I photographed Miss C. a week or so ago for her 2nd birthday portraits…but Grandma, who lives across the country was in for a visit so we fit in a quick mini-session to snap a few generation photos and portraits with Grandma. The heat was relentless again, but Miss C. was still cute as ever and did so well!
We don’t like to think about it - but we’re at the half-way point of the year and the holidays will be sneaking up on us before we know it. Why not get ahead of the game and pre-pay for your holiday session today. If you call today and pre-pay for your holiday session you will get a complementary set of custom designed holiday cards at your session. You don’t have to schedule today. The session must take place before the holiday cutoff (see holiday schedule).
Don’t forget to “LIKE” the Joy Hamilton Photography business Fan page on Facebook. See specials and session sneak peeks first!
www.facebook.com/joyhamiltonphotography
Mr. N came in the studio today for his yearly portraits! He wasn’t quite sure at first if he wanted to participate in his photo session…but after breaking out a few toys, he decided I must be OK because giggles and grins came out of hiding!
Everyone always says since I’m the photographer, I must have tons of beautiful portraits of my children. Well you know the saying about the cobbler’s kids….well same theory applies to the photographers children!
Preparing for a session with my own children can be traumatic. They’ve seen mommy’s camera too many times, they don’t want to wear what I pick out for them, and getting the “look” I see in my mind is never going to be an easy task. But, being mommy, I know how important it is to capture these moments in their lives. I don’t want to miss anything and I don’t want to look back and say I wish I had taken more pictures.
I do not attempt the formal portraits more than 2 times a year with all of them together. Our yearly beach portrait is the most important.
This year, Josie had different ideas. She didn’t like the ocean any more. Wouldn’t step foot on the sand. I had to forget my idea of them dressed in white outfits on the golden sand. But the backup plan worked beautifully. Maybe even better than my beach idea.
(BTW - of course after the portraits were done, and on the final day of our stay at the beach, Josie decided she liked the “big waves” and we couldn’t get her off the beach!)
This set of twins came in yesterday ready for their close ups! They were both as precious as they could be and so very well behaved! Now I’m not saying it wasn’t a workout! But it was all worth it to capture these precious expressions!
I’ve been photographing this little princess since she was in her mommy’s belly! She is soon turning 2 years old and is growing into such a happy little girl! Look at these eyes and that smile! While she didn’t last too long, (the heat can be miserable even for morning sessions!) she was the perfect little model!
I usually don’t post much about my family, but I had to share this with you all. It is one of those events in your life that you think will never happen to you…and then it does and you are blown away.
A family member (my future sister-in-law) was a victim of a carjacking last night which resulted in her recovering from a gunshot wound and a young teen arrested for the crime.
When I left the hospital this afternoon after seeing her, she was awake and alert and even smiling. It is truly amazing how she handled herself in this situation and how well she is doing under the circumstances. She is a strong, amazing woman.
The theater she works with has started a fund to help with medical expenses. You can read/hear more about the story and fun from this news link.
So, hug your kids a little longer and take extra care with your own personal safety!
Beginning today, I’ve implemented some new safety measures for dealing with client credit card information.
The first is during the ordering process. When you log in to your viewing/shopping gallery and submit an order, you will still have the option to select a credit card type for payment but you will no longer enter your credit card into the system. I’ve implemented this as another form of protection for my clients and their personal information. While I have taken all precautions and use reputable companies to process my orders and payments, the less you enter your credit card information and submit it over the Internet, the safer your information is.
This really does not slow down the ordering process as I always contact clients to confirm your order and any special instructions before processing payment. The only added step will now be if you are wanting to pay by credit card, I will contact you by phone and get that information over the phone.
The second measure I am taking is that I will no longer retain any credit card information in my accounting system. In the past I may have kept a copy of repeat client’s credit card information on-file so that a client could just tell me to charge the same card that was used in an earlier purchase or for their session fee. Now, any credit card number that has been stored in your client files up to this point have been purged and is no longer available in my accounting software. I will no longer store credit card information at all in my accounting systems.
While this might pose one more step in the ordering process in that you will now have to relay your card number repeatedly for subsequent orders, taking this measure will only safeguard your information even more. Following this measure, I’d also like to ask that you not send your credit card number to me via email. Again, while this might save one step in the process, it is not worth the risk of making your credit card information vulnerable to being swiped.
I would also like to note that I am PCI Compliant. What this means to you is that I have taken the steps to ensure that when I am processing your credit card payment, my systems are secure, ensuring that your payment information is protected.
You can click on this logo below to view my Site Certification
If you haven’t ever been out to it, the Knightdale Business Expo is a great event. There are so many business represented! It is a great opportunity to see some of the new services and business going up in your area! There are door prizes and freebies all over the place.
I will have a booth this year as well! You can stop my booth to learn more about Portrait Parties (way to earn FREE custom portraits), my monthly Limited Edition Specials, sign-up to win some really cool prizes and see some of the new products and services I am now offering.
The Knightdale Expo is June 17th from 2pm to 7pm at the Knightdale High School! Come join the fun. Stop by my booth and say HI! I’ve printed new display pieces - so, if you’ve had a session recently with me, it might be featured!
Here is a link for more information on the Expo.
This past weekend I was able to hang out with some really great and talented people. I headed down to Florida for a little get-together with some photographers I’ve met over the past few years. It was a great weekend of fun (as always with these friends) but also great to hang out with people with the same passions as I do. So amidst the fun there was a little ’shop-talk’. I even got to photograph a model, something I don’t get to many requests for…but it was fun to work outside my box for a bit!
