It’s been awhile…

We’ve been busy!  We have been trying to do things different this year, which means learning new things… and its been quite the process.  But we are extremely excited!! The biggest change is NO SITTING FEES on senior sessions!  We are trying to figure out facebook and tagging our friends in slide shows.  So far, so good…

And the craziest thing… we just got a cell phone solely for texting!  Boy, how times have changed!  We have now added yet another way to communicate with our clients.

Our models sessions are coming to an end and their images are AMAZING!   Everyone is super excited and we can’t wait to see what the summer senior season has in store for us….

Call (or text…) today to see how you can have the experience of your lifetime!

It’s finally begun!

Last night was pretty much the “kick off” to our Senior 2010 program!!  We have four seniors under our belt and have had so much fun with each of them.  I can’t wait for the rest of the summer!

I love when seniors bring in their personal belongings, whether it be sports stuff, ballet stuff, books, snowboards, etc.  I just love it!   It’s great because that is what truly makes their pictures unique to any one elses.  It breaks the “cookie cutter” look that comes from almost every photographer.   By using their stuff, we can capture them in their own element- it even helps make them feel more comfortable in a new setting.  In the last 24 hours I have seen a pole (from pole vaulting!), paintball gun/equipment, hunting gear, track, baseball, and ballet!!!  It’s great because with the options they bring in for us, we have endless opportunities to create timeless portraits!

I wish I could post their pictures right now, just to show you what I mean, but I can’t… they haven’t seen them yet!!  Maybe I’ll post some next week!

Well, it’s finally Friday, and it’s been a great day!  I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed so hard as I did today with one of our families!!  I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Interesting…

So… I forget I had bookmarked this website- www.thepeoplehistory.com – it’s an awesome website that gives several stories that happened on any given day in history!  I thought I’d share two stories that I thought were worthy…

1968 U.S.A. Martin Luther King Jr

3rd April 1968 : Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “mountaintop” speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., less than 24 hours before he was assassinated

1974 U.S.A. 148 Tornadoes

3rd April 1974 : 148 tornadoes hit North America from Georgia to Canada within 16 hours and at times there were as many as 15 separate tornadoes on the ground at one time. The Super Outbreak affected a total of 11 US states and Ontario in Canada.

              * That is a lot of tornados!!  Can you imagine?!?!?!  YIKES….

Well… thats it!   Hope you are having a great day!

What an icky day!

It’s officially spring, so where is the spring weather??? The nice spring weather that is… I can handle a few showers here and there because after all April showers bring May flowers!  But this chilly, damp and windy weather with a mix of rain and sometimes snow is KILLING me!  Where is Mr. Sun?!?!?  I sure could use him to brighten my day!   Until then… I guess I’m stuck waiting… inside- bundled up!

How to choose a professional photographer…

 Whether it’s your baby’s one year birthday, Mom and Dad’s 50th, senior pictures, or your walk down the aisle, it is extremely important to choose a professional photographer for these special occasions.  You may find someone with a fancy digital camera, but do they truly understand the technicalities of posing and lighting?? 

Here are some questions to ask when choosing a photographer:

1.  Do you have references we can call?

               When talking with the references, a great question to ask is if they would ever recommend the photographer to a family member.  People would only recommend someone they truly enjoyed working with to a family member, or really close friend. 

             By being in business for over 30 years, we have plenty of references for each type of photography service we offer. 

2.  Who will be the photographer?

           Since every photographer has their own style and technique, it is important you get the photographer you like best.  You do not want to risk ending up with a photographer you won’t be happy with. 

         Randy is our primary photographer; however, Steve is also a wonderful photographer.  Each are  Master Photographers and have won many awards from the Professional Photographers of America.  Each has their own fun, loving personality, and are tons of fun to work with!

3.  When will my proofs and prints be available?

            The excitement of the session may be lost by the time you finally get to see the images. 

            At Countryside, our images are generally ready to be viewed within one week of photography.  Upon placing an order, our final portraits are finished in 6 to 8 weeks.

4.  What happens if the photographer is running late or is unable the day of photography?

            It’s important to know if a photographer habitually runs late, or has a tendency to cancel.  Ask the photographer their backup plan in case of an emergency.

           If our photographers are running late, we will do everything  we can to contact you to either reschedule, or to come at a later time.  This is why it’s important to provide us with all of your contact information.  You will always get your sessions alotted time of photography.  

        In the event of an emergency with the photographer, we will try to reschedule the session.  If the session cannot be rescheduled (i.e. Wedding), we will have another professional photographer be there to photograph.

The days are just flying by!

