Its that time of year again...

annual fall mini sessions

Some of you have questions.... I want to help answer those and give you the pros and cons to mini sessions. Then you will know if they are right for you, or if you should book a full session. 

PRO: They cost less than a full session

PRO: perfect for an updated family photo

PRO: perfect for singles of the kids, much cuter and cheaper than school photos

PRO: they take all your decisions out of the mix (the location is chosen by me) 

PRO: Your husband, teen, or that one in your family that hates getting pics only has to suffer through 20 mins

PRO: you get a small gallery of images to choose from, which makes decision making easier

PRO: you get to choose 3 images and will get printing rights to them

PRO: you will get 20% off of any other images, prints, mouned prints, Christmas cards you order

PRO: perfect timing for Christmas presents

PRO: you will have fun, scouts honor

PRO: I may bribe your kids with candy

CON: I may bribe your kids with candy 

CON: if your child takes a few mins to warm up to photos, the session could be half over

CON: you don't get to choose the location

CON: they are rain or shine (but I do try and pick a location that can work in bad weather)

CON: you get a much smaller choice of images to choose from

CON: not enough time to get all the fun candids

CON: you cannot be late, there is no room for flexibility as far as times go, the schedule is strict

CON: they typically sell out quick

Ok, you made it through the list. If you decided that a mini session is exactly what you need, contact me (focalpp@gmail.com or 425-299-7805) and we will get you signed up. The $99 has to be paid to secure a time slot. If you decided that you want to schedule a full session, we can do that too! This is the busy season, so even if you want pics in late October, you should book them now. 

I hope I answered most of your questions. 

**p.s.- update....The Oct date only has afternoon spots left. 

yes, this blog is alive and well... I guess "well" is relative

this post has been going to print for sometime now

but then life got in the way

we moved AGAIN (yes, all the details will be in a post very soon)

so, this post is coming to you from the trailer park ...

lets get on with it.....

Many of you have asked how I decide what and where to hang when putting together my collage/gallery walls

I tried to take photos as I designed the last one.. read photos... as bad blurry dark cell photos... not pretty photographer photos

its a very scientific method... it has taken years of college to perfect

first, I measured the wall I wanted to use and draw a box that size on my floor with yarn

then I start placing things in the box that I know I want to include. If I have not collected enough treasures to fill the box I want to fill, I start pulling things off the walls or off my desk to use as size spacers. This helps me put the wall together even if I don't have ALL my photos yet. This is why you see white squares in the next photo

now I move things around to space out the same color and to get a great variety of sizes and shapes. In other words, I don't want all that yellow in one corner, it would cause your eye to pause there instead of continuing around the corner. I also want a mix of photos and word art and a couple antiques. Its at this point I figure out what size all my empty places are, and I go off hunting around the house, or order some prints to fit the open spaces. 

The prints I ordered online need to be framed, so I gather some ugly frames that fit and set them in the mix. I didn't like how the 2 word art prints in the bottom left corner a few photos above were next to each other, so I moved them around. The UPS man (don't you love the UPS man? Please tell me I am not the only one...) brought the prints I ordered and so I set them in their places. And, this is a great time to explain that I get most of my photos mounted from my lab. Its amazing. You don't have to use frames, you can put them up with the Command velcro strips. No holes in the wall. Easy to move. The mounted prints come in all sizes. Those small photos in the bottom left are mounted, and the larger prints are also done this way. They work great on shelves and leaning up on things. 

Now we paint the frames and while they are drying, we get started hanging. Because I want them to stay lined up in a box, we started at the bottom and lined all the things in the bottom row up with the lazer level. (by we, I mean my husband). If you have been around here long, you will already know he is the bomb at this. Its not his first dog and pony show. If you didn't see my frame wall at my last house,  right click here. 

So, after all the edges are lined up, he starts working on the middle. And here you can see the frames were sprayed grey to match. 

here she is, all done. Well, almost all done. I still need to paint the small round frame. (after he got this all up, it looked great... for about 4 weeks, and then we moved... good thing we used command strips) 

Ok, here are some more phone shots (taken by my daughter) of the wall in our living room. It was done the exact same way. Please excuse our jammies. Just being real. 

I wasn't kidding about the jammies. Chuck is gonna kill me. 

I was working with photos I already had, and didn't want to spend any money to order more. The 3 empty places made me crazy, but I needed just the right sized things to fill the hole. It stayed this way for a few weeks. Finally, after a successful antiquing day, I found just what I wanted. 

BAM. Nope, your don't need glasses. Sadly, this blurry dark cell photo is all that I have to show you. And, now all those beauties are in storage. But, you get the point, right? 

p.s. - I just scrolled back and read a few old blog posts, and here is a place where you can see more of the gallery walls, with much better pics. 

I love my job 

a lot

capturing families together

stopping time for a few moments

creating a moment to remember

witnessing laughter

firsts

and lasts

and all the inbetween

real life

the good

and the bad

being real

helping people feel comfortable in their own skin

playing games with kids

tricking them

bribery

passion

laughter

But, too often, I fail to capture my own family

My wrist hurts from shooting other people all weekend

Its not a great backdrop

the rental is ugly

the lighthing is wrong

its mid day

there will be distractions in back ground

when would I have time to edit them anyway?

