Archive for November, 2009

Tonight I have few things I want to post about and the first is to tell you about the End of the Year Special! From now until midnight on Thursday, December 3, 2009 you can purchase a $100 gift certificate for $50! The gift certificate may be used when paying for a session fee or for products from any 2010 session and may be purchased for a friend or loved one…..or for yourself!!! Only 1 certificate per customer/session. Session dates are reserved on a first come/first booked basis. Dates in October and November are the most in demand so if you plan for a session during this time, book early:) To purchase the gift certificate, email me at ashley@ashleywardphotography.com or call me at 803-348-3306.

I have finally joined and started actively participating on Facebook! Come find me here! Anyone who becomes a fan of Ashley Ward Photography before midnight on Thursday, December 3, 2009 will receive a coupon for a free 8×10 portrait from a 2010 photo session! Just send me a Facebook message letting me know that you became a fan with your name, phone number, and email and I will send you an electronic coupon:)

OK – on to tonight’s preview! This handsome little man stole my heart! He is a lucky fellow with a loving mommy and devoted daddy to dote on and comfort and love him. His home is lovely and was a fun abode to shoot. He did a wonderful job, especially considering he is a little older than the first two weeks that I usually recommend for photographing newborns. And mommy and daddy did a great job too;)

Have I told you lately how much I love newborn photo sessions? Love love love them. They require a lot of patience but it is so worth it. And it is so fantastic to work with new parents (or any parents of a newborn) because they seem so blissfully happy in this bonding period of their relationship with their new child. It does my heart good!

Mom and Dad, I hope you enjoy the preview! I’ll be in touch soon to schedule your proofing session. Have 25 unique friends or family members leave a little love in the form of a comment to this post and receive a 5×7 of your choice on me. Get 45 comments and receive a free 8×10! (unique email addresses required:)

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Laura: Beautiful. I can see why you love newborns. You do fabulous work with them.

Katie: Beautiful work as always :)

Ashley Petty: Mary Ellen - I can't pick a favorite! They are all sooo good. He is a beautiful little man! If you're like me when you look at Ashley's work your heart starts to dance! Congrats Mama!

Ashley: Thank you so much for the comments! I love to hear what other people think and what they are drawn to. Ashley - thank you so much - your comment really touched me:)

catherine: adorable!! Mary Ellen- your home and that sweet baby are both beautiful!

When you are an on-location photographer, you are at the mercy of mother nature:) Occasionally, a family photo session has to be postponed, as was the case with this family. They were amazing during our first attempt at images and never complained or seemed uncomfortable at all, despite the drizzle and cold that we had to contend with that day. And because of that, I was able to get some wonderful images during our brief time together before the session had to be called to an end. You can see those images here.

Last weekend was our chance to finish up the photo shoot and the weather just could not have been more perfect! We went to a location that I have frequented with my daughter (camera in hand – of course!), but had never taken one of my clients. I am so glad I chose this location this day. It was beautiful and had lots of space to work with and had beautiful tall grasses in one location…..one of my favorite backdrops for portraits! Sweet little boy F, was asleep in the car when the family arrived and it took him a little while to warm up to the camera and the experience, but mom and dad’s playful spirit eventually made him all smiles!

By the way, I am always on the lookout for great new locations in Columbia for my child photography sessions and family photo sessions. If you know of a great place for portraits, maybe a field or park with tall grasses or lovely trees or water features, drop me a line and clue me in! Beautiful places are always around us. Sometimes we just have to look for them to see them:)

Thank you to mom and dad for a great session(s)! It was a pleasure. Enjoy this second preview, and have 25 unique friends or family members leave a little love in the form of a comment to this post (or your previous post:) and receive a 5×7 of your choice on me. Get 45 comments and receive a free 8×10! (unique email addresses required:)

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Danielle: Great job! Clemson Park was always one of my faves ... next time go up to the front with the trees and to the compost garden with the red building... great spots!!

karen: Beautiful Ashley! You definitely captured their love for eachother! Great location too!

Kathy: Great job Ashley! These are all gorgeous but that first one is to die for!

Hassan Lisman: I genuinely benefit from appraisal through proceeding this website, it holds outstanding blog posts. "Don't put too in good health a point to your wit for fear it should get blunted." by Miguel de Cervantes.

I had the fortune of working with these two wonderful ladies recently. Christi has been featured on my blog before, and is the licensed Esthetician specializing in makeup artistry at Robin’s Nest in Columbia. The other beautiful woman here is Christi’s mother Jemme, who is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a private practice in Columbia where she provides individual, relationship, and group therapy.

The session was originally scheduled to provide Jemme with some headshots for her business and to use for her work with City Yoga. But these ladies also wanted to spend a little time on some mother/daughter images. Normally it is best to concentrate on one goal with a session….but with only two ladies…..and both full-grown adults (LOL!), I was sure we could do both this day. I love these images of the ladies here. And Christi did a wonderful job, as always, on the make-up.

But I have to say my favorite images were the ones we grabbed just before the sun was gone. I LOVE THESE! I’m a nut for a little sun flare, but working with little ones who keep me running most of the time doesn’t always give the opportunity to slow it down just a bit and work that warm glow of late afternoon sunshine. But Jemme and Christi were more than happy to sit for some of these images…..and I definitely think it was worth it! I like them so much that I am anxious to shoot some more flare…..just as soon as I can!

Ladies, I hope you enjoy this preview! Get 25 unique friends or family members to leave a little love in the form of a comment to this post and receive a 5×7 of your choice on me. Get 45 comments and receive a free 8×10! (unique email addresses required:)

If you are waiting for your preview, I’m running a little behind. Please be patient and I will have it posted as soon as possible. Thank you so much!

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Mollie Watson: Aunt Jemme & Christi you guys look great! These are awesome pictures! Love, Mollie

Kelly Watson: Wow these are really good pics, nice work gals!! Love, Kelly

Renee Bergeron: The pictures and the subjects (of the pictures) are beautiful. I plan to forward this to my friend Betty as she may want to have something like this done with her daughter, Laura. Just gorgeous.

Mauren: Jemme and Christi... Both of you look beautiful! check out those eyes! Love, Mauren

Betty Gurnell: Beautiful! The last one with the sun setting behind you is breathtaking.

Bonnie Hancock: The "eyes" have it! How perfectly beautiful you both are!

karen: gorgeous mom and daughter, great sunflare!

What an incredibly gorgeous day! I hope you are getting a chance to enjoy it!

I want to thank everyone for another great year for Ashley Ward Photography:) I have loved working with all my clients this year and hope to see you all again soon. I will be wrapping up my last few appointments of the year soon and am currently accepting bookings for 2010. Next month I will be working on exciting new product offerings and samples and perhaps a couple of other surprises for 2010. I can’t wait to see where next year will take us:)

Thank you so much for visiting the blog and perhaps leaving a little love behind! I really appreciate the support and hope you have enjoyed looking around.

And here are just a few images of some of my favorite little ones, since no post is complete without images:)

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kristi: beautiful family, Ashley...and you so captured that warmth and joy for them! LOVE the image in the leaves!

beverly wright: so cute! that last one just melts my heart!

amy: Those babies and those hats are DELICIOUS!