SpokesMAMA News

In case you didn't hear, the SpokesMAMA Contest for children ages 2-3 ends tomorrow at 11:55pm. Don't miss your chance to win a FREE ABC Storytelling Portrait package which includes a Planning Meeting, a 2-hour portrait session, a Design Appointment and $250 in product credit.

Apply now to be our next SpokesMAMA!

In related news, Lisa came to the studio yesterday to pick up her gift bag. She is our SpokesMAMA (4-5) and it was wonderful to meet her. Check out her SpokesMAMA t-shirt! If you see her around town wearing the shirt, be sure to say hi and ask to see her pictures!

Lisa tells me that her 4-year old daughter Bella loves to play dress-up and I can't wait to see her all dolled up in a dress, high heel shoes and bracelets up to her elbows. It's going to be so cute!

Could you be the next SpokesMAMA?

SpokesMAMA Contest (2-3 years old) - EXTENDED

Originally the SpokesMAMA Contest for mamas of 2-3 year old kids was to end on Friday, May 28th. Due to Memorial Day, we've decided to extend the contest another week to allow more mamas the chance to enter.

Don't miss your chance to win a free ABC Storytelling Portrait Session, discounts on your second session package, T-shirt and more. Read more details about the SpokesMAMA contest here.

Apply to be a SpokesMAMA by completing the application.

Contest ends Friday, June 4th.
Good luck!

Outdoor Movie Night

On Saturday night, we had some friends over for one of my favorite things to do: movie night. Watching a movie outside under the stars is like having our own private Screen on the Green with great food and drink, a clean bathroom and without the crowd. Our house is unique in that our deck is surrounded by our house on three sides. It makes for a perfectly private relaxation spot and a great place to project a movie onto the white wall of our house.

We ate and drank and watched "Men Who Stare at Goats" (weird but funny flick, hard to believe any part of it is true) with George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. After we finished that, the second feature was the new Star Trek movie with Sylar/AKA Zachary Quinto (yay, Heroes fans!) and Chris Pine. [Basically it was a night of hot men, but don't tell my husband Nick that.]

Munchies included homemade guacamole, onion dip and chips (thanks, Rachael!), hummus & veggies (thanks, Brooke!), zucchini & corn casserole and toffee bars for dessert. So fun and delicious. Thanks for coming over Rachael, Joe and Brooke!

Picture of the Day

Little Sophie was baptized on Saturday and I had the honor of photographing the lovely morning at St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church in Decatur. It was clear from the moment I entered the building how loved she is. Her parents glowed with pride and love like only parents can. She was surrounded by dear friends and family who were overjoyed to celebrate this rite of passage.

And just like an angel, Sophie slept through most of it.

Are Digital Files Included With My Photography Session?

We are often asked about digital files from portrait sessions. It seems like such a simple question but unfortunately the answer is not so easy. This article on www.babyphotographers.com is a great explanation.

Surely you’ve noticed an increase in the number of photographers giving away digital files. As a customer, should you expect them to be for sale? Why don’t all photographers include them in the session fee for free, or at least make them affordable? Don’t the files belong to you anyway?

Read the entire article, "Are Digital Files Included With My Baby Photography Session?"

New SpokesMAMA Contest: 2-3 year olds

Announcing a new SpokesMAMA contest! Are you a mama to a 2 or 3 year old child? If so, you could be our next SpokesMAMA.

Apply to be a SpokesMAMA

Who is a SpokesMAMA?

She's a mom who loves her kids and adores professional portraits of them. She loves the candid and artistic style of our photography and the emotions that it captures. She is active in her community, meeting with other moms at mommy groups, church/synagogue groups, at daycare and school, at work and online. She frequents Facebook and Twitter, parenting forums and list-serves for her community. And she thinks our portrait photography is awesome.

Apply to be a SpokesMAMA

If you are chosen, you will receive a FREE ABC Storytelling Portrait Session ($500 value), $250 credit for any beautiful item you purchase from your session, discounts off your next portrait package, a SpokesMAMA t-shirt and more!

Contest ends Friday, May 28th.
Good luck!

Picture of the Day

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day. Whether this was your 1st or your 41st, I hope you has some quality time with your kids in whatever form that took.

I had the honor of photographing Devon and his parents at Piedmont Park this Mother's Day. It was a beautiful day in Atlanta and he had a great time playing baseball, playing with his trucks, getting ice cream but most of all - getting hugs from mom and dad. There were so many great moments that truly show Devon's personality but this one is my favorite.

What did you do this Mother's Day? Did you go out to eat? Go for a bike ride? Have brunch at a local restaurant? What was the best part of the day? (Click the "Comments" link below to leave your response. We love hearing from you!)

Nominate us for Best Atlanta Family Photographer

Nickelodeon's Parents Connect website, also known as GoCityKids.com is holding a readers' poll. Please take a moment to nominate us for

Best Family Photographer

You can vote daily and leave a review if you'd like. The winning studio gets great advertising and bragging rights. And we love the "Best of" stamp of approval as you know.

