Only One More Week

Only one more week and 2007 will be officially over. Can you believe it? This year has gone by so fast. I thought that I would have my tax stuff done by now. NOT! I think I pulled my expandable folder out and looked at it, put more receipts in there, and then put it back away. I hate having to do all of this. I'd much rather be creating portraits. :-)

Maybe 2008 I will officially have a CPA that can handle all of that. I do know that in 2008 my family and I will be taking on the task of learning the Mandarin Chinese language. So far we have lots of audios from our teacher and lots of print outs. So far, the only thing that I can say properly is: baŏ baŏ which means baby.

So here's a photo of my middle baŏ baŏ and my youngest baŏ baŏ. :-)

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

My Year Is Over

Well, as of today, I have photographed my last client, I have edited my last portrait and I've uploaded my last gallery for the year 2007. Whew! What a year! Now it's time to do that dreadful tax thing. No, I haven't been keeping up with my records like I should. I do have everything in one neat little spot. It's just a matter of organizing it all. Blech! :-P

My number of week day and evening sessions will increase for the year of 2008. However, my number of weekend sessions will decrease. I'll be making a few changes to my pricing menu. Mostly the way that it will be structured. And of course, service is going to be even better than what it was in 2007! Woo hooo!

I want to thank my clients for a wonderful 2007. Be on the lookout for something coming to you in the mail. Thanks everyone for a wonderful 2007!

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

The Pressure is On!

I had a great time photographing this huuuuuuge family the other day. They all behaved so well and I wanted to let them know that I am so proud of them. hee hee hee.

This is one of the couples that were in the family. His Aunt S was really putting the pressure on him to make their relationship "official," with a ring. :-) The whole idea made him quite nervous. I figured I'd write about it and give him even more pressure. brohahaha. Mr. B, she's much too pretty to let go. :-P

Here are the three siblings from the family. These three were responsible for generating 15 of the 20 people that were photographed. :-) Don't cha just love big families? I'm so jealous. :-)

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

Laughing Out Loud!

I'm LOLing big time as I read my previous post. The part about being all caught up by Monday. HA! I'm even more behind now than what I was earlier. Sigh...

Little Miss S is looking the same way that I'm feeling. lol She really wasn't wanting to have her portrait created that Thanksgiving Eve. She simply wanted to enjoy her cousins and aunts and uncles that were visiting and to prove that she could do whatever she wanted since she's practically 1 year old now. :-)

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

Month a What!

I just wanted to show you what my month has been like. At least what it's felt like. I'm still trying to catch up on all of my sessions. Hopefully, I'll be all caught up by Monday and it should be smooth sailing from there.

I'm also in the process of deciding what my schedule for December will be. I will be posting that later so if you are wanting to get a session in at the last minute, I'll post my available dates on my website.

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

Strike a Pose!

These girls are from a recent family session that took place in Germantown in the morning sun. This created such a nice glow on the girls so I used no flash. 100% natural environmental setting.

As you can see, they were definitely ready. I had no problem getting them to pose. Just a little sneak peek of some of the girls. Well, the four that would cooperate with me. We won't discuss the other three. The moms know who I'm talking about! hahahahaha

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

Whew!

Well, one week down. One week to go. I have finally finished editing the photographs from my wonderfully patient clients from last week and now I need to start on this weeks. But first, I think I'll have a donut and some coffee. :-) lol

Sorry I have nothing to show from my recent sessions. My clients wish to not have their photos published on the web. I have to respect that. In the mean time, I do have one that I can show. I was practicing using my flash indoors. I have a flash and have probably only used it 10 times in the past 3 years. lol Anyway, I thought I'd give it a try and see how it comes out. I'm diggin it. What about you?

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

Where Has the Time Gone?

Wow! Things are spinning fast over here. Where am I? Who am I? hee hee hee Too much to do. Too little time. Hang in there. I shall return!

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray
CC Photography

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sigh...I'm so upset right now. I lost my phone service with AT&T/Cingular. Ever since AT&T took over we've had nothing but problems. We had service as long as you stood at our mailbox, but as soon as you came up the driveway, dead! No service in the house. Oh wait, we did have service in my bedroom closet and the laundry closet. If you held on to the metal door knob and hung out the back door at a 45 degree angle, you'd get service that way too! lololol

You'd think that with the amount of money we spend with them every month, they'd bend over backwards for us and want to keep us as customers. But, alas, no such thing. Hubby doesn't like Verizon (other problems) and the only other logical choice was Cellular South. They're an up and coming company that is trying their best to be able to play with the big boys.

