Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! The studio was closed over the weekend and with the holiday we made some changes to the website.  According to the emails it sounds like not too many of you even noticed that it was down for a little bit.  I apologize if you were one of the few that tried to access your portraits and the photo cart software was down.  The website is back to normal and fully functioning.

Marnie loves her new position and is catching onto all of the tasks that have been given to her very fast.  She spent her day on Friday shopping — so now she’ll have to stay for a while to pay off her bills.  haha.

Don’t forget that this coming up Saturday December 3rd is the holiday portrait event.  This information is on the front page of the website with all the details.  The sitting fee is only 9.99 for a 1/2 hour holiday session.  Appointments are very much appreciated.  Just email Marnie or Angie to schedule your session.

Have a wonderful week back to work!!

Start of a wonderful beginning

Marnie starts tomorrow!  Yayyyy!!  I can’t wait for her to see her in-box. hehe.  One of the first things on the agenda is to get you all our holiday card examples posted out to facebook.  This way you can see the variety of cards that you can order.  Of course this will only be about 20-30 out of the endless possibilities but it will be a starting point for you all to get a fell for the various designs.

I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving!  It is time to get started on your holiday portraits.  Many are already making appointments so if you have not, please call or email us soon so that we can get you all set up for your sessions.  We have even more backdrops to pick from this year so there is for sure at least one very cute backdrop that will be guaranteed to work for you!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!

Exciting changes

Starting next week there will be a new face at Creatively Yours Photography.  Marnie Lauer is joining the Creatively Yours family!  I am super excited to have her expertise and experience coming to the business.  Some of you have meet her before – she is really nice and outgoing.  If you haven’t met her yet, she is wonderful – I know you will all love her.  :)  Marnie comes from a business background and will be handling many current and new business tasks so you will be seeing her smiling face quite often!!

We will be doing a holiday open house on December 3rd.  Mark you calendars.  The special is still being figured out but it will be a great special!!

Have a great week!

Great day at Plaumann Park yesterday!!

Thank you to all who did the Plaumann park photo day yesterday.  This event was a huge hit.  I will probably be doing two of these next fall if time permits.  We got a ton of wonderful portraits taken!  I filled up two of my large camera cards — that’s a lot of portraits!!  I will have these edited in the next week or two and get them out for all to see.  Thank you again!!

There are some really neat changes happening at the studio.  I will update you as they happen.  Yesterday the large studio room got a make over and I can now fit larger groups in that room for portriats.  This makes me VERY happy!!  I always feel terrible turning people away if I couldn’t fit them in the studio room but now I will be able to hold at least double the amount of people in that room.  :)

Very soon I will be coming up with a date for a special on holiday portraits.  I’m not quite sure what it is yet but I have a feeling it will be discounted sitting fees and a deal on Holiday cards since so many of you really love ordering your cards through us.  So keep watching for these discounts to be announced!

Have a great week!

Angie

Plaumann park day is almost full

The special for the 19.99 sitting fee at Plaumann park is actually already full so I am adding a few time slots to the day for those of you that would still like to take advantage of this special.  It is on the 29th of October and I will be adding the following time slots:  10AM, and 3PM.  If you would like either of those sessions please contact me.  This is first come first serve.

I was at the Neenah High School Helping hands craft fair yesterday from 9-3.  I’m sorry that I didn’t get time to update the event on facebook (but it was in the newsletter so make sure you are signed up for that).  It was a great event. There are always a lot of people there, everyone is super nice and best of all it’s to help local families that need a little extra help during tough times.  So thank you for coming if you came. It was a lot of fun and gets bigger and funner every year.

And that’s about it for updates this week.  Still busy with High School seniors and of course those lovely little ones lately.  Family photos are starting to pick up a lot too.  It’s going to be a fun fall seeing so many of you again, I love it!

Have a great week!

Angie

All images on the website have been updated

A few days ago I went through each and every portrait on the website and updated all of them.  Some of them had very low resolution and with so few people on dial up anymore, I decided to make them a decent size so clients will get a real feel for how the portraits look.  I’m very happy with the images being clear now and I’m sure that very few people will notice the increase in how long it takes the site to load.  So go out there and take a look – are your portraits on there?  :)

We did a beautiful wedding yesterday at The Crystal Ballroom in Hilbert.  The setting is vintage there and the images are breathtaking.  I can’t wait to post some of these portraits on facebook for all to view.

This week is very busy at the studio!  Two newborns will be included in the Creatively Yours Photography family along with a few new families that are “first comers to the studio” – watch facebook for them as well.

Have a great week!

We had a great time at the Greenville Craft Fair today

It was so nice seeing everyone at the craft fair today.  This craft fair is always very busy and it’s a lot of fun to see old and new faces and to see what everyone is up to.  We also love all the pets that we got the pleasure of meeting today.  I always end up spending a chunk of money on the local vendors that are around our booth so I even get a few minutes to shop.

There were a lot of pretty trees at the park today — earlier than last year or so it seems.  Please make sure if you want these beautiful fall portraits you schedule soon so we can get these pretty colors in your portraits before they are gone.  Today many people were interested in doing a fall family portrait – it is a huge hit and if you get our newsletter (which I hope you do) you will see that on October 29th you can schedule your session for Plaumann park for only 19.99.  You must schedule this appointment in advance so make sure you call or email soon to get your spot that day.

