That’s right kids! Mine and Graham’s new business is officially launched on the inter-web ;)
Check it out: www.bound-by.com
We are SO excited and make sure to check the Bound By site soon for a fun post about the new business and all we have in store!
Merry Christmas!
Excerpts from my assistant at a recent wedding.
Here’s the deal. On occasion, I dance…
And sometimes, when I’m not driving get-away cars, I unbutton Bridal Gowns for Newlyweds after a night shoot…
And I thrive off of every single experience. This is me in my element - loving the moment, building relationships into friendships with my clients, and celebrating and taking care of them when they least except to need it. It’s a good life.
I was honored to collaborate on a project with Big Folio this week, for their hosting site NextProof. I’ve mentioned my love for Big Folio before on this blog, and you can read a little bit about them here - so, obviously, I was thrilled to partner with them and share my experience as a NextProof client. Mike Caston and Ben Becker flew down to LA to shoot and produce the two day project. Awesome guys - and they actually put me at ease! Huge props to them both, as I definitely prefer to be BEHIND a camera!
Ben put together a little teaser video of outtakes, which mainly consists of me looking like a fool…it’s good stuff. I thought you might want to take a look, and watch me stumble around on video. I can’t wait to see the finished product, and I’ll definitely post it here when it’s completed.
Have a great week!
Go back to New Orleans - DONE.
And another item on the 101 in 1001 list bites the dust…
The last time I had been to New Orleans was with my husband and in-laws not long after Hurricane Katrina hit. About a year later, my brother-in-law was enrolled in the Masters Program of the Architecture School at Louisiana State University. We were living in Alabama at the time, and went over to Baton Rouge to visit and experience a LSU football weekend. I mainly recall that the air was thick and heavy with humidity, everything smelled like delicious spices, and people screamed TIGER-BAIT at me every 3 seconds…it was memorable to say the least. On the way back (or sort of ‘out of the way’ back), we went to New Orleans. It was…incredible…and sobering.
The devastation left behind by Katrina was still in full effect, and the entire city evoked a strange feeling in me. It was dark, oppressed, sad, broken. Something about that visit shook me to the core. I couldn’t rid myself of the emotions I experienced while we were there. My heart hurt for New Orleans…for the Gulf Cost…but New Orleans in particular just haunted me. I hadn’t been back since we drove home the last day of that trip.
Until this past weekend…
After arriving home from Vancouver and spending a short day and a half at my own house, I headed out from Los Angeles again and made my down to New Orleans for a job. I landed at 9 at night and my client picked me up at the airport. I walked out from baggage claim to meet her and felt the humidity seep into my skin. How quickly I forget my deep Southern roots and adjust to the West Coast weather. Every single time I go back to the South I find myself surprised by the stifling air - how could this be?!
Alice drops me off at my hotel downtown and we plan out the next morning. The next day we shoot all day and travel all over New Orleans - it was phenomenal. They welcome me into their home and walk me through the life they’ve made in this now bustling city. Mardi Gras had been the weekend before - I listen to stories and learn about the history and tradition of the town and its people. It was amazing. And they love living there.
The morning after our shoot we all go grab brunch downtown and then walk into the French Quarter for some truly New Orleans flair. It was just a quick walk, but the difference between this morning, and the last time I walked through this same area is remarkable. It’s a completely changed experience for me, and I was so glad to have the opportunity to get back to New Orleans and see it, feel it, for myself again.
A huge thank you to Alice and Blake for hosting me for the weekend and showing me all around the town!
Here are a few snapshots from our walk through the French Quarter…
And here’s my proof that I was there…
A thousand words…
This is part of a project that is very close to my heart. I’ll unveil different pieces as it continues to come together.
Have a glorious night my friends.
One of the best decisions I’ve made in the last couple of years is thoughtfully and carefully choosing the vendors that our boutique photography studio does business with, and streamlining our processes to work exclusively with those companies.
So, I thought I would do a series of blog posts about why we work with the companies we work with. I’m starting with our virtual storefront - our website and online proofing.
The company that hosts our website is BigFolio, and I really can’t say enough about their customer service and staff. We first launched our site with them in August of 2009. There were a number of things we were looking for in a website: 1) A simple interface for our clients and visitors; 2) The ability to completely brand and customize the site to suit our needs; 3) Good SEO support and services; 4) A business with good customer support - read: real live, caring, smart people to work with. The studio decided to go with BigFolio and we never looked back.
They worked diligently with head designer Graham Yelton at DC, our branding and design agency, to accommodate everything we were looking to accomplish with the site. We added a promo video, they imported this blog directly to the site, and then got to work with us on our proofing site - another reason we wanted to work with this company. NextProof, BigFolio’s online proofing solution for photographers, is about as easy and seamless as one could imagine. We were able to brand the galleries to our taste, with complete control over the look and appearance and function. Our ordering process is exactly what we want it to be - simple for our clients, and easy for us. Free of the spam other proofing sites send out, NextProof has allowed us to continue to develop what really matters to us, a real relationship with each and every client. The experience our clients have with the studio is our greatest concern. That is what we want to put our efforts into, and BigFolio and NextProof have continued to provide us with the tools we need to do so.
BigFolio has also developed integration with social media in all of their sites, with links to Twitter and Facebook. NextProof even allows clients to “like” an image directly from a gallery into their facebook feed. Also available to aid a photography studio are small folios, excellent SEO services, as well as Logo and Brand development. But best of all, BigFolio and their incredible staff are truly invested in us. They know us personally. They answer the phone. They are supportive and friendly and responsive and talented and dependable.
This company has been making some big changes lately, including an overhaul of it’s own website, and we are so excited to see them continue to grow and succeed. It’s rare that I find a business with the ethics and talent I am looking for, so these guys are quite a gem for us. We were very glad to give a shout out on their new site, and have our Website and NextProof page featured.
Our OWN website is in the midst of a major imagery overhaul right now. Having great clients and sales keeping you busy due to your online storefront is a GREAT reason to be a little behind on updating your portfolio. So, no complaints here! As soon as the new images are uploaded and ready to go, we will announce the new launch of our site - with completely new imagery. I’m so excited to see it all come together! Keep your eye out for our announcement, and go check out BigFolio.
I’m Amelia Strauss and I approve this message. ;)
