So if you’re on Twitter, more than likely you’ve heard about this awesome new website called Formspring.  It’s a simple site that allows people to ask you any question they want, and allows you to respond to them whenever you’ve got time.  It’s a brilliant idea and it’s incredibly useful for photographers, because this way we can answer questions as we are able, and the best part is that the answers are public, so everyone can benefit from the knowledge-fest, instead of just one person.  If you’ve got a question that you’ve been wanting to ask (or did ask and never got an answer for), head over to my Formspring page and ask away!  Also don’t forget to check out the previous questions to make sure yours hasn’t already been asked.

And because every post is better with photos…  Sneak Peek!!

Europe, as always, was fabulous.  Although I am the biggest American patriot you will ever find, it is nice to sometimes leave the land of apple pies and baseball and indulge my wanderlust.   I’ve been privileged to visit Italy many times in my life, but this recent trip was my first opportunity to visit the City of Love.  It turned out to be quite an apropos title as well, because you see, I came home with quite the lovely souvenir:

That’s right, the wedding photographer finally has a wedding of her own to plan, and she COULD NOT be more excited about it!  I can’t say it was a complete surprise, however.  This proposal has been a long time coming!

For quite awhile now (over six months, according to my e-mail history) Jason and I have been discussing “The Ring.”  Being a wedding professional, I see a lot of weddings and a LOT of rings, so as you can imagine, I’ve always had some very specific opinions about The Ring that I would be wearing for the rest of my life.  Knowing me and knowing this, Jason didn’t even attempt to hide the ring-buying process from me, so we both jumped into it headfirst.  We spent months looking at different ring designs, researching the four Cs, trying to find the perfect center stone, and checking out jeweler after jeweler.  At times the process was much more emotional and frustrating than it should have been – until we met Eric Olschwanger.   I’ll talk more about Eric later, but if you’re in the market for any kind of custom jewelry, Eric will save you time, money, and stress, and will give you an impeccably made piece for a fabulous price.

The Tiffany Legacy Ornate ring, which is the ring my lovely was based off of. Photo property of Tiffany & Co.

So fast forward to earlier this month.  I had been subtly slipping Jason some hints that it might be incredibly romantic to propose in Europe, and he had not so subtly told me that pigs would fly before he would take our ring overseas and risk losing it or having it stolen or confiscated by security or some other completely irrational fear.  It had gotten to the point where he actually seemed to be genuinely angry at me when I would bring it up, so I quietly began to lose hope for an epic proposal under a sparkling Eiffel Tower.

As we descended into Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport, I asked my beloved what he looked forward to most during the trip, maybe subconsciously hoping he would reveal his plan right then and there.  Instead, he coyly deflected and quickly changed the subject.  I was, naturally, oblivious.  Later, as we unpacked in our hotel room, Jason proudly showed me an e-mail he had just received from our jeweler Eric stating that some “last minute changes” to the ring had just been finished and would be ready to pick up as soon as we returned from Europe.  “Aren’t you excited?!” he asked.  I tried (futilely) to hide my disappointment, gave up the last shred of hope I had been clinging onto, and just tried to enjoy myself in the most romantic city on Earth.

Attempting to look Parisian and NOT look disappointed.

On our second day in Paris, we spent the majority of the afternoon and evening with my clients Abby and Zach, the new Mr. and Mrs. Boatwright.  They had just gotten married the previous Sunday, and Jason and I flew with them to Europe for their honeymoon to do a destination Day After session.  We wandered around the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Champ du Mars, and finally finished up our photo spree at an illuminated Eiffel Tower.

You can’t see it (I hope) but these two are completely miserably cold right now.

It was approximately 20-something degrees and snowing, and Abby had been roughing it in a thin strapless wedding dress all day, so the poor girl was on the edge of frostbite.  Finally I realized I could torture her no longer, so I announced that the shoot was finished and that we could pack it in and head back to the hotel.  As I began to pack up my gear, Abby asked me if I’d like a photo of myself and Jason – you know, since the lights were already set up and everything was all lit up and beautiful.  Not wanting to watch my client turn into a popsicle before my eyes, I initially refused, but she insisted (I later learned she was totally in on it, and although I’m sure she wanted nothing more than to find the nearest blazing fireplace, she kept her promise to Jason – I owe you one, Abby!!).  I grabbed Jason and yanked him in front of the camera, wanting to get the photo done quickly, but for some reason he kept wanting to talk to me.  At first I ignored him, but he kept talking, mumbling something about how I had asked him at some point what he was looking forward to most, and how this was it.  I gave him the obligatory “Awwww,” a quick kiss, and resumed my pose so we could get the photo finished and get my clients to a heater pronto.  Then he grabbed my hand and said “I’m not finished….”

