Baby Avery is squishably cute– her wild curls and chubby cheeks are irresistible!  We had a hoot in the studio yesterday playing with Avery– she is so active, she is already trying to walk!  She definitely lets you know what she likes and what she doesn’t– mommy, rubber duckies and hugs are a yes, while the brown chair and being left alone are definite no’s!

Its not often that we have a dad bring in one of our babies solo.  Mom is there 99% of the time, so I had a great laugh yesterday when Dad Jason brought in Baby Lofton for his nine month portraits.  In addition to the outfits and toys, he had a printed out list that mom had sent detailing what outfits went with what.  So, we followed the list– hopefully it was what mom had in mind!

You can’t be in a bad mood around Baby Cooper– I seriously think its impossible.  He is so funny, sweet and a TOTAL cheeser!  It was great to be back in the studio, especially when you have a session this fun!

Ok, I love contests.  I think they are fun and when you can win something, that’s even better.  So… we are having a Cute Baby Contest!  We will be accepting image submissions between now and March 2nd.  Then, the image entries will be posted on the blog for one week for voting and the baby with the most votes wins a session with Long’s Photography and a framed 11×14 print!  Read all the details below on how to enter and be sure to get all your friends and family members to come back to vote for your cuties!

And just for fun, the little guy that I think is Tallahassee’s cutest baby!  (Yeah, I can’t compete, so this is my chance to show off!)

Olyn and I are shamelessly addicted to Facebook– seriously, I must check it 5 times a day!  I am so naturally nosey that watching everyone’s status updates just fulfills a guilty pleasure for me!  We have so much fun seeing all the comments when we tag our clients in images or when we do giveaways on our Facebook fan page.  So… we want to do more of that!

We want to expand the Long’s Photography fan page, so if we can get 500 fans by the end of the month, we will be doing monthly giveaways on Facebook!  So, just click the link at the top right of the page to go to our Facebook page and join as a fan.  Recruit your friends and family to join as well– we really want to hit 500 fans and give away some awesome prizes.  Go join and then watch as we have contests and Facebook only specials!

At the monthly Tallahassee Professional Photographers’ Guild meeting a few weeks ago, one of Olyn’s images was selected as “Print of the Month” for environmental portrait.  (YEA for Olyn!) An environmental portrait can be one of two things– a portrait where the environment plays a large role in the image (such as a family wandering down a beach) or it can help tell a story about a subject (such as a mechanic working in a garage).  Olyn captured a great image of a singer performing on stage at one of our weddings and the setting of the stage, lights and other band members complete his story.

Olyn and I both actively compete in print competitions at the local and state level.  Competition is a great way to gt honest critique and better hon your skills.  So, for all the photographers reading this, I really encourage you to bite the bullet and enter competition!

I was really beginning to think Rikki and Casey were jinxed and we would never get their engagement portraits done!  We had scheduled and rescheduled so many times, but something always got in the way– weather, work, etc.  So, I anxiously watched the weather channel all day yesterdya and although they said it looked like it might rain, God gave us a break and we were able to do their portraits!  Now… God was kind, but he did have a sense of humor.  No rain, but extreme cold for a girl who wanted to wear summer like clothes in her portraits.  To their credit, Rikki and Casey were such troopers and never complained about the chilly temperatures– hopefully they will think the portraits are worth it in the end!

Olyn and I had a great early start to our Valentines with our Limited Edition “Kisses” portraits!  Over the next week, we hope to share a few of the images here!  First up are the awesome Dotson girls– they were so incredibly smiley and sweet for their session.  Their last session was a bit more dramatic, but this one definitely made up for it!  Gosh I wish all kids were that way… one tough session and then the rest are a breeze!