Meanwhile, I wanted to share our most recent Newborn client. Isn’t she just the most precious baby? These are the birth announcements that we created just for her, and I just had to share them with you as well! (All names have been changed from what they are on the final announcements, just in case you were wondering!) The image on the left is the front of the card, and one on the right is the back.

Plan to see a lot more of her over the next year, because she is one of our first Life Session clients! Back in 2006, I photographed a lot of newborns, but then things got busy and I started doing it by request only. Recently, I realized just how much I missed working with infants, and as a lot of our past boudoir & wedding clients are having babies, it seemed like the perfect time to start doing first year collections again! I’ll be posting more about them over the next few weeks – but for now, I’ll just point out that they aren’t by request only anymore!

I forgot just how incredibly sweet a 7 day old baby was until I spent the afternoon with Baby Pearl & her family. Love! I’ll be sharing more from her session soon!

Interested in a Life Session for your family or custom Newborn birth announcements? Let us know!

Next Friday and Saturday, we’re having a Grand Opening for the studio at 1024 Studewood, in conjunction with Heights First Saturday! (I’m always at a loss for what to call it, since we’re not really just opening the studio, but rather celebrating the expansion of the space!) On Friday, March 6th from 11am-8pm and on Saturday, March 7, from 10am – 4pm, stop by for refreshments, to check out the space, see our latest work and sample albums, and the brand new photos on the wall – including a 60×33.75 inch, 2.5″ deep gallery wrap canvas of the above image hanging over the brand new sofas. It is going to be *gorgeous*! I am so excited – I can’t wait for it to arrive!!!

Everyone who stops by can pick up a gift certificate good for a complimentary mini session! A 30 minute session at the studio or in the Heights (valued at $75) – perfect for couples that just want a photo or two for their engagement session or bridal portrait, a mini boudoir session, a maternity portrait, a family photograph, newborn photography, a mini senior portrait session – you name it! We’ll also have a list of dates and times available for the sessions, so you can get on the calendar on the spot if you’re interested. If you would like to upgrade the mini session to a full session, you can for a special price! Just ask!

I will also be releasing the latest pricelist at the beginning of next week; we review and revise them every 3-4 months. After extensive discussions with our clients and prospective clients, I have decided to expand my a la carte´pricing in it, including the option to book us on an hourly basis. I will also be offering the option to hire only me instead of two photographers for weddings with 150 guests or less, or to have two photographer coverage for part of the day, and single photographer coverage for the rest of it. I really want everything to be flexible to fit your needs!

I hope you can come by next weekend – I would *love* to see you there! It is time to CELEBRATE!!!

AFTER PARTY! — After the Grand Opening at the studio, head on over to Taft St. Coffee to see Elaine’s photo exhibit on display there! The reception for her exhibit is also on March 7th, from 5-8pm. She will be showing off (and selling) her Through the Viewfinder (TTV) prints, which would normally be hanging at the studio but aren’t going to be next weekend. They are really cool! You won’t want to miss the show! 2115 Taft St. – very easy to get to from the studio!

I use Flickr for photo storage and sharing, and am active in several groups and communities over there. As I’ve done in years past, I went through my top 100 photos (a set that is automatically generated) and made a set of the top 40 photos from 2007; this mosiac represents the top 25, in order of popularity. I thought I would share them here so you can see a sample of my some of my other photography. Meanwhile, I’m working on gathering up photos to revamp this site, change out the portfolio, and make it generally fabulous!

Thank you to all of YOU who helped make 2007 an amazing year!

Do you Flickr? Have a set of your top images from 2007? Let me know – I want to check them out!

Direct links to the photos:
1. Biltmore Bride, 2. Andi & Jason, 3. Big Red Couch, 4. Orange is In…, 5. Cooper, Yawning, 6. Well?, 7. Peacefully Sleeping, 8. $600 Doll. Seriously., 9. Wee Baby Toes!, 10. Dancing Lou, 11. Koln_Dom, 12. Sweet Baby, 13. The Exit, 14. LOVE, 15. Mike’s Lunch, 16. Jesus Saves, 17. Mother’s Love, 18. Name That Flower!, 19. Another From the Seats, 20. Nothing Better Than Blue!, 21. Ella’s First Birthday, 22. How to Feel like a Rockstar…, 23. Caffeine Required, 24. Anna & Jon, 25. Manhattan Sunset

I have known Rebekah’s grandmother for the past few years as she is also a knitter and is a member of the local knitting guild in addition to going to “Sit & Knit” at one of the local yarn shops. I’ve always known that she is a woman of amazing talent, but I had no idea how talented! Not only did she crochet the blanket that Rebekah is sleeping on in these photos, she also handmade and hand smocked the dress that she is wearing. It was just stunning, and I’m so glad we captured the heirloom in these photographs!

Special props go to Rebekah’s Dad for helping out and holding the background fabric for us — it was hard work, and it made the photographs perfect!

I was looking for something handy on the hard drive to test out my new logo watermark on, and I discovered this gem that I didn’t post earlier this year! This is Cooper, a newborn that I photographed this past spring over in Austin, Texas. His grandmother, Julia and I have been friends for years, and she is a fellow knitter. When I went to his house for his session, I asked his mom to pull out some of the handknits that Julia had made so that we could use them in the photos. He was such a trooper through our session, I ended up with tons of photos of him!

Next time I’m in Austin, I need to make sure I stop in to visit him. From the latest photos I’ve seen, he is growing up fast! Ah, they don’t stay this young and sweet for long!

Earlier this week, I was invited by the fabulous Katie and Adam to come over and spend time hanging out with them for Ella’s first birthday. Just look at that cutie! How could I resist? I’ve actually wanted to get Ella in front of my lens since this past spring when I first met her – so there was no way I was passing the chance up!

She was happy and bubbly when I first arrived at her house – I always say that people are most comfortable being photographed in their favorite places. However, the light & I weren’t getting along there very well, so I suggested going out to the park. She went into serious Ella mode – but I promise she was all smiles before this!

Last Friday I got to finally meet Mary, also known as Ella’s Happy Buela. Mary & I have exchanged emails for months now, ever since she started listening to the Pointy Sticks podcast. We never got to meet up though until now – and I am so glad we got to meet! She was finishing up Ella’s new birthday dress that she made, and she brought it up to Twisted Yarns so she could ask questions about it. It was such a joy having her join us in the Friday knitting circle! And Ella’s dress was so cute! She wore the dress for part of her birthday, and we got photos of her in it too.

I hope to get to spend more time with Ella in the future – she has such a great spirit and joy!