We are so fortunate, as wedding photographers we are around people in love all the time. The beauty of photographing so many weddings is that you are witness to love and wonderful relationships all year long. Lucky us.

To love, health and happiness!

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

Well as they say, better late than never! I’m going to rattle of my favorite places to order custom holiday cards. What all three of these card companies have in common is quality!  They use gorgeous, thick paper and their photo cards are beautiful!  Here we go:

* Going on 3 years now – I have used minted for all sorts of cards throughout the year. They have some really fresh card designs, simple and beautiful. *features: you can try your photo in multiple holiday design cards at once  *they offer mini books, yearline cards, calendars, folded cards, flat cards and custom stationery. 10% off till Thanksgiving, use the code THANKS10

* Paper Culture is by far the most green of these three. The quality of the card is outstanding. My favorite features: they plant a tree in your honor with each order, all cards & envelopes are 100% Post-consumer recycled, the company is Carbon Free, 130 lb paper (very thick), free mail & addressing service, free custom messages. Paper Culture’s only drawback is that they only offer flat cards! Save 20% until November 23rd, code HOLIDAY20 and if you can’t make that deadline, I think they always offer 15% off your first order.

* New to my annual list is Pinhole Press. They don’t have nearly the selection of Paper Culture or minted, but what they do have is perfect for me! Modern, simple, lovely designs. I really like their 7 photo variable message card! Other than the holiday cards, they offer elegant calendars that feature gorgeous photos (hopefully taken by Keith Pitts Photography) and offer a really unique twist on the calendar – framed calendars! Love it. In addition, they use photos in day planners, photo journals, photo books and photo pads! I can’t wait to order a calendar or two!  Free Shipping on all orders through December 31st!

Ok..it is time to update our annual post about “where to order holiday cards”!

It is the time of year when our portrait customers ask who we recommend to print their holiday cards.  In our opinion, there is nothing worse then having a great picture that does not get reprinted well – it is soooo disappointing!  In order to answer this question properly, I decided to do some research! Hopefully this will save you some time and possibly avoid a headache!

We know that Costco, Target, as well as hundreds of online sites offer their flat one sided photo greeting cards printed on photo paper. Needless to say, these are not our favorites.  Often, there is very little quality control and the reproduction of your image will probably not look that great.  If it is in your budget, we recommend using either a local professional lab or check out the following:

CUSTOM CARDS (Moderate to Expensive)

We recommend Celebrations in Paper right here in Old Town Scottsdale.  If you are looking for something truly unique – something really custom – this is where you need to go!  The quality is excellent and the service is first rate!  Check out an earlier blog post to see some samples that they designed specifically for us this holiday season.  Just be sure to tell Renee that we sent you!

Two newcomers (to my radar anyway) worth including:

Minted. – “Minted.com delivers fresh designs from indie designers printed on luxuriously thick paper, for cards that will be remembered long after the holidays.  Be unique.  Get minted.”  Offer Code: CMH 10% off holiday cards, until 12/15  -  My favorite offering (exclusively theirs) is their Minibook Holiday Cards – tell the story of your year with 3-6  photos.  Matte paper, bound with chic grommets.  $5 each – a little on the pricey side, but beautiful!  Their selection is Keith’s favorite – a good selection of their designs tend to feature the photograph! (Click on the minted.com and it will take you to the Keith Pitts Photography photographer storefront.)

Paper Culture – “…Paper Culture: modern stationery with exclusive designs, 100% recycled eco friendly cards and unparalleled convenience and personalization. Make sure to check out our Mail & Message service where we will address and mail your cards AND print a different personal message on every card if you choose. Mail & Message service is free until Jan 1, 2010″.  WOW!!!  That alone is reason to use Paper Culture – what a great service!!!  I might actually get my cards out if I used them!  Also, they currently have an offer of saving $15 on a $75 order – great deal.  They are environmentally friendly, modern and fresh – and they have some really nice holiday photo cards!

www.tinyprints.com:  even better than last year, they are amazing!  So much to choose from – and they have a great selection of holiday photo cards (which of course is what matters most to us!)  I love the Inspiration Square Folded Card – it lets you include several photos and include custom writing on the inside!  PROS:  they offer limited edition holiday cards, they sell coordinating holiday labels, extremely user friendly site – it is so easy to drag & drop, change greeting, font, color, etc..you can request a sample of your card, but the best is:  they PRE-SHIP envelopes so you can get a jump on addressing the envelopes (if you decide you want to do that part yourself!)  CONS:  I don’t really have any!

www.peartreegreetings.com:  this sites has a great selection of  flat holiday cards – great designs – a breath of fresh air!  They also offer my preferred style: folded. They offer something called a “photo pocket” (looks like an envelopment) – several styles that fold in different ways.  The folded card features your photo personalization, a wrap pocket and a matching return address label.  I love this – they look beautiful!  Like the others, these cards include a white envelope but other upgrades are available.  Here is my favorite budget friendly choice this year …and it is even under $1.

