Gingerbread Party

While the holidays were chaotic around here with trying to get orders delivered and our own Christmas shopping began the day before Christmas Eve we had the wonderful invitation to do another "portrait party" for some wonderful friends. They were having a few families over to see the children decorate gingerbread houses.


While we were there Santa made a surprise visit for the children. We had a great time getting to know everyone and sharing in the Christmas spirit.


















We hope you had a wonderful and joyous Christmas season and pray that you have a very blessed and safe New Year.

Merry Christmas!!!

We would like to wish all of you a happy and very blessed Christmas. We thank each of you for the opportunity of getting to know you and pray that you will have a wonderful and meaningful season. Amongst the busyness of getting ready for the holidays, cherish the moments with your families. Also remember the real meaning of Christmas ... Jesus. May God richly bless you all during this wonderful season and may you have a wonderful new year.

Going Home Again

Whoever said you can't go home again obviously never met my family. This week we will all be gathering together in my home town of Jackson, TN. My family has lived in this town for many generations so it is not unusual for me to run into Walmart and see at least 3 different people I am either related to or have known for the majority of my life. We talk about how much our children have grown and changed and how we all look just like we did in high school (yeah, right!).

In the guest room I am staying in, my mother has all of our old photo albums. I could not resist going through them. I quickly noticed a theme to every family picture we had. First of all, they are all off center and badly lit. Second, there is a Christmas tree in all of them. The last time my family had a professional family portrait was 1980, and even that one was for a church directory. This is why every year since my daughter was born my husband and I have dressed up the kids and had a professional portrait done. After looking through the albums at my parent's home I am determined to work them into the next one.

On a funny side note, I found an old envelope that my 4th grade school portrait came in. On the back of it was written, "Your Key to Tomorrow's Memories". I couldn't help but think of Keith and Sandy and how Keith would probably roll his eyes had I suggested that as a motto for the Key Photography Studio.

Our New Look

As you may have noticed, we have been making a few changes at www.keyphotography.com and everyone seems to love it. However, we still have a few adjustments to make before we are completely finished. We have been working with a great designer which allows us the opportunity of having a more objective eye for our style than our own.
God has a great way of creating paths that bring people together and it is quite interesting how He introduced us to a wonderful person that has a great eye for design and style. Her name is Madie and she is awesome and her family is as well. We are very excited about the new look of Key Photography, and equally excited to introduce Key Celebrations, our official wedding site. You can check us out at www.keycelebrations.com to see our wedding images. It is in the beginning stages so please be patient as you see changes and updates to both sites. We would love to hear what you think of the new logo for the Key Photography website as the launch of our wedding site.

The Wells Fargo Wagon

I realize that unless you are a musical fan like I am, you might not understand the title of this post. Let me explain. It means that packages are coming everyday to the studio. Yesterday the delivery man brought something special just for me. Today might be your turn. We are checking in orders, putting together albums, breaking glass - I mean cleaning glass. Okay, I confess, I broke one very large piece of glass while I was getting a frame ready. I think my spirit shattered more than the glass did. I had to get right back on the horse and have cleaned several pieces since then without a single problem. The glass in question was returned to the shop and a new piece cut. Someone other than me will be cleaning it this time.

Checking in orders may be my favorite part of this job. It is the fruits of our labors and seeing it all put together is so exciting. The best is when people come in and they see their portraits for the first time printed and framed. More than once we have had to have the tissues on hand, and yes, one time it was for me. Since I tend to get misty eyed putting together other people's slide shows, you can imagine how emotional I get when the subjects are my own children. Speaking of my own children, I wanted to share one of my favorites from this year. A special thanks to Keith for capturing this unforgettable moment.

This was taken in the Key Photography studio during our Santa Experience.

Busy Day

Today was the annual Christmas packing party for Treat the Troops. They pack and ship cookies to soldiers just about every month, but this is the last shipment before Christmas. They always pull out all the stops in December, and once again the Crumbs did not disappoint. I was able to grab a shot to share. That line of tables at the top of the image is covered from end to end in homemade cookies waiting to be shipped to the men and women serving our country overseas.

