This session and this photo got me thinking about photography…about how it truly is “capturing that specific moment in time” as a good friend and fellow photographer told me this week.  Sometimes that moment isn’t want you hoped it would be.  Sometimes kids are crying.  Billy might have messed his hair up.  Susie refuses to smile or look at the camera.  But who cares?!?!  I think the point is that if you are relaxed about it and are just there to enjoy the moment and capture your life AT THAT MOMENT, everything will fall into place.  This mom was so relaxed.  She was so chill.  She went with the flow.  And boy, did we get some amazing pictures because of it.  Nope, no sleepy pictures, but like I said…WHO CARES?!?   

K – you, your daughter, and your family are gorgeous.  I am honored that you chose me to photograph this special moment in your lives.  Truly honored.  More gorgeous pics of this session to come….

Let’s see, what else do you need to know?  Please make sure that you have checked out my website (www.ccmillerphotography.com, click on website) for pricing information and information about sessions (what to wear, what to bring, etc…).  Also, since I will be doing so many sessions, {Sneak Peeks} on my blog will probably be only3 or 4 of my favorite pictures from your session.   The rest of the pictures you will be able to view on your private online gallery once I have completed editing your entire session.   Let me know if you have any questions….Hope to see you all soon for pictures! 

AVAILABILITY – Here is my updated availability after having sign-ups open for the morning.  It looks like there are a few Friday morning slots and one Monday evening left.  If it says “double booked” by the date, it is no longer available.  If it just says “booked” that means I only have one session and will consider double booking (back to back sessions) if you absolutely can not make one of the other dates work.   Also, these sessions aren’t just family only sessions.  My Friday morning slots are available for newborns, kids, babies, maternity, family, or anything else you’d like! 

• Friday morning, September 1st – booked
• Tuesday evening, September 7th – booked
• Friday morning, September 10th
• Saturday morning, September 11th – booked
• Monday evening, September 13th – double booked
• Friday morning, September 17th – booked
• Friday morning, September 24th – booked
• Saturday morning, September 25th – double booked
• Monday evening, October 4th – double booked
• Friday morning, October 15th – booked
• Monday evening, October 18th -  booked
• Tuesday evening, October 26th – booked
• Friday morning, October 22nd – booked
• Friday morning, October 29th – booked
• Saturday morning, October 30th – double booked

So here is the moment of truth…when it comes to photography, I jumped without thinking (I know…surprise, surprise, right?).  Because of that, it has become necessary for Michael and I to sit down and really assess my business to come up with a new plan for the future of C.C. Miller Photography.  I love photography.  But I love my family more.  WAY MORE.  My most important job will always be wife and mother.  This month as Michael and I discussed my business, the goal was to find a way to operate my business that still allows me to be the wife and mother I want to be.  That means making quite a few changes.   So with that being said, here are the changes to C.C. Miller Photography that you need to know about…… 

1.  I will be using a sign-up system for scheduling sessions.   What exactly does that mean?  It means that I determine what nights, days, weekends, etc…that I have available for sessions each month.  I am a mom of three young kids.  I have no idea what is going to be going on three months from now on a Wednesday evening.  I can’t book sessions that far out.  I will be posting available session times on my blog and people can email me to sign-up for that session.  Right now, it looks like I will have most Monday evenings and Friday mornings available for sessions.  That is when I have babysitting available.   I will also try to throw in some Saturday mornings and Friday evenings occasionally.  I realize that the times I have available might not work for you and if so, I am sorry for that inconvenience.  However, I hope you can understand that I have to make best decision for my family.  If I do not have any session times that work for you, I will be happy to refer you to another photographer.

2.  Release Forms – Everyone will be required to fill out a release form and sign it prior to their session.  I will not post your {Sneak Peek} until you have done so. 

3.  My pricing has changed.  This is a difficult decision for me because to be honest, I am a chronic people pleaser and I worry too much about what others will think.  Believe me, I have been stressing about this one.  What are people going to think if I raise my prices?  Are they going to be upset?  Will they think I am charging too much?  Then I realized that the same thing I said about my scheduling applies to my pricing changes.  I have to make the decision that is right for my family.  I hope that my clients will understand that, but if not, I totally understand if you would like referrals to another photographer.  The truth is, my husband is always the one who helps me get things back on track after I “jump without thinking.”  One of the many things he had me do was track my time and calculate how much time I spend on a session from beginning to end.  As always, he was right and I was shocked at how much time that really is.  At the end of the day, we have to decide as a family what my time is worth and set my prices accordingly.  I hope everyone can understand that as a wife and mother, I cannot just give my time away.   I don’t have it to give.

4.  My DVD’s will be sold separately – My DVD will be available for you to buy but it will no longer be included for free in the session price.

FALL FAMILY PHOTO SESSIONS

Please take a moment to read over the changes in my Pricing/Info Section on my website (www.ccmillerphotography.com  – click on website).  I will be posting my availability for September & October on Thursday morning at 8 a.m.  This will include a {Sneak Peek} of some family pictures I just did so you can see what to expect if you book Family pictures with me.  It will be followed by my Fall Family picture sign-ups. 

