Everyday Art Photography {blog} » Bismarck newborn photographer

2011 photo of the year winners! | bismarck newborn photography

Megan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:04:43 +0000

Here they are! Thank you all so much for all the hard work in getting votes from your family and friends, and for all of the comments! I was expecting many compliments on all of the beautiful children and families we have here in Bismarck (and that I’ve been lucky enough to photograph!), but did not expect all the wonderful comments about my work. I am humbled; thank you!

So, let’s get right down to it. Totalling well over 600 votes, the competition was fierce!

1st place winner of the 16×20 gallery wrapped canvas is Kate! For those of you who know sweet little Kate and her family, you know that for all they’ve been through in her first year of life, they are more than deserving of this gift! Congratulations!

2nd place winner of the $100 print credit on a 2012 session is Leah! I mean, really, who could resist voting for a newborn baby with a huge grin like that?

And the 3rd winner of the mini session package (chosen by random.org) goes to the comment made by Lorilee!

Lorilee – Wonderful pics! You are an amazing photographer, especially of children.

Thank you to all participants, and congratulations to all winners! (I will email the winners soon to discuss the details of your winnings!) I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Please make sure you like the Everyday Art Facebook page so we can keep in touch! Click the icon below…

2011 photo of the year contest | bismarck newborn photographer

Megan — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:00:14 +0000

EDIT: Apparantly, I’m still living in 2011. I meant for this to end Thursday so that I could announce the winners on Friday. The dates have been changed to reflect that. The voting will end on Thursday, January 12 at 9 pm CST. Sorry about the confusion!

It’s time for my photo of the year contest! I just love putting this together because it is so much fun looking back through a year’s worth of photos, reminiscing about each session with my amazing clients and, once again, gushing over how adorable each child is. The bad part…it’s so hard to choose just one favorite from each session! It is such an honor for me to have the opportunity to photograph all of these babies and families, and I am humbled when I look back at all of the support my client’s have given me in 2011. I can’t say it enough…THANK YOU!

Onto the contest…I’m giving away two prizes for 2011 clients, and also throwing in a bonus, open to any and all. So, there will be THREE prizes up for grabs! Clients, you’re going to want to share this with all of your friends and family for your chance to win! Call, email, text, Facebook, Twitter, whatever you need to do!

1 – The client image with the most votes will receive a 16×20 gallery wrapped canvas ($350 value) of the image of their choice from their past session or an upcoming session in 2012.

2 – The client image with the second most votes will receive a $100 print credit toward a session in 2012.

3 – Leave a comment on this blog post below. Only one comment is allowed per person, but an extra entry can be earned by posting about this contest on your Facebook wall and then letting me know you’ve done so by posting on the Everyday Art Photography Facebook page. One comment will be choosen, at random, to receive a complimentary mini session ($600 value)! The mini session will include a 20-30 minute session with me, an online gallery of 10 images to choose from, and 5 digital files of your choice. The mini session must take place in the Bismarck area before October 2012. It is limited to immediate family members only, and cannot be used on a newborn session. If you are not able to use the mini session, you are welcome to gift it to someone else.

Voting begins now, and will end on January 12, 2012 at 9 pm CST.
Only one vote per person. IP addresses will be monitored. Results will not be seen on the poll.
I will annouce the winners on January 13.
Scroll through the images and then below them, cast your vote and leave your comments.

GOOD LUCK!

1| eden

2 | molly

3| kya

4 | leah

5 | maggie

6 | liam

7 | kate

8 | aubrey

9 | avery & abel

10 | tyler

11 | levi

12 | gaege

13 | dawson & carson

14 | the peterson family

15 | max

16 | the whitted family

17 | taylar

18 | andrea

19 | william

Please make sure you like the Everyday Art Facebook page so you don’t miss the update on the winners! Click the icon below…

View This Poll

william | eleven days old

Megan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:19:45 +0000

I am always excited to spend some time snuggling newborns during a session, but I didn’t get to do much of that with this one because he slept perfectly almost the entire time! Of course, I think all newborns are special, but when it dawned on me that he was born on the best day of the year, I knew this little guy was going to be extra awesome. I guess now, I not only share a birthday with my husband, but one of my little clients, too! Here are some of my favorites!

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, North Dakota infant and newborn photographer

esabelle | nine days old

Megan — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:30:20 +0000

Auntie again! I am telling you, I am SO loving the idea of having all of these babies around, yet not having to go through a pregnancy myself. My baby is not so much a baby anymore, so getting to spend time with baby neices and nephews is a treat for me. It is such a blessing to add another member to our family, and while I love them all, no matter how old they are, having a brand new one to snuggle and smell and photograph is defnitely extra special!

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, North Dakota newborn photography

levi | 11 days old

Megan — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 01:02:57 +0000

I always get so excited when someone contacts me for a newborn session. Not just for selfish reasons because I can’t deny that I would do anything to snuggle a newborn for a couple hours every day, but also because it is the most special time. Those first few weeks when all babies do is eat and sleep. And while you are usually at home not doing much but feeding and changing your baby, and sleeping yourself, that time goes by SO quickly. And in a matter of just three or four weeks, they barely look like the same person. In fact, one of my favorite parts of doing newborn sessions is when I get to drop off the client’s order and see just how much that baby has changed. It’s simply amazing what can happen in 2-3 weeks!

I usually try to do newborn sessions within 7-10 days after the birth because babies are so cooperative at that time. They are still nice and sleepy, and things usually go very smoothly. This little guy’s mom contacted me just before that window of time was over, and I made sure I had time in my schedule just for the reasons I mentioned before. It’s such a special time, and I am always so honored to be asked to capture that time for a family.

To the H family…I hope you enjoy your images of your sweet little man and enjoy this time with him!

