Furry family members - time to include them :-)

Before I start this blog entry, make sure you visit my website - I have an end of summer special offer for the months of March and April (sessions can happen at a later stage) so be sure to visit my site to see what sort of photo sessions I am able to offer :-).

Click on this image for details of my end of summer special offer

I've always loved animals.  In fact one of my biggest hidings (back in the days when it was still what happened to kids who didn't listen) was when at the age of around 3 I ran into the road to "rescue" a dog I was worried would be run over.  As my mum dragged me back to the house, giving me a hiding I told her I was worried the cars would run over the puppy.  While she was proud of me for my wonderfully caring and unselfish nature, she was soooo not impressed with me :-).

 I am one of those "I want one" kind of people and if I could have a farm I would definitely have one.  At one stage I wanted alpacas and knew everything there was to know about them.  And when I watched Rio with the kids, by the end of it I was busy researching exotic birds and how to keep and breed them (what???!!!).  Yeah, I had to remind myself that I wasn't going to have birds :-).  Not with a cat around.

All of my life I have always had animals.  Sometimes dogs, sometimes cats and once we had budgies. At the moment we have a beautiful cat Oscar.  We adopted him from the SPCA when he was about 6 months old.  Initially his name was Harlan, but we named him Oscar (as in Oscar Wilde - seeing as him and his mum and siblings were found living it rough behind a restaurant).

So I will now be looking at starting to offer pet photography as part of my photo options.  So many people simply love their pets.  Their pets are their family and I think I can really add value by including these specially furry family members and creating some special memories. And especially when some of these animals are getting older, wouldn't it be neat to actually have some beautiful portraits you could treasure forever? So if you are interested let me know and for a limited time I can make a special offer for you.

Our beautiful fluffy cat Oscar.

A while back at work they asked me to take some photos at a dog graduation (as in drug dogs and other type of police dogs).  It was so cool and I was in my element (especially when I got to meet a baby police dog :-) ).

The graduate

One day when I am big, I am going to catch those baddies...

... you just wait and see...  But in the meantime can I have a treat?

A little revamp

I have recently spent some time updating my website (feel free to click here to visit my website).  I wanted to make it a bit more obvious and clearer about what I am able to offer.  I took the opportunity to revise my photo packages so if there is a particular photo shoot you are interested in, be sure to contact me and discuss your requirements. A little more on my photo packages further on in this post :-).

It was quite hard choosing images to put on my website as I didn't want to put too many images to look through as I know it can get quite daunting.  I created a collage with a selection for each type of photo shoot and added it to the relevant pages.  As I looked through the different images from the different shoots I have been doing, I am totally amazed at the wonderful opportunities I have received.  I have done so much.  Of course I don't share photos from all sessions.  Only where people give me written permission.  And I respect that.

Wow, I have been quite busy, but I loved it :-)

Sometime soon I will introduce some special offers and specific themed photo shoots - be sure to like my Facebook page where I will be sharing these offers and themes and who knows maybe there might be something that would be perfect for you (or somebody you know :-) ). So make sure you don't miss out :-).

What immediately comes to mind is maybe a furry friends shoot where I could look at people and their pets (I just love animals and if I could would have a farm :-) ).  Or maybe a generation shoot with grandparents and their grandchildren or maybe 3 generations in one setting or something like that.  I think something like that would be very special.

With my revamped site, I have also decided it was time to update my photo packages.  Up to now if you purchased my images you would receive 2 of the same digital image for every image in the package that you purchased.  You would receive the full sized image suitable for print and then a resized image suitable for Facebook or email, but with my logo on it.  And so the request was that if you used my image on Facebook to please use the one with the logo and I would prefer it not to be edited over and above my edit.  It has become increasingly clear that people actually wanted more flexibility.  They did not necessarily wanted to print images and they want to have the freedom to edit their images over and above my usual editing and some people really would prefer a print rather than digital.  So what I am doing now is to make a variety of packages available (to suit different budgets) and a choice of resized digital, full sized digital and print.  With the digital neither would contain my logo and you, the client will receive full printing and editing (over and above my editing) rights.

There will also be packages for weddings, birthdays and other celebrations, events and corporate images (including profile photos i.e. for LinkedIn).

Which type of shoot do I prefer?  I honestly could not say.  Each type of shoot is exciting in its own way and each one presents its own challenge, but what I can say is that I love helping people make memories.