Our New Blog Is Coming Soon!

I haven't posted much lately but wanted to let you know that our new blog will be up and running soon. Don't worry ... you still will be able to access our old blog. We are working very hard on the blog so don't go anywhere and come back soon! Have a very blessed day today and everyday!

Wedding Videos for You To Enjoy

Just wanted to share some new slideshows with all of you. I have been working on slideshows that we can share with some of you on Facebook as well as our blog and website. Here are a couple of them. Hope you enjoy the videos. It was quite fun going through images of Alex & Lisa's wedding and Anna & Matt's was great as well. They are both beautiful and sweet couples. Come back for more as we bring you more previews. I hope you enjoy these clips and maybe even reminisce about or look forward to your own wedding day as you watch these clips.
Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter so you can keep up with our upcoming events and specials. Have a blessed day!

Fine Arts Camp - Part 2

In part 2 of the update on camp here are some more of the images that we took at the North Lanier Baptist Church Fine Arts Camp. When I posted the first images we hadn't yet gone to the production or the picnic and rocket launching as well as a messy event. The messy event I am talking about was a competition of girls vs. boys to see who could raise the most money to help a church in Venezuela fund a VBS program for children. It was done in pounds of coins and not dollar bills. The girls won but the total that the children raised was $1,781.97. As a result of the competition between the girls and boys the winners got to chocolate and feather one of the staff for the camp.

We posted on the blog about our special for NLBC Fine Arts Camp attendees. Each of the participants at the Fine Arts camp received a flyer for a free session. In addition to the free session flyers that were given to each child attending we are giving a $50 credit toward the purchase of photographs. So if you received a flyer or attended the Fine Arts Camp, call the Key Photography Studio to schedule your free session with your $50 credit.

Fine Arts Camp Rocks!

North Lanier Baptist Church in Cumming, Georgia, has held its 2009 annual Fine Arts Camp this week. Keith was asked to teach a photography class for the kids and our kids have also been attending. They have ALL had a blast and Keith has come back talking about how great an event that it has been.
Thank you North Lanier for asking us to participate in such a wonderful camp and being a part of such a great time.
Today is Friday and they are having their last day which includes final productions from the classes that the kids have been participating in. My kids have been building rockets, doing arts and crafts, studying early American history through the lives of the historical American Girls, as well as learning new dance moves to such songs as one of my favorites called "Shackles". They wish it didn't have to end but it always ends with a fun time launching rockets, doing dance productions, and having a picnic for the parents to be a part of seeing what the kids have been doing during the week. Don't forget to check them out for next summer if your kids are looking for a great experience to enhance their summer. We definitely will participate next year. Since our family is always trying to make life a learning experience ... it definitely falls in this category.

In Keith's photography class the kids looked at some of their surroundings and took photographs of things that included the alphabet. Above are the images that they all found. Here are a few more images from some of their experiences this week but come back later to see more photos of other events that took place.

Check back later today to see a special that we are having for NLBC Fine Arts Camp families. Call the Key Photography Studio at 770205.5275 to inquire about our July special or to schedule an appointment for your senior, family, child, or other photography needs. Have a blessed day and hope to see you back here later today.

Railroad Crime Scene

Check out the Key Photography page on facebook and become a fan! We posted a new video of a session that we did by the tracks. Also check out our new spotlight gallery at the Key Photography website to see the images a little larger. Be on the lookout for our new blog that is upcoming. We are working on it so don't forget to come back to this blog for now to find out about upcoming events and discounts. Here is the link to the facebook page for Key Photography so don't forget to become a fan and keep up with some of our work and things we are doing to partner with people in the community. The family that we photographed in this session is great and Kerri does my hair at Salon 369. Don't forget to check them out or schedule a hair appointment with them. They are awesome. Have a great day and come back soon.

Let Freedom Ring with Key Photography!

