Bear with me...

I am SO behind on my proofing right now. I have been shooting a lot of fall family portraits and I was quite a bit behind on reprint orders, so I've put off some proofing to get some orders done. It's a real challenge to stay on top of things when you work at home with two little girls constantly needing you for something. But just this week I've started getting a babysitter for 2 hours a day, so I hope to get back on track. I know several of you are waiting on your proofs (Michelle and Julie, you top the list!) and I really appreciate your patience.

I'm out of town this weekend, but will be jumping headlong into things next week. For now, here's a little sneak peek, Julie!

As the lily among thorns...

... so is my love among the daughters. ~Solomon Ibn Gabirol

Baby Isabella. Born at 29 weeks. You'd never guess that she was 3 1/2 months old when I took these photos! She was still in that "I sleep all the time" phase and her mom was a little disappointed that we didn't get more awake pictures, but she was SO darling!

You may recognize this Daddy. I photographed their 2-year-old son when he was a newborn and he is the first photo on my babies and children gallery on my website.

When I was shooting this, I was so excited about the light and I said out loud, "Oh, this spot is totally working for me!"

Isabella was welcomed into a house of lively boys. She gets lots of attention!

After making the boys behave and stay clean in the house, we ventured out to the backyard.

These boys have the coolest playhouse!

The boys love swinging in their giant hammock. Connor caught some serious air!

Thanks, Lara, for inviting me back into your home!

Gina Alexander Handbags

I wanted to show you one of my favorite products that I sell, photo handbags by Gina Alexander. These handbags showcase your favorite photo(s) printed on satin and are constructed with fine quality leather or canvas. Gina Alexander handbags are a unique fashion accessory and they are carried by many of Hollywood's stars.

This is my own personal handbag, the Nicole Baguette:I have had so many compliments on it! Everywhere I go someone asks, "Are those your kids? Where did you get that purse?!" Not only does it have two of the cutest girls in the world (biased opinion noted), it has so many fun design features. I love the fuchsia leather, the candy striped inner lining, and the silver rings. It's very functional, just perfect for slinging over my forearm. The Nicole Baguette retails for $185.00. Gina Alexander charges $50.00 to put two different photos on the handbag, but I only charge $40.00. I also give discounts on other upgrades such as the candy striped lining ($10.00 instead of $12.00) and collage design if you just can't settle on one photo ($50.00 instead of $75.00-$100.00.) I also do not charge you for shipping (regularly $13.50.)

Gina Alexander handbags come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Click here to view all of the different styles. Here are a few more that I have had made from photos I have taken

Classic Small Handbag with leather straps and black inner lining: $160.00

Fairfax Handbag with black inner lining and collage design: $225.00 + $50.00 (don't you love the bottom left picture? That's my nephew doing his best impression of a fish!)

Classic Tote Bag with leather straps and candy striped lining: $230.00 + $10.00. This is the ultimate diaper bag! It's huge (12"x16") and the inside has plenty of pockets for stashing all of your stuff.

The Tote Bag also comes with canvas straps for a more affordable option:

Casual Luxury Tote Bag with candy striped inner lining and 2nd photo option: $165.00 + $10.00 + $40.00

These handbags make fantastic gifts (even if it's a gift for yourself! The previous bag is one that my client talked her husband into giving her for her birthday.) For Mother's Day this year I got one for my Mom:

Julia Handbag with candy striped lining: $195.00 + $10.00. It comes with either a snap or a zipper closure and has only one wide strap instead of two skinnier ones. My mom loves the candy striped lining because it makes it easier to find things deep in the purse. No more black hole!

I also got one for my Mother-in-Law with all of her grandchildren on it. She loves it!

Casual Luxury Small Canvas Handbag with candy striped lining: $125.00 + $10.00. Here is a close-up of the canvas straps:

There are so many fun styles, even a canvas wallet for men! If you're looking for something less expensive there are also cosmetic bags (perfect for a teenage girl) and canvas pocketbooks.