I lost my number too. I've had that number for 5 years now? I know, I could have ported it over, but the way my significant other ended our relationship with AT&T...it would have been kind of ugly to port it over. lololol And I just didn't want to bother with it. lolol

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, it's because CC Photography has a new telephone number. You can find it on my Contact page of my website.

Good news is that I got my November newsletter out. Did you get yours? If not, email me and let me know. I'll get your personal copy to you ASAP. But darnit if I didn't lose my number AFTER I sent the letter out! lololol Oh well. Maybe you all that want portraits made for the photography special will simply email me. :-)

Have you have your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

It's Aliiiiiiiive!

Yaaaay meeee! I have tested, tested and tested again and I am proud to say that....

My new website it up! Woo hooo! Tell me what you think. It took a lot of sleepless nights and unfed kids to get this accomplished. :-) lol

Anyway, take a look. Don't forget to check out the News page. A really cool special on portrait photography is going on during November. This will be a great time to get in and have your maternity portraits made or have your family's portrait made for cards to pass out to family and friends during the up coming season.

Have you had your portrait created today?
Betty Gray
CC Photography

Things Have Changed!

It was killing me to get this blog changed over! I'm so loving the colors. Nice and fresh! But wait! That's not all. I have more changes to make, so stay tuned!

By the way, I'm feeling really good about my blog's look. I'm totally digging the header which is a scrapbook template made by a fellow blogger, Amy Bleser. So, if you can tell me how many changes I made and what they are, I'll give you that many 5x7s with your next regularly priced portrait session! Woo hoo! Yep, a freebie! Get to counting! See you soon. :-)

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray
CC Photography

Blue's Clues! I'm So Excited!

Okay, get out your Handy Dandy Notebook! Here's the second clue. Hee hee...Am I being mean or what? lol

This is just a snippet from what is soon to come. Can you guess what it is? Someone asked if I was pregnant. Well...hmmm...If I said yes...or no...that may give the clue away. So I won't say. lololol

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray
CC Photography

Something Good is Coming!

Something good is coming to your favorite Memphis Photographer. :-P Oooo...this is going to be so good. The only thing I have to share is the above picture. Can you guess what it is?

Hee hee...I'm so excited. Stay tuned!

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray
CC Photography

Friends!

Doesn't this photo remind you of Friends? Minus Chandler and Phoebe? Hahahaha. I totally love this shot. This was a great group of guys and gals to work with. We had a massive photo session out in Collierville, TN in their downtown area. The firemen were not busy and let us use their fire station as a backdrop.

I also had the chance to work with this young lady. Can you get any more photogenic than this? Great look, great personality. It was great working with you M. Hope to see you in the big lights! :0)

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray
CC Photography

Still Scrappin...

Just thought I'd share one of my latest pages. Nothing too fancy. Of course you all know by now that I'm pretty clean and simple when it comes to my work. KISS is my motto. Keep it simple, silly. lolololol

Anyway, I'm like way behind on my work now. Trying to catch up. Hopefully I'll have some portraits up from my recent sessions up soon. Until then, TTFN.

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray
CC Photography

Don’t Miss My Special “Family Portrait Month” Promotion!

This October CC Photography will participate with an elite group of photographers around the country in a very special family portrait promotion. Throughout October I will celebrate “Family Portrait Month.” This is a wonderful opportunity for you update your family portrait (or portraits of your children), and at the same time help to support Operation Smile, which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

Along with other studio members of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), I have pledged to contribute your session fee ($70) to PPA Charities, which has chosen Operation Smile as its charitable partner.

What’s more, I want you to benefit from this special donation:

Each family/child session during Family Portrait Month will receive one free 10x13 print of their choice.

I believe so strongly in the work of Operation Smile. Each year this incredible organization of more than 5,000 volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, and specialized health-care professionals, perform free reconstructive surgeries for children suffering with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. It costs only $240 to perform a life-changing cleft lip operation. More than 100,000 children are born with a facial deformity each year in Operation Smile’s 25 partner countries.