What better way to celebrate our country's freedom than by giving you something for FREE! Before summer slips away, schedule time with us to capture this moment in time ... Free Sessions! Call our studio at 770.205.5275 during the month of July to schedule a session during the month of July for FREE! In addition, we will also choose the best 13 images from your session to be posted on Facebook. Why 13? In honor of the 13 original colonies of course! It's hot outside, but the Key Photography Studio is air conditioned and perfect for formal portraits or just kicking off your shoes for some casual family fun. We'll meet you down by the river, on the lake, or anywhere that your family loves to spend those lazy summer days within a 10 mile radius or the Key Photography Studio. You can also take advantage of this offer for your senior portraits before that hectic senior schedule kicks in this fall but keep in mind that senior sessions for this event are a limited session time and not our normal senior sessions.

Sincerely, The Key Photography Team Key Photography, Inc. 770-205-5275

* a minimum purchase of $200 is requested * sessions must be booked by July 31, 2009 and take place during the month of July *free facebook images will be posted to your account after a friend request is initiated with the Key Photography page

Wedding and Babies! Wow!

I started looking over some of the sessions that we have had and realized that we have been so blessed to have the opportunities of photographing several weddings and later have those couples come back to us to photograph their children and families. It has amazed me at those wonderful relationships. Some of them have great stories and they all have beautiful children. Thank you all for allowing us to develop a relationship with you all and watch your children and families grow. Reminiscing is so much fun! I have had a blast looking at some of these families. It's almost like looking through our own family photo album. I'll share a few with you. Enjoy and come back soon to see more. Visit the Key Photography website and sign up for our newsletter to keep up with upcoming news and events in and around the Cumming, Forsyth area as well as Atlanta.

Portrait Party Time

Last year, Keith mentioned that we should have a portrait party to one of our friends. When he did, our good friend Jennifer heard those words and was willing to run with it. It was a hit!

Here is how it worked. Jennifer called a few friends and invited their families to her house for a backyard cookout/portrait session. No one paid a session fee, everyone received discounts on their portraits, and the hostess received some heavily discounted portraits and some free "stuff." It was a blast!. Each family took a turn having their portraits done ... approximately 20 minutes per family. Then we schedule a time the following week for each family to come in to the studio to review their images and choose their portraits.

We even had one dad admit that he had a great time since having four children it was difficult 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 to play with their friends. We would slip in each family's session in between the kids play times. The parents were relaxed, the kids were relaxed, and the photographs turned out great. Thanks Jennifer for helping to kick this idea off to a great start last year. You were a gracious host and were great idea and making it such a fun night!

This year we have only limited sessions available to schedule portrait parties so if you are interested in hosting a Portrait Party call the Key Photography 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 Key Happenings go to our website and begin receiving updates on our monthly specials and discounts. Thanks for visiting our web and blog. We hope you will come back regularly to see what is happening with Key Photography and other upcoming events in the area. Thanks for being such great friends and may you all have a blessed day.

New Work

Welcome to our blog and thanks for stopping by. We have been working on some new designs and are beginning to explore some new areas of creative photography.



If you would like to sign up for our newsletter please fill out the form and submit it so that we can keep you updated on our news and upcoming events. We are very excited to be challenged and striving to be more creative in our designs that will complement our own style of photography. Have a blessed day and stop by again soon. See you next time.

May Mud Pit Madness

We sent out an email to our newsletter subscribers about our upcoming May Mud Pit Madness on May 15-16. I hope you received your newsletter letting you know about this upcoming fun. If you didn't and would like to receive our newsletter for upcoming specials and information go to the Key Photography website to sign up now so you can be updated on all of our current news.

We did this special last year and it was a hit! It was great to see the kids arrive in clean clothes and taking photographs of them all nice and neat. Then to see them look at their moms as if to say "You're telling me that you WANT me to get dirty?" Then were the images taken during the playful mud fights, ending up with smiles on their faces and covered in mud. They had a great time revealing how dirty a child can truly get ... all with smiles included. This year we are bringing back the fun! Don't miss your chance to play in the mud and watch your children have a blast. Sessions are limited and are filling up quickly so call the Key Photography studio at 770.205.5275 to inquire for information or schedule your session now.

