Hey Class of 2009…..Last Call!!!  If you still need your portraits done, or if you were not happy with who you went to last year, call or email now for last available sessions.  Spring Break is almost here.  Also, we have great ideas for you for announcements and albums for your graduation parties.  Special gift package BONUS for the first 10 sessions that book from this notice.  Use promo code SENIOR09LASTCALL.  Email bcool@northbayportraitdesign.   Be sure to see our Facebook page. 

Weighing in at 5lbs. 10oz., baby Kiera was welcomed into the world on January 22nd.  After a few weeks at home, she was photographed for the first time with mom, dad and her older brother and sister.  Everyone was so excited that Kiera is doing so well and bringing joy to the family.  Here are some images of the newborn session photographed at home.   Kiera’s prenatal session is a few posts back.  Congratulations mom and dad!!  Enjoy the images.

A long distance relationship - a true love story.  Lyn is from the Phillipines and has been residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for the past few years.  Eric has made a few trips over, one of them to propose.  Lyn arrived in the states in October and was welcomed with open arms….and cold Cleveland weather.  Their wedding was just held recently in January on probably the coldest day in recent history.  Wind chills were around -15, but it was warm inside with all the family and friends who attended the wedding.  Everything went smoothly during the day despite the weather.  Wonderful church architecture provided a stunning view as Lyn and Eric took their vows.  It was a pleasure to hear your stories on how you met and be there to photograph your special day.  Best of luck to both of you.  Here are a few images from the day.  Enjoy!

Life’s most precious miracle…pregnancy.  A prenatal portrait is the ultimate expression of hope and beauty.  Older siblings get excited that they will soon be having a new brother or sister.  The moments just before delivery are precious.  The excitement of a new arrival, the wonder of whether its a boy or girl, the glow in mom’s face and the kids just waiting for a new sibling to play with.  Meet Baby Kiera, before she was born!  Here are a few photos from mom’s prenatal session that was done on location in the middle of the eigth month.  You will see some of her newborn images in another post.

Here’s some images from a Valentine’s Wedding.  We all had a blast and everthing went smoothly.  Even the weather cooperated compared to the week before….we were able to shoot outside and have some fun with it.  Christy and Charles are from the Columbus, Ohio area and got married in Mentor.  Charles is in active duty with the National Guard and friends of his came in from Virginia to perform the sword arch at the end of the ceremony.  With the wedding being on Valentine’s Day, there was a lot of red around!  Christy’s flowers were amazing, all red roses.

Here are a few photos from the day. 

We have limited positions available for high school senior model reps for the Class of 2010.  Call today to find out more information.  We bring the studio to YOU!…so you don’t have to haul all of your belongings somewhere else and cram your session in with someone else!  We’re now searching for high school juniors who want really cool photos and to rep us for the upcoming senior photo season.  Openings for Mentor High, Eastlake North, Willoughby South, Notre Dame, Lake Catholic, Chardon, West Geauga, Perry & Mayfield.  Call the office at 440-951-0441.

A longtime client of mine called to thank me for the wonderful photos of their newborn daughter that I just took the other day, and also to begin the ordering process of birth announcements, photographs for relatives and albums.  Rather than using any digital files for personal use to order things from ‘big-web’ mass merchandisers, she told me that her family is supporting local businesses in the area, and ordering everything through our studio.  What an fabulous comment! 

Small business makes up 70% of the nations economy and employs that much of the workforce.  According to the SBA, depending on the business, you are classified as small if you employ under 750-1,000 employees!  Those are still some pretty large businesses.  But, look at all the ‘local small businesses’ just in the Mentor and surrounding area.  There is almost any service or vendor available, for anything you need.

Our local economy in this upcoming year is going to make or break by the survival of local small business.   Use their services and order products through them. Please support them, and tell them you are directly supporting them.  I have begun the same!  They’ll appreciate it and spread the word just like I am.   Ordering online by mass merchandisers and importers is only taking money out of our local economy.  Think Lemonade!

