elcome to my newly designed blog-site. Some of you may be new to this, so I will briefly explain... this is a website that is also a blog and vice versa. My old site had not been updated in almost two years, and thus, my blog was truly the best representation of my work. So... the two shall become one! If you are new to me, feel free to click on the buttons above for sample galleries of some of my favorite work. Then, check out my most recent work by clicking through the most relevant category for what you are searching. For everyone else, enjoy the joined functionality... Happy viewing!
o, I did not forget my wedding anniversary (9.17.05 for anyone taking notes), but I did miss a major milestone of my business... the fifth anniversary of the first wedding I photographed! June 26, 2004... I remember that day so clearly. I hadn't slept a wink the night before... just like the night before my first day of school (yes, I remember the first day of kindergarden). I had not talked to the bride before... only the groom's sister, who was in charge of booking me. She had called Converse College's Art Department (from which I had just graduated) to see if there were any photography students that they may recommend for her brother's wedding. She then called me, and I was left with a huge task of pricing myself on the spot. I couldn't do it. I told her I would call her back. I sat down and figured out the number of rolls of film I would need (yes, I shot in film first)... and then the cost of that... plus the travel (it was a 45 minute drive one way)... I came back with a price I was sure was too much (even though the "profit" was only giving me about $20/hour at the wedding- didn't include any other time I spent). She was THRILLED! And even without seeing my photography (since I had none really to show, especially not from a wedding), she hired me solely based on my professor's recommendation. It is so funny how things happen. When I graduated college, photographing weddings was the furthest thing from my mind. In fact, the only time I even thought about anything wedding related was when my girlfriends started showing up engaged. ha! No lie. I was never the girl that dreamt of the details of her wedding... I wasn't even dating anyone when I graduated. But, anyway, I digress.
So, here I am, on June 26, 2004 in Tryon, SC... sure to be the HOTTEST day of the year (but also a GORGEOUS day)... sweating for many reasons... ready to photograph this couple with a ton of film but only one camera (with the built in flash- thank GOD it was outdoor!), one battery and two lenses. These people were crazier for hiring me than I was for letting them. Seriously. I have no idea what I was thinking other than an easy way to turn around $100 in a day (or so I thought). But, I loved it! And while the business didn't take off right away, especially since I moved from SC to NC to CO back to NC and then up here to NY all in 18 months, it has taken off INCREDIBLY fast. Sure, I only had this one wedding in 2004... and I only had two in 2005 (since I was busy planning my own wedding and settling into life here)... but, since that fateful day in 2004, I have shot 71 other weddings, and I have never looked back. It has been an amazing journey... a whirlwind for sure. So... I must share some embarrassing images from my first 3 weddings with you (remember, these were days of film here so no post processing and no real professional equipment either). Happy viewing, friends!
Kayla & Shawn...
Okay, so I have to step back for a second and get personal... I would not be where I am today if it were not for my husband Chris. He is THE most amazing man I have ever met. He has been nothing but encouraging the whole way through... supporting me every step of the way (he commonly tells me "Beautiful, you are so talented!")... challenging me in every way possible... to never settle for mediocrity in my work or how I present my business. My very first website was designed by him when we were still dating. We were living in Colorado at the time and knew we were probably going to move, but it didn't matter. Chris thought I needed a site for my work. So, he spent countless hours working on it... I don't have a clip of that first site, but I do have a clip from my second site that he did for me just the next year (after we had moved to the Adirondacks and I had photographed a couple more weddings). Just relish in it, friends.
NOTE: since I wasn't legally a Barnes yet but knew I would be soon, I couldn't be Rae Barnes Photography... so I went for Photography by Rae... to this day, we will sometimes call the business that... not sure why, but we do. like "Is Photography by Rae going to pay you this month?" haha!
Anyhow, I have to thank my husband... the love of my life... for everything he has done for me and this business. I wouldn't be a fraction of the business woman I am today without him... I definitely wouldn't have come so far so fast without him. Of course, I also have to add (at the risk of sounding like a rapper accepting a grammy) that I have to thank my Lord, my God... for providing all the business I have received and the talents He has blessed me with. I would not be here (in any sense of the term) if it were not for His Grace and Provisions.