I hope you will join with me in helping to make this vital work possible. Don’t forget that the holiday season is right around the corner, so there’s no better time for a family portrait, which is always appreciated as gifts for family and friends and to send along with holiday greeting cards.

As always . . . I'm looking forward to creating memorable portraits of your family.

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray

Another to Share

Okay, so I just got chewed out about only posting one pic of the wedding. Sue me because I'm selfish and don't wanna share. lolol So here's another that has become a fav of mine. Don't you just love the almost kiss? Sooo sexy! hahaha

And this one is one of my favs of her getting all primped up for her big day. Isn't she just a beaut? I feel sooo old because I actually remember changing her diaper and one time her brother was sleeping on the couch and she had a poopy diaper and her sister and I put her and her stinky diaper on top of her brother's face while he was sleeping. It was soo funny. Well, it was when we were 12! lolololol

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty Gray

Wedding Bells

Whew! I'm STILL beat from this wedding on Saturday! I had the greatest time at this wedding. The family, the friends were all a hoot to be around. I've got a deadline to meet and have sooooo many photos to go through. So this is just a quick "drive by." hahahaha Here is one that so far is my fav. Is that a sexy silhouette or what? hee hee Smooches to you Q&A. Hope you're having fun in ATL.

Have you had your portraits created today?

Betty

Scrap Happy!

Okay, the scrappin bug has hit me once again. Except this time it's digital scrapping. So many items to download and choose from. I've gotten a few pages done these past couple of weeks and have them ready for print. I'm just tickled that I'm FINALLY able to do something with these pictures on my hard drive. :-P. Anywhoo...I just thought I'd share one that I finished recently. And yes, school is spelled wrong on purpose. That's the reason they're back in school! lololol

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Family Session in Germantown

I actually got the chance to work with America's Next Top Baby Model this past weekend. Is she too cute or what? It was so much fun working with baby S. Oh yeah, and her mom and dad too! :-P

So here's a sneak peak. The Diva, Baby S, gave me permission to photograph mom and dad by themselves too and that was a blast. Thanks Baby S. Smooches to you chunky boo!

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Post Wedding Reception

Wow! This was a great couple and family to work with. They eloped and got married in Maui a few months ago and are just now having their reception in Little Rock, AR. So romantic! Lots of pics to go through but here is a sneak peak. Thanks so much M & D and L for choosing me to capture this wonderful moment!

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Sharing Another

I just had to share another one of my little friend. I thought that this pic was the cutest of them all.

Have you had your portrated created today?

Betty

Another Cutie Has Earned His Stripe!

Where else could you find chubby cheeks like these? Only in Memphis, of course! hahahha Well, this cutie has earned his 1 Year Old Stripe! He's such a good baby. It was a hoot working with. Once again, I had to pull out the Advil. lolol I must get into better shape than what I am. Good grief. No one year old kid should wear me out like that. hahahahha

Anyway, thanks mom for letting me follow your little man for the past year. It's been a blast!

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

They're Making Me Do it!

Wow...for the past three years I have refused to photograph weddings. Yeah, I've had a friend or two that wanted me to do theirs at an ultra cheap rate and I did it. There have been a few times that I was a second shooter and even a time I was the fourth shooter. I've even taken classes with great masters on shooting weddings...TWICE! But I still refuse to be the responsible one for a wedding. That's a scary thought! Me? The whole wedding? Not just the candids of the function? The whoooooooooooole wedding? The whole thought of it makes me shudder! lololol

So I have this one person that begged and begged because she feared that "Uncle Lenny" was going to take over the whole photography end of her wedding. Sad to say I declined her offer to pay me whatever price I wanted. No way...uh uhnnn! Ever since then it has bugged me (i.e. hubby has been nagging that I missed out on a great opportunity to make a great deal of $$$!!! hahahahaha) that I didn't take her up on her offer.

Once again, I have been offered a chance to photograph a wedding. I thought about it and was like "totally, yeah!" So I got my contract together. Worded it enough to be up front, but not scary. (BTW...the contract looks soooo good! hee hee hee. I'm such a geek. lololol) Presented it to the bride and badda bing badda boom! It's done! Wooo hooo!

