I love a good wedding.

I mean, really, who doesn’t? I like pretty much everything about it; the hustle, the floral arrangements, the party atmosphere, the really good food, an elaborate wedding cake. All the little details are what make it good. However, my favorite part of a wedding is afterward. Usually quite a while afterward. Do you know what it is? Any guesses?

The wedding album design!

That is my favorite part. I get to create fairytales! Every story has a happy ending, a beautiful woman and a dashing man but (bonus!)no villain (that is unless a crazy ex shows up or something)! Every story is different so I’m always intrigued. Every bride gets a different, custom design. Brides can have as much, or as little, input as they want in their wedding fairytale album. Some brides don’t even know I have designed an album for them until I reveal it.

Like tonight! Surprise, Breanne & Chris!!

Contact me for all the details on album design, wedding photography and anything else that comes to mind! info@cyephotography.com

FYI… summer dates are booking up fast

Are you, your sister, wife, aunt, friend, neighbor, co-worker, husband’s friend’s girlfriend’s sister, etc, expecting a new baby?

Newborns are tough work. Feeding every 2’ish hours, even more if they are a piggy. Sooooo many diaper changes. Clothes on, clothes off. Gas. Colic. No schedule. What new, or newly repeating, parent has the time, the energy, for newborn pictures?

 That squinched up, wrinkly, kinda hairy, pre-baby acne and cradle cap bundle of goodness quickly changes from newborn to infant… Your window of time with your newborn is so, so small. They change into a chubby, personable, won’t-sit-still baby almost overnight. Really, how can you afford not to take the time to properly, professionally, document the curly-ness of your just hatched newborn?

Luckily, a newborn session with CYE Photography is easy by design and little to no work needs to be done by the newly exhausted parents.

How? Newborn sessions take place in your home. Not on-location or in studio. We come to you and bring everything needed with us; backdrops, lighting, even props. After all, home is where you are most comfortable and also where the truckload of baby’s necessities is. Not to mention you don’t have to wrestle your new baby into their car seat, pack a million and one things in a diaper bag and try to get somewhere on time. Ideally, the session should happen between days 4-10 of life or earlier. That way mama’s milk is in and baby can have a full meal and hopefully your new family has been home a few days and is getting into some sort of routine.

We do request two things of you prior to the session:

• Feed baby just prior to our arrival so they have a full tummy.
• Make sure your home is very, very warm. If you are sweating, that is about right.

Those are all of the requests. Most likely you are already feeding baby and also have your home nice and warm since, hello?, you have a newborn in the house that isn’t able to effectively regulate body temperature. So, in actuality, we don’t really make any requests at all!

So, schedule the session.

It is very relaxed and low key. Parents and siblings are welcome to participate as much or as little as they would like. You can schedule the session way ahead of time and we can agree on a tentative date, or do it at the last minute and we will squeeze you in.

You may not be able to stop time. But we can. Remember… forever.

Pregnancy takes forever to be over and no time at all to forget.

Let me ask you…

Because I can tell you from experience, twice, that I can’t remember what pregnancy was like. Not how it looked, or felt. If it was good or bad. All I have left are the stretch marks to prove it happened inside me at all. And Quinny was born only six months ago.

Between sleep deprivation, feeding (otherwise known as ‘assault on your body by wee bitty thing’), diaper changing, more laundry, doctors appointments and just general life upheaval after your bundle of joy arrives, any remembrance of pregnancy is quickly removed from your brain and replaced with mommy scatterbrained-ness. The only way I can remember how it was is to look back on my maternity photos.

A lot of women are unsure or skeptical of maternity photography. I know, I know… you feel like a cow, can’t get up off the couch and have come to realize the whole ‘pregnancy glow’ thing is a myth. You’ve seen the snapshots someone evilly took of you and can’t even imagine wanting to pay for more of those lovely tokens. Not to mention those stretch marks.

