I hope everyone has had a great holiday!  What is usually my quietest month has turned into a VERY productive and very busy January!  I have a couple of projects on the go currently besides mentoring and I can’t wait to share them with you!  On a side note, if any photographer  is looking for mentoring help, I have one spot left available.  Please e-mail me for further details. 

My first sneak peek of the year is of two absolutely adorable sisters.  I had thought they were the cutest babies ever when they were newborns, but they continue to get cuter and cuter if that is possible!!!  Thanks for a fun shoot Mom!  It was great to spend time with you all again!

This beautiful Momma-to-be is a dear client-turned-friend who is expecting babe #4.  Can you believe it??? She has three VERY sweet boys and I’m anxiously waiting to find out what this little one will be.  It won’t be long now!

As promised I am updating on my Christmas cards.   I have to say I’m thrilled with both the quality as well as customer service.  A Tiny Prints customer service rep called me last week when I was writing the card reviews just to ensure that our last name is indeed “Enns” and not “Enns’  or “Enn’s” .  Then, my cards arrived yesterday, a FULL week early!  After opening the box excitedly, I was thrilled to see a high quality card that was darn near perfect color to what I have on my monitor.  All my envelopes were there including the 5 extra I purchased at 20 cents each as I tend to screw up one address or another! LOL!  Here’s some samples of what they look like.  Overall rating?  10 out of 10.  I’ll be using them again!  What card companies do YOU use?   Has the review helped you make a decision?

These returning clients have been so patient in waiting for their sneak peek!  As a result I thought I’d add a few more images here for them.  Another business woman that I admire and her family whom I’m lucky enough to photograph on a regular basis.  I can’t get over how her kiddos have grown!!  Time really does move along and I’m so glad we can capture a slice of time for them.  Thanks again for a fun shoot ‘V.’ family!

I just love this image below.  When it’s viewed at full size it looks as though it’s been painted.  So cool!

It’s that time of the year again!  Purchasing and creating holiday cards can be a lot of fun, but the options available to us are often overwhelming.   To that end, I thought it might be helpful to share some ideas and give you a general review of what is out there to help you make an informed decision.  If you’re like me, you like something different and with a ‘wow’ factor, while others prefer a simpler approach.  Here’s some info to help you out.  Happy carding!

CANADIAN STORES:

When it comes to Canadian photo card businesses, there are a limited number to choose from,  however there are a few Canadian options you might want to consider:

1) Blacks – www.blacks.ca

Flat cards with text start at $1.79 each

Folded cards start at $1.00 each with No minimum

***Notes: There is a definite bonus to being able to pick up the order and avoid shipping costs.  Sadly though I can’t speak to their design styles as they wanted me to create an account to see them (and I didn’t ).

2) Staples- www.staplescopyandprint.ca

Flat cards start at 83 cents each (Min. 12)

Folded cards  start at $1.65 each (Min. 12) but unfortunately

the card sizes aren’t told on the site.

***Notes: If you want to upload your own design, there’s a $4.99 additional fee which confuses me because you upload a photo for the other cards with no fee.  Styles are shown without an account which is nice and you can pick these up at their stores so no shipping costs.

3)  Kodak Gallery: www.kodakgallery.ca

This is the company in partnership with Future Shop

Flat cards start at 59 cents each and prices improve with bulk orders

Folded cards start at 99 cents each and again prices improve with bulk orders

***Notes: LOTS of nice designs as well as card options: Flat, folded, accordian.  I was able to look at the designs without having to create an account and no shipping as you pick them up at your choice of Future Shop stores.

4) Costco:     www.costco.ca/PhotoCenter/PhotoCenter.aspx

Flat cards start at 47 cents (minimum 50 cards) and can be picked up next day

Folded cards start at $1.oo each with no minimum and are ready in 1-2 weeks

***Notes: Another site that requires you to have an account to see the styles

I don’t have a Costco account, but might be interested in one if I could see some of the styles.

Having said this, I have seen good quality photo prints from there.

5) Vista Print: www.vistaprint.ca

Flat photos start at 49 cents

Folded cards start at 94 cents

***Notes: There are a lot of designs to choose from and there are options to put multiple photos in the cards.  Drawback: There is shipping for orders and is dependent on weight of the package and timing needed for arrival.  While I haven’t yet tried Vista print, I can say they have an excellent reputation.

