CCJames Photography » the blog

Christmas that is!  My fall calendar is very full, I have some weekdays available and just a couple weekend spots left.  If you’re thinking about doing a session in the fall – NOW is the time to get your date booked!  My final holiday session will be November 13th and the holiday order deadline will be November 21st.

Don’t forget to mark you calendars for the Annual Santa Day and Open House at the Shoppe of Vinings on November 14th from 11am-3pm.  This guy is the REAL DEAL!  Bring the kids and your camera, take some pictures, do some shopping – and have a great afternoon.  Of course, CCJames Photography will be on hand to capture the moment if you prefer!  Click HERE to see some great images from last year.

I thought I would share a fun picture I took this morning.  I showed up at the park for a morning session – and then realized I scheduled the session for Sunday morning – not Saturday!  Sometimes my Mommy-Brain gets the best of me!  I’ve been trying not to schedule many weekend sessions so I think I’m out of practice!

Anyway – I got to play around a bit with some new techniques and I thought this one turned out kind of cool!

Stay tuned for a post about the Fall, Holiday Sessions, deadlines, etc.  Happy Saturday!

I know it probably seems early to you – but for me it’s never too early to prepare for the holiday season.  All of a sudden, summer is over, fall is booked and I am in over my head in holiday orders.  So, I’m starting early and decided to give you a sneak peak of some of the adorable holiday cards I will be offering.  Like last year, I will also have some specialty holiday gift items available as well.  More to come….

** UPDATE ** Fall is not booked yet.  It seems my statement above has caused some confusion and I have had an influx of calls about booking sessions for the fall (not that I’m complaining!).  :)  I haven’t started scheduling for October/November, but I do have a list, so if you would like to be added just let me know!

The holidays are FAST upon us – and I don’t even have my xmas decorations up yet!  We pulled in our neighborhood the other day and Kylie said “Look Mommy, Kyle’s house is so pretty – it has Christmas on it!”.  That made me feel REALLY behind! 

So this morning I dragged my husband out for a quick 15 minute holiday session with the K-bear so I could finally get OUR holiday card done.  The weather was dreary – but it still worked out.  As most of you know, I love to do pictures in the same pose or place as the kids grow – it’s amazing to see the change – and it definitely makes you wonder where the time went.  We also went inside and did a picture on Santa’s lap – the same place as last time but I can’t really post that one, since it’s not my picture – you know those copyright laws!    I couldn’t believe she did it, since she’s been so wary of strangers lately.

I loved these two pictures – a creative family portrait don’t you think?  Can you see Mommy & Daddy in the ornament?

And – look how much she’s grown.  The look on her face in this picture is so hysterical to me!

My little Santa Claus!  This is the same hat that I take pictures in every year.  My baby is growing up….

I SAW HIM ON SATURDAY!  We had such a fun afternoon at the Shoppe of Vinings with Santa last weekend.  If you missed it – mark your calendar for next year – the second Saturday in November.  It’s very casual and FREE, you can bring your own camera and Santa is so good with the kids.   The ladies at the store are great to work with and we decided early on that I would come and take some courtesy pictures for this very special event they do every year.  At first I was concerned about the lighting but I love the way the pictures turned out.  They look so nostalgic and “homey” (is that a word)?  It looks like they are sitting in the living room with Santa,  sharing the special moments that pass by so quickly.

So, here’s a few from the day.  I have over 300 pictures so don’t despair if you don’t see yours below!  Just check my website 11/15-23 to see the rest.  This first one was such a classic – such a sweet little girl reading her list.

Love this!  These boys are thinking …. “I don’t know about this guy….”

What do you suppose this little baby was thinking?

Say it with me… AAAWWWWWWW!

There was lots of love for Santa – and some crying too – but everyone had a fun time!

Here are some pics of new products I am offering.

This first one is the 2009 Calendar Gift Set that I mentioned in a previous post.  You will choose some of your favorite images to be inserted into beautiful 5×7 calendar pages.  This will make a fantastic gift for parents (or yourself) and will be packaged in a modern, colorful, 100% recycled and non-toxic gift box.  I’m trying to do my part to save the planet! 

Next up is the custom proof box.  Your favorite image is printed directly on the box and all of your session proofs are printed with your choice of borders for you to save and cherish forever!

And last, but not least, my new collection of albums.  These are really gorgeous – but I have to say the pictures don’t do them justice.  They are covered with silk fabric and your pictures are mounted inside – also with custom borders.  These albums are available in various sizes and fabrics – even leather.   I’ll be ordering more samples in the future for you to see!

I’ve been working on some new products for the holiday season – and this one makes me very excited.  It will be a 2009 calendar with your favorite pictures.  Not the old-fashioned-hang-on-your-wall calendar, but instead, these will be individual 5×7 textured prints that you will change each month in a frame.  Then, at the end of the year, you can keep all of the pictures – in the included gift box or inserted into a photo album. 

I’m thinking GREAT grandparents gift!    This is just a sneak peak of the format/layout – I’ll have more information on the packaging and display later….  

I’m soooo excited about these designs!  I love the modern, yet elegant flare!  They each have a blue/brown or a red/green color theme and they have optional back sides – for those of you that have more to say – or want to include more pictures.  If you opt to do a one-sided design, we can add names/date, etc to the front of the cards.

Here’s some samples – showing both color options.  I have more cards and I’m planning to make a sample sheet that I can email to you when you’re trying to decide on your design.

This first one is a 5×5 design – the rest are 5×7 size. 

….but the time starts flying by once we reach the end of summer.  I learned from last year – it starts to get REALLY busy by the end of August.  So, I’m trying to plan ahead a little bit and get some things ready.  So, here is a sampling of the BEAUTIFUL collection of holiday card templates that I have for 2008.  These are so great because EVERYTHING is customizeable – including the colors in the textures (as you can see from the first and second one).  I will have more styles available as we move closer to the holidays.

If you are thinking of scheduling a session for the fall please contact me as soon as possible with your requested time frame.  I will start confirming dates in late August and weekends will fill up very quickly.  The deadline to do a session for holiday cards and/or prints will be November 15th this year.

I will be out of the office (and out of town) until next week on a girlie weekend – woo-hoo!   My husband has 4 WHOLE days alone with our daughter – the longest yet!   I’m sure she’ll have a blast because D.D.I.D!!!!  That’s Jeff’s slogan -

“Daddy Does It Different”    

oh – PS – the cards don’t actually have a black border around them.  I just needed to define the card from the white background.