I must admit that I had no idea what a portrait party was when a friend of mine mentioned the concept to me, but the more I learned the more I liked the idea.  Basically a portrait party is much like any other home party that you’ve been to, but rather than buying Tupperware or jewelry or unmentionables, your guests schedule a time for a mini-portrait session.

About a week after the party, all of the pictures are posted in a password-protected gallery on our site and your guests can login and choose the portraits that they want in the comfort of their own home.  The prints are offered at a greatly reduced price compared to our regular portraits and there’s no session fee or minimum purchase.

The party can be held at your house, our studio, or a great location around Kansas City to take advantage of the beautiful fall colors.  The choice is yours.

Of course, with all home party plans there has to be something in it for the host, and our portrait parties are no different.  When you schedule at least 5 mini-sessions during your party, you earn 20% of your guests’ purchases as a credit to your own purchase.  If you have 10 or more mini-sessions, you earn 40% toward your own purchase.  It’s very easy for you to earn significant credit and earn some great free produts.

I’ve put together a great brochure that explains all of the details including the pricing.  With the holidays approaching, this is a great time to schedule a portrait party!

Click here to view our online brochure.

Oh, and one other thing…if you are involved with a charitable organization that is looking for a unique fundraising idea, I’ve created a modified version of the portrait party plan where the charitable organization earns a cash donation rather than print credit.  Let me know if you’d like more details.

I did want to tell everyone about something very exciting happening this weekend.  On Saturday, I will be in Olathe for the Grand Opening of the brand new Shop Baby Kisses at the Great Mall of the Great Plains.

The doors will be opening at 10, and I’ll be there until 3 that afternoon taking free pictures of the kids that come in.  Each child will get a free 5x7, so it’s really a great deal.

So, put some cute clothes on the kids and come on out.  It should be a great time.

The photo here is of Lucy who I met at Heritage Park last weekend.  She is 18 months old, and had a lot of energy, but she was a fantastic model.  I really love the way her coat is the same color of the grass in the field and think that the portrait came out beautifully. 

We can do pet portraits in the studio, at your home, or at your pet’s favorite park—just let me know which you prefer when you book your session.  You can reach me by e-mail or at (913) 709-6052. My standard portrait and print prices apply (they are available in the links to the right).

I look forward to working with you and your best friend!

We had a great time last night and I’m looking forward to having more of the parties in the future.   If you’re interested in getting a group together, let me know and we’ll get a date put on the calendar.  It’s a fun evening and we ended up with some great profile pics!

Now it’s something that I use every day and it’s been a wonderful way to reconnect with old friends and stay in closer touch with current friends.  While it certainly doesn’t take the place of face-to-face communication, it’s a really great resource.

Well, all that to say that coming up on April 14th, I’ll be hosting a Facebook Party at my house.  We’ll gather around 7:00 pm and enjoy some great drinks and appetizers and then take some photos, so you’ll have a jazzy picture to use for your profile.  All of the details are on the flyer below (click for a larger view).  Let me know if you have any questions, but please sign up quickly.  Space is limited!

A couple of weeks ago we got together to do some shots for his website and other online outlets.  We met in Westport and had a great time shooting.  It was really cold and windy that day and we were very grateful with the opener at Harry’s Bar and Tables let us in to the bar, even though they weren’t yet open for business.

And finally, a shot of our new friend from Harry’s…

Standard Portrait Sessions

Session Fees:  First of all, my session fees are now fully applied to your product purchase.  That means that when you pay the $150 session fee you’ll have a credit of $150 when you come to your ordering session.  This can be applied to any of our products. 

Gift Prints:  Gift prints are prints that are sized as a 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10.  The price for any of these sizes is $50 per print ($40 per print if you buy a wall portrait or canvas), BUT if you order multiple copies of the same image you get the additional copies for only $25 each. 

Wall Portraits/Canvases:  I’ve also lowered the prices of my wall portraits and canvases, so you don’t have to spend as much to get significant discounts on the other items you purchase.

This is all explained a bit better in the 2009 Standard Price List, so take a look.

Weddings

I’ve made a pretty significant change to my wedding pricing.  In the past I’ve offered complete wedding packages at a variety of levels.  These packages included everything that you needed, but because these packages were so complete the price was higher than many of my competitors.  I’ve tried to remedy that with the new pricing and you can now add the products that you need to the basic package

New Pricing:  The new pricing is $1999 and includes the following services

• Engagement or bridal session
• Full coverage of your wedding day
• Reception slideshow of images of your wedding day
• High resolution digital negatives with a print release
• Online slideshow to share with family and friends
• Online proofing/ordering

The new Wedding Pricing Guide includes information about the prices for our albums and proofing options.  You can also add a second shooter to the coverage for an additional $499.

If you have any questions about any of these changes, please let me know.  I’ll do my best to answer your questions!

High School Seniors

Standard print pricing also applies to High School Seniors, but we do offer some different session options for our high school students.  That information is available in the Senior Session Guide.