Kate Nash-Merry Happy

I LOOOOOOVE this song. I tried to add it to my Senior site but it was too big. Anyone know how to condense music??

Giving is Awesome...and so are they

This Mom is awesome.  She was nominated for Giving is Awesome.  She is an incredible woman who has kept her chin up through some really tough times.   She says she has NO pictures of herself so I am happy to be able to give her some nice portraits of her and her kids.

My Mama's Senior picture- LOL!

I've been a bad blogger because my Mom came to visit us for a week.  We had TONZ o' fun and she helped us so much with getting organized and watching kids while Matt and I worked on preparing some new products and things for the biz.

She saw our new Senior site and so she brought me a photo of HER when she was a Senior to amuse me.  We all had a good laugh over this photo so I had to share it here.  She's not even smiling which is contrary to my Mom.  She's a pretty chipper gal so that picture does not reflect her at all.

Seniors:  Bring a copy of a senior picture of yo' Mama to your session and we'll take a photo of you holding it AND give you a complimentary set of wallets.  She may be a bit embarassed but hey, she'll thank you for saving her some hard earned cash, right?

Hot & super skinny Mama

 This one (below) was taken when we were finished and walking to our cars.  The wind was blowing her hair just perfectly so I grabbed this candid shot and love it.

Tracy was so excited to do this "Hot Mama" session because she had recently lost 50 lbs!  That is definitely something worth celebrating.  She must have been tiny to begin with because she is incredibly skinny now!  She told me there was no magic pill... just exercise, weight lifting and watching what she ate.  You are an inspiration, Tracy!

We've had so many Mama's interested in our "Hot Mama" sessions that we decided to continue them throughout the year with Salon Chocolat.  It's a wonderful way to pamper yourself and makes a great gift for your man's birthday, your anniversary or a sexy surprise.  Call France Photography @ 775.315.7494 to reserve your spot today.

Damask frames

I am SO excited about these new frames that we are going to be offering. They are handcrafted, wooden damask frames. Gorgeous!

Podcast music videos for Seniors

We are so excited to be offering podcast music videos for our Seniors. Check out this small sneak peek to see what they look like.

My Senior Site is live!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO giddy about our new Senior website. It is fun-ky! Just go to http://www.francephotography.com/ and click on "Senior Site."

To celebrate the launch of our high school Senior site, we are running some super fun promotions.

Book your Senior session now and receive 50 complimentary 411 cards and 3 Facebook images. Plus, you'll be the one of the first Seniors to star in our sweet music videos for your podcast! France Photography is currently booking 2009 Seniors until April 30th 2009. We are usually scheduled a few weeks in advance so call to reserve your session today.

BYOBFF Special: Bring your own Best Friend Forever to the session and you can split the session fee and time between the two of you. Plus, you'll get to take a couple portraits taken togetha!

My kids were in a Fashion Show!

Baby Willows Boutique had a Fashion Show a couple weeks ago and asked my kiddos to be models in it. Judy, the owner, is the Queen of style. She dressed all of the kids SOOOOOO cute! I wish I would have gotten more of my own kiddos in their outfits but time was limited and my kids are photographer's kids which means they know how to act out to push Mommy's buttons. *Sigh* It was a blast though!

Here's Judy's Granddaughters. They are crazy-cute!

Future Rockstar:

My daughter wouldn't smile so I asked her afterwards why she didn't smile. She told me, "I can't when I have lipgloss on." Oh, right.

My son sportin' some cool jammies:

I made a cameo too because my baby was a little freaked out by all the people there so I had to hold him the whole time. Check out his cute hat!

As you can see, the clothes really make for ADORABLE portraits so France Photography decided to give our clients a little incentive to invest in the perfect ensemble. If you go to Baby Willows and have Judy style your child's outfit for his/her portraits, you will receive a complimentary 8x10 Gift Portrait! It makes for less stress on what to wear and creates FABULOUS photos!

Facebook!

I caved and finally got a Facebook page. I've been wanting to for a while but haven't because I knew that it would be such a distraction and IT IS! Oh well, it sure is fun to chat with all my favorite peeps. If you want to add me as a friend, go to my facebook.

Bro & sis

These two were so sweet. They had the cutest relationship. You can see their connection in the top image. There's nothin' like a big sister.

Maternity, baby! ~ Reno maternity portraits

These guys were such fun to work with. She was such a trooper bustin' out the belly in the cold! The one with the belly by the tree was her hubby's idea and I love how it turned out with all the texture. It would make a sweet canvas!

