A Visit to The Incline

A sunny morning and a happy family.  Not a bad way to spend the day :-)

October in the Park

Have I mentioned how much I love these families that book sessions with me?  Well, first of all, I'm completely aware of all the options that you have out there- Sears, Target, Picture People, shoot and burn photographers, as well as established photographers.  You can even try to do it yourself.  There's so much competition in this business so I am genuinely thankful when a family chooses me to capture images of their family and I'm doubly thankful when they come back to me year after year.  

I met this family last year and loved getting to know them so I was really excited when they contacted me again this year.

We decided to meet in Schenley Park and they surprised me with a really cool prop- binoculars!  Such a great idea.  Shaun, you are brilliant!  The little guy loved exploring with his binoculars and they made for some cute images.

 How can you not smile at that face!

Such a loving family.

Thank you again for choosing me!

The Goose again!!

I love my family, especially my cousins and I love that now I sometimes get to photograph their families.  I've been capturing "the goose" since she was just a few months old and I love it every time we get together.  My cousin and her husband are such great parents.  They make a really sweet family.

This time they came down from Erie and we got to explore one of the parks nearby.  And even better, after pictures there was time to play on the playground with the cousins.

Halloween Baby!

So despite Sandy's best efforts, she did not completely thwart Halloween for us and I was able to take advantage of the beautiful calm before the storm.  The week before Sandy came to town, we had gorgeous sunshine and temps in the 70s (a photographer's dream).  I also didn't happen to have much scheduled during the week so I posted a mini-session offer and got to photograph this adorable little lion.

You might recognize him from a family session we did a few weeks ago and he was just as happy this time around. :-)

Don't let this little frown fool you.  He was all smiles the entire time.  Love this little guy!

And I can't help but also share my two monkeys.  Due to Sandy blowing through, we didn't trick or treat on Halloween but got to go out on the weekend.  Once again, my boy wore his Jedi costume but declaring that this year, he was Anakin.  The little girl opted to dress as a snow princess complete with silver glitter for her hair and pink lipstick.  

  

 

 

Princess for a Day!

Every little girl should have an opportunity like this...  I met this family a few years ago, when their oldest was turning 5.  They wanted to have a special photo session to celebrate this big birthday complete with a fancy dress.  I loved the idea and this year when daughter #2 turned 5, they called on me again.  

And this time we've added a baby brother to the mix. :-)

Another post!!

Have I mentioned that this is the crazy busy time of year for photographers.  The weather gets cooler, the leaves change, people start thinking about the holidays and BAM! I'm scheduling sessions every week between mid-September until mid-November.  Believe me, I love it.  This is my favorite time of year.  I love the colors, I love the smells, I love an excuse to put our fireplace on :-)  

And then I get images like these and I'm loving what I do even more! 

I met this family a while ago but first got to photograph little Mr. E back in the early spring (click the link to see how he's grown) and they knew they were going to want fall pictures so I have to admit, I was looking forward to this session.  Such a happy baby boy and a very happy and relaxed mom and dad.  Seriously, how many new moms let their kid chew on a leaf.  Jenny and Matt, you guys rock and Mr. E is so lucky to have parents like you guys!

The H Family!

Families grow.  Families change.  And I have the fortunate job of documenting those changes.  I met this family several years ago when they had their first child, an adorable little guy.  I was able to come and take some pictures at their home and even managed to capture a milestone.  The little guy grabbed his toes for the first time.  And I'm sure you remember as a first time parent how huge all those little milestones are.

Well, the H family contacted me again for some new pictures.  This time, their little guy has grown and they've added a baby sister to the family.  We met up at Schenley Park to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and this was the result...

And one last little face.  I love how her eyes are smiling as she's sticking her tongue out.  Too cute!

Down by the River

I love love love getting to meet new families and this one was no different.  They were hoping for some "Pittsburgh" pictures and it doesn't get much more Pittsburgh then down by the stadiums on the North Shore.  What was even better, the little boy and girl reminded me so much of my own monkeys.  It warms my heart to photograph such a loving family.

I just love when magic happens.  

Thank you W family!!!

Baby Boy F

Another newborn boy! In the spring it was time for the girls, and now it seems to be time for the boys.  Here is a sweet boy that I got to photograph over a couple of days.  The first day, he just was not interested in sleeping.  This made for some really sweet bright-eyed images but none of those sleeping baby shots that everyone always loves to see.  So since mama and I both had the time, I came back a week later and he was a little sleeping angel.

Time is precious...

or why I have to change my prices... (if you want to skip the mushy mom stuff, feel free to jump to the bottom or you can clicking on pricing and learn the details right away) :-)

It's been a great ride so far.  When I started this venture about 5 years ago, I actually didn't see it really going very far.  I had a good idea of how to take pictures and I had a fair idea of how to run a business but I also had 2 small kids, one of them with some developmental issues.  There were times when I thought no one would call.  Times when I kicked myself for not being better, smarter, friendlier, more relaxed with clients.  There are still times when simply adding 2 numbers together foils me but I keep going.  I really love what I do.  I love what I do so much that I'm willing to conquer my anxieties about meeting new people and my fears about not being good enough.  I've faced those moments and instead of succumbing to those negative thoughts, I say "Wait! No! I am good at this!  I can do this!" I love what I do.

