The Warg's: Family portraits

I absolutely adore it when I get emails like the one I got from Jamie. "I loved the photos of so-and-so and want you to take picture of my family." I love it even more when they turn out to be as amazing as Jamie, Dan, and their son Beau (or Bo - I never did ask how to spell it.)



We were working with a limited time frame knowing snow could fall any day. When we scheduled the session for this afternoon I was praying for good weather. Novemeber in Iowa is a huge question mark. It could be 75 or 10 degrees. It ended up being a touch on the cold side. As in 45 degrees chilly.



Not even kidding - we cranked out this session in about twenty minutes. It was c-c-cold! But the Warg's are super troopers. You can't even tell their teeth are chattering in the photos.



Jamie, Dan, and Beau (or Bo) - I had a great time getting to know you. Thanks for braving the weather. Enjoy!

Beau (Bo) is your typical boy. He loves to play in the dirt and race his dad to the car. His favorite subject in school is P.E., but he also likes art and music. And at five-years-old he's at that age where asking him to give his mom a kiss is like asking him to brush his teeth or clean his room. But he's so stinkin' cute!

I think this alley is my new favorite location!


See what I mean?! Such a handsome guy.

Can't leave out mom and dad.

Such a great family! And a perfect way to - quite possibly - end my 2010 photography season. It's going to get even colder after all. All of the fabulous people I've been fortunate to photograph this year have been so incredible. I. am. blessed.

Questions YOU can answer

I'm in a bit of a conundrum. This blog has been the heart of my photography business for... well, since it all started two years ago. At first, it worked really well. It gave me a chance to get my name out there and my clients to get a sneak peek of their photos. But honestly, the most important thing then was the fact that it was free.

It was very important to me that the business grow organically. So I started with a Canon D30 I bought second hand from an intern. I had one lens. And a free blog. As the business grew, I reinvested everything in equipment. Upgraded my camera, lenses, computer, and editing software. It's made my life so much easier.

And now, I feel like it's time to make some changes to this little 'ole blog of mine. It has served it's purpose. Like everything else, it's time to invest in an upgrade. I'm just not sure which direction to go.

To be honest, Google Analytics has been telling me for months that the number of hits here has been decreasing. So I'm not entirely sure anyone is even reading. And if you are I don't know it... because you don't comment. ;-) My hope for this blog was to create two-way communication between you and me. But most of the time I feel like I'm rambling into nothing-ness. Instead, the Tracy Anne Photography Facebook page has provided a better forum for the two-way interaction I was seeking.

So where to go now? I've thought about creating a website and deleting this blog. I've also thought about doing both - creating a new website and maintaining the blog. Or creating a hybrid of both, a "blogsite" that allows me to post and also provide the static general information people need to know.

The other option is to move the blog to Facebook. I hope you want to look at the photos - and I feel like I'm posting the same photos to both the blog and FB anyway. So here's my vision... I would restructure my photo albums so each session would have it's own album. Within the description I would include the content that I would have normally posted to the blog. I would also have an "Idea" album where I would post photos of wedding invites, cool do-it-yourself stuff I run across, and other ... ideas I want to share with you all. And there is always the "notes" feature of Facebook where I could bore you with all of my personal nonsense.

Regardless of whether or not I restructure the blog - I would LOVE to get the "discussion" section of my Facebook page hopping. So feel free to ask questions about ANYTHING. What clothes to wear to a photo session, camera questions, even personal stuff like why I have a collection of over 200 pens. (Oh yes, my friends. It's true.)

SO... I'm asking for your help. Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Do you love the blog? Would you cry into your pillow for weeks and weeks if it were to end? Then TELL me! Would it be easier for you to convert the blog to Facebook? After all, aren't all of us addicted to FB anyway? I'm writing this for YOU - so it's only fitting that you help me decide what to do.

Chances are no matter what we decide, I will be creating a "typical" website. And for that reason this change won't happen over night.

And... because posts are more fun with photos... here's a peek of my very unhappy duck.

PLEASE Comment!!

And how could I forget Sami? She's a big part of the family and her mom and dad love her lots!

See, Sami even gets her own Hawkeye t-shirt!

Hee hee... this one just makes me giggle.

Nate works at a golf course in Norwalk. So we had free reign of the entire place. It was fabulous!

Jessica and Nate: Portraits

I know Jessica fairly well. After all we've spent eight hours a day, five days a week together for the past three months. (We work at the same office during the day.) I'd never met Nate before, but certainly heard a lot about him.



On a blustery Sunday afternoon I got to know Jessica and Nate. Together. And they are so stinkin' cute. Seriously.