New Favorite

I am working on Maggie's 6 month session from Saturday. I canNOT even believe she is already 6 months old. This is my new favorite Maggie picture--and favorite picture overall!
I saw this one last night and had to edit it first because I loved it so much.
I just wanted to share. More to come soon!

Where in the world is............the blog viewer?

I get wonderful reports each week from my blog stat counter stating how many people looked at my blog, how many times the page was loaded, and totals for each day. I also have a map at the bottom of my blog. This part is amazing to me. I don't get reports from this, but I try to look at the map every other day or so and see where people are. Today, I looked at it and this is what I found. Viewers from: Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, India, Vietnam, Estonia, Mexico, Turkey, Australia, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, and Minnesota. This is unbelievable to me. I would LOVE to know where you are from and how in the world you found the Skelton Photography Blog. I'll see if I can't come up with a cool prize for one lucky person who leaves a comment. I already have some ideas and they are AWESOME so be sure to comment!!
1) First name
2) Where are you from? City and State if from US or the country if from somewhere else
3) How did you find the Skelton Photography blog?
Be sure to leave your email address for me so I can email you if you are the winner.
**EDITED TO ADD**This contest goes through next Monday (the 4th).

Create your own visitor map

Valentines!!!

If you are a past client, these Valentines are also available to you-25 for $30. Contact me and let me know which picture(s) you would like to use and how many! For more card templates, click here.

Rates

Photography rates for all sessions and events will soon be changing. Book your sessions now to reserve current pricing.

Valentine's Special

Do you have a "Dream Date" who needs a photo session?

Our Valentine's Day Special:
~30 minute session
~sneak peek post on blog
~online proofing/viewing
~10 4x6 prints ($60 value)
~all images available for additional prints and products on Pictage
for $75

Call now to book your sessions.
Sessions must be scheduled by Feb 1st to receive orders by Valentine's Day.

order these 5x7 photo Valentine's
25 for $30

OR
See Jodi for your Valentines needs

Camden's Winter ONEderland!

We had a great time at Camden's Winter ONEderland 1st birthday party!

Here's a sneak peek into the fun times. When we were telling Wesley's mom about the party, she said, "It sounds like the adults had more fun than the kids!"
We definitely had a great time and enjoyed getting to hang out with our sweet friends and their sweet babies!
Joe & Jonie, thanks for inviting us to join in on the celebration.

One year ago, Jeff had his picture made with Camden in this shirt. He wanted his picture made again and he was SO excited!
(His wife, Renita, said he had been planning this all day!)

You might ask, "Denise, how were you able to get Camden to smile so big? Is he that wonderful of a baby? Are you that wonderful of a photographer?"
The answer would be yes and yes. .........and a little help from our friend Sneedo.

Camden enjoyed his yummy cake!
He even let his daddy have a bite bite.Fun present time! Camden got all kinds of fun toys and things.

You almost need to know our friend Terra to fully appreciate this story, but here goes:
Along with fun bath time toys, the Gobbles gave Camden a handkerchief to give to his wife on their wedding day. That way she will have something old and something blue.
Now, how sweet is that?! I think Terra is probably the only person in the world who would have thought of this, but I LOVE it! Maybe one day our babies will get such a thoughtful gift (hint, hint, Terra!).

This is one of my favorites.

Happy Birthday, Camden! Thanks for letting us celebrate your big day!
Enjoy the slideshow.

Proof Books

Today I received my sample proof book from Pictage. I took a couple of pictures of it and wanted to share with you. The proof book is a simpler form of a coffee table book. Coffee table books are available through your event on Pictage.
The proof book is designed to be a way for photographers to give proofs to clients and generally has the image number under the image. (I did not put the image numbers in this book.)
The one pictured is a 7x7 hardcover book. I used the Renaissance cover--there are several other cover options. Other sizes available are 5x5, 7x7, 9x9 (4 images per page).
This hardcover proof book is $135 for 25-30 images (pages). Let me know if you are interested in purchasing a proof book from your session.
These books are perfect for your coffee table and are just the right size to carry in your purse or give to adoring grandparents.

