Class of 2008…
I'm soooo behind with blogging since I've been crazy busy editing lately BUT in an attempt to start to catch up, here were a few of my faves from Jonathan's senior portrait session a few weeks ago. We've been friends with his mom for a long time so we went out to their house to do his session in a variety of outfits and settings. How many guys can say they had their pics taken on the roof of their house?! LOL (It was his idea, I swear!) 🙂
Jonathan is a Cubs fan so we had to get a few shots in full gear of course!
As well as a Colts fan…. 🙂
And a Notre Dame fan… 🙂
Thanks for a great time at your photo shoot!! 🙂
Quick update…
Thank you to everyone who e-mailed about the giveaway! We will be offering some more cool giveaways in the coming months so stay glued to the blog. 🙂
Also, I know you all know how crazy busy it gets around here leading up to Christmas…it seems like we always get slammed with orders before the holidays so in order to increase productivity and efficiency, I'm going to try something new and see how well it works. I'm going to try to focus more on editing & photoshopping by only checking e-mail twice a day. I know, it's going to be super hard for me…you all know how addicted I am to e-mail but if I can focus more on editing, I'll be able to get more done for all of you a lot quicker so I know you'll all understand. 🙂 And yes, that idea came from a combination of "The 4-Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferris and Dave Ramsey's Business Coach class in case you're wondering…I also highly recommend the 4 hour work week book to all business owners too…although I'm still struggling with how to cram 80 hours of work into 4 hours every week but I'm sure we'll get there someday…LOL! I know you're all used to me responding to e-mails within minutes/hours usually but we're going to try this for the next few weeks and see how well it goes. 😉
And on a completely unrelated note, Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK! Can you believe it?! If any of you are interested in participating in the Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving dinner charity project (or if you'd like to make a donation to their worthy cause) CLICK HERE! We helped out last year and it was so much fun!! 🙂
It’s ok, be weird.
Here's a thought to ponder…
(Sorry for the photo quality, these were all taken with my purse camera) 😉 I don't usually talk about super personal stuff on here very often but this is important enough that I think it needs to be said…and I think a lot of people out there can benefit from this information, it can truly change their lives for the better. Four years ago, my dad bought us a book that changed our financial lives completely and I'm excited to say that in about 1 year, that question in the photo above will be a reality for us. John & I will be personally AND professionally 100% DEBT FREE!!! Do you even KNOW how empowering that is?! 🙂 Talk about FREEDOM!! For so many Americans, car payments and debt is just a normal way of life but as my favorite financial guru Dave Ramsey says, "If that's the norm, I want to be weird!"
I've been a fan of Dave's ever since we read his book back in 2003. He landed a 3 hour spot (noon-3 p.m.) on talk radio here in Indy this year (he was on 93.9 but has since moved to 95.9 this week, change your radio presets!) and when we found out he was coming to Indy for a live event on Thursday, I bought us VIP tickets! He is just as phenomenal in person as he is in his best-selling books! 🙂 Yesterday I attended his all-day Business Coach live event at the Convention Center downtown…AMAZING. Every business owner should attend one of these conferences. I think it's just as important to step back and work ON your business as it is to be working IN your business and during this crazy time of year, it was the perfect get away for the day. He talked about leadership, entrepreneurs, vision casting, goal setting, time management, organization, budgeting, savings, hiring, firing, delegating, recognition and inspiration! I highly recommend other business owners attend his next Business Coach class and check out his website by CLICKING HERE! You will be blown away by the amount of helpful information he has to offer and you owe it to yourself, your staff and your clients to keep improving your leadership skills and the level of service you offer.
As a way of "paying it forward" I want other faithful blog readers who want to change their financial future to get the same opportunity that we were given. I bought 5 copies of Dave's best selling book, The Total Money Makeover while attending yesterday's Business Coach event and the first 5 people to e-mail me their name and mailing address will receive a free copy of Dave's book this week. You just have to promise me that #1 you'll apply the information and #2, you'll share it with others. 🙂 E-mail me for your FREE book at: [email protected] (Quick update – all 5 books are now spoken for but you can order a copy for only $10 on Dave Ramsey's website by CLICKING HERE!) Oh, and by the way, he doesn't accept credit cards, only debit cards. 😉 …and I just found out that the $10 special is only good through this Thanksgiving weekend…
Attn: Photographers!!
WPPI just released their schedule for next March and it looks like online registration starts tomorrow, check it out by clicking HERE! Also, did you hear that Nikon just released the new D300!? 12.3 mp, 51-point auto focus and a dust reduction system…holy cow!! 😀 I may have to go see this for myself!
