Shutting down

Hi folks. I will no longer be running PaulaS Photography as a business. I have been accepted to UM and will begin the long road to my DPT, I also decided to go back to work full time which just doesn't leave any time for this... Although I do love photography it is not a profession nor a venture that generally sustains ones family, although it was fun and I was always busy I'm going to chase that salary ;-) Of course, like so many other locals, I will still be doing this as a hobby and charging in accordance.

All photo shoots $50 1 +/- hour and 15+ pics on a CD

And the winners are....

I'd like to start by saying this was such a difficult decision and I'm so glad I had people to help me out! I don't know if I could have chosen between them on my own, hehe. Thank you to everyone that submitted photos and to those that voted as well, this was terrific fun and I'll have to do another in the future!

First place determined by judges goes to:
Rachel and her pet Atticus!

Second place with the most "likes" goes to:
Mike and his pet Melvin!

I look forward to working with both of you and have some great ideas brewing! You have 3 months in which to use your prize and you can schedule from this blog, my email (at support@paulasmithphotography.com) or by calling me at 240-3125.

As a token of my appreciation to those who took the time to enter their lovely pets, I will be giving you all 10% off of my light package or 2 extra 5x7 prints with the light package!

Once again, thank you to all of my contestants and voters, you all made this so much fun!

Waylon

My daughter and I were taking a walk one day and happened upon a helpless little puppy. He has been thrown out as if he were garbage and left to die, fortunately by a strike of luck he would not die. At first I was unsure if he would make it past the night but I warmed him and did my best to get some water and nutrition into his little body. He made it through that night and every one since, it was not an easy road to recovery from him fearful malnourished road but the hard work paid off and we now have to pleasure to say that a wonderful little mutt has made his way into my family. The little guy began his days with us as a helpless little lump that barely even moved. The days passed, then weeks and finally he was up and moving! It was so joyous to see him coming around and beginning to play. Today he is almost 3 months old (approx. according to the vet) and lively as ever! He no longer bolts at every noise and is not fearful of the outdoors or people.   He just runs, barks and plays as if nothing ever happened to him.

If you click on a photo it brings up a viewer which will allow you to go through in a slide show like setting.

Here is a series of photos of one strong little boy, this is our Waylon:

I started taking pictures about a week after he arrived in our care.

The beginning looked a lot like this.

But as time passed he began to grow stronger.

Teeny, tiny little paws.

And he became stronger yet!

Not a fan of photos while he is trying to sleep ;-)

What a face.

He have become such a wonderful part of the family!

 Today he's running around and playing so

 you would never guess he had such a rough start.

Hope you enjoyed!

Send some love his way! Comments may be left here, on my FB or by email.

Cutest Pet Contest!

The contest is now underway!


Rules:

E-mail your favorite picture of your pet (or you&your pet/your kids&pets) along with your name, pets and kids names, email and phone number. I will begin a new photo album for the contest and there will be a corresponding blog post as well. There will be two winners and two ways to win.

#1 winner - Cutest photo as judged by me and a panel of impartial judges. You win $40 towards any session! ($80 towards exquisite package)

#2 winner - Most likes of course! You win $20 towards any session! ($40 towards exquisite package)

Rules are as follows:

You must have "liked" my page to enter, anyone may enter except those who have won a contest previously.

Anyone voting on your picture by "liking" it must also have clicked like on my photography page before voting.

Voting and judging will commence on Mon the 9th, entries will close on Sun the 8th at 8:00 PM.

If you would like to be on the judging panel please email me at support@paulasmithphotography.com, you must not have entered the contest or know anyone who has.

If you do not want your or your child's name displayed please specify in your entry email.

Be sure to share the contest! This will help you gain votes also.

Here is the blog post, as promised! We have some very cute pets to choose from, that's for sure and I have a feeling that there will be more before submissions are closed. I extended the date by a week because I was not able to give any attention to the contest on the week I had planned due to an unfortunate family emergency. I thank you all for your patience.

