Diane Schuller, Your All Occasion Custom Photographer

Two quick things today. First, a simple reminder that I do sell some my own photographic art if you’re looking for something beautiful for your home or office. Photographic prints can be purchased as mounted prints ready for framing; already matted & framed; or for a real classic look they can be ordered as a canvas gallery wrap. The fine art photo above would be ideal for printing on canvas. In a range of subject matter, these also make great gifts for anything from: corporate gifts, employee reward program, farewell gifts for employees, Christmas or birthdays, or as a housewarming. A gift certificate for a custom lifestyle photo session also makes an excellent gift whether as a corporate gift or for a family member.

The second reminder is a show-and-tell of my press printed portrait books. If there are several photos from your photo session that you really need to have and you don’t have room on the walls for all of them, the portrait books are an excellent and cost-effective option. Besides, they look beautiful for showing off on your coffee- or end-tables. And the bonus, they last for years so you can look back on them with pride enjoying those great memories. Here is a sample of one of the many cover options (photo covers also available). This is one of the gorgeous floral covers that gleams something like a hologram, depending upon how the light hits it. A variety of leathers are also available for the covers. Of course, inside are your beautiful photos. I can design a lovely set of page formats especially for you — and you can include some of your favourite quotes as well, if you like. These also make great gifts for grandparents or parents — far more tangible and beautiful than a fleeting image on a computer screen.

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

“The fence that makes good neighbors needs a gate to make good friends” ~ Anonymous

Think of all the beauty that’s still left in and around you and be happy! ~ Anne Frank

Check out some of the previous posts — especially the last one with some lovely canine photos.

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

• It’s time to book for fall portraits!
• Be sure to take photos of your child(ren) as they get ready and head back to school.
• Sign up for my monthly newsletter for tips and ideas with your own photos.

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.

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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.

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.

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

I can’t help but post just a few more images from the July 17th wedding (located near Bezanson). I really enjoyed myself and being around such warm and fun-loving people must have been part of the reason for that. Sandy & Travis live on a lovely acreage and I love that they also included horses in their ceremony. As all the guests arrived, there was a pair of draught horses hitched to a large and comfy wagon to transport people from the vehicle parking area up to the ceremony location. Once one wagon full of guests was delivered to the ceremony site, the horse drawn wagon headed back to pick up another group of people.

The bride arrived by a lovely horse drawn carriage and, after the ceremony, the bride and groom were taken back to the receiving line area in that same well appointed horse drawn carriage. The Patterson’s horses were beautifully groomed, their tails plaited with flowers coordinating with the wedding colours, and also had hearts (in the wedding colours) applied to their barrels (that’s the side of a horse). Here are a couple images of the bride and groom as they were being driven away from the ceremony site to the receiving line area.

And this one I added a vintage touch, especially because it reminds me of riding off into their new life together as husband and wife (instead of riding off into the sunset ).

If you have followed the previous posts of this wedding, you’ll know that this couple and their friends and family are definitely a fun-loving bunch. See!

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Photographs Never Forget! … keeping memories alive with custom albums and portraits. (I’m looking forward to putting the album together for this fun and loving couple!)

I promised to share some of the wonderful images taken by my second shooter, Kristen Bass, from the July 17th wedding (please check out her website). I am so pleased with them so here are a few teasers. You’ll see that she had a fun group of guys to work with as they got ready before the ceremony. The groom doesn’t appear to be very nervous …

And the groomsmen were having an equal amount of fun …

Look at the great job Kristen did with these ones. Although in this one with the cars, one of the guys has his eyes closed or squinting, I couldn’t resist because of the great stance taken by the groom! She created & captured some unique moments.

I love this one.

I am very confident in recommending Kristen whether as a second shooter or primary photographer. I was quite fortunate to have her work with me for this wedding.

I had the pleasure of photographing Sandy & Travis’s wedding this past weekend. What a wonderful day being around such warm and loving people — Sandy & Travis, and their families as well. Beautiful people.

While I was at the bride’s parents home as the bride and her ‘ladies’ were getting ready, I had a creative second shooter busy with the groom and his groomsmen. I’ll show you a few of her amazing photos next week when I’m back in town but in the meantime, if you’re in need of a very capable second shooter, check out Kristen’s portfolio on her website, KAJ Photography. I’ll write more next week.

And here is the handsome groom getting the very first glimpse of his beautiful bride.

As you can see we had incredible weather. In fact, I got heat stroke, but no one knew of course — there was an important day to chronicle!

So many wonderful memories for me of that day so I know Sandy & Travis will be able to relive their special day through the many photographs taken that day. I’ll trickle a few more next week sometime. Both families are really talented on the dance floor as well, not to mention some fine singing and guitar playing. Weddings are so joyful!

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

“All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography” ~ Frederico Fellini

It’s late; it’s been a hot day; busy too. So I’m not really inspired with any clever titles. I’ve been playing around a bit … as you will see. I hope you enjoy this trio.

I love taking photographs of cars. I was thrilled last year when asked to do this photo shoot. In another week I will be photographing this couple’s wedding!
These first two images I played around and added some artistic touches but the last one is simply a classic black & white.

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Photographs Never Forget!