| Sarah Jane Photography | Decatur IL | Prices, Products, and Business |

| Decatur IL Photography | Studio Prices, Products and Business … Just some thoughts |

Saw a photography business announce it’s going out of business this week and it made me sad to see. There are so many reasons that photographers choose to close up shop but one I see too often is that they get burnt out working long hours, late nights, weekends and holidays and don’t get compensated for their work. I’ve had clients say just about everything about my rates from ‘Oh, that’s not bad.’ and even ‘You should really charge more.’ to ‘Wow that seems expensive!’

I know pricing is something that is difficult for many photographers, including myself. I’m always analyzing my prices, collections, products and sessions to see if I think they are fair, valuable and profitable. While we don’t want to ‘price gouge’ our clients (fair) and we want to ensure that the product they receive is quality, unique and personal (valuable) but at the end of the day we have to also build a business and ensure we can not only cover costs, but re-invest in the business to grow and to finally to earn a living ourselves. One of the first things, us photographers overlook is actually paying ourselves, but in order for our hobbies to be sustainable businesses that’s a must!

It really made me sad this week to see such a talented photographer decide to close her studio. Now, I do not know the reasons behind the close and I only hope it’s not due to the undervaluing of their beautiful work. Ryan will be the first to tell you that I am 85% (or he might even say 95%) artist/photographer/designer and 15% business woman at heart, but a photography business must be the opposite to thrive so we often have to wear our businessperson hats far more often than we would like.

Photographers, this rant of mine today is here so that you never have to close up shop before you want to. I’m not saying you need to charge more, but you need to charge enough. And KNOW what enough is through product, profit/loss analysis. Programs like Successware can take this analysis to the next level! And know your costs… Your 8×10 isn’t just a piece of paper… It’s everything that went into it including: the prep time for the session, session time, time processing that image before the client sees it, production time (retouching, mounting, unpacking and repacking) all the way through delivery time. This is not to mention the equipment needed to create that product: camera, lighting, stands, cards, lenses, computer, software, printer, paper, desk….. You may have hours of work and thousands of dollars of equipment that you are never calculating into your cost of a single 8×10. When it comes to this, don’t just guess… know!

And clients, this post is mostly for my fellow photographers as I fear for us/them and mourn the loss of a talented photographer from our industry. But I hope you all know that more than anything I want you all to have your beautiful portraits and your dream order every time you walk through my door. And it has nothing to do with profit, I want you to have these images because I created them for you. Unfortunately, for me to continue to create them for you and your family for generations to come I have to charge you enough for them. My goal is never to ‘rip you off’ or gouge you, but to charge what I have to in order to make this my living not just my dream. And don’t worry, if I win the lottery (which would require buying a ticket), I will continue to provide portraits and follow my dream and passion and I’ll give you a TON for FREE, because if I could, I would!

| Sarah Jane Photography | For Photographers | Best Business Photography Books | Sarah Petty

| Sarah Petty’s Favorite Business Books | Marketing Resources Small Business |

So not long ago, I shared with you fellow photographers a marketing site I had stumbled upon called The Marketing Spot. Today, I wanted to take a second to recommend you all take a look at the marketing and photography business works of the talented Ms. Sarah Petty.

I’ve been a fan of Sarah’s for a few years now and love her straight forward business approach to photography because at the end of the day we all must be business-owners first, photographers/artists second, even though that often is exactly opposite of what we would all like. The fact is, if you don’t run your business like a BUSINESS, soon you won’t have one to run at all.

I was poking around her Joy of Marketing blog today and noticed her list of her favorite books. Instantly, of course, the thought of adding this to my site popped into my head and my first thought was ‘oh no, then my closet obsession with supernatural/witch/vampire/fantasy books will be reviled (AHHHH).

Those of you who know me know that you can rarely find a time when I am not currently reading at least one novel, and likely a couple magazines and of course blogs and such. I’m an avid reader and my list of favorite books would be a novel in itself! And yes, my guilty pleasure books would include quite a few vampire/witch/supernatural tales, there I admit it.

But, back to the point Sarah’s list is of her favorite marketing/business books! Much more helpful to running your business than my list of Twilight, Harry Potter and such. So, I plan to work my way through her list of 18 books and share some of my favorite bits here. I would also invite you all to do the same! Let’s do this together and learn a lot along the way! Pick a number, read that book and comment/post here to share your thoughts! No timeline, no deadline just some good old fashioned book group enlightenment and sharing.

You can find Sarah Petty’s Book list here!

I also highly suggest picking up a subscription to Entrepreneur Magazine. And all you photographers MUST have a subscription to Pro Photog Mag. 

