Reynolds Addition...

Remember this beautiful family of four? Well they've added one to their clan. This is a second post for this adorable baby (see here for the sneak peek). He was 100% cooperative and just a fair warning: it is easy to fall in love with this little guy!

















I wish I could show you all the photos I captured but the blog has to load somehow. ;)

Easter Mini Sessions Update

Just a few slots remaining!

Thursday, April 2nd: 4pm / 6pm / 6:30pm

Friday, April 3: 11:30am / 4pm

Saturday, April 4: FULL

Air Force Baby

I just photographed this newborn this afternoon & couldn't wait to show this image! It definitely pulls at my heartstrings.



I promise to show more of this adorable little one soon!

NaKeD

There's something about a naked baby... hehe! Check out this little cutie!













Yes, I'm a little bias. Meet one of my sweet, *adorable* nephews. You might remember him from seeing him here and here. This time he's almost 8 months! My how time flies...

Why Choose Custom Photography?

Here's another article by Marianne Drenthe located on the Professional Child Photographer Consumer Guide site. If you missed the first article: What is Custom Photography? click here to read it. Or the second article: Why does Custom Photography cost more? click here.

Custom Photography as something "special"...

Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience. Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well. Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session. Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life. Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget, it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).

There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client. The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product. The result of all this are heirloom quality images. The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process. Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle. To get to point B from A let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice. If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea. Custom photography is much the same cup of tea. It is the Lexus of the photography world. It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.

Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels. There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers. The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options. The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing. The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it. That level of quality and commitment is all but lost in the age of "mass produced," "mass marketed," corporate "everyone is a number". Custom photography is based on being unique to you. How great an experience would be, to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?

Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will. The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just less than 2 months away! How will you show your Mom you care this year?

Website Updates

It's been a while, but the main website for Memory Lane Photography has been updated! There are new images in the galleries, a wedding information page, and up-to-date information on sessions and specials.



www.memory-lane-photos.com

#23: CHECK

It feels good to blog about my 101 list. I haven't completed anything on the list in sometime now, so it's great to mark one off!

#23: Read 10 (non-business related) books
I honestly thought this would take me much longer than it did. I got on a roll with reading when I made the list and knocked out 8 books within the months of May-August, which is a record for me.

I enjoyed reading each of these books. I'm a big Nicholas Sparks fan so picking up his new one only took me 2 days to read. Now that I took on this task I am a huge fan of Emily Giffin as well. Not really sure how I picked up her first book to start with, but I like her style. As you can tell I read 4 of her books out of my 10. I strongly suggest reading Something Borrowed followed by Something Blue. The way she tied the two books together is interesting. Something Borrowed is written from one girls perspective and Something Blue is written from her friends perspective & picks up right where the other book left off. Really interesting! I actually own all 4 of those books, so if anyone wants to borrow them just let me know! All 10 books were good books, but of course I liked some better than others.

Here's a list, incase you can't see the titles/authors in the image above.
#1 *Something Borrowed by: Emily Giffin (completed May '08)
#2 *Something Blue by: Emily Giffin (completed May '08)
#3 *Love the One Your With by: Emily Giffin (completed June '08)
#4 *Kentucky Rich by: Fern Michaels (completed July '08)
#5 *Ana's Story by: Jenna Bush (completed July '08)
#6 *Questions to Ask Before Marrying (completed July '08)
#7 *Baby Proof by: Emily Giffin (completed Aug '08)
#8 *The Tenth Circle by: Jodi Picoult (completed Aug '08)
#9 *The Lucky One by: Nicholas Sparks (completed Oct '08)
#10 *How to be Lost by: Amanda Eyre Ward (completed Feb ‘09)

Anyone else been inspired to make a 101 list? Let me know so I can mark off #81!

March Gazette

The March edition of the Scuppernong Gazette is live!



Check it out here!

#42... complete!

This one on my 101 list has been completed for some time now, I'm just finding the time to blog about it.

42. Do something to help the Spinal Cord Society -COMPLETED 9.8.09

Last year the Spinal Cord Society (SCS)-Raleigh Chapter hosted their 10th annual golf tournament, with auction, to raise money for medical research to CURE chronic spinal cord injury paralysis. Last year's event was held September 8, 2008.

You can read more about the SCS-Raleigh Chapter here.

And here are a few images taken by photographer Rick Crank at the tournament.



Nicole & I:


Most of the golfers, volunteers, & sponsors:


Some volunteers hanging out with Steph:


If you'd like to help with the 2009 Event, just drop a comment on the blog or shoot me an email. We'd love to have you join us!

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

This is an invitation to the opening of the first, ever, NILMDTS Photography Exhibition. The Exhibition is just outside Raleigh, in Apex. If you are able to attend, we would love to have you do so!

Aimee Bickers of Pure Expressions Photography is the head of our Triangle group of NILMDTS photographers. She has worked very hard to put this show together with the help of other NILMDTS photographers.

Over forty images will be on display from March 20 - April 27, 2009 at the Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex. There will be an opening reception hosted by Pure Expressions Photography on Friday, March 20, 2009 from 7 - 9pm at the arts center.

The entire event is free and open to the public. If you're in the area, please take a few minutes to celebrate the lives of these infants ...

The Spruill's

Because these two fell in love...


This little one came along...


And has since been recently joined by this little one...




Adorable brotherly love...






This week I had the opportunity to photograph this adorable family! They just added their new addition in early February. He was so awake & attentive the whole time. You can tell his big brother is just in awe over him! What a precious family!

Easter Mini Sessions Update

Times are filling up quickly for Easter Mini Sessions. Call or email me today to get on the schedule.



Columbia Session times that are still available are:
Thursday, April 2nd: 4, 5, 5:30, 6
Friday, April 3rd: 4, 6:30
Saturday, April 4th: 9:30, 12
*I am taking some sessions on Friday morning if that will work better for you, but these are becoming very limited as well!

Spring/Easter Cards will be available.





Custom collages can be designed upon request.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition is coming to North Carolina again & this time it's coming to Northeastern North Carolina.

You can find the full story online at the Daily Advance here and you can help Extreme Makeover: Home Edition by contributing to the build.

For more information go to www.extremeebheroes.com.

One-hundrend percent of all funds will go toward making this build possible and to help the chosen family's dreams come true.

2009 Easter Mini Sessions

Send me an email and I'll send more information your way!

You can check out some of last years photographs here, here, more here, here, here & even here! :)