I’m headed to Denver, CO next week to do a special photo shoot–TWIN PREEMIES!  I’m so excited and just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this family!!  I had the honor of shooting both sisters weddings, their first babies, and now preemie twins!!  I can hardly wait to hold these little miracles!

I’ve also got a special opportunity for five families or engaged couples!  Since I’m already being flown to Denver, CO, I thought I would stay an extra day and offer five Mini Photo Sessions.  This is something I don’t get to do as often b/c of all the travel we do for SONY, The Nate Berkus Show, and our CONFIDENCE Workshops.  But I’m super excited to make it happen in Denver next Saturday!

There are five Mini Photo Sessions for five sweet families/couples.

If a Photo Shoot is something that tickles your fancy with Mother’s Day around the corner, here are the details!

Pick one of the FIVE TIME SLOTS below.

Cost is $550.  Mini Photo Session MUST be prepaid to confirm your time.  You must be on time, preferably 10 minutes early, since sessions are booked back to back.

Location: Cheesman Park in Denver, CO.

I LOVE this location whether it’s sunny, raining or snowing!  So many beautiful shots to take in this setting!  CLICK HERE for Google Maps!  Come to the monument, and as soon as I’m done with the family before you, I’ll find you!

Features of Mini Photo Sessions;

1. 30 minute Photo Shoot of your family (Some of you may be thinking, THIRTY minutes?  What can you shoot in thirty minutes?  Answer: a whole heck of A LOT–see below)

2. 30 Final Images that are touched up, mix of Color and BW toning

3. High Res DVD of Your 30 Final Images (yep, you get to keep the images and print them wherever you’d like)

4. 16×20 Metal Print of Your Favorite Image (Moms have gone CRAZY over these Metal Prints since we spotlighted them on the Nate Berkus Show.  Nate LOVES these Metal prints–I LOVE these Metal Prints!  Watch the episode by clicking “Turn Your Portraits into Art.”

I have these metals all around our house, and I even have them hanging on my outside deck because they can handle rain and snow and add this wonderful design and color to our backyard.  Once you get yours, you’ll join the fan club of Metal Prints! 

The BIG question…What can I shoot in 30 minutes? Well, this is what I shot in 10 minutes at a recent CONFIDENCE Workshop in Seattle.

Mom had these amazing, long legs, so I walked the group through my thought process on how to set up a shot that tells this story along with the story of two generations.

Love all that JOY!!

(Within this 10 minutes, 20 plus women were watching me as I walked them through my camera settings and creative process–while trying to keep the kids entertained–mind you.  )

When we do your family shoot, we won’t have an audience.    And, I’m going to pull out the individual personalities of your kids so that you feel like the story of “who they are” is found in your photos.

When I’m doing a live shoot on The Nate Berkus Show, I get less than 7 minutes and ONE click for each photo–one shot, and it has to work because 2 million viewers see it.

Bottom line, a thirty minute Mini Session with your family feels like total LUXURY on my end!!  We can do ENDLESS things in thirty minutes!  Pick your time slot below!

FIVE TIME SLOTS to CHOOSE FROM:

1. Friday, March 11th, 4pm-4:30pm

2. Saturday, March  12th, 9am-9:30am

3. Saturday, March 12th, 9:40am-10:10am

4. Saturday, March 12th, 10:20am-10:50am

5. Saturday, March 12th, 11am-11:30am SOLD!

CLICK HERE to pick your time slot and pre-pay!  Once you are signed up, Genie (my right hand woman) will email you with details, like what to wear, what to bring, how to prepare, etc.  Questions?  Don’t hesitate to email us at info@merakoh.com.

Engagement Shoot

If you are engaged but don’t think you can afford to hire us for your wedding photography, the Mini Shoot is an option that clients love.  You are more than welcome to grab one of these time slots for an engagement shoot!  I don’t book engagement shoots unless we are shooting your wedding.  But the Mini Photo shoot is an alternative option.  In fact, this is one of my favorite engagement photos that was taken at Cheesman Park on a cold, winter day.

Want more than 30 minutes?

My Portrait Packages start at $3K.  I come to your home and spend up to two hours with your family, documenting the many expressions of your family being in the place you love.  I may be able to squeeze one of these Portrait Packages in on Sunday morning before I fly back to Seattle.  If you are interested, email info@merakoh.com.

I can’t wait to meet five beautiful Denver, CO families!  See you next Saturday!

