E.M. Photography

Saturday's session

2009-10-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

I think I'm caught up, for the most part. The good thing about the rain, it gave me some needed time to catch up in editing, filling orders, revising xmas cards, etc. The bad thing, I will be behind again after three sessions on Friday and three on Sunday due to rescheduling. GRRR

But, that is ok.

Here are a few favs of mine from this past Saturday. This little guy was on the move. Full of energy and wonder. My favorite is the first one, I love how the sun was shining just right.

Hope everyone is having a super week so far.

so behind in posting

2009-10-26T14:35:00.001-07:00

But I'm getting there, trying to catch up. ;) Senior session from last Wednesday. I think we had fun and Columbia Park is BEAUTIFUL right now.

Tuesday's Senior Session

2009-10-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

Seriously, I had so much fun doing this session. We started at the St Joe Mine's historical site and got scolded for going over rope. :) Oops... then we ended at the quarry behind MAC. Love senior sessions so much, they get me out of a funk. :)

Sessions from this past week

2009-10-24T13:45:00.001-07:00

Family session on Monday

So I was going to move, but now typepad is ticking me off. At the beginning of the new year I'm going to invest in a blog from Blu (who my site is with) so for now I'll stick with blogger.

Moving officially

2009-10-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

now. :) New blog....

http://emilymphotography.typepad.com/em-photography/

Near and dear to my heart

2009-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

A contact of mine on Facebook is a photographer, an amazing photographer, a mother, a wife, a woman, a daughter, maybe a sister and a fellow human being. She is a survivor of cancer, breast cancer I believe (Lidia I hope you correct me if I'm wrong) but being on the opposite side, I know what her family went through as my mother is also a survivor of breast cancer. These women are the lucky ones.... and the fighters.

Lidia is taking her passion for photography and her huge heart and starting a foundation, nationwide, to photograph families of children with cancer.. and the children of course. This is a HUGE thing to do, she has money to raise, people to appoint, contacts to make, I can not even imagine what else she has to do... but she is doing it and doing it well. I believe that she is half way to her goal right now. As a mother, it touches me to photograph children of any kind, but when you get to peek into the special life of a child that is ill or has a disability it is even more special. These children touch my heart, they don't realize they are sick, they are just kids. There is a commercial on the radio that says "Agenda of a 6 year old" and the little voice lists things like "count the stars, skip rope, play with my best friend Sam" and the one big thing that is not and should not be on their mind is being sick or feeling bad... though all too often that is on a little ones mind.

I'm so fortunate, I gave birth to three healthy, beautiful children... I was even given two at once with the girls. It sometimes makes me think "why was I one of the lucky ones" you know... guilty, because all too often I take my children for granted. I get aggrivated at them for not picking stuff up, I'm too tired to chase them, but I should be thankful that they are healthy enough to run around and scream and giggle... I need to step back and take these moments in.

So, here is the link to Lidia's blog, she is an amazing woman.... I hope that you all can pass this along as well and spread the word.

And here's to you Lidia, may you always be blessed, you are one special person.

http://www.ohsoposhphotography.com/blog/

My Monday session

2009-10-13T16:03:00.001-07:00

From my session last night. I photographed this little beauty back in May and had the opportunity to photograph her again. Such a little doll.

It is so awesome when my clients have the same vision as me, meaning the chair in this and the awesome zebra print jacket, which I think may have been accident, I don't know, but I love it. lol though most of my clients do have the same vision or want the same photos that I do, or they wouldn't come to me for this type of quirky style, the unposed, the unplanned shots.

Thanks to the Wilsons for allowing me to photograph your little beauty again!

Sunday's session

2009-10-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

A few of my favorites from Sunday. My favorite shots are never the posed shots, I always like the whimsical shots, I catch mom and dad kissing on their little one, or I catch the little one walking away and the light is just right. These are my favorite moments, my clients usually feel the same or they wouldn't come to me. They love these candid moments and I'm so lucky to have this gift to be able to capture it for them, forever on film. :)

Wednesday 07 session

2009-10-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

These little ones were the best models. Little sis especially liked that we could hear the chickens and roosters from the farm next door. :)

I'm FINALLY caught up before a very big whirl wind week of sessions coming up! Happy Fall!

Second half of Sunday's Session

2009-10-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

It was hard to choose a few favorites from this one so I just posted a variety. :) Such a great family, well they should be, I've know these girls' mommy since we were her oldest's age. :)

First part of Sunday's Sessions

2009-10-06T14:00:00.001-07:00

And yes "sessions" is plural because Sunday I was double booked. ;)

I've photographed this awesome family five times now, I have the best repeat clients EVER!

So a sneak peek for Sandi and Kevin.

My first Littlest Hero Session

2009-10-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

This little hero was born with Spina Bifiida, but you wouldn't know it. He is so active and happy, and has such a loving family that surrounds him every day. I'm honored to have been chosen to photograph him for his family.

Another family session

2009-10-01T20:38:00.001-07:00

My family session on Monday was so much fun, it was windy.. but we still managed to have fun and I think I managed to get some good shots for them. Such a beautiful family.

Dax's session

2009-09-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

What a little doll this guy is and such a good subject. :) Second time to photograph him, I have the best clients EVER.

Moving

2009-09-18T11:30:00.003-07:00

Moving on out... for now. ;)

Here's the new spot!

http://emillerphotography.squarespace.com/

2009-09-18T11:13:00.001-07:00

Testing to see if the "size for web" made a difference in the colors and sharpness on this blog.

Offer and moving news

2009-09-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

not house. :) Blogs... I'm trying out a new one and if it seems to go well with no kinks, we'll be blowing this place and moving out. I suppose I'll post here and there for a while.