 

PS, for the record, my favorite novel of all time is Pride and Prejudice (so I do love the classics).

| Corporate & Business Portraits | Central Illinois |

| Corporate Headshots | Decatur IL Businesses | Sarah Jane |

While I specialize in the boutique portrait experience for seniors and brides, I am always willing to answer the needs of other local businesses and often this need involves corporate headshots. This could be an environmental portrait of your employees doing what they do which is a great way to show your clientele both who and what they can expect when they choose your business. Many times, however, something as simple as a business head shot can do a lot to give a face to your business and create an instant personal connection between your company and its clients. It’s also so important to realize the impact that this first look at your business can have on customers, you definitely want to opt for professional portraits so you are putting your best foot forward right from the beginning!

A few weeks ago, a company that I am proud to be a customer of contacted me for just that reason. Elite Care was in the middle of designing a new brochure for the company and had attempted to take their headshots themselves. Now we all know we’ve done it… everyone has digital cameras and a blank wall and any corporate name badge can show you these tools in action. And for your name badge, that’s a perfect solution for your portrait needs, but for the face of your company? Elite Care quickly realized it wasn’t enough and I was honored they thought of me and with such a good-looking group to work with, my job was easy!

We took these portraits (with the exception of one) at Elite Care. I know it is often much easier for companies to have me come to them for portraits and we absolutely offer that service!

Next time you’re looking to add a little punch to your business card, personalize your website, office or publications think SJP!

This is also where Ryan and I do our Ideal Protein diet so I highly suggest you check out Elite Care!!! They are Awesome.

| Best Local Wedding Vendors | Springfield Local Favorites |

| SLF | Sarah Jane Photography | Central Illinois Weddings |

Briefly about SLF: Many of my wedding clients know I am a member of a group of Premier Wedding Vendors called the Springfield Local Favorites. I have been a member since not long after moving to Illinois and it has been an invaluable asset for me to network with other quality vendors in the area and get to know the Illinois Bride and what she wants! For brides, the SLF is a safe and reliable way to shop for your wedding.

Just this morning I had a client email me for a wedding NEXT MONTH… now you know, this is SHORT notice and the reasoning for this is that they have run into (unknown) problems with their current wedding photographer. This happens far to frequently. With photographers, DJs, cake decorators, florists and every other vendor associated with the wedding industry. Unfortunately, the wedding industry is HUGE and many ‘fly by night’ companies and some very well-meaning entrepreneurs try to break into the market to ‘get a piece of the pie’ so to speak and very quickly find out they underestimated what goes into what we do. This can spell disaster when it comes to your wedding. What happens if you book a photographer for your wedding a year in advance and they are out of business in 8 months when they discover they aren’t making it?

The SLF is here for exactly this reason…. if you have a problem with your vendor, who do you go to? The boss, well with me, that’s ME. But because I’m an SLF member, you now have over 40 other members dedicated to your satisfaction and to stand behind my product. And as a member, I’m standing behind the work of every other member … which we do not do lightly because if they screw up, it’s on us as well.

NOW…. with that little introduction into the SLF and the bride side of things, I’m excited to talk to you about the vendor side of things. There is no doubt SLF is wonderful for brides, but it is also an asset to vendors. The group meets once a month and offers the chance to network amongst other local wedding vendors, keep on top of the local bridal trends and give/receive referrals so we can all work together to give our brides the best experience.

Last night we met and discussed the ‘trend’ and really the need to “Go Green” or greener within our businesses. As individuals we can all do our part (or some part) to help our environment and some steps we all know are very easy. But, as businesses it is also important we think about ways to go green within our business. For me, the biggest thing we do at SJP is recycle our cardboard boxes. While this is just a small step, we receive 2-5 shipments of products a week and all come packaged in a LOT of packaging (after all we must protect your valuable and delicate portraits through the mail). We recycle all of this as well as doing our best to keep the number of shipments to a minimum by placing fewer large orders instead of many small orders.

We also recycle in other ways… for example, my samples in the studio are only around for so long before we need to update them to newer images. When we update an image we offer our sample to our client at a greatly discounted rate so that these items are not being discarded. At our meeting we talked about other ways to reduce our waste including using LED lights, turning off our harddrives/computers which eat power and even looking into solar panels that could run our office equipment off solar energy. (Though will the wind at our new house, I’d say a well placed wind mill could power the neighborhood!).

I would challenge and encourage you all to find ways that you or your company can help the environment in new and innovative ways! GO… green.

 

LOCAL SLF: Decatur vendors the SLF will be branching off into a new Decatur Local Favorites Group and I encourage you all to get in on the ground floor here. Memberships are limited. We will be meeting May 22 at 6:00 so feel free to email me mail@sjanephotography.com for more information on how to get involved.

| Shae | 2013 Senior Portraits | Maroa-Forsyth |

| Senior Portraits | Decatur, IL | Maroa-Forsyth High School |

I’m so excited to have Shae as one of my 2013 senior models! We had a great time hanging out on her session and basically worked our way all the way across Decatur trying out some new locations. I absolutely love photographing at locations for the first time! While there are definitely some popular location options that clients love, my favorite is when we venture out of the ‘already done’ and into new spaces where we can really start to create new and unique images.

