MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

Time to Share Some PHOTOS!!

Well sheesh! It is about time I shared some photos! I have been crazy crazy editing and editing my little life away these past few weeks! By now I know to expect it this time of year and I try to gear up for it but at the same time I seem to forget how super busy it can be! I become like a little hermit in here on the computer staring at all of my beautiful clients every day!

Wow, I have lots of fun shoots to share from this past couple of months and I doubt I will even get the time to post them all on here but I will try! Here are a few from a cute family that I photographed again this year. It's amazing how much this little cutie has grown since the last time I saw her!

 

 

Blog Tour Day 2 and a Utah Photo Shoot

Moving right along with the Ella Publishing Blog Tour, here are two more links to two of my fellow nominees and there are more prizes up for grabs today! 

Click on the links below to say hello to today's spotlighted bloggers and enter to win! 

 

 

(Jenni Bowlin will be posting later tonight so her info may not be up yet.)

You can learn more about the MISA award, the other nominees and the blog tour at the Ella Publishing Blog. (They have a special section for the award! How fun is that!) 

Keep checking back each day for more links and more prizes!!!

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Today we are staying inside and avoiding the heat! I am editing images from some photo shoots that I did while we were in Utah. And it is making me miss the green and trees and the beautiful weather!

        

  

 

 

 
 

Workshops Update

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having a great weekend! Just popping in to give some updates on my photography workshops:

1. The Feb 1st Advanced workshop is now full. I will be doing another one this year. If you want to be added to the wait list please email me at maggieATmaggieholmesphotographyDOTcom. Those on the wait list will have first chance at registering for the next workshop. 

2. I sent out an email last night to those that are registered for the Feb 1st workshop. If you did not receive the email, please email me asap. Remember that unless you notify me otherwise, the only email address I have for you is the one linked to your paypal account. 

3. Registration is open for my next beginner/intermediate workshop which runs March 15th - April 24th. It is also filling up quickly so if you are interested, please register early. Now that I am doing the advanced workshop as well, there will be more time in between each beginner/intermediate workshop.... which means that the next one after this one probably won't be until the summer.

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to email me!

And because blog posts are always better with a photo or two, I will leave you with a few more images from this shoot.

 

 

 

  
 
 
 Cutest girls! Don't you think? Have a great weekend!

Photography Workshops..... Update

Hi there! Happy Monday! It's a brand new week and a brand new year! I am super excited for twenty ten and all that it has in store! I have been going through my calendar this morning doing some planning and looking at some deadlines (for something that I am doing later this year that I am dying to share with you but can't yet). I can already feel the excitement of creativity and new adventures and can tell it is going to be a great year! 

I am looking forward to the start of a brand new advanced photography workshop that starts next month and am humbled at the amazing response I have had so far. There are just a couple of spots left for the February start date and I am looking at the calendar to set dates for another one. 

I also just opened up registration for my next beginner/intermediate class which will run from March 15th - April 24th. (registration link here)

Starting a new class today with a great group and looking forward to getting to know all of them better on the message board and seeing them go through the journey from shooting in auto to shooting completely in manual in just a few short weeks! That is the one thing I will never tire of -- seeing the quick progress that the students make and also hearing their excitement and surprise at how quickly they are able to make the jump into full manual mode! It is so rewarding as a teacher to see your students succeed and accomplish their goals!! I truly love it! (If you are signed up for the current class and haven't received an email from me, please email me asap! Remember that the only email I have is the one linked to your paypal account unless you have notified me otherwise.)

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On another note I just want to say thank you to all of my blog readers, clients, students and friends for making 2009 such a fabulous year! I truly appreciate all of you and am amazed all the time at your kindness, your sweet comments and emails, your support and friendship and the simple fact that you keep coming back to share this wonderful journey with me! I want to make sure you all know that I truly appreciate you and your support! Thank you!

Lots of shoots that I still need to showcase from the past few months.... here is one to get us started:

(You may recognize one of these cute girls.... her picture from another shoot we did a couple years back was featured on the cover of Creating Keepsakes Magazine! You can see it here!)

 

       

 What do you think? Aren't they the cutest family? And I was in love with their outfits and the truck that they lined up for us to use! It was such a fun shoot!! I still have some more to share from this one but thought I would break it up... more to come! I am off to try to make a dent in this scrapbook room/office of mine. It is quite a disaster and is in some serious need of cleaning and organization. I guess you could say that is number one on my to-do list for the year! Have a great Monday!

Starks Family: {Gilbert, Arizona Family Photographer}

I adored this family.... beautiful girls, amazing parents. 