With Christmas approaching, let me tell you the deadlines to guarantee Christmas delivery. All Candy Bags, Nicole Bags, Audrey and Koko Bags must be ordered by November 9th. All Classic Line, Fairfax Line, Casual Luxury Line, Small Vanity Line, the Men's Canvas Wallet and My Everything Bag must be ordered by November 19th.

During the month of October, Gina Alexander is running a Halloween special which gives you a free 2nd photo on any Candy Bag or Black & White Candy Bag. Orders must be placed by October 29th to take advantage of this special.

I have sample bags for you to look at and see for yourself the fine quality craftsmanship. Please call me at 801-792-9911 for an appointment.

Happy Day!

Beautiful

I don't do senior portraits that often, but a young woman from my old neighborhood in Midvale asked me to do her photographs. Jessica is genuinely one of the finest teenagers I know. I remember telling her dad one time, "I hope Lily grows up to be as good a kid as Jessica." She is kind and strong and she knows who she is.

Here's a little preview, Jess (Julie, I'm still editing the family ones, but getting close!)

Go saucy lady!

Jess is a true romantic and loves drama. I told her to bring a prop that told something about her and this is what she came up with. Love it!

One of Jessica's greatest features is her laugh. It's so infectious!

If you can't read the quote it says, "At the height of laughter the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of possibilities." -Jean Houston

Faaaa-bulous!

I just got my new gallery wrapped canvas sample print in and it is so freakin' awesome! The image was taken by my dear friend and fellow photographer Cami Nelson of Camilynne Photography. She and I have worked together for almost 7 years and we always take each other's family photos. I loved the pictures she did for us this year and when I saw this one of my two daughters, I knew this was the image I had been waiting for to do my gallery wrapped canvas sample.

Gallery wrapped canvas portraits are printed on fine art giclee canvas then they are stretched onto a wooden frame just like an artist's canvas. There's no need for a frame because your gallery wrapped portrait stands alone as a unique piece of art.

I love the texture of the print.

I love how the image wraps around the outside edge and gives it dimension.

The quality and craftsmanship of the wrap is fantastic.

Here's my cutie Amelia checking herself and "Biggie" out as I was preparing to replace the family portrait on my Mom's wall from three years ago.

I still need to raise the portrait up, but I wanted to give you an idea of scale.

Clients often misjudge how big to get a print to fill the space on their wall. This is a 24x30 gallery wrap and sitting above our couch it's a nice size, but could go even bigger if it were a photo of a large group. My Mom and I have been talking about getting a large gallery wrap of our family reunion photo from this summer to hang in this spot.

Oh, the possibilities!

Get started, already!!!

I have been intending to start a blog for my photography business for several months now, but got side-tracked by my personal blog for a few months. Blogging is an addiction, and so much fun! I want to have a place where I can display my latest work, get feedback on custom projects, and tell you about new products or other news for the business.

My banner girls are the beautiful granddaughters of Kathleen & Jeff. I had lots of fun with them on their shoot in September. Kathleen, I don't think I told you but when I was first editing your pictures, my daughter Lily looked at the family and started pointing out people asking, "is this the mom of this girl?" etc. and when she got to you, she asked if you were one of the sisters. Oh, you gotta love that! There were several fun photos with the girls so I designed a panoramic board for Kathleen. I'm still waiting to hear which one she likes best, but here are a couple of my favorites (click to view larger.)

Also from this shoot is a great example of how your finished portrait is improved upon from the original proof. Here is the original of their family picture:

With a little Photoshop magic, I increased the color saturation and brought out the mountains more. Notice the youngest girl on the left is doing something funny with her hands. I swapped those out from another photo, as well as 3 other headswaps. Since I know my family will be reading this and they love playing "Where's Waldo", see if you can tell me the 3 heads that are swapped.

It's not like the old days where you had to settle for a picture with a few goofy faces. Now you can get the perfect portrait! And when you buy a gallery wrapped canvas print, you can headswap as many people as you want with no extra charge.