(Forgive me, I couldn't come up with a better blog title... and plus I like to spontaneously quote Salt-n-Peppa whenever possible.)

Hi everyone, it's me! Your favorite phantom blogger :) Okay, I admit, I have been HORRIBLE at blogging. And I've made lots of empty promises that I will get better right? Well, let me make one more: I WILL GET BETTER ABOUT BLOGGING :) And hopefully this time, it won't just be an empty promise. There were so many weddings I second shot last summer that I never posted, and I know at this point I can never catch up. Hopefully one day in the next week or two, I'll post a "best of" and show you some of those great couples. I consider my blog so important and so I feel so bad about neglecting it. I promise to be a better blog owner in the future.

The past few months have been full of soul searching and figuring out my next move, not just in photography but in life. I've had some awesome changes and I've made some huge progress in some goals I set for myself. Along those lines, I have decided (drumroll please, for those who aren't friends with me on Facebook) to go to Ireland for 3 months! It's crazy exciting and I literally can't wait. If I could be on a plane tomorrow, I would, but I want to do things right, and that means saving, saving, saving for the next year. Because of this trip (which is looking to be around mid-March to mid- June 2013), I am not committing to 2013 weddings. It's been a really tough thing, because I have had some amazing inquiries from relatives of past brides and from old friends of mine, but I really don't know what next summer is going to bring, so I am not taking on any commitments beyond February.

Because of this, I've thought a lot about my business and what I want to spend the next year doing. I have a bunch of weddings and second shooting gigs to get me through the summer, but I really want to spend more time developing the portrait side of things, particularly newborn and children portraiture. So many of my past clients are having babies (yay!) and I really want to do a great job for them. The best way to do that is to practice, practice, practice, but it's a little harder to practice newborn and child photography. With weddings, it's easy to call up a friend and ask if her and her husband can model for me so I can practice lighting and posing. It's a little more difficult to call and say "Can you lend me your kid for an hour or two? Thanks!" :) So I put something out there on Facebook yesterday and got some great responses, and decided I should blog about what my offer is right now. I am going to list my regular portrait shoot package below, and then I'm going to list "the deal":

Normal portrait package:

$450 (session plus disc)

Two hours of shooting on location

Disc of 20 edited images

The Deal:

$175 (session plus disc)

One hour of shootinglocally, in a rented studio

Disc of 20 edited images

Now, I don't know if this is the smartest way to build a portfolio lol. I've been navigating this whole photography game as I go, and learning from trials and tribulations. But the point is to always learn, both with the camera and with the accountant :) I'll be offering this deal to anyone who books a newborn or child session by this Sunday, April 15th. If you are interested and contact me directly (my personal email address is lscully283@yahoo.com), I will give you a list of potential dates that I will be renting the studio (all dates will be on a Friday or a Sunday, no Saturday dates will be available due to my wedding schedule), and if any of the dates work for you then we will book the session! The idea is to build my portfolio and try some new child poses and portrait ideas, and provide you with some great photos in the process!

As an added bonus, I'd love to hear your thoughts on types of child sessions you have seen and liked, or anything you'd like to see a photographer try. I know I end up finding the cutest sessions ever on a daily basis on Pinterest, and I always pin and think "I have to try that!" So what's your favorite? Are you a fan of the cake smash? Do you love to see a good baby in a basket picture? I want to hear your opinions! By posting below, you have a chance to get an even bigger discount- "The Deal" listed above for only $125! One person will be chosen randomly (using this handy dandy tool, yup, that's right!- http://primaryschoolict.com/random-name-selector/) at the end of the week. So good luck, and have a great week!

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