I’m not exactly sure what happened after that moment, because it was all one big amazingly happy blur, but I think the photo proof speaks for itself:

Needless to say, I got my Parisian wish, I got my perfect ring, and most importantly, I got my white knight.  Jason and I have been together for almost three years now, and they’ve been three of the happiest years of my life.  We began our relationship playing saxophone in a parking garage stairwell, and it’s been an awesome ride ever since.  He gets me like no one else, he knows my every emotion and pet peeve and fear and weird quirk, and he embraces all of it.  I love him more than I ever thought I could love someone, and I am incredibly lucky and blessed and grateful to have found him (and kept him!).

I know that you guys are just dying to ask me who MY wedding photographer will be (I get that question roughly 736785 times a day) and let me just nip that in the bud right now and say I have NO CLUE!!  I certainly have a list of people whose work I love and admire, but choosing my wedding photographer is a huge decision that will be influenced by several factors, so I’m not in any rush to make a decision.  We have set a very tentative wedding date – 4.11.11 (yep, it’s a Monday!) – but we’re far from finalizing anything.  We’re excited about taking our time and enjoying being engaged, and yes, planning the most epic, amazing, fun, creative wedding we can possibly imagine!

Sorry ladies, he’s aaaaaaaaall mine.

Stacy Reeves Photography is temporarily closed until January 21, 2010. Our staff will be traveling to Europe and will have limited access to phone and e-mail during this time. Please be patient as responses will be delayed until we return. We’ll see you on the 21st!

SCHOLARSHIP & SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Thanks so much to everyone who applied for the Mind Your Business scholarship.  I received way more scholarships than I expected which was a blessing and a curse.. It was a bittersweet experience getting the read your stories – sweet because I feel so honored that you guys opened up to me, and bitter because I could only select one winner.  In the end I did hand out a few honorable mentions to people who really had a great story and a great attitude, but there was one person who completely stole the show.  I knew almost instantly after reading her entry that she would be the winner, and that instinct proved to be right.  Lidia Boicu is a Dallas-based photographer who does a little of everything but is especially talented at family work, including maternity and child portraiture.  Her business, Oh So Posh Photography, has been recommended to me by countless local photographers who are all impressed by her work, but more importantly impressed by her personality, attitude, and friendliness.  Lidia is always a pleasure to talk to, she seems to always be in a good mood and always lifting up and supporting others around her, which is even more impressive when you hear her story.  Lidia has been through a lot over the past four years.  Her daughter was born with a rare syndrome that required a cross-country flight and a difficult surgery to treat, her father died unexpectedly last Christmas, and at 31 she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.  With all of that, it would be easy for Lidia to give up or succumb to depression, but instead, she has turned her brushes with death into an inspiring cause.  Lidia founded the Tiny Sparrow Foundation, which provides photography services to families of children who are fighting life threatening diseases.  I know Lidia puts so much of her time and effort into Tiny Sparrow, and she has really worked hard to help out people whose shoes she has walked in – facing a very real and very scary chance that they or someone they love may not be alive much longer.  Lidia has a great attitude about her business, eager to learn more and willing to work hard and do her research to get there.  She is really an impressive person all around, and I’m so excited to have her at the workshop, which will hopefully allow her to take both her business and Tiny Sparrow to a new level. Here is one of my favorite images from her blog:

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION DEADLINE
If you’d like to register for the Mind Your Business workshop, make sure you do so by midnight this Wednesday, January 6.  At that point registration will close and no further signups will be accepted.  You can learn more about the workshop here and sign up for the workshop here.  Thanks so much to colleagues Kelly Simants and Jason Huang of Table4 Photography for mentioning the Mind Your Business workshop on their websites and for their kind words and their friendship.  Kelly is also hosting a business-focused workshop called The Simple Plan, geared mostly towards wedding planners but applicable to all wedding industry vendors.

CANS FOR COMMENTS
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Cans for Comments.  Between this website and Racy Steeves, you guys placed 207 comments in the month of December, which means a local food bank is going to be getting a HUGE donation!  I loved getting to hear from so many of my readers for the first time, so even though Cans for Comments is complete, feel free to keep the comments coming!

