Okay, so I’ve had the most difficult time choosing who should win the contest featured in the last blog post! Like, seriously, it was a little hard to sleep last night! :) But without further ado..
The winner is… dun dun DUUUN!!
Jessica Ticknor!!
Jessica, we will be in touch! Here’s a picture of me excited for your shoot!! (K, not really. But I AM this excited!!) © Gina Meola
Last month, on my Facebook fan page, I advertised a free portrait shoot to whoever gave the best reason for wanting it (in the Syracuse area) via commenting on my page. Christina laid out the following reasons:
“I shall answer this question in 3 parts:
1-Sympathy) I think I should get the portrait shoot because I was neglected in the photos as a child… my parents were burnt out of the picture taking from my older brothers that poor little Nina could hardly ever get a photo in.
2-Failure) I hated my senior portrait that I had taken at Walmart for $8.99.
3-An Actual Reason) I could use the photos on the website that I am creating to display my art/design work for an early start of getting my name out there into the design world.
Oh and I love all you’re photography and I love you and you’re going to be my new sissy.
Whoa just try and beat that.”
I promise you, I did not play favorites in choosing Christina (aka Nina) – who is Dylan’s sister and will soon be my sister!! I chose her because her reasons made a whole lot of sense. If I get to play any part in showing off the beautiful face of such an incredibly gifted artist and designer, then count me in! And I definitely know what it’s like to be that child in the middle, ya know.. The one whose older sister has albums upon albums full of pictures from her childhood because she was the firstborn, and whose little brother has even more than that because he’s the youngest child. (Yeah, maybe I’m a little bitter. But maybe that’s why I’m a photographer now!) :)
So! Dylan and Nina and I went out on the town and shot away! Here are just a few of the fun shots we both got!
Just a little closer. Nina’s eyes are gorgeous! If I had brown eyes..
Okay, so you can’t really tell. But Nina is at least 6 feet off the ground in this next series of pictures. (Thanks for trusting me, girl!!)
Just chilling in front of a big blue door. And looking gooood doin’ it!
I just had to post this pic! The color coordination here was pure coincidence. Crazy, right?
Just switchin’ it up a bit. Few things make me as happy as when I find a graffitied wall during a shoot!
If only her name started with E! Or these doors read “C”.
Gorgeous girl!
Sometimes weird angles are great.
Album cover time!
Probably my fave. Props to Dylan for scouting out this alley.
Now for the real fun! Leaves and tree-climbing!
Wish my DOF hadn’t revealed the asylum-looking South Campus apartments, but I still love the shot!
And a slight variation to seal the deal. :)
Nina: Thanks for being so fun and stylish. :) And for sporting a dress in negative 100-degree coldness. We loved shooting you! With our cameras. ;)
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Now everyone else, listen up! I will be in the Schoharie County and Albany areas for one month beginning this coming Saturday. I’m going to extend the same free offer to ya’ll! What do you say? You, me, my new camera, my new lens, and a high-res. DVD of appx. 30 edited, airbrushed images to do with what you please!! In order to win you have to comment on THIS BLOG POST (not my Facebook page) and tell me why you’d like a free portrait shoot! (Couples, this is for you too!) Leave your contact info, and I’ll announce the winner right here on Friday! Ready?? COMMENT!! (Oh, and Happy Wednesday!)
by Alyse
13 comments
So great to hear from you! Your work is beautiful, keep it up! Love your branding!
Alyse – you do amazing work and we would we be proud to have you take pictures for us!! Ava (now almost 20 months old!!) is growing and changing everyday and it is impossible to capture every sweet and innocent moment, but with your gift we could have pictures to always remember this stage of her life. Also, Ava is going to be a big sister later this summer and she doesn’t have too many chances left to be solo in the spotlight!! :-)
We hope to see you when you’re home for the holidays!!
well, i absolutely LOVE you photography!!!! so i would be remiss if i didn’t try to come up with some cool reason as to why you should do a free shoot for the Guzman household….so here goes…1.we are hams and would make some fun pics happen for your portfolio! 2. we are just celebrating our 1 year anniversary and it would be sooo great to have some pics to help document our life adventure together…you know…the pics we will look back on when we are old and grey…the ones we will show our kids and say..”ahhh…that was when….” 3. well, it would give me a good reason to go out and buy 3 new outfits;) hehe….i guess that’s the best i can come up with right now;) you’re the best and i am just glad you are sharing your gift with te world…and glad i am aware of your world;)
I would like a portrit because it has been 4 years since we had a family portrit done. My daughter has grown so much and now that she is in school she is getting bigger and bigger. I would love to have a portrit before she is too big to make up her own mind and tell me no. Thanks for considering me.
Sooo, i saw this post on my facebook and i decided to enter… as you know i just got engaged just like you! and i would like our photos taken with zachary.. i havnt had a photo shoot since my accident and i think im ready now .. so it would be great if we win so william and i can remember,celebrate, and charish our engagement with a few of your amazing photos.
So i accidentally commented on the tidbit tuesday #5 post because i didn’t exactly know what was going on with the last contest but guess what? i live in albany! i’ll restate the reasons for me winning the contest. My dad is a soon to be photographer in the albany area and would love to watch you work. I love getting my picture taken and even though me dad loves taking pictures he’s never home to take pictures of me. always working. i hope that once this photography business of his starts going he’ll be able to spend more time with me. and watching you could spur him to start his business faster. and i love getting my picture taken.
Hi Alyse-
I am hoping to win a free session for two friends of mine. They just had a baby boy in late July. They’re having a hard time making ends meet at the current moment. I was just over to their apartment and noticed they do not even have one family portrait. I think all young families should have a family portrait, the first taken during the first year of life. If I don’t win, I’m still interested in purchasing a package!
