Toga! Toga! Toga!

hehehe. Okay, enough of that silliness. I'm not here. I'm in Portsmouth, at the Virginia Professional Photographers Association and Toga Party. (Yes, there is a theme party, and being something of a geek in college, nee, all my life, I'm perfectly happy to be a big dork now, too.)

I know several of you have left messages and emails this week and I promise to get back to you as soon as I get back. Have a great week!

-e

So many things going on...

I wish I had time to write about all of them right now! Quick summary - I am booked, completely booked, through the end of April. After that, I'm not taking any appointments until I know what is going to be happening to my house. We're going to be doing an addition on the house, and there will be a giant dumpster parked right in front of the studio door for awhile. Until the timing of that is figured out, I just can't schedule after April yet. I am happy to send out the studio info brochure, and take names to call back when something changes, but for now, I just can't do it.

My big plan, to take fewer clients, isn't going quite as I'd hoped. Apparently, I've become the girl from Oklahoma, the one who caint say no. :) I'm doing better - but I do have a backlog of work and I'm trying to get it finished as quickly as I can before the walls come tumblin' down. If you've called in the last few days and haven't heard back from me, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be a ditz. But I am trying to keep some balance in my life with the kids, and sometimes that means that it might take me a day or two to call you back. I want to get to know you when you call, and that takes time. I have very rarely had someone call that after speaking with them, I wasn't excited to work with them. (Wow, were there enough negatives in that sentence? I practically needed to diagram it to make sure I said what I meant!) Seriously - I don't know if I'm just really lucky, or my clients are self-selecting out for fabulousness, but everyone I've worked with in the last several months has been fantastic.

Here's a sample bit of fabulousness. This wee thing was running around the entire time we were shooting. I am pretty sure this was the only moment she stood in one place for more than 3 seconds. It was wild!

Coming up very soon (next week) is the Virginia Professional Photographers Association annual convention and toga party. (I only wish I were joking about that last part. Thank god we have a king-sized bed. Those twin sheets from college would be pretty skimpy on me now!)

All sorts of greatness happens at the convention. My favorite part? Print Competition. It's the first step in the process of getting merits toward degrees (which I'm working toward) and it's a wonderful way to thicken up a thin skin. These judges can be hard on your ego. They are looking for the best, and if you're not up to par, they let you know. I've got a few ribbons to my name, and have never had a print bomb before, but there's always a first time. Even Babe Ruth didn't hit it out of the park every time. I can enter six prints, and I'm still not sure which six of the several I've printed are going to make it in. I'm thinking of entering the sweetie in this post. I love this picture. I'll let y'all know how it goes. If it goes well, you won't be able to shut me up about it. If it doesn't go so well? Well, then I'm going to pretend this conversation never took place. If the government can do it, so can I! :)

Anyway, I'm off to edit. After all, it's only just after midnight. :)

Later, gators!

Today's session

So the last time I saw this little guy, he was brand new. Not just to me, but to the world. And it was almost exactly a year ago. And now look at him! It was great seeing him and his family again. I love watching my babies grow up (yes, I'm very possessive of my clients!)

Jayanne!

This message is just for Jayanne. I got your message - I know you're reading the blog. But the last email I sent you bounced back to me. Send me an email! I miss you!

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

That sure went by fast

It wasn't that long ago that I was photographing this little guy, when he was REALLY little. And now I'm photographing his baby sister. Seriously, that was REALLY fast!

I love Tampa

Okay, technically, I didn't really get to see much of the city. But I had a great time there, and almost everyone I met was lovely. Including the TSA people at the airport. Actually, especially the TSA people at the airport. Who knew they could have a sense of humor? I guess being in Florida just brings it out in you.

Why was I in Tampa, you may be asking? (Assuming you haven't read my blog before....) Because I went to Imaging USA, the hugely gigantic seminar and tradeshow jamboree put on by PPA, the Professional Photographers of America (of which I am proudly a member, and certified by them to boot!) I saw some great speakers, came home with some new ideas (my new motto: What Would MacGuiver Do?) I don't even want to think about how much money I spent on samples. But y'all are going to loooove what I ordered. Jewelry. Bags. Frames. Oooh la la. Some veddy veddy nice new things. Oh! And I got my floors! My contractor installed them while I was gone. So I left a mess and came home to lovely, lovely floors (with a mess on top).