Now for the offer:

I'm currently looking for a teeny tiny newborn to photograph. I've yet to have the pleasure of photographing a newborn when they are still in that sleepy, curled up stage. So many people do not want their babies photographed at this point, they don't find it "appealing" to me it is one of the most beautiful things in life. So, if you find it beautiful and know someone who is expecting, has a newborn or you have one, email me at emilymphotography@charter.net and I'll let you know what the incentive is. I'm thinking... free session and a discount on prints! So pass the word, I will accept three appts, so three people have the opportunity to receive a free newborn session and some sort of discount on prints. The catch, they have to be no older than 3 weeks old, still in the sleepy stage so that we can get some good sleepy newborn shots.

Pass it along!

One more thing, I'm booking for November now.. I'm currently booked for the rest of this month and mostly in October, with a few openings here and there. Thank you all for a wonderful year. I will book for November and then I'm going to take a break in December. I'll still be around for questions, orders, etc. but no photo shoots, I want to be able to focus on my family and get Christmas situated on time this year. ;)

another set of Xmas cards

2009-09-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Again, not my designs, but I am able to offer them to my clients. These are my photos. ;)

Love her stuff, I bought some templates from her last year.

Last day to order Xmas cards (although this will still be cutting it close) is December 1st.

T front

T back
R front
R back
Q front
Q back

Elephant Rock session

2009-09-14T13:37:00.001-07:00

Had the pleasure of photographing these two little ladies on Saturday at their favorite place. ;)

We had some awesome light in a few of these... excuse the horrible colors, my blog tends to desaturate them. :(

A little FYI for my customers

2009-09-14T08:13:00.001-07:00

In order to receive the early ordering incentive of 10% off of your order, your order must be placed within 10 days of your session and PAID FOR within at least the next week or the discount will not be applied.

Also, if you ordered a CD from me with the rights from your photo shoot, this gives you the right to do with them what you wish. If you did NOT purchase a CD, please do not scan or copy my photos and place them online or order copies. This is against copyright laws and also just wrong. If you would like a CD with some of your favorites on them to put online, I would be more than happy to give you that for an additional $5, they will have my watermark on them and not be high resolution, but this way you can use them online and I will get the advertising and the credit. The $5 is just paying for the CD.

Thanks for understanding... ;)

More Xmas Cards

2009-09-12T12:23:00.001-07:00

A. flat
B. front
B. back
C. front

C. back
D. flat
I. flat
J. flat card
K. front
K. Inside or back

Xmas Cards

2009-09-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

H. flat
G. front

G. Back
F. front
F. inside
F. back

Our apple picking trip

2009-09-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

We went to Eckerts on Sunday. The kids had a great time playing and petting the animals and then they were able to pick some apples. :)

American Idol Concert

2009-09-04T17:30:00.001-07:00

We went to the American Idol concert on Saturday. It was WONDERFUL! I'm a complete and total Adam Lambert fan, no comments if you are not a fan of his, just keep it to yourself. :P But, I think he is amazing... they all did great.

Matt Giraurd

and lots of Adam, I have more but didn't feel like posting all of them. Wish the quality was better, we had good seats, but to zoom in on my camera and then zoom in with Photo Shop, well it took some away from the shot. Still, you can see that he is wonderful. :)

Kelli and girls

2009-08-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

A session I had last week with Kelli and her two beautiful little girls. We had fun, even if Kelli an I both were stung by wasps.. OUCH!

Senior session

2009-08-26T19:36:00.001-07:00

Well, this session is bittersweet for me. I have known this young man since he was three, my son's age now and when I look at Jackson and then look at these photos of Jordan I think how fast time goes. It seems like yesterday he was this little guy running around. :) I love these people... everyone single one of them. First session, next one we are doing a big fall one.

Senior session

2009-08-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Facebook won't let me upload right now so I'm posting these here for a sneak peek. The blog tends to desaturate my colors. :(

another story board

2009-08-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

for Jody to view. :)

Sneak Peek from my reshoot

2009-08-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

A sneak peek and some of my favorites from last night.

Story Board example

2009-08-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

For a customer, I can't post them in my viewing gallery, again with the squishing. :)

Story board proofs

2009-08-19T14:58:00.001-07:00

Posting these on here as my site galleries squish them. So these are just examples for Sarah.

Sneak Peek again!

2009-08-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

A sneak peek from my baby session on Sunday. Beautiful family

Another referral session

2009-08-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

From my best referrer (is that a word) yet. She has sent me 5 customers to date. Thank you Krissi! This is her sister's baby... what a doll she is.

Can't wait to do some more in the future, I'm thinking some fun fall leaves photos.

The rest from Saturday

2009-08-12T18:11:00.001-07:00

I had to post the rest from this session on Saturday. Such a fun family and look at that baby, could she be cuter? :) Go to the side to see my fall special starting on September 1st or go to my site and click on Specials.

Another family session

2009-08-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

From this past Saturday, another family session. It was so hot, but this family were troopers... they did well and the two little guys did WONDERFUL! :)

Here's a sneak peek for them.... back to work.

Fun Family session

2009-08-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

These are from my family session on Monday. They were such a fun family and had so many ideas, I love that, I run out of things to do with people all the time, different things. :)

At the depot in Bonne Terre

Faust Park Session

2009-08-02T18:50:00.001-07:00

It was so hard to choose just a few to post, so I posted a bunch. :) I was so happy to finally meet "H" and his mommy. Long story short, his mommy and I have known each other since "H" was a baby and Jack was around a year and a half. They both suffered from acid reflux. "H" is better and off of meds, Jack, unfortunately is not, but acts as if he has no pain. Anyway, I enjoyed doing these so much, such a cutie patootie!

