Announcing Ohio Travel Sessions! | Hendersonville, NC Photographer

 

I'm getting super excited about my trip to Ohio in June!

 

I'm not only excited to get to see lots of friends and family while we are there,

I'm also very excited to see some of you!

 

While I'm there I will be taking a limited number of portrait sessions.

Some in the Delaware County area and some in the New Lex area.

 

A few of the different types of sessions that I will be scheduling

are newborn, children, family, and high school senior portraits.

 

Sessions will be approximately 1 hour in length at a location of your choice.  Our time together will yield 20-30 custom edited images for your consideration.  Your full collection of images will be sent to you on a disc with a printing release.  You may print as many pictures as you like, including by not limited to, birth announcements, holiday cards, birthday invitations, and graduation announcements.  A $99 deposit is due within 10 days of booking to confirm your reservation. 

Another $99 payment will be due in April and in May.

Or if you prefer, you may pay in full upon booking.

 

Since I will only be in a each location for a couple of days, I will only be

able to schedule a very limited number of sessions.

So please get in touch soon to grab your spot!

 



 

Email to billie@billiemitchellphotography.com

 

Call or text to 828-785-2389.

 

Also, please feel free to share this info with all of your friends and family!

As a matter of fact, I would be very grateful if you did share with everyone! 
There is a Facebook icon at the bottom of this post that makes it super easy to share.

Happy New Year | Sunbury Portrait Photographer

Happy New Year from Billie Mitchell Photography! 

I want to thank all of my friends, family, clients, and readers for suppporting and encouraging me in my first full year in business.  It was an awesome year of learning and growing.  I look forward to an even better year in 2011!  Lots of new and exciting things happening.

5 on Friday | Sunbury Portrait Photographer

1. The first thing I want to share this week is that I AM OFFICIALLY CAUGHT UP! With business stuff anyway. The house work is not caught up. Nor do I believe that it ever will be. But I have completed a lot of editting, ordering, and delivering. There are still a couple of more deliveries to make, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Had you asked me two weeks ago, it was nothing but pitch black in that tunnel. I didn’t think I would ever catch up. Especially not this soon.

2. So my hubby and I have been working pretty hard on getting all of our Christmas shopping finished up before Thanksgiving. And thankfully, we have pretty much finished up. Now for the wrapping. He is great about helping with the shopping. Wrapping. Not so much. It will be up to me to get most of that part done.

3. We had a little impromptu photo shoot in my dining room last weekend. I pulled out some backdrop paper, which I rarely ever do, set it up next to the French doors, and shot some photos of Peyton and Cooper. Peyton needed her 2 year old pictures taken and Cooper will be 5 this month. I figured I might as well do them both at the same time in case I never got around to doing it in late December. The images turned out very cute. They are both little characters!

4. I’ve been creating a lot of fun new storyboards lately. Storyboards are one of our biggest sellers. They are fun, can be personalized, and can include multiple images to tell a story. AND, they come ready to hang. No framing necessary! In my opinion, that is one of the greatest things about our Storyboards, Portrait Wraps, and Gallery Wraps. There is no need to frame them. You can hang them up as soon as you receive them!

5. I heard the most beautiful, peaceful and calming version of a Christmas song this week. It was Celine Dion’s version of O Holy Night. Lovely.

Five on Friday | Sunbury Portrait Photographer

1.) It has been, and will continue to be, a very busy week. I shot a wedding in Huron, Ohio last weekend. I had a session last night with three adorable little boys. I have two sessions today and then two more on Saturday. Lots of pictures to share with you. Someday. When I can get caught up on blogging. Don't be surprised if I am still sharing summer pictures with you this winter!

2.) On that note, another update on scheduling. Our calendar is completely booked for the remainder of 2010. We will however still find time to squeeze in newborn sessions. Newborns can't wait. They are only newborn for a short time. We will let you know when we open up our 2011 calendar for scheduling.

3.) We spend every Thursday and Saturday sitting at football fields. I spent a couple of Saturdays ago trying to photograph Brodey's game. It's quite a challenge to capture action shots and keep track of two little ones that love to run wild at the field! I need to find someone to watch those little people this Thursday so I can photograph one of Drew's games. Please don't avoid my call if you see my number on your caller ID!

4.) I've been listening to THIS a lot lately while working around the house or editting photos. I love his music! I discovered him on Pandora a while back and listen to him pretty much daily now.

5.) My awesome Mom made me three cool new camera straps for my camera! Thanks Mom! I love them! They are so cute.

On a Shoestring Budget | Sunbury Portrait Photographer

A couple of months back I asked the question on Facebook

"What is preventing you from having your family portrait taken right now?"

A lot of people answered with various reasons related to budget. One of the answers was specifically about purchasing clothing worthy of having pictures taken in on a tight budget.

As you may or may not know, I have a large family. So I'm faced with the same dilemma you are when it comes to clothing for our family portrait.

6 people to dress on a tight budget.

Because of this I shop at a lot of thrift shops.

Once Upon a Child, Clothes Mentor, Goodwill, yard sales, etc...

Where ever I can find cute stuff on the cheap!