I know it sounds a little cheesy but there are some people you just instantly connect with and the session feels more like a reunion with old friends than "working" with someone I have never met. 

This was one of those sessions for me.... I could have spent all day with them.

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the image overload! :) I just have too many favorites! How is your week going so far? It is crazy busy around here as I jumped right back into an insanely full schedule and am also trying to catch up on everything I missed while being gone to Africa. If you emailed me in the last few weeks and I haven't replied, please don't hesitate to email me again. It could take me quite a while to sift back through my very full inbox and I don't want to miss anybody!

In workshop news, my January beg/intermediate online photography workshop is filling up very quickly. If you are interested in joining me for the first class in 2010, please don't wait to register. Of course, there will be others next year but if you are counting on taking that first one I would recommend registering now! I will also be announcing the dates for the advanced workshop soon.... still trying to work out some of the details. I will be emailing those on the waiting list with the chance to register first before I open it to everyone. If you have already emailed me then you are on the list. I haven't been responding to those emails but just know that you are on there. If you have left a comment on my blog or on the message board of my current workshop, then I can't guarantee that you are on the list, so please make sure you email me directly to get on it.

I think that's it for now. I am off to get some more things done before the kiddos get home from school!

filed under: Maggie Holmes Photography, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler Family and Kids Photographer, Photoshop and PSE Actions, Online Photography Workshop, Childrens Photographer in Arizona.

Sneak Peek for Smith Family: Utah Family Photographer

Busily trying to keep up with editing around here.... I try to give a sneak peek to every family but as we all know, that doesn't happen every time (especially this time of year). Some families will see their images for the first time when I present their entire online gallery.... Sorry I don't have time to give sneaks to everyone... and thanks for being patient!! I have the BEST clients!!

As usual, I am loving editing the images from my Utah mini sessions. I think it is safe to say I am in love with Utah photo shoots.... it's really a shame I can't go up there more often! 

I adored this cute family (and actually I adored all of the families I got to work with).... didn't I say I have the BEST clients?? :) Jenni and I were actually friends in high school but I didn't know it was her until I got to the shoot and recognized her. It was great to see her all these years later with her beautiful family. I wish we could have chatted more and caught up a bit but I was too busy snapping away with these cute kiddos....

 

 

 

 

 

I guess that was a little more than a sneak peek.... I couldn't resist! That first one of the kids is my fave!! I heart little girls in hats! It is just too cute!! 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are all having a great week! We got our fall/halloween decorations up this week and so it finally feels a little fallish around here. We are trying to get to the pumpkin patch soon too since Brian and I will be in Africa later this month! Lots to do before then and lots of fun things I want to do with the kids while they are on fall break........I am feverishly working to tackle my to-do list and I have to say we are making good progress! 

filed under: Maggie Holmes Photography, Arizona and Utah family and children's photographer, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements actions, PSE actions

Mini Photography Session Updates and More

Hi there! This time of year gets so crazy for me so I promise to try to keep up with the blog....... but if I go missing here and there, you will know that I am just busy shooting, editing, designing Christmas cards, etc. The schedule is already almost full and I always get so excited because I get to see all of my past clients that I photograph around this time each year. It is great to catch up and see how the little ones have changed. I also look forward to meeting all of my new families and to making new friendships!  

A couple of weeks ago during one of my mini shoots I got to meet this little sweetheart and she was an angel! I love photographing babies this age..... but then again I think I love photographing babies of any age! :) I think the photos speak for themselves - and her eyes really are that beautiful. I didn't do any special editing to them... (just a little color pop and my urban action like I usually do).

Aren't those just the cutest little legs and shoes? I could almost have another baby just to be able to use all of the tiny little shoes again! I adore them!!

I am packing my bags and heading up to Utah this weekend for some more mini photo shoots up there! I loved shooting up there in July and I can't wait to go back! There are just so many neat places there! It's a photographer's paradise for me! I have had some spots open up so if you are interested we can still get you in! Just email me (maggie[at]maggieholmesphotography[dot]com). 

Also, if you are a photographer or an aspiring photographer (or if you just want to take better pictures of your kids) and you are interested in booking a one-on-one mentoring session with me, I am open to doing a couple of those while I am there as well. It would basically be you and me and our cameras and we can customize the content of the session to fit your needs and what you are wanting to learn -- we can cover anything from camera settings to photoshop to lighting, posing, whatever. Email me and we can go over all the details.

I am considering doing one more day of mini photography sessions here in AZ before the year is over but it depends on the interest and how the dates work out. So... if you are interested in that please email me and we can chat. If I get enough interest we will put it on the schedule!

