Diane Schuller, Your All Occasion Custom Photographer

Since July and August were extremely busy for me, I missed posting several previews. All of the clients have received all their proofs but since I was concentrating on keeping my head above water with the workload, preview posts really did get set by the wayside. One couple I photographed last month were such a joy, I’m backing up and sharing a few photos from that session.

S bought his beautiful wife A a gift certificate for a custom photo session for her birthday. They live in a beautiful rural setting and are building a new home so we spent the entire time taking advantage of the lovely surroundings. We also drove to a couple different locations so there is a great variety of  images to create a lovely portrait book.

From the moment A stepped outside I knew this would be a great photo session. She was wearing that cute dress with a flashy pair of cowboy boots! I love when someone has their own sense of style and fun. Speaking of fun, S is bursting with energy and antics as you can see. Now you can see part of the reason why I enjoyed my time with these two.

Many of these images were captured as the sun was setting so those ones have that darker but warm hue, much like a comfy sweater.

I had fun playing around making some of the storyboards as well, though the possibilities are nearly limitless for different combinations. If you’re looking for a photographer in the Grande Prairie, Edmonton, or Peace region in northern Alberta, I hope you’ll keep me in mind or pass this post on to friends. We could have as much fun as the evening spent with this lovely couple.

~ ~ ~
Photographs Never Forget! Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

Time is running out, book now for fall photos. I only have a few spots left.

“To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.” ~Milan Kundera

Pretty much sums up my afternoon — I desperately needed a break.

~ ~ ~

Photographs Never Forget! Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

I had the pleasure of photographing a truly wonderful couple and their two dogs. Although there are some incredibly fun photos of this playful couple, I’m posting some of the quiet moments first.

This first trio of photos I put on a sample storyboard — just thought these three fit nicely together. I wish I had more ‘play’ time because I love creating storyboards and putting together design pages. For some I use templates I have purchased and others I design myself. This is a nice little sample though, don’t you think? The perky little dog is Chewy and that noble looking Great Dane is Eva. The handsome couple are A & S.

I had such an enjoyable time with this couple. They were also a delight to photograph. I’ll likely post a few more from their session in a day or two. For today, here is one more photo of Chewy and one artistic photo of Eva.

~ ~ ~

Photographs Never Forget! … Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

It’s already time to start booking for fall photos. I will be taking a very limited number of bookings this fall so contact me today to ensure you get a spot. I will also be running a special for all 2010 clients who wish to order Christmas cards for this year. Watch my newsletter and this photo journal for details.

Meet my tree hugger. Some people might call me a tree hugger because of my strong views on caring for our planet and ourselves, but most people don’t think of dogs as tree huggers. Well, if we take the term literally you can see one of my dogs truly is a tree hugger. I’m sharing this because, the dog in this photo is actually very unwell at the moment. We rushed her to the vet yesterday and, though she’s not yet out of the woods (no pun intended), she seems to be likely making a recovery. The other reason I posted this particular photo of her is because this photo has been picked up by Canwest and will likely be printed in The Edmonton Journal this week.

Since I brought up the environment, I realized I haven’t shared links for my environment column, Everyday Earth Wise, for a long time. It does appear in print each week in the Peace Country Sun newspaper and then a week later, each column is posted online. Here are a couple of the recent columns you may be interested in, but you can always view the archives online to check out other topics:

“Tips to Becoming a Lifelong Clothes Pegger”

“Serving Up Some Compost Tea”

“Greenwashing is Everywhere These Days”

Speaking of trees, they are already beginning to change colour. You know what that means! Fall photo sessions are the busiest time of year. Since they are popular and because I really limit the number of photo sessions I take on, dates book up quickly. If you’re thinking of having a fall photo session, contact me today to book for your colourful autumn photo session (whether you’re one person, a couple, or a family — and yes, we can definitely include your dog(s) or horse(s) too!).

~ ~ ~

Photographs Never Forget!  Keeping memories alive with custom portraits and albums.

