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Effective August 1st, I will be making some changes to my rates and price structure.  I’ve made several changes over the months, and as I approach my 1 year anniversary of being in the business, I’m working to align my pricing model and practices better with others in the industry with a similar photography approach and style.  Just starting out, building my portfolio, I practically gave the photos away.  This was a way to help me gain practice and clients while building my skills, experience level, and business model.  I’ve changes prices since then but am at a point where I need to raise them again.

While I won’t go into all the fun little details surrounding cost of sale, overhead, profititablity, marketing, equipment, professional memberships, training, insurance, and software - I hope my clients will understand that this move is one I have been thinking about for a very long time, and while I love shooting photos, and sometimes feel guilty getting paid to do something I enjoy, there is a reality of running a business and I need to make financial decisions in the best interest of my business.  I know I probably shouldn’t feel the need to justify or explain this, but I want people to understand that this is a decision that was not made easily, and the new prices are being determined based on a lot of market research,  industry best practices formulas, and by consulting other peers & respected photographers.

One of the things I am still trying to decide is if I’m going to keep a base session fee with all prints and products ala carte, or if I should move to “package” model.  One where you pay a larger fee up front, but then get prints, products, and things for that set amount.  I’d be interested in your thoughts on as a customer, which approach do you prefer?  I’m also considering a combination of the two - and allowing options for customers to choose an ala carte pricing or a package savings plan.  These are the final details I’m nailing out, but would like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

As a final note, I’m already booked for weekends in August and only have weekday evenings available, so if you are planning on a fall session, I’d recommend scheduling it as soon as possible.

Little Luke was only 8 weeks old the last time I took his photos.  Now, at 10 months, he is getting so darn big but looks identically to his 2 month photos.  One of the things I love about this job is getting to see the same faces every few months and watching the little ones grow, get so big, and change.  It makes me happy, and sad, all at the same time.  Ahh…..sniffle sniffle.

What a sweet lil’ newborn, just very precious, tiny, and adorable.  We started running out of light but moved outdoors and got some good ones in the grass.  She was ready for bed by the end but did a great job just being her cute self.

Carter & Paige, cousins, were so much fun to work with.  We trekked around the trail at Baker’s Lake, making photo stops along the way, and they were just such good sports.  The biggest challenge was getting them to tone down their “cheesiness” and enthusiasm, which is really not a problem at all.  They listened so well, and did such a fantastic job for a 4 and 6 year old!  I was truly impressed.

I’ve also realized I’ve taking quite a likin’ to the silhouette shots, they are popping up everywhere in my photos.  Probably a new fad or phase I’m going through - I’m sure they’ll be more before I move onto some other kick of the month.

Okay, she’s not “my” darling Evvie, but I love this little girl to bits, plus, she is engaged to my son so I have a special place in my  heart for her.  Yes, I know arranged marriages are so out this century, but my husband and I are dear friends with her folks and she is 3 weeks younger than Charlie so they have been hanging out and playing together their whole lives (a whopping 13 months!).  I thought it would be a good bet to secure his future bride & some great in-laws!

She is, of course, beautiful, and makes my job so easy.  We had a really good time and she was ready to bat those baby blues for me.  Here are some of my favorites…

What a blast!  I had such a wonderful time taking pictures of the Orteza family.  The kids were so sweet, so fun, and just as adorable as they come.  For some reason, I just loved every photo from this day in the mocha finish. I’m not sure why, I just LOVE them this way - and I’m usually a color girl, but I just think they look really cool in the mocha.  Here are a few from the day.

This one was no exception.  Jodie and Eric where so much fun and their land was absolutely beautiful.  While I love kids and babies, it is so refreshing to have adults who actually want to their picture taken and not running away from the camera!  They were great sports, up for anything, and made me laugh the entire time.  The sun was going down and the light was beautiful.  It was a great evening and I had a hard time choosing my favorites from the day.

Another state park shoot, taking in all the greenery and hiking around the trails. Noah, 4, had fun exploring, looking for bugs, and laughing at some silly (and possibly intoxicated) barefoot hippie hikers.

Oh what a cutie! My darling little Nora had a darling little baby brother who is just as photogenic and adorable as his big sister. At 1 week old, Leo was a champ and very cooperative, and although I am told big sister Nora is still adjusting, she did wonderful with this lil’ guy and of course, couldn’t help but share the spotlight. There will be more of this little man in the months too come. I love having the opportunity to watch these babies grow…it’s so exciting. Stay tuned…

I’ve been back for almost a week now and couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to post until today. I enjoyed my time away very much, but being so relaxed and without a thing to do has made it hard to get back into work mode. I didn’t take nearly as many pictures there as I intended, I just didn’t feel like it. I napped a lot, ate a lot, and just did a whole lot of nothin’ which was fabulous. I did take a few shots of the lake we stayed on so you can get an appreciation of how beautiful it is there. It was a really enjoyable time but it’s good to be home too - as my little monster is growing so fast I swear he grew a couple feet while I was gone.

I am proofing a few sessions from last weekend now so there will be some updates soon. Right now I am booked for June but have openings left in July. In order to spend more time with my family I am cutting back the number of sessions I schedule each week so don’t wait to schedule your summer session.