And finally, I am heading to South Africa the end of October to teach at the Aquila Scrapbooking Xtravaganza! I am excited and a little nervous and still trying to finalize my classes and get all of the details put together. I have never been out of the country and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity..... it is still crazy to me that my little scrapbooking hobby gives me the chance to experience things like this!! If anybody has any tips for me I am all ears!! I am going to be so stressed packing for this trip! I have a hard time packing to go to Utah for 2 days, let alone Africa!!

filed under: Arizona Family and Children's Photographer, Utah Family and Children's Photographer, Maggie Holmes Photography, Photographer in Utah and Arizona, Scrapbooking Classes, Africa, Aquila, Scrapbooking Teacher

Arizona and Utah Mini Sessions: Maggie Holmes - Family and Children's Photographer

... there are still a few spots open for this Saturday's mini sessions in Arizona... If you are interested, all of the details can be found here.

Looking forward to meeting some new clients this weekend... fun families + a fun location + some fun props = a happy photographer! I know we are going to have a lot of fun!

Here are a few more shots from my Utah Mini Sessions... still more to share from these... slowly but surely I will get to all of them! :) 

love the drool on this one! so cute and so accurately represents that age!

this one is my fave... love his eyes and his expression and those perfect little lips!

no actually, i think this one is my favorite... normally you would think this image might be an outtake but i captured it on purpose when dad was helping him to get his hands in his pockets and get all set to go and i truly love it... i love that it depicts a loving father being right there to jump in and help his son out... teaching him and showing him how to do something new and making things just right!

There are also still some spots available for the Utah mini sessions that I am doing later in September (can't believe that September is already here btw! eek!!!)..... If you are interested in those, all of the details are here. Hope you are having a great week so far! Thanks for stopping by!

filed under: Maggie Holmes Photography, Utah Family Photographer, Arizona Family, Children's Photographer, Photographer in Utah, Photographer in Arizona, Mesa Arizona Photographer, Phoenix Family Photographer, Photoshop Actions, Actions for Photoshop Elements

Another Cute Utah Family: Maggie Holmes Photography - SLC Utah Mini Photography Sessions

Still have lots more pictures to share from my last round of Utah Mini Photography Shoots. Loved all the color in their clothing. In fact, I am actually related to them so I got to help style their shoot! :) I love helping with clothing choices so please don't hesitate to ask when you book a shoot with me! 

And here's a funny little story that I have to share because it helps to reiterate what I am always trying to explain to my clients: that color is good and you don't all have to match... you just have to "go" and pretty much any color in the rainbow "goes" so that means anything goes in my book and the more color the better! When we were picking clothes and styling their shoot they kept asking if I was sure it wasn't too much color and if I was sure it would all look ok together and I just kept telling them to trust me. Fast forward to the day of their shoot... it was my last one for that day and so it was right at sunset which meant that there were a bunch of other photographers there at the same time doing shoots also. A couple of the other families made comments to my clients (as we were walking past them) how much they loved their outfits and how colorful they were. The other families that were making the comments were all wearing plain and/or dark clothing with little or no color. And it is not that they all didn't look nice too but it was pretty apparent that they wished they had worn more color after seeing how cute my clients looked in all of their bright clothes. 

Anyway, I was so glad they trusted me because their pictures turned out so cute! I love the way the color pops against the more neutral backgrounds and it really makes them stand out instead of blending into the landscape! So, here's to color and to wearing lots of it for your photo shoots! Bring it on people!! :)

 

Happy Monday! Hope you are all having a good one! Be back soon with more to share!

filed under: utah photographer, salt lake city family, children, kids photographer, family and childrens photography in draper, sandy and salt lake city utah, mini photography sessions in utah, photographer in salt lake valley, photoshop actions, actions for photoshop and photoshop elements, actions for CS4, PSE and PS

Kopp Family: Utah Family and Children's Photography

Another one of my super cute and stylish families from my last round of mini photography shoots in the Salt Lake City area. I'm loving the purple... it really makes the photos pop! 

And would you believe me if I told you that this adorable mom had her baby just a few days after this shoot! She looked so fabulous and was such a trooper... it was hot that day! Thanks Kopp Family!!

filed under: Utah family photographer, Children's photographer in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sandy Utah Photographer, Draper Utah Photographer, Photography in the Salt Lake Valley, Kids photography, Children's photography, Family photography in Utah, Photoshop Actions, Photoshop Elements Actions, Actions for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, Urban Action for Photoshop