So after a few months of frustration with Pictage (my current proofing host), I've finally transitioned to hosting on my own website!  Now there will be no more annoying emails and confusing passwords etc.   It should be much easier to manage, and far easier for all of you guys to access your photos.  Those of you whose events have been hosted on Pictage will remain on Pictage until they expire, and all my new events will be hosted directly on my site.  Take a look at the proofing page to see the new link!

Many of you have contacted me about doing boudoir photos, and I've decided to hold my first all day boudoir photo session on June 29th.  Boudoir photos are fun and sexy, and show off how fantastic you are.  The photos are not about nudity - you can wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and gorgeous.  We'll help you select the perfect look and do your hair and makeup for you so that you look extra hot.  We have the use of a beautiful downtown loft space, and you'll end up with a DVD of your high resolution files.

These photos make a great gift for your fiance or husband, and give you an excuse to feel high-fashion and glamorous.  Only a few spots remain, so if you are interested let me know as soon as possible and I'll send you the details.   It should be fun!

So a client of mine recently Googled my name looking for my email address.  What she ended up with was a link to a "nighttime connoisseur," which she forwarded on to me for a laugh.  If you've ever Googled my name, you've probably seen that site, as well as sites for a Tracy Lee that does nude-self portraits, a couple of random designers, and even a burlesque dancer.  I don't come up in the search until - well, maybe never.  I gave up after the 250th result.  I've known about this issue for a while, and clients have even mentioned that they were hesitant to meet with me after seeing a couple of these search results.  Apparently there are a lot of Tracy Lees out there, many of whom are doing somewhat risque things.

Moral of the story:  No, I am not that Tracy Lee. 

I envy those of you with unique names.  I doubt anyone falsely believes you to be an exhibitionist :)

It's boudoir time again!  I'm now scheduling appointments for the upcoming all-day boudoir session.  It will be held on Sunday, November 9th.  The session will include:

*Professionally styled hair and makeup

*Use of a downtown loft space

*1-hour long portrait session, with no limit to the number of photos

*A DVD of all the high resolution images to use as you like

Contact me if you would like more details or want to set your appointment time.  It should be fun!

I realize it isn't even Halloween yet, but the holidays are quickly approaching (if your radio has landed on 101.1FM since October 1st you may have noticed the nonstop holiday music has already begun!)  That said, deadlines are also coming up quickly.  In order to have the following items arrive by December 23rd, they must be ordered by the following deadlines:

Wedding Albums - November 15th

Parent Books and Coffee Table Books - December 1st

Print Orders - December 10th

To have holiday cards arrive by December 15th (giving you time to send them), they need to be ordered by December 1st.  If you haven't already scheduled a portrait session to have photos for your holiday card - what are you waiting for?!  Contact me to schedule one!

Don't forget - if you are intending to order prints as Christmas presents, they must be ordered by December 10 in order to arrive by December 24th.  So you only have 2 more days - get those orders in!

I have been a little slacking on the blogging lately - my apologies!  After New Year's I'll get back on it!  For now I just wanted to let you all know that my pricing has gone up for the 2009 season.  Packages begin at $3,500, and you can contact me for a full pricing list.  Please note that if you have placed a deposit and reserved your date by January 1, 2009 you will not be impacted at all by the new pricing.  

Also, if you are looking for something different to do for New Year's this year, check out the 24 Hours of Yoga.  I'll be there either teaching or attending a class at some point!  Happy 2009!

We all know the economy is a little....wonky....right now (I’m an optimist, that’s as negative as I’ll get.)  As a result, some of my clients have started wondering if they should be saving their money rather than spending it on “luxury” items such as portraits. 

But photography isn’t about vanity and luxury - it’s about celebration.  Even in tough times it’s still important to celebrate your life by documenting your family, photographing kids before they grow up, and capturing those newborn moments you can never get back.  It makes me sad to see people struggling between saving money and having good photos.  So in the interest of spreading some love around (and slightly increasing my own good karma) I’m holding a special one day marathon of mini-sessions at a special price.

Here’s the deal.  On Sunday May 3rd I’ll be dedicating my day to doing mini-sessions for family/kid/baby portraits.  Each session will be 45 minutes long, and everyone will get a DVD of all their high resolution files from the session (with copyright consent to make prints.)  Morning sessions will be held at Forest Park for the nature lovers, and afternoon sessions will be in the Lafayette Square neighborhood and park for the urban dwellers.  The fee for the session and the DVD is only $100 - less than half of the normal full session price.

This is a one time thing, so if you’re interested, call or email me ASAP to get the time you want.  I’m looking forward to it!

I've gotten three emails in about a week inquiring about boudoir sessions.  I'd be happy to set up a Marathon day if enough people are interested.  Like last time, I'd rent out a loft downtown, bring in a hair and makeup artist, spend an hour with you shooting, and give you a DVD of the images.  Send me an email if you might want to do it!

I just received a copy of the Fall/Winter issue of The Knot, featuring Tricia and Jon's wedding from last October.  Looks nice!

On a side note, I'm leaving for Washington, D.C. today for the weekend.  If you need me I'll be back Tuesday!

You know who you are:  you saw the album pre-design I sent you the week after your wedding (last month?  last year?), and you may have even made mention of a few photo switches you wanted to make.  But then you buried that email in your inbox and never looked back.

Look back!!  Your album needs you!!  If your design could talk, it would be begging you to be printed on photo quality paper and bound into the gorgeous book that you already paid for.

I know you all are busy, and I'm usually pretty lax about getting albums finished.  But I sent Liron (who was married on June 7th) a pre-design for her album yesterday, and within hours she had given me her changes and approved an updated draft.  I'll order her book tomorrow, which means she'll get it within 3-4 weeks of her wedding.  Liron, you are my hero!  She has inspired me to, ahem, inspire you all to get your albums together.  So stop procrastinating and email me!

I've decided to extend the deadline for the Engagement Giveaway (posted below.)  You all now have until August 25th to send me your stories.  I'm also broadening the scope to include proposal stories.  So send me your best!  At the request of the "single friend" I mentioned in the post, she will be helping to judge the winners, so I hope to have a good variety to share with her.  Can't wait to read them!

Each time I run into an old client and tell them I'm moving, I seem to get the same type of response: "But we wanted you to take photos of XYZ!!"  So I've decided to offer one Last Chance Photo Marathon before I leave town at the end of October. 

The marathon will be on Sunday, October 18 at Forest Park.  You can sign up for any type of session you want - family, kids, babies, engagement, trash the dress, newlywed (anything but boudoir for obvious reasons ;) ).  You'll get 30-40 minutes of shooting time, online proofing for one month, and a DVD of your image files to use as you please.  The cost is $200. 

Email me at sixeightythree@gmail.com to reserve a time slot!

This applies to those of you who are still ignoring your wedding album - you know who you are (and there are more than one of you!!) 

Since I am moving from St. Louis to Denver in the last weekend of October, the time line for albums is changing a bit.  If you get your album design completed by the end of September, I will be able to order it before I move and get it out to you before the end of October.  All other orders will have to be ordered after the first week of November.  Believe it or not, that starts the holiday rush at the album companies, which means albums will take a bit longer.  So if you are interested in having your album before the holidays (so all your relatives can ooh and ahh), contact me soon!!

Likewise, if you are thinking of ordering any prints or books as holiday presents you should contact me soon for estimates on delivery times. 

And finally, because every post is better with an image, here is a photo of the arch I took the other day.  Just because :)