Destination Weddings

Keith and I have always enjoyed a wedding on or at the beach. We just arrived home from a wedding that was to take place on a private beach in Florida but when we arrived in Florida the plans had to be changed. After arriving on Thursday during heavy rain, and with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes continuing through Friday, the venue had to be changed. The venue ended up being a beautiful facility in the Windmark Beach Resort. Everyone pulled together to create an environment for an indoor wedding and the result was beautiful. The guests and wedding party had a lot of fun in the process.

Even though it was a quick transition and coming up with alternate plans, the ultimate goal was accomplished ... photos on the beach and a whole lot of fun. We had a break in the weather that allowed us to have some great photographs on the beach around sunset with the bride, groom and wedding party.

It was awesome to see that God allowed the couple their hearts desire ... to have beach photos at their wedding. Here are just a few that I took ... not Keith! You'll have to wait to see some of those a little later. The happy ending was experienced no matter the weather.

Flowers for Sale or Rent

Last weekend's Bunnies and Barns went great. The weather was a little cold, but the sun was out and the bunnies were warm. Part of what made the day a sucess was the multitude of flowers we had on hand all thanks to the greenhouse of No Longer Bound. For a VERY modest fee, they allowed us to rent baskets of flowers for the two day event. When we were done with them we had two choices. We could either return them or sell them and help out the ministries of No Longer Bound. You know us, we want to help when we can. So, if you were thinking of buying some hanging baskets consider purchasing one of these. They are $15 and 100% of that goes to No Longer Bound (look for an upcoming spotlight post on all they do). We are going to take what is left over back to the greenhouse early next week. If you want one, leave a comment on this post with which you want and we will contact you to arrange pick up. #1 is the yellow, #2 is the purple, and #3 is small white blossoms. I think there are 2 of each left. Each basket is about 34 inches around and 8 inches tall.

Spotlight: The Foster House

When our family first moved to Cumming I thought it was such a shame that we had a beautiful old home right in the middle of downtown that was in such bad shape. It wasn't long (only a couple of months actually) before I started noticing work being done on that corner. Brush was cleared out, the roof was redone and soon the old house was restored and reborn into The Foster House Restaurant. The home, which was originally built in 1887, is truly a southern show piece. The venue is owned and operated by a mother and daughter team, Patricia and Amanda, who make the best of the best in homemade recipes for any occasion. During the week the home is open to the public for breakfast and lunch and then again on Sunday for brunch.

Every time I drive past this historic location, I always look to see what kind of event might be happening on the great brick patio in the back. I have seen Red Hat Ladies lunching, wedding receptions, and mysterious tents that I can only imagine what fun and flavor was being had inside. When you go inside the restaurant you find a great antique home that you can't help but want to wander around. In there I have seen showers, both baby and wedding, informal business meetings in their own private room, and some of the most interesting history in the city.

The next time you have a gathering to plan ... be it a wedding, or just lunch with the girls, we ask you to consider our friends at the Foster House. They are a great venue to host whatever your event may be. Check them out on the web at The Foster House or call 770.887.9905 to schedule your event.

Spotlight: Autism Speaks

Every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed with autism.
Last year our neighbor, Locke, was one of those children. Locke's mother Kristen tells me, "It was rough at first, but with the love and support of our friends and family, as well as Autism Speaks, we have come a long way!"Now the whole Gamet family wants to find a way to support and help the families that will be faced with this diagnoses. They are joining the thousands of others walking in the 2009 Georgia Walk Now for Autism.
" The money raised at Walk Now for Autism supports Autism Speaks mission to finding the causes, effective treatments, and a cure for autism through funding essential biomedical research."
Please consider helping them reach their goal by making a donation or joining their team walking on May 3rd. If you would like to know more, please visit their team page, "The Locke Ness Monsters" ,and from there you will see all applicable links.
All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law, and may qualify for matching donations through your employer .
Autism Speaks 501 (C)(3) Tax Id #: 20-2329938

I also have an update to last week's spotlight. The Cumming branch of Treat the Troops baked and packed 3,000 cookies this month to be sent to our soldiers overseas. Way to go Crumbs!

