The time has come for our second annual family trip to Blue Lake! It won’t be quite as hot as I hoped, but hey I’ll take 85 any day! We’ll be driving out this evening to meet up with our brother, sister in-law, nephew, and one of his buddies. The word of the weekend is FUN! Boating, reading, napping, snacking, my kind of mini-vacation. My current read is another Jodi Picoult book called Nineteen Minutes. I don’t think I have ever read two books back to back by the same author before, but after Vanishing Acts, I just had to have more. I highly recommend both. Enjoy your weekend everyone!!!!!!!!
Portrait Package Update July 30, 2008
WEll, along with updating pricing for my brides, I have also come up with some new packages for portrait clients. It was very important to me to keep a package at $150. Times are a little tight for some, and I don’t want that to mean that those families don’t get to have great family photos. So in order to keep that price point, I just made some adjustments. Instead of receiving every single picture I take that day, (and I admit, I do get carried away sometimes 
) I am now offering a choice of 24 images on CD. Using the Pictage on-line proofing/presentation system, clients can just log in, and place their favorite 24 images into their own “favorites folder.” I will then use those twenty four and fill a Kolo linen covered album, great for showing off, as well as leaving out on a coffee table. Then also put those 24 onto a CD so that the family can use them for things like holiday cards, announcements, and to make prints for gifts. Moving on up, for $199 clients can choose up to 30 prints to own on CD, as well as receive a completed 8.5X11 Kolo linen album filled with about 11 5X7s and about 19 4X6s. Plus, both Kolo albums have a cutout on the front cover to really make the album personal. Finally, at $299 (still below the base rate for many area photographers) clients choose up to 35 images for their CD, and will receive those 35 images in a 7X7 flush mount memory book, with a hard cover that will include a picture, and a title or text of choice. These little guys are so gorgeous! I do have my sample completed, and bring all the options to each shoot, so you don’t have to decide until you see all the great choices! I also offer duplicate albums great as gifts to grandparents, and family out of state, and for an extra $99, I will supply every single image on CD for you to do with as you please! Looking forward to working with new and old clients, and sharing all that I have to offer in the coming months!
Karen & Radu’s Engagement Session July 28, 2008
I met up with Karen and Radu at their lovely home in Kenmore last weekend for their pre-wedding shoot. We took a few around their property, and then headed out to Queen Anne for the rest. They gave me a great mini-tour of the area ( I am quite the east-sider ) and we ended at Kerry Park with those breathtaking views of the needle. These two have great chemistry together, and their engagement photos are absolutely gorgeous. Enjoy the preview, and I’ll see you two in October!
Announcing Baby Lauren July 21, 2008
A quick visit back to Erinn’s home to get a few shots of a very smiley baby Lauren for her baby announcements. What a cutie pie! Big sis Emma was there to help out of course, and even gave Lauren some sweet, soft kisses.
Gotta love this weather July 21, 2008
OH, I just love the sunshine. There is just a feeling you get when you figure out it is time to wake up, and there is sun coming in through your window, your body is all warm, and there is an amazing day just waiting for you. Growing up in California it was that way more often than not. It has definitely taken all six years of living here to get used to Northwest weather. And in true northwest fashion, I drop what ever I am doing and run outside when there is sun!!
Lets see, there was another impromptu camping trip last weekend, and lots of laps around the lake with Kona. She also loves having her new fenced in yard to play in. I have also recently swam in Lake Marcel for the first time with two hard-core girls who are training for a triathlon. I feel accomplished when I run the two mile loop around the lake, and these girls are biking 10-20 miles, running about 5, and swimming a mile or so nearly every day. What dedication!!
I’m also doing lots of computer time in the office. Luckily I can see our front yard from my office window. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of Kona prancing around in the green grass, happy as can be. I am still researching, still working on samples, and my very best friend Ellie is a huge help with all the little details that will separate me from the rest of the photography industry. I am talking about the best customer service anyone can experience. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be cheap, but I want to be the most memorable out of every single vendor that a bride and groom work with. Ellie has helped me to create a plan and tomorrow we will visit an invitation shop for supplies. Don’t want to give out too many details, but let me tell you it will put a smile on my client’s faces. Cheers to another sunny day everyone!