OUT OF THE OFFICE
Stacy Reeves Photography will be closed for business January 9-21.  We will all be out of the country for a destination honeymoon session and extended vacation, and we will have limited access to phone and e-mail.  Please be patient as e-mails, phone calls, and print orders will be delayed during this time.

FEATURED ON…
Recently I’ve had the honor of being featured on some major blogs and websites, and I’d love to reciprocate by mentioning a few of them here.  My Photographers Pricing Guide was featured on MCP Actions, a fantastic blog that offers advice and free resources for professional photographers.  It should be a staple on every photog’s RSS reader!  I was also surprised and humbled to find via Google Alert that I was mentioned on Photographers Who Blog among the likes of such industry legends as Pete Souza (the White House official photographer), David Hobby (aka that Strobist guy), and Zack Arias, whose famous OneLight workshop I attended recently.  I am definitely not worthy, but I appreciate the honor nonetheless!  Finally, this blog has been nominated as one of the Best Dallas Wedding Blogs by Dallas Wedding Planner, a great resource of brides planning a Dallas-area wedding.  I would really really reeeeally love your vote, and all it takes is a moment!  Just follow this link, scroll down to the poll, select “Stacy Reeves” and click Submit!  If I win I’ll add an additional 50 cans to the Cans for Comments donation, so your time spent voting will be for a good cause :)

I never say this enough, but thanks to all of you who read this blog on a regular basis, who leave comments, who send me e-mails, who share the stuff you learn here on other blogs and forums, and who just generally support me.  Sometimes as a blogger it can be easy to think that you’re talking to no one, so knowing that there are people out there who are actually listening is a really awesome and encouraging thing.  Thanks also to my clients, who make me love my job and who keep a smile on my face every day!  I’ve got over 40 – FORTY!! – weddings and portrait sessions waiting in the blog queue, so there is lots of great material in store for 2010!

It’s been a long long time since I posted a Humpdates, but the time has come! So many big announcements, so little blog space.. here we go!

Pricing Guide Update
For those of you who are familiar with my Pricing Guide for photographers, I want to let everyone know that the guide has recently had a major update. I’ve heard from a lot of portrait photographers that they really like the idea of creating a system of pricing that accounted for cost, taxes, and desired profit, but they weren’t sure how to translate that into portrait photography. After doing some research with some of my portrait photographer friends, I’ve come up with some modifications to the process in the guide that can be very helpful for photographers who primarily shoot weddings. If you’re a portrait photographer who needs some help getting your pricing in order, check out my pricing guide, especially the final chapter!

Mind Your Business Workshop
The response to my workshop has been FANTASTIC! I’m so excited to be helping so many of you get your business where it needs to be. I’m working on some great gifts and surprises for the attendees, as well as a few really helpful guest speakers. I also wanted to clarify that this workshop is not designed solely for full time photographers, part time photographers, wedding photographers, or portrait photographers. The workshop is about building a good business no matter what your subject matter is and no matter what your long term business goals are, be it a source of “fun money” on the side or a legitimate lifelong career. If you’re running a photography business of any kind and you’re not making as much money or booking the types of clients you want, this workshop will help you.  I guarantee it!  Seats are EXTREMELY limited so I cannot guarantee how long registration will stay open, get your seat while you still can!

Important December Dates to Remember
December 10 – Thursday Therapy – Happy Hour for all DFW wedding industry professionals at Sambuca in Plano.  If you work in the wedding industry in the DFW area, come join your colleagues for dinner and drinks and lots of networking!
December 11 – Print order deadline.  If you need prints, canvases, digital negatives, or anything else before Christmas, your order must be placed no later than Friday, December 11.  Orders placed after that date requiring holiday delivery will incur a significant rush fee.
December 21-28  – Stacy Reeves Photography is closed for the holidays.  We will be unable to respond to e-mails, phone calls, or fulfill orders during this time.
December 24 – Stacy’s birthday!!

Birthday Celebrations!
Since December is Stacy’s birthday month (and here in Texas we like to do things BIG), we’re planning several events to celebrate the big 2-6.  Come join us at Cru Wine Bar in Plano on Monday, December 14 or at Medieval Times in Dallas on Wednesday, December 16 (or, if you’re a real trooper, at iFratelli’s in Las Colinas on December 24).  For more details, view the Evite here (and don’t forget to RSVP).

