Laura & Dustin's Wedding

Back in the fall, I got a taste of how lovely Laura & Dustin's wedding would be when I photographed them for their engagement session.  These two are sweet, laid back, head-over-heels, and to be quite honest, quite photogenic.  This combination makes for a perfect wedding day, and I'd say it was. 

Gorgeous weather. Great families. Fun friends. Wonderful venues. Love and simplicity. It was a splendid day, if I do say so myself.  It made narrowing these down pretty tricky, but here's what I've got to share. 

 A great first look:

Chase captured this moment, and I just can't get enough of it... These are the ones that you can't plan for but captivate you, even without smiles and laughter. Straight from a movie, perhaps...

 But then comes the laughter...

 What a beautiful stained glass window to showcase!

 Love grandma hugs!

 I love this!

Congratulations Laura & Dustin!

What is a Ruana?

Though photographically simple, I did a very exciting shoot a week or two ago.  Partners for Just Trade had me photograph a few products for them again, but this time, it's going big time!  They are expanding their sales to overstock.com's fair trade section called Worldstock. So that means by the end of this week, I'll have pictures on a major website--even if just a few small products.  It makes me a little bit giddy!

I have a big thanks to give to a client and new friend who was willing to model for me. She did a great job! Thanks, A!

Getting back to my title... This, you see, is a ruana.  It's a shaped shawl, great for the upcoming winter and fall seasons.  Just imagine yourself walking through Forest Park with your kids (maybe having a family portrait session), wrapped up to keep out the crisp fall chill in the air.  Or you are out picking apples wearing your ruana.  Or perhaps you are curled up by the fireplace, wrapped up in this super-soft ruana. 

I'm pretty terrible at sales, but looks like I could sell a ruana any day- even in the heat of summer!

New Blog Design

A huge thanks to my husband for a lot of hard work.  He gave our blog a complete re-haul and gave Purple Lemon Photography a fresh face!  Great job, Brian- I love you!

Taking Care of Business

It's the start of a new year.  I figure it's as good a time as any to do some updating, streamlining, and make some basic changes here at Purple Lemon Photography.  We've our first season as a business under our belt, and after some reflection on the good, the bad, and the pleasantly surprising, we are ready to buckle down for season 2.  I feel like tv show when I say that...

If you have been following our blog for a while, you may have noticed the change in style from pretty good... to, eh... well, I don't like it's current look nearly as much.  Why change to something worse?  Well, in the fall my hubby gave me his ideas for making the blog tons better.  I took the computer world into my own hands, after ripping it quietly from my software developing husband's hands, and here is the result.  A strange looking blog.  Last night after some sketching and brainstorming, I gave it back.  Surrendered my attempts at being cool on the internet and gave the responsibility back to him.  Lessons learned.

It seems to work that way with God sometimes, too.  He's got the ability to make everything amazing, and I try to go at it alone, not adding one more thing to his plate, and WHAM, I fail.  He wins. He is God, you know.

Anyhow, I've also been working on streamlining my marketing pieces, getting brand new, super awesome album samples (which I was happy to find out are half price from one of my vendors!), and making better names for the things I do so people know what I am talking about.  I am also about to get a new lens, which we had agreed I could get if we did well in our first year of business.  Apparently we did good enough, as I got the go-ahead from my hubby (who also does our accounting).  I want to try it out on my engagement session I have Monday.  But it's Thursday afternoon and I have not bought it yet.  Perhaps it'll be ready for the next shoot I have.

And praise the Lord.  January is typically a very quiet month for photographers.  I, surprisingly enough, have several photoshoots scheduled, some consults, and planning sessions in the works, and enough time to enjoy the season, cozy-ing up with the new Bible I bought for that same hubby who does all things difficult and wonderful for me (as stated above), and maybe even playing in the snow that fell last night.

I guess the vacations over, and it's back to work.

(if only my chair were as cozy as my dad's)

Updated Website

We've updated our website with new pictures in the galleries, minor tweaks, and some new features. Start popping those lemonheads and check it out!

www.purplelemonphotography.com

(and actually, I think the cute husband- man behind me is still working on some more changes, so they'll just keep coming).

