Pre-Move Salt Lake Sessions

I have had a couple of friends ask about photo sessions before the move, so I am sharing this info on here for those that are interested.

Maternity leave is officially ending and I am now scheduling sessions for July 18 - August 6. Because the timeline of our move will complicate print orders, I am offering a special all-inclusive package for $350 which will include a full session and a disc of images with full-size printing release.

You can check out an adorable picture of Ellie and details on the smileabunch photography blog.

Baby brother heads off to the London MTC on Thursday, so we have been crazy busy, but I will be back on the blog with pictures, stories and move updates soon!

More Birthday Fun

In honor of Chloe's birthday and the fact that smileabunch photography is celebrating its first birthday, I am giving away a session and product credit over on the blog! Click on this link to see the HAPPY BIRTHDAY post and leave a comment there to be entered to win...it is seriously that easy (comments on this post will not count). Even if we do move out of state, I plan to schedule sessions in Salt Lake whenever we come home to visit, so don't worry...we will make it happen even if you want to schedule after maternity leave. :)

Yay for birthdays...next up is SETH! 31 and done (with school) baby!

CHD Awareness Week

This week is CHD awareness week. My dear friends have a little boy who was born with CHD and I wanted to help them spread the word, so I have posted his story and some info about CHD on my photography blog.

Please go over and read about it! Awareness spreads one individual at a time!

sweet sweet moments captured forever

I just posted a few pictures of my kiddos with their grandparents from a shoot I did with them, oh...last fall! 

I am a huge slacker, I know...even more so because I am just giving you the link to the post on my 

photography blog. Forgive me? And then go check out the pics because they are so very sweet!

http://smileabunchphotos.blogspot.com/2011/01/grandparents.html

Valentine's Day is my FAVORITE

I am sure that some of you out there already know this, but I am pretty much completely obsessed with Valentine's Day! I know some people hate it...and some people celebrate singles awareness day...but even when I have been single on Valentine's day, I have still always been a huge fan. When I was in 8th grade my mom gave me makeup for Valentine's day...which was a totally big deal, because until then I wasn't really allowed to wear makeup. When I was a sophomore my crush brought me a yellow rose on Valentine's day...it is the friend rose because we couldn't date because I was not 16 yet, but still, it was twitterpating and cute! When I was a senior I spent the evening making, frosting and delivering sugar cookies with a different crush's little sister. My first year of college I think I was dating 2 different people simultaneously...so Vday was a little complicated, but the next year, Seth and I were "not dating" and he gave me a live plant...a little strange, but he has more than made up for it in the years since...except the year that he decided to take part in a door to door vacuum presentation on Valentine's day which took the full 3 hours between when I got home from work and when he left for his night shift. Still, I LOVE Valentine's day!

Anway...remeniscing tangent there for a minute...since it is my favorite holdiay, I am celebrating with a Valentine's Day Photobooth. Do you remember this cute little valentine from last year?
(that space at the bottom is where he signed his name...
it was a homework assignment for the kids to actually sign all of the Valentines)

Well, so many people commented on it, that I am offering them to you this year! No more lame-o valentines! Here is the flyer for the photobooth...they are by appointment only and you will have the images PLUS your choice of super cute, designed-by-me, much-cuter-than-the-one-above, printable valentine cards 
before Valentine's Day! YAY!

You can also find more details about it at the smileabunch photography blog.

And, a little plea for help: I would LOVE your help spreading the word...since I can only take such a limited number of sessions this year, I am trying to keep up momentum by packing as many sessions as possible into this one day! If you send 5 people my way and they book a session, I will do your session for FREE! Please refer your friends and family to this link:

 http://smileabunchphotos.blogspot.com/2011/01/grab-your-sweetheart-valentines.html 

or my Facebook Fan Page for info!

THANKS!

I did a super quick practice shoot yesterday so I would have some pictures to use for the marketing,
and I have cute pics of all the kiddos, so I will post a few here when I get a chance!

approved...and now it begins

Seth's capstone project was approved! Yay! It has been a lot of hard work already, so I am not sure I am ready for what the actual doing of the project will bring, but I am so proud of him! We also found out his clinical assignment for next semester...and while he is excited for it (which makes me excited for it), it means 5 to 6 12-hour work shifts every week...plus the capstone project...plus listing/showing/selling our house and *hopefully* moving...plus a pregnant wife who will undoubtedly be cranky from showing said house...plus 3 little people who expect a little love and attention from their daddy on a regular basis... and sleep...well, who really needs sleep?

So, as soon as this semester ends (which isn't until next Friday...that's right...a week from tomorrow...does that seem really late to anyone else?), we are going to savor as much time as we can with him! We are going to snuggle up in our jammies and watch movies, go sledding, build snowmen, eat delicious goodies, go on dates (anyone want to babysit?) and give lots of hugs and kisses. We are going to see Santa and have family dinners, and go to Christmas parties, and sing songs, and read books. You probably won't find us mopping the floors or folding the laundry or scrubbing the bathtub or cleaning out the garage...so don't expect a clean house should you decide to pop in and say hello (which you are always welcome to do, but honestly, you should really never expect our house to be clean)! We also have a to finish up a few house projects mixed in there, but we are going to do them together and make them quick, because we need to stock up on daddy time!