It looks like a lot of people did not pay mind to the contest rules and have been liking the pictures early, it's ok, that's great! It just means you're all excited ;-) I don't mind. What I will be doing though, is taking all the pictures down at the end of the 8th and uploading them again so that it is fair. I will leave voting open until Friday the 13th so that all of your friends may vote by "liking" your photo.

Don't forget to tell your friends to hit like for my photography page before they vote! If they don't, their vote won't be counted.

Okay, here are the entries:

Rider

Atticus 

Melvin 

Hank 

Indy 

Sonya 

Talisman

Monster

Pepper and Kodie

 Louie

 Dudlee

Questions or comments may be emailed to support@paulasmithphotography.com

New Session Structure

Hello! I have been promising this blog post for some time now, I know, I know. I have been very busy and I am not just saying that to pawn off my behavior. So here is what you have all been waiting for! My new session and pricing structure.

Light Session Package - Introductory price $100 (regular 115)
1-hour session  - 10 edited proofs
10 - 4x6 prints and 1 - 8x10 print
OR
5 - 4x6  2 - 5x7 and 1 - 8x10 print
Adding digital copies - $100

Standard Package - Introductory price $150 (regular 175)
1 1/2-hour session  -  20 edited proofs
10 - 4x6  10 - 5x5/5x7 and 2 - 8x10 prints
Adding digital copies - $200

Premium Package - Introductory price $260 (regular 285)
2-hour session  -  30 edited proofs
20 - 4x6  15 - 5x5/5x7  4 - 8x10 and 1 - 11x14 prints
Adding digital copies - $300

Exquisite Package - Introductory price $450 (regular 500)
3-hour+ session  -  50+ edited proof book
30 - 3.5x5/4x6  20 - 5x5/5x7  6 - 8x8/8x10  2 - 11x14 and a 16x24 metallic, foam mounted print with a high gloss finish. This print also has pre-drilled holes for ease of hanging.
For this package you may choose to have your pre-session consultation on a different day from your shoot.
This package also includes a proofing session.
Adding digital copies - $500

Every session will come with a pre-session consultation. All digital images come on a flash drive instead of a CD.

I will now be focusing on providing the most personalized, high end pet photography service possible. I will be take a VERY limited selection of people only sessions, if at all. I feel that my service was becoming too "marketable" and less specialized. There are many, many photographers in this city and a lot of them offer you some good photos at a good price. To me personally that is just being average, no offense whatsoever to them, it is not a criticism in any way I promise. I will be focusing on providing each and every customer with the best, most extensive personalized photography possible and making your experience superb. I am still offering a wide range of custom print options (canvases, metal prints, etc). I will also create custom packages to meet your specific needs.

I am so committed to providing your family an above and beyond service that I will now be offering a 100% satisfaction guarantee If you are now satisfied with your photographs I will give you a refund for 1/2 of your package price!

Revisiting

I wanted to revisit some of my previous sessions because I have some new editing techniques I wanted to give a whirl. I thought I'd share a few with you. As always, just click on the picture to view it larger.

Enjoy and feel free to leave comments.

(Please note that these are not final products or examples of my work, these are just for fun.)

Dogs in B&W. I added a sun kissed look in the top right corner.

Pound mutts are the best dogs in the world!

Little mini.

Playing with eye enhancements.

Added more snow, blizzard!

That's all for tonight! If you want to see more, email me. I will post more if there is demand for it. 

As always, thanks for looking!

-Paula-

Changes!

Okay folks, on top of my website changes I will be changing... well basically everything (<---- exaggeration). I have, in the past, opted for the standard photographer session fees. Then you have prints, then you have this, then you have that. Well I, and I believe some of my clients, am completely fed up with this system. I will now be converting all of my pricing and sessions into comprehensive packages in order to make things go much more smoothly in addition to not frying your brain trying to decide on photos! I will still offer specialty prints, extra individual prints and other things. I feel that I have not made my offerings unique enough for my personal take on life. I want to provide a service that I would want to use! Do not worry, this is not a "how can I get money out of people" change. It is, however, a "how can make my services BETTER" change.

Have suggestions you are dying to share? Fire away.

Thank you all for your support and patience with all of this.