Sarah + Jordan | Engaged part one

Man, 2010 got incredibly busy incredibly quickly! For the last half of the year I was working on school getting ready to graduate, move, and finish planning my own wedding! It was insane, to say the least. One of the best things to happen in 2010, though, was the engagement of one of my very best friends (and one of my amazing bridesmaids) Sarah to her long time boyfriend, Jordan. At the celebratory dinner for their big occasion, we started talking engagement photos! I was beyond excited and happy to be able to give them awesome engagement photos! Here are some from our first session this past week!

'Show Off Your Interests' Bridal Portrait Contest: Winner!

I have been waiting for this day since I got the entry for the contest!

It's time to announce the winner of the 'Show Off Your Interests' Bridal Portrait Contest!

The winner is: Maggie W.

She is getting married next year in Mexico and when I read her entry, I was so totally moved!

Maggie entered the following for the contest:

It's not so much a hobby, but I am devoted to my two blind from birth dogs that my future husband and I got from a local rescue... I became very interested in how to train them and help them live a normal lifestyle. I have written an article for a local pet magazine and I am toying with the idea of writing a book. Because we are getting married in Mexico, our dogs can't be part of that special day, so I would like to get some portraits with them prior to the wedding to use as a favor. For every person that comes to Mexico to our wedding, we are going to make a donation to the Poodle Rescue of Houston. I would like to have some great [photographs] to make those postcards for the favors!

Doesn't that just melt you?! I love knowing when someone has a tough road ahead (as I would assume training two blind dogs would be) and keeps with it so vigilantly!

I am so beyond excited to meet Maggie and her pups when Jaime and I get together with her for the bridal portraits!

Congratulations, Maggie!

Austin Wedding | Maggie + Jimmy

Finally! The day has come where I can post the gorgeous wedding of Maggie and Jimmy! I have been sitting on these photos (not literally, mind you) for a while and anxious to get them out to you all; so I'm excited to post about them! I hope you're ready for a lot of images, because they are coming at you fast!

First, a bit about this wonderful couple. Maggie and Jimmy had met while at Longhorn Band Camp for UT. They had a connection instantly and began dating. Jimmy had proposed to Maggie while they were in school, and the two had to be engaged long distance for about three years! I am so incredibly happy for them to finally be husband and wife! These two are wonderful people whose love is so abundant in beauty! I am so happy to say that I was able to capture all of the moments and details of their wedding day!!

I absolutely LOVED the flowers!

Maggie and Jimmy decided that they wanted to have a first glance. I just love how Jimmy looks at his bride! It is pure and unconditional love and appreciation! Simply beautiful!

"We're actually getting married today!!!!"

There's that look again!

We were not permitted to take photos during the ceremony, so I was happy to be able to get Maggie with her father right before he escorted her down the aisle.

Husband and wife

On to the dinner and reception!

All of the speeches were wonderful! They spoke so well and lovingly about the affection that both Jimmy and Maggie share for one another! They were fabulous!

There you have it!

Maggie and Jimmy, I want to thank you so much for allowing me to be involved in your wedding! It was spectacular and gorgeous to say the least! I know that your love for one another will carry you both strongly! I can't wait to see and hear what is in store for you two as you go through life together!

Sneak Peek: Maggie + Jimmy: Austin Wedding

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of photographing a fantastic wedding! I'm nearly done with editing my part and then have to edit my assistant's images, but I wanted to give a tiny sneak peek. The photos are great and I can't wait to give them to Maggie and Jimmy!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Contest: "Show Off Your Interests" Bridal Contest!

The time has come! I've been stewing over this announcement and contest for a while now and I'm excited to finally be able to announce it!

This Summer, I will be teaming up with Jaime Shauger of Makeup by Jaime for this great contest for all of you new brides-to-be out there!

So, here's the lowdown:
You don't want cookie-cutter bridals, right? You want bridal portraits that reflect you in the lovliest, most romantic way! Your personality, hobbies, and interests are what make you unique! That is what your bridal portraits should reflect: YOU!

All you have to do is email me (Alyssa) at Dandy As Lions Photography (which can easily be done at the 'contact' section of the website: http://www.dandyaslionsphoto.com) you craziest, most unique, and/or treasured interest or hobby, how or why you've come to love that interest so much, and how you'd like to have it incorporated in to your bridal session! It's that simple to enter the contest! The winner will receive a free one hour bridal portrait session in Austin, a data DVD of the images (along with a password protected online gallery available for up to 45 days, so you can show your friends and family if you so choose) with free professional make up done by Jaime!

The winner will be announced on Thursday the 15th of July 2010 before 7PM Central Time!