I need to get paid clients their photos

and then I take a deep breathe

count to 10

and remember how much I love photos

I love my family

they love photos

and they don't care if there are color casts from the slip in slide on their face

so, I went for it yesterday

bad, mid-day lighting, blown out areas, and all

I have to say

as a mom

I love these photos

alot

I had to recount... it was really close.... 

(there were about 10 entires on the original SHOW OFF blog post that I had to count as the link was funky, not the voters fault) 

Thank you to all who voted.... I want you to know that I would love to take your photos.... every single one of you... and because I appreciate your votes, I am offering you ALL a discount.

If you book a full session and are photographed between April 15-Aug 31 2013, I will give you $30 off your session fee. YIPEEEE. (when contacting me, make sure you tell me about this, so I can give you the magic code to use ) 

I wanted to run this contest to inspire and encourage you to use your photos. Since you showed me yours, I have decided to SHOW OFF some of my walls. This is a big deal since we just moved into our rental 4 months ago. We have done a lot of work, and are not done yet, but here is a glimpse of how we used our photos. 

This is our hall way. Its dark and cave like. I like big photos. And monograms. See that big empty wall at the end with the awesome 50's doorbell, I have big plans for that. I can't wait to show you. 

This is the kids play room (seahwaks theme) and I let them choose the images. Confession: it does drive me nuts that they are all so crazy with no theme. But, the kids love it. These are all mounted photos, they are amazing... especially for renters. I put them up with velcro. 

Much more my style... this is in our living room. Again, mountd prints. Brings me joy every day. Get photos up on your walls. Its easy. I will help you. (I did take photos of us making this wall and how we decided where to hang everythiing. I will be doing a blog post about it... someday :) 

This is my favorite mounted print. ITs large and in charge. 24x36. Good stuff. A house tour with before and after photos of the rental is coming... scouts honor!!

Oh wait, you want to know who won the contest... that's right....

Client #2 won the contest, by 3 votes. You remember, the one with the wall clock, hall collage, and the GIANT canvas. A girl after my own heart. LARGE photos. (I will get you your $50 visa card)

and, drum roll please.....

Sarah Gibbs... you are the winner of the free spring session. You are the twelth comment down. Nice to meet you! Email me at focalpp@gmail.com to find out about your free session on April 28th. (if you can't use it, feel free to pass it along to someone) 

Thanks for voting and reading the blog. Lots more to come. You can sign up on the right side of this blog to have the new blog posts emailed to you. Or, like me on facebook and I will post them there as well. (you can like me at the top right of the blog posts). 

Over and out

p.s.- don't forget that you can have $30 off your full session. BONUS

My clients are showing off their families!!

I want to inspire you to do something with your photos.

Its important.

Please don't let the images stay in your hard drive forever. They need to be displayed. Loud and proud. 

Stop putting it off. NOW IS THE TIME. 

Good thing about photos, you can change them out, and give the old ones to grandma. They will be new to her :)

10 of my clients have entered the SHOW OFF contest. If you are wondering what that is, scroll down and read the blog post below this one to catch up. 

They want to earn the most votes. 

Whats in it for them? 

A $50 visa card

What's in it for you? 

A free session. Yes, FREE. I am running a spring special. I have saved one appointment for a voter. After the contest closes, I will use a random number generator and one of the votes will win. More details at end of the post. 

Without further adieu, 

#1- a great Chrismtas card and wall collage at her office. images from fall mini 2012 

#2- a large (30x40 canvas) over her fireplace, amazing photo hall, and photo wall clock. images from family session 2011 and twin boys senior pics 2012. (very few images in clock and hall wall are not focal point photography, but most are. just wanted to be up front about that) 

#3 a 24x36 mounted print in her bedroom. you know I LOVE large prints. image from fall mini 2011

#4 mounted pics on shelves and wall. good use of different sizes of images. images from fall mini 2012, newborn pics, family session 2011

#5 wedding and engagement images. lots of great mounted prints. images from spring engagement and summer wedding session 2012

#6 mounted prints and a framed one in the easel (even her flowers coordinate, sheesh :) images from spring 2012

#7 classic and timeless entry. images from family session late summer 2012

#8 framed pics- wall hung and shelf display. images from fall mini 2012

#9 custom iphone case (they made it for grandma for Christmas- love this creative idea). images from family session 2011

#10- a gorgeous Christmas card. love the monogram too. images from fall mini 2012

Here they are, the 2013 show off entires. Now its time to cast your vote.

To vote, please comment on this blog post.

Enter the number of the entry you like the best.

Only one vote per person. (it will ask for your name and email address when voting, so this is how I will contact you if you are chosen to win the free session). If you have entered the contest, you can still vote.

The entry with the most votes on Wed night April 10th will win the $50 visa card. A random number will be chosen and that comment will win the free session. Session is on April 28th. It may be transferred to another person if you are unable to come that day.

Votes on facebook will not be counted, they must be on this blog post

GO VOTE!!