Facebook Networking

I did a couple of sessions over the past week. My niece came into town and I did a session for her and the girls. I also did a shoot of my daughter Ava in a new knot dress I bought for photo sessions and an adorable vintage hair piece. I absolutely love it and will be purchasing more kinda like it. Maybe a fascinator next! I also purchased some cute newborn hats for my friend's upcoming session. She's expecting her little one any day! I got an elf hat and a monkey hat and I knitted a baby pod and blanket to use for the session as well. I'm hoping to visit IKEA this weekend to pick up one of their Ophelia throws as well. I joined 2 sites on facebook that are very helpful, I think, for small businesses. One is "Promote Your Page Here" and the other is "Fan Page Promote". Businesses can network with other businesses and show support and it also provides potential vendors that you may need to purchase from later. I networked with a lot of fellow photographers and people who knit and make things that could be photography props. It benefits everyone involved and I highly recommend it!

What to Wear

To the left is this month's what to wear ensemble to give you some ideas how to tie together a look for your family portraits. Each outfit can be find at Gap, Old navy, or Piperlime. It's very important to tie a look together especially when you're spending money on getting portraits done, haircuts for the kids, new outfits for everyone. The yellow brings out just a "pop" of color to the theme. Hope you enjoy!

Maternity Session-SpokesMama

My good friend Tammie lives down the road from me in Fayetteville, NC. When I found out she was pregnant I knew I wanted to photograph her. Pregnant women are so beautiful and they just glow. Tammie is already a sweet girl with a bubbly personality. I took some quick shots of her at Rim Lake just down the road from her house. Here are a couple of the shots I took. I purchased some parasols online just for this session and I'm so glad I did because they just added a nice touch. I also asked her to be my first SpokesMama. For her participation she gets 15 referral cards with her favorite pose from the session with my logo and information to pass along to friends. She also gets a mini accordian which is perfect for displaying in the home as a conversation piece. And she gets an 8x10 as a gift. She was my first maternity session so I was so happy it was her. I can't wait to photograph her little one when he's born!

Never have Children, only Grandchildren by Ava, Bryson, Hunter, Rob, and Kim | Make Your Own Book

Detroit Fan!

Today I took out my daughter Ava to test out a couple of things. For my birthday my husband bought me a 50mm 1.8 lens. For the price of this lens, it's soooo worth it! All of the photos pictured were shot with it. I also bought some parasols online that were super affordable and I love them! I bought a white one and blue one because I'm doing a maternity shoot for my friend Tammie next weekend. I'm very happy with how the shoot turned out and how the lens performed.

On a personal note, I'm starting Full Sail University on the 27th for digital cinematography. I'm so stoked about learning this. I got my new MacBook Pro in the mail with Final Cut Studio, Adobe photoshop CS5 extended, Fireworks, After Effects and so much more. I can't wait to utilize this new software and make some awesome video. I plan on trying out some fusion photography when I get my T2i. I plan on downloading the magic lantern for it and a glidetrack and a stabalizer. Can't wait!

SpokesMAMA program

I need to broaden my client list so I decided to do a new program. It's a referral program for a selected individual that represents my target market very well. It's called SpokesMAMA and it's a free session, accordian mini for display in the home, and 25 referral cards to send to friends and family to help promote the business. I also provide free images for facebook and blogging. It's to help get the name out there as well as provide an incentive at the same time.

Lifetouch Senior Training

This week was a lot of fun at the studio. We were training for the upcoming senior season so we practiced on each other with different backgrounds and lighting techniques. It also gave me the opportunity to get some business portraits that I've really needed. The thing about photographing everyone else is that you rarely get portraits done of yourself. I added some actions to these portraits to give them a pop. I've mentioned how much I LOVE mcpactions.com and I use their actions in every photograph I edit. For example, all three of these images have the "eye doctor" and "the dentist" actions applied to them to really make the eyes stand out and whiten the teeth. I also used their magic skin action to soften the skin. That's all I really have to do to an image that is good on exposure and lighting. But that's where professional photographer's images have to have that "extra" something to give someone a reason to use their services rather than pick up an awesome point and shoot. Anyway, I'm very happy with the training I got and hope to take some awesome images worthy of winning competitions.