amandaLynn photography

Coming Soon!!!

2008-08-24T09:17:00.002-05:00

I'm currently working on a new blog and I'm so excited! I've got a few more things I'm working on and as soon as they're finished, I'll be debuting the new look. Can't wait!

'09 Senior Reps

2008-08-17T18:35:00.001-05:00

I'm looking for a few senior reps! If you are a 2009 Senior and would like a chance to get a complimentary session with amandaLynn photography, please submit a photo to amandalynnphoto@yahoo.com and I’ll send you an application that will allow you to tell me more about yourself and your school involvement. Applications will be accepted throughout September.

...or if you know of a senior that might be interested, please send them this info!

The winning candidate(s) will receive a complimentary on-location session and 16 wallets of their favorite shot from the session. You can also receive more products for referring your other senior friends to me. I’ll divulge the details when you email me!

If you are one of the winning candidates (I’m looking for a couple reps per school), I will choose a fun urban location and I’ll chat with you over the phone prior to the session about wardrobe and the look I’m looking to create...

Can't wait to have some fun and get some great shots!

New Look!

2008-08-16T23:33:00.004-05:00

I had this fabulous and super creative lady (Stephanie) at DoodleBug designs (www.doodlebugdesigns.com) design my business card. Her work is incredible & she is able to come up with the perfect look with very little guidance. All I did was give her my logo and colors and told her I like the "grungy bohemian" look and this is what she created! I can't wait to get them printed and give them out to everyone! Let me know if you want a few:)

Bundle of Joy

2008-08-04T21:00:00.004-05:00

Today I disrupted Hudson's nice little nap schedule for the sake of a few pictures. I had a window of about 20 minutes where the light was just right in my living room and I just had to seize the opportunity. I think it was worth it :)

Baby's first outdoor photo shoot

2008-07-27T18:10:00.007-05:00

Our little Hudson had quite the little adventure the other day... one that made him sleep for a really, really long time afterwards. It sure wore mommy out too as she (that would be me:) was pretty sore for a few days afterwards. Maybe the delivery recovery wasn't quite complete. Anyway, he enjoyed laying around in some pretty random spots but I think we got a few cute ones we can enjoy for years to come.

This one shows a little glimpse of how much Hudson enjoyed the shoot:)

Our little one

2008-07-22T16:26:00.004-05:00

Well, our little guy finally came. Hudson Beau Coleman was born July 1st at 12:10am and weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long. People ask if it it's just the most wonderful thing in the world and I think Adam's response is just about right, "about 75% of the time" it's awesome... and then there's the other 25% that makes us think, "what have we done?!". But overall it's been wonderful and he's just the most precious thing ever. We've taken lots of snapshots but I haven't pulled my "big camera" out too much. Here are a few that I thought were cute and somewhat artistic. I am working on a birth announcement using these and a few others of him. I'll post when it's complete:)

Scooters and Good Deals- I need your thoughts!

2008-06-24T06:36:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I'm currently on "D-day" plus one (d-day=due date) and apparently my benedryl wore off around 5:30 this morning. I laid in bed the last hour thinking of all kinds of things, when I finally decided to get up and blog about some of them (one stream of consciousness being how we can manage to save money on gas by buying a scooter... but did you know that just the insurance for the scooter alone would be like $46/month! Kind of crazy considering the car costs pretty much that same amount each month to insure! Not sure how that would be saving us a whole lot in the long run...)

Anyway, the other thought I had was how I can provide quality products to you (the client or potential client) that brings you value and enables you to enjoy as many of the (hopefully) beautiful images on print I provide you with while of course still being true to myself and the business aspect of things. This spring I was throwing around the idea of offering (for a certain & unknown price) all the digital images (on CD) with permission to print at any printer (like walmart, cvs, wolf camera, etc). So, I offered that as a spring special to try it out. I think that those who took advantage of the special enjoyed it, but I'm not so sure I'm sold on the idea myself.

