amanda e. photography | the blog » lifestyle photography with art & soul

and the winner is…..

January 24, 2010 – 12:34 am

Thank you SO much to all 413 people who voted! That was quite a turnout. Thanks also to the 58 people who commented on the post! I *love* comments! In fact, next year I’m going to implement a fun new game. When comments hit a certain number on my clients’ sneak peeks, they’ll receive a FREE print! Isn’t that cool?

First, congratulations to Joy and Stacey, who won the $50 gift cards in the comment contest & Facebook contest!

Now onto the 2009 photos of the year!

Here they are, in order of 1st, 2nd and 3rd…

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It’s here! 2009 Photo of the year contest!

January 18, 2010 – 11:59 pm

It’s so hard to believe it’s that time again. Time for me to choose my favorite image from each 2009 session. In a way, it’s easy. Every time I shoot a session, I always walk away with my own personal favorites. They’re definitely not always my clients’ favorites, but they end up being near and dear to my heart. Usually because of the memory that goes along with the image. The emotion. The unadulterated joy, the warmth, the love, the belly laugh…you get the idea. Well, I’ve picked MY faves from ‘09 and now it’s your turn. Voting will be open now through Friday, January 22nd at Midnight. I will announce the winners on Saturday. Below you will find 17 images. Only 3 will win. That’s right, 3 winners this year! Check out the prizes:

1st place - CD with 3 digital images of your choice ($195 value)

2nd place - Black leather wallet brag book with 10 prints of your choice ($65 value)

3rd place - $50 Amanda E. Gift Card

But not only do my clients win, the voters can too! Simply leave a comment at the bottom of this post with your name and e-mail address and I will randomly choose 1 voter to receive a $50 Amanda E. Gift Card! But not only that…did you know we’re on Facebook? Become a fan and be included in the random drawing for an additional $50 Amanda E. Gift Card on the Facebook page! Become a fan HERE

ok, let’s get to it…

By amanda e. | Posted in Uncategorized | 58 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

2009 photo of the year ::teaser::

January 16, 2010 – 10:56 pm

That’s right everybody, it’s that time of year again! My big photo of the year contest! Last year was so much fun! I absolutely love being able to showcase all of my favorites at the same time. I’m planning a lot of blog activity this coming week. I’ll be posting my annual “Year in Review” slide show with images from all my 2009 sessions, then the “Photo of the Year” contest and I’ll also be posting a number of cool specials I’m going to be running through March. Keep an eye out. The action all starts on Monday…

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meet my sweet baby boy…

January 12, 2010 – 11:59 pm

Wow, this blog post is a little overdue. Well, a lot overdue. About 10 weeks overdue, to be exact. That’s right…my husband Dan and I welcomed our sweet baby boy into the world on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 11:06pm. It was a fantastic birth! Once I finally got going into real, active labor it was hard, but short. Only about 4 hours of hard labor and then 16 minutes of pushing! His name is Conrad Isaac. He was 7 lb. 9oz. 20″ long. Just perfect! He’s such a blessing and we love him to death! Especially his big sister

I’m not only announcing his birth, but announcing that I’m officially back to shooting! I’ll hopefully have some sessions coming up here soon. I have some fun new products to introduce this winter and some awesome specials coming up as well. Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently while I finished out my maternity leave. Can’t wait to get shooting again soon. But without further ado…

Meet Conrad at 3 weeks old…

By amanda e. | Posted in babies, news | 7 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

last but not least | M Family sneak peek

October 11, 2009 – 3:49 pm

Well this session was sort of bittersweet. These guys are longtime friends and I had a blast shooting their family, but it’s my last session of the year. They were so fun & laid back…perfect for an *almost* 9 months pregnant photographer, lol. And the fact that they’re such a beautiful family doesn’t hurt This session was from last weekend and since you guys have waited so patiently, I put up a super sized sneak peek for you! Hope you enjoy…

In other news, as I mentioned, I’m now officially done for 2009. I’m due in about 3.5 weeks! I’m planning to take all of November, December and probably January off. I’ll more than likely start back up in February with *small* sessions. Maternity, newborn, babies and possibly toddlers. I’ll start outdoor family sessions back up again in the Spring. If you’d like to inquire about any early 2010 sessions, feel free to drop me an e-mail. Just know that I may be a *little* slower in responding. I’ll be checking for messages at least once a week though.

By amanda e. | Posted in babies, children, family, news | 10 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

Mr. B | 1 year sneak peek

September 27, 2009 – 11:21 pm

It’s so hard to believe that this little guy is turning 1 already!! In fact, I refuse to believe it, lol. He’s my little baby planner that you’ve been seeing every 3 months or so. To refresh your memory, here are his newborn, 3 month and 6 month pics. He’s changed SO much since I last photographed him…he’s crawling, standing, waving bye bye, he has hair and 6 teeth! He even says little words…all evening he was pointing at things and saying “dis” and “dat” is was toooo cute! I just shot these photos this evening (can you believe how on the ball I am?) so enjoy, Amy & Mike…thanks again for a great time! I had SUCH a hard time choosing these, there are literally too many good ones, lol…

By amanda e. | Posted in babies, family | 3 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

R Family sneak peek

September 22, 2009 – 11:31 pm

First off, thanks so much to everyone who came out to Grand Prairie last Saturday to see me! It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces. The weather was great (despite my sitting in direct sun ALL day) and you helped me raise money for the local Attachment Parenting group…thanks again!

