On Saturday, November 5th, I will be having a day of mini sessions in Columbia, S.C. If you’re in that area, it will be a great opportunity to get portraits done for holiday cards and holiday gifts!  The details are below, so read up and then sign up (:  There are a limited number of these sessions available, and they will be booked on a first-come-first-serve basis.

THE DETAILS:

2011 Holiday Mini Sessions :: Columbia, South Carolina

Cost :: $325

Includes ::

• 45 minute custom photography session
• Presentation of images in an online gallery for viewing and sharing with friends and family
• CD of all images from your gallery in both high resolution (for printing) and low resolution (for emailing and sharing online)

I have decided to offer the CD of images this year to give you the opportunity to order holiday cards and/or gifts at a more economical price.  I will be happy to recommend online printers for traditional prints, holiday cards, large format prints, wrapped canvases, etc…  {If you prefer prints from the pro lab that I use, you will be able to place an order through your online gallery.}

TO SIGN UP, just click here!

P.S.  If you don’t live in Columbia, and would like me to offer a day of mini sessions in your area, then let me know!  You could get a free session (:

~ Anna

Friday night, J and I took my 16-year-old niece to a Luke Bryan concert.  Yes, we’re now that old aunt and uncle trying to prove our hipness.  Don’t judge! This Mr. Byran fellow is a country music singer, so I wasn’t familiar with any of this stuff until a few days before the concert {figured I should listen so I wouldn’t be completely in the dark}.  I admit, he has a few songs that will probably make it into the old iPod rotation.  Boom boom.

Most importantly, he puts on a good live show.  He covered Steve Miller Band, Lady Gaga, and whoever sings that “my iPod is stuck on replay (replay)” song.  He also did a lot of mashups of his stuff with songs from other genres. I like the surprise factor, but I’m not really sure if “mashup” is a real musical term, or just something I heard on Glee.  The show was part of his “farm tour” which basically means he sets up a stage in a field and eight thousand people come exercise their squatter’s rights for a few hours in the pitch black darkness and then spend upwards of an hour trying to get their car untangled from everyone else’s. But it was fun and relaxing to be there with the sun setting on a cool fall evening in the Georgia countryside.

~Anna

Yes, I’m still here (:  Just swinging by to let you know that, and to share one of the many graphic design projects I’ve been working on over the last few weeks.  This one is for CU Studio Share, a fabulous new space in Champaign, IL, that will be available to artists of all kinds.  We don’t always need a studio space, but when we do it’s really nice to have a good one available to rent.  Allyson and Holly are both photographers, so they understand what it’s all about and I’m pretty certain they will do it up right (:

In other news, October is apparently coming early this year (as in this weekend!!). Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  That means that it is REALLY time to start thinking about those holiday pictures. I know I’m already feeling behind getting the word out.  So, if you need family photos for holiday gifts or cards, let me know – like, right now – by clicking here.  In early November, I’ll be having a day of mini sessions in Columbia, S.C. so if you’re in that area, keep an eye out for details here and on my Facebook page.  It will be a great way to get those holiday pictures at special pricing!!

~Anna

What an August I have had. Oh, my goodness. We have packed, driven, visited friends, visited family, driven some more…and now we are all moved in to our new home and happy as clams to be living in Georgia! Well, maybe not all moved in, but we’re getting there.  Now that my office is workable and the Internet is back in my life, I wanted to come dust off the blog and give you all some updates:

First, I wrote a guest blog post for Success for Solopreneurs on headshots, why they are important, and what you need to know if you are in the market for some new ones (you know you are!).  Feel free to head on over there and read it.

Also, custom photography sessions are currently being scheduled in Georgia, South Carolina, and really anywhere in driving distance (:  If you want to schedule a session for your family, engagement, high school senior, headshots, etc…, just fill out this form and we’ll get started.  It’s hard to think about it in August when it’s {so, so} hot, but it really is time to start thinking about those holiday pictures for your cards and gifts.

Happy weekend!

~A

I designed this logo for the Association of Title IX Administrators, which is an emerging organization in the world of higher ed administration. The client knew they wanted the colors red and black, and it was obvious that the IX Roman numerals would play a prominent role in the design.  Then it was just a matter of putting everything else in place.   There were a few other drafts before we got to this conclusion, this was obviously ‘the one.’  I love it when that happens (:

This summer has been my busiest so far for photography sessions, but in between those and the chaos of moving 800 miles away, I’ve been working on several graphic design projects.  This one was a logo for an up-and-coming brewery in the city, 4 Paws Brewing. {I’ve sampled the Hefeweizen and can vouch for its greatness.}  They’re in the process of redesigning their website, but in the meantime you can keep up with the latest on their Facebook page.  Support your local brewers!!  Below are a couple of draft logos that were eventually reworked to come up with the final product.

~ Anna

Nora’s mom won the blog contest earlier in the summer, and elected to have their family portrait session at Berger Park in the Rogers Park neighborhood (or is that Edgewater?!).  We met on a very warm evening, but made the best of the beautiful lighting and {sort of} cool lake breeze.  Seven-month-old Nora was such a trooper!  She was calm and curious and happy for the entire session. And gorgeous, but you can see that for yourselves (:

This is the last sneak peek I’ll be posting from Chicago!  The move is this week and we’ll be on a little vacation in between Chicago and Athens.  I do have some blog posts lined up for that time, but the next photography sneak peek will be from a Georgia session (:  See y’all there!

~Anna

With this session I was continuing the trend of reminiscing about my time up here.  I’ve known the Liccardos for a few years, and used to babysit these two kiddos.  They are amazing kids and really left a big impression on me – although they were never quite able to teach me the complexities of soccer or Guitar Hero.  They were so much fun and it was a nice break to get to just hang out and play for a couple of hours a day.  I miss that!

A few weeks ago I ran into them at the Race Against Hate {okay, I didn’t so much run into them as search the crowds for them!} and was so happy when they decided to schedule another family session.  We met up at the Shakespeare Garden on Northwestern’s campus.  What a beautiful place!  I cannot believe I’d never heard of it before this. We’re in the middle of a heat wave up here so it was plenty hot and humid, but they were troopers and I think we finished the session in record time.

Just four more people that made my time in Chicago so fun (:

~Anna

Megan and I have been planning her session for quite a while now, just waiting for Bobby to get home so we could schedule what would ultimately be my last OpLove session in Chicago.  I couldn’t have asked for a better final session.  Such an amazing couple, obviously in love, and ready to spend the rest of their lives together {they’ve earned it!}.  We talked a lot about the military and military families, and how important it is to support our guys and gals in uniform.  It was an important reminder, and somehow taking a few pictures just doesn’t seem like enough to show my appreciation.

The three of us met at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church to get a few with Bobby all dressed up.  Then we headed to the lakefront where the water and sky were incredible shades of blue. If I’d had a blanket and an iced coffee I may have just stayed long after the session ended (:

And one more, because we all love a man in uniform, right?!

{**The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.**}

~Anna

In the spirit of full disclosure, this is not technically a sneak peek because Penn’s mom and dad have already gotten their full gallery. But, me being busier than busy isn’t an excuse for not getting this little guy on the blog.  Wouldn’t you have missed not seeing that precious face and those baby blues?  I photographed Penn and his family at their beautiful home, and it was obvious that he is the light of his parents’ lives {as he should be!}  They just seemed completely smitten by him and I was happy to be there with my camera to document a little snippet of their lives.