A poll....please answer this!

Hi everyone. Would you please do me a favor and answer a couple of questions for me? You can answer them here or send the answers to beth@schwartzphotos.com. These are a couple of areas I am looking into possibly changing the way we do things currently.

1. Would you prefer to view your proofs online at your own time or in person with actual printed proofs at an ordering session?

2. Do you prefer ordering prints A La Carte or would you prefer "Packages"?

Thank you so much for answering this. It doesn't matter if you are a previous customer, or I've never met you yet....your answers will be very interesting to me.

New Year's Special!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season. It's a busy time, but hopefully the memories made will last a lifetime.

We are offering a special to start 2007 off........
NO SESSION FEE for any session booked in January or February! It's not too soon to think about special gifts for your Valentine. A cute photo session of the kids for Dad, a special boudoir session for your hubby, or a nice picture of the family for grandparents....the ideas are endless. Sessions can be in our studio or on location--your choice.

Call or email today to reserve your spot! Happy New Year!!!

A Baby Planner

I had a wonderful session with one of my Baby Plan kiddos yesterday. Little A. is 6 months old now and such a doll! I first met his mom when I did her maternity pictures and I've really enjoyed getting to know her. Baby Plans are my favorite sessions, because I love having the opportunity to watch a little one grow during his/her first year of life. It's truly amazing. A. has gotten so big since I saw him at 3 months. I can't wait until March to see him again! His little sister, S, is a sweetheart too. She is such a smart little two-year-old!

Darling Baby Girl

I had the pleasure of meeting a very nice family today. They have a very sweet little baby girl. L is 5 weeks old and a doll! She was a very patient little model today---she even did some fancy posing for me! I hope to get the chance to take more photos of this little sweetie as she grows up.

A True Blessing for the Holidays

Meet my sweet little nephew. He was born on 11/9 and I just got to spend a few days with him in Oklahoma City. He is a darling little baby. I found myself just staring at him for minutes at a time. There is nothing more beautiful, in my opinion, than a newborn's tiny face, feet, hands, etc. I'm in love.

Of course, I also got to spend time with his PRECIOUS big sister. She is adjusting nicely to her new position and is a big help to her mom.
I hope to get to see them again soon.

Fun Family

We had a holiday mini-session yesterday with a very neat family. The daughter is a friend of Carly's and she is such a cutie. Hopefully we got the perfect Christmas card picture for them. Here is a sample of what we did:

Pregnancy is Beautiful

I did a maternity session yesterday. The mom was looked amazing---very fit---and was very nice as well. I really enjoy these sessions because I love the excitement the mothers-to-be feel. I, also, look forward to meeting the babies of my maternity clients. This mommy didn't find out if she is having a boy or a girl. It is her 3rd child and she already has two boys.

Doesn't she look GREAT?

Home Portrait Party

I did a small Home Portrait Party on Sunday. It was a lot of fun and I met some really nice families. These parties are a great to earn free portraits as a hostess and as a guest it is a free mini-session! Each guest will typically get between 8 and 12 proofs posted to an online gallery.

Here are a few of my favorites from the party:

Fun Couple

I met a very nice couple today. She is due January 1st and I'm very much looking forward to photographing their newborn when the time comes! These two were very relaxed and fun to work with. You would never know the dad doesn't like having his picture taken. *grin* (He was a good sport)

A Personal Blog

I have decided to share with you all something very special that my 10 year old daughter did a couple of days ago. Carly---on her own---decided to donate her beautiful hair to Locks of Love.
Locks of Love is an amazing organization that makes hair prosthetics out of donated hair for children with medical hair loss (i.e. from chemotherapy etc)

It was not an easy decision for her to make and when we got to the salon the stylist showed her pictures of exactly how short her hair was going to be and it made it an even harder decision.

In the end, she knew it was what she wanted to do.

Here she is before the haircut:


Chop, chop...


It's off!




These were happy tears--she kept thinking of the children she was helping:


Side view of the new hairdo:


Carly with her new short haircut:



I'm very proud of my daughter! Thanks for letting me share!

Blue-eyed Boy

I met a young man yesterday who had the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen! He is 4 and was a joy to photograph. He was very well-mannered and sweet and you could just feel the love between him and his Mom!




I hope to see this family more in the future!

A little fun....

The first 2 people who send me an email at beth@schwartzphotos.com will receive a complimentary studio session and a free 8x10 from that session! The session is good until November 30, so your pictures will be ready for the holidays! In your email tell me a. when you would like to do your session and b. who all will be photographed. I will let you know if you are one of the winners! Good Luck!

Branching out with Bridals!

Schwartz Photos is starting in the wedding business now and we couldn't be more excited! We are shooting one this weekend (with another photographer---and good friend Kimberly Armstrong.) and have one scheduled in Oklahoma City in January! Since we are new to wedding photography, we are offering very discounted packages as we build our wedding portfolio. If you, or somebody you know, is looking for a wedding photographer, please think of us!

Here are just a few of the Bridal portraits we took the other day. Wasn't the bride BEAUTIFUL?!

Family Photos

I met a wonderful family the other day. The baby is 6 months old which is definitely a fun age to photograph! I used all natural light in this session which I truly like to do. I love the way photographs look in natural light. It definitely helps when the kids are this cute too!

Cute Kids

I had a fun session yesterday in studio.......a sister and her two brothers. They were a lot of fun and I think the girl has a future in modeling if she wants that. She was such a natural!!

Charity

I have always wanted to give something to charity---somehow, some way. Well, now I have found a way. I have just become a member of the American Child Photographers Charity Guild . It is an amazing organization that has volunteers all over the country who photograph very ill (usually terminally ill) babies or children so that their family will have keepsake portraits of their special child. I look forward to being able to give something, anything, to these families. It breaks my heart to imagine having such a sick child and I've always admired the strength of families dealing with such a tragedy. If my photography gives them something to treasure forever, I will feel as if I have done a worthwhile deed.

Toddler with Flowers

This weekend we had the opportunity to do a session with my darling niece. She is 2 and a half and very cute! We were in the botanical gardens at the Myriad in Oklahoma City....what a great location! We need one of those in Murphy, Texas! :-)

Home Portrait Party

This portrait party was a lot of fun! Gabby was wonderful for setting it up with her moms group. Elisabeth graciously had us all in her home. There were 5 babies who got photographs made. They each got a 15-20 minute mini session with the proofs posted online in a password protected gallery. I am giving each mom who attended a free 8x10.

I am going to start pushing these parties as they are a fun way to have some portraits made in a laid back environment while visiting with friends, etc. There will be hostess benefits based on the amount of sales, so the hostess gets something for having the party in her home.

Here are a few of the precious babies that I met in doing this party yesterday. You can see why I love this job!

Newborn Photographs

I can't think of anything more amazing than a newborn baby. I love the tiny toes, precious facial features, and the way he/she looks at Mommy with total adoration. Newborn photography sessions are quickly becoming my favorite.

Today I met Angelica. She is beautiful and hopefully I will get to photograph her again as she grows up. Babies change so quickly and every stage is amazing.



There is a lot going on around here lately. We are about to do the Twin Creeks Swim Team photos, we have several family sessions, and our very first Home Portrait Party takes place tomorrow!

If you or anyone you know is looking for a photographer in the Dallas area, please check us out!