Holland Photography The Blog

I’m so excited to be shooting Seth and Morgan’s wedding later this year. They are the best kind of couple to help break me into this new realm of my business – sweet, laid back, up for anything…  Morgan is going to make a beautiful bride and I can’t wait for their August wedding! Tonight we got together on the UGA campus and wandered around and got some fun shots. Here is a little preview to tide them over til I can get the rest of them edited.

This one is a little different from my “norm” but I kind of like the way it turned out.

Sweet Kalyn was the winner of the tots division of my recent Fresh Faces Contest. And a sweet fresh face she has! She’s 7 months old and learning how to sit up and she’s getting some teeth too! She is apparently a very serious baby or either she doesn’t get my jokes (probably she doesn’t get my jokes) but it doesn’t matter if she is smiling or not, she is simply adorable and a deserving winner of the contest!

In addition to this session, she will get $100 print credit, a fun goodie bag, and a 2nd session she can use later this year and include her mommy and daddy (if she wants to!). Congrats Kalyn!

So, I’ve been kind of hesitant to post this, even though I have had it planned for awhile now! I have officially decided to “retire” two of my products. The good news is, I am replacing them with two awesomely fun and nice alternatives. The first product that has gone “buh bye” is my Spiral Bound Brag Books. ~GASP~ I know! I can hear you all out there going “what? No way! I love those things!”. But I can promise you that the two items I have to replace them with are WAY nicer and are much better “bang for your buck” kinds of products! Plus now I can reserve the spirals as a special “thank you” gift if needed.

The 2nd retiree is my Custom Designed Memory Books. Yet again, another very nice product, but there is something else out there that I would rather see you invest your hard earned money in. Something much nicer and way more durable.

The first new item is the Premium Session Album. Many of you have already seen these – some of you own one – and I think if you’ve held, touched, (smelt? i dunno – I thought it needed a third word…) these bad boys, you can atest that they are WAY awesome and WAY nice and totally something you are willing to spend a few extra dollars on to display the photos from your session.

Their finer points:

• They are BEAUTIFUL!
• Handcrafted with your choice of cover – over 50 to chose from!
• They contain extra thick pages which come in black or white, 10 “sides” per book or upgrade to 20
• Chose a simple design to accentuate your photos or something a little more intricate or fun
• Great alternative when you’ve run out of wall space
• Combine multiple sessions in one book – baby’s 1st year for example
• Chose from 5×5, a good size for grandma or your purse, or 8×8, for the coffee table

Their cons… well, nope, there aren’t any!

The 2nd new product is one that many of you also have already seen and carry around in your purse or display on your desk – 3×3 Mini Accordion Albums. These little jewels are the epitome of brag and they are too, too cute to boot!! They come in sets of three so they make awesome gift giving ideas – keep one for yourself, give one to each grandma! They come with either a custom front cover (my favorite!) or a solid cover. They are available in your choice of paper – linen paper, standard, or pearl. There are 10 “panels” in each one so you get photos on both the front and the back. I have several fun layout designs to pick from.

Look for pricing on the client site or in your online gallery. Please email me if you have any questions about either product! Look for sales for these! I want to put them in as many hands as possible and will be running something special on them soon!! As always – thank you for your business!

Oh I was so excited to meet Sam. I have done some sessions with his fun older brother and some of his other family members in the past and was anxiously awaiting his arrival! He definitely didn’t disappoint! He was as good as gold and we got some really sweet shots of him. I can’t wait to watch him and his big bro Jack grow!! Laura and Josh, thank you again for another fun and successful session w/your beautiful family!!

This is Jasmine. She likes horses, cats, dogs, milkshakes (pink ones!) and Backyardigans. She is going to give her mommy and daddy fits one day!! She’s a beautiful little girl, full of spunk! She is going to grow up and break some hearts one day, but until then, she’s happy to hang out in her PINK cowgirl boots and offer up all kinds of sass! Jasmine, I was happy to meet you today and hope to see you again very soon!

Little Heroes are everywhere around us. Some are more obvious than others. Some have no hair – they lost it during chemo. Some hide scars under their shirts from heart surgeries. Some are in wheel chairs. Some prick their fingers after every meal. Some live in your house. In your life. In your heart.

Littlest Heroes is an organization that allows photographers to give a priceless gift to the families of the littlest heroes and to the heroes themselves. They give them the gift of memories. Holland Photography is proud to be a participating photographer in this organization.