My favorite stop on Shae’s session was actually our very first one. My years shooting weddings in the Kansas City area spoiled my love of the concrete jungle and I was so excited to find that big city new building look right here in Decatur.

Our next stop was downtown Decatur where we could get a little urban grunge with some great ivy (I LOVE the ivy in this town!!). This was the perfect texture and color for Shae’s look from Shop 201. Check out this derby hat, it was so much fun.

This location is just a few steps away from a location I used all the time last year and deciding to ditch the old locations and take on the new and unfamiliar with Shae was a fantastic idea as I absolutely fell in love with these white walls and ivy and little tucked in doorways. If you’re in decatur and photographing indoors, you’re crazy!

 

| Hewitt Family | Family Portraits Decatur Illinois | Sarah Jane |

| Newborn & Family Portraits Decatur IL | Sarah Jane Photography |

If you follow me on facebook you may have seen last week that I was editing a family session and couldn’t stop grinning at my computer screen. I think I had a smile on my face (alone in my office) the entire time I edited this family’s images. I met Traci at a Breastfeeding/Baby event held at St. Mary’s Hospital about a month ago and she won our gift giveaway just seconds after talking with me about having newborn images done of her new little one.

I am so happy that Traci was the winner of our gift as this family has been an absolute blast to work with! If you can’t see all the love in this family, it’s time to see the optometrist.  :) Enjoy!

 

| Mother’s Day Gift Ideas | Central Illinois Portrait Photographer |

| MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS |

It’s the time of year when we finally get to focus on Mom, for one day. If your mother is anything like mine, the woman deserves at least 360 days of celebration a year (she might even deserve the whole year!). But this day, this one day, is just for her. To celebrate what she is sure to tell you is the best job in the world, being your mother. And what do you get Mom on this special day? Aside from time with you, I hear time and time again from the mother’s who walk through my doors how much the love and adore the portraits of their children. Whether you are 1 or 51 (or older), your mother would love a portrait of you more than dinner, a dress, even a diamond.

I’ve given my mom many things over the years for mother’s day. From handmade floral arguments when my little kid pockets were pretty empty to self portraits of myself and her grand puppies when my college pockets were pretty empty! It was always these personal gifts that held the places of honor in our home or on her desk for the longest time. And if you look at her desk now you will see a literal shrine of Sarah through the years. (Yes, I get to relive the glasses, braces and all the hair do mistakes EVERY time I go to visit). While there may be stages of our lives we would rather forget (like a bad-idea blond year in high school, I just do NOT have the complexion for blond), these are all the times of our lives our mother’s want to remember.

So this year, gift mom with a one-of-a-kind portrait experience. Yes, not just a portrait but the entire experience. Let her work with us to design a session that capture’s her families personality and love. Then spend the time with the whole family in the beautiful spring weather creating these beautiful images and then sit back with a cup of coffee to view her family on the big screen during her image premier. Finally, let us send her home with a designer art piece for her wall where she can walk by her family every day. Or let us pamper her with custom image jewelry, because you know she wants to show these off to all her friends! Make your mom the envy of all the girls with an SJP mother’s day session, gift card or product.

Just call, we will help you pick out the perfect item to make your mom remember she is appreciated the full 365 days a year! Afterall how can you not walk by an image like this without smiling every time.

| Central Illinois Boudoir Photographer | Sarah Jane |

| Mini Boudoir Sessions |

Hey ladies, I hear you all talk all the time about wanting to do a boudoir session but being a little unsure. Trust me, EVERYONE who walks through my door the day of their boudoir session is a little unsure still. Don’t tell, but I secretly love to open the door and see what facial expression I will get when my lovely ladies show up for their session. It’s usually some mixture of shock, fear, excitement, with a little adrenaline.

Most client’s may not realize that I actually have a great way for you to ‘test the waters’ so to speak with a boudoir session. While it’s not a normally offered session (you won’t see it anywhere in a catalog), I have a radio-only special Mini-Session which is auctioned off through the WSOY radio auctions each month. This is exactly what it sounds like… a MINI boudoir session. It’s only 45 minutes in the studio with 2 outfits, but its a great chance to get a little trial run and create some beautiful images of yourself, for yourself or your man.

While I can tell you that 99% of the ladies who walk in the door have some degree of fear and nervousness, I can also tell you that 100% of the ladies who walk out of my doors after their session (and again after their image premier) are beaming with confidence and smiling from ear to ear. And that is exactly why I love my work, with every boudoir session my goal is to remind you of the gorgeous woman you are, because YOU ARE!

(And yes, I know, you want to wait until you lose 15 more pounds. Man you should see the list of amazing things I’ll be doing after I loose those same 15… it starts with losing the next 15!)

Happy Friday Ladies!

PS: If you’re thinking you need to lose those pounds first, come on in and talk to me about how you can get an ‘after’  boudoir session FREE. But you have to LOVE IT first with a ‘before’ session and then when you LOSE IT I’ll take your ‘afters’ for FREE.