Spotlight: Treat the Troops

This weekend Sandy and I talked about adding a new feature to our blog called "Spotlight". The goal is to highlight a different charity, ministry, or local business each week.
For our first post I'd like to draw your attention to Treat the Troops. This organization bakes cookies and packs them up with other goodies to send to our men and women serving overseas in the military. This was started by Jeanette Cram in 1990 for people serving in the Gulf War. Local chapters started springing up and now the organization has shipped well over 1.5 million cookies. A few years ago, our friend, Debbie Hudson, was so moved by this cause that she inquired about starting a branch here in Cumming. With the help of the community the Cumming branch of Treat the Troops is now the second largest one in the whole country. Almost every month the "crumbs", as they are called, get together for a packing party. Everyone brings in cookies, magazines, candy, and whatever donations they can round up and work together to prepare the boxes to be shipped. I have had the honor of attending a few of these parties, and I have always come away feeling blessed and in awe of what this group is doing. You can read more details about the group on the national web page for Treat the Troops.
This month's packing party is the start of something new for them. It will be this Friday (March 13th) at Coal Mountain Elementary School starting at 7p.m. (6 for those helping with set up) . This is a new location and time for the group, so if you have been before, please take note of the changes. If you would like further information on how to get involved with our local Treat the Troops chapter please email Debbie Hudson at dcanoli@comcast.net

Only 2 left!

When we sent out the Bunnies & Barns email we also included a limited offer for 20% off your purchase from Strasburg Children at the 400 Premium Outlet (that's right, you get the outlet price PLUS an additional 20% off). Well, we are down to 2 coupons left, which also means that spots are beginning to fill up. Call the Key Photography Studio now at 770-205-5275 to get in on this discount just in time to purchase the perfect Easter outfit to wear to your session.
770-205-5275

Don't Miss the Bunnies & Barns Special!

Get dressed in your Easter best and join us in celebrating the arrival of Spring. We are getting out of the studio, going on location to The Foster House, a historic site in Cumming, and bringing with us some of the cutest bunnies you have ever seen! Because of the special location and the use of live rabbits we must limit this special to be Friday and Saturday only.

As always, we will be scheduling exclusive appointments, which means no waiting in lines or being rushed through your session. Call the studio at 770.205.5275 now to schedule your time and to get details on our special location. Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to capture a precious moment of your child with these beautiful bunnies. We look forward to hearing from you.

*Our Price: $89.00 which includes your private session and a $50.00 gift card to be used toward your choice portraits from the Bunny session.

*Special fee is due at the time of your session. Appointments for your in studio portrait review will be made at the end of your session. Dates for review have been made available to insure your selections will arrive before Easter. A 7% GA sales tax will be added to your purchases.

Some Bunny Love

Some days I really love my job. It's not often you hear your boss ask "Would you mind spending more time on Facebook?", or as was the case this week, "Can you do some research on bunnies?" I put my nose to the grindstone and googled images of rabbits. Did you know that there are actually 47 recognized breeds of rabbits? I have narrowed down my favorites to 3. First, you have the lop. These are your classic floppy eared bunnies.

Then, there is the mini rex. They look like a typical rabbit, but miniature.

Last, but not least is the lionhead. These are the super fluffy faced bunnies with short ears.

Hopefully you are wondering why I was looking at bunnies all day. Well, it was research for a spring special like none other. I know rabbits have been done, they have even been done by us, but not like this. I'm not going to give you details just yet, but I will leave you with these words: historic, nostalgic, and adorable. If you can't wait for the upcoming information you are welcome to call the Key Photography studio at 770.205.5275 to inquire. We are still getting all of the information together before we send it out. We can't wait for you to hear about it and plan for your own session. Have a great weekend and come back next week to check on the details.

