Hmmm…..

What is this?  What could it be?

It could be something new and exciting that I will be unveiling soon.  You’ll just have to wait and see!!!

Once your session fee is received and you are officially booked you will be sent tips on what to wear to your session, directions to the mini-session location and a link to view the complete collection of holiday card designs.  (Mini-session dates and locations will be announced THIS week)

Deadline to order cards is November 21st.  Deadline to order prints and storyboards is November 30th.  Anything ordered after these dates are not guaranteed for delivery before the Christmas holidays.

I came across some interesting articles today and immediately knew I had to share them here.  Author Marianne Drenthe has three articles on her site, Professional Child Photographer, that are very helpful in explaining just what it is that I do, why it costs what it does and how you can be sure I’m the right photographer for you.  Check them out.  VERY informative!

• What is custom photography?
• Why does custom photography cost more?
  
• Why choose custom photography?

And since no post is complete without a photo…….Here are a few recent shots of one of my dear friends from high school.  We got together for lunch recently and shot a few maternity pictures.  Now tell me……….Can Wal-Mart or Sears do this?

We have finally upgraded to our new shopping cart. It has been a LONG time coming. I am so happy about all the awesome features and how much nicer the photos look. You can even see a larger version of the photo and preview crops! Check out the sample gallery in our brand new shopping cart!! Click the photo below to go there now or access it from the “Client Viewing” square on the homepage.

*this post will stayed pinned to the top of the blog until Sat. April 26th Extended to April 30th. New posts are below this one.

I’ve never been one to be embarrassed of my age. So there it is. As of 10:04 a.m. I am 32 years old. Sigh. How did that happen so fast? I hear the years tend to fly by faster as you get you get more and more under your belt. I am really feeling that this year. It seems like only yesterday I was 23…..THAT was a fun birthday. But we won’t talk about that birthday. I have been sworn to secrecy so as not to incriminate the innocent…..YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

For some reason on this, my 32nd birthday, I am feeling VERY aware of the passage of time. It absolutely amazes me just how fast a lifetime flies by. I am so thankful to my mom for capturing so much of mine on film for me. The above picture was taken at my 8th birthday. Thanks MOM! It is this rapid passage of time that makes me so passionate about my job. I’ve said it before about a wedding that the only thing left is the pictures. I guess that apply to a person’s life also. The only thing left when they are gone are memories, a bunch of useless stuff and photos. Photos that proved they were here and that someone loved them enough to take the time to capture a moment in their life.

So in honor of capturing time AND my birthday I am holding a “32 Sale.” For the rest of the week (until Midnight Saturday April 26th 30th) anyone who books a session will receive 32% off their session fee AND 32% off their final order! You can book the session for anytime during the remainder of 2008. The session fee is paid to hold your date. If you are interested in booking a session and getting in on this GREAT offer then email me at cindymills76@yahoo.com and put 32sale as the subject. I’ll send you the top secret link to pay your session fee and you will be all set to start capturing those moments of your loved ones!

Thanks for helping me celebrate!

Finally, here it is. My reasoning on “Why I think EVERY couple NEEDS a wedding album.”

When I made the decision to start photographing weddings I knew that the most important product that I could offer to my clients was a beautiful wedding album. I know the trend during this digital age is to offer the digital negative or to “shoot and burn” and it’s referred to among photographers. While I am not opposed to letting my clients have their digital files I truly and deeply believe that they should have an album. A beautiful, heirloom quality book that simply tells the story of their wedding day in photos. The reason this is such a deep conviction is from my own personal experience. Here are my wedding photos:

And that is where they have been since 2002! Isn’t that the saddest thing you have every seen? There is a saying that goes ” The cobbler’s children have no shoes.” Well, this wedding photographer has no wedding album. I wish I had one and so I am on a mission to give my clients the beautiful album I never had.

So I make the process of getting an album as easy as possible. With each wedding package I offer I include some product/album credits and an album pre-design. What is a pre-design you ask? It is my vision of the client’s wedding day in album form. I choose the photos that I think tells the wedding day story the best and make an album design. Once the clients sees this design we can make adjustments and changes from there. Most clients only make minor adjustments, by adding more pages (usually) or subtracting a few pages. Then you choose your cover style/color and that’s it! Easy!

So would you rather have the negatives because you are going to make your own album?

Trust me! You won’t!!!

Or would you like to have a beautiful album of your wedding day?

Tough decision!

So what does an album pre-design look like? Here is one from a recent wedding.

By the way, I do include the digital files in one package and they are also included with the purchase of an album in my other two packages. Just in case you were wondering.

I got a beautiful sample album in and have finally got some pictures of it.

Here is a quick post of some photos of the album.  When I have more time I will come back and tell you why I think every couple MUST have a wedding album.  You don’t want to miss that there will be photos of my own wedding photos in a Tupperware container.

It even comes in a cool box!  I love it!  Someday my own photos will be in an album…….sigh…..someday.

Here is a post I’ve been wanting to write for awhile. I’ve finally stopped procrastinating…at least on this item and here it is.

I feel like I need to explain about the images I present to my clients. Below is one image at it’s three different stages to illustrate.

1. The Raw Image: this is the photo straight out of the camera (SOOC) and most likely something you will NEVER see. That is unless I capture a great image on the day of your wedding and just have to show it to you right there on the spot, which I tend to do frequently because I get excited and I’m impatient!

2. The Proof Stage: this image has received basic editing such as, color correction, a little contrast boost, sometimes cropping, etc. An image at the proof stage is what is presented in your wedding gallery, your proof books, and on any DVD of images purchased.

3. The Final Image: at image at this stage has received the utmost TLC. It has been fully retouched and edited with artistic touches added. This is when an image is at it’s best. This is the stage you see in blog posts, in slideshows and in custom designed albums. Also all prints ordered through my studio will receive the full editing treatment before being sent to the lab.

One month. That is all the time you have left to plan for the perfect Valentine’s gift! The gift that will be totally unexpected and COMPLETELY loved. Win major brownie points with your loved one and schedule a session for Valentine’s photos!

If you run out of time you can always get them a gift certificate for aportrait session! Just contact Cindy to set it all up!

Coming soon!

I’ve been working HARD on updating my website and adding some fun new products and even a separate wedding site. Yes, that’s right Cindy Mills Photography is now officially booking weddings for 2008 and 2009…….we’ll even book for 2010, but I doubt anyone is planning that far ahead!

I’ll be updating the blog frequently in the coming weeks so watch for these exciting things:

• relaunch of updated website with ALL NEW (or mostly ALL new) images
• launch of CMP weddings site (will link from homepage)
• announcement of some new products (I know you can’t wait to hear about these)
• Info on Valentine’s mini-sessions
• pictures from my Christmas vacation

So check back often, because there are lots of exciting things going on in 2008!