Much love!

m

p.s.  Please keep in mind that you MUST be on time for your Mini Session.  If you are late, your time and payment will be forfeited.  Thanks for understanding and arriving early!

p.s.s.  Since we spend a lot of time in NY for The Nate Berkus Show and SONY Speaking Engagements, I’m thinking of maybe adding a day that is dedicated to Mini Photo Sessions the next time we are in Manhattan.  Let me know in the comments if that’s something you’d like!  Central Park in the Spring…perfect photo shoot setting!

Happy Monday!

I’m so excited for Karen Buckley of Wisdom Connection to bring you our second SOAR! Business Coaching Exercise!  Today’s assignment invites you to dive deep and uncover the confidence within.  We may not have confidence for our current dreams and visions, and yet we do have confidence already within us to draw from.  So how do we access it and bring it to use with our photography dreams?  Keep reading!

xoxo,

m

__________________________

Greetings!  This is Karen Buckley, one of the SOAR! Business Coaches from The Wisdom Connection! Since this week will evolve into the first week of March, we are going to start today off with our second Business Coaching exercise!  And what better way to start the exercise than asking you provocative questions?!  I love provocative questions!

Here’s a mini-assessment for you today:

On a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being low) how much do you:

Think of yourself as a businesswoman?

Question your “right” to be even more successful?

Dismiss your best ideas before you even get started on them?

Consider your self the “author” of your own life?

If you are 5’s all the way – you go! If, like most of us, you range from 1’s to 5’s, its time for some inside-out business development skills. This month we are excited to share with you three of our favorite tips and tricks for feeling more confident and ready for success every day.

#1 – Find out where you feel confident in your life and apply it to other areas.

One of our coaching clients felt stuck. An invitation to speak at a professional meeting terrified her.  We discovered that she felt really sure of her self in the kitchen. No qualms, no self-questioning, no judgments. Preparing a meal she took risks, concocted creative combos of smells and tastes and served with a flourish.

We developed an exercise to start her workday: Sit for 1 minute, close your eyes, and remember how confident you feel in the kitchen. Feel how you move when you cook. Feel this in your arms, your legs, your trunk, and especially your throat.

Every day she set a timer for 1 full minute of this meditation. Before she went up on stage, she put on her apron in her mind and sashayed up the stairs to give a fantastic talk – it felt easy!

How about you? Where do you feel confident and how can you grow that good feeling every day until it blossoms.

#2 – Give your self an assignment the night before. We all get shaky some times! Think of one thing you can do in the morning that will give you a boost.

No kidding, when I started my coaching business (way too long ago to count) I sat in our little apartment completely miserable trying to figure out how to do get clients. The kitchen sure was clean though!

Rick and I were just married. When he came home in the evenings I’d act like everything was ok. Finally, I broke down in sobs, “I feel so inept!” He asked me, “When do you feel confident?” In shame, I cried, “sharpening my pencils.” (I was really low!)

He gave me an assignment – to sharpen 3 pencils every morning for 7 days. He’s so sweet he even brought me home a whole new box the next day. First thing, when I sat down at my “desk” (a table at the end of the kitchen) I sharpened 3 pencils. It made me laugh out loud! After 7 days I rocked making phone calls and reading books in my field to learn more. If I wobbled…I went back to pencil sharpening!

#3 – Spend more time recounting your successes than your wobbles. You are your own best cheerleader and wise loving guide. I’ve never told anyone this – but I look in the mirror and say “well done” a couple of times a day. (don’t tell! J) Some days it makes all the difference.

Let’s do it! There are a lot of business skills to learn – how to market, develop a brand, shoot in low light or hot sun, new computer programs. It’s maddening when these skills are in place but you still feel like you are limping along.

It’s an inside job.  Confidence and self-trust are built, not given. You are worth it!  Give yourself some confidence building homework and let me know how it goes on the SOARORITY Forum!  What works for you?  Share your tips too!!

Follow the SOAR! Blog this week to hear what results Rachel, Charisse and Ali find!  And a BIG thank you for all the wonderful comments that you’ve been leaving on the SOAR! Blog Posts!!!  Every comment you leave empowers our recipients to keep working and fighting for their dreams to SOAR!

C’mon out!

Karen

p.s.  Here are a couple of ideas to jump start your Business Coaching and Development!

