Boutique Photography Studio Digital Media MemoriesBoutique Photography Studio Digital Media Memories

$100 Print Credit Going Once, Going Twice....

Andrea LaGrow — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:55:55 +0000

photo credit: NicoleAbalde For a limited time, and for a limited number of people (just 100 people), Digital Media Memories is offering $100 in Print Credit - for free! Simply head over to our new Deals App on our Facebook Page. If you are already a fan, then click here, if you are not a fan, then click here. Enter in your information to get your $100 print credit. Bonus - to get $15 in extra Print Credit, share the love - on Facebook, on Twitter, on blogs, in emails, wherever. The app tells you how! That's all there is to it! Here's the fine print: - your print credit must be used in full all at once - it expires 4/30/12 - offer is limited to first 100 people - this is for print credit ONLY - you still need to pay for your session - but you get some AWESOME prints out of this deal! - can be combined with other discounts - what are you waiting for???? We just installed this new Deals App on our Facebook page, so we are just dying to use it! Stay tuned on this blog and/or our Facebook page for more deals and/or contests for more goodies to come! We also have a contests app burning a hole in our pocket! Plus, we have a new Rewards program we are rolling out on this blog - details on that will be coming out shortly. Stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by! Make Today Memorable!

Holiday Portrait Giveaway for November

Andrea LaGrow — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:15:45 +0000

photo credit: Mark Mrwizard While reading my daily dose of "blogness" yesterday (I was reading through my subscriptions on Google Reader), I came across something that I just had to have on my blog and on my Facebook Page. For those of you that don't know, I maintain my own website, customize it, and do my own SEO and social media strategy (this is in addition to my photography business ). I installed the plugin on both here and on my Facebook page, and voila! These are part of the minor additions and other niceties I plan on implementing in the coming days and months - all for my customers. So, what does it do? Well, two things: 1 - it allows me to run giveaways on my Facebook Page 2 - it allows me to run a rewards program here on my website (I know, right?!) The rest of this post will be about the Holiday Portrait Giveaway for November, since that is what I am currently running on Facebook. I will do a separate post on the rewards program to explain how that works. Holiday Portrait Giveaway for November: **** Win a 1/2 hour on location shoot with an enhanced 16" x 20" portrait ****

contest is running currently and ends November 7, 2011 at 8 am ET
to enter, go to http://www.facebook.com/digitalmediamemories. If you are already a fan of the site, simply navigate to the tab (the "tabs" are located on the left hand side below the profile picture) labeled "Rewards & Giveaways", click on there, and follow the instructions. (If you are not a fan, then you will need to "like" the page, and then follow these instructions. ) You may comment multiple times, but each comment must be a constructive comment in order to count. Winner to be chosen randomly from legitimate comments. Winner will be announced on this blog and on Facebook on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, and will be notified by email and/or phone first.

<< Should you not win this contest (and there will only be one winner chosen), don't fret!, more contests will be run in the future - keep entering and keep commenting! >> If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us at andrea@digitalmediamemories.com or 912-656-6855. Make Today Memorable! Andrea LaGrow

What is a Gift Print?

Andrea LaGrow — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:16:54 +0000

Since we price all of our gift prints the same (as of the writing of this post, $35 - pricing is always subject to change), it has come to my attention that I should probably explain a little better just exactly what a gift print is. To start, let me back up a little bit and explain a couple of things. When buying prints from a lab, you usually purchases prints like 5" x 7" or 4" x 6" individually, meaning that you buy LittleJimmyHorizontal1 and LittleJimmyHorizontal2 separately. The only places you buy prints from on a "sheet" are at schools or possibly places like Olan Mills. Digital Media Memories is allowing customers to save on their gift prints by allowing them to combine certain sizes together on one "sheet". The only catch is that all images must of the same aspect - they must all be horizontal or all vertical. Plus, if you are only purchasing 3 images in your package, we will only include 3 images (for example, if you are buying four 4" x 6"). We do this because we can do this ourselves in Photoshop, and submit the images as one image to our lab. All you have to do is cut the images apart once they arrive. Here are our gift print sheets - each line constitutes one sheet:

One 8" x 10"
Two 5" x 7"
Four 4" x 6"
Eight wallets

We hope this information was useful, and made it easier to use both our services and our website. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to ask.

Make Today Memorable!

Andrea LaGrow

Effingham County, Georgia Community Newsletter (and I'm a sponsor)

Andrea LaGrow — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:22:48 +0000

I was just checking the last of my emails for today, and this one somehow slipped past me. I had let everyone know in a previous post that I was now a sponsor on the Effingham County community page for WTOC.com, and I opened my newsletter and saw on the right hand side that on today's newsletter, Digital Media Memories happened to be one of the featured sponsors. Yeah!!! We are so happy about that! Click here to see the newsletter in it's entirety...

