Author: Becky

New Projects Ahead

by Becky

This is always a busy time of year, filled with things like trying to wrap up client orders before the holidays, attending school programs and shopping for Christmas. This year is no different.

And I haven’t even started the shopping part.

My daughter asked me yesterday what my New Year’s Resolutions were going to be. I told her luckily I didn’t have to think of those for a long time, but a look at the calendar says I only have two weeks.

I’m wading my way through December, but I already know that I have a full January. That is when I kick off a new year-long project that I’ll share more about later.

We spend so much time trying to just get through the chaos that is in front of us that we don’t step back to see the whole picture. We reach for one goal, but before it’s even completely in reach, we are setting new, loftier goals.

So, for today, I’m going to sit back and appreciate where I’m at and just enjoy it.

Voted for “Real Wedding” Feature

by Becky

real wedding blue color theme

We are excited to be the photographers of the wedding that was voted best “Real Wedding.” This will be a 2-page spread that will be featured in the print version of the 2016 Corridor Wedding Guide.

The Corridor Wedding Guide wanted to showcase a wedding couple that had an interesting story, good wedding details and a strong theme. We submitted the wedding of Ashley and Joe, who were married this summer. We loved their color theme of blue and lavender, plus they had fun details, like the popcorn bar.

Then, the Corridor Wedding Guide asked the all wedding professionals, area vendors, etc., that they work with to vote on their favorite “Real Wedding” from those that were submitted.

We are delighted that ours was voted as the wedding to be featured in the 2016 guide!

Unique Fall Wedding Bouquet

by Becky

fall wedding bouquet with blues and reds

I have seen many wedding bouquets over the years. It’s amazing how each bride can put her personal touch and style into her flower choice. Of course, roses are always popular and bouquets in shades of white and pinks are common. I love the monochromatic look, but it’s so nice when a bride adds a pop of color to her flowers. I love the contrast it makes with her dress when her bouquet pulls in the colors from her wedding palette.

Laura and Nicolas had a fall wedding with navy as the primary color scheme. Typically, fall bouquets count on vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows to make an autumn statement. While those bouquets are certainly dramatic and stunning in their own right, that style would have given a different feel to Laura and Nic’s wedding theme. Also, I think the bright colors would not have complemented the navy bridesmaids dresses nearly as well as the bouquets Simply Glamorous Designs did for them!

The muted green of the succulents mixed with the subdued blues and reds. What I loved best about these bouquets was the blue because it was unexpected for a fall arrangement. It gave this bouquet a very modern feel, while still being very sweet and romantic, and maybe even a little bit “country.”

This fresh take on a fall bouquet was perfect with Laura’s dress style, too. When florists say they want to see photos of the bride’s dress when they are discussing the type of bouquet to create, there is good reason. With so many shapes and sizes of bouquets and so many different flowers, it’s an art to make sure the styles match.

The final effect for Laura and Nic’s wedding was truly stunning.

Black Friday Sale!

by Becky

appleby photo black friday portrait session sale

It’s that time again- the holidays are here and our lives have turned crazy-busy! There are more things on the to-do list than will ever be on the have-done list.

Often, in the chaos of the holidays, people remember that they should have planned for a family portrait session. Then, they are disappointed to realize they waited too long. They won’t be able to get that nice photograph to give to grandma, after all.

Let us help you with that: Plan on doing your portrait or engagement session after the holidays. Even better, schedule your spring portrait session now and save $350.

To make your shopping list shorter, purchase a session as a gift! Pay for the session now and let the recipient schedule the session after Christmas.

Then, sit back and relax. You should reward yourself for getting at least one thing done from your list.

Hurry- this offer ends on Saturday, Nov 28, 2015. After that, sessions are back to regular price!

Clearing Out Old Negative & Digital Files

by Becky
*How To Get Your Negatives Before We Must Get Rid Of Them*

I went to my grandmother’s funeral this spring. The most important thing I left with were just some old photographs.

At the funeral, there was a large poster board covered with old, random family photographs. They were like a timeline of my grandmother’s life and everyone who loved her. Those photographs triggered forgotten memories. I cried a lot that day, but it made me feel better to reminisce with my favintage collection of old photosmily.

Photographs have always been important to me, even as a young child documenting our family vacations. Photographs allow me to stop time and to share fleeting moments. They remind me of past Christmases and babies’ chubby cheeks. They let me remember people and details that my memory blurs over time.

I hate to throw out any photograph. Even when I have a bad one of my kids, with a goofy expression or not as sharp as I’d like it to be, I hate to get rid of it.

