It was so close!

Oh, Andy and I also got to box each other in Boxing and I was quickly KO'ed. ;)

More Screenshots...

I am SO getting a Wii someday!


Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Kat and Milton

I was booked for a very brief wedding portrait ceremony. My cousin referred me to her very good friends, Milton and Kat who got married Easter Sunday in a traditional Buddhist ceremony at Kat's sister's house in Victoria, MN. I only shot the formals so it was a bit of a change of pace for me. Kat had 4 different wedding gowns (3 pictured here), all absolutely stunning. I would have liked to have caught the ceremony but I was busy with Easter Sunday morning and my kids. Everybody was so nice and I even got to try some Laotian cuisine.


























I loved her American-style wedding dress, I've never seen anything like it:























A stunning bride:


































Look at all of the gorgeous fabrics:

Monday, April 09, 2007

I'm beat.

If you notice the time on this post, it's 12:42 am. I have to work tomorrow, my alarm will be going off in 5 short hours, what am I doing still up? We've had two late nights of running around. Easter Sunday, we stayed over at my in-laws until 10:30 pm (on a work night). Tonight we went and picked up some laminate flooring for the studio and ran some errands. We didn't get back until 9:30. Well, after uploading pictures and returning emails, it is now 12:42! Yikes, I better get to bed. I'm just so dedicated to my clients. ;)

I've got a Bellagala social on Wednesday night so maybe I'll bring my camera and take some pics! Should be fun... an adult night out with me and my hubby? What a concept!

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Saturday, April 07, 2007

No More Bunnies.

I'm officially done with bunnies for the year. Unfortunately, the shoot never happened today. I had more people drop out due to sick kids and with the weather being as cold as it was, I made the decision to call it. I'm pretty bummed, but I know it was for the best. I will be planning a Spring shoot and a location to be announced shortly. Hopefully, the temperature will go up by 30 degrees by then, wouldn't that be nice?

I updated my recipe blog today after doing some Easter cooking. I haven't posted any pics here recently, but I have a small wedding tomorrow so look for those pics soon.

I made a few more little studio purchases (no renovations yet). I ordered some folios for senior pictures. I'm not going to be advertising senior photos on my new website, but I figure if someone local wants them done I wouldn't mind. They're not my absolute favorite thing to do. Maybe it's because I haven't mastered them yet. I have yet to see a senior photo that isn't cheesy, unless it's done fashion/magazine style.

We're having a little Easter egg hunt tomorrow morning and my boys are psyched! They've been practicing with a plastic egg all week around the house.

I hope everyone has a great Easter- and take lots of pictures!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Blogs, blogs, blogs

Blogs seem to be the topic of conversation lately. They've become an epidemic among professional photographers. Blogging has become such a part of my life that I can't imagine not doing it! It's become so natural to me, almost like checking my email...

Speaking of blogs, I get email notifications for Jenna Fischer's myspace blog. It's so cool reading her blog because she's an actual TV/movie star! She seems so down to earth and she even loves Target... we have something in common! It's also cool because she writes about what it's like to be famous and what it's like going on talk shows, etc.

Here's an excerpt from today's post:

"And, I'll be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow night (Friday). I have no idea what I'm going to say! But, I love Jay. He puts his guests at ease. He's a very warm guy. I have to say, it is crazy to me that I just referred to Jay Leno as "Jay"…and that I know he is a warm guy. Angela and I talk about that all the time. She'll say, "What are you doing today?" And I'll say, "Well, I'm working in the morning and then I have a fitting with my stylist. What about you?" And she'll say, "I'm doing a photo shoot but I can run to Target around 5pm." And then we'll stop and say… "Stylist!? Photo Shoot!? Who are we!? The only part of that conversation that made sense was Target at 5pm!" It is funny how all of the Hollywood stuff starts to feel normal."

If you're interesting in following her blog as well, go to myspace and search for "Pam Beesley." She actually updates her blog on the set as they're filming The Office. When you see them on their computers "working" they're actually on real computers checking email and whatnot.

Thanks for taking the time to read about my life! Please feel free to send me your favorite blogs as well. I always have room on my daily list! ;)

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Wow... I am cheap!

I came across a Chicago-land children's photographer basically doing the same type of work that I do. Granted, it's Chicago, so I know it's going to be a bit more expensive, but I could not believe my eyes. Her session runs $330, which isn't what surprised me, but if you want the disc of images from your session... you'll have to fork up $1,000! Oh, and if you just want one high resolution file, it's a bargain at $115.

Just remember, I give it all to you for $150! ;)

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Who are you?

My blogger visitor stats are at an all time high which got me thinking... who reads this thing? Just for the fun of it, complete the poll below and I'll be able to see who all my readers are:





Stay tuned for more fun polls... if I ever think of any. ;)

Monday, April 02, 2007

First Studio Purchase

I bought my first studio item today! Nothing major, but I thought it was cute. It's actually a pet bed but I thought it was a great looking pillow to pose newborns on. I'm so in love with damask!

Some paint and wallpaper samples:





Sunday, April 01, 2007

New Website!

Exciting news... I am getting a new website! Although, I love the look of my old one, I have come to outgrow it. It will be a flash site and it will have some amazing new features! My favorite one is a client proofing section. After I shoot a session or wedding with you, I can upload your photos into your own personal password protected slideshow and even set it to music if I want. You'll be able to view your photos right on my website as well as pass them along to friends and family. It will also have a calendaring option. You'll be able to look right on my calendar and see what dates I have available.

I'm hoping to launch the new site at the same time as my studio... hopefully by May.

FYI- check out the updated Bunny Sessions schedule. There are still open spots. Also, check out my two troopers who braved the wet weather and went through with their photos.

Joey Roberts

Let me just say, it was SO hard to pick out pics to post on the blog as there were SO many cute ones! I finally had to just go through and pick the ones that caught my eye.

Miraculously, the rain let up for Joey's session. He was very quiet during the rabbit handling part of the session, but as you can see, he warmed right up! That last photo of him has to be one of my favorite of the day.



















































Hoppin' like an Easter bunny!