Business Boost 101:  from Start-up to Real Momentum. Personal Coaching and solid business building. 5 Thursdays from 4:00-5:30 PT starting March 3rd. Re-find your momentum or get a boost! Powerful results guaranteed plus a lot of fun and confidence building.

The Wisdom Connection Personal Coaching – a free 20-minute coaching session with Karen or Fay! Send us an email today to info@thewisdomconnection.com. Let’s get scheduled! Get a small group together and we’ll do a series just for you!

But I am still working on telling the story with my camera.

I am probably being hard on myself.  Ugh, I say.  Do I have to “tell the story” or can I just line the kids up, put the camera settings on the dreaded green box, and yell “SAY CHEESE” and snap the picture.

I know, I know… I can just hear Me Ra’s gasp, can’t you???

What’s a mom to do?

Outsourcing.

So, I handed my $900 camera to my 4 year old son, Ty. “YOU take the pictures today,”  I say.  He beams.  I give him a quick lesson on the basics  –  viewfinder, thingy on back to look at the picture he just took, camera strap (a must!).  Then I set the camera on aperature priority and I turned on all the lights in our house and opened the curtains wide.  And I let him tell HIS OWN STORY.

Then I got out of his way.

How he sees the world made me stop.   One time a while back my then-8-year-old, Izzy said, “Adults get wrapped up in the craziest things sometimes.”  And that quote came to mind when I looked at Ty’s shots.

What he saw was not what I would have photographed.  But it was worth my time.  A fleeting moment of Daddy re-filling the ketchup bottle.

Mommy’s Desk.

Mommy, working on her blog and not looking her best.  But he tells me that I am the “prettiest mommy in the whole world.”  Het tells me I am “wonderful pretty.”

Part of a toy.

As Me Ra and Brian head back to Thailand, I think back to a post she wrote on how the people in Thailand really SEE kids and that Blaze noticed this.  He said he “felt invisible” in America. 

Then I thought, THIS is what my son sees.  This is his world.  This is the story he chose to tell with the camera. Although I have a need to photograph him from top to bottom AND in such a way that my love for him somehow translates into digital pixels, that is purely MY need.  HIS need is for ME to see his world the way he sees it.  And, today I did because I handed him my camera.  Today, photography taught me to slow down and really think about my child, my baby boy, and how he must see the world from only a few feet off the ground. 

He turned my paradigm of “Telling the Story” on its ear.  And I am so glad he did.  Because I think I’ll go a bit easier on myself next time I pick up my camera.  It’s not just about me afterall…

Click here to read Me Ra’s post mentioned above about Blaze feeling invisible.

Come visit me at MamaBloo and check in with my other tales!

This is Kari from Mamabloo—stepping in to help Me Ra while they prepare to make the SOAR! Scholarship announcement this Friday.

Okay, I know we all think our own kids are cute. But, mine REALLY are… being totally 100% objective here… my kids are darn cute….

The problem is that because I am a photography nut, my kids actually don’t like being photographed that much. So it is very hard to actually document their darn-cute-ness. Sometimes, it’s like I am pointing a weapon at them instead of a camera. This impression is not aided by the expression “just let me shoot you, please!?!!?” They usually look frightened, sometimes they look bored and sometimes they just look disgusted with me. And the older ones usually reserve the famous eye-roll

for very special photography occasions like graduations and band concerts.

So, right before a recent band concert of Izzy’s, I tried some Photocoaching a la Me Ra and Brian. “Look natural” I shout at them.  They stare back.  They try to smile.  They look like ZOO animals!  (I promise you, if you couldn’t tell, this is NOT Izzy’s most natural look.)

Ah, man. Me thinks that I am not a good photocoach.

So, after a sigh and some digging deep into my endless abyss of patience, I go to my old standby (and my favorite Me Ra tip! ). I go to… THE FAKE LAUGH. That’s right. Make them throw their heads back and fake it! What makes this work in my family is that itty-bitty, nano-moment when my kids transition from the fake laugh to the real laugh. But first I need to set my camera on continuous shoot because this moment is fast, I tell you. Elusive even.

“Just pretend you are having fun! Throw your head back and laugh! FAKE IT, for the love of God!”

Darn cute, don’t ya think?