New Website

After 4 months of being "almost there" we're there. Almost.

Our main website has been launched! Please visit us at www.purplelemonphotography.com to learn about our pricing, packages, see galleries galore, and read about who we are as a company.

The "almost" is that we have some fun things to add in the coming weeks to make it a more visually-enticing experience, so check back often.

A huge thank you to my software devloper husband who has spent countless evenings (and late nights) over the last many months making this website for me, scratching the plans when I changed my mind about what I wanted, and still having fun doing it, even after developing websites all day long at work. Only bad thing, now that it's done: he has to go to Toastmasters. That was the deal. He'd put off toastmasters until the website was done. Thursday- you masters of toast, watch out! Here comes my hubby. Maybe you could all give him a toast for doing such a great job!


The boys, working on the website. This was a few months ago, back when those delightful jammies still fit.

What's in a Name?

I've been asked quite frequently about the origins of the name "Purple Lemon Photography." So to satisfy the curious public until my main website is up and running (which is almost done, me thinks), here is a sneak preview of some content...

Choosing the name for my first child was as easy as sipping a cool glass of lemonade. Choosing a name for this business was about as hard as squeezing the lemons to make the lemonade I so desperately needed once I finally chose it. As I look back on the process it took to find that perfect purple lemon, I see that although I tried to have a method to my madness, the madness came first with the method rolling down the hill after it.

I was on the phone with my entire family trying some ideas out on them, when in pops my husband from the other room, “Purple Lemon Photography!” Then he went back to watching a movie starring Jack Lemon with some friends. When he was still talking about it later, he quickly convinced me it was “the one.” The longer we’ve sat with this name mulling in our brains the more and more we are convinced this is perfection in a purple lemon.



I am eager to share just a hand full of the reasons we love Purple Lemon Photography!

• Lydia was a successful business woman in the Bible (Acts 16). She sold purple cloth and used the success of her business to support the functioning of the church and its international mission. I want to be like her.
• Jack Lemon is a funny guy.
• No one flat out told me they did not like it. Every other option received handfuls of rejects. Maybe they were just …lemons.
• In elementary school a friend and I gave each other secret nicknames that used the letters in our names. Mine was Lemon! (Tip: take the initials of my maiden name, put them backwards, insert vowels, and voila!)
• I love lemons. Lemonheads, lemon drops, lemonade pie, lemon bars, lemon sorbet, lemons on the side of my glass (those are supposed to be appetizers right?)
• The day it came into being, I was wearing purple pants, purple undies, and was drinking from my favorite squiggly purple cup.
• One of my favorite photo assignments from college was my final project that I did on fruit. In my series is a picture of a lemon on a purple napkin.
• When I lived in The Netherlands, I brought out the hibernating sketchpad and rekindled my love for drawing in the relaxed pace of life I experienced there. Out of that time of unpressured creativity, I produced a little sketch of a lemon on a purple background. I have since found it.
• I got a lemon out of the gumball machine at dinner not too long ago.
• Lemons are a symbol of fidelity in love.
• One of my favorite parts of photography is the visual appeal of contrast. I would say it is signature in my work. No image goes to print without the right amount of contrast to pump it up or give it the right feeling. Yellow and purple are contrasting colors. Who knows, maybe purple and yellow will be the new black and white!
• It is fun and funky.
• I have created a list of things I want my photography to be on a professional level. Conceptually, a purple lemon is almost everything on that list. For example: modern, unique, individual, relational, urban, beautiful

Experience Purple Lemon Photography

For the last several months as we've been developing our content for the website, I've been tossing around the phrase "the purple lemon experience." My current challenge is to put it into words. Here I go... Brace yourselves. When I don't have many pictures to show, I'm wordy.

When I got married, Ben's homily said that I often use analogies. It's so true. So I guess it makes sense that when I try to explain things that I make strange comparisons. These hopefully won't be too strange, but merely helpful for me to translate the mush of my new-mom brain into normal-ish human-speak.

(My neighbor helped put this part to words- thanks, Nate.) The purple lemon experience isn't like going to the traditional studios where the photographer pulls down random background, like airbrushed autumn leaves or a picture of snow. Then they put a white column in front of the leaves and then your child forces a cheesy smile upon the film.

