Thank you so much to everyone who turned out for our Holiday Charity sessions a couple of weeks ago!  Everyone’s portraits should be in by now and we have already called about half of you to arrange for pickup.  I will be out of the office until Monday, but those who have not heard from me can expect a phone call or an email then.  We had some wonderful, beautiful children in this year — some that we’ve known for years, and some that we met for the first time.  Thank you, all of you, for being so fantastic and for your toy donations!  And Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  The studio will be closed next week for the holiday and so that we can get packed and moved.  If your order is due in on Tuesday or Wednesday I will give you a call as soon as it’s here to arrange for pick up.  Please keep in mind that the mail and shipping services will not be delivering on Thursday, so things that should be here on Thursday or Friday will likely be delayed by a day or two.  I know that many of you will be out of town visiting relatives and enjoying the holiday, and our family will be too, so I wish you all a safe trip!

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out this weekend for our annual Holiday Charity Sessions.  We had a great turnout and all the kids looked fabulous — even our non-human kid.  Here is Bella from this afternoon.  We’ll be redesigning the site and blog over the Thanksgiving holiday but I will come back and add more from our charity sessions so you can see how cute everyone looked!

Just a quick post to catch everyone up on our upcoming events and deadlines!  Don’t forget that our Holiday Charity Sessions are this weekend!  If you’re signed up, please don’t forget that the session fee is an unwrapped $25 gift (one for each child photographed) and that we schedule these VERY tightly, so please be on time!  I’ve never blogged our Pumpkin Patch charity sessions from last month so here are a few for you. 

The deadline for print-only orders for Christmas delivery is next WEDNESDAY.  I will be closed from Wednesday afternoon till the next Tuesday to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and to pack and move, so I will not be taking phone calls and emails during that time.  If you have a “family share” gallery on our site, it will expire on Wednesday as well because we’re trying to launch the site redesign and the site will be down for a few days during vacation.  As of Dec 1, all sessions will take place “on location” and our pricing structure will change, so this is your last chance to book sessions or order prints at 2008 prices.

I’m really excited about the changes we have coming… I think that it’s going to make sessions a little more fun and creative and I have needed that.  Check back after Thanksgiving to see if we really DID manage to get everything redesigned and back up.    Somehow, web tech projects never follow the timeline that they should… .

I know that many of you have been waiting for me to announce the dates for our Fall Charity Sessions and the upcoming Limited Edition Sessions, so here you go!

Pumpkin Patch: October 17-18

Bring your little ghoulies and ghosties for our annual Pumpkin Patch event! I turn the air conditioning waaaay down in the studio so that everyone will be comfortable in their costumes or their adorable fall outfits. Whichever outfit you choose, I guarantee that these sessions will be a lot of fun. Sessions are scheduled 15 minutes apart and we will NOT be offering clothing changes this year unless you would like to book two time slots. Our pumpkin patch set changes a little every year and is designed for children only, so it is appropriate for sitters up to age 12.

Session fee: $25 in canned goods OR a $25 HEB Gift Card to go to the San Antonio Food Bank. We will be ordering on site right after your session, and this is one of our most popular events every year so session times will book up very quickly. Call us at 830-214-1725 or email me at info at shelbylane dot net to get on the schedule. The appointments for these sessions are NOT TRANSFERABLE so if you can’t make it, please let me know so I can call the next person on our waiting list.

Christmas Charity Minis: November 21-22

I haven’t officially decided on our theme for this year, but our special holiday sets are always unique and always gorgeous! What you see above are samples from the past two years — and both sets were great for either fancy holiday outfits or more casual winter clothes. These sessions are a great way to get last-minute portraits for gift-giving and for holiday cards. Sessions are scheduled 15 minutes apart and we will NOT be offering clothing changes this year unless you would like to book two time slots. Our holiday set is designed for children only, so it is appropriate for sitters up to age 12.

Session fee: $25 worth of NEW (still in the packaging) toys PER CHILD or a $25 Toys R Us gift card (again per child) to go to the Medina Children’s Home. We will be ordering on site right after your session, and this is one of our most popular events every year so session times will book up very quickly. Call us at 830-214-1725 or email me at info at shelbylane dot net to get on the schedule. Again, the appointments for these sessions are NOT TRANSFERABLE so if you can’t make it, please let me know so I can call the next person on our waiting list.

Urban Sessions: September’s Limited Edition

You might remember these from the spring — our Urban Sessions were so much fun! They’re designed for older kids and we can only photograph them a couple of times a year because of the weather. But we will be offering these again in September for our regular in-studio session fee of $150. These are great for walkers up to the pre-teen set and would be perfect as holiday card and gift portraits. We can only schedule one of these per day, because of lighting, so if you’re interested please call me asap to get on the books.

Holiday Family Portraits

When was the last time you had a family portrait created? If you had to pause to think, NOW is the time! Portraits are heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation. THIS is the year to get everyone together and capture this moment in your family’s history.

Our September and October weekend sessions are booking up quickly… if you’d like an outdoor portrait, we can only do one or two of those per weekend, so please get with me NOW to reserve your ideal time. We also offer in-studio sessions to make scheduling a little easier on your family. Once sports and dance and other school and church programs ramp up, it will be harder and harder to find the time to schedule, so now is your chance! Check out the gallery on our site for some samples of our family portrait work.