APRIL BLOG SPECIAL

Time for another trusty blog special!

With any regular-priced sitting in April, get an 11x14 for only $30

Spring is a beautiful time for outdoor portraits! Use the "Contact Me" section of my website (www.fourseasonsphotos.com) to check for availabilities.

How to Stand Out In A Crowd

A Sneak Peek of Kaleigh

She's so stinkin' cute!

The Big Three-Oh

The dreaded birthday has finally arrived. I'm officially 30.

Seems like with every birthday, there are at least two groups that pop up: the "Oh-honey-you're-still-just-a-baby!" crowd and the "You're-THAT-old?" posse.

I prefer to hang out with the "been-there-done-that-recently-so-I-feel-your-pain" crowd, myself. Lucky me, I have some of those people in my life. They like to remind you that: A. - You're not really THAT old {yet} B. - I survived and so will you C. - You don't look a day over 21 {lol!}

My family & I headed to Texas for the weekend to do some photo shoots & do some shopping and visiting. Check out what my BFF {best friend} took time to do especially for me!

As we made our way to our room (at the conference center where she works), we found this on the door:

Then there was this waiting inside:

(Count 'em--there's 30 balloons in there!)

And, most IMPORTANTLY, this...

30 beautiful, delicious Devil Bites {specialty of Kathy's Bakery in Iowa Park, TX) my absolute FAVORITE dessert in the whole world {My BFF & I share this passion}!!

Thirty's not so bad after all! : )

If Only....

If only it were this easy. : )

Flash Back

My little goof-ball before all of her teeth fell out! This is the kind of reaction you get when you repeatedly ask a kid to be photographed!

I told you so!

No sooner had I posted a peek from last year's spring blooms than I walked out into my back yard to find this:

and this:

My spring wishes are coming true! Hooray!!!

Spring is "Springing!" Yay!

Yes, that's right...it's "springing." It hasn't fully SPRUNG yet, but we're on our way. I'm SO happy!!! Bring on the sunshine & seasonal allergies!

Here's a little something to put some "spring" in your step (I crack myself up)...

...compliments of my Ma-Maw Wisdom (who grew it), my sister, Carrie (who snapped the picture), and, of course, myself who did a little playing in photoshop (I couldn't resist).

A "Morning Glory" in all her glory!

March Madness!

Really? It's March already?

Here is the

BLOG SPECIAL:

With any March sitting, receive a free 8x10 collage!

And, as always, you must tell me that you saw it here to get your freebie!

A Peek at Grace & Ella

I will have your sweet little girls' pictures finished soon. In the meantime, here's a peek at a couple of cuties:

A Mommy's Love

Grandpas & Grandsons

Enough said. : )

For the Grannies....

Here's a little sneak peek from Mr. Squirmy Wormy's & Tanner Tot's photo sessions. Hopefully, it will give their Grannies a little satisfaction until I can complete my editing. I'm working "overtime" on this batch of babes because I do owe the Grannies a little something. After all, they did help raise my kiddos (they taught my first DD how to walk!) and they were "serrogate" Grannies to my girls until they got grandkids of their very own to spoil.

So, never fear, Grannies! I'm working hard & will get those beautiful boys on the world wide web real soon!

Baby Blues & Baby Bro

As I did some "almost-spring cleaning" on my photo files, I came across several pictures that I didn't have an opportunity to share earlier.

Meet Miss K and her beautiful baby blue eyes:

Isn't she sweet?

And here's her equally cute lil' bro, Mr. K:

And a couple more....

My Valentine

First of all, I must mention that I'm not really into the whole Valentine's Day hype. I'd rather get a nice gift on any regular ol' day rather than a day when society forces your sweetheart to show affection.

That being said, I can't deny that I "heart" my husband. And if he were to pass me a carefully folded note that said "Will you go with me, YES or NO," I would certainly still say "YES," even if I had no idea where we were going. {lol}

Here's a recent snapshot (special thanks to the talents of "Mimmy") taken after all the Christmas celebrations. As you can tell, we were already looking forward to Valentine's Day. :)

Come Fly Away With Me

When I was a little girl, I had aspirations of becoming an Airforce pilot before moving on to astronaut training with NASA. Of course, this was before I knew that you had to a great mathmatician. Once I discovered that little fact, my dreams were crushed and I moved on to other ambitions.

But luckily for me, my dad IS a great mathmatician and adventure seeker, so he became the pilot in our family.

Flying in a small private plane is much different than your average commercial flights. First of all, there's no peanuts (unless you bring your own), no bathrooms, and really very little space at all. But, you do get to fly at lower altitudes which means you get to actually see much of the country that you are flying over. It really is interesting to see things from above. It helps you gain perspective on just how LARGE this earth is and how little and insignificant our big man-made things can be in the grand scheme of things.