Sarah Jane Photography | 2013 Senior Promo Video

Check out the video that will be appearing as a quick promo ad spot. My Animoto Video.

| Jason | Warrensburg-Latham Senior Portraits |

| Sarah Jane Photography | Senior Portraits | Decatur/Oreana IL

Jason is graduating this year and with both of our busy schedules we had been trying and failing to get him in all year. When you play as many sports as he does, and keep doing so well, it’s bound to create some scheduling whoas with game conflicts and such. And we even had mother nature out to get us on this one, having to reschedule once for rain. But, we never gave up and early this spring we got a sunny (although chilly) day and were able to create some great senior portraits for Jason.

He did great at toughing out the cold (yes there is snow in the background of a few… I’m not kidding it was cold). Check out a few of my favorite images from his session! And check out our facebook for a chance to see more (throw some LIKES his way so we can post more!).

| Stacie | Boudoir | Sarah Jane Photography | Decatur IL |

| Stacie | New York Boudoir Session |

Check out Stacie’s boudoir session! Stacie was a blast to photograph with her bubbly personality and fearless attitude. She had some great ideas to taylor her session to her special someone, who owns a painting business. We busted out the paint buckets and took advantage of the brick wall in our basement to add a little personal touch to her session and he LOVED it.

Like most of my boudoir clients, Stacie’s session was done as a very special gift. And she was so excited to share the present she couldn’t wait for the album to come in and instead we invited him in to share in the Premier. I love when we get to do this and my clients get to share the Premier experience.

| 2013 Senior Models | Now Taking Applications! |

Hey Seniors!!! Sarah Jane Photography is now accepting applications for 2013 SENIOR MODELS. Our models get VIP treatment with FREE sessions, FREE digital and print products, the chance to earn even more FREE product AND fun prizes (like, REALLY fun prizes…. how about an iPad!). 

Spaces are limited and we are only taking applications through the end of the month. Apply online NOW to get more information (there is no obligation when you apply). CLICK HERE

Check out Hunter, our TOP Model from 2012. 

| Charity Model Search | Jackson – 3 Year Old Portraits |

Hello Everyone! Meet Jackson, our first little model in the International Charity Model Search. Jackson is 3 years old, going on 18! He was working it and letting his personality shine during his session. We captured serious, mischievous, darling, ornery, hilarious, rock star, and so much more during his mini-session. 

His mom and I were laughing by the end of his session and all through their premier. Check out a few images from his session and be sure to click here and VOTE for him. 

This is the image we chose to submit. You can vote (once it goes live very soon) here: www.charitymodelsearch.org  Just search for ‘Sarah Gaughan’ in the Photographers section.

 

Everyone gets some free votes so be sure to help our kids do well! Plus, all your paid votes raise money for this awesome charity. 

Monica and I laughed and laughed at this one! We both decided this was a ‘have to have’ image for work because you just cannot have a bad day looking at this face!

| Senior Year Review | Check out some of our seniors from this past year!

| Kylee | Senior 2011 |

Yes, 2011 … No we are not that behind in posting. But, Kylee did graduate last year and we took her senior portraits this year! Senior year is BUSY to say the least and sometimes senior portraits never get checked off the To Do list, and that’s okay. There is no reason why you can’t still have these images created at this unique time in your life. Show off who you are, whether you graduated last year, this year or next, we can fit this is your schedule!

| Ally | Senior 2012 |

| Heath | Senior 2012 |

| Courtney | Senior 2012 |

| Bailey | WLHS Senior 2012 |

| Britney | WLHS Senior 2012 |

| Brittley | Senior 2012 |

| Cameron | WLHS Senior 2012 |

| Bridget | Senior 2012 |

| Taylor | WHLS Senior 2012 |

| Carina  | Senior 2012 |

Behind the Lens | Sarah Jane Photography | One of THOSE Days!

Hello All… This afternoon I am very much in need of a little break, and if any of you had the type of Monday I had I thought you might enjoy a little laugh and the comedy show that was my day. 

Before I tell you the story of my day I want to preface it by saying, I did NOT look at this as a bad day at all, and the little things that went ‘wrong’ were at most an inconvenience and at the very least gave me a little giggle. I’m sharing, not to complain, but to entertain because let me just tell you someone (up there) decided I was not going to get a thing done today no matter what I tried to do! 

