Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Contest Entry Prizes!

Everyone loves a prize! If you took the time to enter our contest~ you get one! Everyone had great ideas and I appreciate the time you took to share your creativity and lend some inspiration to us all.

All prizes must be claimed by July 2011.
(No cash value). Please drop me a line at jstumpf@frontiernet.net to receive your coupon code to redeem your prize!
Prizes were determined by random drawings~ everyone wins!

1. 50% off Baby Plan~ Kimberly S

2. 16x20 upgrade~ Shannon L
Kelsey W
Stephanie J

3. 25 Complimentary Holiday Cards or Announcements ~ Melinda M
Amber B
Mary I

4. Free Family or Children Session ~ Lisa Q
Laura B


5. Wallet Tin~ Janele U.

6. Back to School Photo Session and 8 wallets ~ Jill W.

Thanks for participating and reading the blog!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Contest Entry | Shannon




Shannon's posting brings us to the end of the contest. I know I had a fabulous time seeing everyone's creativity in how they display the images they cherish most. From large wall portraits, to groupings, word decals, special creation frames, specialized crops and more...I now have a few more to -do's on my list!

I've been doing Shannon's family portraits for several years. She's added to her brood a few times since we started and I love the way she features her family's and children's portraits in her beautiful home. Shannon has a great eye for scale and knowing when a large print is needed to pull out the look she is going for, or when a grouping of 11 x 14's will set off the wall.

I think you'll enjoy the images of her walls.

It seems like I'm in a constant stage of catch up here with senior season upon me, but I will be posting winners sometime this week!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Contest Entry | Melinda





Melinda shares a very unique way that she is displaying her portraits in her home.
After replacing an antique curio in my dining room with this antique buffet, I was in search of something to hang above it as the wall words were already there. Finding this 2' x 4' piece of rusty ceiling tin while out antiquing last fall, I knew it was the perfect fit. We had a family session taken with Alison in October and I then had a friend of ours make the tin into a multi-photo frame. He framed the back with 3/4" pine and rolled the tin around the edges so no wood shows. He then cut in the holes to fit the portraits I had ordered from our session and sprayed the entire piece with an aerosol matte finish sealer to keep any more of the original paint from flaking off. The center photo is 11x14" of our whole family; on the left is an 8X10" of my husband and I; and on the right another 8x10" of our 3 kids. The bottom 4 photos are 5x7" - on the left is my husband with our 2 boys and then he and our daughter next to that. On the right is our daughter and I and next to that our 2 boys and I.


Alison first did our daughter's senior pictures in June 2009. The 12x12" collage on the left is the portrait I decided to hang in our bedroom because I couldn't decide on just one! After our family session in October, adding the photo of the 3 kids completed our bedroom!




Thank you for sharing, Melinda!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Contest Entry | Kelsey




I had the luck of visiting Kelsey's home this spring when I did an extended family session for her family in Iowa. She has a beautiful home with a gorgeous view and her flair for decorating is immediately seen upon entering her home. Her living room features a high wall displaying an array of portraits from various sessions. This is a great way to fill a large tall wall~ and you can build on your gallery arrangement as the years past and you acquire more portraits. Her daughter, Gracie's room is a little girl's delight- and the storyboard of her tiny feet from her 3 month session go perfectly with the decor.

Thank you for sharing your cool spaces, Kelsey!

I believe I have one more entry to post tomorrow from Shannon. If I have missed anyone, please let me know!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Contest Entry | Jill




Jill has three adorable (and photogenic) children and I've had the honor of doing their family and individual portraits for several years now. Jill has a flair for decorating with portraits and if you ever see the walls and decor in her home, you immediately know what is important to her...FAMILY! Jill is one of those 'on top of it' parents that are diligent in making sure each year her children have an updated portrait session and wall portrait image to display from the session.

Her family photo is a 16x20 and takes a prominent spot by her front door- while some of the other prints are grouped to make attractive wall gallery features. Wall lettering is another creative option to make your portraits really stand out.

Thank you for sharing your

Contest Entry | Amber




Amber shared her creativity in the way she decorates using desk sized portraits~ in a unique scrapbook feel wall hanging featuring her and hubby and new baby. As a mother of four (YES FOUR!) boys now, I just think the 'SON UP TIL SON DOWN" sign goes so perfectly with her the images of her boys getting 'framed'.

The wall portrait over the fireplace features all the boys~ which is a perfect display place for a special portrait.

