Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 9:57pm
Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience. Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.
Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session. Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life. Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget, it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).
There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client. The luxury of great service, better choices and a superb end product. The result of all this are heirloom quality images. The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.
Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle. To get to point B from A let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice. If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea. Custom photography is much the same cup of tea. It is the Lexus of the photography world. It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.
Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels. There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers. The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of those options. The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing. The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it. That level of quality and commitment is all but lost in the age of “mass produced,” “mass marketed,” corporate “everyone is a number”. Custom photography is based on being unique to you. How great an experience would be, to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?
Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will. The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.
Marianne Drenthe is generous enough to give photographers permission to use the excerpts on her website, Professional Child Photographer Consumer Guide website: www.professionalchildphotographer.com
Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 10:58pm
Spaghetti is good. Really Good.
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 9:53pm
**side note: I passed the title of this post by my husband. He’s my filter/editor. He thought I was making reference to Britney Spear’s song, when it fact I was actually making reference to the much more refined, Salt & Pepper song. I just thought you should know. Perhaps these singer/songwriters should be more creative when titling their songs…..or maybe I should just be more creative when titling my posts.**
On to more important matters.
I don’t even know how to prepare you for what you are about to see. Little Baby Banner is heavenly. Gorgeous. And one of the yummiest newborns I have ever met. I love her (and her big sister, for that matter.) There’s a good chance your heart may melt after viewing these photos.
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 10:03pm
He’s getting so big. And he knows it.
Today is Gabe’s birthday. An entire year gone by far too quickly. Just a few weeks ago I turned to Kevin and woefully expressed how “we only have 18 left.” Then, my baby won’t so much be my baby anymore. In only a matter of 12 months he’s nestled a cozy little spot in my heart and is already beginning to discover a place of his own in this world. Watch out world, Gabriel Dayne is here!
He’s taught me more about myself in this short 12 months than I could have ever imagined. Just a couple that top the list: #1 Mommyhood is hard. really hard. But Grace flows freely. Grace from all directions: Gabe, Kevin, myself, God, friends that I don’t call back…etc. Like I said, lots of Grace.
#2. Life with Gabe is much more colorful. I’m not talking about the pureed carrots that still adorn my white kitchen curtains or Gabe’s blueberry stained chin or the multi-colored scattered blocks that always find their way back to my living room floor. I’m talking about his giggles, his goofy grin and the brilliant spark in his forever deep brown eyes that he gets when he goes into explorer mode. Some days he refuses to sit anywhere but my hip. Some days he’s like a blackhole or a magnet, insisting that everything in my hand (cups, plates, phones) belong in his. Some days I feel like I am at my wits end…and then he giggles. always the giggle. And with that, everything is right in the world.
How did he find the time to get this big, this fast? I’ve been told to watch him closely. “Time flies.” “They’re only a baby for so long.” It goes fast.” I was watching him closely. But somehow he still snuck by me. My baby is now a toddler. I want to take him by the shoulders, look me in the eyes and promise me that a part of him will always be my baby. The part that giggles when I sing the Itsy bitsy spider or squeals with delight when he hears the running bathwater. Or the part that stands at the backdoor and yells jibberish at Andy when he goes outside. “Please, Gabe. Just keep a little bit of your ‘oneness’ forever. please?”
Happy Birthday, Bear.
Monday, February 1, 2010 at 11:17pm
Meet Clark. He’s a four-month-old ball of baby rolls and precious grins. His favorite things to do? Spending time with mama and investigating his toes. It’s the simple things in life, ya know?
We had originally planned to do this family’s session at a completely different location. However, just hours before the session we changed things up a bit and decided to have the session at Heather and Brian’s house. Its not everyday Oklahoma City gets such an incredible amount of beautiful snow - so we made sure to take advantage!
Like I said, #1 Favorite: Mama
and #2, toes.
Just look at those rolls and pouty lips. Sweet boy! I could just eat him up!
Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 11:27pm
It snowed all day friday. Big chunky fluffly flakes. (say that 3 times!) I LOVE the snow. I love being “snowed in.” And of course what better thing is there to do with the snow day than bundle up the one year old so he can discover the cold fluffy goodness…
the two handsome boys in my life:
standing…standing….balance…stan..ding…
plop!
Kid Rule #1: If you play in the snow - you have to eat it, too. (even if it means your own mother forces you to.)
“Gabe, show me how much you liked the snow…”
Monday, January 25, 2010 at 9:21pm
I have been dying to post this session for days now, but I’ve had the hardest time choosing favorites to share - so I’m going to share all of them. okay. I kid, I kid. I have to save some element of surprise for their personal gallery. So I had to narrow it down a bit.
I first met Megan and Ugur a few weeks ago during their Maternity Session. And now here’s their beautiful Isabel.
A word of warning: this sweet face will give anyone baby fever. View at your own risk!
Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 9:59pm
A few months ago, I did a maternity shot for this beautiful family. This week I finally got to meet baby Alex. I think he was one of the jolliest babies I’ve ever come across. He just kicked his little baby roll legs and talked to me the whole time. He had quite a bit to say.
::sigh:: just look at those dreamy blue eyes!
Then big sister, Rachael wanted to jump in for a few shots….
And soon conversation turned from me to the mobile…
Friday, January 1, 2010 at 10:44pm
Casey called me Tuesday afternoon of this week to set up a session for Wednesday night. Since OKC was still catching its breath from the 14 inches we received over Christmas, I was a little shocked he would want a session so soon. But Wednesday was so much more than just another cold December weekday - it marked the 10 year anniversary of Casey and Melissa’s wedding day. I was beyond honored to be able to catch a few still shots of such an important day to them.
Casey had the idea to scale the brick wall and get a shot of him and Melissa sitting on the ledge. Like a gentleman, he hoisted Melissa up first (oh, and did I mention she’s 10 weeks pregnant? No? She is. Amazing, right?) But trying to climb onto a 6 inch ledge with no support proved to be a bit more difficult…
so he gave up, and we improvised.
Happy Anniversary, Casey and Melissa! May the start of the new year be just the beginning to many more decades full of love and blessings!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 9:42pm
I love working with couples during this small window in their lives - just days before baby enters the scene, turning husband and wife into mommy and daddy and a family of 3 overnight. Megan and Ugur were so gentle and kind to each other. There was so much love between them - which, of course, will be sweet to see when their baby girl joins their home.
Here are a few snapshots of their maternity session:
by Megan
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