Winter Wonderland

It is finally feeling like winter around here! It seems like we never get a lot of winter weather anymore, so when we woke up last Thursday to a layer of white on the ground the girls were so excited. We headed outside right after breakfast (and at least half an hour of me trying to get all three of them dressed warmly). It was, of course, Stella's first snow, but it was also the first snow that Claire could remember so we had to mark the occasion with a few photos. I had meant to share a few of these photos last week but then Stella got sick and I am just now getting back to my "to do" list. Hopefully is wasn't this short romp in the winter weather that made her sick! She is recovering nicely by the way, as I know some of you sweet, sweet folks out there will be emailing me to check on her. :)
My new brochure has also taken a back seat until the little one was feeling better. I am hoping to get them mailed out next week. If you need to see the 2008 price list, though, I have updated my website with that information. I am accepting appointments for as far in advance as you would like to plan. I just booked an August session last week--so if you know of a date you would like, email me to reserve your spot! My new email address, in case you missed the email, is julie@uppercasephotography.com. I am shooting mostly studio appointments right now. It will be time to head outside again around midMarch when the grass starts to turn green--I can't wait!
But until then, we will enjoy the wonders of winter:

And We Have A Winner

After an afternoon of feverish vote counting and recounting, we have a winner of the "Best in 2007" blog contest. I am so glad that everyone has enjoyed voting for their little UpperCase cuties. For the next contest I may have to hire an accountant to tally the votes, as math has never been my strongest subject! This vote count was extremely close (like within just a couple of votes close). I have had some votes emailed to me by people who were unable to leave comments and I also did not count any votes or emails that came in after noon yesterday, so if you count all the comments and come up with a something different then you will know why. :) So without further ado, the contest winner is (........drumroll please........): Photo Number 1 which belongs to Mr. Soulful Eyes Elliott. Congratulations to Elliott and his family as they have won a free session to be redeemed sometime in 2008. I can't wait to have another session with you Elliott!

Thanks so much to everyone who allowed me to use their photos in the contest. Each and every one of those photos are very special to me and will soon be finding a special spot in my studio for display. If you haven't seen the studio in a while, it is coming along nicely. My wonderful husband gave me a beautiful counter-height table and chairs to use for proofing as a Christmas gift. I also now have a big comfy adult-sized chair in the studio for lounging, nursing, etc. and by the end of the week I will have a lovely custom-made mantel on the fireplace. I am in the process of ordering recent favorite photos for the mantel and a few other spots around the studio.

I am still working on my new business policies, pricing, etc for 2008 and hope to have the information out to all of you in the near future. I am also looking at a few new photo and marketing opportunities that I hope to be telling you about in the near future as well. Of course, in addition to getting the business in gear for 2008, I am booking and shooting sessions. So if you'd like to book a 2008 session feel free to call or email me.

Now I can't have a post without sharing some photos, so here are some shots from recent sessions:

sweet, newborn Charlie--can you think of a better Christmas present than him!:




handsome, three-month old Roman--he's already a repeat client since I did his mom's maternity photos and his newborn portaits as well :)




our own little Stella at her six month session--yes, those are adorable baby leg warmers she's wearing (email if you want more info. about them!):




and finally, my gorgeous neice Paige at her nine month session--tell me this girl doesn't have personality!:

Best in 2007

As promised, it's time for the "Best in 2007" blog contest (or at least the second half since we had a contest in May already). Here's how it works--Below you will find my favorite images for the second half of 2007 (and boy was it hard to decide!). Each image is numbered 1-15, so decide your favorite and remember it's number. Then leave a comment on this post telling me the number of your favorite image (and whatever else you'd like to tell me--I'm listening:). It's been such a great year for UpperCase Photography & Design and I feel so blessed to have met and photographed so many great people. I have fond memories of each and every session and I can't wait to see many of you again in 2008! In no particular order, here they are:

1


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


10


11


12


13


14


15


I will count the votes until Friday, January 4th at noon and post the winner. The winner of the contest will receive a free 2008 session! Please vote only once per person, but feel free to pass along the link to the blog to friends, family, coworkers, whomever you'd like and ask them to vote as well. Happy voting and Happy New Year!

