Oh, baby! | Alpharetta GA Baby Photographer

I'm lovin' the babies I've been able to shoot lately at home. (Yes, these shots were taken in the family's home with the backdrops and lights I bring to my baby shoots.) Originally, we had planned to do the session a week after this little guy had been born, but sickness and client plans delayed us. So, it turned into a one-month-old shoot instead. I think that is my new favorite age! Look at the variety of expressions we got. LOVE them.

Merry Christmas from the Butlers!

Workshop Coming Up | Atlanta GA Photography workshops

Every year for the past three years, I've held a workshops soon after the holidays to help aspiring photographers with their photography skills. This year's winter workshop will be held in only 3 weeks! This is a perfect last-minute gift idea for yourself or a loved one. You can see more here . . . http://www.butlerfamilyphotography.com/p/workshops.html.

And the pics below--from an impromptu photo shoot with a couple of my teen models who came over to make cookies. We just had to have a little fun with the camera too! (Shot indoors with snow sparkles!)

The Olivia Act | Please nominate an Alpharetta/Roswell family

Photographs are important, especially when a loved one dies. I was touched by a movement on Facebook called "The Olivia Act." (A big thanks to my friend Linda at Clear Creek Images for sharing this!)

The Olivia Act, named after one of the children killed in Newtown, CT was started by a photographer who wrote this: "Aside from donating and hugging my own kids, there is not a lot I can do. I think about the family of little Olivia, and the fact that they had a family photo shoot not long before she was killed. The parents are so lucky they had that. We go about our daily lives not realizing it could be our last, and we don't always take the time to have photos taken together."

In honor of sweet Olivia, I will be taking nominations for one Alpharetta or Roswell GA family who would not be able to afford a photo session on their own. I will giving a gift of a 30-minute session and $100 worth of portrait products to the family selected. This session must be used by May 2013. The nominations will be collected until December 31, 2012 and will be announced the following week. Please fill out the form below to nominate a family.

Please share this idea with other photographers! It's a great way to give back during the holiday season and a positive way to remember these sweet kiddos and their teachers/administrators. 

One Week Old | Alpharetta Newborn Photographer

Whew! I have done SOOO much today . . . (with the help of an awesome hubby who took care of my sick little guy and ran errands for me while I worked). On days like these, I'm full of energy and ideas. Here's what I did:

• Shot newborn session
• Packaged client orders
• Did laundry
• Delivered client orders (I felt like Santa Claus!)
• Researched brand packaging
• Went Grocery shopping
• Worked on dishes
• Finished editing and designing our family's Christmas card
• Ordered Christmas cards
• Thought it would be nice to have BFP-branded thank you cards
• Designed thank you cards
• Ordered thank you cards
• Decided to reward myself by editing one portrait from today's session
• Edited cutie below
• Oh, and wrote this blog post

Now I think I'm sleepy enough to go to bed. Good night!

Workshoppin' it! | Atlanta GA Photography Workshops

Photographer Marchet Butler teaches Atlanta GA Photography Workshops

I'm so excited to show off some of the photos from Saturday's Day of Photography Workshops. We had such a great time getting deep into composition, camera controls, and light. Our models were great--posing for us and letting us take the time get camera settings right! We shot both indoor and outdoors with natural light, and even had enough time to take eachother's headshots.

As you will notice, I keep workshop sizes small (only 2 to 5 participants), and that's on purpose. When I taught larger workshops, I felt that the students didn't have the time and one-on-one attention that they really needed to come away from the day feeling successful. Here are some comments from the participants:

"I thought Marchet did a fantastic job! I learned so much both in terminology and hands on. It's great to have a packet of information to leave the workshop with."

"I considered myself an intermediate photographer but was so surprised at how much additional info I learned. The instruction helped put it all together. Love that I have materials to take home."

I will be teaching another Day of Photography workshops in January, and I am so excited to offer an additional Advanced Photography workshop as well. Please contact me for more details!

Going Vintage | Atlanta GA Photographer

This is just a sneak peek of a shoot I did a while back with my good friend and fellow photographer, Kaylene Fister of Southern Kiwi Photography. The photo is by Kaylene. Thanks girl! The styling and editing (lots of it!) is by me. I will be doing a post on what editing I did next week. Stay tuned!