I think Meg deserves it! But Meg if you get it, Andy must not look like a cave man! :)
Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu Alyse! ahhhh I love them :D and you <3
Everyone should try really hard to get this photo shoot because it is so much fun and truly priceless!!!
Even though it was five years ago can I use the sob story that I found out I was pregnant three days before my husband left for kuwait for a tour in Iraq? That he missed my entire pregnancy except for when he came home for R&R and got to come to the ultra sound with me and find out the sex of our baby? That he missed the birth but called me constantly while I was in labor? that he met alex when she was four months old? Hmmm, yeah it’s probably outdated huh? I figured I’d try. ;) oh also, even if i don’t win a free shoot I want to hire you to take pics of our family. You really do take beautiful photos.
Oops, sorry Alyse, my comment posted to the tidbit instead of below Nina’s post!!
[...] mix of this post and this post, perhaps? [...]
[...] so I’ve had the most difficult time choosing who should win the contest featured in the last blog post! Like, seriously, it was a little hard to sleep last night! :) But without further [...]
I know.. I lied. About having another shoot posted this past week. But guess what?! It’s ready and waiting to grace your eyes either tomorrow or Thursday. :)
So! Dylan just couldn’t wait to give me my Christmas present this year. (My little bits of enticing here and there may have helped…) I’m now a proud new owner of an iPod Touch with a splendid purple case. I bet you’re all like “Um, Alyse, it’s just an iPod, helloooo!!” Well guess who’s survived without an iPod her entire life long? This girl. Some of my apps so far: TheKnot’s Wedding911 (Hoping I don’t need it too much!); WhiteNoise (I fell asleep to the sound of fake waves crashing along the fake shore last night.); De-stress (Shows you a pretty, relaxing slideshow of images while instructing you in different breathing exercises – pretty sure it was made with me in mind!); and Sudoku babyyy!!
I’ve decided that if I had to live solely on Clif Bars alone, I could do it. Crunchy Peanut Butter kind. Mmhmm. Oh, milk too, or it’s a deal-breaker.
I’m just realizing my tendency to break out into gangsta’ speak. It’s kinda embarrassing, yo.
Christmas. is. SOON. And it’s a problem. I have yet to find gifts for Dylan, my dad, and my best friend. What to do!!
The countdown to my birthday (January 30) usually starts on January 31. So imagine how long I’ve been waiting to say this: My birthday is now 46 days away! :) I will be 22 (which seems like sort of a lame age). BUT, it will be the year I graduate from SU, get me a husband, and move out and to some yet-to-be-determined location. 22 is a BIG year.
Speaking of my birfday, this sweet new book is on my wishlist! Dane Sanders’ Fast Track Photographer: The Definitive New Approach to Successful Wedding Photography. Ya’ll should check it out if you’re interested. Pumped to read it! Anybody wanna help me read it?? ;)
Finals are this week. I’ve got one for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But then, I’m home-free! I’m counting down the hours until I have this semester behind me, with just one more left to go! Seriously, when did this happen? When did life start moving so fast?!
Ya know what I love more than life? Discovering new photographers. Not “new” per say, but “new” to me. I keep Google Reader tabs on over 50 photogs daily. But you know what I’m realizing? The majority of them are from the west coast. So listen: If you’re an east coast wedding/portrait photog, hollaa!! I’d LOVE to connect with you! :)
This one is for all you photog and business guru’s out there – define: Brand. As I’ve been developing my business over the past 6 months especially, I’ve been bombarded with lists and lists of super effective business techniques, SEO tips, and so on and so forth in order to establish my brand. But Seth Godin’s blog hits the nail right on the head. A brand is not a logo. It’s not a name. It’s not even your photography. It’s what your customers feel and think about you. And it’s what sets you apart. Very interesting read!
Okay, so do you ever have those times when, say, someone sneezes? And the obvious polite thing to do is to say “God bless you.” So you try to say it and nothing comes out. And then you just feel like a big, rude dummy who whispers to herself? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that kind of thing just happens to me, come to think of it.
Well, I do believe it’s time to get down to some nitty-gritty ceremony planning now, as well as some studying for finals, and some editing of our most recent shoot this past weekend. I’ll see ya’ll later on this week for Christina’s debut on the bloggity! Until then…
Happy Tuesday!!
by Alyse
5 comments
I hope I am not too late for the contest/
I would like to win a photo package because I have several projects I ma working on:
building a Christian radio station ,4 TV stations , and launching a $2 million fundraising campaign that could use photos to communicate our need
I’d love to win the contest. mostly because my dad is starting up a photography business slowly and he’s love to see your work and watch you work. and plus i love the idea of just posing and getting my picture taken lol =P by the way once my dad has his photography business going you’ll have another photographer in capital region NY. woot woot!
I believe I should win the photo shoot and I will tell you why!!
When I was in high school, everyone knew who I was but I never got to be in the spotlight. I was definately not the type of girl that was thought of as popular and pretty but just an all around “nice” girl. I never had that one person that made me feel like I was the most beautiful thing on the planet, until I met my fiance, Christopher Michael Islip. What I thought would be just a high school romance turned into the most fantastic 6 years (so far :)) of my life!! I am so excited about my wedding, but because of a low budget, I am having to cut corners in a lot of areas, including photography. This shoot would give me some amazing images portraying the love that Chris and I have for each other that could be displayed for guests to enjoy on our wedding day!!
I see you Josh.
Peekaboo Christina
by Alyse
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