And also, to sick children. Apparently, there's a GI bug going around. Sick toddler. Sick 6 year old. 4 days I couldn't go into the studio. My policy is that if one of my kids is sick beyond a sniffle, I don't go into the studio for 24 hours after they've recovered. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a bit of a germ phobe, and I cant' stand the the possibility that I might carry something yucky into the studio. I don't want anyone to get sick. I appreciate the understanding of my clients this week when I had to reschedule them not once, but twice (kid 1 was sick on Wednesday, kid 2 was sick on Friday). And now everyone is better. Yay!

Oh! One more thing - the 2008 price list is finally done. Drop me a line and I'm happy to send you one. Cheers!

the best laid plans...

So the plan was to finish editing the first week of December and have a sane holiday with the kids. Hahahahaha.

Yeah. Didn't actually go that way, it turns out. Instead, I was racing to finish editing right up until the day before the lab closed (technically, a day ahead of 2006's schedule!) and delivered the last batch of prints on Christmas eve. And then I had to stop. Just for a few days, but I had to not think about photography, other than taking snapshots of my wee beasties. I spent a few days after the holidays working on the 2008 price list and have got it about halfway finished. The basic prices are there; now I am working on the packages, trying to fit what people seem to want the most with what I want people to have. The basic gist of it is that session fees are going up a bit. I really enjoy spending time with each client, and I want to make this as fulfilling an experience as possible. And that means that I have to take on fewer clients at any given time.

Are you nodding off yet? I know this isn't the most exciting stuff. :) So I'll let you know when it's all done. If you're interested in an updated price list, go ahead and send me an email. I'm happy to send you one.

But speaking of emails, if you send me anything in the next several days, you will only get an automated response. Why? Because at a ridiculously early hour tomorrow, I'm getting on a plane and headin' to Tampa. And it's not for football. Sorry, btw, to all you football fans heading to Tampa and having to stay 20 miles out of town due to the lack of available hotel rooms. But I booked my room in April. I'm going to Imaging USA - the annual convention and tradeshow for the Professional Photographers of America. It's huge. It's amazing. And I always come back excited, inspired, and full of fantastic ideas of what to do for the next year. I'm going to be incommunicado for the next few days, as I'm not bringing my laptop with me. I'll have my phone, but it will be set on stun for most of the time. I will be in sessions all day and don't want to be that annoying person in the back who can't turn their phone off for even a minute, and are chatting away with their best friend, mindless of the rest of us who keep giving them dirty looks. (No, I'm going to be the one texting everyone instead. :) )

I'll be back very late Tuesday night, and will start returing calls mid-day on Wednesday. (Wednesday morning, my wee-est (weeest?) beastie is having her first swimming class, so I'll be otherwise occupied.)

I hope everyone is having a fabulous 2008 so far. I know we're only 4 days in, but so far, I've been pleased.

Oh! I almost forgot!! My printer used my holiday card picture to send to their clients, which just tickled me to death. Here's what it looked like:

Well, I guess I can't put off packing any longer. My flight is in about 10 hours, and at some point, I need to sleep. :) Cheers!

And it was pretty perfect

We had a few technical hitches, but it actually went pretty smoothly! We raised $5200, which just tickles me to death. Lots of people purchased two files, which was great. We're definitely going to try it again next year, although this time, maybe not over Thanksgiving. (The pressure of Christmas deliveries is almost too much for me!) Huge thanks go out to Vickie, Stephanie, Julia, Andrew, and Kris. I couldn't have pulled this off without all of your help. Next time we do this, I promise to bring a wider variety of CDs. I appreciate that nobody complained about having to listen to my 5 CDs over and over (and over). :)

In other news - the studio will be closed for most of December, in order to allow us time to get out everyone's orders and still spend a sane holiday with our own kids. If you haven't placed your order by now, shame on you. You've got three more days. Which is about 2 weeks longer than I had hoped, but it is what it is. :) All slideshows will be coming offline as we redo the website (yes, new pictures! Finally!)

We are currently scheduling sessions in late January and early February. Part of the studio break is to redo the price and product lists. I'm no longer sending out 2007 Price lists, since we're not scheduling anything else in 2007. The new information packages should be out in a couple weeks. (Gotta get these orders in first!)