Another exciting part of my day involves a birthday. My husband's brother is visiting with us. This year he took a job in China and it has been 6 months since we have seen him. His wife had to stay in China this trip so it was up to me to make sure he had a great birthday complete with cake. My daughter had the idea of writing "Happy Birthday" in Mandarin on the cake. Thanks to Google I found what it should look like. Here is my attempt.

Since I wasn't able to go to the studio today I am hoping Sandy will fill us all in on how the Sleigh Ride is going. I'm looking forward to seeing the Key Photography Studio winterized.

Tea Time

Wasn't the snow on Monday gorgeous! It was just enough to be beautiful and not enough to cause a run on milk at the grocery store. It certainly put me in the Christmas spirit. It didn't hurt that Sandy and I also spent the day getting ready for the annual First Baptist Cumming Christmas Tea. There is nothing like watching the snow fall as you are setting a table with Christmas dishes and decorations. I am so sorry to say that in all of the excitement, I forgot my camera. So, I will just have to describe it all for you.
My table had a candy cane theme, and Sandy's had the most amazing topiary made up of hundreds of little beads. All the ladies went above and beyond, as always, to make their tables beautiful. Tam's Backstage catered, and let me just say, it was fabulous. Our speaker, Kay Dekalb Smith, was hysterical. On the second night of the tea I had the honor to be sitting at the same table with her. It turns out that her daughter is a photographer in Nashville and her other daughter is engaged to be married. Photography, weddings, and a Tennessee/Alabama background! We could have chatted all night.
The other great thing about the snow was that it put us in exactly the right mood for the big Sleigh Ride Event in the Key Photography Studio this weekend. That's right, I said THIS weekend. If you haven't booked your session yet, please call right away so that we can work you in. We are shooting both Friday night and Saturday morning, but the sooner you call the studio at 770.205.5275 the more likely we will be able to get you in at the time you want.

Happy Thanksgiving from Sandy Key

Isn't the beauty of God awesome? Sometimes the beauty of nature is overwhelming to see. It just makes me thankful for all that we are blessed with. On the note of thankfulness ... we just wanted to wish all of our friends a Happy Thanksgiving.
This a great time of year ... one of our favorites. I know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are not one holiday but I love to have everything decorated for Christmas and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday all at the same time. I hope that we all are thankful for what God has blessed us with and that we can always remember that our blessings are to be passed on to others. I hope that you will join our Key Photography family by trying to pass on some of those blessings to the family that we are trying to help during the holiday season.
As we wrote before about a family we are trying to help get on their feet ... not unlike many others during this same time. It can almost be overwhelming to try and decide who to help and how. If you are led to do so, please call us and let us know that you are willing to help this family or come by the studio to bring things to help this family. They are in need of almost anything that you can think of ... from household items such as pots & pans, or even toiletries or clothes. Gift cards are also helpful for them. There is nothing too small that you could give that might bless them and help them to have a better holiday season.
Oh well, know that the Key Photography family is very thankful for each and every one of you and we hope that you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Sleigh Ride Details

The Sleigh Ride Special will be held Friday December 5th and Saturday December 6th only. The session fee for this special will be $79, which includes a $50 credit towards your purchase. This will allow you to build your own package from our full line of print sizes, postcards, and even custom Christmas cards. Hurry now to book before the slots are full! The Key Photography studio number is 770.205.5275.

Sleigh Ride

Saturday with Santa was awesome and every other positive word you can think of, but take a look at our next special event.
We are creating a special "Winter Wonderland" set for your family to have beautiful Christmas photos for cards and portraits. There will be snow and trees and warm blankets to complete the feel of winter inside.
This is the perfect set for those of you who only wanted family Christmas portraits with a winter season feel.
This is a limited time only special set for Friday, December 5th and Saturday, December 6th just for winter portraits. These are the only 2 days for our Winter portrait special so don't miss out on this special Sleigh Ride event. These will make a great Christmas cards or portraits for everyone. Call the Key Photography studio at 770-205-5275 to schedule your own personal Sleigh Ride.

