I can’t believe it’s time to start thinking about our Christmas cards..but here we are! With Family Mini Sessions coming up next week, I thought I’d post some of the beautiful card choices we will be offering! They are absolutely gorgeous and I’m sure you will be thrilled with them!

Due to popular request..I have decided to add in a day of Family Mini Sessions! I had not planned this as I had not heard many requesting it. Of course..after I decided not to..the phone began to ring! So..November 21st..will be our chosen day. I am planning on doing these outside at the park near us. Barring rain..even cooler weather will be acceptable. Think corduroy jackets, scarves..fun hats! Although the leaves have fallen..they are still on the ground! Bare trees in the background does not mean drab pictures! I actually love the textures that bare trees bring!

Sessions will be 20-25 minutes and the plan will be to do whatever we can in that time! Sessions will be $50 and we will offer card packages as well as print packages. Pricing will have our special Family Mini pricing so this is a perfect time to get those Christmas Cards or prints for family gifts! Sessions will be for a family of 5. Families over 5 are $10 extra each person. If you missed that family session this year, this is a perfect opportunity to bring your family in! In your 20 minutes we will capture as much as we can. Pictures of the children, pictures of the family..some together, some seperate! No clothing changes are allowed and in the event of rain..we come back to the studio..but that is not going to happen. It’s going to be a glorious day and great fun for everyone!!

Give the studio a call at 989.720.9658 or email at maureen@maureenhartsonphotography.com  for your appointment time!

I think I am going to have to schedule “blog” time right up there with..shooting time, editing time, family time, and all the other times that I need! Since I have been much less active here, I feel the need to reassure you that YES!, it is because I am busy working!! I’m getting ready to post our Family Mini Sessions, but thought I’d give you a sample of some of what we’ve been doing! Dont forget to check us out on Facebook. Maureen Hartson Photography is our group name. I seem to be able to get images up a little quicker there!

Have you even been just a bit disappointed with your children’s school pictures?! Have you ever thought..why black and purple backdrops?! We’re offering our first Back to School Picture Days just for you! Outside at the park (weather permitting!), natural setting, natural smiles and portrait quality images! Complete with school picture pricing!

October 2nd and 3rd are our chosen dates to celebrate the 2009 Fall season!  Schedule your preschool-11th grader and you’ll be able to have those school pictures done in aprox 10 minutes and have 4-5 choices for your package! Package pricing is  Package A- 2 5×7’s and 4 wallets – $30, Package B- 1 8×10, 2-5×7’s and 8 wallets $45, and Package C – 4  5×7’s and 16 wallets $60! This is our lowest print pricing of the season. Special pricing available for 11×14’s as well as additional 5×7’s, 8×10’s and wallets!

Additional discounts apply to those who are members of our Beautiful Child Program!$30 is required to book your appointment and is applied to your account as a print credit. Your pictures will be provided on your own online gallery for you to view and share with family and friends. You’ll enjoy being able to choose the picture for your picture package as well as any additional prints you might like!

Call the studio at 9899.720.9658 for availability and I expect that we will fill our times quickly! Look back for announcement of our Fall and Winter Limited Editions!

Some of you know I have a new assitant/lighting technician/image developer/computer manager etc, etc. As you can tell from his “title” he does a little bit of everything technical.  I thought I’d take a moment to introduce him. He now has his own desk (which somehow managed to be bigger than mine), which I guess makes him official.

See how cool he looks?  He’s young enough that I now feel quite comfortable giving him the running shots..or the party bus rides, and the carry the equipment job. I’m beginning to get used to going to my computer to get some editing done and seeing that he has prepped them for me. As a photographer himself, he can see the light and anticipate what I’m going to need…that is pretty handy.  The one thing he does NOT do, however, is move gracefully. Normally, I am the Ungraceful One, but after this episode, he gets to hold the trophy!

Picture the moment. The bride and groom have just been pronounced husband and wife. They are full of smiles and relief. I have carefully positioned myself and Scott to get a good shot of them beaming as they move by us. As I look through my lens..I am happy because I can see they are smiling..they are moving right into my view and I have locked my focus. It is at that moment, I hear a crash. I take the shot..only to find that the groom, who just moments before was smiling at his lovely bride, is looking with curiosity across the aisle. I peek from behind my camera to see what is happening..and see Scott jumping up and rearranging the chairs,  trying to look cool even though he had just backed into and tripped over a row of chairs! The moment was gone. They had passed me by. Thankfully…Scott managed to get a shot as he was flailing backward. I thought I’d share what I got and let you enjoy the humor as well!

Here you can see something has caught their attention…and it is not each other!

Just in case I didn’t articulate the amount of noise the photographer tripping over the chairs caused…I highlited areas to look at in the above image.  I can’t stop laughing. It’s great! I wish I could have caught him bouncing back up as if nothing had happened! I’m just so very, VERY grateful it was not me. Silly assitant.

Welcome Scott..it’s gonna be great!!!

It’s hard to believe Randi and Luke have been married over a month now! What a beautiful spring day they had. The weather was perfect and at least from my point of view…everything went as planned! That is not an easy thing to do with a wedding party over 24…not including children! There must have been some careful planning and some effective delegating because even the timeline went as planned! I thought I’d post a few images and let you enjoy their day from my view!

Everyone knows I love the “Getting Ready” images. Something about the anticipation and the gathering around the special one for the day draws me into their moments. Often it is very busy, everyone running everywhere. Emotions are usually high. Sometimes nerves make for a stressed bride, especially if time is running behind. But as you can see, Randi had it all under control! Even though her hair took her twice as long as she had planned, she was relaxed and enjoying her moments! This image works for me because not only does it capture her beautiful smile, it tells the story of a beautiful and relaxed bride on her wedding morning.

