So, it’s my birthday next week! I won’t say how YOUNG I will be or how very, very wise:) But I have decided that this year I will embrace my birthday and be thankful for another year here with the people I love, doing what I feel called to do, and just try to savor every day. I will no longer allow myself to be filled with dread at the thought of a number. I am not a number. I am thankful!

I am going to celebrate here on my blog too! I am currently booking fall sessions and the calendar is starting to fill! It is exciting to be approaching busy season again and I can’t wait to meet all the new families and see all the growing kiddos from my returning clients! And this year, I want to try a little something new. For one week only, this week before my big day, I will be offering demi sessions! What is a demi session? I’m so glad you asked:)

If you have been longing for a session with Ashley Ward Photography but wanted a smaller commitment in time, decisions, and cost, you will want to take advantage of this offer. The demi session is for families who want quality portrait art and easier choices. If you are looking for a smaller collection of images to document this year in the life of your children or your family, this is the time to book your session. Each booking may have up to 5 family participants and the session will last approximately 30 minutes. An online gallery of 12 fully-edited images will be available for viewing with a choice of 10 of those images on a disc of high resolution digital files with personal print privileges. A 5×7 professional print of each selected file is included as well as a 10 page 5×5 custom hardback coffee table storybook!

Book any available date from July through October 2011. A limited number of these sessions will be available and the first 5 bookings will receive all 12 digital files and prints and will have all 12 images included in the coffee table storybook! This offer expires at 5pm July 27, 2011 and will not be made again this year.

Feel free to post this to your Facebook wall, send the link to friends, and spread the word however you like. A little blog love is always awesome too!

So what are you waiting for? Your investment in custom portrait art will grow more valuable with every passing year!

A very short and sweet post tonight to update you on 2011 session availability. 2011 is half way over. How is that possible?! It’s midnight and we have just jumped from June to July. It’s my birthday month and I am celebrating with a wonderful promotion. I am offering an opportunity to book your newborn and 6 month photography sessions at an amazing rate! If you are a friend/fan of my Ashley Ward Photography Facebook page (and if you aren’t, you really should be!;), you already know about this, because I posted it there last night. Here is the sweet deal:

$100 off of the session fee of any 2011 newborn and 6 month photography session booked between now and July 8, 2011 at 5pm! As well, those who book by mentioning the post during that time frame will receive an 8×10 mounted print of their choice!

I now give you many options for your newborn and 6 month sessions. During this promotion, you can book a standard lifestyle newborn session for $175. Or choose the all-inclusive demi bébé for $695 – which includes a baby-only newborn session, 18 digital files and 5×7 prints, a mounted 11×14 print of your choice, and an 11×14 frame from my designer collection in your choice of pattern and color, as well as the promotional 8×10 mounted print! Or choose a weekday 6 month session for a session fee of $100!

The calendar is starting to fill for the rest of the year. At this time there is one more slot available for a July appointment and two for August. I already have sessions booked for November and December and availability in those months is limited. Please take this opportunity to book your newborn or baby session at my lowest rate ever while the appointments are available!!!

I have had the greatest pleasure of photographing so many beautiful babies. A newborn is one of my favorite subjects. Being able to spend time with families of new babies, whether it is their first or they are adding to their growing family, is such an honor. I love witnessing the beauty of new family in the first few days. Babies change so quickly. Just a week brings changes you can scarcely believe when they are so tiny, and new, and perfect.

A standard newborn lifestyle session with Ashley Ward Photography, the bébé de luxe session, has a session fee of $275, and is held within the first 10 days of the baby’s life whenever possible. My goal with newborn photography sessions has always been to capture the beauty of the baby in a modern and fresh way, incorporating the baby’s home environment whenever possible. I believe baby’s home environment is not only more comfortable for baby and parents, but also an essential element in telling the whole story of your baby’s first days in this world. I also love capturing the love that is so palpable between the baby and new parents and siblings. So my studio for these sessions are the baby’s home. I travel with camera and lighting gear, backdrops and blankets, baskets and hats and headbands. I take time to tour the home looking for the best places to document this amazing time for a family and set up and tear down equipment in several locations throughout the home during the session. We take breaks from shooting whenever necessary for feedings and changing and cleaning and comforting. And all the while I am documenting this new life and how blessed the family has been with this amazing gift.

