2013 Wedding Special

Hello Beautiful Brides/Grooms-to-be...
We have a wonderful special just for you.
First let me just say...I do not have a TON of experience doing weddings. I've shot two solo, and co-shot one. I love weddings! I love photography! My introductory price is $800 (add a second shooter for $250; I have two that I've worked with and trust!!!!). Date does not have to be for 2013, but must be booked between now and December 31, 2013. Retainer of 30% (non-refundable) is due at time of booking ($240 or if adding a second photographer $315) . Next year our Wedding Collections will range from $1800-$2500.
Included in your package:

& two became one...

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. R

I'm a hopeless romantic. I don't know about other wedding photographer's but I was in tears. This couple is so sweet. There was so much love in the room. Their families were so happy and excited for them. Jordan and Taylor had a beautiful country wedding. The Church was at Taylor's Family Church, The Troutman's founded Troutman, NC. This is the church house/school that was established in 1909.

Yesterday was such a cloudy and dreary day (this image was taken the day before), but it didn't stop the bride and groom from having an amazingly blessed day! They say rain on your wedding day is good luck!

This is an image from their engagement session. Jordan & Taylor began dating in high school. They have a fun, loving relationship. They have a love and respect for one another that goes deeper than most....

The bride and her party had the pleasure of getting dressed her grandfather's home. They have a beautiful family room that is lined with (almost) full wall length windows. I adore Taylor's gown. EKKK!

 A quiet moment before time to leave for the wedding

Taylor had lots of friends and family with her while she waited to walk down the aisle to the love of her life.

This is Taylor's maid of honor, Lauren!

Yeah, I know this is 'outta focus' but I loved this shot anyway! All the girls were crunched in the bathroom getting ready! Taylor is a lucky lady; she has some pretty awesome friends.

This is Wendy, Taylor's mom! She is such a sweetheart.

Taylor's dad, walking her down the aisle. She's so happy! He's so proud!!

It's official; Mr. & Mrs. R along with their little darling Elayna

Such a precious family

 Isn't their sweetheart, Elayna a beauty?? Love this child

Jordan kissing his bride...aww!

This is an outtake! I love it, even if its not perfect. It just shows life with a two year old is always exciting :)









I have so many images I want to share from this wedding, however I have to keep something for the bride and groom! I hope you enjoyed their wedding! I know I'm not great at blogging, but I'm working on it. Thank you for keeping up with AJHP and my rambles!


In case I didn't mention this earlier, I adore weddings and I adore them in b&w! I promise the bride & groom are receiving plenty of color images! I just decided to do their blog in b&w! All images are property of A Joyful Hand Photography by Bobbi Earp and Copyright protected

Portrait Club

How exciting! A Joyful Hand Photography is now offering a Portrait Club.

Here's the deal...

A Joyful Hand Photography Club $69.99

Good for 1 year
1 free Mini Session of your choice ($125 value)
3 free image sheets per session (wallets-11x14)
3-$10 Coupons to use towards a session or any of our print sessions
10% off Regular image sheets
15% off Canvas' or Photo Books
20% off any/all sessions booked the year (only while your club is active)
Exclusive Coupons and Savings


We're also introducing a new Referral Program, while we've always had referral incentives  we've decided to update them.

For each friend that you refer, you will receive free prints, and points towards a free mini session. For each friend you refer that successfully completes a session with AJHP, you will receive a Free 8x10, and 10 points towards a Free session...for every 100 points you'll receive a free mini session. Also your friend will receive 24 free wallets, if they mention you sent them.

You can also sign up for our bi-monthly newsletter. The newsletter will include cute little articles, news about what is going on with AJHP and special offers, upcoming shoots & coupons.

Click here, to request a newsletter!! Your information will be kept private!!!

Mother's Day Surprise

Taylor wanted to surprise her mom with family portraits for mother's day! We did a Lemonade Stand and walk through the park! Enjoy

Beautiful Bride-to-Be!!

Ahh! Taylor is beautiful! Today is her big day! In fact as this is posting I will be at her wedding! YAY!

We did Taylor's Bridal Shower in early March. The weather had been wonderful up until that point. As we were heading out to our location (Allison Woods), the weather was terrible, snow, sleet, rain and lots of dark clouds. I was so nervous, as was our bride to be.

You would never know that it was only 36 degrees?!

Can you tell she's excited to get married?

We even had time for some playful images! Seriously could she be any more cute??

By the time we reached our second location of the day the sun was shining!!

Enjoy the little sneaky peek of Taylor! As I said her wedding is today! So, Happy Wedding Day! Stay tuned for more sneak peeks.

All Images are Copyright 2013 A Joyful Hand Photography

Just so you know; Copyright Vs. Print Release

As many of you know I recently 'shut down' my website to revamp my business/plan. While doing so I realized a few things;

1. I LOVE what I do. 
2. I want to be MORE! Yes, I want to be more, I want my business to be more! I don't mean that in a selfish way. So let me explain what that means! Hopefully I don't offend anyone in the process.  