This image cracks me up! Poor, unsuspecting Randi! Luke just couldn’t resist!

Do you get the feeling this was a fun group?! Part of photographing weddings, for me anyway, is not just capturing who and where’s, or the lovely details, it is primarily capturing the emotions. I want to look at the images and feel like I can see how they felt. Joy, relief, anticipation are some of the many emotions that bride and grooms feel. They’re not the only emotions though…sometimes there is a just a bit of sorrow as you can see from the image below. Sorrow that a season is ending. Having been a mother of the bride, I recognize that emotion. How can joy, pride and sadness all be wrapped up into one moment? The photographer in me seems to be drawn to that split second when the memories come in like a flood. The moment will pass, the memories will be pushed aside so the here and now can be enjoyed. The image below is that split second where you remember your baby. I’ve experienced this moment as many as you have. But, I can’t look at it for long. It’s just too real.

This is my favorite image from the day! There are so many images I love for a variety of reasons..but this one rings my bell for sure! It’s not easy to get a romantic, beautiful image with 25-27 people around! But it helps when the bride and groom can just forget the crowd and fnd a moment for each other!  Congratulations Randi and Luke! Your day was beautiful, thank you for choosing me to share it with you!!!

You know it’s bad when I start getting nasty emails saying to update my blog! Sorrrrrrrrryyyyy! I’ve been a little busy, you know?! In fact, I’ve been busy enough that I dont even know where to start. So..I guess I’m just going to add a few from the past couple of months!

If  you’ve thought about making your appointment but haven’t, don’t wait any longer! The ducklings are here and ready for their picture with your little, or not so little, loved one!!

Sessions are $25 and are 15 minutes. Sorry, no time for clothing changes! Make your appointment by Wednesday and $10 of your session fee will be a print credit! Special pricing and products will be available. Ducklings will be going to the pond to regroup, relax and enjoy life on Saturday afternoon, so don’t wait to make your appointment! Call the studio at 989.720.0658 or email at maureen@maureenhartsonphotography.com

Also, we’ve made an appearance on Facebook! If you like to hang out there, look for Maureen Hartson Photography’s page and become a fan to keep updated on any specials and important information you might like to know!

Do you know a 2010 senior who loves the camera, loves our work, and would love to make some spending money this summer? Send them our way! It’s time for us to choose our “Crew” for our upcoming senior season.

We are now accepting “applications” for any school within 1 1/2 hours drive.  Of course, the big question is What do I get?!?!?

First, each senior rep is given at least 2 free sessions. Their indoor session will be done as soon as we can agree on a date and thier outdoor session will be done in early summer.  Then of course they will receive their rep cards to start handing out before school gets out. When someone they refer comes in with their referral card they’ll earn $10 and their friend will earn 8 free wallets.

To be accepted in the program they will have to provide 30 valid names and addresses of people who would like or may like to have their senior pictures done with us.  For every name they turn in over 30, they will receive a dollar.  So if they turn in 100 names, they would receive $70 ($1 for every address over 30). We will send a postcard to the names on their list offering a discount for booking with us. If from that list..20 people booked with us, they would receive $200 ($10 per referral). In addition to their free sessions, free cards, and the opportunity to earn cash they will be given a fantastic deal on their print orders. If 10 people come to us as their referral, they’ll receive $200 off of our top package. If 20 come in, they’ll receive $500 off and if they send in 30, they’ll receive our largest package free!

I’m very excited about our progam. We have tweaked it over the years, and we are continually adding to it as well as trying to make it easy for our “Crew” to be successful in the program. This year our focus is on getting the names and addresses from our reps and then we will help them to get those kids in as referrals by giving them special discounts. If you think you, your senior or an upcoming senior you know would benefit from this program or would just enjoy the extra sessions as well as being our model for the year then send them to this blog and have them contact me! Grand Blanc, Saginaw, Burton, Flint, Swartz Creek, Durand, Owosso, Byron, Corunna, Davison,  Ovid Elsie, Perry, Laingsburg, Lansing and so many other schools..yes we are accepting your schools!! Once I have as many as I can handle, I will cut off the opportunity. We can’t select members from every school, so it’s important to get in touch with me quickly as these opportunities go fast!!!

If they are interested, have them drop me an email to maureen@maureenhartsonphotography.com In their email have them answer the following questions:

1. Name/Address/School

2. What sports/hobbies/activities are you involved in?

3. Do you have any friends that I have photographed?

4. Do you have a Facebook? If so, can I be your friend?!

5. Why do you think you should be chosen as a Crew member of Maureen Hartson Photography?

Enjoy the weekend and here’s to a GREAT 2010 Senior Year!!

Baby ducks are on their way! Actually…they haven’t even been born yet! But they are planning a special arrival at our studio just for our Spring/Easter sessions! Our mini sessions are $25 for one child and $10 for each additional child. 5-6 images per child will be taken (sorry, no clothing changes!). Special print pricing will be availabe for prints as well as small packages and storyboards. No group sessions, each mini session will be with one child and the ducklings. Children must be able to sit on their own.  Our baby ducks will be ready to get their pictures taken on Friday, April 3rd and Saturday April 4th. Dont’ miss what is going to be an adorable Limited Edition! Remember if you are part of our Beautiful Child program, no session fee for you! Also call early for the best appointment times! 989.720.9658

Check back next week as we get ready to roll out our Senior Rep Program. It’s that time! We are also still accepting members to our Beautiful Baby and Beautiful Child programs.  Call the studio for more information! 989.720.9658