Giving Thanks

As Thanksgiving day approaches, I am deep in the midst of the holiday madness. But despite the craziness, there is so much to be thankful for. Personally, I am blessed with a wonderful, supportive husband and three adorable girls. I really couldn't ask for more! Professionally, I am grateful for a business that has grown beyond my dreams and connects me with such wonderful people. I am thankful for each client that I have photographed this year, helping you capture memories that you will treasure as times and seasons change. I look forward to a new and exciting year and hope to see all of you again and again!

There are so many sessions that I have not had a chance to share lately. So I am preparing a big share today! There are so many more I would like to show you, but time prevents me from sharing all of them. I'll keep the commentary short as well. Although there are many stories I could tell from these sessions, I know you all would like your photos so off to do more work is probably the better option!

On a side note, I will be out of town from Thursday through Sunday. After a Thanksgiving lunch with Tory's family, my mom, sister and myself are heading to the beach. We will shop 'till we drop and I will also be shooting a beach session that I have been looking forward to for a long while. If you contact me during this time, I'll respond next week when I return. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to count your blessings!


A gorgeous baby plan baby, Roman celebrated his first birthday:




A lovely family in one of my last outdoor sessions of the year:





These two girls couldn't have been sweeter in the studio, making my job easier:





This stunning beauty came in with her parents for a maternity session, but one look at those curls and she wasn't leaving without a few portraits of her!:


I wish I could share all the photos from this downtown family session as I loved so many of them--a beautiful family inside and out:






It was Christmas times two when my favorite twin girls came in for their nine month session. I couldn't believe they were walking at nine months!:




Another sweet baby plan baby turned one! Madison has made the trip from Wilmington for all of her baby plan sessions and I am going to miss seeing her every three months!:



This big-eyed beauty wore us all out in the studio, but with help from her great big brother we were able to get some shots of them together. :)




Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Gift Ideas

If you're like me, holiday gift ideas are on your mind right now. I know we are all looking for just the right thing for our family and loved ones for the holidays. Well I have an inexpensive idea for you! I have been including 5x7 magnetic calendars with a session photo as a gift to my clients this fall. Several of you have emailed me wanting to know if you can purchase additional magnetic calendars. The ones I have been giving away are printed on regular photo paper and are a bit too flimsy to sell as a product. However, I am offering the same 5x7 calendars mounted on matboard (still with magnets on the back) to make them more durable. I was already planning on offering these (along with some other new products!) in 2009, but if you would like to order any as holiday gifts please email me. They are 5x7 in size, mounted on matboard, and coated with a luster coating to keep fingerprints away--perfect for the refrigerator--for $15 each. Here are few examples. They can accomodate vertical or horizontal photos and the background (though shown white here) can be any color.



And, of course, for those people who "have everything," there are UpperCase gift certificates. You can purchase those in any dollar amount you'd like.

Thanks everyone! I hope you are all hanging in there as we enter the most wonderful time of the year. :)

Christmas Spirit

Well, it's just full of Christmas spirit around here as I scramble to edit holiday sessions and place holiday orders. But just in case you are having a little trouble getting into the spirit (it's not even Thanksgiving yet after all) then this should do the trick:


There now....that should at least getting you humming silent night. I wish I had time to share more from some of the awesome sessions I have had recently but I. MUST. KEEP. WORKING....

Thanks to everyone who is patiently waiting for proofs and orders. They are coming soon! And of course, I'm sure you are wondering who won that free set of holiday cards. The winner by random drawing is Joanna Kirkland. Congratulations Joanna!

Do you want holiday cards and haven't ordered them yet? Don't worry, there's still time. Just email me and we'll get started on an order for you.

I hope to share some more images with you later this week, including an awesome urban family session!

Peak Season

This past week was peak season for fall color and I was happy to be able to take advantage of it at a few of my sessions. Last year we had a mild fall and very little fall color, so seeing the beautiful range of color on the leaves this year is great! It is amazing though, how quickly they change and fall to the ground, leaving it looking much like winter out there very quickly with the bare trees. And leaving my husband fighting a losing battle in our yard with the leave blower!

