To my absolutely wonderful clients, and all of you beautiful brides who may potentially become my clients:

My birthday is Christmas Eve.  Every year around Christmas I become a total Scrooge, because I feel like I have been jipped out of a real birthday.  I’ve never had a birthday party on my actual birthday (aside from dinner with my family), I usually receive one gift for both occasions, and I can’t even really have that much fun on my birthday because everything is closed and all my friends are out of town or with their families.  Every year, December is basically a month long pity-party where I sit around and feel sorry for myself and think about what a great injustice it is.  I’m well aware that this is totally, completely pathetic and I need to “get over it” (Thanks Mom - ps :: this is totally your fault, you know), so this year I am throwing myself a Birthday Week to make up for years of lost time.  I’m going to go do something fun every day for the next week, things I have always wanted to do but never got around to.  I will also be blogging a lot, because blogging is fun and I have a lot to catch up on!

What I WON’T be doing is working.  One of the joys of being your own boss is getting to set your own work hours, and gosh golly, if there were ever a great time to take advantage of that, this is it!  Furthermore, after my birthday, I will also be taking off December 25-28 to go visit my boyfriend’s family in Louisiana.  I will be slaving away today to finish the last few print and book orders I’ve received over the last week, and after that, I am kicking back and celebrating the 25th anniversary of my great entrance into the world.   If you submit an order after today, it will have to wait until December 29 to be fulfilled.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break, and don’t forget to check back here to see what I am up to for my Birthday Week!!

I’ve been noticing a ton of incoming traffic to my page regarding digital negatives, so I gave it a once over and realized it was somewhat out of date. I’ve updated it with new information and some new sample photos that will hopefully give all my clients a better understanding of what digital negatives are and how they can and can’t be used. Check it out!

Update: Actually, I took some time to go through and edit ALL my info pages. Use the “INFO” drop-down menu at the top to see them all!

I hate using my blog to send traffic elsewhere, but my client is being nominated as a NFL Pro Bowl cheerleader and I am SO excited for her!!!  However, she needs your help - please please please go to http://www.newyorkjets.com/fan_zone/flight_crew and vote for NATALIE as the NY Jets Pro Bowl cheerleader.  Not only is Natalie gorgeous on the outside, she is also such a kind, caring person who dedicates a lot of her time to helping young girls and being a great role model.  She is truly an amazing woman, not to mention a TEXAN (and you know how we love those). You can vote as many times as you want through December 16, so feel free to reload the page and vote over and over and over and over AND OVER again :)  Yay Natalie!

I’ve mentioned this before, but I just got an awesome new program that allows me to stream HD video from my desktop.  So, if you’ve ever wanted to see how I work, come check out my webcast channel on Justin TV at www.justin.tv/stacyreeves.  Typically I am live weekdays from 10-5.  You can watch me edit, ask me questions, or just chat  with me and keep me company.  See you there!

As I’m sure you guys can tell from my major lack of blogging lately, I am really, really, REALLY busy. I currently have two weddings and three engagement sessions waiting to be edited right now, not to mention a huge slew of holiday album and print orders to finalize, plus at least 13 different sessions waiting to be blogged. My To Do list is very literally two pages long in Word.. Holy cow. So, if the blog seems a bit sluggish these days, it’s just because I am trying to keep from drowning in a sea of beautiful images.. Not a bad way to go, if I do say so myself. I have some awesome wonderful amazing bits of business news to share, not to mention a huge slew of delayed Humpdates, but for now my client’s photos have to have top priority. I’m taking a temporary hiatus from T4P, Humpdates, and T4B until all of the current orders and proofs I have in front of me are fulfilled and delivered, which will probably take about two weeks. I will still be posting regularly, it just may not be as scheduled as it has been. Please bear with me, I have some fantastic sessions I can’t wait to blog in the coming weeks. I swear my clients get hotter and hotter every day!!

In the meantime, here are a few from Erin’s bridal session. I’ve been wanting to share this one so badly, but I had to keep it under wraps until her and Adrian’s wedding, which I’m happy to say went flawlessly. These were shot at Erin’s aunt’s house, which I’m pretty sure is the most beautiful house I have ever seen. You should have seen the ceiling… Ridiculous. Not to mention that Erin is just a natural model, and she falls into a pose so gracefully and perfectly.. Made my job super easy! Here are a few of my faves:

Tips for Photographers (T4P) is a weekly feature where I talk about a cool tip that I think will benefit my fellow photographers. For more T4Ps, click here!

I recently discovered a new product that I am in love with and I want to share with you guys. As I’m sure you all know, I use Forbeyon albums and adore them, and a local woman has created the most amazing slipcovers for them! Her name is ChrysQ, and she’s the wife of very talented local photographer Ben Quintanilla. Her slipcovers are not only really cute and fashionable, but they’re also extremely well-made and reasonably priced. If you’re looking for a way to upsell your albums, an inexpensive thank you gift to give to your clients, or just a gorgeous, chic way to package your albums, ChrysQ’s Luxe Slipcovers definitely hit the spot. Here are some images I stole from her website:

This is the slipcover I have.. It’s so beautiful!

I adore this one as well.. Damask is so hot right now!

This one might be my favorite of all the fabrics:

And this one shows off another option that ChrysQ offers, the fabric-covered buttons. I think this just looks so classy and sophisticated.

Here’s the best part - She can even do custom orders! That means that if you have a fabric that perfectly matches your branding, she can create gorgeous slipcovers specifically for you. What an amazing marketing idea! To see all of her current swatches and get pricing information, check out her website at www.chrysq.com.

Tips for Photographers (T4P) is a weekly feature where I talk about a cool tip that I think will benefit my fellow photographers. For more T4Ps, click here!

I feel like every week I answer three or four questions from other photographers regarding their pricing, and my answer for all of these photographers is always exactly the same. It seems like everyone I know is making the same mistake in their pricing, simply picking arbitrary numbers out of thin air without any regard for cost, taxes, and profit. I got a little tired of giving the same speech over and over, so I’ve decided to put everything I have ever learned about pricing into one comprehensive guide.

I spent all weekend working on this, and it truly is special to me. I hope that it is helpful to you! You can download this guide on this page. Let me know what you think!