Simply click the "nominate me!" link at the top of the page and follow the instructions. You'll be asked to confirm your vote by email. Thanks for your support!

Children's Businesses and Non-profits in Atlanta

We've partnered with some wonderful businesses, non-profits, daycare centers and schools in Atlanta. We love supporting local operations because when we do, everyone benefits. Businesses get more exposure, schools and non-profits get funding, clients get great information and discounts, and we get awesome new clients!

So be sure to check these out and if you want to suggest one, please let us know. We love donating portrait sessions to silent and live auctions, putting up displays of our work to generate donations for non-profit organizations, selling gift certificates to retail stores as thank you gifts and donating our photography services to fundraising events. And, one of my favorite things to do - think outside of the box to create new events, benefits and advertising opportunities for your organization.

Fernbank Museum's Lost Oasis benefit for children's programming

Write a review about us!




The Children's and Prep Shop

The Little Shop - in the Around Lenox Shops

Congratulations to our new SpokesMAMA!

Thanks to everyone who entered the SpokesMAMA Contest for mama's to 4 & 5 year old kids. The response was wonderful and we are thrilled that so many great families want to help support our studio.

We're thrilled to announce that the winner is Lisa Stephens!
Congratulations, Lisa!

We will be holding SpokesMAMA Contests throughout the rest of the spring and summer so sign up for our mailing list (if you haven't already) so you can be notified when the contests are announced.

Day-in-the-Life Portrait: Zoo Atlanta

I must admit that when I was planning this portrait session with Karen and Patty, I was really excited about the thought of photographing at some wonderful Atlanta landmarks. But when they decided on Zoo Atlanta, I was stoked. Cole's first and second portraits were at home where we were able to capture everyday life in an artistic way. Look at this beautiful use of his portrait in their master bedroom.

Day-in-the-Life portrait sessions are all about a fun activity, an amazing location, and this one has it all. The excitement of going to the zoo for any child is contagious. Seeing all those animals, riding the train and the merry-go-round. It's all so much fun and I couldn't help but experience this great place through Cole's eyes. He was in awe most of the day looking at all the interesting things, and by "awe" I mean straight-faced and absorbing everything around him. That is until we left the zoo and walked into Grant Park.

Running around in the grass, finding magnolia leaves and riding on mama's shoulders gave Cole perma-grin! Patty joked that no matter how much they spend on toys or special outings, like the zoo, the time that Cole really seems to enjoy the most are the moments that don't cost anything. All they require are the whole family spending quality time together. I love that notion and couldn't agree more.

Click the image below to view Cole's Day-in-the-Life Zoo Atlanta adventure.

Reminder - SpokesMAMA Contest & Family Portraits Promotion

I hope your week is going great. It's hump-day, Humpty-Dumpty day and I am just so darn excited about all that we have going on right now.

Our SpokesMAMA Contest for mamas of 4 and 5 year old kids is going on right now. The last day for applications is this Friday, April 30th, so hop to it if you want to win a free family portrait session, discounts, and more. On a side note, I decided that SpokesMAMA t-shirts would be fun but instead of going the "normal" route and ordering them, I decided to make them myself using a screen-printer. (I love projects like that.) I've never screen-printed before but I'm really excited with the way they turned out. Since only SpokesMAMA's can win these t-shirts, if you see someone wearing one, be sure to congratulate her and ask to see her pictures!

The other thing I'm really excited about is our new Fine Art Metal prints and the great sale to go with it. We don't offer sales often but this is something we're really excited about so we wanted to make it impossible to resist. The deal is this - schedule an ABC Storytelling Portrait package before May 21st and receive an 11x14 or 12x12 Fine Art Metal print for FREE. Yes, I said FREE! Since this is such an unusual item, we'd love for you to come by the studio to check it out for yourself. Just give us a call to let us know you're coming. By the way, I ordered a second studio sample which should arrive any day now and I can't wait to see how it turned out. You're gonna love this unique way of showing off your amazing family.

If you have questions, feel free to contact us at info (at) saraphotography (dot) com. Have a great rest of the week!

Introducing Fine Art Metal & Sale

Fine Art Metal prints- We are so excited to add this unique printing option to our collection. For a contemporary and clean look, Fine Art Metal prints are both photography and sculpture.


Images are printed directly to thin high-gloss metal and mounted on a stand-out frame. The image quality is outstanding, the look is unique and no framing is required.

Fine Art Metal prints are available as Wall Art (11x14 and larger), as well as an upgrade option on all our Wall Collections and Collages.

The image above is our Pop Collage, three images with background textures and design elements - 10x20 overall size. Come by our studio to see it in person!

We are the only children's portrait studio in Atlanta offering this unique display option.

And now for the good stuff...