I have decided to only have one package one base price. This one package will cover up to "x" amount of hours, a 10x10 20 page leather flush mount bride's album, a 5x5 20 page hard cover coffee table book for bragging, 50 folded 4x5 custom thank you cards, engagement session and an online gallery for 90 days. Anything else that the bride may want can be added à la carte. The base price is non-negotiable. It is what it is. So if the bride decides that she doesn't want the thank you cards, it will not be deducted from the base price. However, if the bride does not want the thank you cards, but instead would like to have 10 4x5 prints, that can be done.

So, what do you think? Have I completely lost my mind? Will I live to regret this decision? Let me know what you think!

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Beautiful Babies Come From Memphis!

Okay, I have a baby planner and I just absolutely undoubtedly love to photograph! Baby "S" is the cutest! She was such a happy baby. She gave me a workout! I actually had to break out the Advil for the ole knees and back when I was done. hahahaha She was such a joy and I can't say enough great things about her. If her mom wanted me to photograph her everyday, I would definitely do it. It was such a fun session. I get to follow her milestones for the next few months. Yaaaay me! Can't wait till our next session. Thank you mom for allowing me the chance to capture one of the Mid-South's most beautiful babies! ;-)

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

1 is Such a Magical Number!

Wow! Who'd-a-thunk-it! This sweet little baby that would always smile and giggle for me when photographing her would turn out and be such an active chubby chunky that didn't want to have anything to do with me! lololol Ahhhhh...to be one year old again! lololol

This is the same baby that's my avatar in the upper right corner of my blog. She didn't care for me much today. Even after the gold fish crackers, the noise makers and my daughter helping me to make her laugh. The only time she felt comfortable was while she was with her brother or holding on to mom's hand.

But that's okay, I think I got some really cute ones. This is a sneak peek for Lady A's mom. More to come as soon as I get your gallery up and running! Enjoy!

And MAN! Don't you love that orange! I'm so thinking about changing my biz's colors! :-)

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Having a Senior Moment?

Yep, those Class of 2007 Seniors are finally outta here! Now it’s time to show how the class of 2008 Seniors can rule! Check it out in the Special Offers section at CC Photography!

Can you believe it? You’re almost done with high school! This year it's all about YOU! Start thinking about your senior photos before you’re back to school. I am offering a great photo opportunity to the first three that book their senior session with me. Details are in the Special Offers Section.

Be the first three Seniors that I photograph for the class of 2008. No creation fee for up to a 1 hour session, a whopping 50% discount on all portraits ordered and a free 10 page mini album to carry around with you to show off. (Terms and conditions do apply.)

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Preschool's a Blast

I had the wonderful chance to photograph some preschoolers the other day. It was so much fun. It reminded me of the days when I used to be a teacher's assistant. Working with these kids made me miss those days. Then I quickly remembered that I had a whole preschool/jr. high school waiting for me at home! That's enough! lol lol Anyway, this is one of the little cuties that I photographed. I kept it simple as usual. I love it when they give me eye contact. I know that the moms are going to love looking at these and looking into their child's eyes and feeling that their child is looking right at them. :-) Don't you just love that?

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Wub a Dub Dub

A small group of us photographers here in Memphis had another get together and this time had a couple of the cutest babies as models. We used different lighting modifiers. We use a soft box that was larger than life! I'm a tall gal, and this baby was HUGE! It had to have been at least 7 ft (2.1336 meters for my metric users! lol) tall. I'm not quite sure that I'll be investing in this monster. It was really cool though, but I can already envision my kids using it as their tent and popping their heads out of the little hole at the top (the hole that you put your light through) playing whack the mole! So, nahhhhh...I think I'll stick with my little portable brolly boxes that are easy to pack away and out of site of the little ones.

:-) hahahaha

In the mean time, hope you like the images I captured. This one is one of the first ones that I took. I was also the last person to photograph this baby so she was starting to get grumpy as there were 6 of us taking turns. She was such a good and happy baby. I love this shot of her, I only wish I could have positioned my camera over a few more inches in order to include her entire left side. But that's okay, because the expression she has is a killer! hahahahaaha I can't wait to see what everyone else got from her.

The second was supposed to be a bathtub scene. Most of you that follow me will know that I'm not a proppy (I know that's not a word, but hey...it's my blog! lol) person. So I kind of took the photo so that you would not see all of the props that were in the scene. But that IS a bathtub that she's sitting in. :-P Which was quite adorable...but I thought that she was waaaaaaaay more adorable than the tub. She was a true Diva. She posed, she grinned, she smiled, she showed us how it should be done.