Speaking of which, I better get back to it. Thanks to all of you who participated in One Perfect Portrait. I... well, I'm still pretty speechless about the whole thing. And for me to be speechless, that takes a lot! :)

Cheers!

One Perfect Portrait and Holiday Schedule

Wow. I posted a few messages about the One Perfect Portrait benefit (www.oneperfectportrait.com), and within 24 hours, all the sessions were booked. Amazing! I'm so excited about doing this. I can't wait to meet everyone who signed up.

So as it is with most people, the end of the year is so busy, and everyone wants to have their pictures for the holidays. I want them to have them for the holidays. And I want to spend the holidays with my children. So - here's the deal. The last studio session is the weekend before Thanksgiving (and yes, we are very happy about being fully booked!) The weekend after Thanksgiving is One Perfect Portrait. Monday, November 26th (midnight that night) is the deadline for ordering anything for this year. Images from OPP will be put online Saturday and Sunday evening, and you will have the opportunity to order other images, but they must be ordered by midnight on the 26th. (Okay, in all reality, I'm not going to be watching the clock. Orders have to be in my mailbox by the time I get home from taking my son to school on Tuesday morning. :) )The week following, I will be spending every waking moment working on everyone's order, and running back and forth to the bathroom because of the copious amounts of coffee I will be drinking. :) They go to the printer. I take a huge breath and hope everything comes back perfect. Things happen, prints get redone. It's all good. They come back, get packaged and invoiced, I call you, and by mid-December, everyone should have their orders in time to mail them off. Anything ordered after November 26th will not be printed until January.

So in December, when we're closed, we're (hopefully) getting new floors in the studio (yay!), new curtains, and I may even finally finish painting the walls, since there will be plenty of time for it to air out. (okay, that's just a dream, really. But the curtains and floors are for real.) And yes, we're redoing the price list. It had to happen sooner or later. :)

In other news - Marirosa Anderson, Julia MacInnis, and I went to a seminar last week at Loudon Hospital for the bereavement training, and gave a presentation on Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. It was very well received, and I was overwhelmed with how encouraging and nice everyone was. This organization is only a few years old, and we're still trying to get the word out, both to the hospitals and to other photographers who may be interested in volunteering. If you're a photographer and you think this might be something you're able to do, please, call me or email me and let's chat a bit about it. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. The more photographers are involved, the better it will be for everyone.

It's up!

I'm very excited to announce that the website for the One Perfect Portrait benefit is up and running! Please go have a look - and check out the other photographers who are participating, too. It's going to be a fantastic weekend.

www.OnePerfectPortrait.com

Thank you!

I'd just like to say thank you to all of you for the interest in my work. The past few days, I suspect someone has been going around saying nice things about me, because I am now officially booked for the rest of the year. I am happy to keep your name and number in case there's a cancellation, and when you're working with children, that's always a possibility. But in the meanwhile, I'm happy to schedule sessions starting again in January. And if you're looking for holiday pictures, there is the special session in November. Thanks again!

Here's one of my favorites from last night's session:

Lost, found, and busy!

Wow - it's going to be a busy fall! I am completely booked for September and most of October and November. If you are interested in scheduling a session, there are a few days left at the end of October and mid-November. The last scheduled session date will be November 18th. The studio will be closed for the month of December, in order for us to complete the orders for Christmas. If you are interested in having pictures done for the holidays and aren't able to schedule a session, remember there will be the charity event on the 24th and 25th of November, with 20 minute mini sessions.

Are you the mother of a baby girl, and have misplaced your diaper bag? Are you missing shirts, bracelets, or onesies? If so, I think I know a good place to start looking: my studio! :) My 'lost & found' bag is starting to overflow, and I don't know who these things belong to. Some have been here for a while, some are fairly new. If you have misplaced something, let me know. I might have it!

