Family Portrait Special-- ON A SATURDAY!

So, its almost Spring and my Saturdays are getting crazy busy with weddings, but we are getting TONS of calls for family portraits and everyone wants a Saturday. So, I have blocked off Saturday, March 22nd as "Portrait Day at Maclay". We will be accepting 8 families for our special-- a 30-45 minute family session at the gardens with a $175 credit-- all for $150. Yep, I'm serious. Its a Saturday and you get a BONUS print credit when you book! Pretty cool, huh? :)

So, if you are looking to have springtime family portraits taken, be sure to call ASAP to schedule your session as we fully expect to book all eight spaces!

Ok-- the fun fine print part... the sessions are for families ONLY. No couples, no individuals, no "just kids". The sessions require a minimum of three people, but cannot have more than six people. Because we are at Maclay, it does not include pets. You must schedule a viewing session to redeem your credit, but your images will also go online for 1 week. You must call with a credit card number to book your session-- 850.339.5799 If you have any questions, please call or email me at Linda@LongsPhotography.com

Looking forward to playing at the park!

www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Tre

Baby Tre was in the studio yesterday for his six month session. I cannot believe he is already six months old! It feels like i JUST did his mom's maternity portraits! Tre absolutely cracks me up every time I see him-- he makes so many funny faces and always gives me lots of grins!

www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Pretty cool!

I don't enter photography competitions. I just don't. And honestly, its because I have always been afraid. Well, I take that back... I entered my high school competition when I was a freshman.. and I placed third. Since then, I have never entered any print in competition.

So, I was convinced to enter a few prints in the monthly contest held by the Tallahassee Professional Photographers Guild. And I won in two categories and placed second in a third category. :) So, here are my first winning images since high school. :)

This image of Baby Andrew took first place in the "child" category:And this image of Ashley took second place in the special event category:www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Cute Kid Contest Ends at Midnight!

We have been bombarded with entries for the Cute Kid Contest! I am amazed at the number of entries and how cute these kids are!! I am SO glad I will not be judging! So, be sure to get your entry in before tonight at midnight and be sure to check out the blog TOMORROW as we announce the winners!

Again, your child must be between the ages of 2 and 6-- you must email a recent photo along with a brief description of their personality (likes, dislikes, etc). Everything must be received by midnight tonight to qualify! :)

www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Sarah Elizabeth

The studio absolutely lights up whenever Baby Sarah Elizabeth comes by. She is so sweet and fun-- just like her mom and big brother who came with her! Sessions like this really make the job fun!

www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Miss Madison

Miss Madison was in the studio yesterday for her four year old photos. This little diva is absolutely hilarious! She has an amazing collection of shoes and hairbows and I can't even imagine how much trouble she is going to be as a teenager! I loved having her and her fashionista mom come by-- it definitely brightened up my morning!

www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Only Two Days Left in the Cute Kid Contest!

Only two days left in the Cute Kid Contest! Be sure to submit your entries before midnight on February 29th! We will be announcing the winners on the blog on March 1st, so check back!

Nominees must be between 2 and 6 years old-- to nominate your child send an email to Linda@LongsPhotography.com with their name, age, a recent photo and a brief description of their personality.

Thanks to all of those who have already submitted nominations!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Jason

Baby Jason was in the studio this week for his six month session. I really think that the six month portrait is my favorite-- they are sitting up but not yet really crawling, they can smile and laugh and they have the cutest faces. Jason was no exception-- he was so cute with his chubby cheeks!
www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait portrait photographers

Our "normal" weekend

I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a "normal" weekend... pretty much every weekend for the last 3 1/2 years has been consumed with weddings, shoots, editing, invoicing, emails, etc. The weather was so beautiful that I did everything I could to put down the crackberry and just be a mom and a wife this weekend. We went shopping, worked in the yard, got haircuts and watched movies. In other words, it was a perfectly uneventful amazingly relaxing and refreshing weekend.

I even picked up the camera for something personal-- the first time in I can't remember how long! I was planting flowers while Thatcher played in the yard. Olyn turned his back for a second, and Thatcher found his sandbox... which was full of water from the rains we've had. In that split second, Thatcher ran into the sandbox and instantly sat down in the four inches of standing water.

Once he was soaked, we decided to just let him play. I think this is the most fun he has ever had. He splashed, dug in the sand and then decided to use his little shovel to try and get the dogs equally as dirty as he was. He would fill the shovel with wet sand and chase after the dogs, thowing the sand whenever he was in close range.