And last but not least, I just do not have a fondness for gimmicky Holiday stuff with my kids pictures all over but I really like their magnets.  Yes, Photo magnets – don’t gasp – they actually have a nice look – and they are replicas of their cards – prices start at $1.33.  I know my grandmother would love one!

I realize that there are endless places to place holiday photo card orders…I would love to hear about others that I have not come across – I would really appreciate feedback!  Thanks!

Celebrations in Paper has done an amazing job with our custom holiday cards…wait till you see them in person!  The papers are gorgeous, the colors are great, lots of detail, plenty of fonts to choose from – they are beautiful!

Celebrations in Paper will donate 10% of all proceeds from our holiday cards sales to Free Arts AZ – we really appreciate your generosity! THANK YOU!!!

We are now scheduling our Fall portrait sessions perfect for photo holiday cards and gift giving.  The Fall is a popular time for portrait sessions and it is never too early to schedule your session.   Thank you everyone that has already booked their sessions!  Weekends are filling up quickly, but there are still dates available!

The deadline for holiday portrait sessions is December 4th! All portrait sessions must be scheduled to take place before that date to allow time for editing the pictures and getting them to you for holiday gift giving.  If you plan on ordering custom photo cards we recommend scheduling a session before Thanksgiving.

To book your holiday session you will need to pay the $125 non-refundable session fee to hold the date and time of your session (transferable to another date if you need to reschedule due to weather or illness).

Please ask about our custom card options – we have partnered with Celebrations in Paper to bring you the most amazing holiday card selection!  Stay tuned, we will be featuring a post with all the cards, they are gorgeous!

THE BIG NEWS:  any past client that books a session will receive an additional print credit of $50 that can be used towards ANY print or product we offer!

Ready to book your portrait session?

Please send us an email or give us a call at 480.947.0460!

$125 price includes:

*15 minute on location session for up to four people (near our studio in Old Town Scottsdale)

*10-15 beautifully crafted images displayed in an online gallery includes (1) 5×7 (value $45)

*5% of all sales are donated to Free Arts AZ

We have customers that ask who we recommend to print their holiday cards (when they choose not to use one of our custom holiday card designs).  In our opinion, there is nothing worse then having a great picture that does not get reprinted well – it is soooo disappointing!  In order to answer this question properly, I decided to do some research!  Hopefully this will save you some time and possibly avoid a headache!

We know that Costco, Target, as well as hundreds of online sites offer their flat one sided photo greeting cards printed on photo paper. Needless to say, these are not our favorites.  Often, there is very little quality control and the reproduction of your image will probably not look that great.  If it is in your budget, we recommend using either a local professional lab or check out the following:

Each greeting card company (for example, american greetings) has their own site, the film companies (for example, kodak) have their own sites and there are other sites like Shutterfly that do a decent job.  As you look around or ask around, you will come across sites like Tiny Prints or Pear Tree Greetings.  I think these two are great examples of quality, yet affordable customized photo cards.  Let’s do a mini comparison (I happen to send out folded cards, so I am comparing a 5x7ish card here – however, all 3 companies offer flat cards):

www.shutterfly.com:  5×7 folded cardstock, matte or satin finish, up to 9 pics, envelope included, cards can be purchased individually (this is AMAZING!), prices range (depending on quantity) from $1.19 – $1.99, hundreds of styles to choose from. PROS:  No minimums, do not have to be ordered in groups of 25, always some sort of incentive!, fast turnaround, good customer service, site is easy to use.  CONS:  very busy (last year they sent me someone else’s cards, I had to wait several days for them to reprint my order and send it back out!)