Masked Fun

2009-07-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

The girls are participating in our library's reading program this week. It is from 9am until 1030 am and the theme is creativity or something like that. LOL Anyway, they do an activity/craft every day. This is what they made today. They did so well. :) I have to say that I'm pretty proud that they are so artistic and creative. The age starts at 5, so Jack can't go yet, but he got in on the fun w/the mask photos.
Grace
Gabriela
And Jack w/Grace's mask
Jack with Gabby's mask

Proofing galleries

2009-07-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

This photo really has nothing to do with my post, but I hate posting and not adding any photo so here is a little photo of my cutie. :)

Just an FYI for my clients. Your gallery is available for viewing after your session for 2 weeks. If you need more time, that is certainly fine, I will leave it up for one month. But after that, you will be charged a fee for the additional space that the gallery takes up on my site. So, if after a month, you still can't decide on what photos you want to order, your gallery will come down. You can email me and let me know if you want it to be posted again and I can do that, again for two weeks, anything after the two weeks, there will be a $10 fee added to your photo order. I wish that I didn't have to do things this way, but client galleries take up a lot of space on my site and if I go over, my server will charge me extra. Also, sometimes if I don't hear back from a client within a month of taking your photos, I pretty much think that you either

a. didn't like them enough to buy

b. just can't purchase right now

And if the answer is "b" that is fine. I don't mind one bit to hold on to your gallery for you on my storage hard drive and when you are ready to order then you can email me and I'll repost it and you can decide then.

As an incentive to order within the first two weeks of your session, you will receive %15 off of your total order. But only if you order before your two weeks expires.

Thank you for understanding. :)

Tower Grove Park shoot

2009-07-24T07:51:00.003-07:00

From a session I had on Tuesday night. We went to Tower Grove Park in St Louis. What a beautiful place and so many photo spots. :) This little doll did so well and I think had a little bit of fun playing in the fountains. Just a few of my fav's, there were so many that I loved it was hard to choose a few to put on here.

Thanks Jen for the referral! She gets a free 5x7 from her session in May and my client on Tuesday also gets a free 5x7 with their order.

Day 2, we PAINTED...

2009-07-23T21:01:00.001-07:00

So Tuesday was a perfect day to paint the creations they made/formed with the salt dough. It was cold and rainy. They painted for an hour and it was so cute. They had way more to paint than they thought they did. I sat them on the counter to dry, not thinking that my great dane would think them cookies and try them. Well, she did and I mean she ate FOUR. This dough has a cup of salt in it. ACK... dumb dog. :P
Grace concentrating
Gabby hard at work
I love the look on Jack's face
And this one is priceless, such concentration!

In the end Jackson made a spongebob, two hearts, a star (I did that) a pizza and a J (again me)

Gabby made a mermaid, a mermaid's brush, the mermaid's ice cream cone and a G and also a fairy.

Grace made a monster, it's the one with the one long googly hair and a great big frog like head. :) They had fun and the art work is proudly displayed in their rooms. :)

Our salt dough project

2009-07-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

So I checked my anxiety at the door and we made salt dough on Monday. :P The kids had a really good time and I do think that it killed, oh at least an hour and a half of the afternoon. If you want the recipe, go to Karen's blog, which is linked on the side with my other photog friends' blogs. She did it with her kids first. :) Tomorrow I'll post the second day, we baked them and let them harden and then yesterday they painted their figures, shapes, whatever.
Jack adding one cup of the 3 cups of flour
Gabby's turn to add flour
And now Grace gets to add the last cup of flour
Jack using a cookie cutter to cut out his "fire truck" lol

More "beach" shots

2009-07-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

From Sunday. :)
digging in the sand
Grace
more digging
Gabby in the water. :)
This one cracks me up. :)

Our Sunday outing

2009-07-20T13:30:00.001-07:00

I have a ton of photos so I'll do this one in a two day post. :) Don't want to bore you all.

Yesterday we took the kids to St Joe State Park. They have a small beach area there with a man made lake. Now, I'm NO fan of lakes, the thought of not knowing what is swimming around me makes me want to gag, but I sucked it up and we went. I was so glad that we did. The kids had a blast. They would go up on the sand/pebbles and run and then splash into the water. Jack was the funniest, he wouldn't make it very far into the water before he would plop down on his bottom. They collected pebbles and "sea shells" and I think we'll keep collecting them for the rest of the summer then put them in their own little jars for them to keep. I took a ton of photos, they built sand castles and just had a great time.

The only down side, last summer the beach actually had sand on it, this summer they had moved in some sort of pebble/sand mix and it HURT our feet. HURT.... the kids didn't care, but hubby and I complained the whole time. :)

Copyright and all that garbage.

2009-07-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Just an FYI for my clients and potential clients.

The photos I take at your session are the property of E.M. Photography. That means that they can in no way be reproduced. This doesn't only mean scanning and sending them somewhere else to be printed, it also means to use them on the web.

Of course, if you buy a CD with all rights, this does, in fact give you the right to make prints and use them on the web (although if you use them on the web, a little shout out would be nice ;) )

But if you don't purchase the rights then you aren't allowed, under copyright laws to reproduce them in any way.

Now, I certainly don't mind, with my permission, if you use them on the web, as in social networking or your blog, just, again, give a little shout out as to who took them and whose work it is. It would be EXCELLENT advertising.

But, this also means that from now on, everything that I do will have my logo on the bottom. The photos you buy and the photos that you get on a CD when you purchase it. It won't be large like when I post them on my blog, it will be down in the corner, but this is only to protect me and I hope that you all understand. I appreciate my clients so much.