Checking His List!

We had a great time with Santa and the experience was priceless!! It was fun to watch the children have their own special time with him. Each family had a special fun experience being able to relax and get to spend some one on one time with Santa. We tried to create a relaxed morning for parents as well as the children. While the children were having their time with Santa their parents were able to have muffins & hot cider while watching their little ones have fun finding their names on Santa's Christmas List and getting to tell him their Christmas wishes.




He arrived at our studio around 8:00 am and shortly thereafter I was unable to find our 7 year old Carmen. After looking for her I found her in her jeans, a t-shirt, barefoot and unbrushed hair sitting in his lap just talking. It was great and so wonderful to watch my children as well as the others having such a relaxed and fun time with Santa. Those of you who missed your time with Santa ... he left his sleigh for us to use for your own personal Sleigh Ride portraits.

Our upcoming special for December is a Winter Sleigh Ride scene for you to be able to get your order in for Christmas cards ahead of the holidays and in time for your friends and families to enjoy your wonderful smiles. Call us to schedule your photos and order your photos from your recent sessions so that you can get those cards out in time for the holidays. You can schedule your sessions by calling the Key Photography studio at 770.205.5275. We'll look forward to hearing from you and thanks for checking out our blog. Come back very soon and we'll have upcoming news on the Sleigh Ride!

Sincerely,
The Key Photography Family

Election Day!

Just a friendly reminder (as if you needed one) that today is election day. I'm proud to say that I took advantage of the early voting to do my civic duty but if you have yet to go, I thought I would provide a very helpful link for you today.

Forsyth County Voting Information

Forsyth County has an excellent website just to help voters. There is information on where you go to vote, and a sample ballot. With all of the presidential and senate talk you might not be aware of just how many local issues there are on the ballot today. I always like to look it over at home before I go to vote so that I can get through the whole thing quickly while I'm at the polls.

After you vote, put your sticker on and head to Starbucks. They are giving away tall cups of brewed coffee to people who voted today. Also Ben and Jerry's (the one at Winward) is giving away free scoops between 5 and 8 tonight, and if you are going past a Krispy Kreme you can get a star shaped doughnut with red and blue sprinkles on the house. Wow, voting and blowing your diet for free all in one day, isn't our country awesome!

God Bless America, and please pray for our leaders no matter who wins today.

this blog posted was made possible by Lynn.

I'm Lynn Dotson and I approved this message

It's Begining to look a lot...

...like Christmas! It seems like only yesterday that I was looking at the beautiful fall colors and enjoying the crisp morning air. Come to think of it, I guess it was yesterday, but that is behind us now. When November starts it is officially no longer too early to be thinking about Christmas. All of the stores are changing their orange and yellow decor to reds and greens. We are following right in step. With Santa coming this week, and a surprise new winter set to follow (oops, pretend I didn't mention that), the studio is primed for a holiday make over.
Stay tuned for details.

SanTa Baby!

If you are on our email list or a member of our Facebook group then you have already heard that Santa is coming to the studio November 8th. If you are not in our email list, please sign up through the site with the link that reads "newsletter". It is the best way for us to let you know what specials and events we have coming up.

There are a few things that the announcement did not cover that I wanted to address here. First of all, as you can hopefully tell by the image above of our SanTa, there will be no fake beards and padded tummies here. This is the real deal.

We are setting up the studio with a comfortable feel to welcome your family in. Naturally, there will be cookies and such. What would a Santa experience be without cookies? There will also be no rushing. Your little ones will have plenty of time to present their full wish list to Santa.

When it comes time to review your images, you won't be limited to choosing just one shot. As a mom, I know it can be impossible to choose between your favorite shots, so we don't want you to have to choose. We also don't want to limit you to just prints. We have arranged our pricing especially for Santa so that you can have personalized Christmas cards even in our smallest packages. This will let you share your experience with all of your friends and family.