Mom-preneur: Adorn

We are back from our trip and of course, I have a billion things to do and came home with a mean cold. Such is life. I have TONS to post so I'll start with this Mom-preneur, Kimberly, who does custom henna body art.

Business Name: Adorn

Where did the name come from?

The name 'Adorn' seemed to me to encapsulate the way I feel when wearing henna - it's a little exotic, dramatic, and really beautiful. There's something about wearing henna body art that makes you not only feel decorated, but feel like you're precious and WORTH being decorated. That's what I wanted to convey with the name. There is something about drawing a henna design on a pregnant mother (whether it's on hands, feet, or belly) that really highlights this sense of celebration and blessing.

How long have you been doing this?:

I began drawing with henna in 2005 when I was pregnant with my second child - I actually bought some henna paste so I could decorate my own belly in celebration. I fell in love with the art form, and I've been playing around with it ever since; drawing on anyone I could get to sit still long enough. In December 2008 I decided I wanted to make this into a business venture, and began offering my henna artwork to students and visitors to Yoga Loka (a yoga studio in south Reno where I teach vinyasa and prenatal yoga classes). I love doing henna of all sorts, but I'm especially excited about the opportunity to bless mamas and babies. I'm hoping that my prenatal yoga connection will lead to the chance to decorate many pregnant bellies.

Explain your business and how you developed the concept behind it:

This endeavor started with my henna hobby, and expanded as I subsequently began experimenting with other media. I am trained as a scientist (I have a Ph.D. in plant ecology) but as the mother of three young children (ages 6, 3, and 1), I decided that the academic world was too family unfriendly and I'm taking a break from academics in order to raise my children. By expanding my hobby into a business I hope to create a situation where my livelihood is not in conflict with my ability to enjoy my life.

I work in three different media to create beautiful and temporary adornment for the skin to provide ephemeral beauty and fun for adults and children alike. They are henna, jagua and glitter.

What makes your business so unique?

I know of only a handful of henna artists and I am the only person I know who also works with jagua and glitter. I offer the opporunity for safe, natural, painless, and temporary body art for people of all ages. I think pregnancy henna is particularly unique - this is one of the few things a pregnant women can do safely to decorate her gorgeous body, and it lasts longer than body paint and has a long and significant history. I am also excited about offering glitter tattoos for children's events. They provide a similar sense of celebration and fun as face-painting, but they last much longer and are beautiful collaborations between myself and the children who choose the designs and colors.

Storefront/website/etsy:?

I am the 'artist in residence' at Yoga Loka in Reno (6135 Lakeside Dr. #121) every Saturday starting at 12:00 PM and walk-ins are welcome. I don't yet have a website or etsy but you can view pictures of my work on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18857616@N03), and you can contact me by e-mail at kimberly.allcock@gmail.com.

Struggles/difficulties starting a business:

I think the hardest part has been spreading the word and letting people know what I do. I've never been really good at promoting myself, and obviously starting a business necessarily entails self promotion!

Balancing business and family:

My husband is wonderfully supportive, and watches the kids when I am at my weekly sitting at Yoga Loka or if I'm booked for a special event. I have had clients come over to my home during my kids' naptime, and done private appointments while the babies are sleeping. This is one of the most exciting things about starting this business - it should be possible to create my own schedule to conflict as little as possible with family time. As the weather warms up and people are ready to bare more skin to decorate, I imagine my schedule will fill up, and it will take pre-planning to ensure there is little conflict.

Short and long-term goals:

I envision this remaining a small and intimate business in the long term, with a few clients per month; large enough to be rewarding and interesting, but small enough to allow me to make my family my priority. I would love to see expectant mothers and mothers of newborns become my core clientelle for henna art. I think henna lends itself so well to celebrating the beauty of the body and of birth. I would also love to become better known as an affordable option for kids' birthday celebrations!

Thanks Kimberly!

We're in Washington...Illinois

Matt and I are at a sweet photo workshop in the tiny town of Washington, Illinois. As much as I adore my kiddos, this will some much needed time with hubby. It's a good thing they didn't come too because that 4 hour plane ride would have majorly sucked if we had to try to keep them happy for that long. Instead I read Twilight and THOUGHT without interuption. It's amazing the clarity you can have when have time to think.

Anyhoo, you'll know why I'm not blogging much this week because my brains and my belly are full!