Proud to Be a Community Sponsor

Andrea LaGrow — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:55:42 +0000

I am so excited to announce that I was contacted by WTOC.com and will be a new community sponsor on Effingham County's local page of WTOC.com (click here for the link). I will be the only photographer on the page, and I was selected for my unique style of photography and editing. It will be so great to see more of you visiting my site. Thanks for the vote of confidence, WTOC! Make Today Memorable!

Top 10 Senior Moments for 2010-2011

Andrea LaGrow — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:30:28 +0000

Top 10 Senior Moments for 2010-2011 (starting in August)

photo credit: meghannash #10 - (August) - Go back to school - new stylin' clothes on, new hairdo, with several rep cards of the senior portraits that were taken over the summer to hand out to friends. Watch several freshman running around looking for their classes. Realize "hey, this is pretty sweet - this is my last year here", while laughing butt off. #9 - (September) - Football season is kicking into high gear and they are rocking. Seriously, do the teachers need to give us this much homework? Don't they realize we know it all already - I mean this IS our last year and all... #8 - (October) - Homecoming game was AWESOME! And my dress is seriously.... wish my date were too! Oh well - Halloween is gonna be great with all my friends and that maze everyone's been talking about and then there's this haunted house we're going to check out. #7 - (November) - Got my acceptance letter to UGA! That's gonna make Thanksgiving so much better when we head to Grandma's in Atlanta. Sure gonna miss my friends...Glad my parents let me have unlimited texts this year. #6 - (December) - Finally - half the year is OVER! Wait! Half the year is OVER - that means I only have half a year left to be with my friends. Hey Ashley... did you know that we only have a few more months to hang out??? #5 - (January) - When is spring break going to get here? My friends and I are so ready for Tybee! #4 - (February) - Mark is taking me out tonight for Valentine's! I don't know what I'm going to do though - he's going to UCLA in the fall! #3 - (March) - St. Patty's Day parade here I come - thank goodness we have the day off from school! This is the LAST one my friends and I will be going to together. #2 - (April) - Prom is here, Prom is here, Prom is here! My dress is SO awesome!! What camera - I have my phone! #1 - (May) - It's over - WAIT - it's over.... Mom, are you getting this? Can my friends come over later? We're going out to celebrate right after the ceremony. Finally - graduation day. [No teens were hurt during the making of this post. This post was intended for humorous purposes only. This post was intended to show what a typical high school senior girl may go through during their senior year. Just some thoughts.... I know senior year was rough on me - the highs and then the lows. It was my last year of high school - ruling the school - but it was also my LAST - and at some point, I came to that realization and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Be prepared for it....not sure what to tell you exactly WHAT to do, but go along for the ride, because it's going to get bumpy.]

Parents Who Don't Ensure Child Safety On The Internet Are Neglecting Parental Duty

Andrea LaGrow — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:30:01 +0000

photo credit: nist6ss Guest Author: John Brahm This is the present digital age which we live in, where our children are growing up in, and such times where without ensuring Child Safety On The Internet kids and teens are exposed to threats online. And we are at the stage where life without computer and internet is simply unimaginable. Long gone are the days when internet use was confined to stationary desktop computers only, it is now time for advanced mobile gadgets. Be it in the workplace or home will the tasks ever get done had it not been for the good old computer coming to our aid. We depend on it fully not only for works but for leisure, for entertainment too. It is of immense help to our children as they log on to the internet for their school project research works. Like in the real world both good and evil resides in the online world too. This is the world in which our children are growing up in. This is the present scenario in the present digital age. Suddenly child safety on the internet assumes a very high importance, you'll soon see why. It is alarming to find that most parents would do a great job in their duties as parents but when it comes to Internet Safety For Kids they turn out to be ignorant actually. If only they had known that kids and teens are always the target of online predators. Children naturally are less knowledgeable in the areas of internet safety and many are known to reveal their personal information online even if unknowingly. But the potential damage is done, this information getting into the hands of online predators is a scary thought indeed. All parents must know that as much as in the real world child safety on the internet is critically important too. If you have been surfing online maybe you have come across stories in the news of how some kids were involved in violence, with some kids even committing suicide, due to tormenting experiences online. Many criminals have had a history of very difficult times during childhood, now this difficult childhood experiences can be from something like cyberbullying. Harsh Experiences like going through cyberbullying can leave a scar for life. You surely don't want any of these to happen to your kids and will now hopefully take steps to ensure internet safety for kids,safety on the internet for your teens and your children. Indeed cyberbullying can hurt deep and leave permanent scars on a child! Cyberbullying can start with interactions online following seemingly friendly interactions initially. Unless guided, educated or informed how are children suppose to know that their new online friend is not some person with assumed identity, for on the internet this is very much possible, same is also practiced by online predators. Online or sexual predators will approach kids after identifying them from their online profile, befriending children with assumed identity and will try to extract personal information like address, family details, phone numbers etc from them, which unfortunately many succeed. This is the reality of the online world in the present times now, the world in which our children are growing up in. No parents in their right sense will let their kids be exposed to the threats online. For every parent, the safety and security of their children is on the topmost priority, whether online or offline, their future depends on their safety and security now. Child Safety On The Internet is of utmost importance now, which must be ensured at all costs. Imagine not having taken the right steps, your kids going through hardships, and somewhere down the line your kid coming back to question you why you had not done the needful to protect them! Take the steps now! About the author: Looking for the best way to ensure Child Safety On The Internet, drop in to John Brahm's site and find out everything about Internet Safety For Kids.