To check out Me Ra and Brian’s video that demos their famous “Fake Laugh”, check out their video at:

http://www.merakohblog.com/2008/10/08/brians-video-and-people-magazines-sexiest-man-alive-contest/

And to see more Portrait Photo Tips from Me Ra, check out these 6 tips!

http://www.merakoh.com/2008/10/28/q-a-segment-2-top-six-poses-for-senior-portrait-shoots/

Yours truly,

Kari from Mamabloo

Welcome to 2010 ladies!  A new year, and a new decade!  Nothing like starting the New Year in the middle of a race against the clock. 

We are THREE nights away from announcing the SOAR! Scholarship Recipients.  Three nights.  There is so much to accomplish before Friday.  It’s both exciting and SCARY as all get out!  Has anyone else not slept?  I am one of those people who falls asleep within minutes.  And for the last several days, I haven’t slept at all.  And if I am lingering on the state of half awake/half asleep, I’m dreaming about all the SOAR! Video Entries.  It takes every thing in me not to get out of bed and see if anyone else is awake on the SOAR! site at 3am. 

There are so many amazing video entries.  In fact, every video is heartfelt, every single one.  As you know, there will only be three recipients announced this Friday.  But I’ve been thinking that there has to be a way to showcase more of you and all your hard work.   I think everyone will agree that these SOAR! Video Entries were the most inspiring pieces ever.  And the community that has grown out of the SOAR! Scholarship is phenomenal.  The support you are all providing each other on the SOAR! site is amazing.  I can’t wait to release the forum!

In thinking of ways to celebrate your videos even more, I had an idea.  What do you think about having a SOAR!  2009 Hall of Fame on our future SOARity forum and website?   The SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame could be dedicated to the video entries that stick out most to all of you.  There could be a top three videos for each category below…But what do you think?  I would want the spirit of this to celebrate women even more.  Thoughts anyone?

If you love this idea and want to help organize a way for us to create a SOAR! Hall of Fame (i.e. organizing a panel to vote or some other system or creating fun categories that I missed below, etc.) email us today!  (soar@merakoh.com with the SUBJECT TITLE: SOAR! Hall of Fame). My plate is crazy full,right now, but if any of you feel inspired to run with this idea, it would be great.  And we would love to help support you in making this happen!  Below are some suggested categories, but feel free to brainstorm something more!

SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame

1. Most Creative

2. Most Hilarious

3. Most Daring

4. Most Inspirational

5. Most Entertaining

6. Most Confident Video Presence

7. Most Heart Warming

8. Best Video Editing

9.  Best Photography

10. All Around BEST SOAR! 2009 Video

p,s. The SOAR! Forum is also in the works!  I can’t wait!  2010 is going to be our year ladies!  Sorry about no photo today.  We are racing the clock, but never fear, Mamabloo is coming tomorrow to the rescue with one of my favorite Photocoaching Tips for Kids and Adults!

Dear Santa,

Will you please give me the CONFIDENCE Workshop this year for Christmas?!  I’ve been wanting to go for three years!  I have wiped a thousand runny noses, made a trillion meals, cleaned the house (more than my mom ever did!), helped out in the classroom, been a GOOD listener to my husband’s woes and triumphs, and seriously, if that doesn’t make your GOOD LIST–WHAT DOES?!   Santa, I need you make the CONFIDENCE Wkshp happen, so I can somehow register?  I need a special payment plan, just for me!  If you can do all this, I promise that I will never doubt the magic of Santa!

Yours Truly,
Women on the West and East Coasts

To my dear friend,

This is your beloved Santa.  Because you’ve been a good girl, amazing mom to those rotten kids, and ever so patient with your husband–allowing him out of the dog house–more than he ever deserves, I’m going to give you some magic this Christmas!  My elves consulted with Me Ra Koh (we love her! ), and she is going to offer a Special Holiday Payment Option for her East and West Coast, Spring Workshops!

Use the Coupon Code: fourpaymentsdeal (all one word, all lower case), and you will get the Early Bird Registration deal but have FOUR months to pay it off! Me Ra and I want to give you CONFIDENCE this year!  2010 is going to be about making dreams come true!  So follow the links below!