On another note, I just received an e-mail from Cygnus about a new tax bill that may help self-employed photogs (it's about time!! LOL) so check this out!! CLICK HERE to read the article…
Congratulations Karen & Sean!
Last week was SUCH a busy week that I didn't have much time to blog! Last weekend, we shot an AMAZING reception for Karen & Sean on Saturday, then photographed AdriAnne & Larry's 1st anniversary shoot on Sunday…then between working on editing, albums, reprints, meeting with new clients, and hiring a new album designer last week, we also had a few awesome surprises thrown in there!! Jessica and Chris sent us a beautiful bouquet of flowers to congratulate us on our 2nd place finish on the A-List and my family even threw me a surprise party at lunch on Friday for the same reason! (My 1st surprise party EVER – thanks guys!!! You totally got me!!) 🙂 …I'll post pics after my sister downloads/e-mails them over. 😉
Anyway, this weekend was just as busy…starting with Andrea & Kent's wedding on Saturday then promotional head shots and a fashion photo shoot today. Obviously there will be LOTS of new photos coming soon so stay tuned!! I'll be taking most of this week off to catch up on editing since we're so behind (sorry guys!) so if I'm a little slower to respond in e-mail, that's why…I'm buried in photoshop!! LOL Anyway, back to Karen & Sean's wedding…they were actually married on 10/22 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas!! They had to use the hotel's photographer for the wedding but then hired us to shoot the big return shindig on 11/3! 🙂 We had SO MUCH FUN that day…oh my goodness, I was in LOVE with their whole wedding, the details, reception, everything!!
Check out these AMAZING details…we started shooting at their house that day…John shot the "pink & bling" flip flops, loved it!
She had her "I'm the Bride" pin on her purse strap hanging by the door…so cute!
Karen and Karen…:)
A pillow from the wedding location….
The ring bearer's pillow that her mom made!! Can you believe that?! SO CUTE!!
Karen's wedding necklace…LOVED IT!
And drum roll please…..HER SHOES!!! 😀 She wins the coolest wedding shoes award… 🙂
I'm in love!!! 🙂 ….now I only wish I could wear cute shoes like that without falling on my rear…LOL
The guys all wore their destination wedding Tommy Bahama ties…loved it!
And Karen showed her support of the Colts 🙂
HOLY COW…isn't she GORGEOUS?! Karen Hall & Co. did a fantastic job as usual on her hair & make-up that day…she looked stunning!
And here's Sean, our handsome groom!!
Under their tree in the front yard…loved the leaves!
For some reason, I love this shot. LOL We had her popping her foot for a lot of shots since she had such a cute dress and cool shoes so when I saw him popping his foot as he was talking to the firemen (more on that in a minute) I cracked up!! 🙂
Walking down Main Street in Carmel….
Yep, they coordinated everything with their friends at the fire and police departments to block traffic and bring a fire truck to Main Street in Carmel for their photo shoot!! 🙂 Isn't that awesome?! They actually re-directed traffic around us and people were coming out of the shops to see what was going on…they're famous. 🙂 One lady even brought out a bottle of wine for them!!
I loved both of their shoe choices…:)
CUTE!!
LOL!! I was totally into my "shooting zone" and getting all kinds of cool angles since they love artsy shots and they also shop on Main Street a lot. Well, I had the sign in focus for this shot and I took the pic then read what was on the sign afterwards! LOL Oops…we all got a good laugh out of it though! 😀
Adorable!
They got their invitations from Lucky Lou, an adorable boutique filled with all kinds of unique gifts and decor so we shot a few promo shots in front of the store for Heather, the owner. 🙂 (Who will be at our Holiday Bridal Show next month by the way!)
And since she's a pink girl like me…
HILARIOUS! Life imitating art…or art imitating life. 🙂
LOVE IT!
Mayor Brainard even stopped by for a photo opp!
And here's Amanda & Ryan, thanks to both of you for referring Karen & Sean to us! 🙂 (And Happy Birthday to Ryan, his b-day was on Thursday!)
Karen & Sean are Starbucks lovers like us so we stopped there for drinks before the big party started….
And did a few more cool ring shots!
Classic Cakes did an amazing job with their cake!
They had their reception at Adobo Grill, a Mexican restaurant in Castleton. The ambiance and decor in there is so cool and awesome for photos!
They surprised her parents with a mariachi band at the reception!
Her mom hand-made all of these bracelets as favors for their guests! She's amazing and so crafty!! 🙂
Here's Sean cheesin' with the ladies! 😀
Congrats you guys!! More pics coming soon! 🙂