2012 Fall Portrait Sessions

Autumn is here! It’s my favorite time of the year to do portraits and I couldn't be more excited about the upcoming sessions that I have planned. Want to be a part of the fun? Here’s the 411:

portrait sessions:
A full-length family session is the best way to get personal, custom portraits of your family. Sessions are done at the location of your choice and last for up to two hours, so it can be at your favorite park, downtown at the River Walk, or even your own living room. We will have plenty of time for natural, lifestyle images and clothing changes if desired. The portrait session fee is $150 for evenings and weekends, or only $125 for those that take place M-F between 9am and 2pm.  Immediate family only, please.

mini sessions:
Mini sessions are short and sweet, and are designed for those that don't need a full-out session.  Lasting only 15 minutes, they take place on selected Sundays at specific locations. Each mini is good for 2 people (two kids, one kid and one parent, etc) but you can book two consecutively to get a whole family. Mini sessions are $50, and include approximately 15 proofs in an online gallery, but you can still take advantage of any of my great products such as custom cards, fine art canvas, or portrait collages.


Here is the Mini-Session lineup for 2012:
Bracken Pumpkin Patch October 9th,  from 9am-12pm (perfect for the little ones!)
Rock Wall Ranch October 21st, from 3pm-6pm (for a rustic and truly-Texas look)

holiday cards:
One of my signature products every year is Holiday cards!  I'll have a gorgeous selection to choose from, and for those that want something completely different I offer custom designed cards.  Please note that a $200 print order is required before custom products (including cards) can be ordered.

2012 deadlines:
Please note the following holiday deadlines:

Last day for sessions: November 25th
Last day for orders: December 2nd
Last day for deliveries: December 19th

I can't wait to see everyone this season.  Book early to secure your portrait session!

Gilbert and Chandler Family Photographer

WOW! School is in session and cooler weather is just around the corner. I can't believe it is almost Fall!

I am currently booking September and October sessions. Call today to book your very own one-of-a-kind Ever After Photography session. 210-602-1490

Here are a few images from one of my favorite Fall sessions from last year. I love how relaxed and happy the Bell family is!





Ever After Photography for beautiful photography for Gilbert and Chandler families | 210.602.1490

A gift for my Gilbert friends!

A couple of years ago, I made a shopping list for myself that was organized in the same order as the store where I shopped (and of course I blogged about it here). Ever since our move, I've been planning to create a new list and I finally did it today!

I shop at the Fry's on Warner and Cooper, so my list is created for that particular store. Of course it can be used at any grocery store since they all follow basically the same format, but using it at this store will ensure no backtracks-which makes me insane when I'm shopping!

The last time I did this, I shared it with several friends and got rave reviews-even from husbands! This time, I'm making it my slightly-late Christmas gift to all of my new friends and clients. I can't figure out how to share it online, so if I didn't already send one to you please feel free to email me and request one.

$150 Christmas Card Mini-Sessions!

Horray! It is time to start thinking about Christmas Cards, and I would love to help you with it. I am doing Family Portrait Mini-Sessions on Sunday, November 7th. Each session will last approximately 20 minutes, and as always include a disc of images that you can use to get prints or cards at the lab of your choice, as well as the opportunity to order custom designed cards.

We'll have plenty of time to get a group shot of the whole clan plus individuals of each kiddo, giving you several selections for a great card.

For those of you that would prefer a full-length session, I'll be doing those during October and November. A full session is $300 and includes a much longer private session at the location of your choice, a CD of images, a print credit of $100 to order professionally retouched prints and gifts. I recommend this session for those who have larger families or want a custom

These sessions always go quickly, so contact me soon to book your slot.

Email: Leah@EverAfterbyLeah.com
phone: 210-602-1490

Introducing my Senior Rep for Mesquite High School

The last few weeks have been busy for me and for my gorgeous, sweet Mesquite High School Senior Portrait Rep for 2011-Brittlyn Miller!

As you will soon see, Brittlyn pulled off many different looks fabulously, each showcasing a different side of her glowing personality.

Check her out!














If you are a Mesquite High School Senior who is interested in an Ever After Photography experience for your Senior Portraits, and if you want to get a discount while you're at it, then find Brittlyn and snag a Rep Card from her. She will have plenty of them on hand, starting next week.