We just posted our company page on Facebook!    If you have a FB account, log on and become a fan!  We’ll get some images linked to your FB page too.  Just send a friend link and become a fan.

Paula and Sean’s wedding back in June was another big one for the summer.  Their wedding took place out in Roaming Shores, OH, on the beach along the lake.  It was about 90 degrees that day, but the breeze off the lake was really nice.   Their wedding was also selected by Weddings in Cleveland Magazine to appear in the Real Wedding section.

Here is a link to the online Real Wedding article on the WIC website.

Sarah and Adam’s wedding from last year is featured in Weddings in Cleveland Magazine.  It’s in a special section called “Real Weddings”, which is selected by the publisher.  Each couple can submit info on how they met along with plans for their wedding, and even the list of vendors they used from the magazine.  Sarah and Adam are long time friends and just a great couple.

Here is a screen shot and weblink to the online article.  It’s also published in the magazine which available on all newsstands or at our office.  Another one of our couples is in the Real Wedding section.  Watch for another post with that one shortly.

This is the first of what may be a new category of posts.  The Knowledge Base.  Here you can get consumer educational information on how to invest in professional photography, what to look for, what to stay away from, etc. 

Our first post is on the Wedding Paparazzi.  They’re all over!  You go to any wedding anymore, and romantic candlelit services have a blue-green glow of LCD and cell phone screens, clicks, beeps, etc.  People running all over the church, dropping batteries on church pews, jumping up on the altar to get that close-up, hiding in the flowers, and the list goes on.  This is so rampant, that there’s even TV commercials depicting an actor that thinks he’s a wedding pro.   Still haven’t figured out ‘the why’ in this, because the bride and groom hire a professional to record thier images.

So, here is the consumer knowledge:  Being a professional photographer for over twenty years, it is my job to capture a couples wedding day…without retakes.  There is an enormous amount of pressure to do this weekly.  I make it a point, at every service, to meet with the priest or minister to go over ‘the church’s rules and policies for phototography’.   Most all churches have specific areas to be in, an not to be in.  Use flash at certain times, no flash for the others.  We ALWAYS respect the churches policies.  But, the guests with their pocket kutcher-cams just ‘have at it’ during a service without even knowing that they’re disrupting other guests, the couple, the officiant, and also…..your hired professional photographer (no matter who it is).  

This is the kind of photo that happens:

I bet Uncle Bob is glad he got his shot, because I missed, not mine, but YOURS.  I’m actually about 30 feet behind him shooting with a telephoto lens.  The couple was just presented with a ceremonial plaque from the church by the priest and after a few coughs and an ‘u-um’, he finally turned around and realized I was behind him where I was supposed to be.  For the record….I did get the shot before UB blocked the view, because I saw him coming.  Glad he was about 10 seconds late getting there.

So, we can’t change what people do anymore, but we can encourage them to enjoy themselves and leave the cameras for the reception.  Getting invited to a wedding is an honor…you shouldn’t have to work while you’re there.  That’s why couples hire professionals.  We’ll get it, don’t worry….just have fun and enjoy yourself.

Lauren and Matt are troopers!!  What do we do in a Cleveland winter?….go out and shoot!  Since Lauren and Matt have their wedding booked in August, the hottest month of the year, they decided to do their e-session during the coldest month of the year.  We had a great time and there was new snow falling during the session.  As we trudged through about 10 inches of snow in some spots, we found some awesome spots to shoot.  Can’t wait for your wedding later this year…you guys are going to have some great images.  Here is a web link to the full session that is online.   Enjoy!

Remember Tina and Rob, the haunted house wedding from last year?  Well, I just finished uploading media images to the Style Network, which is part of the E! Network, for their yearly ‘best of’ wedding TV show special.  The show is called Most Outrageous Weddings and will air this Saturday, December 13, at 9:00pm.  It will be repeating throughout the weekend also.  Check your listings for the Style Network…for us DirectTV users, its channel 235.  The media people and producers at the Style Network were great to work with and I think they even worked in a credit in the end of the show.  Set your TiVo’s….this will be a cool show! 