Six Months Old

I can hardly believe it, but today my little Stella is six months old! I plan to do a proper six month photo session with her when she can sit on her own a little better, but I just had to snap a few of her to mark the milestone. It's funny because Stella is the most "smiley" of all our three girls as babies. Any of you that see her can attest to the fact that you just have to look at her and she breaks out into a huge toothless grin. However, she doesn't seem to like smiling at my camera very much at all. She doesn't cry...she just doesn't smile! And the drool--I usually don't remove it from her photos because it is soooo her. She is just soaked in drool most of the time and not a tooth to show for it! So here is little six month old Stella--all 14 pounds 6.5 ounces of her (she had her checkuip this morning :)

Our Santa Baby:




Vintage ducky (I got this chair at the preschool toy sale for just $4--what a deal!)


The infamous drool:



I am coming up for air from the holiday rush and ready to take some time to gear up for 2008. Be on the lookout for some new policies, etc in January. Also, stay tuned for a best image contest for the second half of 2007--someone will win something great!

Double The Fun

Hi Everyone! I am up to my eyeballs in holiday card designs and orders, but I had to take a moment to post these adorable twins I photographed over the weekend. This was my first opportunity to photograph twins. These little beauties are 8 weeks old and identical--Peyton and Addison. I learned a few things: If you think newborn sessions are long (and some of you know how long they are) try newborn twins! I also learned that twice the little naked booties means twice the pee and poop! Getting them both happy or sleeping at the same time was quite the challenge--they would be laying right next to each other with one sleeping peacefully and the other screaming (they took turns being the sleeper and the screamer). But I also learned that the little moments you do capture are quite special! See for yourself:


Meet Peyton:



Meet Addison:


Filling up my basket, with a vintage conversion:



And in the spirit of the holidays:


I can't wait for them to come back so we can all watch them grow!

I also wanted to let you all know that my books are now open for 2008! So if are a baby planner and want to book your next session or you want a prime spot for 2008, please go ahead and email me.

Birthday Boy

As you may know, I offer a couple of portrait packages. One of those packages is the "Watch Me Grow" package which includes chronicles a child's first year with sessions at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. One of my favorite little subjects, Joshua, has been on the Watch Me Grow plan even before there was a plan! Today is his first birthday so we had his 12 month session last weekend. It has been such a pleasure to watch Joshua, and all of my Watch Me Grow babies, grow from tiny babies to toddlers. The time passes so fast and before you know it, they are back for their next session. I miss not seeing them so often when their plan is over--when most go to having sessions every six months instead of every three months. So in honor of Joshua's first birthday, here is a look at his first year:

3 months


6 months


9 months


12 months


And here's Joshua enjoying his first taste of birthday cake in the studio. As you can see, he LOVED it and we were able to capture some great memories of him enjoying it. Happy First Birthday Joshua!!

(click to see larger)

If you are interested in the details of the baby plan (or the maternity/newborn plan) email me at jtwagoner@alltel.net. Also, just a reminder, if you have proofs but have not placed your order, I need your order by Thanksgiving to be able to ensure delivery before Christmas. Thanks everyone for continuing to allow me to capture memories for you and for sharing those memories with everyone around you!!

Ready, Set, Christmas!

No, I haven't forgotten about you all! Here at Upper Case Photography & Design it's just like the mall--the day after Halloween begins the rush towards Christmas! I've been busy with holiday sessions, designing Christmas cards, and creating gifts for clients to give at the holidays.

But I wanted to take a moment to let you know who won the Halloween costume contest and update you with a few images from my recent sessions. The contest winner is Heather Hall. Congratulations Heather, you have won a 10x20 storyboard with images from your next session! She sent this photo of her whole family dressed for Halloween--the kids are Lilo and Stitch and mom and dad are Donald and Daisy duck.
I really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful kids (and some adults!) dressed in everything from Spiderman and Ninjas to Monkeys and Ladybugs. It made checking my email such a pleasure!

Here are a few images from recent sessions. I'm so lucky to meet all these sweet kids!





Finally, if you have your proofs but haven't ordered yet, make sure I get your order soon so you'll have everything you need in time for the holidays!