Tis the Season for Giving

Tis the season for giving, and that means that I'm doing some giving of my own! For the month of November and December, special pricing is in effect at SusanRiley photography, along with a $20-25 print credit with each basic or mini basic session that you purchase. So if you're looking for beautiful photography that will capture the story of your family, now is the time to set up a session! Looking forward to working with you soon!

~ Susan

Falling All Over

What a stunningly beautiful weekend! I was able to capture some great family shots of these three, including 3 months new Warren. The Virginia mountains were gorgeous and made a great backdrop for these happy pictures. Enjoy the smiles and wonder!

The Art of Pool

This weekend, I celebrated my 2nd anniversary with my wonderful husband. This year, we combined our celebration with Kevin's cousin Megan to share in her amazing wedding. As such, we took a long weekend trip to the Inn at Leola Village near Lancaster, PA. The pictures in this post are a taste of our journey. The Inn was gorgeous, as was the wedding and we all had a fantastic time. But perhaps the most interesting part of our trip this year was the fact that we only turned on the TV once, and didn't access the internet at all. Instead, we got outside and explored, enjoyed each others' company and took our time to absorb everything around us. In the midst of this, we got to a lull on Sunday evening where there was literally nothing to do. Rather than turn on that big screen, though, we took a chance to explore our hotel and found....a billiards room! We played checkers (which I haven't played since I was a kid) and tried our hand at pool. Neither of us was any good, but we had a great time trying. I guess the art of pool is the same as the art of living - calculate your moves, learn the angles, figure out when to strike lightly or with more power, but above all - get out there and try! So without further ado....our trip to Lancaster!

Special Holiday Savings!

The holidays are approaching and the studio appointments are booking fast! I just had to pass on these new items that I'm offering for the season. Holiday Luxe Cards are here and ready for the 2010 season. These cards feature new die-cut sizes and unlimited possibilities. You can have an ornament card (talk about a collectible!), photo frames, and many more!

And I have a special announcement that I'm excited to offer. These beautiful photo cards are FREE with any holiday mini-session booked between now and December 5th! Our holiday mini-sessions are already a great deal (30 minute session, 2 digital masters, online image gallery and 50 cards with envelopes for $199). Now, you have the opportunity to get these one of a kind cards included with the offer. This is a $75 value - FREE! Let's work together to make your holiday cards truly special this year. Hurry and book your session now before slots are gone. I look forward to helping you and your family share your stories this holiday season!

~ Susan
(image courtesy of Millers PhotoLab)

Welcome Peyton!

Nothing is more beautiful than a newborn baby. And baby Peyton is one of the most beautiful baby girls I've ever seen, though I'm a bit biased as she is my new niece. This blessed family just moved to their new home, in the nick of time for the arrival of Miss Peyton. Here is a sampling of their session. Precious!

Fulton Family Fun

I always enjoy my photo shoot sessions with families, but this one in particular was so special! This family was so comfortable with each other that they made me feel like I was already a part of their group dynamic as soon as I walked in the door. It truly was an honor to spend the afternoon with them on Saturday!

Save the Date Photo Cards

Alright all you brides to be....here are three new Save the Date photo cards. There are also thank you notes and stationary to coordinate with these themes. Contact me today to schedule an engagement sitting or to order these awesome cards with portraits that you already have! www.susanrileyphotography.com

The gift of freedom

Normally, my blog posts include my latest photo shoot or greeting card template designs to preview. Not today. Today is simply a writing day for me, and hopefully my words will capture you as much as my pictures do.

My dad is a big Dave Ramsey fan. I mean big. He goes to the website, the radio show, the whole deal. He's even starting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church. I think for Christmas I might try to find a shirt that Dave Ramsey used to wear over on Ebay, just so that he can be close to him (but that would be kind of gross, so maybe not). To try and understand his enthusiasm a little bit, I signed up for the Financial Peace class and decided to do a little bit of research as to what I am getting myself into for the next 12 weeks. And what I found was not bad....in fact, it down right makes sense. There's this cool slideshow over there about how we can all learn how to pay cash for our cars for life - and it's totally doable. So now, I'm starting to get excited about what Dave Ramsey and others like him have to say as well. I'm not to the point of buying that t-shirt, but maybe a mug with his name on it wouldn't be so bad.