SO, as of 6:00 this morning, my NEW idea (I'd love to hear your thoughts on this) is to offer my 4x6s (which are normally $12 each) at $5 each for a limited time (like for two weeks after the images are posted for viewing). The stipulation of course (there's always a catch right? :) would be you'd have to purchase a minimum of 40 proofs (I normally provide between 40 and 50 proofs per session). A bulk discount is sort of the idea here...

So what are the benefits to this? My thinking is the benefit to you is you can enjoy all your favorite images on print (for your scrapbook or photo album or gifts to friends/family) for (I think) a very reasonable price. The benefit to me is you get to enjoy all my images for half the normal amount AND it incentivizes (sp?) you to get your order in quickly instead of procrastinating. I'd much rather process your order right away rather than months and months down the road.

Okay, so those are my early morning ponderings. Tell me your thoughts... what are the good and bad aspects to this idea or how can I tweak it to make it better?

Talk to me!

Really hot and really pregnant- bad combo

2008-06-21T19:20:00.006-05:00

So, I photographed this sweet family (my dear friends) this last week. It was in the upper 90's I think and I was 39 weeks pregnant. We only shot for 30 minutes (way shorter of a session than normal) but afterwards I seriously felt like I'd just run a marathon. I sort of thought maybe it'd put me into labor, but no such luck:) I officially decided though that it was my last session until after the baby. Anyway, they did great and I think we got some good shots!

So sweet.

The little baby's face in this picture just cracks me up. She's so serious looking!

Grandma, Grandpa and their sweet little granddaughter

2008-06-01T21:25:00.003-05:00

I photographed grandparents with their granddaughter the other week. How sweet are they!

Is this not the most hilarious little mad face? Makes you wonder what she was thinking (probably something along the lines of "I'm tired and hungry and tired of that lens in my face"!)

One big happy family

2008-06-01T21:13:00.003-05:00

I photographed this super awesome, sweet family on memorial day. It was kind of crazy- there was mom & dad and their 9 kids, one brother-in-law, a grandma, grandpa and another grandma. I was super curious how they were going to figure out their clothing and I thought they did a GREAT job coordinating instead of matching. Kudos to the fashion guru in the family! Anyway, here they are!

A few more

2008-06-01T20:59:00.002-05:00

Here's a few more favorites from our recent pictures we had taken. I'm so excited to print and hang them around our house. Our walls need some serious decorating!

Adam and I

2008-05-24T22:07:00.004-05:00

Adam and I got our pictures taken yesterday... Our "maternity" pictures. Except no bare belly ones of me. Just couldn't do it- I think my belly looks MUCH better clothed:) A dear friend took these. It was such a fun time with Adam and Sommer. Thank you Sommer! Here's just a couple that I've imaged- more to come!

Adam just cracks me up.

33 Weeks!

2008-05-12T16:09:00.003-05:00

For those who don't see me often and who aren't on facebook, here I am at 33 weeks. Tomorrow I'll be 34 weeks- 6 weeks to go. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy's flown by. Before I know it this little guy'll be here and my life will be turned upside down:) I actually put makeup on and dressed up for this week's pregnancy pic. I didn't look quite so freshened up in my previous pregnancy pictures:)

J + E in downtown Fort Worth

2008-05-10T22:34:00.004-05:00

Wow was today hot! I think it was in the 90's and these two crazy cats were troopers. We got an occasional breeze but overall, it was a constant wiping of sweat from the forehead. This couple has been married for about 6 years and were fabulous to work with. Super flexible to my ideas but weren't afraid to say no:) Here are a few from this evening's shoot. I think these might be my favorites overall but I still have some more to look through- so I reserve the right to change my mind!

What a girl and what a location!

2008-03-29T22:41:00.007-05:00

Finally got to working on Stefanie's pictures from this last Monday. I had so much fun! I don't normally do this, but after the session, she looked at them with me and helped pick out our favorite so many... and boy am I glad b/c narrowing down these would've been tough. There were so many good ones!

