2012 Games Part 2 ::: Morton, IL Baby Photographer

First we took a photo, ANY photo, of the children in your life and emailed or txt them to someone who loves you.  YAY!  Super simple, eh?

Today, is super simple, but you have to be prepared… ready?

Once your camera is ready approach your victim …err subject … and simply call their name.  But BE READY!  Snap that shutter as SOON as they look up.  We see that face ALL the time, but have you ever captured it?  C’mon DO IT! 

Join us for a game! ::: Morton, Illinois Baby Photographer

This last week I’ve watched a college friend and fellow photographer along with her family say goodbye to her 5 year old nephew.  If I learned anything about Thao and his family in the process, they found GOOD from everything. Sooo, let’s honor him and them and start a new game!!

Who’s with me?!

Today, take a photo of each of your children and email or text it to those who love you.

It doesn’t matter what they are doing, it doesn’t matter if they are smiling. Then, come back and let us know when you did it!!

We can DO this!!! Here’s mine of my daughter!

Model Call – Babywearers!! ::: Central Illinois’ Baby Photographer

We need babywearing caregivers! I have the distinct pleasure of working with the nationally & internationally known and deeply-loved Olives & Applesauce, LLC to photograph their wholesale available line of carriers.

We are specifically looking for:
At least one grandma wearing any age baby/toddler,
At least one dad wearing any age baby/toddler,
Of course mamas wearing their little one(s),
And all caregivers who *adore* wearing their baby/toddler!

We would love for one of our adult models to have a baby 3 months or younger.
A mom of baby/toddler and an older child would be fabulous.
Are we blessed enough to find a mom and HER mom (or mother-in-law) who both wear children?!

The nitty-gritty…

1.  Models must be available the last week of August 2011 both Saturday and some during the weekdays.
2.  Models (including the baby/toddler) will participate in sessions styled by Sara that will last 30-60 minutes. After Caren and Sara pair up models with specific carriers Sara will chat with models about clothing styles and colors that would work well with your photoshoot environment & carrier style & colors.
3.  Models will be required to sign a model release covering both Treasured Images by Sara and Olives & Applesauce, LLC. We wish we could pay you the big bucks (like Gisele earns) each time your images are published, but until we are living on our private islands neither of us can afford to do that.
4.  Models will be compensated by a 5×7 print of any image from the selection given to Olives & Applesauce, LLC. Models will also receive a discount code if they wish to purchase a carrier from Olives & Applesauce, LLC. Additional prints/products will also be available from the finished gallery. No purchases are required of models and stating a desire to do so won’t make you more likely to be selected, so no pressure.
5.  Models will travel to the location of their photoshoot at their own expense.  Sessions will take place in Central Illinois in the Peoria, IL area.

You want to apply??  TERRIFIC!!!!
Send an email to models@treasuredimagesbysara.com before Monday, August 8th and include:

1.  Your full name.
2.  Your phone number and email.
3.  Which days you are available for your photoshoot.
4.  What carriers you typically use to wear/carry your child(ren).
5.  A recent snapshot of:
   (1) yourself full body or nearly full body (however we are not looking for all/only skinny-minis)
   (2) one closer up of your beautiful face! Your face IS beautiful; ask your children!!
   (3) a snapshot of any child you are volunteering to participate with you as well as the child’s sex and age

Sweetheart Mini-Sessions ::: Central Illinois’ Custom Photographer

Are you ready for some more mini-sessions? You know my passion is little ones and blossomed bellies, yes. HOWEVER, I sat missing my hubby and looking at our family portrait on the wall and realized since we’ve had kiddos we don’t often have pictures of just us anymore. What’s up with that? I’m so tempted to see photos of myself and think, OH MY! My mind races back to college when we met ~~ 14 years and about {muffled words} pounds ago. But I’m reminded again that my little ones love me and think I’m beautiful just like I am now. They don’t care what the magazine covers say they adore their parents. They find their security in their family unit at these tender young ages.

SO! Let me help you get some images of your relationship up on the walls or at least in your purse or desk so you can cherish “out loud” the relationship that makes all your little ones a FAMILY!!

That evening light is so warm and glowing. We will meet together on a Friday evening in July. July 29th to be exact…and we’ll pray for no rain! If it would be less than ideal weather we’ll set a rain date based on the couples participating. I’ll choose the location that is most central to everyone involved – most likely ICC’s Arboretum or Sugar Grove Nature Center. We’ll get together and celebrate the spark you and your sweetie kicked off your family holding onto. Read all the details below and give me a call or send me an email to book your spot!