All images are from Cuteness Overload, a site that lives up to it's name.

Be CentsAble Workshops

How many of you cut out, print out, and collect coupons? I am totally scared of all of the mania that is going on with the coupon hype. Okay, I have to admit that I am scared because I can only imagine the time (that I don't have) it takes to work on this whole thing. I have a friend on facebook who does all of this and is actually going to teach a class on coupon savings. The class will be held on February 28 from 10:00 - 2:00 at the First Baptist Cumming Youth House to help those of us that are skeptical or fearful to learn more about how to accomplish these kinds of savings. They are selling tickets in advance for $3 each to cover the cost of getting everyone newspapers to work through during the class.
She posted a clip from abc on her facebook that gives good information on the savings that we can get by saving coupons. I am beginning to get interested. If you want to check it out you can go to these sites and watch video clips on this topic.



Check out:
Coupon Parties
Supermarket Savings
The Coupon Game
Be Centsable Mission Statement

Thank You!

I realize that this is coming a bit delayed so please forgive us. I received a delayed "thank you" from the single mom that you helped over the holidays. She sent her huge gratitude to all of you that sent things to her via the Key Photography studio. We really appreciate helping us to accomplish the goal of providing she and her girls with some of the needs that they have had. She let us know that she is doing better but as you all know when you are trying to get on your feet that sometimes it is slow. Please continue to pray for she and her family. They are very gracious and grateful for all that everyone did for them. If you have any questions please feel free to contact our studio at 770.205.5275. Thanks again and may God bless you.

A Short Senior Video

This is just a little something new I'm trying out.

Happy Birthday Sandy!

I wanted to sneak in really quickly and post that today is Sandy's birthday. Like most women over the age of 21, Sandy is not a big fan of her own birthday. This has not stopped me from celebrating it anyway. This morning I stopped by the Laughing Elephant and picked up a "death by chocolate" cupcake, added a candle, and of course made it's picture. Sadly, all I had on me was the phone on my camera (how ironic). I'm hoping to get a better shot of Sandy eating it later, but I'm not holding my breath. Happy Birthday Sandy! I hope you have a great day and a fantastic year.

More Outdoor Studio Updates!

We are trying to get everything ready for the spring. I can't wait! We have again been working on the outdoor studio with more hardscape, landscape, grading, etc. It looks like a complete mess but I guess you have to make a mess sometimes before you can clean it up. Here are some shots of more progress.

Don't forget to read our blog on a regular basis so that you can keep up. It sure is fun around here watching all of the progress and trying to have sessions, do production, marketing, etc. Spring is coming and our sessions are scheduling fast. We will be sending out our schedule for upcoming specials very soon. We have some incredible ideas so don't miss out. Call the Key Photography studio at 770.205.5275 to schedule your weddings, family, maternity, newborn, children, seniors, and other sessions you might be interested in having photographed.

Playlist

We decided to add a little fun to the blog. To your right you will see our Project Playlist music player. We add the songs in and you control the player. You can skip to the next song, repeat the last song, or pause it all together. It is set to shuffle so that you will hear something different every time you visit. I have loaded a couple of dozen songs to get us started, and I am now taking requests. If there is a song you love and want to share with our readers, please post it in the comments section of this post and I'll add it into the rotation.

Senior Romp

Our Senior Ambassador Taylor booked a Senior Session to share with her friends. Keith and a group of Taylor's friends wandered all over Atlanta having fun and capturing memories that they will have long after graduation. I really don't have the words to express how much I love these images. I'm just going to have to let the shots speak for themselves.



If you are interested in booking a Senior Session for one or for a whole group, please call the Key Photography Studio at 770.205.5275. Don't wait until the weather gets warmer to make your appointment. We are already booking Spring sessions.