If there’s one single aspect of creating portraits that seems to be more important than all others, to me it’s capturing the relationships between people. After all, the richest person in the world would indeed be the poorest if there were no one that they loved; no one who loved them.
So we’ve created a whole new program for the studio to celebrate the relationships between people. We call it Footprints on the Heart, a term inspired by a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt and a poem called “Some People” by Flavia Weedn.
Although Footprints On The Heart started out as a concept for a new portrait program for the studio, as it developed it became much more.
I”m a sucker for hearttugging stories. I love the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies, and rarely miss one when they’re on TV. I even collect the Hallmark commercials when I can find them on line, because I find them wonderful.
We sometimes give away copies of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, one of my favorite series. I’ve even used Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul as cirriculum in my high schoo age Sunday School Class, because there’s so many lessons within these books.
As a dog owner, I loved, and cried during, Marley and Me. (didn’t we all?)
So I began to realize there’s real value in gathering and sharing heart touching stories of the relationships between people. After all, these stories underly just about every portrait we create. We’re photographing those in front of the camera specifically because there’s someone that loves them. Very seldom do we create portraits for the individual themselves; they’re almost always for the benefit of those they love.
So the first expansion of the idea was the thought we’d share the story of each of these families on the website. Like the family portrait we created of our new mayor Anna Peterson and her family; the very first time EVER that the entire family had been together, and it was created on the occasion of Ed Peterson’s 80th birthday.
Or perhaps the love story of how one of our wedding couples met and fell in love. You get the idea.
But then, we realized that even those not currently involved in having a portrait created have stories to tell. So what if we gave others the opportunity to share their stories with the world; tell others who has left Footprints on THEIR heart.
So while the portrait program underlies the new site, it’s really about celebrating human relationships. We’d like it to be a site that you visit when you need an inspiration, a lift, or simply to enjoy reading the stories that others have left.
To start things off, we’re having a contest for a $200 gift certificate to the studio for the best stories as voted by the readers. Details on the site. But we’re also putting together a bigger prize package for the favorite story of the summer, or the next 6 months; we haven’t decided all the details yet.
The address of the new website is http://www.footprintsontheheart.com. We invite you to visit, and we hope eventually it touches your heart.
Our days for family portraits or senior pictures at the beach are changing. We’v been asked to be the provide the wedding photography for a wedding on August 29th, our scheduled next date at the beach, so we’re moving the date to the following Saturday.
We’ll have another opportunity on September 26th, plus we’re doing a couple of trash the dress sessions at the beach that day as well.
After six years as the “official” Snoball photographer, we’ve decided to return to the studio and let someone else have that opportunity. We enjoyed doing it, and vastly improved the process over what it was when we took it over.
But given the volume, it was very difficult to provide the quality that we like to put into the hands of our clients.
So this year, we’ve decided to stay in the studio, and provide a really wonderful experience for our clients and their friends.
Read all about the details below, then call the studio for your appointment – 503-588-0902
When you get the Snoball, you want to have fun, right? Not stand in line for photographs. Why not have us photograph you in the comfort of our studio before you even get there, and avoid the noise, the crowds, the lines.
Make an appointment at the studio, and plan it as a part of your evening, not an interruption to it.
1. At the dance, you’re not the only one with your appointment. You’ll share it with a bunch of other couples, and stand in line for up to 15 minutes or more.
Not at the studio. You’ll have your own appointment. Just you, not 20 couples standing around waiting at the same time.
2. At the dance, when it’s your turn, you’ll be rushed in and out. Each couple is photographed for less than a minute.
Not at the studio. We’ll spend enough time with you to make sure you get something you love. We’ll work with all the details to make sure you look your very best.
3. At the dance, You’ll get one pose, and maybe two shots.
Not at the studio. We’ll do several poses and however many shots it takes, to make sure everything about you looks it’s best – pose, hair, clothing, expression.
4. At the dance, the photographer picks your pose. You have no say.
Not at the studio. You’ll pick the pose you like best to have printed.
5. At the dance, the lights are set not for the best photograph, but to be able to photograph the most couples without having to move them.
Not at the studio. We’ll make sure the lighting is perfect for each couple or group we photograph. We can take the time to individually adjust it to make you look your best.
6. At the dance, you’ll get unretouched photographs – right off the camera. The volume of photographs just doesn’t allow retouching.
Not at the studio. Every package will be lightly retouched, maybe more if needed, and we’ll make sure you look WONDERFUL. Since we’re only photographing a select number of couples or groups, we can take the time to pay individual attention to each photograph, rather than rely on a mass production process.
7. At the dance, the photographer has to pay $1000 for the privilege of being there, which makes your dance photo packages more expensive than they would otherwise be.
Not at the studio. Because we don’t have to pay ANYONE just to photograph you, and we don’t have to pay a large staff, we pass the savings along to you. Our studio packages will be less expensive than they were at the Snoball.
8. At the dance, you have to choose one of the existing packages.
Not at the studio. We’ll give you the flexibility to put together your own packages. The smaller number of clients allows us to customize each order to your individual needs.
How can you beat it?
Call for your appointment today -503-588-0902