Outdoor Maternity Portraits | Roswell GA Maternity Photographer

One of my biggest regrets was not having professional pictures taken when I was expecting. Sure, I have photos, but nothing I would want to display in my home. At that time, maternity photography was just starting to become popular, and I wasn't skilled enough to produce my own pregnancy photos, so I skipped them. Fast forward to today, and maternity photography has become an important part of the pregnancy experience. It's one of my favorite things to shoot--especially outdoors, because so many photographers only do maternity shoot in studio. Here is some of my recent work with a couple expecting their first.

Looking for a Roswell maternity photographer or Alpharetta maternity photographer? Contact me.

Sweet Dreams, Cowboy | Alpharetta GA Child Photographer

My son decided he wanted to be a cowboy tonight . . . for bed. And this is why I love photography.

Alpharetta Family Photographer | Roswell Family Photographer

Alpharetta Family Photographer and Roswell Family Photographer

Marchet Butler offers advice on Alpharetta Family Photography and Roswell Family Photography

Choosing the right family photographer
Is it time for family pictures? Are you looking for an Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer? Consider the following:

Experience
Your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer should offer a great experience beginning with the consultation, an continuing through the shoot and into the ordering session. Think about your first contact with a photographer. Do they respond to your email or phone call in a timely manner? Do you feel a connection with your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer when you talk to them? Is their personality a good fit for your family?

Then, what kind of experience do they offer during the shoot? When you have kids, it's important to know that your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer is comfortable working with children, even when the kids have a meltdown or are extremely shy during the shoot. A photographer with a sense of adventure and a lot of patience will get much better photographs that someone who doesn't have experience working with kids.

Style

When choosing your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer, it's important to browse through the photographer's portfolio and see if their style appeals to you. Do you like the images that the Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer has posted? Are the images consistent in quality? Are a variety of shoots represented? If the answer is yes to all of these questions, you have found a good candidate for your Alpharetta family photography or Roswell family photography. Now, let's consider price.

Pricing
The cost of your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer is important, but should not be the main factor in determining whether or not to hire the photographer. In the world of photography, higher cost usually means more experience and better quality. Remember, the portraits you receive from a professional Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer will be treasured for generations to come--if you hire the right Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer. Low-budget photographers or photographers that offer "shoot and burn" services are most likely to be inexperienced and inconsistent in quality. The money you "saved" hiring them will have been a waste if you aren't happy with their photographs.

Products
A professional Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer understands that it's the art pieces that clients truly appreciate day after day: framed portraits, canvases, archival portraits, and other high-quality image products. That's why it's important to pick an Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer who has a variety of high-quality art products to offer. Here are a few questions to ask your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer: Do you work with a professional print lab and other professional vendors to create your products? Are your portrait products archival? Do you offer framing? Do you guarantee your products?

Choosing your Alpharetta family photographer or Roswell family photographer is one of the most important decisions you will make this season, especially considering that these are the images your family will keep for generations. So, invest in professional family portraiture. You won't be disappointed.

photo by Stacey Johnson

Marchet Butler is an Atlanta GA portrait photographer based in Alpharetta, GA. She offers Alpharetta family photography and Roswell family photography as well as portrait photography for babies, children, seniors, and extended families. To find out more about Marchet and her portrait art, go to http://www.butlerfamilyphotography.com.

Atlanta Child Photographer | Outdoors in Fall

Some of you may recognize this sweetie from my opening slideshow. She is so photogenic, but very busy, so we used the first part of the shoot to get the most important shots including this one. LOVE it! The gorgeous bokeh is from the 85 mm prime lens I used, and the rest -- other than a little color adjustment and minimal retouching is as shot in camera.

Want to learn more about shooting beautiful portraits? I'm teaching a Day of Workshops in a week. Join me!

A Day of Photography Workshops | Alpharetta GA Photography Workshops

I'm happy to announce A Day of Photography Workshops event coming up on Saturday, November 17th! This is a hands-on, intensive day of workshops designed for people who want to improve their photography skills with their digital SLR. From 9:00 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon, I'll be teaching participants how to go from point-and-shoot to taking well-composed, beautiful photographs. We'll work with models (real people that pose for us that day), eat, visit, learn, and make friends! Since I limit the number of participants to 5, I'll spend time with each participant to practice the principles I'm teaching that day. The Day of Photography workshops costs $143 and includes lunch, the workshop, and workshop materials.