We’ve been designing some really unique holiday cards this year.  We can take photos from any of your previous sessions, or, come out and photograph your family.  Our cards are custom designed and printed on premium card stock.  This is the same stock we use for our Save the Date cards. 

If you’re still looking for something unique to send this year, give us a jingle or an email-jingle and we’ll get you started.  Here’s a sample card design.  This is a 5×7 postcard style design.

It’s that time a year again…time to update your family portrait.  Everyone always says they want a portrait taken in the Fall.  Well, now’s your chance!  Plus, they make GREAT holiday greeting cards.  Our award winning photography combined with custom designed greeting cards will have your family and friends in awe.  So, here’s the deal…..Be one of the first 13 booked sessions and we’ll give you $50 off your session, a FREE 5×7 print, and a $25 credit towards your order or greeting cards!  But you must be one of the first 13 to book and be photographed by October 25th.  This is a $135 Value!  Email the office now for more info or availability.

Seven years ago today, the world we lived in changed forever.  I remember it being just a beautiful day outside, I had just dropped my youngest son Eric off for his very first day of preschool.  Evan was in first grade at the time.   Eric was so excited, but a bit scared.  I dropped him off at about 8:45 and headed home for a few hours of quiet, because now, both boys were in school!  Grabbed another cup of coffee and flipped on the TV on Fox News.  Right then, my wife Linda called from work and told me to go look at the TV because planes were flying into the WTC.  Once I saw the second plane hit, I had a bad feeling, that it was no accident and we were going to be at war with somebody.  I remember trying to explain this to the boys, who were 3 and 6 at the time.  This was their first experience with real evil in the world, all along while they were learning respect and peace in school.  Their lives were changed forever, and they didn’t even understand why yet.  I also remember how quiet life was for a few days after.  People didn’t speak much and I remember the eerie silence outside because all the planes were grounded.  I never realized how quiet things could be.

Since that day, the American flag has flown on our house day and night, all year long.  I’ve replaced the flag three times.  I didn’t personally know anyone lost in the events of 9/11.  But I have real good friends who do, so in a way, we are all connected somehow.   From the innocence of everyday people at work, or traveling on a beautiful fall morning, to the nobility of a service member accomplishing their mission with honor and courage, there are lives that deserve to be remembered today, and always.

A candle glows on our website today as a sign of hope and peace.   Please take a moment today, and every day, to be grateful for our freedom, be grateful for our service men and women, and be grateful for our government.  Say a special prayer for our military all around the world that they are kept safe and given the strength to  defeat evil and bring peace and freedom to those less fortunate.   And, most of all, remember all the families and their loved ones that were lost in New York, Washington and Shanksville. 

Never Forget

Are you tired of seeing the same old stuff?  Who’s going to create the coolest images of the year? 

We are looking for way cool people to model and rep our studio for the Class of 2009.  There are limited availabilities for your school.  So, if you want something really different and cool, and you want to make some cash this year, let us know and we’ll set up an interview.  We’re looking to create grunge photos, cool car shots, cool sport images…out of the ordinary stuff.  If you want pretty swing sets, cloth backgrounds and backyard park photos that everyone else will get this summer, then there’s plenty of studios around to do that stuff.  But, if you want something that ROCKS, then listen up!!

Want to be a model, a rep, a cool North Bay Senior?  Then we want you!  We are looking for cool students from Mentor High School, Lake Catholic, Notre Dame, West Geauga, Eastlake North, Willoughby South, and other northeast Ohio schools. 

We’re going to give away a FREE on-location Urban Session, a rockin’ Web Slideshow and a Pocket Album to some very lucky, cool 2009 Seniors!  This is a $500 value!!  All you need to do is email bcool@northbayportraitdesign.com and tell us about yourself, attach a snapshot photo if available, and why North Bay rocks and why YOU should picked to be a Cool North Bay Senior model. 

Why North Bay?  Easy….we come to you!!  We photograph YOU in YOUR surroundings, with YOUR interests, using YOUR stuff and showing off YOUR lifestyle.   No more dragging clothes to studios only to be rushed because someone else is hauling their stuff in too.  Nope….we come to you!  But, we only have a very limited number of sessions available during the week.  YOU are the star!

