I promised you a replacement for a Black Friday special, and here it is! This Saturday our doors will be open for the biggest Gallery Hop of the year; December’s Holiday Hop. I’ll have some fine art pieces on display and for sale plus lots of special offerings to pass along to our portrait clients. For those who’ve seen the black and white orchid prints hanging in our hallway (most people ask, “who did these?” without even realizing that they’re photographs!), this show will be featuring orchids on a larger scale with the addition of more color and texture. And if you’re coming out for some chocolate and special deals, here’s what we’ll have to offer:

~ An incredible drawing for an individual portrait study photo session at our studio held anytime between January-March along with all of the digital proofs on CD

~ The ability to sign up for our “Snow Call” list for 2010. If there’s a beautiful, fresh snowfall on a day that our schedule is free, I’ll start at the top of this list and work my way down to try and catch someone available to enjoy the snowflakes at a moment’s notice, plus completely waive that person’s session fee.

~ Gift certificates will be available for sale when you grab Ryan during the Holiday Hop event (but watch where you grab!). Receive a bonus $25 for every $100 of gift certificates purchased.

~ Grab Ryan again to schedule a January or February portrait session for only a $50 session fee! Obviously this is a crazy-awesome promotional price so there’s a bit of fine print. These discounted sessions will be photographed at our studio and must take place before the end of February, 2010. No other discounts (referral credits, etc.) may be combined. For more details & pricing for prints, etc., you may visit our website or drop Ry a line.

So you’re gonna want to come out and hang with us, because all of these specials have to be gotten in person during our Holiday Hop event! No phone calls, e-mails or folks getting in touch after our doors close. While celebrations will be going on in the Short North from 4-10pm, just note that we’ll only be open from 4-8pm this time around (Ry & I will be going out with friends afterwards to celebrate his 29th birthday). For all of you who still have orders to pick up before the holidays, you’re more than welcome to come out during this time to snag your orders as well. And if you haven’t been out to visit the studio yet, you can find us at:

139 East 2nd Ave.
Columbus, OH 43201

We can’t wait to see you this Saturday!

I’ve already had the chance to photograph Mr. E. & Miss M. each individually this year (check out pics from M’s session a couple months back). Today they were as scrumptious as ever. I just love how M’s nose crinkles up when she laughs and how E. adores being in front of the camera! Add in “Mom & Dad” and they were all giggles. Enjoy the preview!

How fitting that this first day of snow came falling down during our holiday mini-sessions at the studio! Here are a few photos of some of the folks who came out today. Also, for those of you who are possibly scouring the blog for a Black Friday special, I didn’t forget about you this year! Right now I can say “December 5th”. I’ll have artwork on display for next month’s Gallery Hop at our studio along with something very special to pass along to those looking for a deal. We can’t wait to see you then…more details to come!

Just one last call for any stragglers who would like to get in our our holiday mini-sessions on Friday. We have one morning spot left and can possibly squeeze in one or two at the end of the day if you’ve procrastinated and put off a holiday portrait session this year. Here are the details:

Sessions will last no more than 30 minutes. The goal is to get you an image to use for greeting cards, so each session is for photos with one grouping (whether it’s one child, one family, siblings, etc.). Your session fee is a toy donation that Ryan and I will pass along to Toys for Tots.

The following week, a few images from your mini-session will go online along with a few pre-designed greeting card templates. Any 5×7 folded greeting cards that you order from this event will be 10% off with the option of a free paper/texture upgrade. You’ll have a week to place any orders and those cards will be all ready for you to send out before Christmas arrives!

Ryan and I will obviously be out of the office tomorrow to be with family, but we’ll be sure to check into our e-mail when we settle in at the end of the day. Confirmation will be sent to the first request that we receive and after that, we’ll try to squeeze in what we can at the end of the day. And for those who have already signed up, please be sure to arrive on time and have everyone dressed and ready to go. We’ve got a packed studio with all of these sets and will be keeping a tight schedule to be sure everyone gets the most out of their time with us!

Have a safe & happy holiday…we hope to see you soon!

In my mind, tomorrow is it. The holiday season begins and remains for the rest of the year! Miss A’s grandma & grandpa came in from Rhode Island to visit for Thanksgiving which made for the perfect time to photograph memories to span the generations. For the next thirty-some days, the world will slow down (while oddly filling up with hustle & bustle at the same time), and families connect. Here’s wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving…I hope you get to spend lots of time with those you love!

This afternoon we celebrated beautiful babyhood. Mr. G. is a hip little guy with super chunky thighs, dimples & massive blue eyes. It’s crazy to think that in just a few months he’ll be up and walking, thinning out and growing into a child. Life moves so fast…enjoy these precious moments while they’re here!

My heart is crying tonight. We’ve lost one of the greatest warriors in the fight against breast cancer. For Stefanie; mother, wife and a healing soul.

Seeing this brother/sister donned in red and snuggled up in plaids and corduroy has me even more anxious for the holiday season to be here. And, boy, were they were filled with that warm holiday spirit! Mr. J. was peaking around the corner of a sofa with an ornery little grin upon his face. And Miss M. was nothing but giggles! I asked her if she had a best friend, and can you guess her answer? “Mommy!” That just melts the heart…

Have I mentioned that I love my job? Photographing couples is one of my favorite things to do and tonight was no exception. We couldn’t leave out the “kids”, and they wouldn’t have let me even if I tried! Whenever I’d try to get Sam & Bennie in a photo, they just wanted to play. Then, if I was preparing for a “couple only” photo, you can sure bet they wanted nothing more than to be in the photo! And when all of the people-variety left the fenced in backyard, would you believe that Bennie & Sam would not only gaze at us over the edge of the fence, but Bennie would even toss her ball over the edge into the driveway, just begging for us to keep playing with her. What a sweet family!

Life is such a treasure. JJ was inspired by a lost friend to take the time to preserve memories of her family. From an outside perspective, giant chess pieces, spam & piles of feet may not seem to have a lot in common, but these are the simple things in life that not only define a family, but makes each an every one a unique gift. Enjoy the sneak of this amazing family!