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, ND natural light newborn photographer

aden | six days old

Megan — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:20:23 +0000

I’m so excited to share these with you all! I have a new nephew! He is the sweetest thing, too. I enjoyed my time with him, and as I was editing these images, I found myself wishing I could go over and visit him again. I’m so happy for him mommy and daddy, and we are so blessed to have him in the family!

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, North Dakota infant photographer

holiday 2011

Megan — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:28:36 +0000

2011 holiday cards are here!

Surprise your family and friends this year with these beautiful cards! Along with the 5×7 cards always offered, I am very excited this year to also be offering several die-cut cards in a variety of beautiful shapes. All cards are two-sided, and press printed on fine linen paper.

The cards come in sets of 25 for $50. Purchase two sets, and you will receive a complimentary set of 50 matching return address labels, making sending them easy!

And a special offer for all 2011 clients: with the purchase of a premiere or ultimate collection, you will receive one set of cards, plus 50 matching return address labels, a $75 value! Use the menu link above to contact me about scheduling your session and the tab to the left for information about my availability.

So, without further adieu…here are a few examples of the designs this year. I’ve got a little something to fit everyone’s style. Fun, traditional, and whimsical…whatever you choose! To see the full collection of holiday card designs, visit the link under the client info tab above.

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, ND newborn, baby, child, & family photographer

summer schedule | bismarck north dakota photographer

Megan — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:42:03 +0000

With all that has been going on with my own family, along with the crazy weather, and awful flooding in Bismarck/Mandan, I feel like summer is already gone! But, we are still only in June and we do have a couple summer months left, hopefully! So I wanted to fill you all in on my summer schedule. I know everyone waits for the summer and fall months to update their family photos, and for that reason sessions with me in the months of July through October book up quickly. Outdoor sessions will not be scheduled in November due to the unpredictable North Dakota weather. So if you are thinking about a session this year, it is best to contact me sooner rather than later. And, as always, if you are expecting a newborn, please contact me sometime in your second trimester since all newborn sessions take place within the first 10 days after birth (I do leave room for newborns in my schedule every month of the year). As of today, this is what I have available for the summer and fall months:

July – booked!

August - 2 sessions available booked!

September – 3 2 sessions available

October – 4 sessions available

Last year, my dear friend Erin Vournas and I met up to photograph one anothers’ families. Let me tell you, I am SO happy that we did that! Our family had not taken a real family portrait since way before Cohen was born, and I am so glad that we have those images now. I think too often us parents (moms, especially) miss out on actually being in the photos with our kids; laughing, playing, just being together. And I don’t know about you, but someday I want my children to know that I actually did exist, and better yet, to know how much fun and love we all shared.

I don’t know for sure when exactly a person starts to really retain memories, but I know I remember a few things from kindergarten and quite a bit more from 1st grade. When I really think about it, there is a good chance that my children won’t even have any memories of the things we did up until this point in their lives. That’s crazy to think about, but true! The images I have of them now will be the only thing they have to remember from our time spent doing the things that they love right now. And as a parent, how easy is it to forget that certain expression that you love or how they looked when they were 2 years old or what their favorite toy or activity was? My daughter just turned five and I am already blown away by the changes in her looks and interests when I look at photos of her from a couple years ago. It makes me want to cry when I think of how I will feel looking back at our photos when she’s 18!

Okay, so what started out as a simple post about my summer schedule has turned into something much more rambling and long than I had anticipated, but with a child who just turned 5 and my baby turning 2 in just a month, I am feeling a bit sentimental! Bear with me.

My point is this; what is holding you back from having your children or your family photographed? You can schedule a session with me, go to the photo booth at the mall, ask a stranger to push the button on your point and shoot camera…I don’t care! Whatever you do, I know you won’t regret it!

And since I am preaching on the topic, I’m going to post some images from my absolute favorite family session from last summer. Can’t you just see how much this family loves each other? This is what I love most about this job; capturing images like this!

baby shower! | everyday art photography

Megan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:33:39 +0000

Today, I downloaded over 1000 images from the past few weeks. We have had a lot going on! And my reason for not blogging isn’t that I wasn’t taking photos, just that we’ve gone from one thing to the next so quickly that I haven’t even had time to stop and breathe. We had Rory’s birthday, Rory’s preschool graduation, a quick trip back home to Montana for Memorial Day weekend, a week of vacation Bible school, a girl’s trip to the Mall of America, and then a baby shower. So, not even knowing where to start or how to catch up, I thought I’d go with the most recent first; the baby shower!

I have a new little nephew due to arrive in only a couple more months, so yesterday we celebrated! I have been in love with these fabrics from Ann Kelle, so I used them as my inspiration for the shower. I just love all the colors, and I had fun experimenting with what little sewing skills I have!

After some late nights working on that quilt this week, I kind of wanted to keep it. The back side is so soft!

I tried to use up as many of the fabric scraps as I could, so I made little flags for the in the cupcakes and also used some on the name tags.

Aren’t those whales just adorable?!

Some sweet words for him to read someday when he’s old enough to read Dr. Seuss!

We had a fun game of name that baby food.

And monster cookie favors!

It was a great shower, and I cannot wait for little baby A to make his arrival! Rory was convinced that we were going to actually meet him for the first time at the shower, and I kind of wish she was right. We are so excited, and I know his mommy and daddy are, too!

liam | bismarck, nd newborn, baby, & child photographer

Megan — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:38:15 +0000

Finally, a newborn boy! There have been so many baby girls lately, I was excited to have a session with the sweet little guy. I was able to spend a couple of hours with him when he was just twelve days old. With a bit longer of a hospital stay than expected, it sounds like he is already quite the tough guy! I think his arrival home was the perfect Easter gift for his family.