Merry Christmas! We have a blog winner!

With hard-to-resist beautiful blue eyes, our winner is.... *drumroll please*



Congratulations, Miss E! This is the second time I photographed her this year, and it's nearly impossible to take a bad picture of her with those inquisitive eyes and adorable smile!

It is the day before Christmas afterall, so onto the presents! I got these awesome digital keychains that everyone who's seen them so far has really enjoyed (so much so that I practically wound up giving away my first order of them to close friends and family), so Miss E's parents will receive one of those loaded with the images from her mini session. Enjoy!



And because every parent needs a break and a nice dinner out that doesn't involve chicken nuggets, they'll also receive a $50 gift certificate to the Black Lab Bistro in Phoenixville. Enjoy!

Thanks to all of you who voted, too! The contest had over 1,000 votes, which is pretty darn cool. :)

Merry Christmas to all of you, and the warmest wishes for a blessed New Year!

Vote for your favorite holiday session portrait

Now that all the card orders are all in, it's time to celebrate! Vote for your favorite holidy session image below. No, this isn't a cute kid contest (they're all cute, aren't they?), or even the "holiday-est" picture--just vote for whatever moves you, strikes a chord within, (or whatever number your friend told you to vote for! ;). I'll offer the winner a cool present--trust me, she'll love it. My husband even loves it. Even my father-in-law. And my daughter. And my cat. And, well, I haven't told many people (or pets) beyond that... :) Voting ends December 23rd.

A huge thanks again to all of the parents and kiddos I worked with during these sessions--I had a great time, and I've loved seeing your cards! The rest of the orders will be in this week, just in time for you to get them out!

Happy voting!

Feelin' a little sappy (must be the tree)

For the first time since May, I'm starting to feel actually reasonably caught up! I have a session from November that I'm working on, but other than that, I just have a few recent sessions to proof, which should be done this week *cross fingers!* Now just to tackle the 59 loads of laundry that are sitting in my house...

I will be "closed" from December 17th-31st (I'm sure I'll still be answering email/calls, however, and collecting and delivering orders), with sessions to resume in January. I will also be closed during February to catch up on administrative tasks, and just spend some much-needed downtime with my kids and family (and continue to catch up on laundry!). I have already been getting calls for next spring and early summer, so if you're interested in booking a date, it's never too early to call.

Although I haven't completely ironed out the details (geez, this keeps resorting back to laundry, doesn't it? ;), I'm going to be introducing some new things next year, including a new online ordering system, a digital package, new print collections, and, *cross fingers* I am desperately hoping to soon have an announcement regarding indoor studio space. (Not your typical background/prop type of studio, mind you...) The majority of my work is going to continue to be on-location, outdoor work, however. I truly feel that outside is where I work best, where I take the best portraits, where kids enjoy being the most, and continues to offer me the best light. I HATE cold weather. I'm a true summer baby and love it when it's 95 and humid, so don't think that if it's 20 outside that I'm going to be dragging your kids outdoors for a two-hour session, but if we can pop in and out of the cold and into a warm house or a warm car and run back out to take a few more portraits, I'm game all to get you the best portraits as possible. When thinking about your session, remember, layers, layers, layers! And cute knit hats and scarves are ADORABLE during this time of year, too! (Trust me, I'll probably be colder than your kids. ;)

As such, I've decided to continue offering a mini session package for us cold-weather wimps, as well as full sessions through the end of March. Please inquire for details. This is also a great time of year to consider portrait sessions conducted around an activity, such as sledding and snowball fights followed by drinking hot chocolate and cuddling around a fire. I LOVE thinking outside the box and when people express a desire to get something other than a traditional posed family portrait--no moment in a family is perfectly posed; these are the real moments to be forever captured and celebrated.

Oh yeah, and I'm a little behind preparing the blog contest, but it's coming. Promise!

As always, I appreciate your comments and suggestions and just plain 'ol hearing from you. Drop me a line at jennifer@jenniferbretonphotography.com with your thoughts.

Although I've still got two more '07 sessions left, I sincerely want to thank each of you who worked with me this year. When I hung out my shingle in March, I had NO idea that this would actually work, and I told my husband who handed me the checkbook with his blessing and a hand over his eyes, "well, I can always go bag groceries at Giant if it fails." Thanks for keeping me off the end of the checkout lane at Giant and doing something that I truly love. You truly have made my dream come true.

xox,
Jen

P.S. Because I know you'll enjoy this. This is MY Christmas card this year. Try as I might, I can't get a good one of the three of them together. Enjoy!

Snowy session (well, a teeny tiny little bit of snow)

Just enough to make the ground super soggy--bleck. But what was left on the ground really lent itself perfectly to the scenery, didn't it? It's almost like something out of the ruins of Ireland, which I have a sneaking suspicion this family has a connection to.

And how fortunate am I to photograph multiples in back-to-back sessions? These were my first set of identical multiples, however, and I'm still a little worried that I'm posting pictures of the same one! (A little study of the cheeks, though, and I think I'm in the clear. :)

Enjoy the (multiple) sneak peeks!

Triple the fun, plus one

Triplets! Plus an only-slightly older sister. Although I can't imagine what the early years of their babyhood and toddlerhood were like, I am envious of just how tight-knit they are as four. As I watched them sit together, I just kept thinking how cool it must be to watch them together. And, yeah, can you get over how cute?

It's also amazing to me that they had such laid back parents. I think if I had four kids all so close together in age, I'd probably still be in bed catching up on sleep with an IV of Starbucks going into my arm. :)

Curls & Cuties

Sometimes it's just not fair to be this beautiful AND have great hair. C'mon--you should get one or the other, but not both! And certainly it shouldn't be all three of them! *wink*

It was a little weird to be going back into full-length sessions today after a month of minis, but I certainly enjoyed spending more time working with these three beauties and their parents, who made me feel so much at home that I probably chewed up way too much of their time this evening talking their ears off as the sunlight dipped further and further into the horizon, so much so that I wound up driving home by freshly-hung Christmas lights.

Holiday Mini Sessions - Week #4

Pssst... I have a secret. :) I have a little contest that I've cooked up for all the families that participated in my holiday sessions as a thank you for asking me to capture their beautiful kids and families for the holidays. Details to be released this upcoming week. Until then, enjoy images from Week #4. :)