Personal

One of my goals this year for my business is to give something back to my clients and faithful readers. By giving back, I mean giving you a special deal or discount, or even offering free sessions throughout the year. My plan is to offer you something each month and hope that some of you take advantage of it.

I’m sure you can guess what this month’s special will be, seeing as it’s February and the month of love. The special for the month of February is for couples only. Now, you don’t have to be married or engaged to qualify for this. It is for boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, as well as those who have been married 25 years. It would be fun to see who has been married the longest for those who take part of this special!

The details of the special are as follows.

• As I’ve already mentioned, it’s for couples only (sorry, no kiddos, but you can enter for a free session here).
• You must purchase the package in the month of February.
• The deal can be used any time in 2011.
• Your photo shoot will last no longer than one hour at the location of your choice (within reason of course).
• You will receive one 11″x14″ mounted photo of your choice from the session and a CD of 20 images from the session. If you’d like to add to that, you can do so for additional cost.

Now, the part that everyone is waiting for. . . how much? This entire special can be purchased at the price of $75, that’s a savings of more than $50! Please feel free to send me an email at [email protected] or call me at 864-915-0422 to set up your session. I look forward to hearing from you!

So here we are at yet another Friday. We made it! This week has been a particularly exciting week for me. After seven long months we are finally closing on our house! I thought this day would never get here, but it’s official! We’re homeowners again.

It’s funny how the little things in life can make you happy. Like, an email telling you your loan has been approved and a closing date has been set. Or, watching a movie with old friends. Or laughing at your nephew because he makes the funniest faces. Or a quick  phone call from your dad. Or clean sheets at the end of a long day. Or a good book. Or being loved.  Or hearing a song that touches your soul. Or seeing a picture that simply takes your breath away.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the race of life and want to rush through every day. It’s easy to forget about the simple things in life. The small things that God does for us because He wants to. Take a moment today and thank Him for the small things that make you smile.

So, in honor of my birthday being in the month of January, I want to do something to celebrate. A bunch of ideas came to mind, but I thought I’d see what you would like. I want to give something away. For free.

I’m sure those last two words caught your eye! I’m just trying to decide what it should be. Since I’m relatively new to the photography business, I look for all the opportunities I can get to hone my skills and to continue to learn. What better way to do that than by shooting lots of photography sessions? That’s where I need your help.

I’ve included a poll in this blog post and I need your help with it. So far I haven’t decided what I would like to give away, but I think I want it to be a photography session of some sort. I’m not sure about all the details yet, those are still coming together. Granted, I’ve not officially set anything in stone and I’m still working out the ground rules so don’t go crazy on me.

I’m actually curious to see how much interest there would be in something like this and if anyone actually reads my blog posts other than my mom. Thanks Mom!

Feel free to vote all you want and even leave a comment if you have other ideas. Stay tuned, as soon as I get a general consensus of what people are interested in, I’ll be posting further details.

Enjoy!

It feels like it has been forever since my last blog post! We went out of town to visit my parents for a few days before heading out to California. My husband and I, along with a few members from our church, went to Ironwood Christian Camp in Newberry Springs, CA for a week long work mission trip. The big project this year for the camp is rebuilding part of their camp. With their western theme, one of the camps they run is called Rivertown.

Rivertown is a part of the camp that represents an old west town, complete with false fronts and all. Since the building the camp in the 1970s, Rivertown has never been updated. Our project for the week was to help in the reconstructing of Rivertown from the ground up.

Prior to our arrival the old Rivertown had been torn down. New trailers had been brought in, set, and footers and concrete poured. Our main job was to complete the 5,000 SF deck that was to run the length of these buildings. Before we could start on the deck we had to dig ditches to lay pipes, electric lines, and water lines. That was day one. The rest of the week we spent digging footers for the deck piers, and huge pillars that would hold the roof on. Beginning Wednesday through Friday, we started building the massive deck. To see pictures of our progress you can visit the Ironwood website.

Every year I return to the dessert in California, I’m reminded of the decisions I made while on staff in 2004. That summer changed my life in so many positive ways. I wish I could go back to that summer and simply relive all the fun, crazy, times I had meeting so many new people and making some amazing memories.

Don’t worry, I’ll hopefully be posting some more pictures of our time in Cali, but for now I’ll leave you with a picture of the desert that is so beautiful.

December is typically the time of year that people begin to look back over the last 12 months and see if they have accomplished or completed any of their goals. December is also the month for looking ahead to the coming year. New goals are written. New business plans are drawn up. In fact, we’re having a meeting today at work for this very topic.

As the month begins to wind down, I thought of how I would end the year on my blog. It’s so new to me, I’ve only been doing this for three months. I have so much to learn! I feel as my photography business grows, my blogs will start to take on a form of their own. I have learned a lot in the past three months about blogging and website design and branding. I feel as though I have a long way to go and I’ve barely touched the iceburg. In the two weeks left in 2010 I think I’d like to post one picture from each of the sessions I’ve had this year.

Each client has made me more confident with my skills as a photographer. With each session I have learned something new with editing, posing, or photography in general. I sincerely appreciate those of you whom I’ve photographed this year! Each of you have helped me grow and I really do want to thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I’m looking forward to 2011 and can’t to see all the fun things that are in store for the coming year!