So lets begin… The journey of my Monday: 

• Oops 1: I forgot to turn my alarm clock off after getting out of bed… Now, did it decide to go off while I went downstairs, let the dogs out, fixed my coffee, and picked out my clothes? NOPE. It decided to go off after I was already in the shower and it was plugged into my iHome playing music, so after about 90 seconds of iTunes bliss I was serenaded for the entirety of my shower with iPhone ‘Harp’ alarm (thank God it was Harp not ‘Old Phone’). 
• Oops 2: Running a bit late, I decided I needed to do what I never do and dress prepared for the cold weather so I wouldn’t be grumpy and cold later. So I grabbed a couple matching gloves (first mistake… why waste the time to find the matching one??), one of which was completely balled up and inside out and it fought me along the way as I tried to pry out all of the fingers…. 
• Oops 3: Glove FINALLY on! Ready to leave… Keys – CHECK (ya the only oops I didn’t have today was locking my keys in my house), Purse – CHECK, iPad – CHECK, Bank Deposits – CHECK, HUGE bucket of change I am taking to the bank that weighs a TON – CHECK… gloves on…….. AND I CAN’T OPEN OUR DOOR WITH THE GLOVES ON!!! Stupid door knob we didn’t get around to changing this weekend is picking a fight with me! I am determined not to have to take off the glove I just put on and I struggled with the knob for at least five minutes before throwing in the towel (glove) and ripping it off with my teeth without putting down the 50 lb bucket of change. 
• Oops 4: Pulling out of the driveway… relief that I am finally on the way. And “oh look.. what is that in the driveway?” YES, it is my evil glove which I dropped along the way. Well, guess what, it was mean to me so I abandoned it and drove off with some weird satisfaction that this evil piece of material would be at the mercy of mother nature until my return. HA
• Oops 5: Oh wait, I forgot my breakfast, my coffee, and the carpet cleaner (the entire purpose for my trip). So defeated and giggling at this morning I returned (did NOT pick up the glove) and got the rest of what I needed. 
• Oops 6: Shampooing carpet at the old house went smoothly and just when I thought my day was looking up, I went to empty the tank of dirty water from the shampooer so I could pack up and leave and get back to the office… and THERE IS A HUGE OPENING AT THE TOP TO MAKE EMPTYING EASIER… Do NOT turn the container upside down/sideways before getting to the sink… Trying to multi-task and empty both containers at the same time I held one, reached down for the other and dumped the DIRTY water all over my t-shirt and jeans. YUK… I repeat YUK! Like this is full of water plus all the nasty stuff you just vacuumed up! Well, it’s only half full now since I am now wearing the rest. PS, I still have to go to the bank like this!

Intermission… Bank = success and I’m not home to get to work and have the Culligan dude install water softener. 

• Oops 7: Oh Culligan Man … The prior Culligan man had said that installation would be super simple since we had water pipe, drain and plug-in all in one area of the basement. Oh how you were wrong dude! First: That is NOT the main water pipe…. sooo we have to move this to near the main water pipe. CHECK. Second: Oh there is no drain next to that main water valve… uh so we have to pipe it over to the only drain in the basement? Guess what that’s more $$$. Third: There is NO plug-in near the main water valve either! Ok so 3 for 3, he said we had all three where they needed to be and turns out we have 0 of 3 where they need to be. 
• Oops 8: K finally back in the office to work…. Unauthorized charge on my credit card UG …. Have to stop work to deal with this. 
• Oops 9: Entourage FAILS… will not reopen and cannot fix it … I have no idea what is up. 
• Oops 10: Try to set up Mail through Mac and avoid Entourage… cPanel password to the website is MIA and reset failed 3 times. SOOOO….. what to do, what to do. (Write a blog post about this unproductive crazy day- CHECK)

Portrait Session With Disk…. OR MORE?? The SJP Experience

Talked to a lovely lady today who has a family of 18 she would like photographed! We talked briefly on the phone so I could get an idea of what she was looking for and answer her questions, but we will meet in person soon for her consultation.

I talked to her a bit about the SJP experience and as clients often do, she asked if I offer a CD. Which, of course, I do but I explained that this is not a popular option with my clients. She was one of those who it immediately clicked with that the CD would offer her Walmart quality personal snap shots, of the beautiful images she had paid so much for…. Instead I went on to explain to her a little about the SJP portrait experience and that after her session her and her family would be invited in for an in-person premier where they could see their family images and their story live on our big screen television. 

Then we would work together to design wall art and possibly and album for their home and to create a family heirloom that would last through many generations. I also explained that she could even take an image (or two) of her home and where she might like to hang these portraits when they are finished. And with these images I will custom design a display piece to fit her particular space, home style and decor. 

It was such a pleasure to talk with her and after the conversion was over I was excited and confident in my product. I often wonder if it would just be easier to offer a disk of images and let my clients handle the printing (because after all this means less retouching time, less lab expense, less color correction, calibration, less packaging expenses, etc, etc) but knowing that I get to work with each client to create beautiful finished art pieces and having clients who see and appreciate the difference makes me know that creating these products is staying true to myself and my brand.  

It was a wonderful phone conversation and I can tell this family will be a lot of fun to work with!

 

We’ve MOVED! | SJP Relocation Oreana IL

Good morning everyone! As many of you already know Ryan and I are excited to now be first time homeowners. We sort of ‘impulse bought’ a home in Oreana. I say it was an impulse buy because we weren’t actively looking for a home when a friend of Ryan’s mentioned there was one for sale in his neighborhood. Ryan called to set up a walk-through and though that home wasn’t the one for us, he had seen one just a couple blocks over. After some phone calls we were able to see this one that same morning and the rest is history. 

