Were you at the Spring 2010 bridal show? If you answered yes, then lucky you! You now have the chance to get a FREE custom designed photo Guest book! These sign in books are HOT, trendy, stylish, functional… they are the total package, a must have for all brides. The best thing about these books is that they allow the Bride and Groom to have a beautiful album with their engagement or bridal portraits to treasure forever PLUS their guests are able to see their beautiful photos and write a message: a word of advice, a tender greeting, or simply sign their name. These Guest books are truly wonderful keepsakes that will have your guests talking for years to come.

Any bride who was a part of the Spring Bridal Show 2010 (of the Brazos Valley), and who signs with us for a Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Package by March 31, 2010 will be a recipient of our Guest book giveaway. Our Gold Package signers will get a custom designed photo cover guest book, an album worth over $250.00. Our Platinum and Diamond signers will receive a leather custom designed guest book, a 6×9 album similar to the pictured below, a value at $500.00.

Contact us for more information. We would love to sit down with you and talk with you during a FREE consultation. We look forward to hearing from you and for a chance to make you the focus of your day! ~Stephen and Emily Ward

So a week ago today we were part of the Spring Bridal Show of the Brazos Valley. It was a time of much preparation; getting our walls re-structured and repainted, designing and ordering new and old products,  borrowing a truck and trailor from our dear friends, and recruiting some great help from our church Hope Group.  Of course the morning of it was steadily raining just as we needed to put the walls and bookcases on the trailer and make our way to the show- without a tarp.  And of course it rained the whole way there and stopped the minute we got there!  We were mopping up our bookcases with large bathroom towels and using a hair dryer to dry off our classy brown seats!  Oh what a morning!  We had a blast though having help from our friends, making our booth homey, and looking forward to meeting new people at the show.  We always feel good about our booth because we put our hearts in to it, we take pride in what we do, and enjoy getting to be creative in new ways each year.  I think it was a great show.  There were tons of other vendors there and people really stepped it up and came up with some cool designs.  If you were at the show we hope you had a great time, and that you give us a call- we’d love to make you the focus of your day!

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about the creative process and how that applies to all the photo shoots and editing that I do.  Since I really need to update my blog I said to myself, “I need to put this on my blog.”

As with any art and media there is always a play or a relationship between the ‘artist’ and the people involved.  Whether that be a causal observer or an actual participant, its never just about the ‘artist’.  In photography, especially portrait photography, it couldn’t be more true.  I can’t make a beautiful photo with you!  Its important that both myself and whom I photographing buy into what we’re trying to capture.   Some of my best and most beautiful photos are when a couple, or individual expresses some idea or thought and then we both run with it.  This usually creates stunning photos and also allows the person(s) being photographed to feel apart of the photo rather than just in the photo.

Now, I’ve heard things like this a lot from my clients: “I’m just not creative”, or “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.”  What I’ll usually tell them and strongly believe is that we are creative in some way, shape, or form.  Being a Christian I firmly believe that we are created in God’s image and are therefore creative in some way.  Now some people are gifted more than others, and some people’s creativity may be ways that are more uncommon, but we can all create!  I think that a lot of people just lack confidence which has built up over time.  I try to encourage any thoughts or ideas at all to come out in the open.  This is how creativity starts.  Trust me, coming from a background in doing many different art forms from Architecture to painting and photography – the best creations come from many thoughts and ideas where many are actually failures.  But its when you keep trying and hit that gold mine that makes everything else worth while.

So, when you come to do a photo session with us don’t expect to be my ‘puppet’ or some kind of bystander in the photo process.  You are as much apart of the creative process as I am!  With both of our ideas and creativity we will have a ton of fun and come away with amazing and personal photos!

Well, I have gotten way behind on my blog and photo sneak peeks.  Fall is in the air and we have been doing quite a few family portrait sessions the last few weeks.  A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of photographing the winner of Fall Session Giveaway.  The family also happens to be friends of ours.  I’ve know Chad and Kristen since college days, and a couple of years ago they decided to make the move back to College Station.  So, it was pretty fun when they won the session.  They have two precious girls which were so cute for the session.  It was a blast to watch their different personalities and how each acted in front of the camera.  Here are some favorites of mine from the session:

Well, I never thought it would happen (or maybe I should say, I never wanted to believe it would happen), but one of my little sisters is getting married. Its weird for me to think about, because I still see them as little girls who I used to pick on and tease. But I’m really excited for Cherie, and its so great to see her so happy. I had the privilege of photographing them for some engagement photos a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share some of my favorites from the session. It was fun to see the two of them interact in a different and more intimate setting. I wish you guys the best and we love you!

So, I probably didn’t choose the best time to end our contest, seeing as we were out of town on vacation (We had an awesome time down in South Padre by the way).  We are finally choosing the winner of the contest now, and I have my oldest son Titus to help me.  Thank you to everyone for participating – we are planning to do another giveaway in the future, so keep on the look out!  Also, don’t forget to check out our amazing deals for a family session with custom cards at http://www.inphocusonline.com/family

We’re really happy to announce that we are going to start offering frames for most of our prints.  Our awesome lab continues to add options, and we’re excited to pass these on to you!  There is going to be 4 colors and 6 sizes to choose from.  There will also be matting options.  Check these out:

These are solid wood, and they come in either black, bronze, iron, or cherry.  Very nice frames that will work in almost any home.

We will be able to do just about any common size print and paper type.  The 6 six sizes of frames will be 11×14, 10×20, 12×18, 16×16,
16×20, and 20×24 with various print and mat opening options. Mats are acid free and archival and all frames are a 2 inch
moulding.  Mats are in white, and will be doubled:

Can’t wait to see these up on the wall!

Don’t forget about our giveaway and Fall promo:  http://www.inphocusonline.com/family

That’s Right!  To find out more, check out our Fall & Christmas promotion website:  http://www.inphocusonline.com/family

In other news, we’re getting ready for the Fall Bridal Show.  It will be in September.  We’re trying to come up with some unique ideas for the show and are getting excited about the possibilities.  We also just got in an awesome 20×40 print on Metallic Canvas.  It ROCKS!  It looks great in the office.

So I am a little behind posting to the blog, mainly because it has been album mania around here.  We have been playing catch up making some beautiful albums!  I love making these because you get to relive the big day again, see the clients favorite images, and design something that you fits not only their personality, but also their heart.  Here is a work-in progress from Sarah and Reese’s wedding out at The Antique Rose Emporium.  It was a beautiful event and the family was precious to work with. (If you can’t tell this is Emily and not Stephen talking!

If you aren’t familiar with the album process heres a little what our looks like.  After the images are put up online in a gallery and the client has a cd of their images, the client picks the pictures that mean the most to them.  Sometimes our clients come in and meet with us which is what we recommend, but if they can’t we give them all the resources they need to make decisions about size and type online.  We then work on a design (either together or if given free reign) to capture our clients style and showcase some of their sweetest memories of the big day.  Once done, that album design goes back online in a gallery for the client to proof through and voice any changes they would like to see.  We also talk about the cover and what they are wanting, the style and colors etc.  After we revise the album (sometimes there are no changes) then we repost the final product again for their perusal.  Once we get the okay we send it off to our Printing lab to start the process of printing and binding.  This is such a fun time of anticipation as we wait for the finished product.  I love getting albums into the studio and seeing the quality of the products that go into making our albums lifetime lasting and then getting to send them off to their new homes.  Nothings better than knowing your hard work is going to be enjoyed and treasured for a lifetime.

Thanks Sarah and Reese for letting us be a part of your big day!