So, there you have it! An easy way to enter a chance to win a free bridal portrait session! Not just a bridal portrait session, but YOUR bridal portrait session that is uniquely YOU!

Contests: Twitter & Facebook

Admittedly, I haven't been using my Dandy As Lions Photography Twitter and Facebook accounts as often as I should use them.
Shame on me!

SO, to make up for it, I'm going to start doing little quick action giveaways and discounts that will ONLY be announced via Twitter and Facebook! I just announced my first one tonight (it ends at midnight central time and will be announced tomorrow before 3pm central time)!

That means that if you haven't added me on Facebook or if you aren't following me on Twitter, you might want to start doing that so that you can be included in on the fun :)

And for good measure, here is a photo of my tiny, budding tomato plant that has since this photo gotten bigger :)



Happy Monday, everyone!

Bailey Lynn: Newborn

Approximately nine or ten months ago, a very close and very good friend of mine announced that she was pregnant! Time passed so quickly that it was already her due date and she gave birth last week!

While she was pregnant, she told me that she wanted me to be the baby's Aunt since she has no sisters. I was so ecstatic!

So imagine how excited and giddy I was when my friend, Rachel, filled me in to tell me that she gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl! I was out of town for their first weekend home, but upon returning to Austin I stopped by my place to grab my camera and headed right over to Rachel and her husband's home for a quick photo session!
Bailey Lynn, I love you!!
Love,
Your Auntie Lyssa!

Adrienne + Royce Anniversary Post (50th Post!)

Adrienne and Royce were my first wedding to shoot fully as a wedding photographer. When I first started to promote myself in wedding photography, I posted an advert on Craigslist and Adrienne was my first inquiry, and I ended up shooting their beautiful wedding the following month!

They are two of the sweetest people, and one of the kindest couples! This past February they celebrated their one year wedding anniversary and asked me to take some photos for the occasion! So, we hit up the beautiful Arboretum here in good old Austin, Texas! Thank goodness the weather was absolutely gorgeous! :)

Adrienne and Royce, thank you so much for contacting me to re-experience your love! I am so happy to have met and worked with you, and I look so forward to the birth of your baby girl this year!!

To those who celebrate it, Happy Easter!

A Great Article! Enjoy!

Before I post the photos from my most recent portrait session with one of my favourite couples, I just wanted to post this article by Scott Bourne.

It's from about two months ago, and it goes into not only why photographers (that is, true professionals as opposed to hobbyists) should NEVER under sell themselves and the services provided; as well as explaining why consumers should not buy into the "I will shoot your wedding for only $200!!! You can't beat that!! I will always do that!" aesthetic!

Now, before posting, I will say that I was once a photographer that was unfamiliar with wedding photography and wanted to begin my journey into the field. As a novice, I offered my services at well below market price (foolish, I know...but I didn't think anyone would ever book me if I was appropriately priced in the market with little to no true experience. I had shot one and a half weddings when I decided to go at it alone.) (I know that a lot of aspiring wedding photographers have the same mindset I had, and I urge them to read this article as well! You should never undersell due to your experience or lack thereof. Price yourself appropriately! And experienced photographers that book weddings by low-balling other experienced photographers, well they really should know better! Everyone should really value themselves and the work they do appropriately, and I feel that potential clients should also look at the value of the work and the packages when looking at the prices - not just what is immediately behind the dollar sign).

I know that we are all trying to save money anywhere we can...but do you really want to look back on your wedding photos and say something like "Man...I really wish we had gone with _______________ Photography. We would have gotten so much more for our money."

I know I wouldn't want that!

So, without any further wait, here is the article!

'And You Call Yourself a Professional' by Scott Bourne

"When you undercut the market so severely you accomplish several things.

a. You cheat the client. This is the worst point. That’s right, the client who’s once-in-a-lifetime special day has just been handed to the cheapo wedding photographer is not going to be well-served. A true professional photographer has skills that Uncle Harry doesn’t. The better the skills the more longevity in the business and the better the chance the client is going to get images they want to come back for.

[...]

[...]remember this – photography is an incredible career field if done right – if you get the reputation for being cheap you won’t last long – because you’ve got nothing to fall back on. Develop your skill set first, then your marketing, then launch with a product that has the value it should and more importantly value that will last – cheap candles burn fast and they’re gone."

Adrienne + Royce Anniversary Sneak Peek!