 

Getting ready for Halloween

Do you subscribe to the newsletter where you get all the pre-planned specials?  October 2-7th you can get a 1/2 hour halloween portrait session for only 9.99.  For that week I will have my halloween props out and the settings all perfect for these portraits.  Bring your child in with their costume (and yourself of course – pets are also welcome) and I will capture some very cute portraits for you.  This is a wonderful price – take advantage.

We have been getting a ton of wedding inquires over the last few months.  Thank you for the wonderful word of mouth that is going around about our studio.  It makes me so happy to hear all this positive feedback from so many people.  I love you guys and I can’t even explain how happy it makes me to capture your life memories for you.  I truly find it an honor.

Well time to edit portraits from yesterdays wedding.  Have a super wonderful week!

Thank you for all your patience

I have been doing portrait edits like a crazy person lately. I am behind quite a few sessions but I make sure I give each session the attention that each of you deserve.  I promise quality at a great price and that’s what I do no matter how behind I am.  :)  Because I know many of you are waiting very patiently to see your lovely portraits, I wanted to thank you so much for being patient and understanding with why some of them are taking a week or two.

On another note, high school seniors are still getting their portraits taken but this is winding down.  People are scheduling for their beautiful fall portraits.  Many of you need weekend sessions to get the whole family together so please do not wait until the last minute to schedule your session time.

Okay back to work for me.  You all have a wonderful week!

Angie

Back from vacation

I took a quick mini vacation for a few days to go and visit the vendor that makes all the wonderful backdrops that I use for my studio sessions.  It was a wonderful trip with a very good friend of mine.  Splash of Color (that makes my backdrops) has a great setup and it was very neat to see their setup with how they print the backdrops. She also does photography so it was really neat to get more ideas on her photography style.

I am catching up now on portraits so if you have been waiting – you will not need to wait much longer. I will be getting through all these as quick as possible while making sure your quality is still top notch of course!!  I really appreciate your patience with your portraits.

We missed the huge storm that came through!  It is odd to be away from home and hear about all this craziness that is happening back home.  When we left it was beautiful outside and then all of a sudden it was terrible with all the trees down and hitting houses and cars and power out — wow.  I’m glad that things are getting cleaned up for everyone and back to normal.  We came back at the perfect time.  haha.

And for your photography tip:  How to pick the right camera for you.

 

Digital Camera Comparison – Intended use: 

The first thing to consider when thinking of buying a new digital camera is how you intend to use your shiny new gadget. People generally fall into one of three categories:

• Snappers – If you just want a simple point n’ click camera that produces reasonable digital photographs.  This is what most people purchase.
• Hobbyists – these people want to get a little creative at times. Perhaps a few close ups, the odd clever slow motion night shot and so on.
• Pro/Semi-pro – these people want a camera that delivers top quality photographs. They want a fast operating camera that’s also adaptable. They usually want granite-like construction too!

So, before you do anything else, decide what category you fall into. Once you have decided you should then consider pixel, count, cost, style and size.

Digital Camera Comparison – Pixel count: 

Digital camera manufacturers use pixel count in the same way car manufacturers use 0-60mph speed times. The car that goes from 0-60 in 9 seconds must be better that the car that takes 10 seconds, right? Don’t be suckered in! It’s a marketing gimmick more than anything else.

My advice – when choosing a new digital camera don’t get caught up in the race to get even more pixels, it will cost you more money, and you are unlikely to even notice a difference.

Digital Camera Comparison – Cost:

If you have just won the lottery, by all means go and spend your winnings. Buy a top of the range shiny new digital camera. Heck, buy five of them!

For those of us without lottery winnings to draw upon we have to be a little more careful when making our digital camera comparison.  You do NOT need to spend a fortune to get a good camera.

Digital Camera Comparison – Style:

Personally, I buy a digital camera because it does what I want it to do.

When shopping for a digital camera do give style some consideration. If you don’t like the look of a certain camera and wouldn’t dare to take it out in public, then don’t buy it.

Better to have a camera you are happy to use than one that sits on the shelf at home. At least that way you will get some photographs!

Digital Camera Comparison – Size:

Digital cameras range from those so small they fit on your key ring to something so large it almost requires a fork-lift truck to carry the thing!

Thankfully you don’t have to choose between the two because they come in every size imaginable.

Generally speaking, the snappers have it easy – these cameras are small and light and will easily fit into your pocket.

Hobbyists’ digital cameras are larger. They are often awkward shapes too.

Pro/semi-pro cameras are bricks! Of course this is what I use, but I’m prepared to lug it around in a bag everywhere I go.

Final note:  When looking for the right camera for you, go for a camera that you will feel comfortable carrying, has good reviews (on Amazon for example) so is well known for taking great photos and is within your price range.  Do not get caught up on pixel count or talked into purchasing a camera that takes great photos but in the end is too large for you to want to bring with you.  Then you wont end up using the camera that you spent all that money on.

Have a great week everyone!!