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Rocky Grounds

I had to take a small trip early morning the other morning. By the time I was done with taking care of business my kids were at whits end in the car, so I found this Mickey D's that was in the middle of nowhere along the I40 and I decided to stop. Right next to it was a little picnic area with boulders and an empty lot full of rocks. It was a really great photo op on these boulders.Wish there was a way for me to drag them home. lol There were just too many distractions in the background that not even a low aperture and higher position would help. lol :-) I did get a few shots. I let the kids eat their "healthy" meals from there and then play it off by jumping on the boulders and throwing the rocks around. They had a good time and I'm so glad I had my good ole trusty Canon with me to capture this moment.

I hate to admit it, but this is one time I think Mickey D's was actually good for our family. hahahaha Because the kids played so hard in Mickey D's empty lot, they slept the rest of the way home. Of course by the time we got home, I was tired, but they were ready to go! lollollol


Have you had your portrait created today?


Betty

The High Key Experiment

Yesterday, I thought that I would try a new lighting hi key thingy that a local photographer friend told me about. She heard about this at the Image USA down in Texas back in January. I've always been told to have my background lights at least 2 stops above my key lights. Well, my friend has told me that one of the exhibits they showed how to have your background lights the same f/stop as your key lights. Why not? Good question, huh? Well, I tried it. On one very unwilling little boy and one that was overly willing! lol lol

I think that they came out pretty good. I shot them in RAW at ISO 100, SS 200, & F.9. My only problem was that originally I had them sitting on posing stools but they kept swinging around and pulling the lever to make themselves rise up. So I made them stand up, but I forgot to lower the background lights, which made me have to tweak the levels quite a bit. You could see an obvious difference from the height of the lights and where my little subjects were. Also, I used AB 800s for the background lights with no light modifiers on them. Only the 7 inch silver reflector that comes with them.

Also, you can see the tint on the paper background. I have no idea where a redish/pinkish tint came from. My walls are no where near being red. They're yellow, but not red. Maybe it's time to get a new background? But all in all, I think they came out pretty good. I'll be trying this on another baby session on Monday. We'll see how it goes.

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

My How Time Flies

I've been away for a while, but I have been taking pictures on a regular basis. Business has been slooooooow for the past two months, but is starting to pick back up again. This little cutie came and visited me again. This is the same one that you see as the top right avatar. She was barely 3 months in that photo. She has grown and has grown so fat! So cute. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Have you had your portrait created today?

Betty

Getting Back Into the Groove

Okay, I've been gone for waaaay too long. I have been taking photos though, just not like I wanted, but they got done! Anyway, here are the ones that I took while I was absent. Hope you enjoy. :-)

DD and her friend checking out books to help them learn to draw the characters in their soon to be released computer video game. lol


We hung out at Barnes & Nobles today. Kids had a blast. I passed out all of my business cards. lol Hmmmm...that last one looks a lot soft. Must have forgotten to sharpen for web. Sorry bout that.
Sorry, but I ran out of time for a photo for this day so I did the reverse lens thing and got this shot. Not as crisp as some of my others, but I think it came out pretty good. :-)
Got a new monitor from Dell. Yaaay. Not too fancy. This is my first LCD so I wanted to try it before I got the biiiiiiiiig one. If I like it, I'll probably give this one to the Family Computer and get myself a bigger and badder one. I love computer equipment! Rrrrrwwwr! lol


Another school day. The snow didn't last long so back on track with schooling!
It's that time of the month again. hee hee hee It's time for my sons to get their hair cut. For some reason, it was a much more pleasant experience. Maybe because they knew the camera was on them the whole time. Hey! Whatever works. It kept them from whining and crying and screaming that they're being killed by the clippers!

I've titled this on as "The Breakfast of Champions!" There are some mornings that it gets so hectic that this is all I'm able to get. I'm not complaining, because I love my coffee! lol lol



This the snow that we got. I think it only ended up being only an inch or so. I went out to take pics, but quickly realized that it was cold!!! I only got in a few shots before I came back inside. lol lol Hopefully, I'll get another chance and this time have myself winterized! lol lol