Survey Time!
When time seems to be flying by, and my schedule is well booked, it can be challenging to not get lost in the day to day of running a business. But, it’s important to me to always be tweaking our processes, adding new products, thinking of new ideas, challenging myself and overall striving to meet and exceed your expectations.
One of the best ways I can think of to do this, is to ask you for your advice, thoughts and suggestions.
Click here for the link to this year’s survey.
I would really appreciate it if you would take a few minutes out of your day to help me by completing the survey. Your answers are certain to help us be the best studio we can be!
Wood Working!
Huge kudos to Cory, of Cory Scrivner, Inc, for designing, building and installing some beautiful custom woodworking pieces for me!
First, are the new floating shelves! I can see how they got their name, as they do completely look like they are floating. Cory did an awesome job at creating the perfect size for my limited space, while still giving me enough shelving to fit my display. They are perfect for showing off our different styles of Gift Portraits, and available sizes. I think they turned out fabulous!
Second, is my new laptop desk. Since I went to projection over seven years ago, I’ve been using a homemade “desk” that Pete created. I can’t knock it because it definitely did it’s job and held up very well, but it wasn’t the prettiest piece of furniture in the studio. Now it’s no more! It has been replaced by a new beautiful piece from Cory. Complete with a drawer for my calculator and a cubby hole for a box of kleenex and other tools of the trade!
Next up, are new furniture pieces for the camera room! I can’t wait to get them started, finished and on display!! Thanks, Cory!! (If you are in need of any custom woodworking projects or even just someone really handy…contact Cory…he’s got you covered!)
For Your Walls
Since the first of the year, we’ve been working hard creating some new products. I am very excited to share them with you! I absolutely love how they came out!
Today’s Reveal is our Name Art!
The perfect artwork for your child’s room! There are lots of places in their room where your Name Art might hang. Anywhere from that big blank wall, to above baby’s crib or the new toddler bed. Do you have tall walls? It’s perfect for above the closet door or window.
What a great self esteem builder! Every morning your child wakes up and sees their name in big letters, combined with beautiful images of themselves full of personality and individualism!
Your Name Art can be created with 3 or 4 pieces, and each piece can have any number of letters to spell out your child’s name.
That’s all for today! Check back to the blog over the next few weeks, there is more to come!
A New Website!
Drum roll, please!
I am excited to announce that we have launched a new website!
It has been a long time coming, but www.photographybybrandi.com 3.0 has officially been launched!
Fresh, updated images, brand new content, sleek behind the scenes technology…all in all an awesome outcome! I could not be happier with the final product. It is exactly what I had in mind.
A huge thanks to my fantastic hubby! He spent hours and hours creating a beautiful website, while at the same time handling my absurd and crazy requests like the pro that he is!
What is Today?
The first person to accurately guess what today is will receive a surprise gift!
Any guesses? Make a comment below.
EDITED TO ADD:
Congratulations goes to Shawna!! You are correct, today is the anniversary of Photography by Brandi! Eight years ago, I had my first session!
Wow, where does the time go? As we begin our ninth, I am just in awe of all the babies I have photographed; they are growing so quickly. Now, my high school seniors are getting married and even having babies of their own!
Thank you all for your support, business and friendship over the last eight years, I look forward to many, many more!
Shawna will be receiving one of our new custom made photo keychains…not even available for sale yet! Of course, I loved everyone’s answers so much that everyone has to get a goodie. For all you who commented, watch your mail. You will be receiving a Blog Addict Gift Certificate! Thanks for all the awesome guesses. You all made me feel very loved today!
There are a few guesses that deserve special attention:
- Most Creative goes to Dara for her “National Squirrel Day” guess
- Most Accurate goes to Anne for knowing that it was eight years
- Most Guesses also goes to Dara for her three very unique guesses
Thanks again, you are all awesome!!
Nashville Country
I have just returned from my annual Professional Photographers of America convention. This year it was held in Nashville, Tennessee. I would love to tell you that I truly experienced Nashville, saw lots of great sites, heard lots of great music and really got in touch with my country roots. Unfortunately, I can’t say any of those things.