Outdoor weddings are my favourite, although the season up here is short for such fine days as this. As I drove home through Beaverlodge after this pretty wedding there were already yellow leaves gathering along the curbs and windblown across the streets even while the overall picture appears green.

I love photographing the details.

The bride and her bridesmaids had gorgeous hairstyles done earlier in the day. Their hair was like art.

In many ways, I feel that these quiet moments prior to the ceremony itself are just as important and memorable as the rest of the day.

Very dapper groomsmen and groom (on the right) with classy boutineers. The bride selected gorgeous flowers.

Pretty bride, attentive groom, and look at that amazing gown — stunning. This is the second wedding in a row in which the dresses worn by the bridesmaids were also stunning. Look at the vibrant red of these ones.

Another bride & groom who will be getting a custom designed wedding portrait book as a keepsake of their wedding day.
~ ~ ~

Photographs Never Forget! … Keeping memories alive with custom albums and portraits.

Custom albums are the ideal way to tell the story of your wedding day. Any professional photographer involved in wedding photography considers an album an important element of the full service. The sad thing these days is that so many couples purchase a disk of images with the intention of printing their own photos or making their own book. I’ve talked to several photographers and individuals and have learned that most couples simply put a few photos on their Facebook account, then keep the disk stored in a drawer or corner somewhere. What’s even more unfortunate is that, because life gets busy or other priorities take over, that book is never created and most couples never print any of their photos. What a shame.

A professionally designed album of your wedding day is a tangible item you can open anytime and reflect upon the memories and special moments of that special day. A quality album lasts for years becoming a treasured family heirloom that can be handed down and shared with future generations. Think about when you flipped through your parents wedding album and then consider your own children doing the same one day. Disks fail and, especially if prints are never made, what a shame to have those once-in-a-lifetime moments gone, except in memory.

If you’re looking for professional photography in the Grande Prairie area, or any location/destination, contact me to discuss availability and details. I’d love to photograph your special day, capturing moments and your personal story that will live on in your custom wedding album.

If you are one of those couples who have a disk hidden under a pile of papers somewhere, contact me to inquire about getting those images in a beautiful custom album or custom hardcover book. You have a choice of the custom designed flush mount albums or a more traditional type of matted albums in different styles you can choose from with prices starting at $400 and up (2010 prices). I also offer Portrait Books or traditional albums for parents, family, or friends at lower price points. These other albums and books make a memorable and classy thank you gift for those who shared in or helped create your special day. (Albums and books come in a wide range of sizes and cover options — even a mini is better than none at all.)

The following is a photo collage demonstrating a 20 page 10″x10″ wedding Book (the flush mount albums have full spreads whereas the books are individual pages). This also shows how multiple photos can be incorporated to better tell the story of your special day, although using fewer photographs better showcases your favourites.

A WIDE variety of styles and designs are available from plain & simple (featured above), modern, or traditional options. Quotes or captions may be incorporated. With some of the designs, colour blocks to match the wedding colours are another option. There are many possibilities and each album is entirely unique — custom designed to your desires.

~~~
Photographs Never Forget! … Keeping memories alive with custom albums and portraits.

The McL family has been patiently waiting for a preview. As I was deciding which to post for this peek from the session, I got carried away because I wanted to share lots of them. So I’ve shaved down my selections, reducing the numbers to just a few teasers.

It was a really hot day but we had some nice open shade in much of their backyard. K obviously has a great interest and talent in gardening. She had a gigantic red begonia that would be the envy of any gardener, strawberries nearly ripe and ready for eating, a pond, and some interesting ornamental plants that I hadn’t seen before. My entire time with this family was so enjoyable. Of course, I always love photographing children and sure enjoyed the intelligent and interesting B and his sister S, who loves cars and posing.

B may look serious in this first image, but he’ll easily shift from serious to giggles, as you’ll see below where he’s playing with his dad.

Little S also seems to enjoy Sweet Williams, or does that far away look mean she’s thinking of cars, I wonder.

Or maybe she was thinking of sharing the flowers with her mom.

Thank you so much K and C for inviting me to your home and getting to spend some relaxing time with your family. I really enjoyed getting to know your children and being a shadow in your backyard. I have some lovely images to share with you very soon.

10×20 storyboard

~~~
Photographs Never Forget! … keeping memories alive with custom albums & portraits.