Oh, and this new little spot I've had my eye on (I see it driving to and from work every day and have been dying to photograph someone there!), I'm SO excited about! It's this little old run down gas station a couple miles from my house (and an abandoned building next to it). There were so many textures and old doors, gates, fences, and windows. Loved it! Sadly, b/c it appears to be abandoned, it may eventually meet it's fate (destruction) but until then, I'm going to enjoy the beautiful pictures it helps produce!

what a beauty

2008-03-24T23:43:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I had my first "senior" portrait today (it's in parenthesis b/c she's way out of high school but you'd never know it but I needed some practice and she graciously relented:) and can I just say "what a girl!". She's sweet, beautiful, and a natural poser! She made my job WAY too easy. Here's one of our session from this afternoon- I really should be in bed right now, but I just couldn't help but play with one before I retired for the evening. I asked for some sass and she gave me some alright on this one:) There shall definitely be more to come.

One more wedding

2008-03-18T17:42:00.002-05:00

Here's another wedding I helped with a few weekends ago- definitely a darker wedding which means it's much more difficult to shoot in those conditions. But I ended up with a few I liked (not as many as this past weekends).

The Old Red Courthouse

2008-03-18T16:30:00.004-05:00

Here are a few of my favorites from a wedding I helped shoot this past weekend. Can I just say I can't last as long as I used to. This extra 20 pounds I'm carrying (baby) sure makes a difference! Anyway, it was a beautiful wedding with lots and lots of light- a photographer's dream!

Oh, and in case you notice, I was playing around with photoshop with these images and found a technique I think I love- therefore most of the images are done in that! Sort of a faded color/weathered tint type look. Pretty snazzy.

Spring Specials

2008-03-12T12:01:00.001-05:00

Check out my website (www.amandalynnphoto.com) for my spring specials!

More of Baby Madison

2008-02-23T17:30:00.003-06:00

She's now over a month old! She weighed 9 lbs ?oz at birth and now she's around 12 lbs! It was tough to take some of these pictures b/c I needed her to act like a newborn, but she's not the size or development of one. We managed though and got a few really cute ones!

Also, her mommy takes pictures all the time with her little digital point and shoot so she's used to pictures but she wasn't quite used to the big honkin lens sticking in her face for these and she didn't like it one bit!

Another baby is here!

2008-01-28T18:35:00.000-06:00

Our good friends, the doshi's, (adam's coworker) had their baby too! It's baby season! He's just the sweetest little thing too. He was SO awake when we went to visit. His mommy had him with no drugs...I think that had something to do with his alertness personally:) He was looking all around and even holding his head up a little! Welcome to this world, baby Doshi! May God bless your little life.

Baby Ford is here!

2008-01-28T18:25:00.000-06:00

Our good friends, the beautiful couple below, had their baby!!! I took just a few shots briefly on my last visit to see mommy. Hopefully more to come! She's just the sweetest looking little baby. I haven't had a chance to hold her yet. I can't wait!

Baby on the way!

2008-01-13T21:35:00.000-06:00

My good friends, Deanna & Bradley are due any day! These were taken a month or so back- aren't they just a beautiful couple?!

ive been tagged.

2007-11-08T15:14:00.000-06:00

there is this little game that a lot of photographers have been passing around kind of like a crazy online photoblog chain letter (i just found out about it:). i dont really know many other photographers especially photographers with blogs (I think I may know, like, 2 :). one of the two photogs with blogs i know is the one who tagged me! she's an amazingly talented photographer from Louisianna, Kimbrali (cool name, huh?). so here goes!

The Rules
Post the rules before you give the facts. Then post eight random facts about yourself that few people know. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag 8 other people and list their names leaving each person you tagged a comment on their blog letting them know that they've been tagged.

Okay, here goes!

1) I've driven a train. Yep, a real live freight train. For about 7 miles and I got to honk the horn through every single intersection. It was so cool. I work for a railroad company at corporate but went out on a train ride to fulfill a personal development goal. The goal wasn't to drive a train but just to ride along to experience what the crews do every day and to get a visual for how things work on the field but engineer asked me if I wanted to drive it for a bit. So if I ever play that "two truths and a lie" game, this is surely going to be one of the truths that show up!