So, Thatch has learned lately that if you get anything icky on your hands the best course of action is to immediately wipe it on your shirt. We are doing more laundry than ever and here he is caught in the act! So, that is the latest from us and our blissfully uneventful weekend. :)

www.LongsPhotography.com

Only 5 days left in the Cute Kid Contest!

Only 5 days left in the Cute Kid Contest! Wow! We have received tons of entries-- I have NO idea how we are going to decide! I have a panel of judges ready-- I have decided not to vote myself. If I had to decide... well lets say I would be doing 50 or 75 model shoots! :)

Thank you all for nominating some of the cutest kids I have ever seen! I am so excited to add some new stuff to the website, but mostly I am thrilled to go play!

So, be sure to check back on March 1st when we announce the winners! (And if you don't know what I am talking about, scroll down and read all about the Cute Kid Contest!)

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Jennifer's Maternity Session

Jennifer was in the studio on Friday for her maternity session. I absolutely fell in love with her and Scott within minutes. They are absolutely hilarious, completely comfortable and so much in love. They had me giggling the entire session! www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Andrew

Baby Andrew was back in the studio this week for his six month portraits. He is such an angel-- he never cries when he is here and he has the cutest little cherub cheeks. He is definitely going to be a lady killer!
www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Its working! Its working!

After hours and hours of trying to fix the online galleries, they are finally working again! Woooo! :) If you were having any problems viewing thumbnails in the online gallery, just refresh your page and they should all be there now. Yippeee! A small victory for the non-geek :)

Before and After

I think this is such a cool before and after-- I was chatting with Sabrina from The Prenatal Experience the other day and we decided to show a before and after of one of the babies we both "photographed". :)
Almost all of the ultrasounds had Baby Payton's hands around his face. He really tried to hide from mom and dad! So it was really funny at his newborn session when he continued to do the same thing!
I so wish The Prenatal Experience had been here when I was pregnant. Sabrina does such a wonderful job, I just know when we have our next baby (no time soon, so don't speculate!) I will be at The Prenatal Experience on a weekly basis! :) If you haven't checked her out already, be sure to go to www.ThePrenatalExperience.com If you decide to use her services, make sure you let her know I sent you-- you get a bonus! How cool!!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

My computer is going to learn to fly

I mean it literally. This computer is about to fly... cause I am going to throw it against something hard. This week has been a total nightmare on the technology front. I have had a wide variety of server problems, which means I have spent an hour everyday on the phone with tech support.... who don't speak the same language I do. They seem to only speak in inane acronyms that noone really understands. Then, the problems with the server screwed up the online cart as I was trying to upload everyone's galleries. (Also this week, my other computer crashed, my album design software got glitchy, my mouse has decided to double click on almost everything when I single click and my new phone still isn't working!)

So, yes I am still alive. Yes, your gallery will go online soon. Yes, I know not all the thumbnails in the galleries are working. And finally, yes, it will be fixed soon or you will find me in the looney bin pulling my hair out.

Seriously, thank you so much for all your patience as I furiously work on fixing these technical issues. I know this might read as a "dog ate my homework" kind of post, but I promise that this "perfect storm" of technical disasters is real-- and extremely infuriating. So, I am off to have a glass of wine and let the server guys straighten some things out. Hopefully my next post will be that everything is fixed and I have some awesome images to show!

Cute Kid Reminder!

There are only 10 days left to enter your child in the cute kid contest! Be sure to get your entry in by the end of the month! All the details are in a post below, but to recap the contest-- we are looking for boys and girls ages 2-6 to model for us! The chosen models will receive a free session and a $50 print credit to purchase any combination of images.

We are looking to do some different stuff, so we are looking for some fun energetic kids (and also some sweet shy ones) to play! The sessions will all be scheduled in the month of March. So, if you are interested, just email an image of your child along with a very brief description of their personality, interests, etc.

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Hey... That's new!

A lot of you have already noticed the newest addition to the portraits page-- our newsletter signup! We have been working to keep everyone up to date on the newest additions and specials with the blog, but having a newsletter will reach everyone earlier and by email!

If you choose to sign up for the newsletter, you will get first crack at all of our specials and discounts before they are posted on the blog. Some specials will ONLY be offered to newsletter subscribers. So, if you are interested, head over to the portraits page and click on the newsletter link and plug in your email. :) Easy as pie! And if you ever change your mind, unsubscribing is just as easy!