Also...a complete and total sidenote from my professional-photographer-self...because of this utter chaos and craziness, I will be taking a very very limited number of photography sessions in the early part of the year. So, if you are hoping to get pictures with me between January and June, don't wait to book or I may not be able to work you in. I have had a lot of people asking about mini-sessions and I am planning a mini-session before mothers day as long as I am feeling good and have no pregnancy complications. I am looking for some turning 1-year-old models to do cake smash photos with in January. Contact me for details if you are interested.

And with that, hold on to your hats people, because the next few months are going to be a crazy crazy ride!

I'm giving away a free session...

And thought I'd let you all know! I have made some fun updates to the smileabunch photography facebook fan page and since it was so much work, I want to share it with the whole world! lol!

So, if you want to get the free session, all you have to do is:

1. Go over and "like" my page if you haven't already (click the link above)
2. Tell your friends to go and "like" my page and leave a comment on the wall telling me you sent them
3. When we hit 200 fans, whoever has referred the most friends will get a free session!

Some other stuff to know:
If all of my fans play, you will only have to refer 2 or 3 fans to win.
The free session can be given as a gift and must be used within 6 months.
When I tally it up, both you and the people you referred must still be facebook fans.

That's it! Just wanted you all to know!

halloween photo booth...a little business

A few people have asked if I will be doing halloween mini-sessions to get pictures of kids in costume.
The answer is no - I do not have any more mini-sessions scheduled until 2011,
however, I am in the process of planning a date for a

Halloween Photo Booth!

I am still working out the details, but they will be

about 15 minutes,

costumes (or halloween outfits required),

and around $30.

Before I set all the details in stone, though, I wanted to feel out the interest in a session like this to determine how many days to schedule. So, let me know if you are interested.

If you have any questions or want to send me a message privately, contact me here.

P.S. On the subject of mini-sessions - there are a couple of people who couldn't make the dates work, but would still like to do a mini-session. I am willing to add another day of Fall mini-sessions in October if there are at least 3 people who want to book so let me know if you are interested in that as well.

(and I will make sure it is a dog friendly place as I know that has been of interest)

Why are you posting this here, Jen?

A lot of friends don't check the smileabunch photography blog and are bummed when they

miss out, so I post specials here so nobody has to be sad! :)

If you want to be the first to know about deals and specials, though,

I usually post them on the facebook fan page first!

Fall Mini Sessions

I announced these on my photography blog a while back and meant to post it here, but just never quite got around to it, so now that we are only a few weeks away, I am finally posting it here! This is the last mini-session I will be running this year and I don't have any on my agenda until until late spring next year, so if you have been wanting to do a mini-session, now is the time to book it!

Plus - it comes with a custom designed Christmas card - woo hoo!

Can you believe that it is already time to start thinking about Christmas Cards? I sure can't!

Call me at 801-560-3634 or email me at smileabunch @ gmail.com to book your session.

Find all the details below!

Just in case you are wondering...

where in the world I've been...
Or why my blog has fallen off the edge of the earth again...

Head on over to my super fabulous photography blog - hee hee!
Or check out my the facebook fan page for smileabunch photography (and you should go ahead and become a fan while you are there)!

I have been so very busy shooting, editing, disc burning, and print ordering...not to mention planning, creating marketing materials, and dabbling in design.

And then Seth had the whole week off of work and school, so we have packed our lives completely to the brim with bike rides, back to school shopping, a real live date!!!, temple trip, cleaning out the garage, little (though still bigger than expected) house projects, and actually eating home cooked meals together. It has been lovely and kind of exhausting. Anyway - just wanted to pop in and say hi since I have been MIA for too long! I am doing some Fall mini sessions at the end of September if anyone is interested - I will post details on here soon!

Makeover #2

Starting up a photography business has required a lot of practice shoots.

Much to their dismay, my kids are about as cute as little models can get, so they have been the primary subjects every time there is a new location, prop, or accessory I want to try out.

So, I have a lot of pictures of those 3 little munchkins, but the only pictures on display in our house have been kiddie kandids photos we had taken of Morgan when he was about a month old and Chloe when she was about a month old. There they hung in my living room - 6 pictures in ugly cheapo Walmart frames, while my hard drives are brimming with updated adoreableness (not to mention better photography).

Seth has been urging me to get these pictures off the hard drives and onto our walls for months and finally, for the sake of "business" in response to many inquiries to see the different products I sell, I placed a massive print order, took a trip to Michael's with a coupon to use in addition to a 40% off framing sale and took down those 6 little 5x7s and 8x10s.

The result:

LOVE this new look!

pettiskirts

If you follow the project 365 blog, you have probably noticed these cute pettiskirts popping up in my pictures recently. I am getting ready to order fabric for some custom orders I am making for some colleagues and thought I would see if anyone else is interested before I place the order.