Party of Characters

The studio was crazy Friday night. All of the reoccurring characters from the Kid's Town drama team came over for dinner with a photo session on the side. I guess you could call it our first in house portrait party.

I can not remember the last time I laughed so hard and was still allowed to call it work. These are just a taste of the fun that was captured that night. I can not wait to see the finished product hanging up in Kid's Town.

Too Much Fun with Charley! by Sandy

We had the opportunity of photographing Lance, Paula, & Charley for their family Fall session last year and for Charley's 2 year session. We fell in love with them and have grown to watch them grow from a family of 3 to now a family of 4. Now we have the blessing of also getting to know Addison and have already had 2 sessions with her. She is as beautiful as Charley and also as sweet.

Today we had another great session in the studio with Charley for her 3 year session! Keith and I always have a blast when she walks into the room. She is such a beautiful girl and a great ham for the camera. Here are a few of our favorites from her session. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

Thank you so much Paula and Lance for bringing the girls in and allowing us to share in some of your special times. We love watching them grow!

Opening Day at the New Studio by Sandy

FINALLY ... we have officially started shooting in the new studio. Hurray!!! There are still a few small things to complete such as hanging the projector and screen, setting up the production room, and putting the finishing touches on the wall with beautiful portraits of our friends.

We had three sessions today in our new studio. The first was a newborn but what was so special for Keith and I was that we had the opportunity of photographing the parents' wedding several years ago and it was so exciting to see them again ... with a beautiful new life!








































Congratulations Christian & Kelly on your new blessing and thank you for giving us the opportunity to share in the experience of a photo session with you again ... but with a new addition to your wonderful family. "Everett is beautiful!!"

Happily Ever After

As you hopefully know by now, we have been in the middle of a HUGE project. We are building a new studio. With every new level of the remodel I have taken my humble little camera in to capture "before" pictures. On more than one occasion 1 or more of the people working (usually Sandy) would say, "I'm tired of before, I want AFTER!" Well, I am extremely excited to announce that I finally have "after" shots.

Please pardon my dusty camera. You need to see the studio in person to really appreciate this transformation. (hint hint). The seating is so comfortable, and every time I walk on the carpet I just want to take my shoes off and run around barefoot like a kid.

This is my desk. Get a good look now because you will never see it this clean again. I've already completed a couple of projects sitting right there. Later this week the rest of the production team should be moving in, but for now I have a really big private office.

We still have a few things left to do such as hanging some of our favorite work, and setting up the whole media center, but that is all icing on the cake. The real news is that our first studio shoot will be first thing in the morning and I can't wait.

Ladies Night

Last night, First Baptist Cumming had a great Ladies Night movie party, and all of the women of Key Photography were there. We had so much fun, I just had to blog about it.

The evening was planned out by the Women's Council. Holly Stewart went all out with the decorations. There was even a red carpet at the front door. Jennifer Lamb set up the best concession stand ever. Not only did she have popcorn and nachos, but also just about every candy known to man. I forget which of the ladies came up with the idea of the coffee bar, but it was a good one.

These were the only two men allowed in the building, and the only reason they got in is because they could make a mocha that looked like this:

They were from Mocha My Day. There was every favor of coffee known to man and hot chocolate and vanilla chi and mocha and cappuccinos. They were awesome.

After we all had our snack the movie began. What can I say? I laughed, I cried, and I learned things about friends that I never knew. The next time you see Kelli Chitty you have to ask her where her engagement ring has been.

My part in planning the evening was small but fun. I made bookmarks for everyone to take home. I designed them to look like a film strip and inside the cells I included special bible verses that were mentioned during the movie. There was Joshua 1:9, Jeremiah 29:11.Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalms 30. I'm going to be a bible tease and make you look them up for yourself. ( here is a link to Bible Gateway for you).

Too Good

This shot was just too good not to share.