www.tinyprints.com:  5×7 folded cardstock, matte finish (Yeah!!! No glossy option), it looks like 5 pics might be the max, minimum 25 cards, white envelopes standard (you can upgrade very easily, for example, metallic silver +.10 each), about 75 choices (in 5×7 folded), prices range from $1.64-$2.69.  PROS:  they offer limited edition holiday cards, they sell coordinating holiday labels, extremely user friendly site – it is so easy to drag & drop, change greeting, font, color, etc..you can request a sample of your card, but the best is:  they PRE-SHIP envelopes so you can get a jump on addressing the envelopes (if you decide you want to do that part yourself!)  CONS:  They might be a little too pricey for some! 

www.peartreegreetings.com:  this sites offerings are the most  unique of those mentioned – they have the best flat holiday cards – great designs – a breath of fresh air!  They also offer my preferred style: folded. They offer something called a “photo pocket” – several styles that fold in different ways.  The folded card features your photo personalization, a wrap pocket and a matching return address label.  I love this – they look beautiful!  I also love the price range:  (min 25 cards) $1.18-$1.53 – best bang for the buck!  Like the others, these cards include a white envelope but other upgrades are available. 

They offer two other great holiday items:  Create Your Own (4×8) Card – 3 easy steps:  1. Choose your layout, 2. Choose your background, 3. Choose your photos.  That simple.  Easy to use site!   And last but not least, I just do not have a fondness for gimmicky Holiday stuff with my kids pictures all over but I really like their magnets.  Yes, Photo magnets – don’t gasp – they actually have a nice look – and they are replicas of their cards – prices start at $1.33.  I know my grandmother would love one!

I realize that there are endless places to place holiday photo card orders…I would love to hear about others that I have not come across – I would really appreciate feedback!  Thanks!

It’s definitely time to start thinking about holiday cards. I’m sure there are many of you out there that have already taken care of this – but for those procrastinators like myself, it is either time to hire a photographer (of course Keith is hoping for people to make this choice!) or take a picture yourself to grace the cover of your holiday card.

If you’ve made the decision to take this project on yourself – let’s get stared!

Let’s remind ourselves why we send holiday cards in the first place. I know we send them to family and friends as a way of keeping the important people in our lives up to date on what our kids look like. More importantly, however, Keith and I strive to send out a card that captures who our kids are. If great grandma in Florida sees our kids once every other year, we want her to have an idea of what our kids personalities are really like. We want our card to capture a moment that reflects this.

First things first, you need to decide what you want the picture to look like. Are you going to be taking your kids(s) picture with Santa hats on? Are you going for an action shot, like your kid(s) running in the backyard? Are you going to try and stage a traditional family portrait? Regardless of what you envision the outcome, it is a good idea to scout the location ahead of time.

Now that you’ve decided what you want the picture to look like, here are a few other details to keep in mind in order to simplify the shoot!

• Visualize what you want – don’t try and get too complex, you will just complicate your life
• If you can, try to use whatever natural light exists in the scene
• Clothing selection: dress the kid(s) in complimentary colors but try to avoid having everyone dressed identically, avoid loud patterns
• Shoot a lot! The more you shoot, the better chance you will have to capture a fleeting moment or natural expression
• Be stealth – do not torment the kids by constantly asking them to smile and say cheese, engage them in an activity and start shooting – you will be pleasantly surprised with the results
• If you are aiming for a more traditional portrait – stay patient and friendly with your kids, try to get a real expression by making them laugh – not the “cheese” smile…choose another word or act silly, try something that might elicit a chuckle or two!
• Get in close, then get in even closer – don’t be afraid to fill your viewfinder with an adorable child’s face
• Try several different camera angles – move around and see what else might work – try getting on your child’s level, roll around with them, shoot from above – think outside of the box
• Direct the action, be in control and make sure you HAVE FUN!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner (and that means Christmas, Hannukah, etc… right around that corner) Keith is working on a post about “How to take better holiday pictures…”.  I’m sure we could all benefit from a pointer or two (maybe not everyone – but I know I could!) – stay tuned…

Here are our Holiday Cards 2008!  Our goal in designing these cards was to feature the photograph rather than the graphics.  We wanted the photograph to jump out at you and not get lost like so many pictures do in an over designed card.   FYI – these cards are included in the holiday mini session package and also available with regular portrait sessions.  We always encourage comments and feedback!!  Thanks to Becky at Glyphics Design in Scottsdale for a great interpretation of what we asked!