They are $55 (going rate for similar skirts on etsy is $65), regardless of size, and you can choose any color (or color combination) you like. They are the really full, long, twirly pettiskirts, (not the ones you see at costco - though those are super cute - just not long or super full or handmade).

If you are interested send me an email by Thursday morning.

Color options are available here: http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-53165610099179_2110_236706.

If you have a picture session scheduled with me, I'll give you an additional $10 off! :)

This one is buttercup.

This one is fuschia.

internet and other tidbits

for the past couple of weeks, my internet communication has been limited to what I can do on my phone (which, by the way...I am new to the whole internet phone thing and wow - how did I ever survive without it?), or what I can do on a super de duper slow internet connection that may or may not go out at any given second...like right in the middle of uploading a blog post or a bunch of pictures or even a facebook status.

But on Tuesday, something fabulous happened! This little family of ours finally caught up with the rest of the world and now have our very own high speed internet connection - cable internet - and a wi-fi network that has a full signal everywhere in the house! Oh.my.goodness - it is amazing! Who knew that fast internet could make such a difference!?

So yeah, now is the time to expect more from me, blogging friends! I am actually pretty up to date on Project 365, but haven't been able to upload the images, so check here in the next day or so for a lot of updated pictures! And there are some really really good ones...so feel free to browse back a bit.

I will also be able to update our picture site, which is now a part of my smileabunch photography website, since I am about 6 months behind there. To access our family pictures, click on family and friends in the bottom right corner of the home page and it will take you to a place where you can enter a password. If you would like the password, email me or leave a comment with your email address and I will send it to you (as long as I know you and you aren't a stalker - stalkers will just have to get by with the blog pics)! It won't be up to date for a few weeks, but I am determined to catch up! :)

Finally, I have a lot of fun announcements (and maybe even some super fun giveaways) coming down the pipe on the smileabunch photography blog with the start of full pricing coming on August 1. There are only 2 weeks left to get a session and a disc for $125...so give me a call and book one before the schedule is full.

Now is the time...

If you have been wanting to get pictures done by me,

but you have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to come along...now is the time!

For the past few months I have been offering discounted (about 50%) introductory pricing,

and it will be ending on AUGUST 1, 2010.

You can see all the details at the smileabunch photography blog.

Availability is limited and I am currently booking for late July.

We are busily enjoying some summer fun, but hopefully I can carve out some time to update this blog soon.

Plenty of stuff happening around here, just no time to blog about it!

And please keep your fingers crossed that my next post is not out of sheer embarassment like the last one! ;)

Glad it could entertain you though...and yes, we do know our neighbor well and he is just about the best neighbor you could ask for...so it wasn't really scary as much as embarassing!

Mother's Day Mini-Sessions

Check out the smileabunch photography blog for more info...
and make sure you do it fast because there is an added bonus if you book before Saturday night!

And, don't forget...
you get $5 off your next session or print order for everyone you refer who books a session.

You can grab a button for your blog here or blog/facebook/tweet about the mini-sessions.
Make sure you let them know to tell me you sent them.

button, button...who wants a button?

I know, I know...another marketing post...sorry.

I have more fun family posts to share soon! I promise!

I didn't have these buttons ready to go quite yet for my last post, but they are ready now!

SIDEBAR BUTTONS!

And, of course, I don't expect you to take up space on your blog sidebar without incentive, so I give you...
INCENTIVE!

Here's the deal:
For every person you refer who books a full session or package, you will get a
$10 referral credit toward your next session fee or print order.

For every person you refer who books a mini-session or blog promo special you will get a
$5 referral credit toward your next session fee or print order!

There is no limit to the number of referral credits you can earn and they are available for use as soon as I have received payment for the scheduled session...so... essentially you could get
free sessions and prints if you really spread the word!
Exciting right!?

Of course, the same deal applies whether you refer them with a button on your blog or in person,
just make sure they mention you when they book their session!

The buttons are available in 5 colors and you can pick your favorite and grab the code here.

ok...that's all.

Presenting...SMILEABUNCH PHOTOGRAPHY

All that talk of photography and practice sessions and big giant projects that have been

consuming my life are finally ready to "reveal"

(just in case you didn't already figure out what I was up to).

So, it's official...

smileabunch photography

is open for business!

YAY!

Check out the new website and the smileabunch photography blog and tell me what you think!

And to celebrate the opening of shop, I am offering a special holiday mini-session deal!

Click on the image for more details!

Also, the launch of this site will change the way you access our picture galleries.
From the smileabunchphotos.com webiste, you can click on the "family and friends" link at the bottom and it will take you to a page where you can enter the password (which has been updated so email me or comment if you would like it). The galleries may say "password protected" but since you already entered the password you shouldn't have to enter it again. You can also click the link to "Check out more pictures" on the top righthand side of this page  and it will take you to the same view you used to see, and you will enter the password in the first gallery you open instead.
Please let me know if you have any trouble with this.