Shannon Holden Photography

Announcing a new product from Shannon Holden Photography! I fell in love with these when I saw them at the photography convention I recently attended. I ordered my first sample hours after I got home. And I love it even more now that I’m holding it in my hands!

Introducing our heirloom Memory Boxes. Custom matched to your baby’s nursery or your child’s room, each box is a work of art in itself. You choose the treasures to keep inside … baby’s hospital bracelet, a first lock of hair, and a copy of his birth announcement. Or maybe it can be a collection of snapshots from your son’s 5th year, along with the ornament he made in Kindergarten, and the note he wrote to you on Mother’s Day this year. Even high school seniors can store their memories and snapshots of senior year, their graduation announcement, and the tassle from their cap. I’m designing a box for each of my sons who were baptized this year, where they can keep their memories of their baptism day, the cards from dear friends, the photos of their baptism, and their personalized Bibles which were a gift from their aunt.

The outside measurement of the box is 9.5″ x 9.5″ x 3″ deep. The inside of the box is lined in black cloth. (Please pardon the blurred area on the sample box below. I try to keep my subjects’ last names off my blog for safety reasons.)

I just love these, and I hope you do, too! They are available now in our online store. You can find them in the Specialty Items section.

Much love,
Shannon

P.S. I’m anxious to design a few more of these, so how about an introductory offer? Everyone loves a sale, right? I am offering $50 off all boxes ordered in the next three days. Just email me or visit the online store! Sorry, this offer is only valid on current or previous sessions, not future ones. Expires February 3, 2010 at midnight EST.

I admit, I was very stressed about this session. Not about photographing it, because I knew from our pre-session chats that the mom was fantastic, and I was quite sure the baby would be adorable. I was stressed because they predicted rain the day of our session. No shock there, right? A forecast of rain in October, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia … hardly breaking news! But rain would have really impacted this session because this sweet baby was traveling all the way from Eastman, Georgia to meet me! (That’s south of Macon, and an almost 3 hour drive.) I knew they were driving up the night before and had hotel reservations to be here in time for our 10 a.m. session, so there was no last minute cancellation option if the weather didn’t cooperate.

Thank goodness, the rain stayed away! It was very cold that morning, so we kept little Tres wrapped up in a blanket between shots. He was such a trooper, and such a friendly baby. Quite the little flirt! He was precious, and his mommy was just as much fun as I’d expected from our conversations.

Brandi, I am so thankful and flattered that your traveled so far to see me, and I hope we’ll get the chance to work together in the future … maybe next time when I’m visiting our family in Tifton! Thank you for sharing the chilly morning with me and for the chance to meet darling Tres. He is an angel!

Get ready for some serious cuteness! Meet Perry, a sweet 3 month old baby girl I met recently. Perry is Sam and Stefanie’s first child. What a sweetheart she is! She was quite bright-eyed and alert for our session. We met on one of the first semi-dry days after Atlanta’s torrential rains in September, and though we had some cloud cover, we thankfully had some beautiful light and mild temperatures to work by. We tried our hardest to get her to take a snooze for us, so we could get some of those innocent sleeping portraits, but she would have none of it! And I admit, with those big brown eyes of hers, I didn’t mind at all that she wanted to show them off.

And just look at those cheeks! Perfectly kissable! And those eyelashes!

I didn’t know what to expect from this holiday season. The months of September and October are generally the busiest months of the year for a portrait photographer, and I work around the clock, it seems, during those months. But I wondered, with the state of our economy and this shaky time for our country, if this year would be different. And so, more than ever, I have been truly amazed and grateful for the flurry of calls and emails I’ve gotten in these last couple of weeks. Just today I posted an update on my Facebook page that I only had a few openings left, and my inbox was full in no time. Wow! And so I must say thank you … Thank you for the opportunity to capture these moments in your lives. Thank you for the investment you choose to make in my art. Thank you for your enthusiasm and for helping my business grow as you have in these recent years.

As of tonight, my holiday session schedule is fully booked for the remainder of 2009. I have saved room, as always, for newborn clients.

**If you and I are already in dialogue about your session but have not yet chosen a date, please know I have saved a tentative spot for you on my schedule, so don’t panic! I will hold these tentative places for approximately one more week to give us time to plan your session. But please let me know your chosen date as soon as possible!! If you are interested in a holiday portrait session, I invite you to still contact me, as I will be keeping a waiting list in the event of schedule changes or cancellations (but I cannot guarantee an opening will become available).

A reminder for those of you currently scheduled for sessions … The holiday order deadline for this year will be November 15. Please plan accordingly!

Thank you again! I think I have the best clients in town. Blessings to all of you!
Shannon