School started last week. Josie is feeling it worst of all. She's so used to playing with her big brother all day long, that she just doesn't know what to do with herself. I've already started calling friends asking them for playdates - for me! And the latest with Josie - the happiest baby on the block has turned into a full-fledged drama queen. We've had several instances of her throwing herself on the floor, prostrate with anger, banging her hands and feet, and wailing as if she just found out that all the pacifiers in the world had been recalled. It's really hard not to laugh when it happens, because it's pretty darn cute. :)

babies, babies

This has been a fabulous weekend for babies. 3 month old twin boys (we did a lot of laundry after that shoot!), and a five day old baby girl. I thought she was the youngest to be in the studio, but I was corrected - I photographed her big sister when she was only 4 days old (the 'stacked' family on the website). Any earlier than that, and they've been done on location. :)

This fall is looking to be fairly exciting! I'm going on a photo safari in New Hampshire in October. It was invitation-only, and I was so surprised when I was called. Some of the best portrait photographers in the country have been invited, and I was honored to be included. (New England in the fall - does it get any nicer? Well... maybe October in Virginia... but it's a close call!)

Also in October, the Fall Seminar for the VPPA will be in Fredericksburg. My favorite is the print critique. I've been entering prints into competition for a few years now, and the critiques are one of the best ways to prepare for comps. A table of judges telling you what's good - and bad - about your images. It can be hard to listen to, but you always learn something. It's just one of the ways that I, and all the other PPA and state affiliate photographers, work to improve the quality of our images.

In November, we're going to be hosting our fundraiser, benefiting Doorways for Women & Children, Arlington Pediatric Clinic, and Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs. It will be held the weekend after Thanksgiving, and the press release will be coming out in mid-September. Keep checking back for information. I'm really looking forward to it!

So here's one from this weekend. (More to follow after the mom has seen them.) Enjoy!

-e

A few from this weekend

Because the light can change how a location looks, I try to check out a few local parks whenever I've got a session coming up. I want to make sure that it looks like I remember. And my kids are my favorite test bunnies. :) Here are a few at the rose garden in Arlington. It's a gorgeous place. And afterwards, the kids got to play in the sandbox and playground, so everyone was happy!

And this little guy LOVED climbing all over his dad's hockey equipment. I have only seen hockey games from the stands (and tv, of course). I had no idea the pads and gloves were that big! I'm even more impressed that those guys can move as gracefully as they do.

More pictures

I can't just have my snapshots on here! Here is a recent maternity session panel. It's funny - she was hesitant to even do them, and I think that she looks beautiful.

These boots are made for walking....

Well, it has been an embarrassingly long time since I've posted anything new. But I've been busy! I went to the VPPA summer seminar two weeks ago, saw some people, learned some stuff, had a fantastic set of workshops with two amazing photographers, Cathy Benton and Jamie Hayes. It was really fun. I met a photographer who takes wedding photography to an entirely new level. His name is Parker J, and his work is simply stunning. After watching his slideshow and listening to him talk, I almost wanted to start doing weddings again. Almost. :)


And what else... Oh, Josie is now obsessed with a pair of pink cowboy boots. She wears them everywhere. I can't believe she's starting preschool in September. I still remember Ian's first day of preschool. I sat in the parking lot in the car for the entire first class. His teacher, Mrs. John, will be Josie's first teacher, and I couldn't be happier about that. I love that her first exposure to school is going to be such a wonderful experience. I totally adore Mrs. John, and can't wait to see her again. (Ian still asks about her. He used to go with me when I would do their class photos, and he was really disappointed when I told him he would be in school this time, and couldn't come. Maybe I can schedule them for a teacher work day... :)

We spent the 4th of July in Marshall, VA, with my in-laws. It was really fun. We saw an airshow, had REALLY close seats for the fireworks, and just overall had a great day.



One of my favorite parts was when the announcer would tell us about the pilots, and their day jobs, encouraging us to patronize their business. It's nice to get out of the city once in a while. The whole day had a sort of timeless feel to it. I really wanted to win the raffle - the grand prize was a big red tractor. Why do I want a tractor when I can cut my entire lawn with one charge on my electric mower? No reason. I just thought it would be cool! I didn't win, to the relief of my husband. But it still would have been cool.

(oh, and one more thing - I turned 40 yesterday. Shhhhh. :)

New kid in town...

There's this really amazing wedding photographer in Monterey, CA that folks in the DC area should take notice of - her name is Stephanie Millner, and the link to her site is over on the right side of this page. Why should you notice her, you may ask? Because she's about to move to the area. I want to be the first to welcome her to DC, and also the first to say (since she's moving in June): it's not the heat... it's the humidity. :)

In other news - the aforementioned talent Stephanie is also a designer, and she gets full credit for coming up with my logo. After many hours of sending minute changes back and forth, we've come up with this, and I love it.