2) I eat ALL the time. I actually just had a coworker tell me "are you eating AGAIN?!" The ironic thing is I'm very slim and you wouldn't know I'm a crazy eater. I think sometimes it's just out of sheer boredom (especially at work!) but I (to defend myself) generally am eating something healthy (like fruit or my classic favorite- dried apples!). And I'm moderately active. I've always been slim…I never gained the freshman 15 (in college) or the marriage weight. Maybe I'll finally meet my doom in having babies!

3) I HATE cleaning the tub. I've started cleaning the bathroom regularly and it sure loves on my husband. But the other day (after proudly telling him earlier that day how I cleaned the bathroom) he asked me if when I say I "cleaned the bathroom" if that included the tub and I said, "well of course not" :) The tub was NASTY (and I mean REALLY nasty) so he (he's such an angel) went and cleaned the tub- it had been so bad it looked like a new tub after he was done with it! Anyway, I will clean toilets all day long if it means getting out of cleaning the tub.

4) I don't have a photography degree, but I got a marketing degree and I've actually enjoyed the business aspect of this whole photography venture as much as I have the photography part.

5) I lose my keys, cell phone, sunglasses, and shoes daily. I tell you, if I didn't have my head screwed on so tight, I think I might lose it too. When I say "lose", what I really mean is I just put it somewhere I don't normally but can't remember where I put it. Sometimes, I'll put my phone in a different pouch in my purse and it'll take me 15 minutes to find it (only after I start getting VERY nervous that it's finally gone forever!) It drives my husband crazy sometimes!

6) I'm a melancholy/choleric personality. (melancholy in basic terms means I'm an over-analyzer and super sensitive and choleric means I can be bossy and tell people what to do…insensitive). But I turn "fleg" (doesn't share opinions/laid back) when there's not a stronger choleric personality around. Sometimes I feel like dr jekyll and mr hyde but it really just depends on who's around and what the situation is.

7) I blow my nose REALLY loud. Like, in fifth grade, everyone always made fun of me for this. I really try, but sometimes there's just nothing I can do about it :( Oh and I ask questions like CRAZY. In a finance college class, at the end of the year, the teacher was giving out awards to a few students (some serious/some not so serious) and guess what award I got? The award for being the student to ask the most questions. I was REALLY embarassed that it was THAT obvious. I'm always the one who asks the questions everyone else wants to but won't. (that's two facts about me for the price of one:)

8) I'm wordy. I say things in WAY too many words and give out way more details than people care to hear (as seen above)

I'll have to think about who to tag... check back later for names!

A morning in Prague

2007-10-17T22:55:00.001-05:00

This is from our (my husband and I's) recent trip to the czech republic. It was INCREDIBLE. We spent alittle over a week in Brno and a couple days in Prague before we flew out. His sister's family live over there. What a great excuse to go visit:) Anyway, one of my big photographic goals was to get one great image of Charles Bridge (the ultra famous bridge in Prague). Adam and I (bless his heart) woke up at 6:15 in the morning to go get a morning shot before all the (millions of) tourists weren't out yet. So, out of a ton of shots, I think this one is my favorite. Well worth getting up at the crack of dawn. See my website's commercial gallery for more Czech images!

Are you a mom of a young child?

2007-10-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wanted to learn how to take better pictures of your young children? Would you be interested in a workshop to learn how to do just that? Let me know!

I am working to create a workshop for this and am wondering if there's any interest out there? Maybe you could host a workshop with your mom's group you attend or maybe for your monthly mom's night out, this could be the monthly activity... What do you think?

Welcome!

2007-10-15T17:36:00.001-05:00

This is my first blog posting...ever. I'm not sure what exactly I should write. So, I'll just start by saying hello and I'm so glad you've visited. In the future, I'll be doing a few small contests, sharing some of my favorite images from recent sessions, and hosting an occasional super secret blog readers only sale. So don't forget to check in from time to time!