Working Hard… July 15, 2008
Although we are only half way through 2008, it is already time for me to start looking towards 2009. I am holding two meetings tomorrow with 2009 brides, and I am so excited to share my new services with them. I am still refining things, completing sample albums etc. but I am so pleased to be bringing such value to my 09′ brides. I have been researching like a mad-woman, trying to find the highest quality products, without having to cross over into the high-end market in order to offer them. It is amazing how expensive things can be, even at wholesale. So I am proud and oh so pleased to have chosen KISS wedding albums for 09. Although I love the art work in my current Fuji albums, the turn around time has been too touch and go, and the quality although improving with each project just isn’t quite consistent enough. I am right in the middle of designing my sample KISS album, and hope to have it within a month or so. I am also looking towards a new coffee table type book to add to my portrait packages. That sample is already on its way. Finally, the most valuable asset I am adding to my 09′ services is the addition of my assistant. My husband Cameron who has been helping me all along my photography journey, will now be assisting me on all of my 09′ weddings. He’ll be changing out lenses for me, organizing group photos ( I request that ALL brides supply me with a complete list of all group shots so that none get left out. One of my earliest weddings had hundreds of beautiful candid moments captured, but a missing group shot had the mother in tears ) and in general keeping my gear in order, freeing me up to do all the important stuff 2009 is going to be an amazing year for Summer Dawn Photography, and I am so excited to have the chance to share it with all of you!
Adrianne & Jason’s engagement session ~Fall City, WA. July 14, 2008
What can I say about this couple? They are adorable. Fun. Sweet. And they have such a good time together!! We had a perfect day last weekend at Adrianne’s parent’s home in Fall City. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was definitely love in the air
Just a sneek preview of more to come!
Matts’ Rotisserie and Oyster Lounge in Redmond, WA. July 10, 2008
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- Roast Beef on brioche
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- My Lensbaby captures the private dining room
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- A beautiful meat and cheese platter
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- A lensbaby still
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- Veggie Platter with gorgeous color and texture
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- Skewers of mozzarella, basil and tomato
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- Don’t forget the martinis!
Matts’ is a great gathering place on the eastside for good food, tasty drinks, and great service. I happen to know how great the service is because I cocktail part time there, and my husband/assistant bartends! We both put ourselves through college working in the restaurant industry, and continue to find that our personalities and customer service skills make Matts’ the perfect spot for us when we aren’t on photography assignments. I also have done some photography for them including food shots, and some work for the new private dining room that opened a few months ago. It was really fun for me to have a “still” subject, and be able to fine tune each shot. I love new challenges, and although my passion is photographing people, I think it is important to work with all sorts of subjects and situations.
My garden for grandma July 10, 2008
My grandma, who lives in California, asked me to post some pictures of my garden. I figured I would take out one of my new lenses and do some close-ups. The lense is called a lensbaby, and although I have already worked with the lense a bit, I hadn’t really tested out the wide-angle adapter. So I spent a few minutes outside today just fooling around. Enjoy grandma!!
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- our annuals lining the driveway
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- The first bloom of a gorgeous Hydrangea in the front yard
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- Cameron loves these little blue guys
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- Grandpa used to love showing me the colors inside of a snapdragon
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- The Boxflower, a new perennial we planted this year
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- Not sure what these are, but they popped up all over this year
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- A shot of our tulips from spring
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- Our beloved view of Lake Marcel from the greatroom
A fun camping weekend July 1, 2008
I just got home from camping on the middle fork of the Snoqulmie River out in North Bend, WA. We arrived on Sunday, and after spending an hour or more to find just the perfect spot, stumbled on a goegeous site down a trail a bit, right on the river. There were two fire pits, plenty of room for all six of us, two dogs, and tons of food! It was so hot on Sunday, and to our surprise we had a thunder storm on Sunday night. My husband Cameron, and Dan one of our best buds, were the last to go to sleep… as usual! I managed to sneak in multiple naps, and had time to really get into the book my mother-in-law lent me: Jodi Picoult’s Vanashing Acts. I am only a hundred pages in and am loving it. Frankly I was hooked in about ten.
Although we had a blast, we were so happy to pull up to our little house, complete with showers, toilets, and refrigerators. Plus, our dog Kona was totally exhausted, and her poor little feet all blistered up from playing in the river and running around like a maniac. It was time for us to come home, and we are glad to be here. Kona might be the happiest of us all 