Identity theft (in the form of photos) online is a big thing. If you aren't aware of it, teens and adults from different countries, or even in the US try to download and save your/my photos all the time off of the web and use them as their own on sites like My Space, Orkut, and other networking sites. Many photographer friends of mine have had photos of their children and clients stolen off of Flickr and it is devastating. I had one stolen, that I know of. It SUCKS.

So this is only to protect me, to protect you as clients, it would be horrible for you to find your photos from your session on a site and someone else claiming them as their own. Especially if it is a photo of your child. These people were stealing them and then claiming that the children in the photo was theirs. Many photos of boys were stolen and used. This is the reason that all of us photographers now use our watermark on everything that we post.

I hope that all of my wonderful clients understand this. If you want to scan them and use them on your myspace, twitter, facebook, that is fine, just get my permission first and then, like I said, give me a little advertisement. ;) Also, I hope that the small watermark that will be on all photos at the bottom won't bother anyone. It is only to protect me and my work.

Also, anyone who ordered photobooks the month of June, they are coming. I appologize for the delay. If you did order one and I haven't spoken to you yet about it, I'm offering a discount on your next session or a free print from your current session. They will be here by August 1st. :)

With that said, if anyone is planning on ordering photo books for Christmas, then it would be wise to either get me your photos that you want in it (if it will be a group of photos from past sessions) or a new session, to me by October 31. This will be the cut off date. I had a hard time last year with one company, which I'm no longer using, but I don't want to have to rush and then my clients not get their books. It was a nail biter for me and a few clients last year to get them in time. And this will also allow time, if there are mistakes in books, for me to get it resolved with the company. As some know all too well, there were mistakes last year in some books and it was fixable, but it would have been a race against time and I hated it for the few that it happened to. I resolved it for them in other ways, but the fact remained that there were mistakes. :(

That's it for me. I'm off to a job interview at a preschool. EEK! It's at Window Tree in Farmington, perfect for me. They only have school from 8-noon and they run with the school calendar, which means that they are not in session during the summer, Xmas break, etc. Perfect for me that has twin 8 year olds that are off at those times. This will not interfere with my photography, if it did I wouldn't even think about it. :)

More later, we went to the lake yesterday and I have many photos to post.

Until then... ciao. :)

Last of our Chicago Photos (again) lol

2009-07-19T07:40:00.001-07:00

Two posts in one day. I am on a roll. :P These are from the very last day. LOL
Cool musicians playing on Michigan Avenue for change.
Navy Pier
at Navy Pier
"argh" me hearty. :)

Water Park

2009-07-19T07:32:00.001-07:00

My kids LOVE our water park and so do I. It is perfect, there is a big area that is shallow enough so that I don't have to worry about Jack not being able to touch and it's small enough so that I don't have to worry about the girls. They can swim, and better than myself. :) Although for a family of 5 it's pretty pricey and we can't go everyday, I do try to take them at least once a week and that gets it out of their system until at least the next week. These are from the last time we went at the end of June.

Wishing for school?

2009-07-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit it, but I am. I don't remember being as bored as my children get in the summer. And I was an ONLY CHILD... maybe that is why I didn't get bored, I just used my imagination more, or... there were no computers and not as much on tv to watch. I mean, we only had 5 channels when I was a kid, we lived in the country and had no cable. So my summer has turned into an all day "try to keep them busy". Today I literally had to unplug the TV and computer and MAKE them go outside. It is a beautiful day today, it's cool and not humid and the sun is shining. They were outside for 10 minutes before a scuffle broke out. *insert me pulling out my hair* I only have three to keep busy, I can't imagine adding any more into the mix and trying to entertain.

A wonderful friend of mine has four kiddos and she is a great mom. She enjoys her kids, she is patient and entertaining and doesn't rush them, she will look back one day and have no regrets, I can say that for sure. I think that I will have some, it's hard for me to not pick up as we do something, it just grates on my nerves to have a mess, now don't get me wrong, my house is not immaculate, not by any means, but I walk around all day picking up and I miss the little things, this I know I will regret. Yet it's hard for me, even though I know this, to stop and say "I will not obsess today about picking up the shoes and the grass they tracked in"

Anyway, Karen's blog is so fun. If you want to peek in and see what they are doing here is the link

http://101summer101.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

And her tag line reads "One mom's journey to avoid the "I'm bored" summertime blues"

how creative and fun is that. So this morning with a beautiful day ahead I decided we would do something FUN and free. :)

I made up a list of items I wanted them to find, gave them a basket and off they went. At first the girls ran and I think Jack felt it was a race and he threw his basket down and announced he was NOT going to "hunt". But then we started to help him and walk slowly and he was better.

After we found our items, the girls and I made a crown out of ivy and flowers. Jack didn't make a crown, but we had fun and killed at least an hour and a half this morning.

Jack finding his first item

Headed down the lane to find wildflowers
Grace's basket
Gabby helping Jack pick little cornflowers
Gabby and her basket of goodies
a small treasure
an even smaller treasure
Our treasures.

Blogs

2009-07-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Children always want to do what you do, be what you are, at least for a little while until they become cranky teens. :P

The girls saw me working on my blog and decided they wanted one... so I created them a "space"

Here is Gabby's

http://gabbyspage-gabby.blogspot.com/

And Grace's

http://grace-gracescreation.blogspot.com/

And if you're bored and want to go and leave a comment it would tickle them to pieces. :)

Last of our Chicago shots

2009-07-13T11:16:00.001-07:00

Jack on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier
Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

At Navy Pier
More beach shots

Day 2 of Chicago

2009-07-12T16:08:00.001-07:00

Ohio St Beach in Chicago

It was cold.... in beach weather terms, but they wanted to go and I wanted to take some "beach" shots, so we endured it. :)

I'll have more soon.