Newsflash! Professional maternity photography is NOT your average snapshot.

The perfect lighting, a flattering angle and divine clothing choices make a big difference. Editing will erase those stretch marks and ‘flaws’. You WILL have the perfect, creamy belly we all want. Again, we’re concentrating on the belly here. Not how big your tush has gotten or the fact that your ankles have disappeared. Because, let me tell you, I’ve BEEN there and KNOW that isn’t what you want to remember. 

So, will you remember after you have forgotten? I can guarantee you will with a maternity session by CYE Photography. And the best part is… you will WANT to remember, not cringe when someone busts out the album with THOSE photos. In fact, you may have to restrain yourself from showing off your pics to each and every person who walks in the door.

Click ‘portrait info’ above for all the session details. Then, drop me an email (info@cyephotography.com) to chat about your session. We can set it up way ahead of time, or last minute. Consider combining your maternity session with a newborn session in our Belly to Baby package and remember. Even after you forget.

Ciao 2009!!!

Hello, friends! Welcome to a brand new year!!

I love the new year. I leave all the junk from last year behind but get to take the good along with me into the next. It is a great feeling. I hope that you get to have the same kind of liberating and refreshing experience!

Big changes are coming for CYE Photography this year. New products, new pricing and lots and lots of new clients (right? )! New pricing will be going into effect January 31, 2010. If you are considering a session and book prior to 1/31/10 you will get to take advantage of 2009 pricing!

CYE Photography will continue with our commitment to giving back 10% of our annual profits in 2010. We are donating two photo session packages to Seattle University’s Professionals Without Boundaries big fundraising auction in February (I’m sure they could use your help if you have something to donate!), OpLove sessions for deployed and deploying mililtary, sessions to various MOPS groups in the area as well as photo sessions to families in the community who may not normally be able to afford it or who need a little pick-me-up.

If you have, or know of,  an upcoming auction for a school, person, cause, etc and are looking for more donations, please hook up with us at info@cyephotography.com and we can chat. 

We think goal setting is important on an annual basis. This year, we gave up the ‘lose more weight’ goal (because, really? Does it ever come true?) and came up with some things a little closer to the heart, and a lot more important. As we are very visual (duh, right?) we commited our goals to .jpg and you can check them out below:

Thanks for a great 2009. Here’s to ‘10!

Yes. The weather outside is frightful.

Wouldn’t the gift of custom portraits be delightful?

Maybe even more so to a family who wouldn’t even dream of the experience of the stop-and-shop drive-thru portrait experience, let alone the magic of a custom photo session?

I have so many blessings in my life, so much to be thankful for. This is due in large part to other people, friends who have become family, who have gone out of their way for me and my family.

This Christmas season, I want to pay those blessings forward by offering a completely, 100% free photo session and print package to a family who truly needs to be blessed. Do you know of such a family?

Maybe this family has a parent who is deployed or deploying. Maybe this family has experienced financial hardship, an illness or an untimely death. Maybe life has just thrown them a curve-ball that has been difficult for them to handle. All of us can remember a time in our lives where we were down and just a little kindness made all the difference.

Here is the plan; you know a family.

Now let ME know about them. Submit a comment to this post. Tell me in five sentences or less about the family you know and what is going on in their lives. Make sure you leave your contact information in the comment fields, an email address would be perfect. Please be sure not to leave any information that could be potentially embarrassing to the family you have in mind. Also, this family should be in my local area: Seattle north to Arlington and Mukilteo east to Snohomish/Monroe and the Eastside. Please submit this information by December 20, 2009, that is 10 days from now.

I will select a family at random the week of Christmas who will be given the gift of custom portrait photography from CYE. Also, the person that submits that family’s information will also receive a 50% session discount on a photo session of their own.

Help me bless a deserving family. Submit the info. Then, feel all warm and snuggly inside knowing you did a good thing for someone else. After all, this is what Christmas is all about.