Lots of new stuff is on the way, so keep checking back on the blog and the newsletter!

www.LongsPhotography.com
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Josie

I feel like I have whiplash! I just finished editing Candace's maternity portraits when she called me to take Josie's newborn portraits! Candace was telling me that her father-in-law couldn't stop saying how beautiful Josie is... and I have to absolutely agree with him. She is as beautiful as she is good natured and made for a really wonderful model! www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

The Cute Kid Contest

Wow! I have received sooo many emails about the Cute Kid contest! And man, there are some really cute kids out there! We will be accepting nominations until the end of the month, so be sure to email your info over before its too late! :) And we need some girls-- we have gotten lots of little boys, but barely any girls! C'mon! I don't think I can get these guys to wear tutus for me! :)

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Payton

Baby Payton was in the studio this week for his newborn session. I swear he never cried. He was an absolute angel and I had so much fun with his session! http://www.longsphotography.com/

Tallahassee & Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Rylee

Baby Rylee was back in the studio on Monday for her three month portrait session. She was good for her newborns, but she was great for her 3 month session! She was so smiley and kept blowing bubbles at me. What a cutie!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Cute Kid Model Search!

We are currently holding a cute kid model search! We are looking for boys and girls from ages 2 to 6. We will only be able to take a total of 6 models and each model will receive a free portrait session and a $50 print credit to use on any combination of prints.

To enter your child, just drop me an email with a photo of your child (any photo will do!) and a description of their personality. Linda@LongsPhotography.com Are they outgoing, artistic, athletic, shy, inquisitive, sweet or wild? If you enter your child, you must be available for a portrait session in the next 3-4 weeks and you also must consent for your child's images to be used in our online portfolio.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to nominate your child, just contact Linda@LongsPhotography.com

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Where are We? The answer!

Ok... I am going to have to make this contest a LOT harder next round! I was busy with shoots all morning and I come back to a stack of correct answers! Y'all were right-- we are outside Toys R US! :) I love the striped wall and I really wanted to use it in a photo, so there you go!

We should have the next round of Where Are We? portraits online in a few weeks. I will post a warning a few days before it goes online, so be sure to check back often!

And if you have an idea that will stump the masses, drop me an email at Linda@LongsPhotography.com If we choose your idea, you will become a backup. Anytime a winner cannot do their session, we will immediately go to the list of backups.

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Where are We? Part 1

Just to recap the "Where are We" game. Olyn and I are doing sessions in irregular places (no Maclay Gardens or Dorothy B. Oven type of locations). We will post a few quick images on the blog and y'all get to guess where we were. To guess, you must post a comment on this thread. Make sure you include your name and email address so I can contact you if you win. The person who wins will receive a free couple's session and be the next featured "Where are We?".

Heidi and Jamey were our first WAW participants-- it was so great to catch up with them! We shot their destination wedding in the Bahamas back in 2005!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

A boudoir mini-marathon!

I did the first boudoir mini-marathon yesterday and had a fabulous time with all the ladies. While I can't show the real images, I did get permission to show a quick sneak peek! If you are interested in hosting a mini-marathon, all you need are four other ladies who all choose the same package. Contact me and we can get a date set for you!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Carson

It was really a reunion day on Friday as Tiffany and Jason brought in their new baby, Carson. I photographed Tiffany and Jason's wedding almost a year ago and I am so excited to photograph Carson's first year. I swear he is the most expressionistic newborn I have ever seen! He had a million faces!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Big Boy Eli

I am seriously in denial that Eli is turning one. It really makes me feel old! I photographed his parent's wedding and it really doesn't feel like it was that long ago! Eli is so much fun to photograph-- he absolutely cracks me up every time he is here in the studio. And he now holds the record of "neatest baby". He liked the cake, but wanted no part of getting icing on himself!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Using your images....

We are so incredibly flattered to look at all the pages on MySpace and Facebook to see our clients using their images! We are happy to share the blog images for your use on your wedding webpages, MySpace and Facebook, BUT you must leave our logo on the image and not crop or alter it in any way.

Scanning prints for any reason is a violation of federal copyright law. Whether it is for your invitations, programs, webpages, etc., it is against the law and the contract you signed. If you would like an image for your webpage that is not on the blog, let me know and I will send you a web resolution image with a logo on it for no charge. If you would like to use an image with no logo, you can absolutely purchase the digital file!