As cold as it has been in Kansas City, it was as cold or colder in Nashville, a place that is not prepared for it!
On the positive side, the convention was held in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, which is an all enclosed small town on its own. It is a beautiful area, with lots of plants growing in a greenhouse style environment, restaurants and coffee shops and even some Nashville shopping opportunities.
So, as you’ll see by my images, I never left the warmth and comfort of the hotel!
Not only was that because of the cold, but also because of the jam packed classes, parties and special events that I attended every day and night. Leaving very little time to catch my breath!
However, it was all completely worth it! I was very inspired by the speakers this year. I felt that they were very real and very motivating. It is nice to know that there are others out there, just like me, working like crazy until 2 AM, cranking out the holiday orders like the holidays are just around the corner, AND loving every moment of every minute they spend with their clients, getting to know who they are and capturing their memories to create works of art that they will treasure forever!
Thank You for an Awesome 2009!
Another wonderful year has come and gone, all in the blink of an eye! It has been a blessing to work with each of you! Watching as your families and children grow and change, and capturing these changes in memories and art that will last a lifetime, is an opportunity that I will forever cherish.
I thought you might have fun learning some of our facts from 2009…
- In 2009, we had 147 sessions. Bringing the grand total, after almost eight years in business, to 1,263 sessions!
- The majority of our sessions can be broken down into the following categories: Babies (49), Children (60), Families (27) and High School Seniors (7).
- To my continued awe and amazement, we have clients who come from all over the country. This year they came from Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and of course Kansas and Missouri!
- Of all the sessions we did this year, 81% were with repeat clients. Clients who I have photographed at least once in the past. Just amazing…thank you all!!
- Of our new clients, 74% were referred by our existing clients. Again, thank you…we couldn’t keep growing without each of you!
And last but not least, a quick “Year in Review”! I went through the year and picked out the highlights of from each month, both personally and with the business:
January - Professional Photographers Convention in Phoenix
February - Decorated Blackbob Pet Hospital with Beautiful Pet Portraits
March - Family Vacation to Walt Disney World
April - Bed Head Kids Event
May - Installed Generator and 3 Zone Furnace Upgrade to Keep the Studio Running Smoothly
June - Helping Paws Event and Ten Year Anniversary Trip to Colorado
July - Ladies Night Out Event and Trip to Minnesota to Visit Our Lab
August - Trip to Arkansas to Visit My Grandparents
September - Client Appreciation Picnic
October - Participated as a Team Leader in the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk
November - Launched New Products, Including Fabulous Jewelry
December - Survived Another Holiday Season!
Thank you all for another great year! Here’s wishing you a wonderful New Year’s celebration! I can’t wait to see what 2010 has in store for us!!
Happy Holidays!!
Wishing you a holiday season filled with wonder and beauty!
The Year of Newborns
I was working on organizing some of my favorite images of the year when it occurred to me that I photographed quite a few new little ones this year. So, we looked it up - I photographed 14 newborns this year!
Though you have to have a vast amount of patience and time to photograph newborns, it is one of my most favorite ages. They are just so tiny, precious and moldable!
Each one of my little ones is amazing and unique. Some have hair, even very dark hair, and some have no hair. Some arrive all chunky and pudgy, while others are skinny and scrawny. Some are obsessed with having their hands by their faces, while others are more relaxed and sprawled out.
Of course, almost every one of them “marks their territory” in my studio! (Usually in more ways than one!)
In the end, we end up with adorable images of these teeny, tiny creatures.
I can’t wait to watch and capture all of them as they grow and change! I have the best “job” in the entire world!
Holiday Cards Are…
…D - O - N - E!! Yippee!!
It’s official…today, with the mailing of my own holiday card, I am officially done with anything and everything related to holiday cards!
This year, I designed, printed and delivered over 2500 cards for my clients!
It’s fun, every year, to see what people gravitate to and therefore what’s popular. This year, the favorites seemed to be the big 5×7 cards with full framed images. The popular messages revolved around the love of friends and family. I think we are all appreciating, and valuing, those people who stand by our sides and support us in hard times, good times and all times!