Support your Wildcat!

I have an new product that, as a Wildcat Cheer Mom, I know I'm very excited about.

This is a sterling silver photo necklace, with a hand-stamped medallion and two beads in the Mesquite High School colors:



I have one myself, to wear to football games this fall to support my favorite Wildcat cheerleader. I also have one with all of my kids pictures on it, that I wear almost every day.

I'm doing necklace mini-sessions for the next couple of weeks, so please don't hesitate to let me know if you want to get one for yourself. The cost is $100 if you simply want the necklace, or $150 to get a necklace and a CD of the images I take. And no matter which session you want, I always include a few files for your Facebook page.

Here are the images I took last night of Kenzie, who's mom is now patiently waiting for her necklace:








These are great for any sport or school activity, so if your son is in the band or your daughter is in volleyball, you can show your support and look good while doing it!

Published!

Well, this is exciting: the images I shot from Lindsay and Richard's Nebraska wedding have been published on Project Bride!

Project Bride is an online wedding resource that brides can use for inspiration when planning their own big day.

Last week, I attended a seminar to learn the submission process. That evening when I got home, I sat down and applied the techniques I learned to choose the right types of images that the various publishers are looking for.

Within a couple of days I learned that Project Bride accepted my submission, and today I found out that it was posted. So cool!

Now that I'm familiar with the process, I'm hoping that I'll have more weddings published soon. Also totally cool is that I can cross this off my 101 in 1001 list. Whoohoo!

Free Shipping at Mpix today only!

As my recent clients know, I now include a CD of images of every session and recommend Mpix.com as the best place to get them printed.

They are offering Free Shipping on all orders placed today, so if you have images to print, don't delay!

CD vs. Art Print: Which one?

A prosepctive client recently asked the following question:

"What is the difference between the images we would get on the CD and the images we would get if ordering from you?"

Great question, and I think this would make a great blog post.

The images I take are RAW files, which I compare to raw food-there isn't anything done to the file in camera-so it is very flat and just blah. Although it kills me to let anyone see one, for the sake of this demonstration I'll share a recent image:



All of my images look like that straight out of the camera, but I don't usually let anyone see them like that! The first thing I do is add some spice by correcting the contrast, color and exposure. This is a fairly quick adjustment and every single image gets this treatment. I then convert all of the files into JPEGs and that is what you will get on your CD.

Here is the same image, after a few basic edits:



Much better!
I recommend to all of my clients that they use their CD to make prints, to share online, to archive. They can convert them to B&W, have them printed on a mug at Walmart, whatever they wish. But my clients know that the CD images are not individually retouched, and they will make acceptable small prints but I don't recommend using the CD for enlargements.

So how does an image that is ordered directly from me compare to the CD?

Well, here is the above image, after retouching:



This is what an Ever After Art Print looks like. It is printed on professional grade paper, which is thicker than what you'd get from Walmart and only archival grade inks are used (resistant to fading or coloring over time). This is how the print should look that you hang on the wall.

I think my clients deserve both-a CD of images so that you can inexpensively reproduce every single image if thats what you want, and professionally retouched and printed enlargements that you are proud to display in your home-and that is why I include the CD and a $100 Print Credit.

Here are a few more CD/Art Print comparisons:





I hope that clears things up!

Kaleidoscope

Anyone who knows me and my youngest daughter M know our infatuation with Matilda Jane Clothing. M wears it just about every day. In fact, the only person in our family that doesn't have at least one MJC outfit is my husband.






Recently the team from MJC announced a contest on their blog, the winner and a friend get to fly to Ft. Wayne IN on an all-expense paid trip to the MJC Art Fair.

The contest: Send in something that reminds you of Matilda Jane Clothing.

I thought about what I might send for maybe, two seconds. The story was written in an hour or so, and I had it ready to mail a couple of days later.

Here is my entry, beginning with a letter to MJC.

Dear Denise and Team 435,

“What reminds you of Matilda Jane Clothing?”

It took less than one minute for me to come up with the answer to that question – it was a slam dunk. But it wasn't a thing, it was a person; or more specifically a group of people that I believe completely embody the spirit of MJC.