And since my heart has been so yearning for a special time with my own sweetie I want to include a BONUS for those who participate. Grab a sitter so you can come to your mini-session and afterward go out for a coffee or dessert date ON ME! Yep, when you come to your mini-session I’ll have a small gift card for you to Starbucks, Panera Bread, or Eli’s in Morton.

As one MORE bonus to those who contributed to the Father’s Day posts on Facebook, choose 2 of the 3 options instead of just one for your mini-session.
Ryan Loudermilk
Brandee Cowley
Megan Lowe

click image to enlarge

2010 Photo of the Year WINNERS! :: Central Illinois Maternity & Newborn Photographer

The first ever Photo of the Year contest has ended and the winners are decided. With just shy of 300 votes cast there were literally only a handful of votes separating the winners from the rest. WOW!

The winner will receive their winning image as an 11×14 Gallery Wrapped Canvas as well as a gift certificate for $200 good toward any 2011 Collection. These two items have a retail value of $350. Their certificate will be mailed tomorrow. Who wins???

Congrats D Family!!

Our First Runner Up will also receive a great prize package valued at $200. They will receive their winning image as an Heirloom Mounted 8×10. This delicately textured image will arrive mounted on masonite sure to be loved for generations to come. They also receive a $100 gift certificate good toward any 2011 Collection. Their certificate will also be mailed tomorrow. Congratulations H Family!!

And lastly the site Random.org chose among all 320 Facebook fans and came up with one to win a $100 gift certificate good toward any 2011 Collection. Since I do not have addresses for all my “fans” this prize winner will be notified here and then again via Facebook. Should she not send her address to me in 7 days then the 2nd random number fan will be given an opportunity to respond! Without further delay…

Congratulations to all!! This was so much fun!! I already can’t wait to do it again at the end of 2011!!!

Giving Back Total 2010 :: Central IL Maternity Newborn Photographer

Sugar Grove Nature Center is an incredible resource and we are VERY blessed to have it in our own backyards! They truly dedicate themselves to preserving and enhancing the natural habitats around them. Our family adores Sugar Grove and their tireless work to help the birds, insects, animals, plants, and people in the little corner of our world known as Funks Grove, IL.

We at Treasured Images by Sara are grateful and excited to be able to partner with Sugar Grove in such a small way as to make them the “Giving Back” partner for 2010. For all of 2010 10% of all sales, sessions, and specials were set aside for Sugar Grove Nature Center. There was also a small fall promotion dedicated to another love of Sugar Grove’s … children!! Never have I seen a facility or organization do so much to bring “real childhood” back to the children and “grown children” around them. The options they provide in the Imagination Grove – the log cabin, the creek and the mud there-in , the fossil dig, the build-a-wigwam, and the simple fact that NOTHING is off-limits to curious minds and hands. You just don’t find environments like that these days. So when we chose to celebrate the simplicity of childhood at Treasured Images by Sara what better place to use and what better time to have a giving-back bonus than the bright colors of autumn at Sugar Grove Nature Center.

We do use Sugar Grove as a backdrop for all kinds of sessions throughout the year as well. The staff and volunteers work harder than we can know to keep the grounds beneficial to both the people and animals that use and live there. My clients, I imagine, do not fully comprehend how unheard of it is to have such a beautiful, diverse location that does not charge a fee to us photographers to bring you to and use. Thank you to my clients for always being respectful of Sugar Grove’s efforts and keeping the nooks and crannies as lovely when we leave as when we arrived to create our session together.

And now for the MOST exciting news!! I was not sure at the start of the year just how much we would be able to donate back to Sugar Grove Nature Center, but I had hoped it would do at least a little good for them. I am humbled and honored to be able to announce that in the next couple of weeks we, all of us involved with Treasured Images by Sara in 2010, will be able to donate $765 back to Sugar Grove!!
Thank you dearly and deeply Sugar Grove for sharing your world with us!!

Have you VOTED yet for the 2010 Photo of the Year?

One vote per IP through Febrary 10th, details on the blog post here.

Treasured Images by Sara’s Photo of the Year Contest! :: Central IL Photographer

The very first (hopefully annual) Photo of the Year contest!! Let’s get the new year rolling by choosing a winner! In going through the year’s sessions to get them fully archived I selected some of the images that made my heart smile. However in order to determine a winner it’s up to all of YOU!!