We recently made a quick weekend get-away to my parents and I took some time to document the flying experience. Ladies & Gentlemen, please buckle your safety belts....

Setting off on our adventure...

Told ya small planes were, well...SMALL!

Our fearless leader pilot (a.k.a. my dad)...

...his co-pilot...

...and his two "backseat drivers."

{Yes, that is me. Let me take a moment to give you a quick photography lesson: avoid taking close-ups in small spaces. Your head will look like the size and shape of a melon! Special thanks to the co-pilot for this *special* picture-lol!}

Meet the plane mascot, "Ace!"

And I think my camera has too many buttons! LOL!

"Check out the scenery down there!"

Crop fields always look like large circles from above if they have an irrigation system.

There's a frozen lake, too!

The co-pilot would REALLY like to do a little steering, but is too afraid to try any more than a fingertip steer (it was on auto-pilot, anyway!)

TIME TO LAND!

(It really is hard taking pictures from the back seat!)

Time to put the ol' girl to bed. The whole crew has to work together (including Mom who came to serve as our airport "shuttle service.")

Thanks for the adventure!

February Blog Special

February's here already?

As promised, here's this month's blog special:

Receive 20 free wallets with any order over $50!

'Tis the month of love, so share some wallets with those special people in your life.

Don't forget, you can only take part in the blog special if you tell me that you saw it here!

A Double Dose of PK's

My kids are PK's in two ways: #1 (the most traditional form of "PK") They are preacher's kids #2 They are photographer's kids.

Being a preacher's kid has it blessings and hurdles. Blessings include always having an extended family--people who love and watch out for you daily--through our church family (which is especially great when you live far away from family) and getting to sample lots of wonderful homemade goodies from the best cooks in town. One of the downsides include what people refer to as "being in the fishbowl" (a.k.a "everyone's watching")...but I contend that every kid has that problem just in different ways (teacher's kid, coach's kid, mayor's kid...you get the picture).

Now, photographer's kids suffer a similar fate. The upside is that you always have plenty of wallets to hand out to your friends during school picture time (and yours always look better than the run-of-the-mill traditional school poses). You *sometimes* get to talk mom into a cute outfit or neat accessory when she thinks it might "make a cute picture." But the downside is that you are constantly being called on to be a photographic guinea pig. Then, mom makes you "move a little to the left," "lift your chin & tilt your head to the right," "stand on your head but don't move..." (just kidding on that one)

Case in point...these pictures were taken as I was studying my prime lens and natural light.

(One is quiet & shy; the other is our crazy kiddo--can you tell which is which?)

So these are my two little often willing, not always cooperative photographic guinea pigs. They make a pretty good pair of PK's, if you ask me!

Sophie @ Six

Six months, that is! Here she is again, wow-ing us with those big brown eyes & long eyelashes again...

Are you a preschool/daycare owner? Homeschool family?

If you own a preschool or daycare with 10 or more children or if you are a homeschooling family that participates in a homeschool association, you, too, can take part in yearly "school" pictures!

{Check out these portraits from previous daycare & preschool shoots}

Why take school portraits?
One of the best benefits of using Four Seasons Photography for your class portraits is that 10% of sales will be returned to the school! Not only will taking class photos give your school a more professional image, it also is a fundraiser with little effort on your part!

How much time will be needed for photos?
This really depends on your class size. A class picture will take no more than 10 minutes (that includes getting the class in order). Individual photos will take a bit more time, depending on the age & cooperation of the children. My goal is to keep the child out of class no more than 5 minutes, but some children require a bit more prodding to get a great shot. Also, if you are a daycare provider, I often take "sibling sets" for the parents who have multiple children at the facility. Therefore, with a class of 20, it could take up to an hour and half to complete the individual portraits. I hope you will take great effort to keep the class schedule moving along as usual. My goal is not to interfere with daily activities.

Where will we take the pictures?
I prefer working outdoors if you have a nice area with shade available. Natural light makes a beautiful portraits and is less interrupting to the class. However, if you prefer “traditional” school portraits or if the weather prohibits outdoor photography, I will need an area indoors. An ideal location would be where students can be photographed without distraction from peers and where there is plenty of room for my studio equipment (area needed: at least 5x6 ft.) . After we schedule a date for portraits, I will visit your location to determine the best place for the technical aspects of photography and you can let me know if it will be best for your class, also.

I am now accepting appointments for spring school portraits and graduation portraits and/or event coverage. If you have questions or would like to schedule a date for your school, please give me a call at (580) 705-0054.