Enjoying this Weather!!

Hey everyone!!
Boy, has this weather been nice! I almost feel alive again. It has been so very cold that every time that I got warm I fell right asleep! Needless to say between freezing and sleeping I did not accomplish as much as I would have liked. LOL...
I just wanted to touch base with all of you about a few things. One is Facebook! I love facebook! I think I may be addicted. I have reconnected with so many people from my childhood and my high school and college years. I even discovered that one of my very best friends from childhood has a son on my son's hockey team! Isn't that amazing. We didn't even recognize each other until we found out through facebook. That is just too wild! I have started a page on my business on facebook so if you are a member of facebook, please become a fan of my business. Just search for "Amy Rich Photography" and become a fan. If you can't find it let me know and I will help you.
January was a very good month here at the studio. I more than tripled my sessions from the previous January! I was excited about this! I am including a few shots from some of my sessions.
Don't forget the model search is still going on! I will be shooting photos for the search through the third week of March. This is a great charity and a great opportunity for your child too. You may contact me for more information.
One of my customers, Denise Collins, just opened up a children's boutique party place. Her place is called "Hello Dollie" and she has the most beautiful baby and play dolls. I wanted to buy them all but as I have all of these boys....well, you get the point. She is doing specialty birthday parties there too. It looks like it is going to be great! Her shop is located in Lebanon, TN.
Well, I guess that is enough rambling for now. I will be updating again soon so watch for it!
Smile,
amy

More on Model Search!

Local Photographer Participates in National Model Search

Lebanon, TN—January 1, 2009 – Local photographer, Amy Rich Photography, is participating in the National Charity Model Search to select “America’s Cutest Kid” and to raise funds for charity.
Participating photographers will submit portraits of local children, ages 18 months to 14 years, for online voting to determine the city finalist. The child voted city finalist may elect to serve as a model during the 2009 Sandy Puc Tots 2 Teens Seminar Tour at a city near their home.

City finalists are determined by online votes. Anyone may vote. Each vote is $1, and all proceeds from each vote benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS.org). Photography and modeling industry experts will determine the contest’s national winner. The national model winner receives many prizes, including a $5,000 US Savings Bond and a Canon PowerShot G10 digital camera.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTD), is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization committed to assisting parents and families going through the difficult time when they experience an early infant loss. NILMDTS connects families with photographers and provides them with a DVD and a reproducible CD of the images of their baby at no cost to the family. For further information on NILMDTS, visit their website at www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org.

Sandy Puc, Model Search organizer, has long believed charitable work is the backbone of the community. She created this contest to highlight excellence in the portrait photography industry as well as raise funds for NILMDTS, and organization she co-founded in 2005.

Parents who want to enter their children in the contest may do so by calling Amy Rich Photography at 615-335-5529.

Amy Rich has been a professional photographer practicing in the Lebanon area since 2007. She has quickly become Wilson County’s Premiere Photographic Artist Specializing in Children's Portraiture.

Introducing a National Charity Model Search!

New Year's Resolutions and Goals

Well, it is finally all over! Christmas was an absolute whirlwind this year. My many thanks to all my customers for their business this past year. My business has grown beyond my wildest expectations and I have all of you to thank!

So on to the New Year...My mother says that New Years Day is her favorite day of the year because everything is bright, sparkly, new and full of promise. That is certainly the way that I am feeling this year! As some of you know I went through what I call "the dark days" with one of my sons this past year and I have to confess at some points I did not think our family would survive intact. We did, all seems well and I believe we are all stronger for the experience. I just had to keep reminding myself how incredibly lucky we were in many ways and I think this attitude kept me from drowning. This year bodes well with him and the other children and I am greatly blessed. Just a sidenote to other teen moms - Keep the faith. This too shall pass...

The New Year looks bright for my business as well! I have many new goals. I plan to get organized (not an easy task for me as my friends can attest), CLEAN THE STUDIO, promote my business, update my website, write on my blog at least once a week, get started on getting my certification with Professional Photographers of America, continue educating myself in photography and photoshop and basically bring this studio up to be bigger and better. I bought several new props for the new year and have alot of ideas so I cannot wait to get started.
Here are a few detailed goals:
1) Double my sessions from last year
2) Two Year Plan - Certification from PPA
3) Devote 3-4 hours every week to education
4) Continue my charity work with NILMDTS
5) Implement several systems into my studio for a better workflow and organization
6) Market and Promote my Business

I hope all of you had a great Holiday and New Year. May the upcoming year shower you with blessings and may you appreciate each and every one of them.

I am posting a few of photos from the past year. I hope you love them as much as I do!

WHEW!

It is almost Christmas! Can you believe it? The older I get the faster it seems to come. When I am sixty I probably will be made dizzy by the time zipping around so quickly!
Many of you have asked about my Christmas Card session. Believe it or not, for the first year EVER in the history of the Rich Family Christmas Card Festival of Tears, NOT A SINGLE PERSON CRIED! Believe me, I am as shocked as you are. They even suffered through having photos made with my mom! I cannot show you the photos yet as they will be on my Christmas Cards so they have to remain a secret until all of those go out. That is what I HAVE to work on tomorrow. I am including one of the photos from that day.
For those of you wondering, it is NOT too late to have photos made for Christmas. We are rapidly running out of time though. I can even still do Christmas Card photos for you! I no longer have time for my custom designed Christmas Cards but I can still do the flat ones from a template.
Hope all of you are doing well and have completed your shopping. That way maybe it will not be so crowded when I finally get out to start mine! LOL
amy

Tis the Season!

Can you believe it?? The holidays are upon us and I am not ready! Of course there is NOTHING unusual about that..lol! I could have sworn that we just did all this about a month ago. But the air is getting colder, the nights are getting longer and my kids are starting to prepare their lists. The older they get the more expensive they are. I remember when they were little and I could get them a whole room of junk for $50. Now the items that cost $50 will fit in their pockets and often cost much more.

Don't forget when preparing your very own lists that photos are a great gift and my new "Wear Your Love" jewelry line is the BOMB!! You can view the catalog in the photo jewelry section of my website: www.AmyRichPhotography.com. What do you get that always hard to please mother-in-law? How about a necklace or bracelet of your little darling(s) or a nice photo to put up in her house? She may even forget that you are not good enough for her son...lol..

Speaking of photos, I have had some darlings in the studio lately! I am including a few photos.

By the way, I will be having a contest the first week of December. Be sure and be watching out for that!

Oh yes, if you hear any sirens today, don't panic! This is the day I will be taking our annual Christmas Card photos. They will probably have to call out the swat team. Every year I torture my children and make them suffer through the session. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the first year we can get them done without all of us crying!

Hope your Sunday is relaxing! Keep your fingers crossed for me!
amy

Where did my photos go?

Hmmmm....here goes again....