Camera Fun

Cody and I had quite a fun time with our cameras at Camden's birthday party.
Cody took this great picture of Maggie and myself. I wanted to take a picture of it on his camera. Cody's response was, "I can email you a picture, Denise!"
(I still haven't received that picture in an email, so it's a good thing I took this picture I guess!)
When I took this picture, I told him to take a picture of it on my camera and then I took a picture of it on his camera......and we went back and forth and back and forth until it was a blurry mess. :)
Of course people were laughing and making fun of us, but it's just because they are jealous of our amazing idea.
It really cracked us up--so I had to share!

Camden's 1st Birthday!

Last Saturday, we enjoyed Camden's celebration of his 1st Birthday. We left Cleveland on Wednesday afternoon (I had to go back to school Thursday and Friday) and came back on Friday night so we could be here for the big party. I am SO glad we did. We had such a great time and I was very glad to get to photograph the event. Here's a sneak peek. Stay tuned for lots more pictures and funny stories!

Camden with his mommy and daddy (Joe and Jonie).

Camden's Uncle Cody, Aunt Kristy, Cousin Ryder, and Mommy and Daddy (this was the only series of shots with the sweet cousins--Ryder fell asleep and snoozed through the rest of the party!)

The birthday boy enjoyed the whole cake idea!

Family Session

Wendy called me from Wisconsin several months ago about photographing her family while they were home for Christmas. Christmas finally rolled around and I met Wendy and her husband, Ryan, and her parents at their home in Gallatin.

This session was very different than any other I have done-they were all grown-ups! (Well, I have done engagement sessions and such, but this was a family of grown-ups hanging out at home.) We roamed the house and looked at all 8 of the Christmas trees and enjoyed some family time for awhile.


This tree was AMAZING! It is decorated with dried flowers. I never would have thought to do that, but it was beautiful (and smelled good too!). The family joked that no one was allowed to touch it, but it is still pretty nonetheless. :)

This is the dining room tree with a beautiful pier mirror in the background. Wendy told me the story about she and her mother discovering it in a man's house when they went to find another antique. I think it was a great find!

Pregel Family, thank you so much for welcoming me into your home and letting me photograph your family.
Enjoy your slideshow.

Sale!!

I just received an email from my large print lab saying that prints 16x20 or larger are on sale for the month of January. Any prints or canvases 16x20 or larger will be 15% off for you this month. I must be able to place the order by January 31st, so get your orders in soon!
You can see a full price list for canvases and large prints on my website (just scroll down to the bottom).

2007 Highlights

Now that 2007 is over and 2008 has begun, I wanted to take a look back and see what all I have done over the past year. 2007 was the first "real" year for Skelton Photography. It has been amazing to see how much my business has grown since last January. While this is still not my full-time job, it has become a pretty productive something to do "on the side." I still love photographing your families and taking a glimpse into your lives for the short time I spend with you. It has been so fun to hang out with our friends and family and meet new people and see their lives through the lens of my camera. I was going to post one image from each 2007 session in this post, but I decided it was too hard to choose ONE image in most cases and that it would be WAY too long of a post. So, enjoy a slideshow of the 2007 Highlights of Skelton Photography. You may click the play button to view the slideshow on this screen or click HERE to view it full screen.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support, encouragement, and interest over the past year. It means so much for me to be able to do this for your families and to share your life, one moment at a time. I am so appreciative to my family and friends for helping spread the word of Skelton Photography across the state and then some. I am especially thankful for my sweet husband who is so supportive of my second job (including buying me a new camera for Christmas!) and putting up with me when I am glued to the computer for hours. I am excited about what the future holds for my family and to capture your life in 2008.

Photographers

Jessica Claire is an unbelievably fabulous and amazing wedding photographer from California. I love looking at her blog for ideas and inspiration. She also is the developer of the amazing Shootsac (I got one just before Christmas!!). Jessica is having a free wedding photography contest for a deserving couple.

Jessica says she is looking for:
"-A couple who has a wonderful story or who has overcome great odds
-The couple must be getting married somewhere in the US in 2008 (if I am already booked for the date, I'm sorry!)
-The couple must be willing to appear on this blog and have their story on this blog
-The couple must not be able to afford a lavish wedding."

I just had to share this opportunity for someone to receive wedding photography who really needs it. If you know someone who would qualify for this, check out her blog post for more information.

Happy New Year!!!

How's this for the New Year's Baby?? :)