Registration for West Coast Workshop

Registration for East Coast Workshop

Love, Santa

p.s.  If your husbands need some convincing, the elves tell me that two of the smartest husbands ever, put up a post called; TOP 12 Reasons Why Husbands Should Send Their Wives to the CONFIDENCE Wkshp.  Ms. Claus is baking cookies for these two husbands as I type! She recognizes brilliance when she sees it. 

p.s.s.  Everyone on the Newsletter got this letter yesterday, and the workshops are almost half full!  So make sure you hurry over to register!  And if your not already, sign up for the Newsletter to the left so you get the Early Notice next time too!

p.s.s.  The “fourpaymentsdeal” and Early Bird Registration ends in TWO WEEKS, Monday, January 4th 2010!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Okay, I know we all KNOW THIS, but it needs to be said today.  SONY is a HUGE corporation.  HUGE!  When they decided to partner with the SOAR! Scholarship I was…ecstatic…but even that word doesn’t do it justice.  And then I thought I’d push the envelope and see if the Director of Marketing (for ALL of SONY USA) would make a short video for SOAR!.

Brian and I have had the pleasure of working with Sony for the last couple years, and you know that I have been blown away by their commitment to women—over and over again.  But I always feel like it would be so great to show you this and not just tell you.  I want you to see more than the Sony logo.  I want you to see that Sony REALLY IS excited about empowering women.  And, I’m not just making this stuff up.  Well, Steve Sommers, the Director of Marketing, has a CRAZY busy schedule.   He’s so busy, we’ve had to do our phone conferences at 7am.  But seriously, he took the time out of his day and did this video.  To all the ladies who have submitted SOAR! Video Entries, you can confirm that a short video is no easy thing. 

Watch it now!

The tide is shifting ladies.  The photography industry is not only noticing women, they are reaching out to empower us.

Post a comment and let Sony know how cool this is!  Yes, they will be reading!  And I mean seriously, for them to cut through the red tape that a big corporation lives in—and just do it…so amazing!

Thank you again Steve!  Thank you SONY!

-Me Ra

*5 days left to get your SOAR! Video Entry turned in!  To see more SOAR! Partner videos, CLICK HERE!  And there are more Partner Videos to come this week!  (isn’t this exciting ladies!!!)

My dear friend, Kari, has started her own blog.  And I am LOVING it!  It’s called Mamabloo.  Some of you may recognize Kari from her funny comments on my blog posts, and then there was that incident where Oprah rebuilt her HOUSE!  (no, I’m not joking.)

Kari has a down to earth style of writing that nine out of ten times makes me smile.  When I post Photo Tips or Exercises, Kari will bust out her camera and give it her best go.  She’s not a professional photographer.  She is a full, and I mean FULL TIME mama, with FIVE kids in tow.  She doesn’t know all the camera jargon, but that doesn’t stop her from capturing her family stories.  What is so great is that she’ll often email me the stories behind what happened and her fun results.  Some of her stories have me rolling…and that got me thinking…why don’t I ask Kari if I can share some of her stories with you!  So for experiment sake, we’ve got our first Mamabloo Photo Tale.

_________

I love Christmas trees.  Every year I load the family up in the mini van – all 7 of us – the Saturday after Thanksgiving and head out to someplace to get a tree. What happens next is predictable and consistent from year to year. My husband, Dave, and I get in a fight.

We are in complete and utter disagreement over everything regarding the tree. What size it should be, how much we should spend, and, of course, where it should go in the house. The truth of the matter is, I always win. And Dave always sulks. This year, he took a different approach and just said “I’ll do whatever you want” over and over – sorta like a mantra — and the whole day was much better. Ahhhh…Merry Christmas. So it is not a coincidence that this year I think we have the best tree ever. Ever. So, it is finally time to take a picture of it.

Me Ra tells us that taking a good Christmas Tree photo requires 8 simple steps. Gee, only 8. Off I go to try the first step.

Step One says to set the shutter speed at a VERY slow speed. Check: 1/5

And to set the camera to TV mode (I didn’t even know it had a TV mode, but, hey, I watch a lot of TV, so it should be fine) Check.

And put the ISO up high. Check: 1600

Here is my first crappy picture.

I GUESS I AM GOING TO HAVE TO READ ALL THE STEPS!

The next steps actually involved the timer on my camera!  I actually had to Google it to find out where the stinkin’ timer was on this thing.  I spent the next few nights in short bursts of time shooting my favorite parts of the tree using Me Ra’s advice.

So……I wasn’t able to completely adhere to all the steps – anything called “RAW” scares the ba-jeebers outta me.  The imagery that word, RAW, conjures up is just wrong.  And I am glad I have had some ballet and yoga in my past because I needed to contort myself to see through the viewfinder. But, I was able to fiddle around with her 8 steps and come up with something to forever document the best tree ever. Even Dave agrees.

