Avery James Photography

Avery James Photography

Monday, May 17, 2010

Picture a Day - May 17, 2010

This picture is pretty darn cool in my eyes....we were over at my Grandpa's house yesterday and hanging out in the backyard with my sister...all of a sudden this beautiful butterfly started flying around us and landed in the bamboo.  I took a bunch of pics of the butterfly on its own, and then my sister went and got it to sit on her finger!  How cool is that?

So here's one of this awesome little guy hanging out with my sis. :)


Sunday, May 16, 2010

Michele's Prom!

I'd love to say in my photography career that I've shot just about everything...and I'm definitely working my way towards that goal.  Yesterday I shot a pre-prom party...I guess that's what you'd classify it as.  Michele had a gazillion of her friends, their dates, and their parents all meet at her house before prom.  The parents all gathered and took pictures of all the kids, the dates put their corsages and boutonnieres on each other, they snacked on some food, and socialized 'til their party bus came to pick them up for prom.  My job was to capture the late afternoon event so that the memories would always be preserved...and so that's what I did. :)  I have to say, prom dresses today are MUCH prettier than they were back in my high school days!!

Here's a few of my favorites from the event...more to come in future postings. :)






















Saturday, May 15, 2010

Nicole's Senior Portraits (continued)

Just posting a couple of pics from Nicole's senior session.  Isn't she beautiful?  Love that red hair...it's like fire. :) :) :)




Friday, May 14, 2010

Rate Increase and Special Offer

It's that time again...when I needed to sit down and look at my pricing and compare it with the time invested, skill level, and market value.  Yes, I am raising my rates.

See bottom of post for limited offer on old rates.

Upon researching other photographers in my region, the average cost for a photographer similar to my style and experience level is about $200 - $300 for a sitting fee alone.  Prints are additional and run about $10 - $100 depending on the size.  And it is very rare that you receive a full-sized digital image for under $90 per image.  Sometimes you will see them offered at a discounted rate when added on to a large print order.

Currently my rates are $200 and includes the sitting fee as well as 20 digital images, no prints.

You can see the huge difference.

But, fear not, I am not hiking it up to the standards of other photogs quite yet...I still know that I have a lot to learn and want to continue to offer my services for affordable prices while I perfect my skill and experiment to see where I want to be long-term.

You can see all of my new rates on my sales site: http://www.averyjamesphotography.com/sales.html

The biggest rate increase you'll see is my wedding photography rates.  They have gone from $100/hr to $200/hr, but also include larger print packages along with the extra retouching on multiple images (10 images with extra retouching per hour booked).  You still get everything on cd from your entire event.

My regular photo sessions are still available at mmy $200 rate, but you will only receive 10 retouched, digital images at this price.  For $250 you receive 20 images.  Each additional image is $10.00.

There was also a little restructuring in my specials, and my event rates now have a 2 hour minimum.  I am also requiring non-refundable deposits ($50.00 for most sessions, $100 for weddings) to reduce cancellations and rescheduled sessions.


BUT... (here's the part with the special offer!)

A few things for those feeling very disappointed right now...

1. If you already have a session booked and on the calendar, you are locked in at the old rate, whatever I had quoted you initially.

2. If you book a date and pay the $50 non-refundable deposit by June 30 (or $100 for weddings), you will be locked in at the old rates as well.  You can book the date up to a year out (think Christmas cards!!), but it must be booked and the deposit must be received by June 30, 2010 to apply.

If you have ANY questions whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss: crystal@averyjamesphotography.com

I thank all of you for your continued support of my business, and I hope to see you all on the other side of my camera lens soon! :)


Thursday, May 13, 2010

Picture a Day - May 13, 2010

Today's picture is of my Tigger and friends figurine collection.  It's a small collection, but someday it'll be larger. :)

Tigger always reminds me of Avery...for those unaware, Avery was my son who was 2 and a half years of age....he passed away in July of 2006 due to an accident.

Avery's last Halloween he had dressed as Tigger and was so darn cute.  Also as a baby he had this little Tigger toy that jumped up and down and sang...it was the only thing I could use to entertain him long enough so that I could change his diaper!

So I now have a Tigger obsession as it always makes me think of my little angel. :)


Facebook Fan Pages

I had a great idea :)

I'll advertise your Facebook fan page if you advertise mine!!

I would love to build up my fan page subscribers...exponentially would be great!

So if you have a fan page for your business, blog, or whatever, I'll post a link to your fan page on my fan page with a little shpiel if you'll do the same for me!!

Easy enough right?  And everyone wins! :)

Let me know if you're interested...a comment will do, or you can email me at crystal@averyjamesphotography.com

Oh, and here's my fan page if you want to check it out!! :)

Avery James Photography on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/#!/AveryJamesPhotography?ref=ts




Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Picture a Day - May 12, 2010

I'm on a roll. :)
I even got home late today, but made myself take a photo when I got home...I am realizing that this little ritual is very therapeutic for me and really helps me to keep enjoying what I do.  It gives me a break from all of the other editing I have to do and makes me smile. :)

So here's my little, handsome man...I look at him every day and can never completely accept how big he is...he just keeps getting bigger and bigger and he's not my little baby anymore :(  But every stage that he goes through is completely lovely in itself, and there's something special about him everyday that I just love more than anything in the world.

How could you not love a face like this? :) :) :)