My new site is live. YAY!!!! Hopefully my new song that I have been lusting after (All Smiles) will be on there by the time you are reading this but not likely since I am still finalizing my licensing for it. (More about licensing music in my How to Pick a Good Photographer post which is slowly in the works!) You’ll see that things are a little bit different now.  The pictures are bigger, newer, brighter.  There is some new wording.  Pricing has slightly changed.  But the quality photography and the photographer remain the same 🙂  Now, as promised, there is a promo that I am running to celebrate a new year and a new site. Take a look below and please note that to take advantage of the promo, you must book your session by January 31st.  So don’t wait too long!!

(**Please note,this cannot be used in conjunction with any other special)

Thank you to everyone for a fantastic 2009.  I look very forward to seeing what 2010 brings me 🙂

First thing up – a new website that I hope to debut tomorrow!!  (Possibly on the 2nd or 3rd depending on my hosting company’s holiday schedule, however.)

**Since a lot of photographers seem to be finding this, yes it is totally fine to link to it on FB or blogs, I don’t mind 🙂 **

I was originally going to entitle this post “Go BIG or go home” but then realized that my friend Kristina had used that same title for a post earlier this year.  So instead, it’s Bigger Really IS Better.  Below you will see a photo of my lovely Christmas-decorated fireplace mantel.  Totally normal sized fireplace that you would find in any house.  What size do you think the photograph on the mantel is?  5×7?  8×10?

It’s actually an 11×14.

Seriously.  Surprised?  SO often people are hesitant to buy what they term “big photos” for their house.  And my question is, simply, WHY?!?!?!?!! A lot of people believe an 8×10 photo is “big.”  Here is what an 8×10 photo looks like on a normal sized mantel:

You’ll notice it’s pretty much dwarfed by the wall.  It completely disappears in the grand scheme of things.  8×10 for a wall just doesn’t do it.  In fact, an 8×10 is considered a desk portrait, not a wall one.  At the very *minimum* if you are going to even consider putting a photo on your wall, you should go for an 11×14.  And even then mat and frame it to a 16×20.  And then put more than one of them up there.  Below are three 11×14 photographs matted to 16×20 frames that I have hanging in my dining room (ignore the clutter, this was at the height of orders rolling in).  I honestly wish that I had gone bigger.  You’ll see that while the 16×20 size sounds big, on a big open wall, it still leaves a lot of space.  (There is another two feet of wall space below the chair rail.)  The only thing that helps to balance it a little which you can’t see is that I have three MORE of these hanging on the other walls.  But I still wish I had gone one step bigger.  The cluster of frames does help to absorb some space, however.

Here is a 16×20, equal to the framed prints above, back on the same mantel again by itself.  Sounds big when you talk about it, but as you can see, it’s not when put into normal display surroundings.

Back to the point.  When debating print sizes, if you are going to take the time and money to invest in a portrait session, why not have something truly wonderful to remember it by?  One of my recent newborn clients got two 20×24 canvases for her walls and I think I seriously had to wipe off the drool when I opened them up.  Sadly I did not take a photo of them, something I am still kicking myself for.  But they were absolutely AMAZING.  And I recently did a bigger display for the wall over my sofa.  I did two 18×24 prints, two 16×24 prints and two 16x20s.  Now you are probably saying those are HUMONGOUS!!   (Admit it you’re saying that.  I know you are!)   Here is what they looked like all put together (and yes, that is my little monkey hiding behind the table 😉 oh and please ignore the couch, came with the house and we haven’t gotten around to replacing it) :

I seriously totally and completely love walking into my living room now.  I love seeing my kids up there big, it makes my heart smile.  This is my family.  The loves of my life.  I love seeing them up on my wall.  And notice that 16×20 (top left) which probably sounded big, how small it looks on a big wall over a full-sized couch.  This post would have been much more effective had I put the photos on the same wall I have my display on, however I had already put the others up.  To help imagine it, an 8×10 is less than 1/4 the size of the bottom center print.  So here is a quick and dirty photoshop job of what that same space would look like with one print.  On the left is an 11×14.  On the right is an 8×10.

Oh and in case you were wondering what one of those “huge” prints looks like by itself  (and, again, I know you were calling my prints huge, I just KNOW it 😀 ) this is the 16×24 over the mantel:

So hopefully as you can see, it’s okay to go big.  You don’t have to do a 20×24 (though I wish you would) but do consider at least one 16×20 from your session.  Or a 16×20 framed by two 11x14s.  If you absolutely insist on sticking with that 8×10 size, consider a grouping of six or eight of them together at least!  Or matting it to an 11×14 size.  If you want help and feel lost when considering wall displays for images from your session I am MORE than happy to draw up a wall display idea for you using your images.  In fact when you get your proofs, I will send you a link to the wall display ideas that I have. And if you’d like, I can make suggestions for what to do.  But the important part to get out of this is…

Bigger really IS better.

So as I mentioned yesterday in my Ten on Thursday post, I had spent some time the other morning with Amy Blau, publisher of The Baby Guide.  TBG is a yearly publication that goes out all over the New England area, targeting Boston, North & South Shore, Cape Cod & Islands and Rhode Island – over 70,000 copies.  I was convinced by a friend to buy advertising space in the magazine and I decided to take the plunge.  Amy graciously worked with me on getting everything ready and lots of friends had their input into the ad design.  I also, at the request of the magazine as they asked all photographers, submitted some photos that would be able to be used for editorial purposes.

To my wonderful surprise and delight, they chose one of my photos (my “famous” twins shot) to use for a large slot in the magazine on their photography article.  And I am also the first ad that appears in the photography section.  I know this probably makes me a big ol dork but I was so tickled that they chose my shot!! (Okay, to be totally fair, they chose one other big shot as well but that wasn’t mine so I don’t care about that one.)  So hopefully tons of families will see the magazine and rush to book me.  😉

I also, yes, took some photos of the magazine.  Keeping in mind that product photography is SO NOT my thing, enjoy the photos below!

I am off to Philadelphia in an hour or so.  Wish me luck that weather and traffic cooperate for me!!!  I’ll see you all back here on Monday with lots and lots and lots to show!