We are back

2009-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

At the mall outside of the Lego Store
At the Lego Store

Outside of Shedd Aquarium

American Girl Place

Always after we go away, so badly needing a break, I wonder, why in the HECK did we go away? We come home and things are CRAZY, laundry to do, things to clean, our internet was out for two days, Jack got an illness on Saturday, I contracted it Saturday night, the girls have it now... UGH why did we go away?

Anyway, here are photos from day one in Chicago.

We went to the American Girl Place and the Lego store. It was COLD COLD COLD.

A much needed break

2009-06-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

“It's called life. Activities available, just add meaning.”

- A Beautiful Mind

We are going on a much needed mini vacation. Taking a train to Chicago for a few days. Sight seeing and beaches are in order. Hope to have a ton of shots when we return!

2009-06-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.

- Richard Avedon

Birthday girls

2009-06-15T15:39:00.001-07:00

My girls turned 8 years old on Thursday. Time flies so quickly, seems like just yesterday they were teeny tiny little ones that I could hold in my hand (both of them at the same time) and now they are growing up and maturing so quickly.

The first one by herself is Grace, the next two after Grace's are Gabby.

One really good reason I hate the internet

2009-06-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Even though it has opened so many doors, made advertising cheaper, etc. There are a few downfalls. One, the website "associated content" any yay hoo in town can "write" an article and pretend to be an "expert" and some people (especially in small towns) will follow it like it is the gospel.

Here is what I'm talking about

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1788000/the_best_engagement_photographers_in.html?cat=8

Basically this man claims that he checked out all of these photography studios in Park Hills, including me and he names packages etc and then he names who "HE THINKS" is the best for value. Um... well do you think that you "get what you pay for" I mean, yes you are going to have some that are cheaper, but do you want to go cheaper when you are talking photos? I think not. I wouldn't go to a cheaper photographer for any kind of photo, to me cheaper usually means less quality. I know that some photographer friends of mine think that I don't charge enough, especially for my session fee, but this area is so small and I'm comparable to the highest photographer in the area as far as session fees.

He goes on to say that the kindness shown to him by each studio, this man never once contacted me for ANYTHING. He dotes on the "winner" or she is claiming that she was named "number one" at associated content for Park Hills, yet she doesn't have a web site. Her site is on My Space, that to me would be the first red flag. He also got my email address wrong when he posted it.

So, you can go for cheap or you can go for quality and just a tad more.

I shouldn't be so upset about this, I should just go on and leave it be. But I suppose the reason it makes me so angry is that the "number one" photographer is bragging and there is absolutely nothing to brag about. Ok, you are the cheapest, you are the best value. The cheapest steak is usually not the best cut, the cheapest car most of the time doesn't run for long.

I'm finished... I just don't appreciate this man acting like he knows everything there is to know about MY business when he did not, not one time contact me for information. Expert... ha, maybe at pretending to be an expert.

Stunning

2009-06-09T14:53:00.001-07:00

Need I say more? She is stunning, her eyes, well they just draw you in... such a doll.

Thanks to mom and dad for allowing me to photograph her.

Roth family session

2009-06-08T08:05:00.001-07:00

A family session I had on Thursday. A few of my favs. As you can see, little Miss is turning 1 in a month. So much fun!

E session

2009-06-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Had an engagement session last night. Just a few of my favs... :)

Preferred customer

2009-06-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

Part of giving back is appreciating your clients, right?

As I sat in line this afternoon to get coffee, free coffee because I had a punch card and after my 10th I get a cup for free, I started thinking how excited I get when I arrive to that 10th punch and know that my next cup will be free. I thought, "I need to somehow work this in to my business plan". I have a few clients that I have had the pleasure of photographing more than once and when it is a small child, it thrills me to be able to capture them for the parents at a certain age so you can go back and remember.

So, here's my preferred customer plan...

I will ask you if you would like to be a preferred customer. I'll keep them in my book and update you through email.

You book three sessions (you don't have to book them all at once, but after you have had a third session and order) you will receive a $50 credit for your 4th session order. There will be no expiration date. I will keep track for you and remind you that you will have a credit for your next session. My way of saying "thank you" for letting me be a part of your lives. Because without you all, where would I be?

Wilson's...

2009-06-01T19:17:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful family yesterday.

Little Miss was something else. :) Such a doll.

Here's a few

When your children are quiet

2009-05-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

They are usually up to something. :)

Jack, he was supposed to be finger painting PAPER... um... I think he missed.

If I were a superhero

2009-05-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

Every year the girls have been asked to keep a journal in school. At the end of the year they bring them home. It is always fun to see what they've been writing about.

This is taken from Gabby's journal

"If I were a superhero I would be cristal girl. With the powers to shine like the sun, run fast and jump high. I would have a cristal diamond necklace. I would never leave home without it. I would save the world."

Why do kids bully?

2009-05-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Normally this is not something that I would speak about, well, use my blog for a sounding board but I am so darn mad and tired of it that I believe that I must.

My daughters are 7 and a half, are they perfect... far from it. Have I tried to teach them to be kind and compassionate, to love everyone as an equal, to be respectful to your peers and to those that are your elders, to be friends to everyone, etc. etc. YES I have and I do think that I have done a pretty good job. The girls, up until first grade, didn't see "color" and you ALL know what I mean. They still are friends with everyone, they don't pick and choose, yes they have those that they are closer to, but they don't alienate, even when those others are less fortunate, aren't wearing the "name brand" etc.