We saw the house on a Saturday morning and by Monday were in making an offer. By the end of the week we had gone through a couple rounds of back and fourth offers and were waiting for our final offer to be approved. In less than a week we had signed a contract on our house and were lining up inspections and I think I looked up one day and asked ‘uh did we just buy a house?’ Yes, yes we did! 

Anyways… I’m excited to now be moved in, to have a few rooms repainted already and be actively on our way to making all our little improvements to make this home ours. So what does this new space mean for you (SJP clients)? I’m very excited to now have a bigger studio, designated solely for studio space! No more shooting around the table or couch and TV. Plus, we have a beautiful, and HUGE, new office that will help with our expanded client base and work load. And new livingroom/viewing room complete with a new 55 inch (soon-to-be wall mounted) flat screen TV. A separate client meeting space for consultations and deliveries. And behind the scenes we now also have a full prop room which will make finding and using all the props and accessories we have much much easier. 

I’m excited to already have my first clients booked in the new space next week! Yes, I have a LOT of work to do to be ready for you all by then but we are making good progress and with Lindsey in the office the rest of the week we should have the office back up and running in no time. 

A huge thank you goes out to my current clients who have been scheduling deliveries around my move and being patient with me as I went without phone connection for a couple days and am still not reconnected to all your files with the main computer. 

I will post a few images of our progress so far and please check back in as I know we will want to invite you all out to help us break in the new space very soon! 

New Studio Space (before)

Covering up red paint!

| Update | Sarah Jane Photography Studio News |

Hello All… Anyone still here?? I know it has been so so long since I have been able to keep up with the blog and I sincerely apologize. The good news is that all of my amazing clients are the reason for the delay and lack of blog posts. When looking at the to do list, ‘design album, retouch portraits, complete order’ always seems 100% more important than ‘update blog’ which is the lonely last sentence at the bottom of the ever-growing list. 

But alas (take a moment to be excited about that word, we don’t use often enough!)… anyways ALAS, I am here now. While waiting on my next client in Starbucks and enjoying a nice cup of coffee I am taking some time to check in with you all and let you know that past blog posts WILL come and new ones as well. 

I’d love to do a quick bullet list of all the amazing things that have been going on for any of you who haven’t been able to keep up on Facebook (I can hardly keep up on most days so how any of you can baffles me). So what’s new? What happened in 2011? And whats coming in 2012… GO

THANK YOU

• WOW First and foremost a HUGE GARGANTUAN ENORMOUS Thank you from the bottom of my heart goes out to all my 2011 (and past) clients! You guys never stop amazing me. 2011 was our first full year of business in central Illinois and can I just tell you that you people ROCK. Really! This year surpassed all my expectations and more and I cannot wait to give you all I can give in 2012. 
•       On this topic I want to share a little story:  I talked to one of my brides today and when working out delivery for her portraits she mentioned something along the lines of not wanting to add to my workload because she knows I’m so busy… I quickly replied that she and her fiancé WERE my work and that making her experience easy, convenient and more was my job and I LOVE my job! You guys are all what let me do what I love every day so I will always figure out a way to give you the best possible portrait and experience

WHATS NEW?

• WE ARE MOVING! Yes, not far, but Ryan and I are excited to now be home-owners of a beautiful home in Oreana. The studio will be coming with us out there and I think you will all be excited to see what we have planned for the space. Lindsey and I are excited for a larger office, and I can’t wait to shoot in the new larger studio space. Plus, (Ryan’s Idea) we have added a new 55 inch flat screen television to take your premier and viewing experience to the next level. How about seeing your 30×40 portrait on the wall instantly! Stay connected with us her and on Facebook to get details on when we will be inviting everyone to come out to see the new space. 
• IMAGING USA! I am very excited to be heading down to New Orleans this Saturday and spending about a week there for the super bowl of Photography Conferences. This will be my third or fourth time attending and the education, inspiration and networking available there is unparalleled. I am sorry to have to take a week away from my clients, but it is worth it as I will go and bring back ideas and information on all the latest trends in the industry. To be the best photographer for all of you, I continue my education constantly with webcasts weekly, if not daily, mini-seminars and large conferences. I hope to check in a bit while I’m there to give you all a taste of our time there. I will be going with Katie Weber of Kay Web Photography in St. Charles and Julie Carter of Julie Carter Photography here in Decatur. 

