Christmas card 2013 by Shutterfly

5x7 Folded Card

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As a photographer I still use my iphone to take most of my photos. I know... shame on me.  I really enjoy instagram.  So I was excited to see that this year I can upload my photos straight from my instagram account to make our Christmas card.  I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.  I will still be getting our photos taken by a professional this fall and can use those images to make photo gifts!

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A new start

After taking a year off of photography I was a little scared to get back in the swing of it again. I have to say that I am incredibly grateful for my clients/friends. I would never be the photographer I am today or was a year ago without them. They help me remember that God has given me this gift of photography and encourage me to believe in myself. Photography has given me the opportunity to meet so many people and I have made so many close friends. I am honored to photograph the most important and exciting moments in people's lives. I love watching families grow over the years. To everyone who has supported me since the beginning. Who has watched me grow, both as a photographer and a person. Thank you. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for loving me even when my photos were not very good. Thank you for being patient while I am still learning. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for forcing me not to quit.

Urban photo shoot at night

Christmas card 2010

Top Ten Moments Christmas Card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

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Shutterfly

One question I get asked a lot is....what printing company do you prefer. I can honestly say the company I use most is Shutterfly. Shutterfly is user friendly, offer many great deals, and most importantly store all your photos online free of charge!

My family loves all the great things I make with Shutterfly! Every year I make a 12x12 photo book to tell of all the fun adventures that year held. The best part is my kids love to look at pictures of themselves and carry it all over the house and I don't need to worry about it like I did with my scrapbooks. If it gets spilled on or ruined, it is saved on my Shutterfly account and I can always replace it! These books are a center piece in our living room. Guests are drawn to them and love getting a chance to see how the kids have grown over the years.

Shutterfly often has great offers. During one of their promotions on free cards, I gave them a try. I made a Father's Day card that was more beautiful than any card I could have found in a store. Daddy and the Grandfathers loved it.

Because I loved our Father's Day Cards so much, when my son's birthday came around I chose to make his Thank You cards through Shutterfly. This time I took advantage of their option to mail them to my family for me. Wow what a huge relief that was! I had no worries on addressing and mailing all the thank you cards! Plus it saves all my family's addresses so I am not scrambling for my address book. I was so excited to get the phone calls from all our friends and family saying their card arrived and how much they loved it.

This year I am excited to use Shutterfly for our family Christmas Cards and Thank you cards. We haven't decided which Christmas Card we will be using this year, but I am excited to say I have already made our Thank you cards. I use the beautiful blank card options through Shutterfly and add our family photos to them. We then can use them as thank you cards or for anything that life brings about. They are great to have on hand.

Since Christmas is right around the corner, it is time to be thinking about all those on your list. My favorite gifts to give are photo gifts! Last year my sister and I made our Grandfather a calendar with all three of his Great Grandson's photos in it. He was so proud that he brought it everywhere with him to show everyone! He is so cute! Last night I ordered my 2011 calendar from Shutterfly. I am looking forward to it arriving soon!

I can't stress enough how important it is to back up your photos. Back them up on an external hard drive but also back them up on Shutterfly. I lost all my photos from 2009 on my hard drive and all I have left are the ones that I uploaded to Shutterfly. You can even share all your photos with friends and family with Shutterfly's share sites. I created a share site for our T-ball teams two years in a row. The parents were able to share team photos with everyone and it even reminded us when game times were and who was bringing snack! From that share site I used the photos to create a photo book for the coach (my husband) and presented it to him at the end of the season.

I hope this review was helpful! Now onto creating my family Christmas Card!

Shutterfly cards

Happy Birthday Damask Birthday 5x7 folded card

Shutterfly birthday cards and birthday party invitations.

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Christmas Portraits

Wardrobe choice can really make a photo that much better! Look how adorable these outfits look on this beautiful family.

Christmas Portraits

Christmas Portraits are in full swing! I am excited that my family will be getting our own Christmas Portraits taken tonight! This year we will be creating our Christmas Cards through Shutterfly.com! Their card designs are beautiful. I also love how they will address and mail them directly to my family. We used Shutterfly cards many times this year including Father's Day cards, Birthday cards, Blank photo cards, and Thank you cards. My family loves getting a personalized card with my boys' photos on them. I can already hear the ooh's and ahh's from the Grandparents when they see this years Christmas Card!

Valentine portraits

Newborn portraits

Newborn portraits

Engagement Pics

Yay!!! Our first shoot of 2010 was a blast! Thanks to my dad for buying us the fisheye lens for Christmas and of course this beautiful couple who was tons of fun!!! I couldn't wait to share these pictures!

Family Portraits

I love being a photographer!!! I love how each season brings different experiences. November and December are mostly portraits. January is when we start thinking weddings. February is time for boudoir sessions for Valentines day. Spring brings graduation pics. Summer is full of weddings. October is adorable babies in costumes. And you get maternity, birth, and newborn pics all year round!

I thought I would share a few portraits from December before I move on to new pics from 2010! I am so excited for what's to come!

My new niece!!!

Family Portraits

Here is a sneak peak of a very adorable family! I love them! Can't wait to take pics of their baby girl on the way!

Santa Pictures

I am taking Santa Pictures at my kids' school this year. All proceeds go to Spring Valley Montessori School. Stop by and get your family's picture taken with santa. I would love to see you there. E-mail me if you would like directions.

Christmas Cards

Ask for a unique Christmas card designed just for your family. For only $35 you receive the jpeg file with a copyright release form to print where ever you choose. With this option, you won't be forced to buy more cards than you need, or have the same card as other families, like you do when you order Christmas card templates.

Christmas Portraits

Generations family portraits

Taking family portraits that include Grandma's and Grandpa's are priceless treasures.