We love that you are so happy with your images and we know that 90% of our clients are absolutely following the rules, but for those that might not be aware, these are the rules! :) Same rules as pirating music, software, etc.

The Boudoir Buzz!

All I can say is... WOW. The boudoir marathon last month was amazing and the number of individual boudoirs we have done recently is staggering! These are absolutely one of my favorite kinds of portraits to do and the responses from the clients have been tremendous. So, the biggest question popping up in my inbox is "When is the next marathon??" Well, due to the massive number of weddings on the schedule, we will not be able to offer a full marathon day until late summer.

BUT!!! We have decided to offer mini-marathons! Its a really cool deal. If you can gather yourself and four other ladies, we will create a marathon just for you. And the best part? The coordinating lady will get her session FREE. You can't beat free, right? And we are also bending the rules a bit-- all four ladies must purchase the same type of boudoir package, but if you decide that you would like to coordinate your own location, hair and makeup you can do so and go with the basic package.

If you are interested in coordinating your own mini-marathon, just drop me an email or give me a call!

The Cumulus Crew... Part Two

The studio has been packed with interesting personalities this week! I had a blast doing everyone's headshots and I just love hearing how everyone is teasing each other about them!

Joe Bullard, JAMZ 96.1 and also the voice of the FAMU Marching 100. Brandie Lynn, Gulf 104
L Boogie, Blazin 102.3

Yuckmouth, Gulf 104

http://www.longsphotography.com/
Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Want Free Stuff!?

Everyone who knows me knows that I get sooo burned out shooting at the same locations week after week. Nothing against Maclay Gardens, but I have been there 10,000 times! :) So, I want to do something fun. Something new. Stretch my creative wings and create some awesome images.

We want you to be as excited about this as we are, so you get the chance to win one of these creative sessions! We will be posting images from our first session in the next few days and the first person to guess where the session was wins their own FREE session! We are calling it "where are we??" and every 4-6 weeks there will be another chance to win by guessing where a session took place. Yes, finally a reason to stalk the blog!

To play, you must post a comment on the "where are we?" blog post with your guess. The first person who guesses correctly gets their own "where are we?" couples session. The catch? If you win, you have to hand yourself over. These will NOT be sweet family portraits at the gardens. The sessions are only for couples or adult singles, you must agree to have your session anywhere we want to and you have to come to it with an open mind.

Oh, and if you have an idea of a cool location, drop me an email. If we decide to use your location, you will win too!

So, keep checking back to win!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Martina's Maternity Portraits

Martina and her family came by the studio for her maternity portraits. They were absolutely adorable-- even Dion who couldn't/wouldn't smile. Sklyar is going to be a great big sister-- she is so excited about having a baby brouther! www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

The new portrait procedure

So there has been a lot of talk about new offerings on the portrait side of things-- well we are starting now! The portrait process now has two stages-- you have your portrait session and two weeks later you have a viewing session here in the studio. For now, the viewing session is optional, but there will be special discounts, offers and thank yous given to those clients who choose to give us their time for the viewing session. There will be products offered at the session that will not be available online or anywhere else for that matter!

So, if we have already done your session, but your gallery is not online yet, let me know if you would like to schedule a viewing session. Everyone who has not yet had their portrait session will have an opportunity to schedule their viewing session when we met for the portraits!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Lori's Maternity Portraits

Lori is one of those pregnant women who are so cute it hurts. She is so teeny except for her tummy, which still isn't big enough to believe she is having twins! I had so much fun with her, Wayne and Ethan-- she is definitely in for it with two more boys!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee & Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Joseph

I love when Baby Joseph comes by! Yesterday was his 6 month portraits and I just can't believe how big he has gotten! He is so independent, too! We could hardly get him to sit-- he kept trying to stand! I'm willing to bet he will be close to walking at his 9 month session!

www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee & Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Coy

Coy was back in the studio yesterday for his three month portrait session. I think Coy is probably the most dangerous kind of baby there is... he is so sweet, calm and quiet... the moment you hold him you want another baby! www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers

Baby Cole

Baby Cole came by the studio Wednesday for his three month portraits. This guy is going to be a total lady killer! He knows just how to grin, laugh and flirt to get what he wants. His mom is in major trouble once he gets moving! www.LongsPhotography.com

Tallahassee and Thomasville's premier wedding and portrait photographers