The poll below has clickable thumbnails to see the image larger if you prefer:

Poll not displaying? Here is the direct link.

~The winner will receive an 11×14 Gallery Wrapped Canvas of their winning image PLUS $200 gift certificate good toward any 2011 Collection Session!!
~The 1st Runner-up will receive an Heirloom Mounted 8×10 of their image as well as a $100 Collection gift certificate.
~And lastly is a Facebook Fan Bonus!! A Facebook Fan will be chosen at random to also win a $100 Collection gift certificate. So be sure to “like” the Facebook Page for your chance to win!

The fine print….
* Voting runs from January 10th – February 10th at 11:59 p.m. Central Time.
* Voting is filtered by IP address – so one vote per IP address is allowed.
* The running results will not be visible. The winner will be announced via email and on the blog February 11th.
* Gift certificates are fully transferable and are promotional gift certificates valid from February 11th through December 31st, 2011.
* Gift certificates are valid toward any future 2011 Collection session.
* I reserve the right to disqualify entries or terminate/modify the contest if necessary.
* No purchase is necessary to win.

I can’t wait to see who will win!! Each of you helped make 2010 such a spectacular year, thank you. You truly bless my heart, each of you!!

Monday is coming…. :: Central IL Photographer

Christmas has passed; now it’s the Sweethearts turn to find that perfect little something to say, “I love you. You mean the world to me.” Check in on Monday to see how you can have a chance at winning that perfect gift!!

Sweet Peace ::: Central Illinois Newborn Photographer

This little one has the sweetest disposition! 

With Christmas travels I didn’t get to spend time with this family until the beauty you see was 12 days old.  Often by that age newborns are still a little sleepy, but make us work super hard for casual and relaxed images.  Not this little gent.  He made us fight to see his eyes.    He is completely content in his new family.  They all are such a part of the others that they truly function together as one little unit.  He knows he’s *home* and it shows.  Since his mama and daddy have their gallery I get to share even more than usual!  Enjoy this little one, he is a treasure for certain.

Casting Call!! ::: Central Illinois Infant & Child Photographer

GIRLS!!!  It’s YOUR turn!!  Oh did I ever have fun with the boys!!  What handsome little devils they were!!!!  Now it’s your turn girls!!!

Here is what we need:
0-3m These seem to possibly even work best with nearly newborns.
3-6m
6-12m
12-24m (two please!)
2T-4T

And I do have a couple spots for boys.  My 3-6m model outgrew my hat before we could get together!
So, I need a boy in 3-6m for a Newsboy Hat.
I also am getting a 5T-preteen hat that will need an adorable head to wear it. 

The lowdown nitty-gritty…
1. The available dates are Monday the 25th (Peoria or Bloomington area depending on where most of my models come in from) and Friday the 29th of October (Sugar Grove Nature Center).  You need to be available for one of these days.
2.  If you fill a space for me, then I will let you know what color and style your hat is in.  We can work together for clothing options.
3.  You will be required to sign a model release covering both Treasured Images by Sara & Baby Crochet Shop on Etsy.

What do you get for your hard work?? 
1.  You get to see these ADORABLE hats in person.  While it’s a widespread consensus that the images (both hers and now the ones by TIbySara) show how cute they are… in person they are even MORE wonderful!!
2.  Missy & I want to offer each model a complimentary small format desk print (up to 5×7) for carving out time for us!  We truly appreciate it more than words can share!
3.  You have the opportunity to purchase the hat your child models at a discount.
4.  You also have the opportunity to purchase any other prints of your child’s mini-session.  This is in NO way a requirement OR an expectation.  But I know as a mama, I hate knowing that there are cute pictures of my child hovering out there and I can’t have them on my wall or in an album.    So for that reason ONLY I make all the images sent to Missy available to you for “mini-sessions only” pricing.

You want to apply??? AWESOME!!!!  Read on…
1.  Please send me an email to sara@treasuredimagesbysara.com
2.  In the email please include a recent snapshot of your child.
3.  Also please include which of the mini-session dates you are available for.
4.  If we have not met yet, please also tell me where you live.  You don’t necessarily need to send me your address, but just an idea of where you are from.

Thank you!!  I can’t WAIT to get these on your girls (and boys) heads!!!!
Blessings to each one of you,
Sara!!