Anyway, one of the big themes through all of this that Ramsey (and my dad) promote is all about freedom. Financial freedom AND the freedom to give and be generous. And today, as I am able to stay home to take care of my daughter while she fights the flu, I realize what a gift that type of freedom is. I am truly so lucky to have a job that I love, work on my photography business and meet new clients who share with me all kinds of perspectives, and to do both at the same time. I am blessed to be able to financially afford to choose both or one or neither - whatever works for me and my family. And I marvel in the knowledge that I'm not even all the way there yet. I still have miles to go before I'm completely at "peace" - where I can give what I really want to give, both financially and to the world in general. But until I can share my wealth and really make a difference that way, I am humbled in the knowledge that I can also give my time and talents to truly inspire others and provide them with a snapshot of a memory; a frame of their story put into a picture that they can cherish forever. The gift of freedom is not just financial, but also an intrinsic undefinable motivation that pushes us to do better and be more for all those we come in contact with.

It's funny - in photography, so much is based upon angles, perspective and light. So as a parent, as a child and as a citizen, I send this post of thanks out to Dave Ramsey and to my dad for bringing me to this new perspective within myself. May the light I have to give be framed to make my next "picture" a stunning one.

~ Susan

Baby Soft Template collection

These 6 beautiful templates can be customized to fit your needs - anything from font to picture size can be changed. You can order any of these templates for $5 to customize. However, the current special is almost unbeatable! 50 cards with photo and envelopes for $50! There's NO WAY you can get this good of a deal anywhere else. Ordering is simple - go to my website at www.susanrileyphotography.com and see for yourself. I love the sophisticated and current feel to these cards!

Girls come first......


And now for the boys.....

Just for fun

As a mom, I know everyone understands wanting to capture kids all the time during the first couple of years because they change to rapidly. Kevin and I took Emma on a walk on Saturday and it was just too gorgeous of a day not to take some pictures. The sky reminded me of the kind of blue that I saw on another September 11th nine years ago, and I just had to get out the camera and capture what can happen over the course of time. Here are some of my faves...

3 More Holiday Templates

So here are three more designs for Holiday 2010. I really wanted a large variety of cards so there was something that would appeal to everyone. Here we have some cooler tones (blues and grays) as well as some unique phrasing. I'm really pleased with how these turned out and so excited to offer them for the holiday season. And, you can get them for ONLY $5 per template!!

Plus....BIG NEWS! Now, you can get a great new offer on these templates. For this holiday season, you can pick a template and order professionally printed cards with envelopes in any size for $1.00/card. That means you can get beautiful, custom photo cards for less than the generic cards you'll find on those mass websites. Order your sets over at www.susanrileyphotography.com and be sure to check out the website for my other latest offers!

Holiday Templates

**Update! I've added a holiday template section here where you can preview and purchase these templates for your use! Check it out!!**
So I've been working hard in my spare time working on this year's batch of holiday card templates to go along with the holiday portrait sessions. Check out these two samples to see what you think. My goal is to offer 6 layout choices for this holiday season. Have a suggestion? Send me your comments/thoughts!

Saturday in the Park

I spent one of the last weekends of the summer with by beautiful family at one of the local parks in Mt. Airy. Here are few images from the day. Ah, sweet summer!

Baby Picture Brag Time!

I have started back to teaching this week, so booking photography now gets a little more tricky. The weekends get booked up fast since I'm working elsewhere during the week. I love BOTH of my jobs and enjoy the fact that I can have 2 very different ways in which to express my creativity. That being said, I had the joy of seeing my nephew Warren last night! He was born back in July and it's been almost 2 weeks since I've seen him. Since newborns change so quickly, I wanted to capture him on film before he changes again. He and his mom Diana are just stunning here. Love this cutie pie!

Emma's summer 2010 pics

As I write this, I am doing the normal "mom thing" of multitasking. Emma's down for a nap, I'm baking cookies, doing laundry and editing pictures. Sure - this is normal. I was able to capture Emma as she went for a "walk" around our house this morning and these are a few of the images. She just lights me up with joy watching her discover the world. Enjoy!