Merry Christmas!

We wish everyone a wonderful and safe holiday season. Although the predicted storm may cause some changes to plans, we hope you enjoy the beauty of the season and take time to reflect on the gifts life has brought you this past year.

Our holiday hours are:

Christmas Eve 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Christmas Day Closed

New Year's Eve 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

New Year's Day Closed

Santa Day

Our Santa day fundraiser for autism was a success and a lot of fun! We'd like to thank everyone who came in for photographs, as well as Jim Shimek for his help. We have posted some of the images from Saturday, enjoy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to count our blessings and to thank you for your support. We hope you had a wonderful holiday surrounded with friends and family and continue to enjoy the celebration through the weekend!

Studio Portraits with Santa!

Join us Saturday, December 5th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for portraits with Santa! They make wonderful holiday gifts. Photographs will be taken at Carlson Studio and 50% of the proceeds will benefit the NL-S Autism Program. Join us for holiday fun and treats! A special thank you to Jim and Julie Shimek for all their help!!!!!

Family Time

As the Holiday season draws closer, families are beginning to make plans for celebrating the festivities together. Thanksgiving time has been always been popular for having group portraits done in the studio. Christmas is the following month, making cards and portraits wonderful family gifts. Gift certificates are also a great idea; we do several sessions around the Christmas and New Year holidays when families are together as well. It's a wonderful time of year to update your family portraits and capture the warm memories of the season!

Frigid Fall!

It has been a very cool fall so far! Rain, snow and wind have impacted the amount of fall sessions we've completed this year. Luckily there are still beautiful colors on the trees around the area. We feel optimistic that the precipitation will slow and we'll be able to get outdoors. We have rearranged the schedule to accomodate sessions that have been rained (or snowed) out and feel confident that high school seniors and families will have the chance for a beautiful fall background in their portraits.

Boudoir

We are excited to introduce our new boudoir sessions! Most will be done during the evening when we are closed to walk-in clients. We offer individual sessions as well as small groups. Our parties offer special discounts for the hostess who may invite 4-10 guests. Each guest's session may be photographed privately and all previews are viewed from your own home. The parties are a wonderful idea for a girl's night out! The hostess may bring beverages an hors d'oeuvres and our staff will serve the party. Style of photography is up to each client; we want you to feel comfortable, have a great experience and have finished images that reflect the essence of your beauty.

Team Effort

During one of our recent senior sessions, we both had the opportunity to photograph the same client. She came in two seperate days for portraits, and had a different photographer each time. We were thrilled with the variety of poses and ideas we were able to offer the senior. She was also happy to have the two different experiences and styles. We hope to collaborate on more sessions in the future; it was a great situation for all involved!

Dress Up

Special occasions and holidays go by so quickly. Many times a special outfit or dress is involved with the festivities. When the party is over, what happens to the exquisite clothing involved? Many times it's packed away, handed down or sold to someone else. Why not document the occasion with photographs?

Your Stuff

With senior photos in full-swing, we're doing a lot of "your stuff" sessions. These are a great way to capture the sports or hobbies you are into. Seniors are invited to bring in sports equipment, books, musical instruments, pets, hunting gear, dance costumes, vehicles, etc. We can combine all your interests in one session or focus on just one or two. Either way, it's a great way to capture the things that are important to you!

New Greeting Cards!

It seems early, but families will soon be coming in to order their holiday greeting cards from the portraits we have created over the past year. We are excited to have some new designs to offer! A talented graphic artist (and friend), Christa McDermott, has created a book of wonderful cards for the upcoming season. It may take two weeks to receive your order; cards should be ordered by early December to get them sent out by Christmas.

Personalize your portraits

When we photograph a client, we strive to portray his or her personality. Portraits should tell a story; whether it's an emotion, a personality trait or a specific hobby. It's a way to document the present to preserve for the future. Technology has given us new tools over the years to create truly one-of-a-kind images. Discussing with our clients what they would like as an end product gives us an idea of how we can personalize it to become a unique creation to display in their homes.

Fall is upon us

It is already nearing the end of August and a new school year is quickly approaching! We have noticed early signs of fall this year such as the sumac changing color and some of the leaves beginning to turn yellow. Outdoor fall sessions are very popular for families and seniors, and they're booking up fast! We have several locations with beautiful color around the area to photograph at. Usually the second week in October is our last week for outdoor photos; with the early changes it may be sooner this year. To capture the beauty of the fall colors, an appointment should be scheduled soon.

New babies

We have photographed many newborn babies through the years; this has become a very popular session! Capturing the tiny hands, feet and expressions is such a great way to document the new baby's first few months. This session can be done anytime during the first year, but many prefer to do it shortly after birth. Marti recently photographed this session and we were thrilled with the infants expressiveness and the warmth captured among the family members.

Be Unique

There are may ways to give your photographs a unique touch. Different clothing styles and choices of backgrounds or locations give you endless possibilites. Adding special effects to the finished image can also set it apart and add creativity. In this session, many of the finished images were in color. The young girl's shirt had beautiful decoration at the bottom, which made for a great selectively-colored portrait. What a great way to add variety to your wall!

Families

August is just around the corner! It's hard to believe summer is going by so quickly; fall will be here soon. Now is a wonderful time to update your family portraits. We have many popular outdoor locations for family groups, as well as several indoor backgrounds. For the 2010 graduates: we are still offering the buddy session FREE when you schedule your senior portraits to be done in August. Family portraits are wonderful heirlooms and gifts to give for special occasions throughout the year.

Seniors.....Online!

We have tried something new for seniors this year, and we've had wonderful feedback! If previews are returned on time, we email the images you order from for use on your website or mp3 player. It has been a great way to share senior photos with friends and relatives who live a distance away. We are excited to offer this incentive to the class of 2010!