If you are interested (or have a friend or family member that would enjoy this workshop), please drop me a line. Also, I am planning a second Day of Photography Workshops Event in January, so if this date doesn't work for you, let me know so I can add you to my January contact list.

You can read more about the workshops here: http://www.butlerfamilyphotography.com/p/workshops.html

Happy Halloween from my spooky ghost!

I love Halloween -- dressing up, going to parties, carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating. I am not into the spooky part of Halloween, but this year, my son wanted to be a ghost, and I thought it would be fun to get a ghostly image of my little guy. This is a composite image of the two photos below. And, yes, it took a while to get the flashlight positioned just right and then a good chunk of time to edit it. What do you think? Enjoy your Halloween! 

My New (Old) Hobby | Pencil Illustration

Photography used to be my hobby, but now it's definitely more "work" than play. So, lately, I've been going back to illustration as a creative outlet. I developed my drawing skills in high school--and it's literally been years since I've taken on a project like this.

This illustration was a surprise for my friend's birthday. I borrowed a few old photographs from her daughter--you can see the image I used to the left of the illustration--and tried to go for that older vintage-portrait feel with my drawing.

Thanks to my trusty camera, I can have a record of my work, even though I gave the original away to my friend today. In the future, I hope I'll be good enough to move on to pen and ink, but right now, pencil and eraser are my medium of choice (mostly because of the eraser--grin).

School's in: It's go time! | Atlanta GA Portrait Photographer

School's been in for almost 2 weeks now, and wow--have I been busy. Finally, I've had time to work, and work uninterrupted for more than a couple hours a day. As a stay-at-home mom of a preschooler with a business, I've juggled mothering, photography, business, and housekeeping for years. More often than not however, that's meant I've had to do my work late into the night--not really something I like. This Christmas season (yes, my Christmas shooting season is here!), I'm hoping my "photography bedtime" isn't 1:00 a.m. anymore.

Here's a small list of things I've been working on:

• Attending educational webinars on creativeLive, a fabulous resource for any photographer!
• Streamlining my pricing to a credit system for clients (so they can pick and choose to build their own print packages)
• Ordering samples of new products including gorgeous frames from The Organic Bloom, holiday cards, metallic thin wraps, and panoramic wall portraits
• Organizing my files and workflow
• Recognizing my work as artistry, not just "photos"
• And of course, shooting, mentoring, editing, and meeting with clients!

And here's my cutie on his first day of school. It is so great to be able to work while he's away and play when he's home!

Sweet Baby Girl | Canton GA Newborn Photographer

Shooting newborns takes a lot of time and technique, but it's definitely worth it. I LOVE how darling these images turned out. In a typical newborn session, I will spend about 2-2 1/2 hours at my client's home to capture newborn shots. That includes plenty of time for setup, baby fussiness, positioning, feeding, changing, and--oh yeah--pictures in between (grin). 

Right now, I'm building my newborn portfolio, so if you are interested in a sweet deal on photos of your little one (or if you are expecting), let me know! Through August 2012, newborn or maternity sessions start at $129!

The edited image below:

The image before editing . . . notice mom's hand holding baby's head for safety.

Mother and Daughter | Marietta GA Family Photographer

I loved working with this mother and daughter pair. The daughter was so fun to work with--eagerly modeling for me as I coached her. I love working with older kids because they are fun to direct, and they really appreciate seeing the results on the back of the camera. These pictures are going to be a real treasure for their family, and (as mom admitted to me) long overdue! Enjoy the sneak peek.

 

Little Sister Coming | Canton GA Maternity and Family Photographer

I've been busy this spring . . . and so has little family preparing for a baby sister to come soon! I am still interested in expanding my maternity and newborn portfolio, so if you are expecting or have a newborn (14 days or less old), please contact me about scheduling a portrait session and gorgeous images at a discount rate! (Yes, I will negotiate!) Offer expires the end of August 2012.

 

 

 

Teen Photography & Modeling Workshop | Atlanta GA Photography Teacher

Check out these gorgeous gals from my recent teen photography workshop! My teen workshop is especially suited to students who want to learn photography and modeling tips together -- participants get to learn how to shoot using appropriate backgrounds in the right light, and then also have a chance to model and pose for the camera. Thanks gals! We had such a great time. 

And here's some work from the participants/models!