To try Me Ra’s 8 steps for photographing a Christmas tree, CLICK HERE!

If you are hungry for even more Christmas Tree Photo Tips, check out THIS POST where Carey Schumacher of Barefoot Memories chimes in!

Mamabloo and I would love to know what you think of Mamabloo’s first Photo Tale.  Should we share another one with you!  Post a comment and let us know.  (and post one fast b/c you know we are both going to be refreshing all day!  )

xoxo, Me Ra

p.s.  Oh!  Wait!  I just got word as I was preparing this post that we have TWO NEW CONFIDENCE Workshops to announce for the Spring!  We are coming to Jersey City, NJ for all our East Coast ladies and also Huntington Beach, CA for our West Coast ladies!  It’s going to be a GREAT Spring!  If a CONFIDENCE Wkshp was on your Christmas Wish List, stay tuned this week for Registration Details—either Wed, Thursday or Friday !

Christmas lights went up this weekend in our neighborhood. We even got our first Christmas card! Eeks! I’m still finishing off our pumpkin pie! I’m not ready for the holidays to be official! Are you? You know what, I don’t think it matters if we’re ready. I think the holidays are here whether we’re prepared or not. So let’s form a circle! Gather in! We must support each other! I’ll support you tossing the leftover pumpkin pie as I make room for the eggnog. I’ll support you buying your own stocking stuffers b/c let’s face it, Santa doesn’t stuff our stockings the way mom did. So here we go ladies and gents; this is my Top Ten Stocking Stuffers for the Photo Enthusiast whether you are a beginner or pro!

I admit, you need a BIG stocking for #1. But it’s so worth it! The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here!

#1 Me Ra’s Sexy Copper Brown, Sony a330 DSLR Camera and Lens!

Price: $549.99 BUY HERE!

Family Circle magazine highlighted this Copper Brown DSLR in their Favorite Holiday Electronic Picks! Check it out on the newsstands this month! And remember, the secret Sony trip we made this summer? We were filming a revised DVD for them called Kids in Focus. I’ll blog about that amazing experience more later. But here is the coolest news, when you purchase your new Sony Alpha DSLR, Sony will include a copy of our newly released Kids in Focus DVD! Exclusively available at Sony Style stores and Sony.com! If you get it, you must PROMISE to send me a photo of yourself with your sexy, new camera!

#2 The Buttery, Background 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Price: $149, BUY HERE!

I love this lens b/c it gives you the low fstop ability to create buttery, blurry backgrounds! FYI, all the images, shot live, for the Kids in Focus DVD were captured with the Sony a330 DSLR and 50mm lens! And believe me, I pushed the camera and lens abilities to the limits, and they both blew my expectations out of the water!

#3 NEW Refuse to Say Cheese Organic Cotton Baby Onesies w/ FOUR Colors to Choose from!

Price $24 Holiday Special $19.20 till 12/4!

Coupon: stockingstuffer BUY HERE!

Style 1

Style 2

I’ve been wanting to make Refuse to Say Cheese onesies forever! Aren’t they sweet! They are by far one of my favorite Stocking Stuffers! We even have two styles to choose from for the little ones. Sizes range from 6-18 months. And the boys versions are green onesies with the brown camera!

#4 Can’t forget about Mom! NEW Refuse to Say Cheese Women’s American Apparel T-shirts!

Price $29.99 Holiday Special $ till 12/4!

Coupon: stockingstuffer BUY HERE!

Style 1

Style 2

You asked for them, and we got them just in time for the holidays! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!!!

#5 Our Award Winning Instructional DVD Set.

Price $ 49.99 Holiday Special $39.99 till 12/4!

Coupon: stockingstuffer BUY HERE!

Fox News recommended the DVD set on TV as a top Holiday pick! NAPPA gave the DVD set their prestigious Gold Award! Sony’s new Kids in Focus DVD was inspired from this DVD set. And thousands of customers have emailed us their praise for Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box! What are you waiting for!

#6 The Sony External Flash for a price that’s hard to BEAT!

Price $129.99 BUY HERE!

I love this little flash because it solves the red eye and black cave problem in seconds. With this flash, you can point it toward the ceiling and bounce the light. Bouncing the light gets rid of all the red eye, and your kids don’t look like they are climbing out of black caves. It’s light weight, easy to snap on, and the price is pretty amazing!

