New for 2013!!!

Sorry, i have haven't written in months. I have been busy! Both personal and professionally.

My happy little family!

Alaina Ann

On a personal note: i had a beautiful little girl in November her name is Alaina Ann, and i love her to death. I have been spending most of my time with her. In my free time i have been working on ways to better my business.

In December i lost my older brother to an unforeseeable accident. His name was Nathan and he was only 33 and has three children. We just laid him to rest two days after Christmas it was a difficult time.

Hope Weber

Since my last post, Morgan had a beautiful little lady named Hope. We were blessed to be able to take her newborn pictures also. Now miss Hope is almost five months old. Cute little chunker. I hope to have her back in the studio in the upcoming months. After Morgan, i had a beautiful senior come from Hillsboro High School. Cassidy ended up being our representative for Hillsboro. We did two separate sessions for her senior pics. As a representative one of your jobs is to send business to Revels photography and she did just that.

Cassidy Senior

Karin Senior

From Cassidy, Karen inquired about her photos to be taken. Karin was a challenge. She isn't a feminine young women. Which isn't a bad thing i love a challenge. I had to get out of my head the girly poses, and lean more towards the manly poses. To start the session off she had a dress on. We could tell immediately that she wasn't comfortable at all in it. It was a request of her moms to have her formal pictures taken in a dress. Believe me i hardly recognized her when she came out in a dress and her hair all done up.  As we slowly got her into her normal clothes her personality began to shine. We had more smiles come more naturally and she began to glow with radiance.

Cassidy and Steven

Then our Senior rep Cassidy came back for some maternity pictures. Yup, this beautiful little lady was about to have a handsome little man named Ashton Lee. By the way she had yesterday (1/6/13). Her and her whole family came for the maternity pictures and what a glorious day that was. We had so many laughs even my pregnant belly hurt. I was 9 months and still squatting to get the right angle. We even went to places i have never been before. If you were scared of heights WildCat Park is not the place for you.

Now, we are just waiting for our call from miss Cassidy and baby Ashton so i can show you his beautiful face. I will meet him for the first time in two weeks. I can't wait.

Well now that we are in the New Year, i have some changes being made. First off, I have added 30 minute mini sessions for $75. you will receive 10 free 4x6 prints as well.

I will be have a monthly special or mini session available. I am working on getting my PayPal account set up so i can accept credit cards.

And our main goal is.... MORE BUSINESS!

Weber Maternity!!!

As i was saying in my last post, i had a new camera and no one to shoot. I had to close business down until i could figure out what to do. Well i had a beautiful friend who is amazingly pregnant and offered her a free maternity family shoot. In hopes to gather business from her pictures circulating over the internet. Here are the photos:

Well after two sessions and two different locations i was able to get some fresh photos on the internet. Because of these photos i have booked the next three weekends. A local senior, a one year shoot, and maternity sisters (three pregnant sisters one being the above model) Then of course my wedding on the following weekend. So i have a full months worth in the next few weeks and i am super excited.

Frustrations and complications.... update.

Well as you know i haven't posted in awhile and there are reasons. None in which were because i didn't have the work .... no! The work is there and being done, there just have been some detours on the way.

Shortly, after my last post "Wanted 2013 Seniors" my home and studio were broken into. I lost alot of stuff luckily my camera wasn't lost or stolen. I did lose my computer and whole years worth of pictures. LESSON 1 was learnt. BACKUP. If you have guessed i didn't. Big mistake... money was lost. I was able to make up some events but it came with a price.

Losing my computer was a HUGH set back. I couldn't do anything and the house hold only had one. I couldn't advertise, edit, or contact any of my vendors or clients. I was lost didn't know what to do. Well feburary this year was given an opportunity to purchase a new computer and i took it. It actually involved taking a loan out through a family member...  my number one fan and main confidant ... my daddy! He was the main reason i started working towards this dream he hired me for my sisters weddings and thats where i learnt it was where i could hire myself for work. I was jobless and my dad opened my eyes. Well he offered the money up to buy the computer i needed to get back to work. So i bought a brand new HP omni all in one desktop. love it. Also, all my software was gone so i also purchased Photoshop elements 10 and paintshop pro 4 through the same company. I was basically set. So i started advertising again.

I had a beautiful outdoor wedding in April for some close friends of mine. She has requested no photos online so i cant show you any. This wedding was also the first time i used my second photographer Alison Kim Photography. Which was a godsend.

