Operation: Love Reunited

I'm proud to announce that I have been chosen to become a member of Operation: Love Reunited. This organization is a foundation of photographers who help deploying military families capture images to remember their time together before or after deployment. I'll be donating a session to these families and a session album of all images that I will send to the soldier overseas. I'm also including a wall portrait and a DVD slideshow to the family, as well as a discount on any additional print purchases.

If you know a soldier that is about to deploy or returning from deployment, please contact me or have the family contact me at julie@jlphotographyonline.com or (205)305-3086.

Giving is Awesome!

You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $900 worth, to be exact. Whether it's canvas or albums, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner will receive their own complimentary portrait session and a mounted 11x14 print. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Alabama or be willing to travel here for the session. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story (please do not leave in a comment on this blog) : jlphotographyonline@gmail.com

The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve -- get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,

Julie
JL Photography

Note: If you know a deserving family, but they don't live in Alabama, please visit www.givingisawesome.com to find a participating photographer in their area.

Christmas in July!!

I know it't still summer and (and 90 degrees), but it's time to start thinking about your fall sessions and, of course, those holiday cards. I've already started working on my designs for this year, and I think there are some really great ones!
Due to printing and mailing deadlines, I'm trying to get the majority of my clients done by November 1st.

To give everyone an extra incentive to book your sessions a little early, I'm offering a set of holiday cards (25) to anyone who books their session for August, September, or October. To qualify, you must book by July 31, 2009.

Miss A: {sneak peek} │ Trussville Children’s Photographer

This is little Miss A, who just turned three. She is the cutest little girl, and I adore her red hair. She wasn't too sure about my camera to begin with, but she warmed up quickly. She was very excited to get to play on the bridge and see the water. We even saw a squirrel! We had to cut our session a little short because of the rain (and mosquitos), but we ended up with some really good shots. Here are just a few....








Thanks for looking!
Julie

Quote of the Day

"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were."

- Cherie Carter Scott

I promise that I'm going to post a real blog soon. I'm working on a couple of sessions to blog, and still working getting everything moved over from the old blog.

Thanks for checking in!

Julie

Quote of the Day

"Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock. "
~Author Unknown

Today has been a tough day for me. I'm not feeling well, but I'm trying to keep on keepin' on. :)
I looked for a quote about perseverance and this is what I came up with. I think it's a good one for today.

Thanks for checking in!

Julie

Quote of the Day

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there"

-- Will Rogers



I love, love, love inspirational quotes. I have them taped and pinned everywhere in my office. On my monitor, the keyboard, the desk, the bulletin board, the wall...you get the idea. I firmly believe that something you hear or read can change your life, even if it's just in a small way. It may be just what you need to get you going in the morning. For me though, some of these quotes are what keep me up at night. Literally. I'll be so tired, and think I can't look at one more image. I just can't do it. Then, I'll look around my desk and see something that will get me back in gear.



There is actually a story behind the quote for today. There is a fabulous photographer in Michigan, Amy Wenzel, whose husband, David, just found out that he has a brain tumor. She posted a blog about it, and linked to David's blog where he's updating about his condition. When I clicked on his blog, this quote was in the top of the sidebar. It struck me, because it was exactly what I needed today. Sometimes I get paralyzed by fear, both in my life and in my business. I realized today, that will get me run over.



Please pray for David and Amy as they go through this trial together. There are many decision that they will have to make about his treatment, so please pray that God will lead them in the right direction.



Thanks for looking!

Julie









Blogging seems to be the task that always slips through the cracks for me. I'm trying to get better, but I'm so far behind that sometimes I think, "Why bother?". Anyway, I'm going to try to start doing a Quote of the Day (QOTD) post everyday, and then hopefully, I'll start getting more sessions blogged at the same time.

The aquarium

Here are some pictures that I took on a recent trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Cayson is completely obsessed with anything ocean related, especially sharks. If it were up to him, we could live at the aquarium. He can even name and identify all the different types of sharks, and the hammerhead is his favorite!