Thanks for sharing these

Monday, August 23, 2010

Contest Entry | Amy


Here is a wall portrait share of my "fabulous five" nieces and nephews. I have a duplicate of this print hanging in my studio as well. It's a large, specialty crop image. I encourage clients to be creative with their spaces and don't be tied into feeling like you have to get a standard size to go on your wall. That's the great thing about custom photography is that the wall portrait sizes can be customized to fit your space, as well as what crop is best for the particular image. I think you'll agree a long and narrow crop lends itself well to this fun image.

I'll continue to post your images you shared with me thru this week and announce the winners following that. Thank you for the fabulous response. I know people have thoroughly enjoyed seeing what you're all doing with your portraits and I know I've gotten some great ideas myself!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Contest Entry | Lisa




Lisa has a beautiful new home and needed some help filling her wall space. I did an in home consult to help her with ideas of products, sizes and wall gallery arrangements that would work for them. Our studio also did the custom framing for the larger images as well. Lisa loved the result and I do too!

The three images of the boys are a special crop- approx 18x24. The crop fit the wall space well hung side by side with the other two images and gave a more contemporary fresh feel to the space.

The assorted size wall gallery is found in the master bedroom and Lisa loves the black and white images. Another wall portrait went into a nook above the toilet in the Master Bath (who says wall portraits don't belong in a bathroom!?)

The bottom image show three 20x20 prints hung side by side in the rec/exercise area. We chose a gorgeous frame with a slightly burnished style to set off the specialty painting technique found on that wall.

It was a joy to work with Tod and Lisa and her handsome boys! The first time I shot Lisa's children several years ago we got talking and we didn't even realize we were related! How funny is that? Her grandpa and my grandpa were brothers! Sounds like something we would have realized, but when Grandpa had 13 siblings you kind of loose track of things!

Awesome images, Lisa! I hope you treasure them for years to come. I know those boys of yours just keep getting bigger and taller every year!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Contest Entry | Laura





I was honored to do Thomas and Julia's first professional portraits. Both of these sweeties have had a long and winding road after being born prematurely, but you'd never know it, as they are two of the happiest children you'll ever meet. It warms my heart to see their images of their smiling faces, and I hope the images hung in their home will be a reminder to their mom and dad how much they all have overcome!

Once in a while someone will say to me that they don't want to do portraits because their little one is changing so fast. That's exactly WHY to do portraits! Everyone's family is in a constant state of change and growth, but someday you'll want to remember who you are as a family NOW, and who your child was and their place in your family at this time of your lives. Isn't that what portraits are all about?

Here is what Laura had to say about her pictures:



My pictures of your pictures do not do them justice! Seriously don’t know how to explain to you what these pictures mean to me. I look back at where we started and can’t believe where they are now. They images are sooooooo beautiful!

These are the ones I have hung up right now - need to get frames for the others yet. The 3 picture display can be seen from our living room. Our bedroom is off of the living room and there is a mini-hallway to the bedroom. The pictures on hung on that wall. The frame in the middle of their pictures has this on it ...

"For a long time, there were only our footprints and laughter in our dreams and even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever."

The other display was hard to take a picture off. The big wall hanging in on the wall in our computer nook and their pictures are part of that. I had to take 2 pictures to get the whole thing.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Contest Entry | Kimberly








Kimberly came to me for her adorable son, Nathan's, newborn portraits as a referral from her sister. Referrals are so important to me as I do next to no advertising and rely on word-of-mouth referrals. When someone trusts me to create their loved ones portraits based on a referral from someone else whom had a great experience, there is no better feeling!

Here is what Kimberly has to say about her wall art:


When we moved into our new home last fall, we had bare walls. What better than to decorate with photos of our son Nathan! His nursery has a sports theme, and the 16x20 poster print looks great as a centerpiece above his changing table flanked by a few pennants of his favorite teams. The 10x20 storyboard of some of his newborn photos is on the wall next to his closet. These photos were taken when Nate was just 8 days old! The photos on the shelf above his crib are each 5x7 photos his newborn, 6 month, and 1 year sessions. I like the different age photos, its great to see how much he has changed and grown over the past year!

The 8x10 photo on our end table in the living is faced toward our front door so its the first photo we see when coming into our home...what a greeting! This photo was taken at Nate's 6 month session, and is my favorite photo of him! The group of photos on the fireplace mantel are from various sessions. These photos were taken at 8 days old, 6 months, and 1 year.
On our dining room wall we have a beautiful canvas wrap from his 1 year session. On the couch table in the dining room is an 8x8 hardback square photo from his newborn session and a photo from his 1 year session. I love the various sizes and different backgrounds Alison used during our sessions. The colors look great in our home! Nate has always had a great time at each of his sessions and Alison has always made him comfortable and at ease. We look forward to our next session!

