Christmas Cards

So I'm thinking I'll take a limited number of clients to do Christmas cards this year.

Maybe a day of mini sessions?!?!

I'm just brain storming....

A Saturday in Nov possibly....

Interesed? Let me know...if I have enough interest then I'll see what I can work out.

Also, if you want to do your own Christmas card, here's a couple that I designed.

Take your own photo and just add to the card.

You'll need a newer version of photo shop to use these.

Let me know if you'd like me to send you the file.

or....

Til next time, C

Extra Large

So excited that blogger now offers the option to post "extra large" photos without having to use another server such as Photobucket.

I've loved photobucket but that's one less step I'll have to do now when posting photos...yay!

And to test it out, my new fav photo of my hubby and son

Til next time, C

Will's Wisdom

This video is soooo good.

It's inspiring and definitely pushes you to stick to your goals

One of my fav books is the Alchemist too!! Go figure :)

Giving Thanks

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and I have so much to be thankful for.

On the personal side Kristen & I have welcomed our first child into our family.

On a professional side, I've had the MOST amazing year with Cyball Photography.

And I only have YOU to thank for that!

To show my appreciation, I've done a random draw for a Tim Hortons gift card.

Laura Barnes-Edwards you are the LUCKY winner, congrats :)

Til next time, C

Just Because: We are Family

This was my last session for the 2009 summer special.

Thank you again to everyone who booked me this year, I seriously have the best clients.

All my sessions were fun and memorable. And in most cases I've stayed in contact with my clients, either via Facebook, email, and so on.

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This was a very late booking that I accepted, I was weary because I was afraid I would go into labour early and then have a dissatisfied client.

Then I did go early which meant a serious delay in the processing of these photos. But here they are!!!

Last but not least....the Samms Family...extended :) I hope you are as happy with the results as I am.

One of my favourites

And my FAVOURITE from the session

Thanks again, I had a great time.
Til next time, C

Introducing.....

I've been away for the past little while because our little bundle of joy Jesse decided to show up 10 days early.

I'm adjusting to Mommy-hood and hoping to have somewhat regular posts here in the nearer future to keep things interesting.

I also have one last session that I need to finish up editing and then I can post a sneak peek of that.

But in the meantime, here's a photo of Jesse the newest member of our family :)

Til next time, C.

Custom Albums: Part II

I recently received another couple of custom album orders.....I love these so much and get so excited when I see them.
The first one I'd like to show is another 7x9 softcover and could be used either as a keepsake album or Guest Sign in Book as mentioned in THIS post.

 

A few of the photos on the inside, note this was designed leaving the "back" of every page blank in case it does end up being used as a sign in book.

Another layout...I personally LOVE the full page photos

 

 And now on to the highlight of this post....my first custom designed wedding album.

Della & Jamie haven't seen this yet so it'll be a very minimal sneak peek....I'm quite happy with the results.

This is the 9x12 padded leather album (hardcover)

This is where my "custom" designing really came in....it was a lot of work and I really don't know if future albums will be "as" elaborate

 

I feel like this page layout tells the story of when they were getting ready before the ceremony

Another fav from the album

 

And last but not least......lets have some bubbly in the car :)

 

So that's just an idea of my product line.

I have narrowed down one more supplier for a 10x9 option and 14x12 option but basically look the same as above just a size difference and also a Linen hardcover option rather than just leather (It's really nice) However this supplier does cost a little more but in some cases will definitely be what my brides (and grooms) will be looking for.

All feedback is welcome! 

Til next time, C.

Baby: Adrianna - Part 2

Found another photo from baby Adrianna's newborn session that I just LOVED & wanted to share....

Til next time, C

Thank You Cards: Part II

Last year I posted about THESE Thank You cards

Here's a couple of designs I'm working on for my clients Della & Jamie

 

Another sample

 

And no, these are not the ones that will be sent out to family & friends. 

I'll show that one later :)

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Til next time, C

Freebie: Hoops & Yoyo

I LOVE Hoops & Yoyo!!!