Book your ABC Storytelling Portrait

on a weekday now thru May 21st and

receive a FREE 11x14 or 12x12 Fine Art Metal print!*

Perfect for Mother's Day on May 9th!

---

*Only valid on NEW weekday portraits, Monday through Friday, April 26th to May 21st. Previously booked portraits/packages are not eligible.

*Disclaimer - As far as we can tell, we are the only Atlanta children's portrait studio offering this unique product. It's possible another studio is offering it, but we aren't aware of it. So there. :)

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Healthy Earth Day!

Hope you take a few moments today to get outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Take note of the breeze through the trees, the chirping birds and the smell of newly budding flowers. We get so busy with our day-to-day lives that it can be difficult to just live in the moment and enjoy our surroundings. I know that even when I make a determined effort to sit on our deck and enjoy the sights and sounds, I am quickly reminded of all the yard work I need to do. But if I bring my focus back to the sound of the wind through the bamboo and the chirping bird on the branch nearby, I am able to recharge and feel refreshed, and it doesn't take very long.

Take a moment to think of one more thing you can do to conserve, reuse or recycle. You don't have to do everything and turn your life upside down to be green, just one more thing can make a big difference. In the last year, we stopped buying disposable paper napkins and started using cloth napkins. Not only do we have less trash, we are saving money in the long run and fewer trees need to be cut down to make more disposable products.

Here are some suggestions.

• Avoid idling your car for extended periods. Read more....
• Reduce trips in your car by organizing your To-do list by location.
  
• Recycle Styrofoam. Read more...
• Reduce junk mail. Read more...
• Plant a garden. Use seeds from the fruits and veggies you eat and watch them grow. Or place a bunch of herbs from the grocery store in water. I did this with mint a couple weeks ago. The cut mint grew roots and then I planted them outside. Quite a nice surprise.
  
• Use reusable shopping bags at the grocery, the mall, everywhere! I personally hate plastic shopping bags so this has become a personal mission. I sometimes get looks at the mall when I pull out my own bag, but I'd much rather get a strange look than have another plastic bag.

Most of all, enjoy the outdoors today. Even if you only have the moment between your car door and your house, make the most of it!

Published!: Virginia-Highland-Morningside Parents' Association

We are so thrilled to be included in the April issue of the Virginia-Highland/Morningside Parents' Association newsletter. Sara contributed an article and lent her expertise about photographing children and families.

Thanks, VHMPA! Hope the article inspired you to make photography of your children a priority in your day-to-day life.

Sneak Peak of Gemma - Atlanta Baby Portrait Photography

SpokesMAMA Contest, 4-5 year olds

It's time for the next SpokesMAMA contest! If you have a 4 or 5 year old child, you could be our next SpokesMAMA.

Apply to be the SpokesMAMA

If you are chosen, you will receive a FREE ABC Storytelling Portrait Session ($500 value), $250 credit for any beautiful item you purchase from your session, discounts off your next portrait package, a SpokesMAMA t-shirt and more!

Complete the application and let us know why you would be the best MAMA for the job!

Deadline for applications is Friday, April 30.

Destination Family Portraits this Summer

Rosier/News - NYDailyNews.com

On our Facebook Page last month, I announced that we are headed to the northeast for a weekend of family portraits in New York - Park Slope, Brooklyn, and surrounding areas. Our sessions are booking up and I am so excited to photograph meaningful and fun portraits of families at home and at some favorite NY landmarks. If you are interested in more information about a session, check out the registration page. The deadline for registering is April 30th.

Saw this article yesterday and all I have to say is Congratulations, Park Slope! New York Magazine names Park Slope the Best Neighborhood in NY!

Here are the dates that we will be scheduling destination portrait sessions throughout the summer. Contact us for more information! We'd love to meet you and photograph fun and artistic portraits of your family. Be sure to note the deadline for registration in your city.

• June 20 - 22 ............. Baltimore, MD
• June 23 .................... Lancaster, PA
• July 27 - 29 .............. Rochester, NY
• July 31 - August 1 .... NYC/Brooklyn

Don't see your city listed? Contact us. Beach vacation portrait packages are available as well.

Mother's Day Gift Conundrum Solved

Is your spouse looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift? Is he afraid to ask what you may want for fear that he may spoil the romance of the day? Are you tired of the last-minute gift he gives every year?

May 9th is the day and if you want to drop a little hint, pass him a link to our website! www.saraphotography.com We offer gift certificates for portrait sessions, sterling silver jewelry and much more.

Click here to purchase a gift certificate.

Introducing a new type of photography

We're so excited to announce that we are offering a new type of photography. We have been specializing in on-location documentary portraits that are natural and fun. And that's all good, but we think this new service will be a huge hit. With a new studio, you and your family can have beautiful portraits as your favorite characters that you will remember forever.

photo: www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

APRIL FOOLS!!!