Just a fun little bit of news to share this morning. I entered a couple of my favorite images into the photography contest at the Erie County Fair this year. My portrait entry received “best of” and was in consideration for the tri-color ribbon - yay! My pictorial entry received an honorable mention. It made trekking down to the fair 8.5 months pregnant with 4 kids and a husband in tow totally worth it.

Early November sessions are currently booking and October is extremely limited with just one weekend session left - please book now!

Here are a couple of iphone pictures from last night at the fair. . . .

“Best Of” - Portrait

Honorable Mention - Pictorial

Its Fan Friday again! Up for grabs this week is a complimentary 12×12 4 Image Collage with the purchase of your session fee ($160 value). All you have to do is leave a comment below and say why you would love a session with SH Portraits, would love a collage, or have loved working with SH Portraits in the past. Anything really! I’ll use a random number generator to determine the winner. And. . .because I totally forgot to post a Fan Friday last weekend - I will leave this one open to comments through 11:59pm TOMORROW and announce the winner on Sunday. So be sure to share the contest with your friends and family too!

I have some fun exciting news and things in the works that I will be able to share in the next few weeks too. I am just bursting to tell everyone but have to wait - so be sure to keep an eye out.

For now - here is an example of what the collage would look like and it is mounted on my standard styrene to protect it. Just frame and hang!

Its Fan Friday! Today i will be giving away a gift certificate woth $50 that you can use or give to a friend! Just comment on this blog post saying why you would like a session with SH Portraits. Yup - it really is THAT easy! Tomorrow I will use a random number generator to choose the winner.

Of course I have to include a picture with the blog post so I am posting one of my kiddos, from two years ago (well almost). Hard to believe he was this tiny - I love his wrinkly little feet here.

Oh man I am soooooo behind on blog posts it is terrible - but I have to share these faces for the 2010 Summer Faces Contest! Each of these adorable faces came out for my mini sessions and are now entered to win a set of 4×6 images from their session! Just one vote per day per cookie/ip address (gotta keep it fair folks!) Voting ends at 11:59pm on Friday, June 26th. Share on Facebook, Twitter, email - anything - but get voting! You can click on each thumbnail to see a larger image too.

I will be on Long Island for a very limited engagement June 4th-7th please let me know asap if you would like a session! Details below!

As you all know, I have been nominated for Best Buffalo Family Photographer in the Nicks Parents Picks Awards (you can vote through the link at the top of the blog). Our local paper the Ken Ton Bee did an article about myself and SH Portraits then came along to a session with me last Wednesday for the photograph. Its been a fun experience and the honest truth is that I am most excited about the mention of the charities I belong to. Spreading the word about Pictures of Hope, NILMDTS, and ACPCG is a passion of mine. So here are the articles to read and take a peak at! Thanks as always for your continued support of myself and SH Portraits!

Today, May 2nd is National Join Hands Day. Lets all come together and do something special for our neighborhoods today!

Here are a few of my own suggestions for families with small children (you can read lots more on the Join Hands Day link above!)
1 - Make some brownies or cookies and deliver them to your local Fire Department or Police Department.
2 - Help weed a neighbor’s garden.
3 - Make some “Thinking of You” cards and deliver them to elderly members of your community that may be living in a retirement home.
4 - Contact your village hall and ask if you can help plant flowers in public areas of your village.
5 -Donate your time to help serve homeless men & women at a local shelter.

I hope everyone finds at least one thing that they can do today to help improve their community!

I am so pleased to tell everyone that I am now an affiliated photographer with Pictures of Hope. Being affiliated with ACPCG and with NILMDTS as an Area Coordinator have shown me what a need there is for this type of service for families with children in a NICU in the Buffalo NY area.  I have many friends who have gone through the months of having a child in a NICU whom I am sure would have done anything for an organization like Pictures of Hope.  Please be sure to visit the website for more details, and information on finding a photographer if you are not in my area.  Please help spread the word with us!

What is Pictures of Hope?
Pictures of Hope is a charitable organization of professional photographers who provide complimentary, documentary-style, photography sessions to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and their families.  The Pictures of Hope Foundation is comprised of photographers (many of whom are “NICU mothers” themselves) from across the United States and Canada who are dedicated to donating their time to a cause they believe in, and sharing the gift of photography with families in need.

What is provided in a NICU session?
Families with a child in the NICU receive a complimentary photography session, using the available light in each room, and a complimentary set of 4×6 photographs from their session (approx. 25). Upon request, images can also be posted to a private online gallery to share with family and friends who are unable to visit. Sessions can take place immediately upon entering the NICU or parents may opt to wait until closer to their dismissal date. Sessions are entirely accommodated to the needs of the individual family. Sessions include individual images of the baby (including any attached wires/monitors, nothing will need to be disconnected), as well as relationship type images with mom and dad (if possible), captured with a more photo journalistic approach.

What is the cost?
There are no fees for our services. The session and set of 4×6 photographs from your session are entirely complimentary. Should you decide to place an additional order, you will receive AT LEAST 25% off your current photographer’s pricing, however you are under NO OBLIGATION to purchase any additional images.

Why Pictures of Hope?
Throughout pregnancy most parents don’t anticipate the possibility of their baby needing to stay in the NICU after birth. Whatever that reason may be, time spent in the NICU is often an unexpected journey for families, a journey full of overwhelming emotions…sadness, confusion, hope, celebration, and unfortunately, at times grief. Throughout this roller coaster of emotions, many parents do not consider the importance of documenting these precious moments in their lives nor do they think about how much they will truly cherish these images years down the road. In some cases, a little extra TLC from the NICU is needed to be sure the little one gets off to the best possible start, for these families on the road to well being, photographs are a wonderful reminder of just how far their little one has come, however, photographs also play a necessary and very important role in the healing process for other families. In the most heart breaking circumstances, photos may be the only tangible keepsakes some parents have of their precious little one. All Pictures of Hope participating photographers are dedicated to providing NICU families with invaluable images you will cherish forever, captured in a sensitive and caring manner.