We must clear out old negatives and digital files

So, it’s with a heavy heart that we must clear out old Appleby Photograph client negatives and digital files.

As a photographer, I capture so many special milestones and significant events that happen in people’s lives. I understand that they have trusted me to record their family history.

However, we have simply run out of storage space for those precious old negatives and files. At the end of this year, all sessions older than 2012 will have to be thrown out.

We want to first offer past clients the opportunity to have those old negatives and digital files for their safe keeping.

Please contact us by phone or email to discuss your pre-2012 wedding or session. There will be a nominal fee for recovery and shipping. A Usage Release will be provided so you may make prints from your negatives and/or files.

Please don’t wait, as the end of the year will be here before we know it. I would really love for you to have these for preserving your own family history.

It’s hard to keep up with old emails accounts and addresses. If you know someone who was a past client, please forward this on them. I’d love for everyone to have the opportunity to claim their negatives and files.

For those of you who enjoy your own old family photographs, savefamilyphotos.com is a great resource for preservation.

Engagement Session Guest Book

by Becky

Why would you go to the trouble of picking the perfect portrait session location, choosing just the right outfit to wear and then fussing over how you look on the day of the session if you were planning to never show anyone your photographs?

The whole reason you hire a photographer is to be able to show off the photographs to everyone!

After the engagement session, when couples see their images, there are usually a ton of different poses that they love. They are excited and want to share those great images with all their friends and family.

But how do they do that?

They could throw big parties so people visit their home to see portraits hung on the walls. They could post some images online and hope their friends are not too busy to check Facebook. Or they could set up a large portrait gallery at your wedding reception. While all of these might be good options, there really is a better one.

One of the easiest ways to let all the wedding guests see those fabulous images is with a wedding guest book.photos of the finished engagement gust book Wedding Guest book at the reception with guest signatures

Laura and Nicolas had twenty-some images from their session (see more images here) that they really loved and wanted to share with their family and friends. They decided a guest book would be a fun way to do just that.

Having their engagement session photographs in their guest book allowed their wedding guests to flip through the pages and see Laura and Nicolas’ personality as they really are: fun, natural, relaxed, and totally in love.

And having space in the book for guests to write allowed them to leave a sweet note of congratulations for Laura and Nicolas to keep and treasure.

Boys Are Just Different

by Becky

Eight years ago, I was completely surprised that I gave birth to a baby boy.

I come from a family of five daughters. Chris comes from a family of three sons. My older sister has four boys and my younger sister has three girls. When I was pregnant for the third time, I hadn’t bought a single piece of boy clothing. I didn’t shop for blue bedding. I had barely even bothered to think of boy names before I went to the hospital.

I was absolutely positive that my third child was going to be a third daughter.

photos of boy from baby to age 8And then came Henry.

That huge 9 pound, 2 ounce boy was different from my daughters from the moment I met him.

Before I had a son, I always thought parents just didn’t try to control their wild and rambunctious boys. I’m sure it’s like those people that are “perfect parents” before they actually have children of their own. I thought solid rules and good disciple was all it took to keep kids reigned in.

Once I had a boy, I realized raising boys is just different than raising girls. As much as I’d like to think that it’s nurture over nature, boys have a wild streak in them that they are born with. Henry has that mix of high tolerance for pain, low level of fear and a whole lot of energy and curiosity. Large amounts of food are consumed, toys are taken apart, bikes are rode without holding on, walls are climbed, arms are broken….

Not all surprises have been rowdy. Before I had a son, I thought it was ridiculous that mothers would tell me their sons were always more cuddly than their daughters. How could a whole gender want more hugs from mom than the other? Perhaps they were spoiling their sons more, I thought.

And yet, it’s true. When Henry was a toddler and I was seven months pregnant, he wasn’t satisfied to just sit on my lap. He wanted me to stand and hold him, so he felt completely embraced. (And any pregnant mother of a toddler knows you just want to sit down!) Even now, though he refuses band-aids and can shake off the pain of a scraped knee in three seconds, he clings to me at bedtime and wants hugs to last forever.

Eight years ago, I was completely surprised by my son. And I love every ounce of him.

A Session At Paradise Springs

by Becky

photo of paradise springs nature preserve

It’s good for our creativity to use new locations, so when our engagement couple wanted to head to Paradise Springs, near Eagle, Wisconsin, we were excited. It was a special place for the couple, who actually got engaged near there. The mix of history and old ruins made the perfect combination for me. I love old architecture and the contrast it makes in a portrait session. And this session was a lot of fun!

Images from the session to come!