I can’t believe that its already the 18th of March, and to think that this is the long month!  We are finalizing our Senior Portrait information for the Class of 2010.  This is pretty much the calm before the storm.  Once school lets out for summer, our studio will be packed with high school seniors- then the fun will really begin!  I can’t wait to hear the laughter, chatter, and of course the smell of fresh baked cookies ALL DAY!  

If you, or anyone you know, are going to be a senior, let us know and we’ll send you the brochure of our different sessions.  The best part about this year is that we have ELIMINATED sitting fees.  That’s right I said it… NO SITTING FEES!  That’s up to a $300 value!  After all, we know that times aren’t the best right now and it’s extremely important to get senior pictures, so we thought this would help out!

Steve has been published!

As I’ve already mentioned, Steve earned the Professional Photographers of America Diamond level Photographer for 2008.  He was one 13 people in the world to earn this award.  The Professional Photographers magazine has recognized the 13 recipients in this months issue!  If you don’t get this magazine… here’s a link to see his spot in the magazine!  http://www.ppmag.com/current_issue/pdfs/0903/0309diamondsweb.pdf  It’s great to see that hard work really does pay off!

We smelled….

We came across a rather funny email today… just thought we’d share it with everyone!
Anne smelled a baseball bat riding a motorcycle because I’m sexy and I do what I want!

Amber smelled a smurf sliding down a hill because I’m cool like that!

>       Pick the month you were born:
>       January——-I kicked
>       February——I loved
>       March——–I karate chopped
>       April———-I licked
>       May———-I jumped on
>       June———-I smelled
>       July———–I did the Macarena With
>       August——–I had lunch with
>       September—-I danced with
>       October——-I sang to
>       November—–I yelled at
>       December—–I ran over
>
>       Pick the day (number) you were born on:
>       1——-a birdbath
>       2——-a monster
>       3——-a phone
>       4——-a fork
>       5——-a snowman
>       6——-a gangster
>       7——-my mobile phone
>       8——-my dog
>       9——-my best friends’ boyfriend
>       10——-my neighbour
>       11——-my science teacher
>       12——-a banana
>       13——-a fireman
>       14——-a stuffed animal
>       15——-a goat
>       16——-a pickle
>       17——-your mom
>       18——-a spoon
>       19—— – a Smurf
>       20——-a baseball bat
>       21——-a ninja
>       22——-Chuck Norris
>       23——-a noodle
>       24——-a squirrel
>       25——-a football player
>       26——-my sister
>       27——-my brother
>       28——-an iPod
>       29——-a surfer
>       30——-a homeless guy
>       31——-a llama
>
>         What is the last number of the year you were born:
>       1——— In my car
>       2 ——— On your car
>       3 ———– In a hole
>       4 ———– Under your bed
>       5 ———– Riding a Motorcycle
>       6 ——— sliding down a hill
>       7 ——— in an elevator
>       8———- at the dinner table
>       9 ——– In20line at the bank
>       0 ——– in your bathroom
>
>       Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
>       White———because I’m cool like that
>       Black———because that’s how I roll.
>       Pink———–because I’m NOT crazy.
>       Red———–because the voices told me to..
>       Blue———–because I’m sexy and I do what I want
>       Green———because I think I need some serious help.
>       Purple———because I’m AWESOME!
>       Gray———-because Big Bird said to and he’s my leader.
>       Yellow——–because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
>       Orange ——–because my family thinks I’m stupid anyway.
>       Brown———because I can.
>       Other———-because I’m a Ninja!
>       None———-because I can’t control myself!
>
>       I can’t wait to see what you get stuck with…

Good Luck at State!

Seymour High School is proudly sending 6 boys to the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament this weekend.  We photographed two of them for their senior portraits and we couldn’t be more excited!! 

Casey Pashouwer will be competing in the 125 weight class.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seth Moe will be competing in the 140 weight class.

Good luck boys!

What does your handwriting mean?

Heavy pressure writing (like you can feel the rib made on the back of the paper): The writer is agitated.

Letters that don’t touch: Indicate an impulsive, artistic, sometimes impractical free thinker.

Letters that slant to the right: Reveals a person who’s outgoing, friendly, impulsive, and emotionally open.

An end mark that curves up: Reveals generousity.

Indecipherable scrawl: Indicates a person who’s secretive, closed up, and likes to keep their thoughts to themselves. 

Small letters: The hallmark of quiet, introspective types- they’re generally detailed oriented and have good concentration. 

Huge letters: Indicates someone who is theatrical, usually loud, and needs to be the center of attention at all times. 

In case anyone is wondering… Anne’s writing slants the right and Amber’s letters do not touch!  Which represents your writing?? Kimberly, do you have HUGE letters??