Engagements A-Go-Go

It's been super busy the last few weeks and I've neglected my blog :( The good news is, all this time has been very productive, with wedding contracts, portraits, engagements and my first wedding of the year.

I really like doing engagement sessions bc it gives me a chance to get to know the couple and it really forces me to be creative. There are only so many shots of a couple one can take before they look staged and stale. So, I was really excited to start off the year with 2 enagement sessions for two of my wedding couples. These are a few of my favorite shots.

Weddings + Kids

Over the weekend I got a catalog from Oriental Trading Company. I have not idea why, but I have a soft spot for party decorations, stationary, and stupid party favors, all of which the OTC has plently of! One of the things I noticed that was new was a whole slew of wedding themed items designed to keep kids busy at the wedding. I've seen many creative brides put together their own activity packs for kids, but these are a great alternative if you don't have the time or energy to make something yourself. They also have great flower girl and ring bearer sets that are only about $10 each. At that price, you could even get these for all the kids at your reception!

Is this cute, or what?

I finally had time to fit in a my first portrait session of 2007 last weekend. I have been so busy with wedding appointments, it's been hard to find time. Here is one of my favorites from the sitting.

Weddings Unwrapped

I had such a busy week after the bridal show, I needed to get some relaxing time in this past weekend. I am a big fan of the Food Network and on Saturday I watched Weddings Unwrapped. It is a nice break from all the stress-filled wedding shows, like bridezillas or whose wedding is it anyway? All you foodies getting married should check it out when you are feeling like you need a break from all the planning :)

Snow

I've been meaning to post something a little less business-y and things have been going so well, I just haven't had the chance. Here is a photo from a few weeks ago when it snowed. This was Chloe's first snow where she has been able to go out in it. We got her all bundled up and she was outside all of 5 minutes before she wanted to come back in. I love her Detroit hat :)

Nicest Email

I got a great email over the weekend from a past client that I did newborn photos for. It is the feedback like that that keeps me going :) Her baby was adorable, and I really loved the photos. She tried a volume studio for the 6 mo pictures, and well....here is her email:

Hi Amie,
I am not sure if you will remember me. My husband, Matt, and I came in with our daughter Ashlyn to get her 1 month picture taken. I wanted to let you know that we still love the pictures and our family loves them too. So now, Ashlyn is 6 months old and we decided that we would try and save some money this time and just go to one of the mall places to have her pictures taken. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! We just got home and could not stop talking about how awful it was compared to the wonderful experience we had with you. Ashlyn cried because there were 3 sales people trying to get her to smile, they took some awful shots and to top it all off. They were way more expensive. We were so spoiled by coming to you first. I can't believe that we made the mistake of going anywhere else. For her one year photos, we are definitely coming to you! My husband kept saying, "That is difference between working with a true artist and some guy with a camera. I am crushed that I spent my photo budget on the lousy pictures but am also excited about having you take her one year photo. We will be contacting you in a few months. Thanks again for your beautiful work and never again will I go to a random mall photo place.

I thought this was SO nice! Of course, I am sad that she will not have great 6 mo photos, so I hope she brings her in for a 'mini' session.

I was going to post an image from her session, but it won't work for some reason! grr. Ok, got it to work today....isn't she the cutest?

Crazy Idea

I have this idea that I want to photograph a couple from enagement, to wedding, to pregnancy, to baby, to family portrait. Is this totally crazy? DC is such a transient area, and though I've kept in touch with several of my wedding couples, none are still in the area who are/have been pregnant. If you're one of my past couples and you're interested, or, if you're just starting out on your search for a photographer and think this sounds like a fun project, please contact me!!