Our new website is now live!
All new pages and easy to use. Visit the site right now by going here: tlcphotography.com. Or, you can just copy that into your browser. Either way, you get to the same place. The first ten visitors to take advantage of online booking for a regular portrait session will get a FREE set of THREE 8×10 prints from their session!
Here are some features we’re happy to include as part of our new site:
- Cleaner design (much less stuff and more information & pictures)
- Quicker access (fast one- or two-click access to the things you want to know now)
- Integrated online booking (you can book online from most places on the site, 24/7)
- Easy to see our current specials and promotions (it’s right on the home page under “Book Now!” – you don’t have to book to see them)
- Blog and contact access on the first page. Don’t hunt for a way to get in touch with us, it’s right there!
- Completely mobile-friendly. Now, all aspects of our website and support sites are mobile-friendly. This means regardless the device you are using, or which functionality you are using on our website, your phones, tablets, laptops AND desktops will adjust properly for the best view.
- Easier updates. It’s now quicker and easier for us to update the pictures and information on our website. So, expect to see new stuff more often!
Thanks for taking the time to look at our new site. We hope to hear from you soon!
Now is the time for lots of new growth, just about everywhere. We have started to really settle into our new studio space in downtown Martinsburg, and have so much to be grateful for. We’re getting familiar with our merchant & residential neighbors and there’s just something in the air that feels positive! And we’re not about to stop there!
The response to the baby contest was amazing to us, and we were so happy to see so many people acknowledging our posts about it. But that is our big winter promotion, and now it’s spring. So, time to offer a little more.
What’s coming up? Easter is upon us, and we’ve seen more than our share of chicks, bunnies, eggs and pretty dresses. Now it’s time for high school proms, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
And a new website.
And online booking.
Our new website debuts on Friday, April 3. We’re putting it through its final paces and will reveal the “new look” on Friday at 11am! There are several new features, including many new links to our social media outlets. We also simplified our website considerably, making it easier to find what you’re looking for (which users of our old site will remember as tedious and time-consuming), and integrated directly with our client galleries and our new online booking system. Clean, simple, and easy to use. Take a look on Friday!
Online booking has been a long time coming… it’s integrated into our new website, and will be prominent on our Facebook page and other social media sites, as well as our blog. Look for “Book Now” on any of those locations to book portrait sittings, senior portraits, special mini-session opportunities and more. Soon, we’re going to add much more functionality! You’ll be able to book your sessions and events 24/7!
Want to try out our online booking? Here are three specials we have running right now:
Book your prom pictures! There are area high school proms on April 25, May 2, and May 9. You can get your pictures taken in your prom best without having to wait in line! Choose from several different backdrops, have multiple poses taken, and even get some custom-designed street shots taken! Want to know more? You can, if you just click Book Now! But here’s a little secret… there are coupons floating around out there (Dana’s Tuxedo, Sokel Skin Care & Makeup, for example) to take $10 off your picture package!
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both rapidly approaching. We’re ahead of the game, though, and have created two mini-session opportunities for you to take advantage of. You check either or both of them out below:
For our Mommy & Me mini-sessions on April 18, click Book Now!
For the Daddy & Me mini-sessions on May 30, click Book Now!
See how easy that is? We’re looking forward to showing off more of what we can do in the near future. Meanwhile, it’s back to work shining up the new website for you. See you on Friday!
A Brief Baby Contest History
Thirteen years ago, we had no idea what we were creating when we crafted a tiny fundraiser for a very big cause. Our objective was to raise funds for a worthy charity. Since then, it has become our annual fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Every year has been different. But one thing remains constant; the babies are all beautiful.
The concept is simple enough. The session/entry fee is donated to St. Jude (this year, we raised $560 via the fees), we get quality time with some wonderful families and their babies, and everyone gets great pictures! But there has to be an end result… there has to be a winner – it is a contest after all.
So, there are winners.
How It Works
Each parent picks the photo they want to enter into the contest from the portrait sittings we do. Some choose black & white photos, others color. Some select smiling photos, others where their child is looking away in wonder. But in each case, it’s their own view of just how beautiful their own baby is. And we couldn’t agree more this year with the choices. So many beautiful babies.