Party Night #2

In order to have plenty of time with each family, we stretched Jennifer's party into two nights. The second night was made more interesting by a couple of special guests to the party.

I have to say that I was very impressed with how still Chip could sit, and how Mia seemed to smile right along with the rest of the family. Both of them did great. The flexibility of bringing along the furry members of your family turned out to be another great perk of the portrait party. Also, there were plenty of people around to take care of the dogs while the rest of their family took turns being featured.

*On a side note, I wanted to mention that if you don't have a place in your yard that you think would work as a good backdrop, you can still host a party. We can set up at Poole's Mill Park, your neighborhood clubhouse, or another one of the many scenic areas in the area.

P-A-R-T-Y

It is fun to try new things. Sometimes you'll hit on an idea that turns out to be even more fabulous than you could have imagined. For example, Keith mentioned one day that we should have a portrait party. Then, our good friend Jennifer heard those words and ran with it. Tonight was the very first Key Portrait Party. We had so much fun that we are planning for many more.

Here is how it worked. Jennifer called up friends and invited them to her house for a backyard cookout/portrait session. No one had to pay a session fee, everyone received a discount, and a fun time was had by all. Each family took a turn changing into their dressy clothes and having their portraits done.

We had everything set up so that people could view the results right at Jennifer's kitchen table. Everything flowed so well and all of our guests were really excited with the results.

We even had one dad admit that he is usually anti-family portrait. With having four children (that's right 4!) it was hard to get everyone together, clean, and happy, but he loved the whole party concept. It was easy to keep the kids happy through the whole experience because they were there with friends. He was relaxed, they were relaxed, and the photographs turned out great. I can't wait to get the images to the studio so that I can show you the final product.

Thank you Jennifer for being such a gracious host and taking such a great idea and making it such a fun night! You are great!

If you are interested in hosting a Portrait Party call our studio and we will be glad to schedule your party and help you in planning your evening of fun with your friends.

If you would like to sign up for our monthly newsletter go to our website and begin receiving updates on our monthly specials and discounts. Thanks for reading the blog. We have received so many comments on the progress that is taking place at our new studio. Thanks for being such great friends.

Painting the Town

Okay, so we are just painting the studio, not the whole town, but you wouldn't know it by the number of paint buckets that entered the studio this morning. Kemptner Painting arrived bright and early today to get started. They have been great. It's not fair to keep such talent to ourselves, so if you need any painting done, inside or out, we'd recommend Mark Kemptner. His number is 404-304-8976.

The hard part for us was in choosing the colors we wanted.We knew we wanted a little brown and needed some gray for the production areas, but what we didn't know was which of the 6,000 browns was the right one. Obviously I'm exaggerating a tad, but when you are standing in front of all those paint chips, it might as well be in the thousands.

We finally settled on a cup of "Java", a nice "Trusty Tan", and a very "Proper Gray". Don't you just love paint names. I often wonder whose job it is to sit around and name different colors.
were are using the fabulous Duron paint for the walls and you can see the swatches like we have above using this really cool paint color visualizer.

Fire House Fun

It's September 11th, or as it is lesser known as, Patriot's Day. To commemorate the day, the kids and I took brownies to the firehouse in downtown Cumming. We were treated to the full tour. The kids climbed on the truck, turned on the lights, and even saw where the firefighters sleep. It was awesome.

As we were headed out I noticed that there was an old flag collection box. I had no idea it was that easy. I thought you had to hunt down a responsible Boy Scout or something, but no, you just have to stop by the firehouse.

By the way, while we are talking about firefighters, a friend recently gave me a great safety tip. Make sure you have a smoke detector in your garage. There have been a couple of house fires lately that started in the garage. By the time the house alarms went off the house was in a full blaze.

Here is a great link to a slide show made of images from 9/11 2001. Remember 9-11

*Warning* It will make you cry - A LOT, so you might want to wait until you are alone to watch it.

Key Radio

Normally I like to think I am a productive influence around the studio, but today I slipped. I suggested that Sandy use one of my favorite sites to provide music for while she is working. As it turns out Sandy had never heard of Pandora, and now she has a new web obsession.