6)Snapfish:  snapfish.ca

Folded (5×7) cards start at 40 cents each

Notes: I put this here because while it is a website for Canadians, it is really limited as it only offers 5×7 cards while their U.S. counterpart has wayyyyy more design styles and card sizes.  Shipping from their Canadian site is $4.99.  You may want to look at their U. S. site (snapfish.com) as they have many more options, however keep in mind that there will likely be more shipping costs.

AMERICAN STORES:

There are many, many card stores in the U.S. so here are just a few popular ones.  The main drawback for these is of course the dollar exchange as well as the shipping and possible duty.  However, if you are looking for variety and something different, you may end up wanting to try one of these spots.

1) Shutterfly: shutterfly.com

Flat cards start at 32 cents  each (U.S. Dollars)

Folded cards start at $1.03 each (U.S. Dollars)

***Notes: Shutterfly has GORGEOUS designs if you are looking for something a little different and they are even willing to address and mail your cards for an additional fee! I couldn’t nail down the exact price for shipping.  Might be worth a look.  One note though, their shipping times this far into the fall might not be in time to write and address this year ( double check on this one).

2) Mpix: mpix.com

Flat cards start at 42 cents each (U.S. Dollars)

Folded cards start at 98 cents each (U.S. Dollars)

***Notes: Beautiful products, but sadly a whopper shipping fee of $30 U.S. Dollars plus duty (sighing sadly   )

3) Tiny Prints:  tinyprints.com

Flat cards start at 59 cents each (U.S. Dollars)

Folded cards start at $1.29 each (U.S. Dollars)

Accordian cards start at $1.91 each (U.S. Dollars)

***Notes: This is the company that I chose to do our family cards this year.  They came recommended from a client of mine who is thrilled with their quality.  They too have gorgeous designs (1115 to be exact!), plus many card options including flat, folded, square, accordian and even round to create card ornaments like I did last year.  My cards haven’t arrived yet, however I will let you know when they do!  Here’s our card for this year:

LAST COUPLE OF NOTES:

Pricing that you see here are what I found on Thursday, Nov. 17th and some reflect sales going on.  I’m sure pricing is subject to change depending on what you are looking for.  All of the sites above really do have pricing to suit any budget.  They also pretty much all offer additional products such as calendars and books.  My own 2 cents about photo books would be to put a plug in for www.blurb.com  You just can’t beat the quality and customer service there!  Have fun and if you do create cards and have one left over,  I always love to see how you use them (hint hint!)   Lastly, if you found this post helpful, would you mind letting me know in the comment section of my blog?  I’d be happy to offer more of this type of posting if clients are finding them helpful.  Thanks so much!

S.

If you look up at the rotating images at the top of my blog, you will see two of these cuties with their Mum and Dad in black and white.  I was blown away at how much they have grown since then!  We headed out to the apple orchard for some serious fun.  One of these cuties very much enjoyed her reading (see pic below) and they ALL were excellent hostesses at a seriously fun tea party.  So cute!!!

Always a pleasure seeing this family.  That’s the best part of my business, connecting with clients and having the honour of watching their little ones grow!

Just one for now,  lots more to come this week!

Happy Halloween everyone!  I hope everyone has a great time tonight!  I can’t believe that it’s really ‘that time of the year’ again.  With the changing weather, I’ve been hearing a lot about the cold, the damp, the rain and of course the impending snow.  However, I have to say that despite the downside, I still LOVE fall.  The colors, the smell of leaves falling all just make me smile.  Want to know what makes me smile even more?  Fall, WITH a great client turned friend WITH one of her passions, horses!!!!!  Tania Heinemann is an amazing woman who’s talents know no bounds.  She is the nutritionist/doula/wellness coach behind Yellowood Nutrition (www.yellowood.org).  However, as of late, she has now also become the owner of “Oh Baby Fitness”(www.ohbabyfitness.ca)!  I admire her passion for people as well as her sense of business.  I almost kinda wish I had a baby so that I could sign up for one of her classes! (okay, notice I said ALMOST!).

Anyways, we had a great time out at a friend’s farm (thanks again Meg!) the other day.  Max, our model horse was a sweetie despite being interrupted during his breakfast.  Thanks again for a great time Tania!