My newborn sessions can be as long as 4 hours including breaks and set up and tear down of equipment and relocating to many places within the home. They yield a minimum of 45 images which are presented to my clients as fully edited, professionally printed proofs from which they make their print and product selections. The finest products are always a very high priority for me and I frequently try new vendors and products. I offer collections which provide savings over à la carte pricing and my clients typically spend $900-3500 on their newborn photography print and product orders.

However, not everyone is looking for a newborn lifestyle session. Sometimes a client wants a simpler experience. They are looking for the same quality, artistry, and consistency in the portraits, but don’t need this quantity of images and/or just want images of the baby without the family documentation. In order to serve this client, I am debuting a new inclusive session. And I am trilled at the possibility of providing portrait art to even more growing families in Columbia and surrounding areas:)

The first 3 individuals to book the demi bébé session will be gifted with a 5×5 mini coffee table storybook as well!

For those who prefer the bébé de luxe session but would like an all-inclusive package for a little saving on their digital files, I have an offer for you as well:

This is a limited time offer. And for those who prefer to select all of their prints and products after the session, the bébé de luxe session may still be booked at the current session fee of $275.

Please book your newborn session as early as possible to ensure your place on my calendar.

Oh my goodness! What an absolutely glorious day! It feels so good to go outside with a short-sleeved shirt and short pants and feel the sun warming my skin. I love when the weather starts to warm and the early Spring buds are starting to bloom and the birds voices fill the air. It feels like I am coming out of hibernation myself;-) And this being daylight-savings weekend just makes it all the better! I can’t wait to get out there and start photographing everyone outdoors again. And the calendar is starting to fill up for late Spring and early Summer. I booked 3 new sessions for May just this week and my May and June session availability is now very limited. If you want to book a session during and up to these months, please don’t wait!

And now, on to this week’s promotion! I’m posting the promo just a couple of days early – just to keep it interesting;)

Have you ever wanted to have ALL the images from your professional photography session? Have you ever wished you had your digital files on disc so you can print multiple copies of 4×6, 5×7, and 8×10 to your heart’s content at consumer lab prices…and have your own archive of your session? Have you ever wished you could get a really nice discount on the custom and art pieces offered by your photographer? I’m about to give you a chance to do all that!

For a limited time, I am offering a pre-purchased digital package promotion.

This package is priced at $895. It is hard to put an exact number on the savings of this package as it depends on how many images you will be printing yourself and what your selections of custom and art pieces will be. But it you were to compare it to the purchase of these items separately, including the session fee, it is a savings of $1150 – before the additional savings off a la carte pricing of custom and art pieces!!! Again, this is a limited-time offer and this pricing is not available at your proofing session – it is only available at the time of booking. The 20% discount will then be “locked in” for any other selections you would like to make for up to 7 days after the proofing session.

And what’s a post without images! These were taken on another beautiful warm day when my favorite model felt like indulging me;-) We had a lot of fun with this new prop and here’s a sampling of what we got!

WooHoo! A brand new blog! I am so excited about this. I will finally be able to post my images and previews here in a larger format. Look! You can actually see my images;)

To celebrate the launch of my new blog, I have a month’s worth of promotions, contests, and give-aways planned! I’ll be posting these once a week over the next four weeks. So check back often so you don’t miss out on the fun and great savings I have planned for you!

Free Newborn Sessions
I am giving two newborn sessions away – one in Columbia and one in Florence! The first person to contact me in those cities will receive a free newborn session and one free 5×7 portrait. This is a $220 value! To qualify, your due date must be prior to June 1, 2009, a signed model release is required, and the session must take place within the first 10 days of welcoming your new bundle of joy to the world. I can’t wait to see who wins!

If this promotion wasn’t for you, I have plenty more planned for the upcoming weeks. Keep checking in;-)