If I ever send Ecards, they're usually a Hoops & Yoyo card.

Well today here's a freebie!!!

They have a page on their website that is all FREE Hoops & Yoyo downloads....yay!

From Calendars to Gift Tags for the upcoming Christmas season...yeah I know...you can officially start you countdown.

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To get all the freebies click HERE!

Have an AWESOME weekend everyone :)

Til next time, C

Baby: Adrianna

You probably remember THIS maternity shoot a few weeks ago.

Well Joanne & Darryl have since welcomed BEAUTIFUL Adrianne into the world since then.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure & adventures of trying to photograph her.

I say adventures because she was an 8 day newborn who can be very unpredictable.

This particular Sunday morning she really wanted to feed which took a lot of Mommy's time...and when she wasn't feeding she was completely bright eyed and wiggly.

Luckily I was able to catch this pose of her. Love her bright eyes!

 

 After a few more feedings, a diaper change, and some hugs and snuggles she settled long enough to grab this shot.

 This one is my fav fo' sho!!!!     :)

  

 Congratulations Mommy & Daddy, you have a beautiful baby girl who's lucky to have parents like you.

Til next time, C

Feature Friday: Logo-Licious

I met Tasha via cyber space. We started emailing one day this past winter just to chat photography :)

We have since become Facebook friends and now I'm featuring some of Tasha's work here today.

Because not only is she an awesome photographer, she's also quite the graphic designer.

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She started doing some logo's "just for fun" but there appears to be more feedback then she bargained for :)

Here's a snippet of her work

She can do more than just "photography" logos...this is just where her passion began.

Logos start at $25

Pricing going up depending on the amount of custom work you require.

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Check out the Facebook album HERE to view more logos and a better view

Even if you're not in the market for a logo...give her some Facebook love!!

Til next time, C

Custom Albums

I love photobooks, which is why I offer custom albums as part of my a la carte selection.

And is also why I include albums in my wedding packages.

They're such a beautiful keepsake to showcase those special moments.

This summer I designed a couple "paperback" albums as a complimentary item to a few engagement sessions that I did.

I did this for a number of reasons;

1. I wanted to see how the paperback version compared to the leather hardcover version

2. If it looked decent I would add this "cheaper" option to my album selection.

3. Since they're complimentary the client wasn't out any money if they were unhappy with the product.

Last week I received my first of a few album orders that I did....

Remember this is a softcover album.

I took a few quick photos of on my kitchen cupboard in poor lighting. 

But at least you'll get the idea.....

First the cover
This is the "basic black" option

Other choices include no photo (solid blank cover) or the whole cover being the photo only

Side view....the albums are 10 pages

Extra pages can be added for an additional fee.

Also note you're not limited to "1" photo per page though I do prefer a "simple" look

I like when things are nice & clean...too much going on takes away from the photo

A sample of one of the layouts. 

I could have put a photo on EACH page but in this case I decided not too.

The main reason being, the new fad with engagement shoots these days is to have a "sign in" book designed using your engagement photos which you use at your wedding as the guest book.

In lieu of a traditional guest book or the signing of the matted photo to later frame.

So I left every 2nd page blank in case these future brides do happen to choose these complimentary albums as their sign in book.

The left page guests would sign while admiring the beautiful couple on the right :)

And then of course, some shameless self promotion at the end :)

Also note the albums are available in 2 sizes.....this one is the smaller of the two the 7x9

The other size is 9x12 (which is standard with the wedding packages)

I personally think the 7x9 option is a great choice as a "parent album"

I'll post photos of my other albums as the orders arrive :)

Til next time, C

New Beginnings Issue

Did you check your inbox? 

Did you receive the newsletter?

Any & all feedback would be appreciated :)

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***NOTE***
As expected a lot of the newsletters were delivered to JUNK MAIL :(
So double check that folder if you're looking for yours. Otherwise try this link to sign up (I haven't tested it so if it doesn't work I apologize)

Til next time, C

Newsletter

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

The official launch of the first Cyball Photography newsletter

So be sure to check your inbox, or even your junk mail just to be safe :)

I hope this is the first of many newsletters.

