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!