The purple lemon experience isn't dragging your 3 kids who have snot on their faces down to the mall in matching sweaters that are itchy so they look pretty good together for the Christmas card. That results in tears and bribes and drippy ice cream.

The purple lemon experience also isn't hiring a college student to take your wedding pictures so it's cheaper. I was that college student once. It got me hooked, but I think that first couple is lacking quite a bit in their wedding collection. Don't hire her. Hire me.

you might get a first try at a shillouette, which ends up crooked.

Or your reception photos might look like this. I've come a long way. This makes me shudder.

So now that I've worked to establish what it isn't, let's focus on what it is.

The purple lemon experience is:

• a full process. I will take the time to get to know you, your family, your wishes, your needs, your style, and your personality. I will scout locations to find exactly the right spot, the right lighting, the right chair, or the right colors to showcase exactly what needs showcasing. Whether the shoot is in your home, down the street, or an adventure across town or the countryside, I'll find it. I will make you realize you are photogenic even if you thought you never were. I'll make sure to catch you with your eyes open if you can never seem to get them open. You'll smile naturally if you are a cheesy smiler, and you'll relax if you seem to stiffen in front of the camera. Then I'll edit each picture so it is able to stand alone as a work of art. We'll look over your pictures together- it's fun for you and helps me learn. You'll order your favorites (if you can choose... I hear it's a problem) and receive your product, hand delivered when at all possible.
  
• creative. I've been told I was creative since I was a little girl. I hope that term never leaves my side. Striving to create something unique is something I long for. Whether and event or portraits or products, I'll make sure what I need to get is shot technically correct, then I step outside those bounds to try something new.
• personal. Relationships and service are huge to me. I'll meet you at home, at a coffee shop, your office, the park, or wherever for consultations, viewing sessions, and delivery. I want to get to know you and your environment so I can create pictures that'll look great on your walls, suit your desk, or be great to give as gifts to family.
• planned. Though creative and flexible, I am dedicated to planning in advance. I help you plan the schedule of your wedding day to minimize stress. I help plan what you wear so you like the pictures for years to come. I will plan where we are going to ensure good colors and lighting. I will plan the time so your baby is happy and alert.
  
• worth the investment. Knowing what the experience is like, and knowing what it isn't should show you that this is a personalized, unique photography experience. Someone said recently that it's like a picture party. I've shot portraits on the coldest and hottest days of the year, on sunny days, rainy days, and sick days. In all that, people have always enjoyed themselves. You aren't just buying a couple of 8 x 10s or a canvas for your wall. You are investing in memories, art, capturing the moment you became wed, your child was born, your pregnancy was nearing its end, or the last year of high school.
  

Order Forms

We've created an online order form to make ordering your pictures easier. We will give it a whirl for a while and see how this process works. If you haven't ordered your pictures from a recent event yet or see something even here on the blog of which you'd like a print, just submit an order form. If you have any trouble with it or you just love it to bits, let us know... We're trying to get some feedback.

Click here for the form.

Or here is the link to our online order form:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=pNVXmERPhtZnt12RHSOUuKA

2009 Prices

Prices have been set for the 2009 season, and while we're waiting for the new site, I thought I'd get the word out there...

These are the basic prices ranges- you can always buy more. :) Almost every package is created "a la carte" with your choice of picture combinations. Instead of making you pick a set type and size of picture in advance, each package comes with "photo credit" where you choose exactly what you want and in what sizes. You want 30 wallets to use as business cards for your lemonade stand? Great! You want greeting cards to turn in for your report on local business for your senior project? Fabulous. You need a wall portrait the size of Montana to hang over your washing machine as inspiration for keeping your clothes nice? We can do it!

Wedding Packages start at $1200 and go up to $2800


Family & Engagement Packages start at $80 and go up to $315

Maternity & Baby Packages start at $170 and go up to $550
Combination package with both maternity & baby photos in one book- $700, which is a $400 savings!


Seniors are $200 per session

Headshots are $105

Other events, parties, fundraisers, receptions, lion-taming sessions, and super-hero training sessions are priced on a custom basis, making sure your needs are met and you aren't charged for options you don't need.