And for those of you wanting to see some actual pictures, here's one from my most recent session. Such a nice family, and a beautiful baby.

early morning maternity session

I don't normally shoot at 8:30 in the morning, because I am not a morning person, in so many ways (for example, I'm writing this at 1:35 am, and could easily stay up for a few more hours!) But sometimes, that's the best time of day for a baby whose day starts much earlier than that. Today's shoot started out a little rocky - tears as soon as she entered the studio! Oh no! But after a quick ride in the swing, and a lot of tossing upside down and tickling, she was happy and smiling.

This has been such a fun family to work with. I've been documenting her pregnancy since the first trimester, and the sessions quickly went to a combination photo session/playdate for our girls. I can't wait to meet the new baby!

Spring!

is finally here. The pollen seems to be gone, and we can have the windows open all night. It's fabulous. Josie has discovered that grass isn't so scary after all. Only a month ago, I put her on a blanket in the back yard, and she refused to leave the blanket. She did NOT like grass and no way, no how, was she going to crawl around in it. And then she did. And found there was an infinite world of things that she could almost choke on (okay, maybe that's just how it seems to me).
And Ian got a haircut! People barely recognize him. I like it alot, but I miss his little boy hair. I know it will grow back, but still...


Here's a preview of one of our new cards that will be coming out soon. We are now doing these gorgeous trifold cards. I love them. I want everyone to order them, just so I have an excuse to play around and design them.

Tempers fidgit

Wow - how did May get here so fast?! We are all in the throes of DC allergies - a good rain would be very welcome at this point! Ian was in his first school play (and was fabulous, of course!) and Josie took her first few steps. She's still walking on one knee, looking all the world like she's fencing someone. I had a week or two where it was actually fairly slow, but I have learned from history! This time, I embraced the downtime. I did not immediately rush out and try and fill it with personal projects. And it was nice! We actually got to spend some weekend time together as a family. Granted, it was mostly spent sorting things out for our big yard sale next week, but hey, quality time is quality time, right? :)

I know it's a little early to start thinking about these things, but I'm going to try something new this year for holiday portraits. Some other photographers and I are getting together to do a one-weekend fundraiser to benefit several local organizations that help children. I hope to have everything organized by July. It will be a nice way to give something back to the community, and I'm really excited about it. I can't wait until we start promoting it!

Have a happy Mother's Day!

Here are a few recent pics from the studio -

Tiny fingers!

This was from a location session on Saturday. I usually work in the studio, because I love to be able to totally control my light. But this session had to be done on location - the baby was a preemie. She's doing great and the parents are doing so wonderfully with her. I really enjoyed this shoot. It was fun to break out of my element a little bit. Or rather, go back to my old element. All my documentary work was like this. It's always a challenge going someplace new, looking for the best light you can use. It's a different creative process from studio work, but I enjoy it just as much.

Website update and a few new pics

Yes, the site is still down. I'm working on it. Every time I decide to update the website, I'm convinced (deluded?) that I'll be able to finish it in one weekend. I think this is because I put my first site up in one pre-child marathon weekend, many, MANY, years ago. Alas, I don't have quite the time that I think I do. So the site is still down. And it will be up and running again, soon, I promise! If you are looking for a particular type of image, please feel free to drop me an email. I'm happy to send you some images. In the meanwhile...

Here are two from a maternity shoot last night.

Enjoy!

The last snaps from her birthday

I'd promise, but I'd probably be fibbing. :)

She gets it from me. :)

My baby turned 1!

Josie's birthday was yesterday, and we celebrated in style. First, I got to sleep in (I *was* a big part of her birth, after all). Then we went to IHOP, for one of her favorites - pancakes. After that, we thought it would be really fun to sit in rush hour traffic for an hour or so with the kids, on our way to see the cherry blossoms. Last year, right before she was born, this was one of the last things we did with just the three of us. I will always think of Jos when I see them now. I also will always think of her and Ian whenever I hear the song Easter Island Head, because we listened to it about a thousand times last year, and as part of a new tradition, again this year! After Haines Point, we came home so she could nap. Dinner was routine, but it was followed with vanilla ice cream (that she got to eat by herself), and presents. Ian particularly liked the presents, since his job was to help her open them. And of course, afterwards, bath and bed. An all round good first birthday, I think!