On Friday I stopped at Once Upon a Child to return some jeans that I had bought for one of the boys. When looking for different jeans I caught a glimpse of a nice shirt for him. I looked a little further and found another shirt for his older brother that coordinated with the first one. So I decided to go to the girl section to see what cuteness I could find for the baby. DONE. Found an adorable little dress in coordinating colors. Headed to the little boy section and found another shirt in a matching color for my four year old.

Just like that, cute coordinating clothing for all the kids for the low, low price of....

are you ready for this???

$21.oo!

That's right. $21.00. I will have them put on some jeans and they are all dressed and ready for our fun family portrait that they all look forward to every year! They have been begging me to get some awesome pink shirts so they can get their picture taken!

NOT!

Really, they hate every minute of it and fight me every step of the way. But I still insist on doing it each year. It's the one time every year that I make a concentrated effort to get updated pictures of at least all the kids. And most years I make it a whole family picture. Not just the kids.

In case you are wondering, Dennis and I will be clothed in the picture as well. I'm not showing our clothes here, but I promise we won't be naked! We have shirts in our closet that will coordinate with the kids clothes. No need to go out and buy brand new stuff.

So now I challenge you to do one of two things. One, go into your closets and see what you already have in there that will work great for pictures. Or two, do some thrift store or clearance rack shopping to see if you can beat my $21.00 Christmas card picture outfits. No one is ever going to know that you don't have on brand new clothes when they look at your Christmas card. Nor will they care! They just want to see how cute your kids are or how great you look!

Leave me a comment and let me know what you came up with and how little money you spent on outfits for your family. Even if you aren't having a picture taken professionally for your Christmas card, you are probably still taking a Christmas card picture. And I think we would all appreciate it if you put clothes on!

I'm just sayin...

Have fun shopping!

P.S. I'm posting this in the FAQ category as well because I get asked regularly what you should wear for pictures. I always encourage coordinating clothes in whatever your style is. Not necessarily matching clothes. Our style is casual. So we will be untucked and in jeans. If your style is more dressy, then by all means, dress everyone up in coordinating clothing. This is a good example of what I mean by coordinated.

See more of Billie's work at http://www.billiemitchellphotography.com/.

Become a fan of Billie's work on Facebook. Email Billie at billie@billiemitchellphotography.com.

One Year Anniversary! | Sunbury Photographer

We are so excited to be celebrating our one year anniversary of being in business this month! I have completed pictures of my first One Year Baby Plan with the sweet baby that got this whole thing started! When Ryan was born last August, his mom asked me if I would take some pictures of him for her. I of course said an excited “YES!” After all, I LOVE taking pictures, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE newborns!

I took the pictures, came home and went through them that same evening, and took them right back to her late that night.

She’s a good friend of mine so it was ok for me to deliver pictures to her at 11pm. I wouldn’t normally ask you if I could deliver at that late hour! :o)

Anyway, she loved them and posted every single one of them on Facebook. I immediately started getting inquiries about taking pictures of other people’s children.

Voila, a business was born!

A business that I had dreamed about for years and never had the courage to start. A business that I was planning on waiting to start when my children were grown and I had more time.

Do you realize how old and tired I am going to be when my children are grown and out of the house?

I decided that wasn’t a very good plan. So I ran with it, and have made it through my first year of business some how with four very active children at home and a full time job to boot!

I have to say it’s mostly because of my husband that I have been able to devote so much time to getting this business off the ground and running. If it weren’t for his willingness to stay home with kids evening after evening and weekend after weekend, I would never be able to do all this. So thank you Dennis! I love you and appreciate all that you have done to allow me to pursue my dream.

So with all that being said, we have evaluated our first year and decided there are a couple of things that we need to change in order for things to run more efficiently.

More efficiently for our family and more efficiently so that we can better serve you, our clients.

Nothing too major, just a couple of policies that need to be implemented or changed. Our rates and portrait collections have changed slightly. Again, nothing too drastic.

I tell you all this just to keep you informed.

If you have been a client in the past, things might be just a little different for you when you schedule again.

As a thank you to all of my wonderful clients and friends out there.

...all of you that have referred us to your friends and family.

...all of you that have followed along on this blog and on Facebook.

...and those of you that have lurked in the shadows and I don’t even know about yet.

As a thank you to all of you, schedule your session for September, during our anniversary month, and we will gift you an 8 x 10 portrait of your choice. Mention this blog post when scheduling your session. Then you will pick your favorite photo from your session, and we will print an 8 x 10 of it and give it to you as our gift for supporting us throughout this first year of business!

We have also added a new product offering that I thought I'd highlight here.

Brag Books!

So many of you have asked me about these types of books, so we have decided to start offering them as a gift to you with your order of $400 or more. That's right! We are going to give you a FREE Brag Book with your $400 or more order!

(Or, if you would like to purchase one separately, they will sell for $40 for up to

30 photos with a minimum $150 order. Each add'l photo $1.50)

There are three different ways your photos can be printed inside.

One is without any borders at all.

Another is with an 1/2 inch white boarder around each picture.