What does MORE mean?
When I started out with this dream (know that before this experience photography had always been a part of who I was and something I wanted to do), I only knew what I had experienced. What does that mean? My husband and I had been to a small business photographer and had our portraits done. It was a simple experience and two weeks later we received our disk with all of our images and a copyright release.  I excitedly loaded the images to my computer, shared them on my social media sites and order Christmas Cards for my family. It was 'perfect' at that time.

Now almost 2 years into my own business and 3 years since that experience, guess how many prints I have made from that disk? Guess how many times I've looked at those images?

The only prints I ever made were those Christmas cards. I haven't opened the folder since.
With that being said, I want MORE!!

So what does my MORE mean? I should explain this fully before I give my true explanation! Confused yet? You won't be, just stick with me. When most (not all) Photographers start out their businesses they do what is referred to as 'shoot and burn' photography. You get a session for a certain price and then you get a disk with a copyright release. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this method, it's exactly what I did. So obviously you know it is against the law to download music without paying a fee for it and even then there are rules and laws that protect that file. The same goes for images.
The Federal Copyright Law, gives the creator (photographer) the exclusive rights to the image.
The Copyright Act was put into place in 1976, Under section 102 of the Act, copyright protection extends to "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."  In short the photographer has final say over the image(s).

I'm sure you want to know what the difference is? With what I've provided above I am sure you understand Copyright Release, so here is what print release will entitle you to: A print release allows you to print the images from any printer you choose. It does not allow you to use the image for commercial use, it does not allow you to edit or alter the images in any way.

With the economy the way it is, and people want to save money, I understand why you would 'only' want the print release, however these are my reasons for no longer including them in my sessions.

1. My main reason for not just giving clients a CD with printing rights is that as soon as they got the disk, I would loose the ability to control the quality! My name and business is based on the quality of my work. Honestly I've seen what happens to images when they are printed professionally. (Stay tuned, in the next couple of weeks I'll do a comparison for you, until then look at this: Why Should I Order Professional Photo Prints?)
2. This is my business, my job, my source of income. With that being said as the owner, I have to pay taxes, insurance, and I'm always updating my equipment and buying to props to keep up with everyone else and client requests. If I gave all my clients a disk and print release without any requirements of professional prints, they'd expected to pay at least 1/3 of the price. Honestly if I did that much I would be out of business.

I'm sure if you've look at our collections, you've noticed that in some of them, we do include a disk with print release, typically this is with mini sessions, or with our Brides who already have an album as a standard. We suggest using your printable disk for printing portraits for friends and family. Disk are a great way to keep your portraits in a safe in case of natural disasters, fire and so on. We also are happy to recommend a wonderful printing lab.

I really hope that this will help you to understand why we've changed our business and why I want MORE from my business. I want to be able to provide quality photographs for everyone, but I also want you to do more that put your disk in that desk drawer! Your portraits deserve a place in your home. Changing my business model in all reality is best for both of us.

Joyfully, Bobbi

Website and Blog

Hi, please be patient with us! Most of our website will be down until, May 20, 2013.
I will do my best to have it up and running before then. Our blog is only partially up and running. However I plan to have it completely ready in the next two-three days.

In the event that you need to reach AJHP please email: bobbiearp@ajoyfulhandphotography.net or call 704.495.9343 (if you prefer you can text me)

Thank you,
Bobbi

Image Contest

In preparation for celebrating our second birthday, I want to do a series of give-a-ways. However we still have almost 3 months until we can start the celebration. So I've decided to have a contest. Yay!
There will be four(4) categories; Family, Couple, High School Senior and Children.
We will have winner in each category.
What do we need from you?
1. Enter a photo for the category you wish to enter to contest@ajoyfulhandphotography.net
2. Title the subject line with the appropriate category
3. Images must NOT be copyrighted, you MUST have permission to use the image (honestly I prefer non-professional images to be entered)
4. Include your name, subjects name and the easiest way for AJHP to notify you in the event you win!
How will the contest be judged?
1. You will need to go and 'like' A Joyful Hand Photography' on Facebook
2. Once the album is uploaded you will need to share your image with your friends and family! Have them to like to image
Rules:
1. Only 1 image per category can be entered
2. Only image likes will be counted
3. The image in each category with the most likes will be the winner
4. Must live in NC (sorry WV folks, I will do a giveaway for you a this fall)
5. Must have images submitted no later than midnight on May 15, 2013
6. Contest will officially begin on May 20, 2013 and end on June 1, 2013; winners will be announced on Facebook on June 2, 2013 and you will be contacted via email/phone!
What do I win?
Each winner, from each category will win a full session with AJHP
What is included in my package?
1. That depends on the category, each varies
2. Disk with copyright release
3. Print Package
4. 25% off additional prints (only on this session)
5. Lifetime membership to our Photo Club, a $69.99 value, gives you a free mini session (first year only), a complimentary 11x14 with each session, 10% off all sessions, and 20% off all prints, canvases and memory books.
Good Luck,
~Bobbi of A Joyful Hand Photography