Two weeks before the wedding my camera began throwing an error code. So had to get it fixed a week before the wedding. I went to the closest camera repair shop around me BNC CAMERA REPAIR in Madison, which was a two hour drive, one way. They were able to get it working the Thursday before the wedding. So i took it home and played with it to test it out.... it worked thank god. Then i began the cleaning and preparation fir the big day. Well somewhere between shooting and the wedding day my camera decided not to focus. I made it through the wedding day got some great shots and not so great shots. Like i said thank goodness for Alison being there between the two we got the wedding covered.

So now its almost August and i have another wedding coming up. Well i didnt have the funding to get my camera fixed. So i saved personal money up to buy another. I know its weird. My plan is to get the new one, shoot the wedding and with the earnings from the wedding get my other camera fixed, so i would have two cameras one for a back up. Brillant, right! The plus side is everything i have for my old camera is compatable with my new camera. So no extra money was needed for accessories. Well i did buy a flash but its still compatable with both.


So now i was this brand new used camera and nothing to shoot so what did i do....... to be continued.

Frustrations and Complications!

Hey ya'll. I haven't just talked to you in a while. As you all can see the business is blooming. I have an average about two shoots a month. It's nice to have that artistic release outside of my routine of life.

What has happened since the last time we talked?

Well, beyond the obvious, i  currently work two jobs, plus do the photographer thing. I work close to home as a Physical Therapist assistant in Hillsboro Wisconsin and I am also a Administrator to an Assisted Living Apartment in Baraboo Wisconsin. I joined the gym and bowling league has started up again.

Phew! Writing it all out is tiring. Lol! It all balances itself out through the week. My hours are set. I basically work 9-5, Monday-Friday. I work out three times a week. By they way i have lost 26 pounds since i have joined in August. I know exciting. I bowl Tuesdays and Wednesdays, i am pretty good, if i say so myself. I have an average of 130. I will get a 500 this year. I have never gotten one in house before. I got one at State last March, but that don't really matter.

So what are we going to talk about today?

Well through the last 10 months of business, i have came across somethings that frustrate and complicate things.

1. Software: I have been trying several different programs. I have been using several of them through trail off the internet. I have used almost everything: Lightroom, Elements, Paintshop, Photoshop, Picasa, and Gimp. But after the 30 trail, i was unable to use them anymore.

So then i came down to money. What i can i afford. I loved using Paintshop Photo Pro x3 and ended up ordering it. I was pretty happy with it, until, i switched development companies. I went from Collages. Net to NationsPhotoLab.com to Mpixpro.com. I switch companies because i wanted to be able to offer several different things to my clients. With Mpixpro, there are things i would have loved to have available when i was a Senior: Wall clings,  Rep cards, Stand out, canvas and books.

Now with amazing things that i am able to offer, my simple Paintshop Photo Pro x3 program is inadequate. Mpixpro doesn't not offer templates in their ROES ordering program. So everything that i will be ordering i will have to make on my own. I am a little slow in this department and if i wanted to download templates for these thing. Paintshop Pro doesn't not support the files they are available in.

So yesterday i broke down and ordered another program. Adobe Elements 8. I think i will be mainly using it for the the templates and brushes that i know are available to use with it. So that small bump in the road is diverted.

2. Hard Drive Space. My current computer is about 6 years old. I still love to use it, but it's only a matter of time before i max out the Hard Drive Space. So i am on the prowl for a new Desktop, preferable with a large screen and lots of drive space. I know i could delete some of the stuff on my current computer to make more room for whats to come. But i am a computer hoarder. I am too scared to delete anything, i may need it in the future.

I have thought about getting a MAC computer and i would love an IMAC, but then the money i have spent on editing programs would be a waste. I would have to repurchase the programs to mac operating systems and i definitely can not afford that all over again.

3. Time: As we all know time is never on anyone's side. It' hasn't became a big deal yet but i can see where it will cause problems in the future. With the two other jobs, working out and trying to have social life. Getting done what i need to get done sometimes is a chore.

I used to have so much more time to look at photos and really thing about what i would love to see happen with them, editing wise. Now i am lucky if i get my watermark on them before i dead line to send them in to get put into a proof book.

These are just three of the complications that cause some frustrations these days, but i just have to sit down and think about what i a NEED to do  and put that before what i WANT to do. These things are nothing i can't handle and with some more time management plus more business they will be things i will be able to handle.

Thanks for reading and all of your support.