Here’s some quick rules: You must be available for a session as soon as this weather breaks, you’ll need to allow us to suggest clothing etc along with your selections, and you need to be willing to work on referrals and gathering of names and addresses.  That’s it, you help us, we’ll help you.  Call the studio if you have any questions.  And, yes, we’ll do some normal background images for you, no problem. :)  Good Luck!!

Trumpets Rule!…as we say here around the house.  Evan has such a blast playing with the Music Alliance Honors Band.  He took trumpet lessons through his school and then began playing for the Honors Band last summer.  The Honors Band is like an all star team of musicians from about 30 parochial schools in the Cleveland area.  They meet once a week to produce three performances throughout the year.  This past Christmas, the band played at Lakeland College’s auditorium and it was absolutely stunning to hear about 50-60 6th-8th graders perfom. 

Here are some photos from the spring Honors Band.  The theme this session was Jazz.  The band played at the annual Kids Show at the Great Lakes Mall and attracted hundreds of people to watch.  The kids had so much fun too.  The got to wear ‘jazzy’ ties.  It was fun watching them compare ties and show them off during the performance.  Songs included Gonna Fly Now, You Really Got Me Now, Celebration, In the Mood, Close to You and other jazzy favorites.  No one missed a beat….incredible! 

Music Alliance is located in Mentor, Ohio and their website is http://www.musicallianceinc.org/   The Honors Jazz Band was under the direction of Franklin Adams and David Littman.  Here are a few photos from the event.  Enjoy and watch for more.

We are so thrilled here at the office…our website won the 2008 Ohio Visual Excellence E-Commerce Award for Best Photographer Website in Ohio!!  This award is given out by the Certified Professional Photographers of Ohio.  I had just attended the Professional Photographers of Ohio Mid-East Regional Conference in Dayton, Ohio this past weekend.  This conference brought in some big speakers like David Jay, Parker Pfister, Gary & Pam Box, Doug Box and Rod Evans.  And of course, I was asked to speak on Saturday on the trade show stage about proper lighting on location.  But the highlight of the weekend was the awards ceremony on Saturday night.   I entered the print competition, album competition and the e-commerce competition.  All three prints scored Honorable Mentions, the album missed the blue ribbon merit by one lousy point :(  , but the website took the prize!

Websites were judged on thier originality, content, photographic quality, and consumer ease-of-use.  The only way this can be achieved is with user friendly website design software.  I take care of the photography and content, the web control panel does the rest.  A big thanks goes out to my friends at FlashPalette Web Design for creating the custom template and control panel software that I use.  Lindsay and Yongtong are awesome and just super to work with.  Plus, their sites look so much more different than most of the mass marketed look-alikes out there now.  Thanks guys….FlashPalette Rocks!!

Thanks to the Professional Photographers of Ohio and the Certified Professional Photographers of Ohio for awarding us with the 2008 Visual Excellence E-Commerce Award.

Here’s a few photos of the program I put on.  It was titled “See the Light in Location Photography”.  Thanks to all who attended.  It was so nice to hear all of your comments and speak with you afterwards.  Thanks to my great friend Craig Weiglein of Mansion Hill Studio and Gallery in Newport, KY for taking the photos of the speaking gig.

Arena football returns to Cleveland with a bang!  What an awesome time we had at the game the other night.  The action was right in front of us and the arena was loud.   Myself and my son Eric went down with a few kids from our travel baseball team and had an absolute blast.  Thank you SO Much to our great friends John Murphy and Jim Ferraro of Kelley & Ferraro Law Firm for getting us such great tickets.  Jim Ferraro is the owner of the Cleveland Gladiators.  Here’s a few photos of the game.  These were taken with my cell phone camera (HTC Sprint Mogul), from the fourth row on the ten yard line.

The view from our seats.

Dillon, Eric & Connor in the autograph line.    Connor getting an autograph from the QB.