Of course, I couldn't fit them into a 9 ½ x 12 ½ envelope, so I did the best I could by telling their story. I did try to keep it short-I realize that you have many submissions to go through and I don't want to take too much of your time.

I have enclosed a few pictures of my three youngest kids in their Matilda Jane gear. They are: G-8, T-7, and M-5. My oldest daughter (D-16) and I also have MJC outfits that we adore, but catching her at home during daylight hours is impossible and there wasn't anyone available to photograph me.

Thank you so, so much for hosting this contest. Even if I don't win, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to put this together. I created two identical envelopes, one for you and one for the amazing lady I've tried to honor.

In the very remote case that I win, I'll be bringing her with me to the 435 Art Fair.


So here is the story I sent in:








I also included in the package a slideshow of their BEAUTIFUL year together:



The entire contest entry is in the hands of the awesome team at Matilda Jane, and although I have my fingers crossed that we win, I was really just so happy that I could tell Donna's story.

Donna, you know that I think what you and Brittany are doing with those kids is simply amazing, and you continually blow me away with your generosity and kind spirit. I love you to death!

Keeping it Super Simple, The Inspire Guide is here!

I have a fantastic new addition to my photography services, one that will help my clients enormously when faced with the daunting task of putting together a collection of images for their wall space. Its called my Wall Gallery Inspire Guide, and I can't wait to begin using it!

It works like this: after you have booked a session, I'll send a link to my new, fabulous Inspire Guide. There you will find twenty different print layouts using various wall sizes and rooms such as the nursery, kitchen and stairways. Each one details the exact number and sizes needed for that particular look.

Once you have an idea of the layout that might best fit in your home, I can then take the best pictures during our session that work with your choice. For example, The Trendsetter features six 10x20 prints, which is an unusual number of tall vertical images that I probably wouldn't capture unless I knew in advance to do so.



Once your session is complete I can then insert your images into your chosen layout, completely eliminating the guesswork and frustration of designing a wall gallery from scratch.



The layouts can be fulfilled with framed prints or custom canvases, and the price for each option is displayed. I love the look of both, but I do love the fact that frames aren't needed with canvas prints and the look is so contemporary and clean.

Every arrangement is available as a print package from your online gallery, so ordering is extremely simple. I can also do it for you if you prefer.

Keep It Super Simple is my motto (KISS!), and this just fits perfectly into my way of doing things. I hope you enjoy it too!

2010 Brides Choice!

So excited today! Ever After Photography has been given the Wedding Wire Brides Choice Award for the 2nd year in a row. What a huge honor. Following is the press release:

Gilbert, AZ – Jan. 19, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Ever After Photography has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Photography!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Ever After Photography is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Ever After Photography is among the very best Wedding Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit my website today at www.EverAfterbyLeah.com.

Giving back to my Phoenix, AZ friends

On Sunday, Jan. 10 (tomorrow!), I'll be doing FREE Facebook profile shots for anyone that wants one. Each person will get a 20 minute slot, which is plenty of time for me to capture your fabulousness, and we'll both have fun while we're at it.

You'll have access to your images in an online, password protected gallery, and you can choose one image for me to retouch to use as your Facebook profile shot. For FREE.

But Facebook isn't the only place you might want to use your image. Do you use E-harmony or a similar dating site? Then I know you could really use an updated, fabulous, but still-looks-like-you picture. And for all the moms I know, when is the last time that you had a nice portrait taken of JUST you? I bet you can't even remember. And if you have a business, you need a current image for your website, right?

You deserve this. Don't wait until you lose weight or your hair grows or whatever silly reason you have for not getting it done. I'm sure there is someone in your life who would love to have a picture of you exactly as you look right now. You never know what tomorrow might bring, so please don't put it off just because you aren't happy with your current appearance. If you don't like the shots, you don't have to use them, and I can always shoot you again in a few months, kinda like a before and after, except that you'll look great in both images!

To secure a spot, just comment below or email or call me. I'll be at Freestone Park tomorrow waiting for you.

Here are a few Facebook images I've done in the past. Gorgeous, huh?






Please let me do this for you, I promise you won't regret it. Pinky swear, stick a needle in my eye and all that.