What an AWESOME way to start off the Fall Season! I’ve been blessed to have taken off the last 5 weeks with my family and spend some quality time with my children while they’ve been out of school-it’s been amazing and such a gift! But, yesterday, I started back to work with a wonderful session. Couldn’t have been any more perfect honestly! This precious family have been friends of ours for years-lots of connections in so many ways. Jon was a former student of mine when I taught years ago. Jamison’s grandfather is the pastor of my church and his family, our dear family friends. I photographed big brother, Jeremiah, for his newborn photos a few years ago. And, Jamison’s parents and I are in the same Connection Class at church! The Torregrossa Family loves this family dearly, and I couldn’t be more happy for them! This photo session was just amazing, and I’m so happy with our results. Jon and Miranda, thank you for sharing your boys and your family with me. What an honor to capture this special time in your lives. Enjoy the sneak peek! More to come! Congratulations! 🙂

I am SO excited to announce this to you! Years ago in college, I met this wonderful friend named Katie. She did her thing after college, and I did mine-neither of which were photography or art! Years later, we reconnected when Katie discovered that I was a photographer and I became her family’s photographer when I did her oldest child’s two-year-old portraits. It was so fun reconnecting and seeing Katie at portrait sessions. Then, magic happened. Katie really put her heart and time into becoming this phenomenal artist, and I fell in love with her work!! It is sooo absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I now have three Katie Toombs paintings in my home and they are such treasures to me. The first is one that she created. The other two are custom paintings where I gave her an idea of what I was looking for, and through collaboration and her brilliant talent, Katie created amazing pieces of art for me that hang in my home now. I LOVE THEM!

My most recent painting she completed and brought to me just a couple of weeks ago. It is a painting of my children when they were 1 and 3 years old-today they are 10 and 13! It is from an old photograph I had taken of them years ago and has always been one of my very favorites. I commissioned Katie to use this photograph as the basis of the painting. I loved the “idea” of the photo, but really wasn’t crazy about an entire field of yellow flowers as that’s a lot of yellow to adorn my hearth room! So, I told Katie that I loved the look of flowers, but preferred white. I also told her how much I loved sessions I had shot in fields of wheat grasses and cotton, too. And, I told her I preferred it be more neutral in color scheme. That’s it. That’s all I told her. And, what I got in return blew me away!! First, here’s the photo for you to see that I gave to her, and then the final product. It is beautiful in person. Honestly, photos don’t do it justice.

I love it so very much, that it got me to thinking on how I could possibly share my new treasure with you guys. We all love photos of our children, and they are “common”. Why not take what I can do and fuse it with what Katie can do, and give you something not so “common”? So Katie and started to scheme and talk and discuss-and we’ve come up with something that I am so very excited to share with you. It will be the perfect Mother’s Day Gift, or just the perfect “Just Because” gift. Ladies, here’s your chance to tell your husband that this is what you want! Make it easy for him! Or, maybe it’s time you just treat yourself to this because you deserve it!

So, how will this work? Katie and I have come up with two different possibilities from which you will choose. At the end of the day, you will end up with digital copies of my photography that will be yours to use and print as you wish-perfect for Grandmother gifts! And, you will also have your very own custom-created painting in size 11×14 or 12×12 from Katie Toombs-Fine Art! I know, it’s awesome, right? Here’s the details:

Option 1: $425.00: (To purchase, click here)

• Includes a “mini” Mini Session with Julie for approximately 10-15 min at Oaklawn Gardens in Germantown on either May 2 or May 9. Spaces are LIMITED!
• You will receive a disc with 5-7 images crafted specifically with your painting in mind. These will be your images to print as you desire! Session will mainly focus on interaction between children such as hugging, giving flowers to each other, walking down a path together, etc. It will not focus on individual “face shot” images of the children-unless you are looking for this specifically for your portrait. However, Katie’s paintings are more impressionistic so there are no facial features. See my above painting for examples or her website is www. katietoombs.com and specifically the “Figures” section. If your child has something that they love to do, consider incorporating this into your session such as playing princess dress-up, playing with trains, etc. this will be perfect for this session!
• Includes the “rights” to the photograph to have Katie create a special custom-created piece of art just for you based upon your image(s).
• You will work directly with the artist to create a painting based on your desires.  Remember, the background I photograph can be “manipulated” to be more of what you desire for your painting if necessary.
• You will receive a painting in either size 12×12 or 11×14 by one of Memphis’ most in-demand artists! Remember, as your artwork is a custom piece, it will take approximately 1-2 months to receive your painting from Katie.

Option 2: $300: (To purchase, click here)

• Have an “old” photograph that I have taken of your children or family in the past 8 years I’ve been in business that you would LOVE to have made into a custom piece of art? Then this option is for you!
• Pick any photo (or two, if needed for the same price) that I’ve taken for you since I began my business back in 2006. I will give you the digital photo to use as you wish. The rights become yours, and Katie will create your art based upon this photo. You also will have access to the photo for printing on your own if you so desire.
• Includes the “rights” to the photograph to have Katie create a special custom-created piece of art just for you based upon your image(s).
• You will work directly with the artist to create a painting based on your desires.  Remember, the background I photographed can be “manipulated” to be more of what you desire for your painting, if necessary.
• You will receive a painting in either size 12×12 or 11×14 by one of Memphis’ most in-demand artists! Remember, as your artwork is a custom piece, it will take approximately 1-2 months to receive your painting from Katie.