Or you could choose an 1/2 inch black border around each photo.

If you think you might like to order one of these from a past session that you have had with us, email me and we will get one put together for you.

P.S. In case you missed it, our Holiday Mini Session info is posted HERE. Go check it out. And feel free to share it with your friends!

See more of Billie's work at http://www.billiemitchellphotography.com/.

Become a fan of Billie's work on Facebook. Email Billie at billie@billiemitchellphotography.com.

2010 Holiday Mini Sessions Announced! | Sunbury Photographer

The time has finally come!

I’m so excited to finally announce our

2010 Holiday Mini Sessions!

I realize that it is 90+ degrees outside right now, but the holidays will be here before you know it.

What’s a Mini Session you ask? It’s basically a shortened version of a regular portrait session. The sessions will last 20 minutes, as opposed to an hour or more. They will be for immediate family members only. So Mom, Dad and kids. Or kids only is great too! Mini Sessions are designed to capture beautiful images for your holiday cards and gifts for your friends and family. Or, just to update your family portrait.
Lets face it, none of us update our family portraits nearly often enough.

I know, I know… you usually create your own holiday cards every year. But be honest, how much fun is that? Believe me, I know. I have to do it with my own kids every year too. I know that the word “fun” would be no where in the description of creating my Christmas card photos!

So why not let me do it for you this year? Let me take the stress out of it and make it easier for you. And possibly even, dare I say, enjoyable! PLUS, think about this, we could have your holiday cards & gifts created and ready to go in October. Cross that big ol’ item right off of your busy holiday to do list!

OK. Have I talked you into it? Read on for the details.

The Holiday Mini Session fee is only $75!

What’s included in your $75 mini session fee:

~ 20 minute session for up to 5 immediate family members. (Please add $10 for each additional immediate family member.)

~ 5 - 10 carefully edited images in a private online gallery 1 week after your session.

~ AND your choice of one of the following:


• 24 Custom Holiday Greeting Cards

• 1 / 8 x 10 print and 2 / 5 x 7 prints of one pose of your choice

• 1 Digital file of your choice with full printing rights

(This will be emailed to you for personal use and holiday cards)

Additional cards, portraits, digital files and products can be purchased at ala carte pricing or in our special Holiday Collections.

I am offering 3 special holiday collections as well. They will be available ONLY for holiday mini session clients. Email me for details on these packages.

When:

October 3rd - Jeffrey Mansion in Bexley

4:00pm, 4:20pm, 4:40pm, 5:00pm, 5:20pm, 5:40pm

October 17th - New Lexington (location TBD)

4:00pm, 4:20pm, 4:40pm, 5:00pm, 5:20pm, 5:40pm

Spots will be filled first come, first serve.

$75 session fee is due at time of booking to hold your spot.

“How do I reserve a session?”

I’m glad you asked!

Email me at billie@billiemitchellphotography.com with your top two time slot choices.

I will reply with a confirmation and more information.

Here are a couple of the choices you will have for greeting cards.

That's it folks! Get your calendar out and get in touch today to grab your spot!

Helpful Information | Sunbury Portrait Photographer

I ran across this blog post today and it made me think of the countless conversations I have had with clients regarding their department store portrait studio experiences. I had one mom tell me that the studio wouldn't sell her a portrait that was taken of her daughters sticking their tongues out at each other, because that wasn't the studio's style. That's her life though. Those are the memories that she wants to preserve. Those are the types of photographs that really help you to remember their true personalities.

I recently received this note from a client:

"I was recently thinking about all the money I have spent having pictures taken at other places. I don't really have any that stand out or speak to me like the ones you has taken this year of my family. This is the first time I have had pictures that capture the personalities and sweetness of my kids. Price is really... not a factor when you have such excellent shots to pick from. I will truly treasure each and every picture that you have taken this year and years to come. Thanks for all the wonderful memories you are creating!"

This is what it's all about for me. I want my portraits to speak to you. I want them to scream with your child's personalitiy. I want them to be the artwork on your wall.

I'm not trying to slam any department store studios. That's not what this is about. I'm simply trying to point out the differences and why custom portrait photography sometimes costs a little more. Custom portrait photography can not be created for the same cost as big chain department store photography. It's simply not possible. For another great article on this topic, you can check out this post. It gives you a pretty detailed breakdown of why custom portrait photography costs more.

And because a good post on a photography blog always needs a photo, I give you this shot of Cooper that I love.

Take a minute...

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I have recently updated my sidebar with a sign up form for our monthly newsletter. Our newsletter will keep you up to date on scheduling, specials, and new offerings. Often times the newsletter peeps will be the first and only ones to know about our awesome specials.

So take a minute and go sign up right now.

It's painless, I promise!

I'll wait for you to get back...



OK - Awesome! Now you will not miss out on anything.

Since we are talking about it, you might want to take a minute to "like" us on Facebook too. There's a link on the sidebar for that also! It's another great way to stay in touch with everything that is going on.

I'll be back soon with some awesome sessions that I can't wait to share with you!

And just because a post on a photography blog is no fun without a photo, I thought I would share this with you tonight.