Trash The Dress

This is was just for fun and practice. We teamed up with Alison Kim Photography from Cazenovia, Wisconsin. Actually, i should say we were offered a chance to shoot with Alison Kim. She is a good friend and colleague of ours. We bounce ideas off each other.
 
Well this one of one of her ideas. We gathered a group of young ladies, prom and wedding dress, and our equipment. Then we all met at Lake Redstone outside of LaValle, Wisconsin, had a lovely young ladies get dressed and we were off. Snapping fabulous picture after fabulous picture. Check them out for yourself!

Mieden Maternity!

Katie and Danny are close friends of my husbands and mine. When they first got pregnant they personally came to me and told me. It was sweet. Half way through her pregnancy they started talking about having pictures taken and asked if i would do them. I agreed.

They were overly excited about their new lil bundle of joy coming. They had been trying for several months, finally around Christmas Katie had gotten the news that she was pregnant. I don't know a better time to experience a more precious gift, then around Christmas. SO below i have some of my favorite shoots taken from our session.

UPDATE: Devin Williams Meiden was Born on September 12th at 4:55pm, 5lbs 14oz, 20 inches long. I will be having the honer of taken his newborn photos. So stay tuned!

2013 Seniors WANTED!!!!

Want to get your Senior Photo session almost for free?

Want to have some great images for Facebook, and your MySpace portfolios?
Want to get free prints, and other cool products?
Then our Senior Rep Program may be for you.

 

Revels Photography is now seeking high school senior representatives for the class of 2013! If you are currently a high school junior or know a high school junior who might like to be a senior rep, here’s what you need to know.

If accepted, you will be representing Revels Photography and telling your friends about our Senior Sessions throughout your senior year. Be sure to let your Junior friends know also, so they will have a chance to apply for the 2014 program! For every friend you refer us to, you will receive special discounts on your print orders.

In order to be a senior rep, you must:
• Have great style, lots of personality and enjoy being in front of the camera.
• Be a current high school junior graduating in 2013.
• Live in and attend school in one of the following counties: Wonewoc, Hillsboro, Elroy or Weston
• Be available to have one session completed before May 1st, 2012.
• Agree to tell your friends and classmates about Revels Photography and share your senior portraits with them.
• Have your parents or legal guardians sign a model release form.
• Agree to represent ONLY Revels Photography and use these images as your senior pictures.

As part of our senior rep program you will receive the following:

• Free photo session(s) with unlimited clothing changes. Photos may be completed in one session or several sessions at our discretion. Several locations may be used.
• The opportunity to earn print credit for every person they refer to us for senior portraits. (And their friends get perks, too!)
• 50 personalized referral cards to give to friends and classmates with your name, your portraits, and our Business information to hand out to friends
• Several of our favorite photos as low-resolution files to share on social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace or Blogs (with our logo on them).
• Discounts on your print orders.

Referral Discounts
1-3 Referrals – 10% off print order
4-6 Referrals –15% off print order
7-9 Referrals –20% off print order
10-12 Referrals – 25% off print order
13+ Referrals – 35% off print order

When your referrals book a paid session and bring in your Rep Card you will receive the above mentioned discounts according to the amount of referrals you bring to us. These referrals can include anyone who books the following sessions: Senior, Newborn, Family Portraits, Portraits, Weddings, etc.

You will receive your Rep Cards by May 15, 2012.

Any referral cards used between the time your session is complete and May 26, 2013, will be kept and you can order additional products or prints with your credits. If accepted, you will be representing Revels Photography and telling your friends about our Senior Sessions throughout your senior year. Be sure to let your junior friends know also, so they will have a chance to apply for the 2014 program.

The classmate(s) must present a referral card in order to be eligible. All referred classmates will receive 15% of their Order with a valid referral card. Your participation in the program will not only introduce you to a new way for cutting edge, personalized photography, but also a way to earn incentives toward your session for senior portraits at little or no cost.

Terms and conditions are listed below for all Senior Portrait Representatives. The first photo session must be completed by May 1st of the Junior Year and all additional sessions need to be scheduled by July 1st, 2012. Parents or legal guardians of the Senior Rep must sign a model release, allowing us to use your images for advertising purposes. A valid Senior Portrait Rep Referral Card must be presented by a referred student in order to receive any credits toward prints. Credits will only be issued when a referred senior’s session is complete and all fees are paid in a timely manner by the referred senior. The program is first come, first serve, so act fast if you are interested.

Please email Revels Photography if interested!