About 2 hours after I left the vendor fair, I headed out to shoot this family of 13! They’re old friends from my grade school days and it was nice to see everyone again…except all grown up with kids of their own! We had lovely weather for the session, minus the gnats! What’s with the gnats this year? I walk out of the house and they attack me! uugh! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy a small sampling of your images…

And one more quick update. I’m now 34 weeks along! I’m done shooting after this month and I have 2 sessions left. A little bittersweet, but the break will be nice too

PS: Don’t forget that Amanda E. Photography is on Facebook! Here’s the LINK to become a fan! Then you can share your sneak peek on your own Facebook page

By amanda e. | Posted in babies, children, family | 3 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

Vendor fair this Saturday + 4 Generations sneak peek

September 17, 2009 – 2:22 pm

Guess what? Amanda E. Photography is going to be out at Grand Prairie this weekend! On Saturday, 9/19 from 10am - 2pm, I’m participating in “Handmade on the Prairie!” It’s a wonderful little vendor fair, if you will, to benefit Peoria’s local non-for profit Attachment Parenting group! We’ll be located outdoors right in the center of the mall (outside Bergners, Gloria Jeans, etc). There will be mommas selling all kinds of homemade goodies, like soaps, toys, knitted & hand sewn bags, purses, clothes, etc. There will even be a baby wearing station, where you can learn about wearing your baby in a sling or carrier and try lots of different styles. We’ll also have some home sales consultants, like Stampin’ Up, Tupperware, etc. Plus, a raffle! You can enter to win a $50 Amanda E. Gift Certificate among lots of other things! But check this out…

In addition to being able to win a Gift Certificate from me, I’m selling them too….at a discount!! That’s right, you can purchase an Amanda E. Gift Certificate for 25% off the face value! What does that mean? Walk away with a $50 Gift Certificate for only $37.50! Available in increments of $50, $100 and $200, they’re valid for one year after the purchase date and can be applied towards session fees or prints. They make GREAT gifts! Think Christmas, 1st Birthday, baby showers, etc. Anyway, I’ll have LOTS of cool products on display to drool over too, so please come on out and say hi!

Now onto the sneak peek…This past Sunday was a first for me! I was asked to photograph 4 generations of women in a family! Isn’t that cool? We had so much fun! Lots of laughs, beautiful weather, couldn’t ask for more. Thanks for choosing me again Niki…you’re getting to be a regular around this blog!

By amanda e. | Posted in family, news | 2 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

L Family sneak peek

September 15, 2009 – 12:59 am

Finally getting around to posting a sneak peek from my session last Friday night. I was lucky enough to work with this lovely family for the second time! They’re so much fun As always, I can’t believe how much the kiddos have grown since last time. See last year’s session HERE. Their little boy is absolutely hilarious. I asked him how kindergarten was going and he exclaims “Great!” it was just so cute. Then his mom told me after their session, he said “I had fun getting pictures taken. It was boring and fun at the same time.” lol…isn’t that the funniest thing?! Anyway, thanks again guys for a great shoot…

of course I had to close with their traditional “end of the session” shot

By amanda e. | Posted in children, family | 1 comments Show Comments | Add a Comment

Mr. Bugs | sneak peek

September 8, 2009 – 4:35 pm

Before I get to the pics, I just wanted to announce that I’m officially now booked for the rest of my ‘09 season. I’ll be done as of Sept. 30th and I’ll be spending October (hopefully) resting, placing orders and probably nesting, lol. Only 8 weeks left until our little guy arrives!! I’ll be taking November and December off as well. I’ll update later this year about taking on winter sessions in ‘10…

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend! On Saturday, I had the pleasure of working with a returning client from last year. I *love* when they come back…and they have a lot lately…makes me happy One of the best parts, is getting to see the little ones grow up. This guy is SO big compared to last year. Click HERE to see last year. Such a little man. And a little pro…he knew just what to do! It was a perfect mix of awesome smiles and him just being a boy and having fun. That’s exactly what I like to see during a session. Kids just having fun! He *loves* bugs! Oddly enough, I kept finding them though, lol. We found a cicada bug (pictured below) which he actually got me to hold!!! That is a BIG deal. We also found some icky spiders, butterflies and beetles. And mom got stung by a bee…it was kind of nutty…I guess that’s just bugs this time of year. Anyway, onto your sneak peek…thanks again for choosing me!