Adrienne and Royce celebrated their first wedding anniversary this year! More details later! :)

Just a Post

It seems like it's been ages since I've updated. The truth is that not too much has been going on besides school. This is one of my final semesters before obtaining my B.F.A. in Photographic and Digital Imaging! I'm very excited, but also very busy!
I am really excited about this year, though! Not only am I learning new things in my classes that I can then bring to my business, but I'm also just excited for business in general! I'm now working on building a larger base in Houston - which is where I will be living come the end of December 2010 - so, I am excited to work with couples and families in that area!
I've also redesigned my card (for the near millionth time) and I have to say - I LOVE IT!
I am so excited to meet and work with new and familiar couples and families this year! Soon, I'll be announcing my next special that caters to groups! So, keep an eye out for that :)

For now, I'll leave you with this image shot right outside of my apartment!

Top 5% Nationwide!!!

Press release:

"Austin, TX - 19 January 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Dandy As Lions Photography has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Photography!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Dandy As Lions Photography is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Dandy As Lions Photography is among the very best Wedding Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. I would like to thank my past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/dandyaslionsphotography

I am so happy and blessed! Thank you to all of my fantastic clients - past, present, and future!

:Loving Love:

Well, we all know it's a new year.
I hope you're ready for all of the great specials I'm going to be running this year! I have them all planned out, and I think you'll enjoy them! Are you ready? Good!

I'm about to throw the very first Dandy As Lions Photography Session Special at you! It's called:

♥♥♥"Loving Love: Couple's Session Special"!!♥♥♥

Since it's a new year, I've also changed my prices and packages! I think you all will like the changes!

For 2010, standard portrait sessions start at just $275! They include a lot of things like longer shooting times and (my favourite new thing to offer you all) print credits!

Now, back to this couple special! When you book a regular couple's session, you'll get a $30 print credit! That means that you can order $30 of prints at no additional charge!!!

There you have it; the nub of the first photo special of 2010! So, if you'd like more information on booking a session for you and your sweetheart for a little Valentine's gift to one another; or if you want more information on this and any other special I'll announce later this year, just email me at

alyssa{at}dandyaslionsphoto{dot}com!

xoxo

Happy New Year!

Well, it's now officially the second day of 2010. It's 1:02AM as I write this! Can you believe how quickly time flew last year?! It was a great year, and I'll always look fondly back as I remember my first year in starting my career as a wedding photographer! I met my goal of booking six weddings last year, and I think that's pretty dang cool considering it was just little old me doing the marketing at first!

Now, it's a new year, and I am so excited for it! To ring in the new year, James and I decided to go to the Houston Zoo at Hermann Park! That park is exceptionally special to us now, because that is the park where James proposed to me on the 21st of November 2009 (all the way back in last year ha ha ha)! It was such an amazingly beautiful day; I'm glad I took my camera!! Here are just a few images from the zoo and the park! (Sorry if the web presentation of these images isn't up to par, as far as border and logo and such. There's a watermark, but hey! I'm tired here, people!)

Apparently, they love soccer!


I absolutely ADORE elephants! When James and I walked up to the habitat, it looked like they were nowhere to be seen, because the keepers were cleaning! I asked James "Where do they keep them when they're cleaning?" Then, we saw a crowd of people and eventually saw the elephants! Three older ones were "dancing" - swaying back and forth to a beat HA! -
and this little guy was in the back knocking around these giant tree limbs! Everyone was cheering for him going "Yeah! Just a little more and that tree limb is history!"
It was so great! I also love the colours my camera caught in these shots! I shot with my Canon EOS 5D and my trusty nifty 50mm at f/1.8. My camera was in "Faithful" mode, so everything was at 0. It was great! My ISO was between 50 and 200 all day! That's how bright and sunny it was! I loved it!



These monkeys were so fun to watch! I love this picture so much that I'm going to have it printed and framed (^_^)



The sea lions were our last stop on our way out of the extremely crowded zoo! I really love this picture, too! Again, the colours just rule me! The sea lions were really hamming it up later on!

See what I mean? This guy got up on the platform right as I was leaving and started proudly displaying his chest and turning his head for all of the cameras! They were SO CUTE!

Like I said before, as we left the zoo, we went to the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park. That's where James lead me and proposed to me, but because it was drizzly that day, I couldn't take any photos. So, I was so happy and delighted to find out that today was going to be sunny and warmer!

Another winner that I'm just going to have to print off and frame :)
This was on our way out of the zoo and toward the main park area! Hermann Park is absolutely gorgeous! If you're ever in Houston, head over to the Rice University/Medical/Museum district and take a stroll through!



James lead me to this Japanese Garden area and proposed to me with the house behind us, and the pond in front of us. It was so great and Hermann Park will always have a special place in our hearts!

So, I hope all of you had a joyous first day of 2010! I know there this year holds so much for me, and I'm sure it holds a lot for you as well!

Cheers!