#7 The BEST Photo Editing Software EVER: Adobe’s Lightroom 2.

Price $169.99 BUY HERE!

We do ALL our photo editing with Adobe’s Lightroom. I could sing Lightroom praises for hours. This software has made photo editing ten times faster. When you have little ones running around, fast post process is a BIG deal. Lightroom is super intuitive and Dynamic with a capital D! Ask other users, they will confirm what I’m saying.

#8 Stop Reinventing the Wheel with our Popular 101 Kits!

Price: $99, Holiday Price $79.20 till 12/4!

Coupon: stockingstuffer BUY HERE!

Do you want to stay up all night trying to reinvent the wheel on starting a photography business? Or, do you wish that someone did the research for you and just shared it all with you? I SHARE IT ALL in our popular 101 Kits. You’ll receive photo release waivers, marketing tips, package pricing, and much more. Just read the reviews when you click to buy now! We’ve received hundreds of HAPPY emails from customers! And when you buy two 101 Kits, you get an even better deal. Our Portrait 101 and Wedding 101 Kits are the most popular!

#9 Chic jill-e Camera Bags that will make Her Giddy!

Price: $24.99 to $384.99 BUY HERE!

My girlfriend Carey bought me a Jill-e Camera Bag for my birthday a couple years ago. Love it! Love it! You can’t beat the classiness of these camera bags for women (and they’ve got some pretty hip ones for men too–Brian approves! )

#10! Me Ra’s best resource for Artistic Inspiration: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity-10th Anniversary Edition.

Price: $26.40 BUY HERE!

If your creativity needs to be inspired, this book is for you. There are endless exercises that jog your creativity, whether it’s tackling fears, beliefs we have regarding our worthiness to create, you name it, this book tackles it! It is my Bible when it comes to creative inspiration. You’ve heard me quote it several times, why not treat yourself or someone you love to their own copy!

_________________________

You have it friends! Our Top Ten Stocking Stuffers for the Photo Enthusiast! If your purchasing a product from our store (tshirts, onsies, DVDs, 101 kits) remember to use the Coupon: stockingstuffers. This Coupon will give you 20% off until this Friday, December 4th!

Happy Holidays!

xoxo,

Me Ra

I want to start by thanking every parent who emailed me a photo of their beautiful baby. As I said before, my Inbox has never looked so beautiful. It was painful to narrow the final count down. If you were not picked, it’s not because I didn’t love your baby. I LOVED all the babies (too much!). For this first book project, I had to fill specific holes, certain traits, certain ages, etc. But thank you so much for sharing your sweet baby with me. I really loved meeting them through your email. And I will keep all your emails on hand for any future projects!

After receiving hundreds of beautiful baby submissions, we narrowed the entries down to 16 babies.

On Saturday, I did 16 baby shoots in 6 hours. Brian filmed the whole thing so you’ll get to see behind the scenes footage of how and why I set the babies up!

A HUGE thanks to all 16 babies and their wonderful families. It was a honor to work with all of you! Thank you so much for your time.

And what a time we had!

I’ve never tried stacking that many baby photo shoots in such a short amount of time. Has anyone? Part of me was like, ‘Am I popping crazy pills?’ When Brian heard what I was up to, he was like “Really Me Ra? Your going to do a photo shoot for sixteen babies in six hours?” But when you have a book deadline, you’ve got to do what it takes. Right! So yes I am! And, yes we did. And those babies had me laughing all day.

We hit every emotion you can imagine from crying to cooing to screaming to laughing in seconds. And yes, I also brought a handful of different outfits for myself. I’ve been photographing babies long enough to know that I’ll get spit up on or peed on without notice. But it’s all worth it, if I get to hold those little ones before we say goodbye.

What a day! As Pascaline would say “Foofy-Do!”

p.s. A big thanks to my beautiful Genie for helping me with the emails. And I want to give a BIG shout out to Troy Nesby for all these Behind the Scene photos as well as helping us with all the in between details throughout the day! We love you Troy!

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Remember to submit your Photo Contest entries soon! We’ve got two photo contests going on right now that you don’t want to miss! I’m loving the submissions, but if you haven’t submitted-you’ve got until December 1st. To read the details on what our Photo Contest Themes are CLICK HERE!

Our Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! The DVDs were also recently featured on FOX News as a TOP GIFT recommendation for the holidays! Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box, click either title!

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