As a writer, I am aware of the tremendous power of words. The right words can make a huge impact. How many of you can recite key phrases from historical speeches (Martin Luther King’s, “I have a dream”) for instance? Or perhaps you have a line or two from a song you can’t get out of your head. How about an advertising line or jingle you remember through the decades (Pepsodent’s, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent”). Of course, there are many slogans that immediately come to mind such as Nike’s “Just Do It”, Wonderbra’s “We care about the shape you’re in”, Clairol’s, “Only her hairdresser knows for sure.”, or perhaps Avis’, “We try  harder.”

The reason I’ve raised this topic is because, as some of you have likely already noticed, I’ve incorporated a tag line to tie in with my branding. I didn’t make a formal announcement about it for a few reasons plus I wanted to test it out first. I’ve decided that, although the tag line I was thinking of using, “Photographs Never Forget!” projects a message, it wasn’t entirely complete. Tag lines should convey a message to the reader but also should sum up what I am trying to convey about my business. I knew it needed something more. I’ve come up with what I feel is “the more” and I’d love your feedback.

I should share one more wee tidbit before I share with you my proposed, completed tag line for your feedback. I am trying to ensure that people who read it now and in the future understand a couple things that set me apart from some of the other photographers, especially in this digital world. I feel what I’ve come up with works in a single, memorable sentence though I’m struggling with two versions. That’s why I’d love your feedback, even though I do feel one is better than the other — I want to know what YOU think. So, without any more delay, let me introduce you to my tag line:

“Photographs Never Forget!
… keeping memories alive with custom albums & portraits.”

“Photographs Never Forget!
… memories alive in custom albums & portraits.”

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.” ~Gilda Radner

Those of us with dogs, cats, or any pets feel the same as Gilda.

If you have learned your pet is nearing the end of its life, consider a Pet Bereavement Session in which I tastefully and thoughtfully capture the special bond between you and your pet.

Since time can sometimes be compressed when we learn of a terminal diagnosis, I do my best to accommodate an emergency session if it’s deemed necessary. I understand that special place in our hearts we have for our pets so I’m particularly aware of how a pet bereavement session can be comforting for creating a beautiful keepsake of your pet. The session is dealt with compassion and sensitivity. Images from these sessions are not posted publicly unless requested by the family.

Please share this information with your friends and family (the “email a friend” button below to the right will make it convenient). If you would like further information regarding the Pet Bereavement session, please contact Diane (using the contact tab above).

{Available anywhere from Edmonton north for Pet Bereavement, in the Grande Prairie region, and north as far as Grimshaw.}

~~~

Photographs never forget. I can help you keep your memories alive. Contact me at photos @ dianeschuller . com (remove spaces) or use the contact tab above.

There are advantages to living in a small rural community — it gives people like me a chance to start small. I’m pleased to announce my first photographic gallery show & sale. And, there is a second one planned (which was booked before this upcoming show) at our local library in August. I’ll give details on that one later. Here’s the 411 for those who may be interested:

The Beaverlodge Area Cultural Society is one of the major attractions in Beaverlodge. They support a very active arts community and conduct a variety of workshops in many different art forms. My gallery show opens on June 27th and continues through to July 23rd, 2010. If you are in the Grande Prairie / Beaverlodge area during that time, I hope you’ll stop by. You’ll find the building quite interesting as well, not to mention their lovely gift shop and tea room.

Oh, you’re probably curious about what the theme is for my first gallery show: “life’s sweet ordinary”.

“Photographs Never Forget!”