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Mother’s Day is this Sunday and, I don’t know about you, but it snuck up on me this year!  Apparently, I’m not the only one because I’ve been getting lots of husbands emailing in for last minute gift certificates for Mother’s Day. So, if you’re getting this email and you’re a husband, I’m just here to give you a little nudge because you pretty much can’t go wrong with a photography session as a Mother’s Day gift. Or, if you’re a mom, you might just want to drop a few hints like, “Ahem [loudly clearing throat]… Isn’t this beautiful spring weather just perfect for taking pictures with Jill? Oh, how funny, look at this newsletter I just got…” *wink*

Simply email us at info@jillcarmel.com or purchase your gift certificate HERE and we will email you one to print out and pop into a pretty little card, just in time to hear, “Oh my goodness…this is exactly what I wanted!!”

Ladies, have a wonderful Mother’s Day. I hope you get everything you deserve!

-Jill

Okay…get ready for a some obnoxious horn tootin’ because I’m a little bit proud of myself…If any of you were wondering why I was a little absent from the blog last year, it was because this little business o’ mine grew more last year than any other year. Want some proof? I was published a total of eight times in 2012 which is an all-time high for me. I’m so honored that my work was chosen to be featured in these awesome publications. And a big THANK YOU to the families who participated! You can see these plus earlier published works on my website’s “press” page.

Ha ha – I finally had some pictures taken of myself. I figured that since I cut all of my hair off I should at least have a new headshot!

Here’s a screen shot from my portrait website. What do you think?

Valentine’s Day is only four weeks away! Can you just imagine your kids passing out Valentine’s Day cards to their classroom friends that looked like this?

How cute would that be??? Just sayin’.

This is a also great opportunity for those families who didn’t have a chance to send out Christmas cards last year. You can still show your love by sending out a fun and colorful Valentine’s Day card!

We still have time to get your kids’ cute faces on these beautiful Tiny Prints cards. Give us a call at 916.933.8352 or shoot us an email at info@jillcarmel.com and we can create some oh-so-perfect images for your Valentine’s Day card.

P.S. – Click the code to see what other fun designs Tiny Prints is offering and use it to get 15% off: JAN15VAL

I’m pretty flattered that I was asked to be featured as guest writer on the Creative Motion Design blog this month. I wrote about Instagram for professional photographers. Scroll down to see an excerpt from the post.

Instagram for Professional Photographers

If you’re not already one of its over 100 million users, you’ve at least likely heard of this incredibly popular free mobile app that allows you to take a snapshot on your phone, throw a snazzy filter on it and share it with the world.

However, as a professional photographer, you should be picky about what marketing channels you are spending your efforts on to benefit your business. Is Instagram worth your time? Here are a few elements professionals can use to their advantage:

Click here to read more…

“Thank you.”  Two words not said enough AND everybody loves free stuff, so I thought I’d share this “secret sale” going on at Tiny Prints right now for ten free “thank you” cards.

The sale ends on September 19th, 2012, so get ‘em while they’re hot! Just click the image below to go to visit the Tiny Prints website:

These cards can be completely customized and personalized to your tastes. Choose from thousands of designs, add pictures, change the text, the fonts, the colors — you get to make them however you like.

Enjoy!

Jill

It’s officially September, the kids are back in school and the Labor Day holiday is behind us which means…the holiday schedule for fall and winter sessions is now open and we are announcing the long-anticipated upcoming mini-session dates!

If you’d like to schedule a FULL SESSION, please call or email me and we’ll reserve a spot for you on the calendar. If you’re expecting a baby within the next few months, contact us with your due date so that we can pencil you in. Please keep in mind that if you’re wanting pictures in time for holiday gift-giving, your photography session will need to take place prior to NOVEMBER 15th.

Hope to see you soon!

Jill

The Spring Mini-Sessions sold out super fast, so we’re opening up one more day this week for the morning of Saturday, April 7th at the Capitol in Downtown Sacramento. We have a few spots still open, so shoot me an email if you’d like to reserve one! The weather looks like it’s going to be BEAUTIFUL!

And if you didn’t already have a reason to smile today, I dare you not to smile when you see this face!

I’ve found that the more I know, the more I realize I don’t know, so I’m always hungry for learning. Since starting my business, I have invested in at least one major educational experience every year, just to make sure that I’m continuously growing as an artist, as well as being able to offer my customers something new and fresh. With that in mind, I took a little trip down to San Diego this week to attend, what I consider to be, THE best workshop in the country when it comes to photographing newborn babies. Our teachers, Carrie and Brit, have been doing this for years now and have it down to a science. Here is just a handful of what I came away with from the two days that I spent with them in their natural light studio.

Here’s a wide-shot of all of the attendees watching Carrie and Brit set up for the last shot of the day (the one of the baby with the little bear cub hat on in the grass above). It was a whirlwind of learning, and I am excited to be back with a bunch of new “tools in my belt”. I hope to share some of them soon since my calendar is covered with due dates!

Until then,

Jill

Well, it looks like this warm weather is here to stay, so that means it’s time for the Spring Mini-Sessions! Here are our mini-session dates:

Saturday, March 24th | 9am – 12pm SOLD OUT
[State Capitol]

Saturday, April 14th | 9am – 12pm SOLD OUT
[Land Park]

Here’s how our mini-sessions work:

Session Fee: $50
Includes:
20 minute session for up to four people (each additional person is $15)
10-12 retouched images to view and select from
*Digital images, prints and products may be purchased separately.

Mini-sessions are perfect for capturing a quick set of updated pictures of the family or a nice “get-to-know-you” if you’re trying us out for the first time.

Spaces are limited and are reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. If you’re interested in a reserving a spot, email us at info@jillcarmel.com with your preferred date. Please be prepared to pre-pay for your session slot so that we may hold it for you.

I hope to see you there!

Jill