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

• BRIDAL SHOW I spent last Sunday visiting will hundreds of brides at the WDBR Bridal Extravaganza and it was a blast. Lindsey can tell you, those shows put me in a fantastic mood. And why would they not? I love my job and when I get to share what I love with so many excited brides, you cannot have a bad day! We offered some amazing show specials with savings up to $885 off wedding collections as LIndsey said “WOW so shows are the place to book huh?” YES! That is definitely true. Come see us newt month at the Mt Zion Bridal Expo at the Convention Center on February 26th and see what show specials we have to offer then (you definitely won’t want to miss them). 
• NEW ASSISTANT. So now that I have mentioned Lindsey about 20 times let me introduce you to her. Lindsey is my new office assistant and some of you may have already had the chance to speak with her and/or meet with her. She is a senior and will be graduating this year and then heading to college locally and continuing to work for me. You can expect to hear from her when you call and she will be keeping you all posted on the status of your orders!
• CHARITY MODEL SEARCH. Oh yes, those of you know participated last year know this is by far the BEST time to have your little one photographed at SJP. This year the deals are even better! Our session collection, valued at over $100, is only $35! Plus, I have gone even further and put together some Portrait Collections that are only available to my Charity Model Search clients and are at a huge discount. This is about earning money for an amazing charity (NILMDTS.org) and in the meantime letting your child shine in this National Competition. Sessions run February- March and I’m so please to see you all getting so excited about them. 

| BLACK FRIDAY DEALS | Sarah Jane Photography |

| Best Deal in Decatur, IL | One Day Only Sale |

It’s time! This is your chance to get the Unique SJP Portrait Experience at just a fraction of the price! Plus, current clients, have you been thinking about adding that CD so you can print more of your images? Now, is the best time! Add web disks for as low as $79 and high resolution disks for as little at $189. That’s over $410 in savings!

Plus, give your family and friends something personal and 100% unique this Holiday season with an SJP gift cards. They can use the gift card for anything from family portraits to seniors and even weddings. And each gift comes with a fun frame and special note from me!

Don’t wait this sale is ONLY one day and ONLY on Black Friday. Shop online at www.sjanephotography.com.

Check out a list of the sale items below (click the link above to start shopping and see the prices too low to show here!)

Unique Custom Christmas Cards | Sarah Jane Photography | Decatur, IL Portraits

| It’s not too late! One-of-a-kind Christmas Cards | Sarah Jane Photography |

Check out the two newest Christmas Card designs for the Paradee and Miller families! Remember, you don’t have to have a new session just to have unique Holiday cards that will wow your friends and family this year. If you have had a session with SJP in the last 18 months OR if you have had a portrait session with another photographer and you own the printing rights to your images, you can have your very own personally designed Christmas Card from Sarah Jane!

Card sets of 24 start at only $39 and include envelopes! SPECIAL: Want to be sure the cards get out? for $35/set we will address and mail each of your cards too (extra postage applies for large cards). Talk about care-free Holiday cards.

I LOVE my job | Decatur Portrait Wedding Photography

Somedays it really hits me how absolutely blessed I am to get to follow my passion and do what I love as my career. With 2:30 AM work nights and 7 day work weeks and little time for sleep or relaxation it’s often really easy to get lost in the hectic day-to-day of running the business. But the joy of being able to create beautiful images for each of my clients and seeing the impact these pieces create makes every 17 hour work day completely worth it. Having a mom cry when she sees my images for the first time, whether it is of her newborn infant, her senior or her grown up daughter on her wedding day, it’s priceless.

And knowing that my images hang and will hang in my clients homes for years is such an honor. Thank you to every client who has gifted me with the joy of photographing your family, your memories and being a part of your legacy.

I wouldn’t trade my 17 hour day doing what I love for even a year off on vacation (or doing anything else).

| Allerton Park Senior Portraits | Decatur Wedding Photos | MORE |

| Saturday Wedding Photography | Sunday Fall Senior Portraits | AND MORE |

My weekend was packed this week, but nothing compared to the upcoming week. I spent Saturday with Amy & Aaron on their special day and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. We had the cutest little ones for flower girl and ring bearer and a great bridal party too! With Aaron and many of his friends being avid photography hobbyist there was no shortage of cameras at the event. It was fun for me to get a different angle showing off all the others as they captured the bride and groom.

And yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Hunter (who you may remember is a senior model) doing a bonus fall session she earned. We took Hannah Shaw along for hair and make up and just a little added fun and had a blast hanging out for what turned into hours exploring Allerton Park with Hunter, Hannah, Kathy (Hunter’s mom) and Dillon (Hunters boyfriend). We had a great time and captured some beautiful images for Hunter. Plus, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the Bailey’s having a little bonfire which was a great way to enjoy the nice weather.

Started the week full steam ahead with a mini session for this adorable little pup this morning. He is precious and up for adoption! I wanted so badly just to keep him because he is so sweet and calm and just absolutely the cutest. If anyone is interested in giving this little one a good home contact me.

Enjoy your week everyone!