As a 7 year old, they know way more than I did when I was seven. WAY MORE... This is not what the bullying is about, but a particular show is popular in our home right now "American Idol" and a certain someone on that show is very popular in this house "Adam" the girls go to school talking about him and little girls, little girls that are the same age as mine say things like "he is gay " and "he is goth" you know what? My first question to that is "do they know what gay is?" I don't even want to have to explain that to my children at the age of 7, shouldn't have to.. but because some children either read things online or their parents choose to tell them these things, then I have to explain. The goth comment, well that is just ignorant. Again, my question was "do you know what goth is.. or do they?" I don't think so.

On to the bullying, that was merely to get it off of my chest. :P

One of the twins is more sensitive than the other, she wears her heart on her sleeve. We had their bday party early this year because every year they get forgotten, I plan their party and because school isn't in session then no one comes or they are busy. So things were good the week of their party. The one twin that is sensitive has a best friend, they have been that way all year long. Talked on the phone, dressed alike, etc. little girl things. The MONDAY after the party two other little girls decided to "take her away" from one of my girls. This is what I was told was said "She is not your friend anymore she is OURS" this friend had given my daughter a bff necklace and one of these "bullies" told her that she should give that necklace to HER because they were her "bff" now and not my daughter. My first thought was that my daughter's friend should stand up and not let them "take her away" but I know how it is. I was put in this situation in school, I think the SAME AGE. I would go to school one day and everything was fine, then the next day my so called friend had gotten EVERYONE mad at me and I would walk around alone on the playground. It breaks my heart to think that my daughter (either one of them ) is dealing with this. I remember not wanting to go to school, etc. Now to call this "bullying" I thought was a stretch until I looked it up. That is EXACTLY what it is. Kids are so mean.. and why? Because we, as adults can't grow up and realize that our children are NOT perfect, they do mean things (I'm sure that mine do as well) and that we shouldn't sit back and "let them work it out" I think we should do something. What... I don't know. I do know that words hurt, you may not see how you've hurt someone, but you have.

The daughter that is "friendless" right now said to me this morning on our way to "slide into summer"

"I won't have any friends this week" I said why not? She explained that the two that took her "bff" away are doing "summer idol" together and that they aren't her friends anymore. I was so angry, no one wants their child hurt. Why are some of these children feeling so LOW that they have to make others feel LOWER and you know that is what it is. It's a power thing, you are feeling bad so you lash out at someone who is weaker than you, voila you feel better. Well I say that is BULLSHIT.

Think about it, say one day you go to work and someone comes up to you and says "boy you look like HELL, where did you get that outfit, out of the attic, is it from the 70's, who did your hair?" That would probably make you feel pretty low wouldn't it? Well it is NO DIFFERENT than what little girls are saying to one another, NO DIFFERENT.

So parents, please... teach your children well. And I say that we should not dismiss bullies.. not dismiss it as a "girl thing, oh they'll work it out" well it's been three years and it hasn't worked out yet.

Jack...

2009-05-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

The secret of genuis is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm. - Aldous Huxley

He cracks me up. :D

Senior senior senior

2009-05-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

Oh how I wish that photographers did then (when I graduated) what they do now. I think in one of my senior shots I was engulfed in red foil. LOL

From yesterday

Weekend family session

2009-05-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

What a cutie this little guy was. Three months old and so alert. ;) They were a joy to photograph, I can't wait for them to bring him back when he is sitting up and grinning.

RECRUIT AN ARMY OF VOTERS

2009-05-01T09:56:00.001-07:00

RECRUIT AN ARMY OF VOTERS

Posted using ShareThis

I have to admit something...

2009-05-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm an American Idol FANATIC. In the past I watched the show, but this season I am HOOKED and the reason, a certain someone named Adam Lambert. The boy blows me away every single week. He is a force to be reckoned with.

This week when he was placed in the bottom three my house was in an uproar. The girls love him as much, if not more than I do. They immediately started making signs and picketing. LOL Then when they sent one to safety and it wasn't Adam, Gabby broke down in tears. I was sick to my stomach, how could this happen?

Thank goodness he was safe, but it was a wake up call to me, vote vote vote. I voted, oh 31 times on Tuesday night, I will up that this next week. :P

So, I am a "Glambert" and proud to say it.

If you haven't yet, go to iTunes and listen to the studio version of "I feel Good" the song he sang this week for "Rat Pack" week, holy cow, it is amazing.

TGIF as well, so happy it's Friday. It has been one rainy gloomy week.

McIntyre's Session

2009-04-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

I've had the pleasure of photographing this little guy three times now, he gets cuter every time. :)

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

"Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time."

Happy Earth Day everyone

No Trespassing

2009-04-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

I'm constantly looking for new locations to take photos. While delivering something to a friend of my husband's we found this old abandoned house and I fell in love...

I persuaded hubby to take Jack and myself back. We got there and I fired off about, oh 3 photos (these 3) when an old farmer pulls up, gets out and stand there looking at us. "Uh oh"... it was his land, but FARM LAND... I explained to him what we were doing. He didn't seem to want to offer to let us use it if I wanted to come back. This is always my fear when I find a new place, that it is some farmer's land and (as in this case) aren't too willing to allow us to go on it and take photos.

This house would have been the COOLEST... I can see myself taking some senior shots inside, the outside (as you can see) is very grungy and cool. *sigh* oh well.. I'll have to keep hunting.

It must be my lucky day..

2009-04-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

I never, absolutely NEVER win anything. I have to be the most unlucky person in the world, but... as luck would have it, today I did win something and I am so excited.