Alright... tangent... here's the clip!
okay... now the two Adirondack weddings that I shot immediately after Chris and I got married.
meet Ben & Anu... October 22, 2005
and Ben's sister... man, I thought this shot was so creative. :-)
And finally Michelle & Bill... October 29, 2005.
this image is above in the website design, but I had to share it again BECAUSE I thought it was so unbelievably awesome that I used it on almost all of my ads that year. haha! no lie. this was also my first attempt at digital and post-processing (I still brought the film camera to do most of the shooting)
and finally, my first favorite bridal portrait, taken before the ceremony. nice.
so, thanks for your loyalty... to some of you, it may come as a shock that I have been doing this for 5 years, but I know most of you are aware of that. And, funny thing is that while it is embarrassing for me to look through the first weddings (oh, check out the archive at the bottom of this page for my first blog posts in 2006- prrrreeeettty sweet, my friends)... it is also incredibly unreal to me to think of how different my work looks after just a few years. I credit so much of that to my perfectionist nature when it comes to art. I know I am not perfect. I never will be. There will ALWAYS be something I can do better with my art, my craft, and my business... as well as life in general. Thanks to all of you who have followed me and my blog for so long. You all rock my socks off!
As a thank you for reading all of this and to celebrate my anniversary, I am offering 25% off any order placed this week (code: FIFTHANNI). If you have placed an order since June 26, then you can get two free 5x7s from the order you placed or from your blog post. Just email me to let me know which ones... and if you are about to place an order and you would rather have the free prints or you are waiting on your gallery and you want the prints, also email me to let me know! Thanks friends!
P.S. umm... Chris and I just found some gems to share with you... friends, witness my first business cards (I think I paid about $15 for 300 or something like that)
and then, to close... my first printed ad. (and I wondered why I didn't book a single client from it?) ;-)
atch the video to find out! We are very excited about the number of entries we received for our Facebook/Twitter contest for the free portrait session. Thank you to everyone who entered and gave us a little shout out on your status! We may just end up having to do more promos via Facebook from now on. :-) By the way, any rising high school seniors out there? We still need local representatives for the Class of 2010. We MUST do those reps' pics this month, so we need you to contact us immediately to set something up.
otice anything different on my blog? Chris has added my tweets from twitter just below the menu... so, now, you can see what I am up to before it is blogged (or even if it isn't blogged). If you are on twitter, come follow me! @raebarnes I'm not always the most exciting twitter-er, but I do tweet a lot! :-) For those of you who have never heard of twitter, there's no hope. I can't explain. haha! Just know that there is a bar on here that has updates of what I am up to at any given point. ;-)
ince I am a new mom, I am learning more and more how precious and important having pictures of children are. So, in anticipation of my first mother's day (yes, I am already excited for it!), we are offering two great promotional packages. I know, I know... Mother's Day is still a few months away, but with our specialized production, it takes up to four weeks to get our proofs out and around to four weeks to get prints produced. SOO... our Mother's Day promo is running for the next two weeks for sessions to take place in the month of March. We WILL have your products ready for you by Mother's Day, as long as you pick your image/s swiftly after your proofs are up online.
The first package includes:
one hour on location photo shoot
one 8x10 print
four 5x7 prints (all the same image)
All of your images will be posted online for 3 months and if you purchase at least $300 worth of prints (in addition to what is included), then we will include the CD to you at no additional cost.
This package has a value of $440, but we are charging just the creative fee of $350.
So you are saving almost $100!
The second package includes:
one hour photo shoot
one 8x10 matted and framed print
four 5x7 prints
8 wallets (all of the same image)
This package also includes the CD of all the images from your photo session. This package is valued at $909, but we are offering it for $600.
So, your savings are over $300!
Please note... Our creative fee for 2009 is $350 for about an hour of shooting with me (as well as online proofs). Also, we have never before offered the CD to our portrait clients, and while we will probably start doing so this year with a minimum purchase, this is a special offer and not necessarily exactly what we will continue to do.
To take advantage of these promotions, you must schedule the photo shoot by March 1st and the session must take place during the month of March, based on availability. Please contact Kristin at 518-523-6452 or info@raebarnes.com to get more information and/or to book. I am still on "maternity leave" through the beginning of March, so she is the person to contact!
