Archive for March, 2008

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March 27, 2008

Are you on Facebook? Glimpses of Soul is! You can become a fan of the page, leave a review if you’ve got one or just leave some comments. I like fans. :)

And lest this be another post without a photo, here’s a quick shot of some referral cards I sent out recently. All my customers get these, full of cute photos from their session, to share with friends and family. If you give someone else a card and they book a session, both of you get rewards. It’s good times for everyone!

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Ben Dodds: WOW- Great idea to post these referral cards on your blog... They look awesome btw!! WELL DONE!!!

christina: how cute are those?! I want some! ;-) Can I be your customer? Nice job!

Okay, I’ve got the newborn baby fever now and I’m ready to photograph some more newborns! So for the remainder of March, I’m offering $25 off my usual session fee ($125) for babies two weeks and under. Expecting? Send in a deposit for your future newborn session by the end of March and snag that discount for later! Gift certificates available, too (and they make a fun shower gift!).

Contact me for more info or to set up a photo session for your wee one.

Megan: Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I just spent like half an hour looking through all your posts and you are amazing! Love your use of light and fabulous colors. I will have to stop by more often!

At thirteen days old, Gavin was the youngest baby I have photographed. He was so cute and tiny…and not sleepy! He just wanted to eat and eat and eat and poop. His mom was looking for photos for a birth announcement – think this is what she had in mind?

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Probably not. :)

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What is this lady doing to me?!

So we did some family portraits. I thought maybe I could trick him into sleeping while being snuggled between Mom and Dad while I snuck in some shots. Nope – but look at his adorable face in this shot!

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But I warned Gavin that I could outlast him. One of the benefits to working with me is that there’s never any rush. So Mom fed and fed and fed and Mom and Dad took turns bouncing and burping and changing and finally he couldn’t resist anymore and Mom was able to rock him to sleep.

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So we snuck him back into the studio.

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By that point, I was even able to unwrap his blanket and take off his onesie and diaper. Finally some shots of those cute little naked baby parts!

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I didn’t really want to let Gavin go home but Mom and Dad kind of wanted him back and I figured I’d better just stick to photo sessions rather than waking up every 2 or 3 hours all night long. But I’m so ready to photograph some more little ones!

langdon: wowowow. they got better and better as i scrolled down. wtg.

Betsy: Mandy, these are so beautiful! Nice work.

Dave: Awesome mk! Saw these also on flickr. Love the tones and colors. And so much hair!

Buglady: when is the Mandy photo clinic going to be??? also i want to be in the Mandy fan club... not the Christy one!

Sara K: I want the last one of him on here for my office! I don't know him at all, but who cares, it's super cute and perfect!! I really need to start workin on the office, it looks awful!

Jeannette: They are going to love these.... beautiful job!!

Jacques: Wow. Those are great. He looks tired though. So you when are you getting a baby in the oven?

Gavin's Mommy: Who is that adorable baby?? Mandy - I love these pictures. They turned out so beautiful! We are greatful that you were able to get so many great shots! We had a hard time choosing which ones to use for our announcements! Thank you for such a great day with us. -Derek, Laura and Gavin PS he slept for about 3 hours after we left your house ;)

Amy N.: Oh for cute! I can see why you would have newborn fever. These are great-that first one is my favorite!

Last summer, I started working with Family & Children’s Service, a local non-profit organization. I attended several of their summer kids programs to photograph them and then they used the photographs for various promotional materials.

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Last fall, an artist named Katie Thompson began working with them to design a mural that runs the length of the 55 foot hallway in their Lake Street office. She came up with the design and sketched it on the wall so that volunteers could help paint it. One hundred and twenty volunteers, the youngest being four years old, worked on it and it took them over 400 hours. The most exciting part for me, though, is that the mural is based on the photos that I took over the summer. When I attended one of the volunteer days in the fall to photograph the mural in progress, I could immediately recognize some of the faces and yesterday when I attended the dedication of the finished product, I could recognize a few more. What a fun way to see bits and pieces of your own work!

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The final work looks amazing! I have absolutely no ability to draw or paint so Katie’s talent boggles my mind. During the dedication speech, President and CEO Molly Greenman said that they used to feel that if you didn’t come into the building depressed, you’d leave depressed for sure because of the long, dreary hallway. Not anymore!

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If you’re looking for a way to get involved in the Twin Cities area, check out Family and Children’s Service. They are looking for help in a variety of areas and they are very good to their volunteers. :)

Matt O'Harver: What an amazing project. Makes me want to get out and volunteer with an organization. If nothing else, doing a good thing while getting tons of practice with candids and available light portraits. Way to go!!!

Ben Dodds: I love that first shot of the little boy in the dirt. No worries in the world....great job of capturing the spirit of youth in these photos.

Molly Greenman: Mandy, This is so great, Mandy! And, I love the photos of the mural. Thank you for using your artistic gifts to make a difference for children and families. PS Matt, we are always looking for volunteers at Family & Children's Service.

Luke: I am glad someone I know got this! I also applied for it, but between the FT job and portrait/fashion photography and being with my own kids, we kept missing each other.

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I spent four sunny days in Orlando this past week. It was kind of a last minute trip but March is the perfect time to escape Minnesota. I actually went back to the same area I’d visited in January which provided me with two excellent opportunities:

1. I got to have lunch with the super fabulous Amy Smith who I met when I was there in January. She was nice enough to drive down for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and let me pepper her with questions about her business which she happily answered. That totally made my trip. If you’re in the Orlando area and need a photographer, check her out!

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I got to eat at Urban Flats again! I had lunch catered by them twice in January and was lamenting the fact that I wouldn’t be able to eat there again when I left. But I could! So once again, I had the roasted turkey, pear and brie flat with honey mustard sauce. If there’s one near you (they’re not very widespread yet), you should eat there. For real.

A few more photos from the trip…

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And what was waiting at home….sigh.

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Sometimes when I’m on vacation, I don’t like to drag my whole bag of equipment around so all of these photos were taken with a Canon Powershot SD700IS. Handy little camera that easily fits in my pocket. It doesn’t have many manual controls which I do miss every now and then but for something simple, it’s pretty nice.

Now I am off to answer emails and work on photos! Some exciting stuff coming in the next few weeks so check back soon!

John Setzler: I like that first image of the flip-flops quite a bit :) It seems to embody the entire idea of a vacation...

langdon: The flat thing is totally delectable.

Jacko: I soooo friggin need some of that sun and heat. Glad you could get away for a little while :)

christina: I love the Teva's picture... it makes me long for summer! Nice work on the rest too! ;-) I'm off to email you chica!