Beware - You Are Now Entering the Teenage Zone

Andrea LaGrow — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 14:30:24 +0000

photo credit: ~mindninja~ Guest Author: Deanne Blackhurst I consider myself a fairly educated person. I speak both English and Spanish, have passed several psychology classes, and got an "A" in logic and persuasion. I thought I was prepared for anything life could throw out at me. I didn't know about teenagers. When my son was a toddler I dreaded taking him on the weekly food shopping expedition. If he was riding in the grocery cart he wanted to be walking, and if he was walking he wanted to be in the grocery cart. He took great pleasure in grabbing things off shelves when I wasn't looking, and once while I was searching for a particular brand of deodorant he pulled ten packages of condoms from an end rack and dropped them in the cart. I didn't notice the extra items until we were checking out, and the clerk, her eyebrows slightly raised, asked if I wanted my condoms in a separate bag or just thrown in with the rest of my groceries. I was mortified. When I tried to explain that they were picked up by mistake, she glared at me and then yelled to a bag boy three crowded checkout counters away. "Hey Bud, I got a bunch of condoms over here. Lady changed her mind. Can you restock them for me?" At the same moment, my little angel decided to dive head first out of the cart and into the display of candy bars. I caught his wiggly little body with one arm while trying to steady the tilting shopping cart with the other arm and one knee. "Without the condoms that comes to $45.76." said the cashier expectantly as if I might somehow sprout another set of arms with which to reach in my purse and writer her a check. I was so frustrated I just wanted to run and hide. The lady in line behind me, her hair slightly gray and the first signs of crows-feet showing at the corner of her eyes smiled in amusement. "Enjoy it now while they're little dear, because it gets harder when they're teenagers." To be honest I thought the woman was a little senile. With the passage of time she must have forgotten what it was like to leave the house lugging a ten million pound bag of kid stuff to cover every possible situation that might arise in the thirty-minute trek from the house to the grocery store and back. How I dreamed of the day when my child would climb into the car, shut the door and buckle his seatbelt without any help from me. Fourteen years later, I have come to appreciate the wisdom of that woman in the grocery store. Have you ever tried to reason with a teenager? It's like they live in a Wonderland world where normal common sense has no meaning. They speak their own language and are surrounded by a culture that is completely incomprehensible to the over forty world - namely me. "Why do you have to drive me to school? Everyone will see you drop me off and they'll think I'm a freak." "They will not. They will think how nice it is that you have a mother who cares enough to want you to get to school on time." "You don't understand. It's so wrong to be seen with a parent. Especially a mom." "Look, everyone in your school has mothers. What's the big deal?" "Everyone in school has to pee too, but it's not like we want everyone to know about it." The child that I had endured sixteen long hours of labor with just compared me to urination. "Fine then you can just walk to school," I responded full of motherly indignation, and it wasn't until he was out the door and half way down the street that I remembered, this was what he wanted to do in the first place. I wish I could still pick him up and plop him in a playpen like I use to do after he emptied all of my bottom kitchen cupboards in the time it took me to put on my make-up. The outfits I used to buy for him were always met with smiles and appreciation. Now I don't even dare buy him underwear by myself. When he was in kindergarten, he'd run into the house his little arms outstretched waiting to give me a huge, sticky hug and kiss. Now a-days kisses are completely out of the question and a hug must be handled with the utmost care. "Look I just ironed this shirt Mom, don't mess it up." "I'm sorry but I'm a mother and we hug. It's like moths and light bulbs, or lemmings and cliffs. We know we shouldn't but we just can't help ourselves," I said grabbing him tightly and squeezing. "Are you done?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "For the moment, but watch your back!" Still, every now and then he does something that totally surprises me, and reassures me that my parenting isn't a waste of time. The other day the two of us were in the grocery store standing in line behind a young mother who was struggling with a basket full of groceries, a whiny toddler and a fussy baby. My cool teenage son, all on his own, stepped forward and began helping the woman unload her cart onto the counter. She thanked him gratefully and then turned to me and said, "I just can't wait until my kids are older. It must be so wonderful." I looked at her for a moment and then smiled and nodded my head. "It is." About the author: Deanne Blackhurst is a freelance writer for twenty-five years with her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, newsletters and web content. She's the author of two published novels including Sleight of Hand, an eBook. She is a stay-at-home mother of six children. She specializes in short humorous antidotes relating to children and home life. Visit her website at http://www.deanneblackhurst.com

Does Your Teenager Want A Georgia Drivers License? Do This First!