Here's a little fall color for you:

Okay, so maybe pink and blue aren't exactly fall color, but how adorable are our friends Madison and Willow. They are friends of ours and we took all the kids (their two girls and our three) to El Maguey after the session. Yum!





These precious twin girls met me outside the Old Salem Children's Museum, where their grandmother is director. If you haven't checked out the museum before, try to do so soon. I got to take sneak peek inside and it looked like lots of fun!



This family made it off the waiting list and into a session spot--lucky for me since they were just as sweet and kind as they are beautiful! At the end of the session, little brother Will told me he thought it wasn't going to be fun but that he was wrong. I'm glad he had as much fun as I did!






Eden, one of my very favorite little subjects, came back for an outdoor fall session. Her mom wants to send a little fall color to their family in Florida. I think we captured some for them!






Another one of my favorite little guys, Riley, came to see me this weekend as well. I have been photographing him since he was a baby and at this session he looked so grown up! He was talking in sentences too! Riley will be a big brother next month and I'm sure his new little sister will be just as sweet.




I had to toss in a couple of studio shots of him as well. He told us he looked "shark" (aka-sharp) in his outfit! I agree Riley--very "shark" indeed.



I think it's time to give something away on the blog. So anyone who sends me an email today (before midnight) will be entered in a drawing for a free set of Christmas cards (set of 25 with envelopes, your choice of style from my holiday cards collection). If you've already ordered your Christmas cards, you can still enter. If I draw your name you will receive a $25 gift certificate instead. So okay everyone, send me an email to be entered....let's make my little blackberry curve buzz all day today!

First Comes Love...

As I was getting together pictures to post from another busy weekend, I realized that my sessions from this weekend really demonstrate the full circle of love--an engagement session, a maternity session, and a newborn session.

I have been avoiding shooting weddings for a long time. With little ones in the house, it is hard to be away for the long, long days it requires to shoot weddings. But as Stella is getting bigger I am opening up my mind to the idea of shooting a few weddings in 2009 and seeing how I like it. I am excited to be capturing Brian and Kaitlyn's wedding next September. This weekend we met at Tanglewood for their engagement session. These two are so much in love and needed absolutely no direction from me to show it for the camera. I can only hope the love I saw between them is captured here:









I shot a bridal session for Nicole when I was just starting out a couple of years ago. If you are a super long-time Uppercase fan, you may remember the beautiful bride with the family dog--Bowzer the yellow lab. I was so excited when Nicole contacted me to tell me she is expecting her first child and wanted maternity and newborn photos!



I hear "grandpa-to-be" is a big Yankees fan, so this one is for you grandpa!


I can't wait for this sweet baby boy to arrive next month so I can photograph him (on the outside)!


I also had the pleasure of capturing stunning, 11 day old Kendall this weekend. She was a perfect little angel with the fullest head of dark hair! Have I mentioned how much I love photographing newborns. :)






Reminders:
Holiday cards come in sets of 25 cards with envelopes. The simplest of the cards (5x7 printed on photo paper) cost $42.00 for the first set of 25. Sets 2-4 cost $28.00 each set. Any additional sets of 25 after the purchase of 100 cards is $15.00 each set. You can view the holiday card selection by visiting www.uppercasephotography.com and clicking on client proofs and then the holiday cards album. Please email me if you have any questions about cards or would like to order.

I am booked for the remainder of 2008 (with the exception of maternity, newborns, and baby plan babies). My calendar is open for January and February 2009, so please email if you would like a session during those months. I will open the 2009 calendar for March and beyond soon and will post on the blog when I do.

The holiday cutoff for ordering photo jewelry, handbags, albums, and coffee table books is December 1st. If you would like to order these items as holiday gifts, I will need to receive your order before December 1st.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all of your support! I appreciate so much all the kind words and referrals. I also appreciate your understanding when I make mistakes--which I try to avoid but still make them anyway! Just something as simple as writing "You Rock!" in the memo section of your check is so greatly appreciated (thanks, Kim, I think you rock too!).

Stay tuned for more on the blog soon!