 

UPDATE: This cute little pup was adopted less than a week after these images went up! I’m so excited he found a great home (though I was hoping my mother would take him home!!!)

| Bad Luck | Just Laugh | Decatur IL Senior Photographer | Bloopers |

| My Day | Behind the Lens Stories |

With the afternoon I had, I have to share… I really felt like this afternoon someone should have had a camera rolling because if I had images of half the things that happened to me from 4:00-6:00 this post would be far more entertaining. Let me walk you through poor Kyler’s Senior session.

4:02 … Camera bag on shoulder, camera loaded up with 70-200 lens with fully charged battery and full CF card (I’m ready, let me tell you!), and grab the purse and we are out the door!

4:03 … Pull the door shut (gotta pull hard this is an old house)… Keep thinking I’m missing something: Camera (CHECK), Bag (CHECK), Purse (CHECK), Battery Pack in hand (CHECK)… hmm … Door clicks latched. KEYS (NOT CHECK)… Seriously, KEYS? Anyone? Do I have my keys? … In the purse, NO… Oh wait, I put them where they are supposed to go on the hook inside the door. DUN DUN DUN (dramatic music, hang with me here).

4:05 … Uh don’t panic yet. Check side door (LOCKED), Check back door (LOCKED), Call Ryan (IN A MEETING), Call Hannah (COMING RIGHT OVER WITH HAMMER AND DRILL – yes seriously we were going to get in this house!)

4:10 … Final effort before the troops (Hannah and Jason and Dennis) arrive. Me (please picture this, it’s a shame there are not images) … squeezing through the bushes in front of my house to the side porch (which is about 3 feet above the ground with a railing that is about at eye level when you are standing, in the bushes, on the ground). Yup, I’m going over. PS: Added obstacle… railing is rotted and now completely not attached to the column. Though in all fairness, the railing is likely not designed to hold a chunky woman as she attempts to break into her own home.

4:_ (who knows people, I just braved the jungle of bushes and climbed up my porch I forgot to check my watch!)

IM IN! Well sort of.. door unlocked! Problem: Couch is in front of this door! Um, lovely because why would their not be a large piece of furniture in front of this door. (Yes, I put it there. Back off).

Fast forward: Rush to session, get there 5 minutes before we are suppose to start shooting. Apologize. Explain break-in story. Hurry to setup equipment. (Side note with all the equipment malfunctions: 1) TINY bracket that I need to attache flash to the soft box dislodged in my trunk on the drive over and my trunk ate it, literally it’s MIA. Solution: improvise and trade bracket out with an alternative spare I carry for crazy days like this. 2) My quick stands which are now probably fit for the junk yard have knobs that don’t work and one finally decides to actually completely come off during the session so my stand is perpetually falling or having to be held up. And this quickly defeats the purpose of a s-t-a-n-d when all it does is fall. 3) Face/Eyes + Pine Tree. Enough Said. 4) Activate car alarm while leaving first location. I’m glad I didn’t choose to rob a bank today, I’m guessing I would have gotten caught. 5) I feel like there were more things because this just doesn’t seem to be enough but by the end of the session we were really just laughing at everything that kept happening.)

Moral of the story, it’s ALL ok! In the end, my clients didn’t get stood up because I was able to break into the house (with no power tools needed) and, most importantly, we created some great images for Kyler! But wow, it was a journey. We will have to do a family session with Kyler’s family because they should have the opportunity to have a not crazy, bad luck day session!

PS: Thanks guys for being AWESOME as karma had fun with me today.

| Branding | SJP Marketing | Logos | Decatur, IL |

| Photography Branding | Logos | Marketing |

As a person, I am pretty much always in motion. I have never quite mastered the art of relaxation and complacent isn’t really in my vocabulary (metaphorically that is, obviously I just wrote it so it’s in the word arsenal…anyways). So as my imagery, art and design evolve it is often difficult for me to reign in the creative exploration of the SJP brand. For the past seven years I have come from ‘Portraits by Sarah’ to ‘SMG Photography’ and then finally landing on Sarah Jane Photography (to the disappointment of my mother who points out that this is NOT my name).

And in the past four years SJP has searched for a look, and trust me each time landing on the new look appears to be the final destination, so I make no claims that we have arrived at our iconic “Coca-cola” red BUT with the help of Miss Hannah Shaw of La Petite Salon (who offered some fresh eyes on the original design and offered a little direction which led to this final product) I am excited to show off the new look for my cards, signs, and blog!

The cards in person! Arrived today (literally in about a day and a half from overnightprints.com)… and yes this was taken on my iPhone, and yes I do own a multi-thousand  dollar camera which could have been used to take this image and make it look MUCH better, but um… NA this works.

AND side note, though most of my time is devoted to the creation of images and custom artwork for my portrait and wedding clients I do love design and have a lot of fun working with other small businesses so if anyone reading this blog (IF there is anyone reading this blog) is a small business owner struggling to create a look or brand give me a call! I hope you all love the design as much as I do (in this moment when it is new and shiny … as the Thrive team would say “Oh look, a Nickel”)

 

Thanks for reading! (or at least looking at the pictures – that’s what really matters)

Good night world.