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new year

Hey guys!

Sooo… I know I said that I was going to be WAY better about blogging this year, and soo far.. I have not been!

BUT!! ((and yes, thats a big but)) It is because I have been busy with shooting you guys ;)

and… launching a new line of photography, as well as putting in more time on my commercial work

my website is now live, www.ashleybrawner.com

its not 100% completed (and yes, its really a lot more work to do a website than you would think) but its there.

all that being said, I am going to be catching up my shoots from Jan 1 and maybe even a few of my favorites from 2010 (we shall see)

thank you & goodnight… stay classy my internet friends and blog stalkers ;)

Happy New Years!

Happy New Year!!!

And… Just a little update for you all…

2011 has some BIG things coming up!! I already have almost 20 weddings on the books from this month up until November and several months that I am not taking anymore weddings (dont want to get soo busy that you dont get all the attention you deserve for one of the biggest days of your life!) Soo… without further delay, here are some updates for you guys broken out by category :)

Personal: I will be maintaining what you call a 365 photo project… I will be taking a picture a day, sometimes it may be whats going on in my life, a highlight from that day, something that speaks to me or has personal meaning… or maybe just something that I think is kinda cool. I will post these images on my personal blog, that you are more than welcome to check out… Havent decided yet if I wanted to post them here as well though… Thoughts?

Professional: New website. New blog updates. New pricing. New exciting opportunities for me AND you to get in on the action and some fun give aways and events! You guys have probably seen where I have asked for models for shoots… And there will be more of that in the new year for ABP. I cant wait to share with you all the exciting things coming up! I am also going to attempt to maintain regular postings on my blog of all my recent shoots and favorites. Also! Many of you have asked for mentoring sessions, tagging along, etc… So I will be working in opportunities for you guys to do so as often as possible. Many of you have already tagged along with me on a shoot or a wedding and I have really enjoyed it, a lot! So stay tuned for that!

Personal & Professional: One of the biggest reasons that I work from home, is so that I can be there for my kids and my family. I am soo very privileged and blessed that God has allowed me to have a passion for something that I can do because I enjoy it and to be able to make it my profession. I will be taking my time home more seriously this year though. It is great to be busy and to have work, but everyone needs some R&R :) … Especially with 3 kids :) . Because of my need to be completely confident in the work that I give to you as my friends, customers, family and clients, I will be revamping my schedule to allow for specific off days. The off days may change, some times as often as weekly, but for the most part will stay the same and be consistant. I want to be sure that I am well rested and have enjoyed time with my family so that I can give my family my best and give you guys my best. After all, you dont want a half awake person with coffee stained shirts working on your pictures :) .

With all that being said… My new site and new pricing (see note below on pricing) will be live effective January 15th…Anything booked before January 15th will be grandfathered in at the 2010 rates.

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season! And heres to making 2011 better and bigger than 2010! (and a sneak peek from the first shoot of 2011)

*Pricing: You may ask yourselves why photographers charge what we do… And I saw an EXCELLENT explanation for this on a fellow photographers blog, so in a nutshell, here it is: When I charge you for your sitting, your prints, your dvd of your images… You may say/ask yourselves why you should pay me for a disc or a print when you could do that yourself for so much less… Or why I charge what I do for the sitting when Im only with you for maybe an hour or so. It is soo much more than that though. On average, for every hour that I spend shooting with you, I will spend 2 to 3 hours culling and editing those images(sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the specific needs of your shoot, event, wedding). The editing time doesnt include all the time that goes in to planning for your photography needs… It may include setting up the location, scouting the location, loading and reloading equipment and/or props, among many other things. You are also paying for quality, artistic interpretation/design and my experience… I pride myself in the amount of time that goes in to each image because I want to make sure that you are not showing people images that do not capture who you are and are not of high quality. Yes, you can go pay $15 for a sitting fee, and you will probably get 1 or 2 pretty good images, but I can assure you that you wont have to worry about only getting 1 or 2 good images with me. I produce quality work from an experienced artist/photographer and I take utmost pride in it… And you should too! You shouldnt look back at your photos years from now and wonder what you were thinking :) .

In the works…

So I know it’s been a few days since my last blog post… BUT I figured that I wouldn’t keep you guys waiting and I would give you a sneak peek on the weddings and shoots I’m editing so you know what you have to look forward to :) . Enjoy! And make sure to check back and see the whole shoots/weddings!

I’m….BACK!

Hey guys!!

Sorry for the delay in posting new blogs! We have had a VERY exciting last few days/weeks…which is a good thing. Thank you to everyone who keeps coming and looking/reading my posts…I promise you won’t be disappointed! I have several shoots and weddings to post for you so bare with me. Friday we got to meet…Are you ready?? JORDIN SPARKS!! Yay! My girls were soo excited, and she was soo sweet! We also got to photograph her concert, we were going to grab a few pictures of her before the show but the timing didn’t end up working out with the storms and her schedule, etc.  Saturday we went and photographed a beautiful wedding at Ocean Isle Beach, NC…and a first for me…had two associate photographers shooting a wedding in Gainesville, GA. All in all it’s been a great time and we have some great and exciting things coming to show you! But right now I’m going to go climb up in my very own bed and get some shut eye!

Ya’ll be looking out for a new blog post tomorrow! I’m pretty excited about it!!

Ash

ps- here’s a sneak peek from a recent shoot :)

Attention Future Brides!!

Okay guys!!  Here is *THE CONTEST* that you DON’T want to miss!!

I am GIVING AWAY an engagement (or bridal) session!!…Yes…I’m being quite serious!!

If you are one of my 2010 or 2011 weddings and/or you have not yet done your engagement session, this is perfect for you! Lately I have been really big on writing notes about themed shoots I really want to do (gotta keep the creative juices flowing)….And it sparked an idea, a great idea if ya’ ask me. There is no way that I am the only person that has some(what I think are neat) neat ideas for engagement shoots and bridal shoots…And this is where you come in:

Send me your unique shoot idea w/as many details as you can provide, along with preferred location and date

Pretty simple, right? Right! Once we get all the submissions we will go through them. If your submission is the most unique/creative/fun/original/etc…YOU WIN!! Simple as that! How can you go wrong?? You get a free shoot AND will be featured on my website, blog and advertising materials.

Contest end date has yet to be determined but go ahead and start sending in your submissions…I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!!