Andrea LaGrow — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:30:47 +0000

photo credit: Leap Kye Guest Author: Matt Brooks Just a few years ago, getting a driver's license was easy. Go get a learners permit, pick up a driving handbook, study the laws, wait until you are 16, and go take a driving test. You pass the test, you get your license, and you are off driving. Senate Bill 226 also known as "Joshua's Law" was passed during the 2005 General Assembly. Beginning January 1, 2007, all 16-year-olds applying for a Class D driver's license must complete an approved driver education course AND complete a total of 40 hours of supervised driving, 6 hours of which must be at night, with a parent or guardian's sworn verification that these driving requirements have been met. Any Georgia student who has not completed an approved driver education course must wait until age 17 to be eligible for a Class D driver's license. He or she must still complete a total of at least 40 hours of supervised driving, including at least 6 hours at night. The same verification in writing by a parent or guardian is required. What does this mean for teenagers? When they turn 15, they have a few things to accomplish before they can get their license at age 16: 1)Get their learner's permit. 2)Sign up for an approved driver education course 3)Log 40 hours of supervised driving 4)Log 6 hours of supervised night driving 5)Study the driver's handbook and learn all the driving laws With all these requirements met, a sixteen year old is eligible to take the driving test to get their driver's license. If all the requirements above are not met, then the student must wait until their 17th birthday to become eligible for a driver's license. This is quite a change from years past, but this new system is geared towards getting teenage drivers better prepared for the responsibilities of being behind the wheel. Some of the driver education courses even offer electronic simulated driver training on a driving simulator that gives them a feel for what driving a car is like. Make sure you know what the requirements are for teenage drivers so you can be prepared to help your teenager complete all the steps above. Knowing your teen driver has completed these requirements will give you peace of mind, and empower them to make good decisions behind the wheel. The goal is safer teen drivers, so get your teens signed up to take a drivers education course and learn the responsibilities of driving. About the Author: Open Road Services, LLC is an Athens, GA Drivers Education School offering drivers education classes in Georgia, defensive driving classes, and risk reduction/DUI classes.

5 Things To Help Your Teenager Prepare for College

Andrea LaGrow — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:30:40 +0000

Guest Author: Jamie Washington photo credit: jamieleto Going to college for the first time is a very exciting thing! It's not only exciting for the kid that is going to college but also for their parents. It represents a new chapter in both of their lives and new changes as well. We do all that we can to make sure that our child is prepared for college but there are certain things a student should know before they go off to school for the first time. These are just 5 of the many things that they should know but these are things that come to mind now. 1) Make sure your child has their own bank account. It can be a checking or a savings but make sure that they have a way to save money and also a way for you to get money to them. Most big banks have branches in multiple cities so that shouldn't be a problem. You can deposit money at your branch and they can pick it up at theirs or better yet, you may just be able to electronically transfer the money right into their account. I recommend a checking account over savings as that way they don't have to carry lots of cash around campus. They can use their debit card at the local grocery store, campus bookstore and wherever Visa and MasterCard is accepted these days. 2) Make sure that your child knows how to do their own laundry.Think about this for a second, if you have been doing your child's laundry all of their life they may not know how to do it. It's imperative that you show them how to separate their clothes rather than just throw everything in together. You would hate for your child to come home with a bunch of dingy clothes and that is what would happen if you don't teach them how to separate them. 3) Make sure that your child knows how to call home collect (if it's an emergency) or how they can reach you or someone else in a crisis. Lots of kids have cell phones but for the small minority that don't make sure that they have a calling card for emergency purposes. Often times in dorms, payphones are typically busy but I would recommend a prepaid cell phone for emergencies if you can't afford the monthly bill on a regular cell plan. 4) Make sure that your child has a good common sense. For example, not to let strangers into their room or apartment, not to leave stoves on while unattended, things like that. Kids can be very trusting but it's important that you instill in them that everyone is not a good person and harm can come to them if they make stupid decisions. Be aware of your surroundings; keep your valuables locked up and your dorm room or apartment locked whether you are in or out of the room. 5)Make it a point to have your son or daughter check in with you at the same time each week. This will not only give them something to look forward to but will also keep your mind at ease that they are okay. The last thing that you want is for your child to go to college and you can't reach them or hear from them for weeks at a time. Make sure that you both set up a time each week to touch bases with each other. About the author: Jamie is a freelance writer who typically writes about family relationships. She is also an aspiring internet marketer and builds niche websites in her spare time.