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A number of you have mentioned that things are looking different on my journal and on my website. Don’t adjust your screen, folks - I have indeed made changes. I have a new logo, new color scheme, and a new look to my journal photographs. I think this new ‘branding’ really embodies the modern, simple, stylish look I strive for in every photosession.
My eldest daughter also has a new look - thanks to her fabulous new glasses. We think she looks wonderful and so grown-up.
In January, I had the great pleasure of going to Imaging USA, the annual Professional Photographers Association conference. I met some wonderful people, saw some great products, and heard some fantastic speakers. One of the highlights for me was hearing Anne Geddes speak - she has always been an inspiration and I often wonder how she manages to come up with the beautiful and magical ideas behind her portraits. One of the points she made during her speech was that the chance to dream and play made a big difference in her business. She chose one Friday a month to take photographs for herself - to stretch - to play - to dream.
I have thought a great deal about this and decided to put my own spin on this notion - and decided that I would create ‘The Quarterly Muse’. Once a quarter, I will photograph someone for my own pleasure, to grow a bit, to challenge myself, to have fun, but most of all, to play and to dream. Throughout the quarter, I will post various portraits from the session.
The first muse is Mr. QMcG. I saw him at a grocery store and approached his wonderful mom and begged asked that she consider bringing her adorable son to the studio so that I could photograph him. I was thrilled when, after looking at my website, she called me a few days later and agreed.
Here are some of my favorite portraits of Q. I am so happy to have found my first Quarterly Muse.
This is my youngest - hard to believe she is closing in on three years old. She looks pretty graceful here, doesn’t she? You should have seen what she looked like last night as she collided with the underside of the fridge door… yup, she is all mine 
God, I love this kid/walking Gap ad! She just keeps getting more delicious - she agreed to a quick session as long as she could still make to grocery list while I was shooting.
These two albums recently arrived at my studio… they are divine - simple and elegant - and just, well - they make you swoon!
They come in their own fancy box - complete with ribbon and lift tab on the inside. These two are the Chocolate with Pink Ribbon and the Ice Blue with White.
Then, there are the binding options - Library or Ribbon - with and without a photograph.
These two are Library bound - one with and one without a photograph.
These albums also have beautiful deckled pages - yes, that’s right, deckled pages…
Ah, the matted pages…
I really can’t say enough about these albums - they epitomize everything I hope to deliver to my clients - elegance, beauty, passion, and lifetime keepsakes.
I have received a flood of emails regarding the outfits on the twins who are smashing their cake in the post below (’another pair of graduates’). I asked their mom where she got the cute t-shirts and she directed me to the uber-creative designer (Celena) who has allowed me to link you all to her site! So, without further ado, I give you… hip kids shop - happy shopping!
I have always thought of myself as a pretty tech-savvy kind of gal. I am not afraid of the little man who lives in my computer (although I do backup everything in a bunch of different places in case I make him angry) and I am always more than willing to read up on the new ‘toys’ that are out there on the information highway. Despite all this, somehow I missed out on the fact that one can get updates or ‘feeds’ from favorite blogs!!!!
Seriously, you can just sign-up with different systems (www.google.com/reader) and enter your favorite blog addresses and get little notices when something new has been posted.
So, let’s just say that you wanted to get little notices when your favorite Atlanta Maternity, Newborn, first year photographer (yes, that’s me) posted something new to her blog - you could do that! Here are the instructions:
Go to www.google.com/reader and register an account with google reader. Once you have an account and are logged in, click on the Add Subscription button on the left-hand menu and enter the following:
www.meravschwartzstudios.com/blog/?feed=rss2
and then hit the add button. Voila!
How’s that for cool???
I can not say enough about how much I love this new backdrop - custom made and just right on the money. Thanks so much Jill and Jeremy!
Here is my first portrait on this new masterpiece…. with the most adorable of one year olds in his fabulous birthday outfit.
Oh how I love David Bowie - and as I was thinking about how best to announce this news, I kept hearing his song going through my head!
After much thought, I have decided that I am going to focus my business on maternity, newborns, and the first year (pushing up, sitting up, and one year). I am so passionate about these five milestones that I want to be able to dedicate myself to this area.
I will continue to offer holiday mini-sessions for the families and older children (generally in October and a great opportunity to get your holiday cards and gifts without tears hassles) and other wonderful and fun Limited Edition sessions throughout the year (ie - Mommy & Me for Father’s Day) - so watch the blog for news!
Thanks so much to all for your support and feedback while I was making this decision!
Merav
