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Monday, October 26, 2015

Finding My Focus...A Week in Yellowstone National Park {San Antonio Photographer}

About a month ago I attended a wonderful landscape photography workshop in Yellowstone National Park, led by my friends Cris and Deanna Duncan of Lubbock, Texas.
I have been "meaning" to go to this workshop for the past few years, always finding a reason why I couldn't go. Afterall, this was "JUST for ME" and I never make time to do that. While this workshop was still photography related, never do I get the chance to just photograph for myself.

 I know you are thinking "Wouldn't you rather go to a spa or wine tasting? Something NOT related to your work?" The answer is no. I LOVE my job. I am so fortunate to do what I love every single day. Now sometimes, I do admit that I get a little burned out working with people, dealing with their drama (God knows I have enough of my own) and working to please everyone. But that is very rare and usually only occurs when I am so busy that I haven't had a day off in weeks (PS: I am NOT talking about YOU).

So, where was I?

Oh, yes, I was looking forward to a week of being alone. A week of pointing my camera at whatever I wanted to. A week of not pleasing anyone but me. And...wait for it....a week of waking up at 4:30am??? What???

Yep. Every morning. And there was hiking. Lots of hiking. With camera gear in a backpack. And a tripod (doubling as a walking stick). And some of this hiking was not Fat*ss friendly (this is actually a book that rates the hikes as fat*ss friendly or not). And it was cold, rainy at at times, snowy.

And let's not forget about the Bison,Wolf, Bear, Elk and birds we saw. A little too close for comfort at times.

But it was wonderful! A fabulous experience that I hope to do again!

So....here are some of the images that I created while I was in Yellowstone. I hope you enjoy.

If you ever want to go and experience a fabulous adventure, here is the link: www.findyourfocus.org
Be forewarned....Start training now....

Here I am, photographing in Yellowstone































Thanks to my friends Belinda and Randy for joining me in an impromptu portrait session on the cliff in the middle of the MOST difficult hike of the whole trip. It is amazing I am alive to tell about it. Here, I am smiling. That is because I hadn't realized that I had to go UP the mountain for 2 miles yet.


The Polar Express with Santa! All Session Fees benefit Any Baby Can of San Antonio

The Polar Express is coming to San Antonio
on November 15th and
Artistic Images will be DONATING all of the Session fees 
from November 15 to
We are so excited to be able to partner with 
such a wonderful organization!

Santa's Polar Express is great for all ages!
This very storytelling setting is perfect for portraits, album and of course, Christmas Cards.
This session would be adorable dressed in their Christmas best
OR in adorable pajamas just like the movie. 

FAQ's
(Frequently Asked Questions)

1. Will I have to wait in line?NO WAY! All of our sessions are by appointment only. If there were an unforeseen circumstance where waiting may occur, you will do so in a comfortable environment where seating is available. While we RARELY
have this happen, there are the occasional times that

waiting 5 minutes may be necessary.


2. Can we have a change of clothes?

While we try to be as accommodating as possible, we do not recommend a clothing change during any of our Collector's Series Sessions. The sessions are only 20 minutes and we want the full time to be used photographing your child.


3. What if my child is afraid of Santa?

If your child is between the ages of 9 months-3 years, the chances are EXTREMELY high that Santa may be a bit "scary" to them. This is normal. We begin every session with images without Santa and introduce him as the session evolves.  There are many times that Santa is in the portrait and the child is unaware of that.  Rest assured, with or without the man in red, we will capture a beautiful image of your child or children in our amazing scene.

4. Can my family join in?
Some of our sets have the capability of having families join in the session and some do not. Typically, our sets are designed specifically for children and tend to look a bit "small" when adults join in. This year, our Reason for the Season may work with a small family of up to 5 people and our Santa's Reindeer session is able to handle families of up to 6 members.
However, our FALL FAMILY SESSIONS are beautiful, non-"Christmasy" sessions that showcase your family in beautiful environments.
Click HERE to find out more info.

5. What type of packages are available?
We have a la carte prints as well as packages that range in price with all kinds of amazing products. In order to get more information about what our packages include, please contact the studio where we will be happy to answer any and all questions. While our specialty is the finished printed product, we do also have a digital package, should you wish to purchase the digital negatives.


What to wear?


QUESTIONS?
Call 210-497-3809
or
EMAIL US HERE 
Friday, October 23, 2015

"Oh The Places You'll Go".....Destination Portraits 2015-2016 {San Antonio Family Photographer}

Do you love to TRAVEL?
So do we!!!

We love to travel so much that we decided a few years ago to add that element into our business.
So now we offer DESTINATION PORTRAITS and it is really taken off!

How do we decide where to go?
There are two ways:
A) We (my family and I) would like to visit the area so we put the idea out there and see who else would like to join us.
B) YOU (my client) want to visit a certain area, so YOU (my client) call me and we discuss thoughts on dates and then we spread the word that we will be visiting the area to see if anyone wants to join in on the location.
C) I am visiting the area already for a workshop, wedding or speaking engagement and decide to go a few days early or stay late to do portraits while I am there.

