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.

Birthday Boys!

The summer is almost done and I'm frantically trying to play catch-up with the blog.  So many sessions that haven't had their moment in the sun so here's the first.

Two sweet little brothers.  The older Mr. S, turning 3 and the younger, Mr. J, turning 1 in back to back birthdays.  Boy do they keep their mama busy.  For this session, I busted out my secret weapon- Sadie.  Yep, my little girl came along to work as my "assistant."  Her job was to blow bubbles and use any means necessary to get smiles from these two boys.  She worked hard and as you can see, I did get a few smiles.

Keep watching the blog.  My little assistant might be making future appearances.  She's now changed her future plans from wanting to be a ballerina/cowgirl to being a photographer, like Mommy.  :-)

Back to School Minis!

the dreaded words for kids and happy words for moms and dads everywhere...

Back to School!

Yes it's time.  The end of summer is fast approaching.  Swimming suits have vanished from the stores to be replaced by uniforms and school supplies.

And it's extra big in this house with my baby heading off to kindergarten.  I'm already anxious about the chaos of getting 2 children out the door and up to the bus stop on time that first day and they each have their own issues that make them very difficult to get going in the morning. Add to that the pressure of getting that 1st day of school photo...

So I started thinking.. What if we had a practice run for the first day of school?  It could help my monkeys with conquering those first day jitters and give me the opportunity to get that first day of school shot without the first day of school stress.

So, get your little ones ready for school.  Dress them in their first day finest, hand them their brand new bookbags, an apple for teacher and we'll snap away some great "first day of school images" without the stress of having to actually getting to school on time.

So what exactly am I offering?

A Back-to-School Mini Session at your house for $100.
30 minutes of shooting and a gallery of back to school images to choose from
a $25 print credit

and a little bit less stress for mom and dad on the actual first day of school :-)

This mini session is $100  (+tax) and is for all kids in your family who are headed off to school- preschool, elementary, middle or high.  This mini session offer will be going on from now through September 30.  Message me to schedule your date.  Payment is due at booking.

and yes, that's a book on my boy's head.  Gotta have reading material on the first day of school :-)

Stepping in Front of the Camera...

I conquered my ultimate fear...

Yes, I booked a photographer to take pictures of my family, with me in them!  This was huge for several reasons.

1. I like to be in control and do things myself (yep, still pretty much a toddler at heart).  I had notions of getting a remote shutter release and I've scoured Amazon reviews trying to find the best but I never found one that seemed to be perfect.  And I wasn't sure that I could trust another photographer to capture the image of my family that I knew I wanted to capture in my head.

2. I (like many of us out there) live on a budget.  I hear you all who say that professional photography is expensive.  I can understand the appeal of running into the department store studio but I've been there.  It isn't really that much cheaper.  And I've seen the options that are out there.  I follow lots of photographers and there are some really amazing people, capturing and creating amazing images.  I couldn't even consider going into a dept. store studio setting for the frantic 15-30 minutes.  I've learned that these images are an investment that I really really want to make.

3.  I absolutely hate having my picture taken.  I am not the person who can naturally look beautiful in front of the camera.  It takes work.  I've taken self portraits to practice and it doesn't seem to help.  I try different expressions and look weird or awkward.  I can't even pull off funny and goofy in a cute way.  There are a handful of images that I've felt good about- my senior pics and my wedding pics.

But despite these hurdles, I really wanted an updated family picture to hang in our new(ish) house and so when the amazing Jen McKen announced an opportunity for mini-sessions, I jumped.  Seriously, I think I almost immediately sent a message after reading her post.  This was perfect for us.  A relaxed family session out at a park.  That is us. 

So I've been following Jen on FB for awhile (maybe just a little harmless stalking).  I found out about her when she took a stand last year against bullying. I read that blog post and saw that she was from near where I grew up, had great values, and was an amazing photographer... of course, I wanted to be her friend :-)

And outside the internet world, she's just as great a person!

We met up at Keystone State Park (a little park near my mom's house).  We brought a blanket, some books and a game of Chinese Checkers.  Then Jen just let us do our thing and she clicked away.  The kids had so much fun and I was having so much fun with them that I didn't have time to feel awkward or self conscious.

And Jen captured some great images.

Go here and see them!

Thanks Jen!