Cans for Comments
For the entire month of December, I will donate one canned good (or $1 worth of another item they need badly) to a local food bank for every comment left on this site.  Since I was a little late in announcing it, I’m retroactively counting all the comments in December so far.  If you’d like to help out needy families in the Dallas area, all you have to do is leave a comment on ANY post on my blog.  I look forward to reading all of your thoughts and helping out those in need!  For more information on Cans for Comments and other participating blogs, click here!

Last night I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful night out with some of my fellow females in the wedding industry. It was so refreshing to be able to spend time with a group of women who completely understand what I’m going through as a small business owner, and we all had a great time “talking shop” (and talking about other things!). One thing we all agreed on is that so many wonderful artists out there are failing miserably because they don’t understand basic business skills like pricing, bookkeeping, branding, marketing, networking, and business management. In fact, so many photographers aren’t even running their business legally – if the IRS or the State Comptroller got ahold of them, they would be buried in penalties and backtaxes, and god forbid something happen to them when they don’t have proper insurance or legal protection! Although it’s great to be able to take beautiful images, without a solid business foundation, you’re destined to fail, so it’s crucial that you get your ducks in a row before you really begin to book clients on a regular basis.

In the past I’ve only offered one-on-one consultations for photographers because I believe that it’s important to customize advice to each person’s specific business, market, and weaknesses. However, I recognize that not everyone can afford a full day private consult, so I’m considering offering an 8 to 10 hour group workshop and/or online webinar for photographers focusing primarily on the business side of things. We may or may not include some time posing and shooting, but the goal of the workshop is for everyone to leave with their business affairs in order (or at least a plan for how to get there).  Before I make any firm decisions, I’d like to gather a little more interest about you guys and what you’re looking for. If you think you might be interested in attending a workshop like this, please take my survey and provide me with some feedback:  Click Here to take survey

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you all!

It has been awhile since I posted any business updates, so I decided that an Updates post is long overdue.

First and foremost, I recently removed the availability calendar from the website because it was changing far too often, but I wanted to make a note here to let everyone know our current availability for 2010. We currently have 18 weddings scheduled for 2010 and will only accept 5-10 more commissions for next year.  Here is what we still have left:

January – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 2, 23, or 30
February – booked
March – booked
April – booked
May – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 15, 22, or 29
June – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 12, 19, or 26
July – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 10, 24, or 31
August – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 7, 14, or 28
September – all weekends currently open
October – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 2, 16, or 23
November – accepting one more commission – available the weekends of the 6, 13, or 27
December – Stacy Reeves Photography is always closed during the month of December to fulfill holiday orders and prepare for the following year.  We occasionally make special exceptions (such as New Year’s Eve), so please contact us if you have a December wedding and would like to schedule a consultation.

If we are booked for your date, let us know and we will be happy to recommend some of our colleagues to you!

We are out-of-control excited about our weddings for next year.  We’ve got a laid-back fiesta at the Dallas Aquarium, a unique vintage garden wedding in New Orleans, a wedding between two opera singers in upstate NY, a retro 70’s-themed wedding in Costa Rica, a Day After portrait spree in Paris and Venice, a DIY backyard forest wedding in Royce City, several Iraq War veteran weddings, and countless other beautiful weddings throughout Texas and Louisiana.  I’ve always gushed about how much I love my clients, and I can say now more than ever that I am one of the luckiest photographers in the world.  I genuinely adore every couple we have on the books this year and next year, and I can’t wait to share all of their great stories (and images) with all of you!

We’re making a few changes to how we work next year.. Jena and I currently work Monday-Friday from 8-5 (and often several evenings), as well as all day on most Saturdays, and often on Sunday mornings or afternoons.  Although we do love our jobs and enjoy every minute of it, in an effort to take back our lives and get a little more quality time with our friends, family, and our darling better halves, we will no longer be photographing portrait sessions on weekends.  I hope that you all will be very understanding and will work with us to schedule your session at a time that is convenient for everyone involved.  We will offer exceptions for destination portrait sessions and scheduling emergencies, but we’re hoping to keep those to a minimum.  I’m really looking forward to having at least one work-free day off every week – I haven’t had that since college!

Furthermore, Stacy Reeves Photography is expanding!  We will be opening a brand new branch of our business very soon.. I can’t divulge too much at the moment, but essentially we will be offering a sexy new option for all of our brides.  Here is a sneak peek of what’s to come:

There are also lots of pricing and product changes in the works for next quarter.  We will be launching a new album line, new package system, and new canvas print options.  I can’t wait to see the reaction to our new and improved offerings.  Stay tuned!