A fellow photographer friend of mine has an Etsy shop, she makes earrings and also sells some of her beautiful photography. I entered on another blog to win something from her shop and I WON... did you hear me, I WON I WON I WON! :)

Here's the link to what I won. While you are there, check out her things, she is so talented in so many ways, not to mention she is a wonderful person. Love ya Roro... :)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17122634

Not to mention that today, I think I may go to our new cafe here in town and have ANOTHER mocha latte like the one pictured here that I had last night. It was yummy and they serve lunch... hmm... ;)

2009-04-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

"After all those years, she was nothing like I remembered, but my heart leaped across the gap without a moment's hesitation" - Story People

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2009-04-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Taken one day last week, it was soooo windy, perfect kite weather. I have to admit that my kids can fly a kite better than I ever could. :)

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter.

More from Bobby's Hobbys

2009-03-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

A few more from our day at Bobby's Hobbys... such a fun place. We have to go back and take the girls.

It was a week of Seniors!

2009-03-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

I had one more senior session last week. I had the honor of photographing Maggie on Sunday.

A few of my favs from Sunday...

Still catching up! :)

Senior session

2009-03-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

A few shots from a Senior session I did last week. Seniors 2009, it's not too late, book now and I'll get your proofs finished ASAP and place your order and I'll get your photos to you quick!

Bliss

2009-03-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

"I don't know if there's one right place I'm supposed to be, he said, but there are a few wrong places I'd give a second try in a heartbeat." - Story People

This was taken at Bobby's Hobbys... we pass this place a lot, it is on the outer road on the way to Farmington. Every time we pass Jack says "mommy, I go there, I go there" so today, with daddy on vacation we made a special trip. For someone who doesn't really like vintage and retro cars, well you would be bored, but for a photographer and a little boy that loves anything with wheels, we were in HEAVEN.

We found out that "Bobby" is 82 and this is purely his hobby, the man that was working there told us that half of the time, people may come in and want to buy and he will have a price on it but won't sell.... this photo is in front of a black t-bird that I would have give my left pinkie for... OMG, it was SWEET. But, there are also so many neat rusty old cars as well that I would KILL for. :)

We will go back, Jack had such a good time and I'm going to see if maybe I can take a client or two.

My server is down

2009-03-17T05:48:00.001-07:00

If you are a client and trying to reach my website, my server is currently down. I'm hoping they will have it up and running soon.

For info on prices and specials, shoot me an email

emilymphotography@charter.net

Togetherness

2009-03-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

"When all is said and done, we're all we've got" - Ratatouille

Happy St Patrick's Day... not a very St Patrick photo, but that is ok. I caught this yesterday and had to post.

I have two sessions this week, YAY, spring is here and I can't wait to get busy.

Check out my website for specials for Seniors and Spring Specials!

Hope that everyone has a wonderful and beautiful day, it's going to be a BEAUTY!

A rant from me....

2009-03-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

"She saw herself reflected in the store window and then the sun changed and she disappeared and all she could see was her eyes and she remembered thinking "I would make a very nice floor lamp" and that was the day she decided to quit her job." - Story People

Well, this applies to me in a different way, I've never brought out my past, but since some people don't seem to be able to get past it... I'm going to fight fire with fire. First, this "story" is so important to me, I married young, we were young and stupid. I admit it, it was stupid, I pray that my children get to "live" before they decide to settle down. I felt like I was disappearing, I was supporting a husband while he went to school and got his degree to teach.... therefore I was the breadwinner. I was the keeper of the house, the one who worked, two jobs I might add, I taught dancing in the evenings and I also had a job at a local department store. I was just there... going through the motions, I wasn't happy, he could not have been happy. We split after being married for 2 and a half years... water under the bridge you say, it's been 13 years since our divorce, we have both moved on, remarried, have children of our own. I married and moved away, when my husband was medically retired from the military the logical place to come was Park Hills, it's cheap, we lived with my mother for a period while he found employment, we had twins that were 2 and a half and no place to go. So we came back, the shit (excuse my french) hit the fan. Then, we all decided to grow up (after the girls turned 5 and entered kindergarten) and played nice amongst each other. The girls became friends with their youngest, one of my girls have always been in their youngest class, they played on the same tee- ball team, they went to their house for a sleep over, birthday parties, etc. I was and still am fine with her.... I have no problem with her, she was the bigger person and made the first step in "mending the fences so to speak" she came to me and said "the girls will be in school until graduation, we need to be able to do this" and I agreed and things were GREAT.She is wonderful with my girls. Him... well he still, and I say "he" still has not moved past it. He won't look me in the eye, why... ask him. I have no problems with him, I have no ill will, or should I say "had" no ill will until this weekend. We have some very good friends and I'm not going to throw them under the bus, but it needs to be known that we live in a small town and people talk and things get back to others. He made a comment at a FUNERAL... a FUNERAL of all places of a teacher that recently passed away, I suppose he was giving a eulogy and decided to use it as a soap box, a platform, etc. and made it known that he was a christian, YADDA YADDA but could go no higher in the church because of his divorce, his past mistake (yes it was a mistake, on both of our parts) Why do I have a problem with this? Hmm... I feel like it was a very selfish act from someone proclaiming to be a christian. I get tired of people being holier than thou... acting like they do no wrong, they are without sin, we all sin, every day, every one of us. I feel like this was not the platform to do this, it is NO ONE'S business why he can not advance in the church, she should be mad at him for drudging it up.... you know that everyone sitting in that field house that day knew who he was talking about, this is a small town and people know me, they know him, they knew "us" So this is just a little shout out to watch what you say in a small town, things get around.