Thanks for looking!

Julie

{anytime} Tosha

Tosha was working as my assistant at Whitley's senior session. She's great at helping the girls pose. She climbed up on this fence to show Whitley what to do and I snapped this. Love it!

Thanks for looking!

Julie

{senior} Whitley

These are a few of my favorite images from Whitley's senior portrait session. She's a beautiful girl! She was a little shy in front of the camera at first, but loosened up once we got on the playground!

Thanks for looking!

Julie

Model Call: Newborns

I need a couple of newborn models asap. I've just gotten some new props to use and I can't wait to try them out. I don't have any newborns on the books for the next month or so, and I don't want to wait that long. :)

Clients will receive a complimentary session, a generous print credit, and a discount on any additional products purchased from the session.

So, if have a newborn (or at expecting one in the next month) or you know someone who might be interested, contact me at jlphotographyonline@gmail.com or 205.305.3086.

Current Promotions

I just wanted to remind everyone about the current promotions we have going on right now.

Weddings -- All wedding packages are 25% off if booked before May 30, 2009. We extended this to give a few more people the chance to take advantage of this great deal. The contract must be signed and deposit received by May 30th.

Mother's Day Gift Cards -- Until May 17th, we are doubling all gift card purchases. This would make a great gift for all the moms out there, so get in touch with us if you're interested. She'll be so happy about this, she won't even care that it's late!! :)

Also, Father's Day is coming up June 21st. We have a great promotion in the works for all the dad's out there as well. We'll be announcing the details later this week.

Happy Mother's Day! (late)

I hope everyone had a very Happy Mother's Day! I enjoyed mine very much. I'm very behind on blogging, but I had to throw in a picture of me & my little one (okay, he's not so little anymore). This was taken on my birthday a couple of months ago, while we were at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Mother's Day Special

As a mom myself, I know the sacrifices that all mothers make on a daily basis. We skip trips to the hair salon, the nail salon, the favorite store that we all have. Some of us do this for financial reasons and some of us because we.just.don't.have.time. Or maybe a little of both.



Either way, our kids come first. Always. That's how it's supposed to be, right?



So, we want to honor all the Mothers our there. We're offering an incredible deal on JL Photography gift certificates until May 17th (for all the procrastinators out there). During this special promotion we will DOUBLE the amount of the gift certificate that you purchase. That's huge, people! So, if you purchase a gift certificate for $100, you will receive a gift certificate for $200. These can also be split between more than one person, if you want to purchase one for your mother and another for your wife, etc.



This year, give her the gift that will last. A custom photography session that showcases the entire family, or maybe just the kids. They will never be this age again, and she will want to remember it forever.

Valentine's....revisted

I know Valentine's day has past already, but I just had to post these images of the decorations featured in the windows of Dorothy McDaniels. They always have great seasonal displays, but this is definitely one of my favorites. If you are in the market for a florist (hello brides!), be sure to check them out.

Next week, we'll be doing a great giveaway, so make sure you check back or better yet, follow us and you'll be notified when there is a new post. We'll also be announcing our March monthly special soon, and you don't want to miss it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Julie

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day

I hope everyone enjoys their Valentine’s Day. I hate to admit this, but my favorite part of the day is the candy! I have an abnormal obsession with conversation hearts. :) Well, all except the white ones. Those get saved for Cayson, since he’ll eat any kind of candy!!

Booking Specials....

We’re now in full swing and booking for 2009!! I thought it would be a great idea to kick off the new year by running a couple of specials. Be sure to get in touch with me soon, these are great discounts and they won’t last long!

Portraits
The first ten bookings get $25 off the session fee (making it just $50) and you’ll still get the $25 print credit. We’ll also throw in a complimentary 8x10!


Weddings
The first ten brides to book their date will receive 25% off your wedding package. This is a GREAT deal and we’re very excited to be able to offer it (for a limited time, of course). We’ve limited ourselves to just 20 weddings this year, which means that half of our brides can take advantage of this offer. I told you it was a great deal!!