So...if you want to go somewhere really cool (or important to you) and have not yet seen the location on my list of places to go, then you need to CALL us so we can discuss. Calling is not a commitment, it just opens the discussion up. Almost ALL of our destinations have started with ONE person having an idea.

What is involved?
In order to make a destination happen where we have to FLY OVER SEAS, I will need a grand total of THREE portrait sessions to make it happen. That is why it is important to plan ahead so I can market the location well in advance of the trip. If you travel with another family often, they could sign up too and we are almost there! When I have 3 sessions, I will take care of my airfare and hotel.

If we don't have to fly overseas, I will need a grand total of TWO sessions to make the trip happen.

Now, if you don't mind paying my airfare and hotel, then you can book me for just YOUR FAMILY at any location worldwide anytime and I will be there.

The session fee is $650 and there is a $2000 minimum print order on all Destination sessions.


SO....Where are we going this year???









Italy...1 opening, but HURRY...Itineraries are getting  ready to be finalized.
London...Only ONE opening
Hawaii....POSTPONED until further notice
Orlando...Only ONE opening
Destin...4 Sunset Sessions available
Colorado...Only ONE opening



We are looking at Memorial Weekend (May 28-30) 
or July 5-8
but nothing has been booked yet.



CALL us ASAP to get information about joining us at any of our Destinations.
210-497-3809
We would love to capture YOUR family in your favorite vacation destination!




Tuesday, October 6, 2015

The PRINTED portrait...a dying breed? {San Antonio Portrait Photographer}

Today I open up Facebook and all I see are images. Snapshots...Selfies...and even some Professional Portraits. Photographers are everywhere. SERIOUSLY, EVERYWHERE. We have cameras within our phones so they are with us AT ALL TIMES (which sometimes is uncalled for). We document and share everything. Some people take this a too literally (we do not really need to see what you ate at breakfast, lunch and dinner).
However, once we share it with the world, do WE ever look at it again?  Now some things are not worthy of a repeat glance. But some ARE. Some are even worth of....wait for it....PRINTING! Gasp!

I am completely guilty of having my kids every day activities sitting on my phone for the past 3 years. I admit it. Life is crazy and I just don't have time to sit and organize those and then figure out what size to print and where I should put them afterwards. I get it, I really do.

So here is where I start to scratch my head. WHY on earth would I HIRE (pay money to) a "professional" photographer to take photos of my kids and them PAY them to give ME all the digital files? I mean, I don't have time to do something will all the photos I take already. Why would I want up to 100 more images to sift through and figure out what to do with? THIS is why you HIRE someone, right?

Think about it like this: I hired a housekeeper. She comes once a week. She does a decent job, but I pretty much have to go behind her and "finish" the job. That is CRAZY, right? She would not be employed for long. Ain't nobody got time for that!

So WHY would you hire a photographer who makes YOU finish the job?

Ok, so maybe I can understand that you need a new facebook profile photo, so you do a quick session that results in a digital file. You don't have a desire to print that, it's only for online use. Seems reasonable.

BUT, when it comes to capturing your family history, your children growing up, important occasions like a Wedding or Bat Mitvah. These things need to be preserved. Printed. Archived for future generations. Share them all you want, but PRINT them too.

Artistic Images has been PRINTING portraits for 23 years. We have hung THOUSANDS of Wall Portraits, created HUNDREDS of albums. We delight in Completing the Job for you.

Within the past few years, we have more and more been asked for our digital files. And I just wonder why? Is it because people desire to do all the work themselves, possibly getting the portraits for a cheaper price? Is it because they want to archive them after printing? Or is it because the public thinks that they HAVE to do it themselves, that there isn't any photographer left in business who creates a product from start to finish?

Those photographers still exist. They may have a higher pricetag than others, but that is because they create finished Masterpieces. They are trained with a skill that eludes many new photographers these days. The skill of finishing the project. Delivering a complete and finished product.

We (us old fashioned photographers) want to create a Masterpiece that you can hand down for generations. We want you to stop at the portrait in the hallway every day and linger over the memories it holds. THIS is our mission. We CREATE the images in the camera and FINISH the images in the printing.

I say the printed portrait is NOT dying. But it might be on life support. Help me bring it back to life by PRINTING your images. So that when your little child's 2nd grade teacher wants a print of your family for a project, you can actually FIND one.

At Artistic Images, we not only create the standard 8x10 and traditional wall portrait, we pride ourselves in creating unique imagery that can not be found everywhere. Check out some of the products that we can create for you and your family:

Our Newest FLOATING ART PIECES.
Images printed on archival fine art paper, triple matted and framed with simplicity and style.




The ELIZABETH:
A Mixed Media Painted Portrait that merges traditional oils with digital art.
A TRUE Masterpiece.






WALL COLLECTIONS:
A custom grouping of individual gallery wrapped canvasses designed to 
fit your space and your images.







THE ART WALL:
One image that is divided into multiple pieces of different sizes and dimensions, 
creating a dramatic portrait display.


THE ART BOOK:
A collection of your favorite images from your session custom designed in a 
beautiful leather coffee table album.