I'm sorry to put this on here, I really had to get this off of my chest. Honestly last night when our good friends told me I was fine, but I have just thought about it more and more as the day wore on and I feel like I have a scarlet "A" on my chest and it is not his place to put it there.

Yes, we live in this small town side by side, our children are friends, our children know that we were married before, but do we really need to use a funeral as a platform to blame for not being able to move up in the church? I especially don't like being talked about when I'm not there to defend myself and one more thing.... "Eat your heart out" because like a fine wine I have improved with age baby....

2009-03-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'd been planning on needing years just to somewhat organize the overwhelming passion I felt for him physically. And then centuries after that to enjoy it. If we had only a month left together... well I didn't see how I could stand to see this end. For the moment I couldn't help but be selfish. All I wanted was to love him as much as possible in the limited time given to me. - Breaking Dawn

Twilight

2009-03-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

"Twilight again. Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always must come to an end." Edward in Twilight

Morning Coffee

2009-03-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

"Resorting to connecting the dots this morning because last night was a long night and she needs something simple to get her started." - Story People

Happy Monday.... I'm moving slowly... hope everyone has a great week.

2009-03-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade . ~ Charles Dickens

Oh my.... daffodils blooming already! I'm so ready for spring.... it can NOT come soon enough.

Tomorrow is Monday. Is everyone ready? I know that I am ready for the kiddos to go back to school. :P

2009-03-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

"These are little scraps of magic and when you paste them together you get a memory of something fine and strong, she said. Sometimes it takes until you're 40 to see it though"

- Story People

TGIF!!!!! It is so warm here today, very close to "HOT" and I am sooooo happy! Maybe spring has finally arrived.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We are going to get out and enjoy the weather

2009-03-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

"I have too much to lose if I cross that line, she said. Like what? I said, she could not think of anything that day so she said she would get back to me. Since then I've been thinking what I would lose if I cross my line and I haven't come up with anything either... there's always another line somewhere." Story People

No hidden meaning here, just felt that this "story" really fit this photo. I'm running out of things to shoot... damn spring and green and buds can NOT arrive soon enough.

HBW for my flickr friends. :)

I'm the best looking guy in town and I like it...

2009-03-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

As I said before, we rented Disney's Cars for Wii... he is HOOKED. There are a few advantages to this addiction

1. I get a lot done

2. I'm hooked on this song now, it plays during one of the races... it's so darn cool.... I love it! Get past the talking in the beginning, french maybe (?) and then OH YEAH.... turn it up and listen LOUD!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwJ1hGVb5yg

2009-03-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." - Paul Sweeney

I love to read and this quote describes exactly how I felt when I finished the "Twilight" series of books... I may have to re read them. :)

Hope everyone had a good Monday, it's COLD here.... so wanting and NEEDING Spring.

A 3 year old Wii addict

2009-03-01T20:06:00.001-08:00

I think we need "Wii anonymous" lol, he was addicted before, we have a Monster truck game, well... we made it worse. We rented Disney's "Cars" for Wii and now he wants to do nothing else. :) I guess I know what he will be doing until Thursday when it's due back to Blockbuster. :P

Hope everyone has a great Monday.

2009-02-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

"After living in the dark for so long, a glimpse of the light can make you giddy" - The Good Girl

Ah.... it was so so warm here yesterday. Spring fever has officially set in!

2009-02-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

"They don't have very long memories, so every morning seems like a miracle" - Story People

SPRING FEVER is what I have... it was 75* here today. Oh how I wish for the day when it will stay that temp.... and no worries of snow or cold. So nice to get outside and get some warm fresh air.

Mullin Twins

2009-02-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of photographing these lovely ladies on Sunday. They were so good. :) They are 10 and a half months old and utterly adorable!

2009-02-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

"Always do sober what you said you would do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." Ernest Hemingway

HBW everyone. For those that don't know, "bokeh" is the out of focus part of a photo, good bokeh would be the tiny little circles you see behind that martini glass in this photo. :D

Good night!

Love

2009-02-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

"He told me one time he forgot himself & his heart opened up like a door with a loose latch & he tried for days to put it all back in proper order but finally he gave up & left it all jumbled up there in a pile and loved everything equally." - Story People

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's weekend!

Breathe

2009-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

"Well I'm going to get out of bed every morning... breathe in and out all day long. Then after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out bed and breathe in and out... and then after a while I won't have to think about how I had it great and perfect for a while." - Sleepless in Seattle

Another of my all time fav's!!! I never ever want to experience a loss like that. It's hard enough to lose a grandparent, that is the closest loss that I have experienced, but a child or a spouse, someone who you have made a life with... I know that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, but sometimes I think you wonder when am I strong enough?

This image makes me want to breathe, take a big breath of fresh air. I so want spring to hurry... it's so light and fresh!

Here's to a good weekend!

2009-02-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

"Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower" - You've Got Mail

Just needed a little sunshine today. It has been so nice and now it's rainy and gloomy. :(

Spring needs to HURRY!

Thought for today

2009-02-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

"I don't know how long I can do this, he said. I think the universe has different plans for me and we sat there in silence and I thought to myself that this is the thing we all come to and this is the thing we all fight and if we are lucky enough to lose our lives become beautiful with mystery again and I sat there silent because that is not something that can be said." - Story People

Thought for the day..

2009-02-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

"I learned not to look too closely, she said, otherwise I'd keep finding out stuff that would bug me and we'd never get along" - Story People

Yes, again with Story People, it is the most amazing site. So many wonderful "stories".

TGIF I'm so happy the sun is out, it is warm, I'm sure that winter is only teasing us but it's nice while it lasts...

Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to get out this weekend and shoot and not freeze my fingers off.