There are four judges. Two are in other parts of the country, and two are closer to home. We always make sure that the judges do not know any of the contest entrants or their parents. Their anonymity is also important to the contest results. They are presented the photos in a numbered gallery (no names are used), and rank their favorites based on a very specific criteria (which we explain to each of the parents). They send us their selections as #1, #2 and #3. The baby with the most points… well, wins.
There are five winners. Two honorable mentions, a third, second and grand prize winner. Gratefully, there was no conflict in the numbers… no tie-breaking was needed.
The Results
Here’s how it played out.
Our two honorable mentions:
The third place winner:
Our second place winner:
And this year’s grand prize winner and our Most Beautiful Baby:
The winners are being contacted separately about prizes.
We want to thank our participants, judges, and everyone else who was involved in the contest this year. It was a fabulous fundraiser, and we are planning many more in the future.
To see more of the baby pictures from this year’s contest, visit our Facebook Page. To learn more about our children’s program, visit our website.
I’m a big fan of babies… and while there have been a lot of new posing techniques revealed and extolled by many photographers, I remain a fan of the classics, too. Simplicity makes it all about the baby…
Another of the home-schooled students we’ve had the pleasure of photographing this year, Jasmine was the one (of her two other siblings) who wanted pictures the most. She was fun, enjoyed posing, and wanted plenty of variety. We have that!
So, when your photographer advertises that big special offer, which might include a CD of images from the session, you’re ready to jump on it because you love getting the CD, right? What’s not relevant here is how many images you get, or the circumstances. What’s important is that if you only got a CD, you’re not only cheating yourself, but you’re getting cheated. Read on.
Notwithstanding that a CD might cost less than a buck, and that your photographer with a certain style might spend less than a hour on your images, what are you really getting? Yes, you get the experience and professional photography. You get good customer service, a fun time with a genuinely nice person, and even some good pictures. But are you getting something that will last forever?
Do you remember the 8-track tape? Cassette tape? Most people don’t use CDs anymore (they only hold about 700MB), and most use DVDs (which hold over 4GB). But with the advent of Blu-Ray, how long will it be before that DVD is out of date? Or that file format? What will you do in ten years when DVDs are no longer supported by computers (most computers today no longer support floppy drives)?
Here’s something else to consider… where will you store your disk? What will you do with the images on it? Post them on Facebook? How long will they stay there? They may remain on your photo gallery for a long time, but they will get pushed to the bottom like all the others have over time. And forgotten. The disk may get lost or damaged (do you know how to take care of a DVD properly?)
It’s time for you to take control. If your photographer offers only a disk, ask for more. Demand prints. Tell them you want your images to be on the wall, in full view, for all to see. Be proud of your portraits, your wedding, your children and your family! Don’t hide them away on a disk anymore. Put them out for the world to see!
Here’s more to consider. Did you know that children who see pictures of themselves on the walls have a greater sense of well-being and self-confidence as they grow up? They can’t see those pictures of they’re on a disk. And couples who put their wedding pictures on the walls and in an album are more likely to stay together than those who don’t. We have clients who regularly share their pictures on the walls with us – and they have fabulous relationships, wonderful families and beautiful children!
Listen… this is not hard to understand. And yes, we DO sell the image files for most of our sessions and weddings. But we always offer you prints at the same time. And we always will, because they mean you will always see the pictures that you have tucked safely away in a dark storage place (after you made a backup, right?)
So, what are you going to do next time your photographer offers a disk-only portrait session? That’s right, demand prints!
Today was our third installment of street portraits. We got about a half hour in before the rain started. And while Mother Nature decided against me today, it’s okay to realize the higher power that is the weather.
We’re excited about continuing this series and want your feedback. What do you think we should do? Another city? A different time of day? Or perhaps move indoors?
Stay dry. Enjoy your Sunday. We’re headed off for more adventure!
We’ve just had so many babies in the studio lately that it’s’ easier to catch up by posting a bunch of them at once. We really have enjoyed seeing all the babies. We look forward to many more. 🙂