But there is a price and I've been fortunate over the past few years to not have been hurt too much by that price.  You see, I've had both of my kids home with me for much of the week.  Half day preschools and half day kindergarten gave me a nice little break, some peace and quiet to do things that I wanted to do.  That all changed in August.

My boy went off to first grade and my girl started kindergarten.  She was going to be half day so up until about 3 weeks before the start of school, I was content knowing that I'd have my little helper with me in the morning and have the afternoon to do other things.  But they decided to change her class to full day and now she's at school with her big brother from 8 until 4 when the bus brings them home.  Time has just become a very precious commodity to me.

I went from being with them the majority of every day to only getting little snippets of what they're willing to share with me.  I went from mid-morning story breaks and coloring breaks to an empty, quiet house.  I'd be lying if I said that it didn't make me a little sad.  It's a very bittersweet time.

So what does this mean for my business.  Well, it means that I can't give away this precious time that I have with my kids. It means that if I'm going to leave them, I want to be compensated for that time away.  It means that I'm going from part-time to full-time.  It means that my pricing has got to change.

I actually haven't changed my prices over the past few years.  I've recognized that with the price of gas increasing and the price of groceries increasing, a lot of people haven't been left with much in the way of extra spending money.  That's been the same for our family as well.  But things are getting slowly better and I believe that people will invest in beautiful images of the ones they love the most and I believe that they will build that relationship with the artist who captures those images and I want to be the artist provide those beautiful images to them.

Starting October 1st, there will be changes to my pricing, from session fees to packages and digital files.  The good news is that if you are already on my schedule or had a session with me over the past couple of weeks, these changes won't affect you.  The new prices will be in affect for those contacting me to book as of October 1st.

I thought I would briefly describe some of my changes here and then you can check out my website and blog for the full list of prices.  The first change will be my session fee.  The fee for scheduling a session on the weekend will be $150.  To schedule for a weekday session, the fee will be the same $100 that it's been for the past few years.  This is to reflect that my weekends with my kids have gotten more valuable. 

The next change will be in my packages but the pricing of the prints won't be changed.  I've redesigned my packages  and created four new collections so that the prints work together as wall displays.  Hopefully it will take the guess-work out of deciding how to show off your images. There will also be some other great products offered as well and I'm looking forward to sharing more info about those in my next post.


The other part of my pricing that will change is the pricing for digital images and for the digital CD.  I will still offer the CD, but at my current pricing I am losing too much money to have a sustainable business.  The session fee alone is not enough to keep me in business.  My real profit is made through  the selling of other products and that rarely happens when the CD is available at such a premium price.  Believe me, I do understand wanting to have those digital files whether to print from or to just have and I want to provide that to you.  Those files are important and I don't want to hold your family images hostage.

The full session on CD will no longer be $100.

There will be 3 options for purchasing digital files either as a single file, a group of 10 or the full session. A single digital file will be $125.  In addition to the changes in pricing of digital files, there will no longer be size limits for printing.  Previously,  I asked that you print the files no larger than 8x10.  Now, with the purchase of the CD, you will have the right to print the images however big you would like them and included in the purchase will be sample prints and recommendations for GOOD printing labs.  Believe me, if you're investing in images, you want to avoid the usual photo places.  There is a big difference in print quality.

I hope you can understand these changes.  Ultimately I want to provide you with great experience as well as great images and to be as helpful as I possibly can in getting those images out of my camera, off my computer and up onto your walls because that's where they can be enjoyed the most! :-)

Brand New Baby C!

I love when clients become friends.  I met this family a couple of years ago when they booked a session with me for the eldest daughter.  She was turning 5 and they wanted to celebrate this with a special photo session (I absolutely loved that idea!).  Their 3 girls were so much fun!  I couldn't help but think to myself that Sadie would love these girls.

Then, last year Sadie started at a new preschool and it happened to be the same school that two of their daughters were going to.  Sadie ended up being in class with their middle girl and the girls quickly became friends.

Then came baby #4 this summer.  

I was so excited to have the opportunity to photograph this loving family again.  

So without further ado, meet Baby C and his adoring big sisters!

Congratulations on your new blessing!

The M Family

There's something about 8 month olds.  It might be that they're quick to smile, that they're so curious or it could be the simple fact that they mostly stay in one place but I love photographing this age and the little princess in this family was no different.  

We met at Flagstaff Hill for pictures of the princess with mom and dad and both grandmas.  Such a beautiful, sweet family.

Such big beautiful eyes!

 

Thank you so much for meeting up with me, M Family!

The D Family + Grandma!

Grandmas give the best hugs!

I love getting together with clients who are friends even if we don't get to see each other very often.  I met Jess a few years ago at a MOPS meeting (Mothers of Preschoolers).  She moved across the country and basically got to Pittsburgh and was immediately hit with a huge snow storm.  Talk about being welcomed to the neighborhood...

And still she was able to smile and laugh through it all.

Since meeting her, I've been blessed to photograph her family a few times and I always have so much fun with them.  For this get together, we got to include grandma who was visiting from California and it was a fun session, even in the midst of a rain shower.  True to her spirit, Jess didn't get frustrated by the weather, she smiled and went with it and we got some sweet pictures of her girls dancing in the rain.