LITTLEST HEROES

You can read all about the organization on the website linked above but I am here to announce to you my participation in this worthy organization and encourage anyone out there that knows and loves a little hero to contact them and apply for a littlest heroes session. Holland Photography would be HONORED to photograph your hero!! You do need to apply through the website and state your location as “Athens GA” and you will be more likely to be matched with me. Once you are approved and accepted, we will get together and hold a session, free of charge, featuring your hero. You will receive a min of 10 prints from your session that are yours to keep – again, no charge. Should you apply and for some reason get denied (sadly they are not able to accept all applications due to the sheer number that apply) please contact me directly but please make every effort to apply through the organization first.

Any and all heroes are eligible. Let me help give you something that will last a lifetime. The gift of hope, strength, and courage through the art of photography.

First of all, thank you to everyone that entered! Thank you for directing people to my site and my photography business! I depend on good word of mouth for my business to be successful and I appreciate you helping me get my name out there by participating in my contest.

Again, I apologize, especially to the parents of the “Tots” as there were some issues with the voting and we ended up having to revote that category. I know it was annoying to have to re-ask friends and family to vote again and I appreciate you sticking with me and understanding.

Unfortunately I woke up to an inbox full of spam votes this morning and that forced me to have to call the contest early. I apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused but I want to keep my blog and my facebook safe from possible maliciousness and I want to keep the contest as fair as possible. The winner is the child that was winning the polls before things got so crazy so I feel very confident that the re-vote was fair and just. So without further ado here are your two new Holland Photography Fresh Faces…

I will be contacting you both soon to set up your first session! Congratulations!!!

And congratulations to ALL of the cute fresh faces! You are all winners in my book and I would love to photograph you sometime very soon!

Happy Valentine’s Day from my family to yours! May you find love and happiness today and everyday!!

Remember, the voting ends tonight! Winners will be announced tomorrow! Good luck to everyone!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting tiny Katelyn! You can see her mama’s maternity pictures here.  She was a good model – she didn’t so much care for being naked though. Well, not at all actually! But she was still good and we got some really great shots of her! She’s just 2.5 weeks old and is the tiniest little peanut ever. I’m really excited about getting to watch her grow up!

Don’t forget about the Fresh Faces contest going on now through Feb 14th!!

Holland Photography is running a Fresh Faces Contest!! I am looking for a few new faces for my website, marketing materials, etc. Here is the low down…

Who: There will be a winner in each of two different categories – Tots – ages 0-3 and Children ages 4-12

What: Each winner will receive two complimentary 2010 sessions. The 1st one must take place before April 30th 2010, and will be for the individual winner only. The 2nd can take place any time from July – November and can include the winner’s immediate family members as well as the winner. Each session will include $100 print credit and a fun goodie bag filled with all kinds of different surprises!

How: Send me a snapshot of your fresh face! (please only send photos taken w/in the last 2 months) Email digital files to info@sueannhollandphotography.com with the subject heading: Fresh Faces Entry. Only entries with the following information will be accepted:

Child’s name
Child’s Age/birthdate if they are near the category cut off
Your name
Phone number
Address
Your entry must include the following statement: “By entering this contest I agree to the rules set forth, and I understand that all decisions are final. I am giving permission for my child’s photo to be used for advertising related to this contest.”

When: Entries will be accepted starting today through midnight on Friday Feb 5th. Entries will be displayed on my blog for one week and will be voted on to determine the winner.

The Fine Print:
1. Children must not have been photographed by Holland Photography within the last 12 months.
2. Only ONE entry per child and ONE child per photo. You can enter as many children as you wish from the same family, as long as they are within the age requirements.
3. All images will be displayed on the blog and on Facebook so by submitting your photo, you consent that you are ok with that.  Images may also be used for future marketing material so a signed model release is required for each session (including the family session).
4. NO professional images will be accepted (including school pics). Please only send snapshots that you have taken.
5. Submitted photos must have been taken within the last 2 months to be accepted. Color or black and white photos are accepted.
6. Standard session policies apply, and all sales are final. For a complete list of
studio policies please contact Holland Photography.
7. If the winning entry is not from the Athens or surrounding areas, the winner must be willing to travel here for the photo sessions. If travel for more than 20 miles outside the 30683 area code is required by the photographer, standard travel fees will apply.
8. Children must be entered by the parent/legal guardian.
9. Print credits will be applied to standard pricing only (current at the time of the session) and may not be combined
with any other offer, all sales are final. For a current list of pricing, please contact Holland Photography.
10. Sessions will be held with the individual winners only (except the family session) and are non-transferable.
11. The initial session must be booked and held by April 30th 2010 or the winnings will be forfeited.
12. Holland Photography reserves the right to disqualify or deny entry to anyone at our discretion. This includes any clients who are banned from booking because of copyright infringement, inappropriate content, etc.

Please email me with any questions you may have!! I can’t wait to see your beautiful fresh faces!!