Coffee Table Album

I've been doing these for awhile now, but realized I have never posted pictures of the gorgeous Coffee Table Album. This album is similar to the Storybook Album except for the pages are mounted on thick board and make for a very sturdy beautiful album. They are packed with as many images as we can fit on 20 beautifully designed pages.

Little Larson (& family...)

This session began with curbside pick-up. That's right folks - when a client calls (especially a mother of a newborn...with 2 other tiny's-in-tow) and tells me that her ride is messed up and her husband will be meeting us at the shoot- this little photographer (who knows first hand of the pre-photo-session nightmare) made a little detour and went curbside...which was a good thing since she still needed to get ready :) We had the photo session EVER (except for the 40 minutes I worked with Larson while the little ones ran around). Thank heavens for candy canes and their miraculous ability to distract children when they are surrounded by snow!

This little guy - MACK - has been my "Newborn" sample album...he's looking really BIG (and handsome :) - which means that it's probably time for a new sample album... Indy & Laina LOVE playing with him when they go to piano lessons....did I mention that his mother is our wonderful piano teacher?? My kids love going over there (I'm sure its because of the piano...not the wrestle-mania that inevitably ensues when they arrive)
Jumping with little ones works every time (that and holding a candy cane...)
Don't worry little Larson - we didn't forget about you :)
And since they had the MOST adorable New Years' card - I thought I'd share...

Who says all cards have to come before Christmas? I would gladly be the recipient of a card this cute!

(outside:)
(inside):

Holiday Cards - LUXE

*samples thanks to my lab and photographers of the lab - the above image(s) are not mine - I was too lazy to do my own*

Eek!! It's only the second week (or is it the 3rd?) of October and I'm already behind :( No worries - the kids will have a marathon week of cartoons and pajamas and I'll be all caught up. I just got this email from my lab with these killer new card styles. Love the scroll and the scalloped edge. These are great for baby announcements, holiday cards, graduation cards etc...Give me your ideas and we'll create a custom design just for you.

Wall Gallery Ideas

Today's wall gallery is brought to you by ME (and my blue/green obsession :)
As the saying goes, "the shoemaker's kids go shoeless...."
It only took me 9months to get my OWN pictures on the wall (yet another argument against offering digital images on a CD - they NEVER get hung let alone printed!).

I'll admit to scrutinizing EVERY single centimeter of the images when I took them out of the box. I was a bit overly critical - holding a 16x20 up to my nose - as if every person that walked through my house would do the same??!! I finally had to give myself the talk that I give to all my clients. JUST HANG THE PICTURES ON THE WALL! Walk away. Check it out over the next week - I'm willing to bet that by the end of the week - you'll be in love with the images you ordered. No more nit-picking tiny things that don't matter.
Does the image make you smile? Does it bring joy? Does it capture your life at that time and bring back vivid memories?? As human beings we can be way too hard on ourselves. Enjoy the success of having finished a photo session from the beginning stage of planning to the end stage of hanging your gallery on the wall.

I cut out pieces of paper that were the finished size of my prints. I taped them to the wall. I moved them around and re-hung them differently. Notice the end gallery is a bit different - too bad I have no idea why!! :)

I chose to do gallery wrapped canvases so that I could put a bit more color and design into my room. I love the finished result!

And, if Matt gets his way - someday there will be the words from the Naval Boys Academy in Carlsbad, CA (the one we threaten Indy with we he tries to give us attitude!)

Display Ideas

I know that when it comes to hanging pictures - sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming. Can black and white go together...what color frames...what size...the list can go on and on. I really like how this gallery came out. The frames are beautiful and the colors are ALL different - funky and original. The number one recommendation when designing a gallery is to cut out some butcher paper and hang it up on the exact spot that the framed image will go. It needs to be cut to the specific size of the image (someday when I have my own images hung I'll show you this step :) This really helps to visualize how the images will look grouped together.
The second picture shows some killer creativity and a killer frames to go with - - if you're local and looking for an excellent frame maker, let me know - Roger Paeselt does a beautiful job!

Wall Galleries

Thought you'd enjoy some "finished" products. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING better, than walking into a house and seeing my work on the walls. I get a little sad when my images sit, waiting to be hung.... :(

So here's to all of you who are "on the ball--and have your images on the WALL!

(couldn't resist this one of Brenda cleaning...)


Aren't these MATS killer????


These images are printed on gatorfoam...Love the simplicity of the STANDOUT MOUNT.

*On a separate note--my mother and I took lunch to the kids at school today. It was actually really fun. We sat and ate with them and talked to all of their friends (who ALL seemed unusually STARVED for attention!) I felt like I was sitting with Indy and his fraternity brothers at the table. In order to get them to eat their food I started timing them. Pretty soon...everyone wanted to be timed as they shoved broccoli, cheese nips, apples and even chugged their milk! Pretty funny...especially when they were quizzing me on my multiplication (what's a 100x100???) and I knew the answers...they were like "Dang!! she's good". But the best comment was by Indy as we were cleaning up. He bent over and smelled his friends breath (who had been eating a sucker) and was like "Man!!! You have the best smelling breath EVER! 2nd grade boys...always good for a laugh.

30x50 Gallery Wrap

Ever wondered what a 30x50 gallery wrap looks like?? Well wonder no more....I define this as "Brave Art".

Storyboards

What is a storyboard??? It's a collage or series of images that I create in Photoshop and then it is printed on 1/4" foamboard. These can be directly mounted to the wall with velcro tape, or made to "stand out" using a few sticky foam squares, or they can be displayed on an easel. Here are some computer generated (sounds so sci-fi) and an "actual" one that I rememberd to take a picture of...
The sizes are 10x20 or 20x20. Colors/styles?? Anything we can dream up! They are only included in the portrait collections.

Sneak Peek! and $50 session!

UPDATE--We have a winner....thanks for all the emails!

Okay-I've never done this, so we'll see how this works...

Here is a sneak peek from a newborn baby album that I've just finished. This album has 20 pages of beautiful quotes and images from the session (the kind of stuff that makes you just want to let the tears run...) Anyway--I loved doing this session so much, that I want to do another! So, the first person to EMAIL me (m_holdsworth1@yahoo.com) and schedule a NEWBORN session (yes--there must be a newborn under 10 days old, to complete the shoot--no--do not put a diaper on your 5 year old and wrap 'em in a blanket...won't work) will get $75 off their session fee (within Prescott---outside Prescott, mileage will be charged). The session is regularly $125.

P.S.-Great idea for a gift certificate (hint-baby shower gift)!!

Baby Albums

10x10 Newborn Coffee Table Style Book. A timeless book capturing all of your infants precious moments. Available only with the baby and belly plan or in a portrait collection.

Family Albums

Introducing my new family albums. This 20-page 10x10 coffee table style book has a clean and classic look that won't look dated in a few years time. This album is only available in the portrait collections.