1.  I haven’t had any rooms ready to show yet!  It is going to take a LONG time, yes it is.  I am trying to be patient, really I am.  But those of you who know me know how very, VERY hard that is for me.

2.  I am just going to be blunt about this one….I wasn’t sure how I felt about posting pictures of my house.  Is it weird?  I know people have asked but will other people think it is weird?  Should I?  Shouldn’t I?  Then I suddenly realized something.  I am a creative person.  I am happiest when I am doing a project.  I post pictures of crafts I do, meals I cook, sessions I photograph, and thrift store re-dos.  How is posting pictures of my house any different?  Building houses is something that my husband and I do together with the help of many amazing people like my dad and this amazingly talented friend and designer.  It is the ultimate project.  Starting with a completely blank slate and designing a floorplan then building and creating a house from that floorplan…it is just another form of creativity.  Why wouldn’t I share that if I share all the other things?  So without further ado…here is MY HEARTH ROOM.

But first a little backstory.  In the last house we built, we did a formal dining.  BAD idea people.  Now I am not saying I don’t like formal dining rooms.  I just don’t like them for me.  And I DEFINITELY don’t like the price tag that goes along with formal dining furniture.  Umm, you want HOW much for a chair?  That is probably why we never found formal dning room furniture in our last house and after about a year, it was just empty and used as my makeshift “photography room.”  So, when we started designing this house I pushed to scratch the formal dining and have one huge eating area right off the kitchen.  I had pictures I had been saving for years of hearth rooms that I loved.  Finally, I talked Michael into doing it.  I have to thank my friend Alayna for backing me up.   Let’s be honest…Michael and the trim carpenter tried to talk me out of doing the built-ins and window seats for days, so I called in reinforcements.  I was just about to cave when Alayna showed up on the jobsite.  She looked at those men, put her hands on her hips, and said, (please feel the attitude in this statement) “Exactly what seems to be the problem guys?”  They got started right after she left.  Fierce I tell you!  So here it is….THE HEARTH ROOM.

Thought it would be fun to show the picture that inspired my idea for the hearth room first…

And now our version…..  The details:

1.  Paint Color – Night Train (Alayna, is that right?  I keep forgetting the name)

2.  Table and bench - Pottery Barn Benchwright table

3.  Chairs & pillows - I. O. Metro

4.  Plates – most are from thrift stores, garage sales, etc…

5.  Vases & Candlesticks – Z Gallerie

6.  Lanterns – ordered from Lifestyles

7.  Decorations on shelves – lots of stuff from Thrift stores, salvation armies, etc…mixed in with my china, crystal, and silver that we got as wedding gifts.

Daddy stayed home to take his boy to his first day of school….All the neighborhood kids met up to get on the bus together…The hardest part of parenthood by far (yes, even harder than potty training, and we all know how I feel about potty training) ….is giving them wings and letting them fly.  Yes, I cried.  But I didn’t let him see me.

Oh and by the way, I have to tell everyone about this fun new place I found in Jenks!  I don’t know what the name of it is but it is open ONLY the first Monday in Jenks.  If you just drive through downtown Jenks you will see a little store with all kinds of fun stuff pulled out on the sidewalk.  It is right next to Contemperary Tile in downtown Jenks, I believe.  You can also go into the store to look for more treasures.  I found some fun stuff and can’t wait to go back next month!  I used the green pitcher and glasses for display in my glass cabinets in the kitchen.  I will have to do pictures of that some other time.

So here’s how I did my silhouette.  I started with the $1 frames I found at the Jenks Yard Sale.

Then I took a picture of my little momma’s profile and pulled it up on my computer.I went outside and spray painted my frames with this cool stuff I found at Michael’s that gives it a “pearl” finish.  I just liked the silver better than the gold for what I as doing.  The picture of the little girl was painted by Emmy’s great grandma.  I also wanted to refinish the gold frame it was in.My little helper and I printed off the picture on cardstock.Then we cut it out and put it on top of another piece of cardstock to paint it black.We traced the shape of a frame onto another, clean piece of cardstock and cut it out.  We then modge-podged that cardstock onto backing of the frame.  After letting that dry, we modge-podged the silhouette that we had painted black and let dry, on top of the other cardstock (that we had cut to the shape of the backing of the grame).  I know some people say to use spray adhesive instead of modge-podge but I didn’t have any so I just used what I had and it worked.The last thing we did was put the backing with the silhouette now on it, back into the frame.For now I hung it above a little zebra seat in Emmy’s room with her grandma’s painting.  I am wanting to revamp all of this and do a whole wall of vintage pictures/art, etc… instead of just these three pics.  I will have to continue to work on that one though and look for more treasures and things to refinish!  Oh, and the zebra bench was a thrift store find.  I bought it for $40 and it had the ugliest mauve fabric on it.  I found this fun zebra fabric and refinished it.  Unfortunately, there are no before and afters of the bench since Coco threw my iphone into the pool.  The only “before” picture I had was on the poor old iphone which is obviously lost forever now.