Pandora is a web based radio station. The great part is that you get to build your own stations using the type of music you most enjoy, and it's all free. You can share your stations and find out what your friends are listening to. On my personal page I have a station just for Christmas music, another for Oldies, and about 4 others built to suit my moods. Sandy wanted music to work by. So, I built stations for each of us. Sandy selected several artists and songs to get started. I quickly set one up for myself with about a dozen favorite artists, some with conflicting styles. Then I asked Keith what type of music he wanted. He shrugged and in typical Keith fashion said, "I like Jimmy Buffet." Not much to go on, but the station seems to have a really good mix.

I noticed that since I left the studio, someone has added profile information and added in several new stations, and it wasn't me. Is this going to be worse than the Facebook addiction?

We would love to share our stations with you. Just visit the site and search for user "sandy 951" or click on this Pandora link.

Two White

We actually have two new additions to the studio this week. The first was an anniversary present to Sandy from Keith that we all get to enjoy.
Her name is Sophie and she is a Maltese. She loves having her tummy rubbed and is already learning how to pose for the camera. Again, this picture was made my me instead of the professionals, but I know it won't be long before her portrait is made and gracing the walls of the new studio.
Speaking of the new studio, that brings me to the second of the two whites (now is when the title makes sense)
To the untrained eye this may look like a plain white square, bit it is actually a plain white square of dry wall that now hangs in the studio. This means the hard part of the studio build is over and the dry wall has been hung. We'd like to thank Eric, Dawn, Noell, Holly, Charlie, Mindy, Eric, Mitchell, Farise, Julie, Bruce, Lauren, Dee, Kevin, Jerry, Sandy, Kelli, Stacy, Mickey, Lynn (the other one), Doug, and I am sure there are others that I have missed that Sandy will no doubt be adding in later. Without the help of all of you this massive undertaking would never have gotten done. We feel so blessed to have each of you as part of the Key Photography family.

Meet Lauren

The production room at Key Photography is a fun place. It is the room where your great photos become the most fabulous portraits you have ever had done. This is thanks in no small part to Lauren. She is a college student/artist/photoshop whiz who has been doing great work retouching (among other things).

Please excuse the bad lighting and angles in this picture. I (Lynn) took it, and as I have said before photography is not a skill I have acquired. One of these days I know Sandy will talk Lauren to getting in front of their camera and then we'll have a real photo to post instead.

Aside from making everyone look younger and well rested, Lauren is a very talented artist. I managed to catch a glimpse of her sketch book the other day and was very impressed. I may have to see about posting some of her drawings here. Maybe I can even talk her into posting regularly.

Happy Birthday Baby!

In continuing with my series on making the most of your session, today we will be covering 1st birthdays. By this time your little one is probably mobile in some form or fashion. That means it is time to get them out of the studio and into nature. Don't worry about the time of year, if the weather is bad we have some great indoor alternatives.


Kids are going to look adorable no matter what you put them in, so make it comfortable and easy to move in. As always, solid colors work best. We usually suggest warm tones that compliment skin tone.



Always pack a change of clothes. If there is one thing I have learned from my son it is that children (especially boys) are magnets for anything wet and sticky. Personally, I love the portraits of children with dirty feet and wet pants, but the grandparents usually like to see the children looking like angels who have never been near a speck of dirt. We love to have the option of capturing both of those looks.

Jessica+David Columbia

As promised, here are some of my personal favorites from the South America wedding. As you can tell from the picture above, the bride was a bit more relaxed this time around.

I LOVE this garden area and the house. We could not have asked for a better place to photograph the happy bride.

The flower girls got a little more carried away with the petals this time around. I think it wore them out.

This was part of the entertainment at the reception. I wish I could hear the music that went with that twirl.

Speaking of music, these guys played up a storm the night before, at the rehearsal dinner. The next time the Keys have a destination wedding, I have got to find a way to tag along.