I know the date for the first session is this week, but the weather looks beautiful and azaleas are still blooming! 🙂 May 2nd is the date that will be filled first.

Please remember, this is commissioned artwork and SPACES ARE LIMITED!! Please don’t delay!

Are you ready? Simply go to my website and choose your option. Follow this link, and it will take you there. Once I receive your order, Jodie will get with you to schedule your “mini” Mini Session or I will contact you so you can tell me which photo I need to search my archives for! Here’s the link: http://117photography.com/store/?page/30319/load/product_category/category/3850/imageID/0/mini-sessions There are two options there, so choose the one you want.

Need a little inspiration? Here’s just a handful of images from 2013(mostly) that I grabbed that are great examples of photographs that would make beautiful paintings! Don’t delay! I promise you won’t regret it!

As I write this post, it is still feeling very much like a summer day in Memphis, TN! I’m dreaming of cooler nights out by the fire, s’mores, and crunching colorful leaves beneath my feet. It’s time again to announce 1:17 Photography’s yearly tradition and customer favorite… Mini Sessions!  Avoid the hectic times surrounding the holidays this year by planning ahead.

How is a Mini Session different from a regular session? Well, it lasts about 15 minutes and you receive approximately 10 fully edited custom images. These sessions are perfect for those that don’t want a full session, want someone else to handle that dreaded “Christmas Card photo”, needs gifts for the grandparents, or just wants a few quick , simple, and lovely portraits of their favorite kiddo! And new this year, we are going digital! No shopping carts, no hard decisions to pick your favorites! You’ll just get them all on a disc and can use them to your liking.

See below for all the exciting details! Need to schedule your session time? Simply contact jodie@117photography.com with your desired date and she’ll be happy to help you complete the process. Again, these sessions are always a customer favorite so if you see an idea that sounds like something you’d like, don’t delay!

Due to the great feedback we received from last year’s Mini Sessions, we will once again offer a couple of different dates each at a different location!

The first location, tentatively planned for September 21st, will take place in a local cotton field. We have done a Mini Session there the last two years and they were a huge hit with 1:17 customers! Take a look at a blog from last years’s cotton field sessions!  I do need to make an important comment here, however. If you are going to purchase a cotton field Mini Session, please be aware that this is a tentative date only. We will have to wait until sometime in mid-September to know exactly when the cotton will be “ready” with those beautiful soft, white fluffs! 🙂 I am in contact with the farmer who is letting us borrow his fields, and will be sure to notify you of any changes to this date if needed. You will just need to be flexible. Just know that if you purchase a cotton field Mini and the date has to be rescheduled and you cannot make the new date, we will do our best to work with you on finding a good alternative, or we will gladly refund your money. Hopefully, this date will work…we just won’t know for sure for another few weeks!

Our 2nd location this year is out in Collierville at Schilling Farms! I am super excited about the opportunities at this location and think that there is something for everyone here. By this date, some leaves on the trees will hopefully begin to be changing colors. This will be a fabulous location that will truly feel and look like Fall! Here’s a link to a blog that I did last week with some images from Schilling Farms with my beautiful daughter, Isabella.

Finally, the cost for this year’s session is $300.  I’m always like to change things up a bit, and this year I’m trying to make things a little easier on both of us for the Mini Sessions. With the purchase of a Mini Session this fall, it will cover your Sitting Fee, and you will receive the images from your session on a disc(approximately 10 images), professionally retouched with a print release giving you the opportunity to print and create as you wish. More and more often customers are asking for Digital Images, so here’s your chance! You won’t have to worry about shopping carts, ordering deadlines or any of those things. You’ll just get a DVD full of memories and beautiful images!

Be sure to look at the blog links above to get a better idea of what you can expect at each location. If you’d like to join us this year, don’t delay in scheduling. Sessions fill up fast! Can’t wait to see you!

Sometimes, the words just won’t come to me and I just wish that you could see into my heart as that is the only true way that you would see my joy about this sweet little girl! Meet Alice Mae, youngest daughter of my little sister, Connie, and her great husband, Adam and littlest new sister to my nieces Olivia, almost 10, and Lucy, 7.5 years. This family is IN LOVE with their new little gift from God and who can blame them? Look how adorable she is!! I was privileged enough to be with Alice the moment that she made her entrance into this world….there are no words for the joy!! And, to make it even more awesome, Alice is named after our amazing “Gram” whom we all miss every single day, so you can imagine the emotions. I am so very happy for this little family and the addition that Alice has made in their lives. What a true testament to faith in God! “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” James 1:17 Such a small statement but oh so powerful. Connie and family, I love you and am so happy for all of you! 🙂

I had the hardest time picking out my favorite images of the 3 girls…so I picked ALOT! Just a glimpse of the JOY these sisters feel over their little sister. Tears of happiness have been shed and belly laughs of joy, too!!

Check out the shirts Aunt Jodie made for them. Love it! “Lil Sis”, “Big Sis” and “Big Big Sis” 🙂

Don’t you just LOVE all the hair on little Alice? Amazing amounts of hair for a newborn! And a little newborn grin, too. I think this next one is my favorite of her.

And, finally, the one photo I can hardly look at without tears filling my eyes. The photo behind baby Alice is one of my grandmother, Alice, when she was young. This is how I envision her up in heaven now…young and beautiful and happily looking over all our shoulders from up above. I know that Gram will especially watch her little namesake. 🙂