Contest Entry | Stephanie




Here are two of our wall galleries from Alison. The canvas wraps are all taken of of our children on their 1st birthday. They are hanging in the dining room. I love the look of the canvas. The other photo is of a collage of pictures on the wall of our staircase, which was once just a big empty space. I change them every so often and update with seasonal photos or new photos. I like to mix black and white with colored for more interest.

{I love the 'collage' wall! I've never seen it before, and the idea of switching out the prints seasonally or just for a change is a great idea! I think I may need to implement something like this in my own house! Great idea, Steph!)

Monday, August 16, 2010

Contest Entry | Stevie




Stevie's parents are fitness 'buffs' and they wanted images of their daughter, Stevie to display in their place of business- Body Balance Fitness Center. They wanted something with a fitness flare that would go with the gym "decor". I love the images we created from her newborn and 6 month sessions- and am proud they love them too- well enough to show them off BIG and in style.

A 22x40 and 30x45 fit the wall space perfectly. Who wants to look at Arnold the Governator when you can look at a cute little gym rat like Stevie?

It doesn't hurt that Stevie undeniably a beautiful baby!

Thanks for sharing your images of your wall gallery! It's a great example of using big wall portraits to make a statement.

Contest Entry: Mary's Walls



Mary submitted some great entries for the blog's SHOW OFF YOUR WALLS contest.
Here are some of Mary's images of her walls and how she showecases the images of her children and family in her home:


"Our master bedroom was always missing something. I figured it out when Alison took our photos at Kilen Woods. Our room has a fall theme and when we saw our photos from that photo shoot, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with those photos. The main photo is 32 X 20 and the two outsides are 11 X 14. Every time I go to bed I look up and remember how I am blessed. My bedroom finally feels complete!"
This stairway includes photos of both my children when they were less than 10 days old. I have various sizes from 8 X 10, 10 X 20, 14 X 16 collages and then our main one is 16 X 24. Alison had a great idea to mix in black and white with color photos and it really does add a lot of variety.


"We love this wall. Right when you walk in the door you see this wall and everyone comments on how it truly tells what is important in this home. It use to be a plain wall…now is the focal point of our entire room. "

Thanks, Mary for sharing what you've done! I love that bold brown color on your stairway wall too! I'm looking forward to receiving more entries to share on the blog. Send em in to me this week!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

BLOG CONTEST: Show off your walls!

As a photographer, one of the most satisfying parts of my job is seeing the art I created hanging on client's walls for them to enjoy for years to come. I've been fortunate to make a lot of new friendships through my career and see some of your beautiful walls and decor for myself- and it's so rewarding and FUN to see client's personal style come through in how they decorate with their portraits.

Clients are always looking for new ideas as well! So what better way to have some fun, share your galleries and ideas, and maybe win a prize too!

"PRIZES!?" you say? Yup- Prizes.
25 free 5x7 announcements/holiday cards
Complimentary Family Session Fee
50% off Baby Plan
Size upgrade from 11x14 to 16x20
Free Back to School Session and 8 wallets
Free Metallix Wallet Tin

Send me 1-5 photos of Alison Stumpf Photography displayed in your home and a short sentence/paragraph about the display (including sizes is great, include your experience, comments you've gotten on your wall gallery, etc.

Entries accepted through Sunday August 22nd. Submissions may be used by Alison Stumpf Photography for future promotion/display/marketing.

That's it! Watch the blog for cool ideas and products you may want to use in your own home! (don't you just love getting a sneak peek inside people's homes!?)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sweetheart of a Session




Little Hannah showed up in the perfect attire for her session- a bright fun tutu and a big bow in her hair. The images we captured are just as bright and fun! I couldn't resist using a few new props from my prop closet to add even more color and I love the bright color pop! of her and her sister's images.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Class of 2011 | Senior Boys and Their Moms



Senior session is off to a BANG! So much in fact that I've sorely neglected my blog. It's been a week or two of choosing between editing, eating, feeding my children, shooting, sleeping or blogging and blogging took the fall.

I get to see all kinds of relationships between mom's and their kids during the sessions I shoot, and senior sessions are no different. There are mom's that bring their boys in and fuss over the wrinkles in their clothes, to the mom's that sit back and let the senior make the calls. There are mom's that fret about their son's smile, and mom's that think trekking out in mud to get the shot is a great idea. What kind of mom will you be?

It's almost always mom that accompanies seniors to their session, and this year I've made it a point to capture a shot of mom and son together. After all- there is no one who drives you as crazy as your mom....but appease her and smile for the camera. She did a good job.