Portrait Album

Okay, so I got a question about what the albums actually look like (good question!). I take for granted that I've seen them, but my clients haven't since I just started offering albums. So, I decided to post an album design that I put together for my studio sample, which has yet to arrive:(. They usually take about 6 weeks after I put the order in, so not exactly a quick turn-around. These albums are designed by yours truly and made by www.asukabook.com. I usually design a 20 page album, but can go up to 30, 40, 60, and 80 pages if needed or wanted. Colors and text are completely up to the client.

We never order an album until our client is completely happy with the design! All album review and approval is completed online.

For the "coffee-table" album by Asukabook, here is the studio sample

This is the cover:

This is the 1st page:

Second Page:

Third Page (sits opposite of the second page):

This layout spreads across the 4th and 5th pages.

Sixth Page:

Seventh Page:

Eighth Page:

Ninth Page:

Tenth and Eleventh Pages:

12th Page:

13th Page:

14th and 15th Pages:

16th Page:

17th Page:

Final 2-page spread:

Please note that these are not your traditional, heavy matted album. They are much more modern and contemporary in style. These are similar to artbooks, with a hardbound cover and flexible pages. I have a heavy, leather-bound option that has the layouts printed as real photos and are professionally mounted to bound matboards. I typically only use those for my wedding albums. They are the Zook Books that are made by www.zookbinders.com. The layouts are typically the same, but the cover is a cameo with an embossed two-line title instead of the custom-designed cover on the Asukabook.
Let me know if you have any questions about them.

Collages

Okay, so many of my clients have been asking about the collages and what they are like. I finally got around to pre-designing one for my "studio" and loved how it came out! (FYI - the pic below is just a low-res web copy. The real thing is much higher quality.) Let me know what you think.

Now, if only I spent this much time and effort on my own children's images!

Sisters

I had a great shoot on Monday with these two sisters and their mom. I originally went to photograph the baby, but the 5-year old was just so photogenic, that I ended up taking quite a few pictures of her as well. She was so sweet with her baby sister!

Here's the slideshow!

Belly Love!!!!

Finally got to do some maternity pics. Had a blast!

13 Days Left!

Attention to all Prospective Brides! If you are thinking of hiring me for the 2007 wedding season, please book an appointment now to meet. Only 13 more days until I am officially on maternity leave and my schedule is filling up fast. I will not have any photo sessions, consultations, or meetings until after October 15th.

Also, our wedding prices will be re-structured on September 1st of this year, so please don't wait until after that to schedule a meeting, sign the contract or make a deposit. I just want to make sure that everyone is fore-warned:)

Want to see what the new prices are going to be? I have decided to go with a flat-rate package in hopes of making things easier on my brides to have all the basics.

~unlimited time and locations
~ two photographers
~ all necessary time to design album, touch-up final photos, convert to color or b&w
~ $1000 credit towards a Flushmount, Leather Bound Album (enough for a 20-side, 10x10 album with cameo cover, two-line stamping, leather of your choice, and pillow slipcase)
~ CD containing all final images (delivered with final album)
~ Engagement Session (up to 2 hours on-location of your choice, CD of final images)
$2499

Add-ons
~Rehearsal Dinner Coverage, Bridal Session, or any other Pre-wedding Event = $200 with CD of final images
~Linen-Bound Proof Book of all Final Images = $300

If anyone has any comments about the new pricing structure before it becomes official, please feel free to email me at karen@fireflyimagesonline.com.

Happy Anniversary - To Me and My Hubby!

I don't often post really personal things on my biz blog, but my husband and I just celebrated our 4th anniversary and I just wanted to share something will all my clients - both the parents and the brides & grooms - that I came to realize over our anniversary weekend.

My husband and I have two kids - Emma & Clyde - and another one the way (the countdown is now 35 days away!) So, I'm not sure if has to do with how many kids we've had in such a short amount of time or not. But I realized that we have started to fall into .... well, a rut, kind of. We totally get along, we make each other laugh, and we both think that the other is a great parent to our children. But between kids and jobs and other obligations, sometimes we pass right by each other without noticing.

So, for our anniversary weekend, my in-laws (who are two of the most wonderful grandparents in the world) took our children for a couple of nights, leaving Andrew and I by ourselves. The thing was, it took us almost a whole day to re-connect and realize that it was okay to be affectionate and intimate with each other. I guess with the kids around, it always seems like our little moments of just staring into each other's eyes got interrupted by "Mommy, Clyde pulled my hair!" or "Daddy, Emma just spilled her drink!" So, I think we started shying away from those moments because we were always afraid they would be interrupted (which they would). But without them, we started becoming more Partners in Parenting than Two People Crazy in Love with Each Other.

Anniversary weekends are great and date-nights every other week help tremendously. But I think it helps to be aware of when the spark starts to get suffocated by everyday life and realizing that all it needs is a little oxygen to get started again.

Here's a picture of us on our wedding day. We really need to get a more recent photo of us together. Alas, even photographers have a hard time keeping up with that for their own families!

Happy Anniversary, Andrew!

Peek-A-Boo

I've finally gotten around to posting a session I did a week ago with Baby Abigail. She was so adorable. She kept on playing peek-a-boo with the blanket, and then she just got silly after that. I love capturing those moments with babies. Here are a few photos along with her slideshow.

The Initial Baby

Okay, so most of you know that I am completely baby crazy these days. I think I will always be, but being so close to my own due date is making me even more so. So, I just had to share this link to a great online baby store that I just found through a fellow mom called The Initial Baby. They specialize in baby items that are monogrammed or embroidered with the baby's name. My friend had one of their chenille blankets and I almost took it home with me it was so cute and cozy! Anyhow, I just had to share. I'm always looking for new gifts for friends and clients that have babies and I think I found my place to shop. So, if some of you end up with these items from me, you'll know where they came from!

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

Yes, that's right, this family had three (very adorable and sweet) boys. And I had the privilege of photographing them. Of course, the baby was my favorite, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I'm only 43 days away from my own due date than anything else! I could photograph babies all day long and never get tired of it. Here's the slideshow!