Any input or feedback you may have would be MUCH appreciated.

Also feel free to forward along to friends & family. 

If you're not on the mailing list, do not hesitate to contact me to be added

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Also congrats going out to Jody who went and freakin' won the contest from Dingbat Press.

Seriously I am happy for you but still sulking that I didn't win that awesome prize!

Til next time, C

Contest!!!

Remember when I won THESE oh so cute tags from the dingbat press?

Well there's another contest going on.....

click HERE

to enter!!

Good Luck, but not too much luck cause I really want to win :)

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Til next time, C

Things to Come....

Since I'm not really sure how I'll handle motherhood, I've been preparing as much as possible now with the freebies, blog posts, and so on to keep the blog at least somewhat interesting while I'm on mat leave.

And I'm soooooo excited with what's planned thus far!!

I'm really hoping you won't be disappointed.

That being said......I'm also looking for contributors.

If you have a product, a freebie, a blog, anything that you would like to give or have featured here on the blog. 

PLEASE let me know! The sooner the better.

I'll be happy to oblige....obviously I'll have to screen first to make sure its content appropriate :)

But then we're good to go!

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Til next time, C

Newsletter

Only one more week and the first Cyball Photography Newsletter will be in your mailbox!!!

I've themed it "A Time for New Beginnings"

And what's a post without a photo....here's another from my maternity session since some of you have having problems accessing the Facebook album.

I still need to decide which ones to put up in the nursery...any suggestions?

Til next time, C

My Turn: Maternity

Yep last Friday it was my turn in front of the camera.
Was I nervous? Not really.....
I had such an awesome time with Kristen and Holly.
I was actually more nervous about how my husband would feel in front of the camera but boy was that worry for nothing.
He was amazing!!! He kept suggesting poses and ideas of how we should stand, sit, etc.
Not to mention I had put quite a bit of research into the "LOOK" that I was going for with our maternity/family photos.
I wanted an urban set of photos, which we managed by wearing jeans, funky tees and taking the photos in front of an old barn, an old house, doors, windows, walls and so on.
Then I wanted sunset photos in TALL grass, where I chose to wear a dress and asked Kristen to "dress up" some by wearing a plain white dress shirt with jeans.
I had also emailed Holly various photos from other photographers so she would have an idea and inspiration of what I was going for.
She did NOT disappoint....this is only ONE of my many favourites from the session
**Just a sidenote.....Holly gave me all un-edited photos so I could tweak them however I wanted....how SWEET is that?!?!!? **

But all this rambling leads to this point.....
You get out of your photos what you put into it.
Holly is an amazing photographer who didn't hesitate for a second to roll in the grass just to get this perfect shot.
However, it was MUCH easier for her to capture my vision because I was CLEAR about my expectations.
Photographers have talent but they're not mind reading miracle workers.
If you don't know what you want, then how can your photographer portray you in the true sense of you?
Anyway.....Holly thank you thank you!
 I knew you'd be able to portray Kristen & I in the exact way we wanted for our expected bundle of joy.
Along with making a custom designed photobook, now I have to decide what prints to hang in the nursery.
If you want to see some more of my favs from the session

Click HERE 
for my Facebook link

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And for Holly's blog, click HERE
Give the girl some love.....she totally deserves it!
Til next time, C

Maternity: Brittany

I didn't intend for this week to be maternity week, but it appears as if it's worked out to be that way :)

Here's a sneak peek of my very sweet cousin Brittany's maternity shoot.

This was my gift to her in lieu of a traditional baby shower gift...so I can't show too many photos as her gift is in the mail and I don't want to ruin the surprise.

 

Seriously.....look at how cute Brittany and Vince are?

 

Brittany, I'm so happy we're able to share this experience together.

I hope you like you sneak peek!

Til next time, C