Miranda ~ Class of 2013

Well it's pretty bad when it's October and you are posting your first senior session of the season from WAAAAY back in March. I know, I know! Senior season has been crazy this year and I am lovin every minute of it!
These are the images of Miranda that were loaded to my facebook page, enjoy!!

Leave a little love for my beautiful Alma High School senior rep for the Class of 2013...Miss Miranda!!

 

Featured Senior ~ Ashli ~ AHS {Mid Michigan Senior Photographer}

Next up is Ashli is from Alma High School.

Ashli has a beautiful smile...

And then the serious pose... love!!

till next time

APA CO photo shoot {Mid Michigan Photographer}

Last May I had the pleasure of working with the Company Dancers from Academy of Performing Arts here in Downtown Alma. Part of this years recital theme was West Side Story so we thought it would be fun to do something downtown for that theme. These are just 2 of the company groups (1&2). We had a lot of fun taking over the streets of Downtown Alma!!

Wish I could use the music from WSS for the slide show... but the video is still pretty cool :)
Enjoy!! Remember to turn MAIN BLOG MUSIC OFF before playing video :)



till next time...
Hayley

My Beautiful Child Contest~Dandelions & Daisies {Mid Michigan Children's Photographer}

At the end of 2010 I did a fun Senior Comment Game on facebook and it was a HUGE hit!! Everyone that got involved had lots of fun and turned it into a great contest :) Since it was so much fun, I think it's time for another fun contest, don't ya think :) Since the seniors have had their fun, it's time for the parents to have a little fun and show off their beautiful children :) Right now in Michigan it's cold and winter is in full swing, which leaves everyone hoping for warm weather!! In the next few months Spring will be on it's way and out will pop one of my favorite things....the dandelions :) Yes, I know not everyone loves the dandelions, but I do and children and dandelions just go hand in hand do they not :) So, as I was thinking of a contest name, I kept coming back to the fact that every year I say I am going to do little mini sessions for "Dandelions and Daisies" and then it just gets pushed to the back burner. I have 2 beautiful locations for both of these types of sessions and when you add children to them it makes for some magical photographs :) So to cheer up this cold winter month, and give us something to look foreword to this Spring our Children's Contest is going to be called....My Beautiful Child Contest~Dandelions & Daisies :) And if you win, you can choose to do your session when one of these fields are in their peek bloom OR if these aren't your thing, no worries, I have lots of other locations to choose from!! And the best part is, all you have to do to play is enter your precious little ones photo and start collecting votes :)

*Official Information and Rules are Below :)

{To enter the contest}
Email an image that YOU have taken (no professional images please) of your kid(s) to hayleyjhamlin@hotmail.com and I will post it to the Contest Album OR if facebook will let you, you can upload the photo yourself to the Hayley Hamlin Photography Fan Page by finding the Dandelions & Daisies (My Beautiful Child Contest) Album and clicking on "add photo". Please do NOT upload it to the main wall, if it will not let you add it directly to the album, please email it to me. Please include your child's first name(s) only and age(s). *1 image per family please. Also include your location and your name as the parent submitting the photo. *this information will not be published.

Once your image is in the album please tag yourself in the photo and then share the link to Hayley Hamlin Photography facebook page on your personal facebook page. Make sure you ask your friends and family to go to my fan page and vote for your image. They vote by “liking” the image, they can comment as well, but only "likes" count. :) You can get creative and share the link however you want, the more you share... the more chances you have to win!!

Again, please do NOT upload your photo to the main wall or have people leave comments there, those will NOT count. Also, make sure they know they have to “like” Hayley Hamlin Photography first to be able to vote. At the end of the contest the entry with the most "likes" wins!! It's that simple :)

And to make it worth your while to play, a big prize is up for grabs, as well as a runner up prize. And if you followed the senior contest, you'll know I always add in a few fun things along the way, So you won't want to miss out on this contest!!

The Grand Prize Includes....
Full Session Fee ($100.00 value) and a Custom Image Box holding 35-50 proofs from your session ($695.00 value). Total Prize is valued at $795.00

Runner Up
$200.00 Gift Certificate to be used on a 2011 Session. (Must take place before June 15th)

Official Contest Rules & Deadlines- PLEASE READ!!
Contest begins today (Monday January 24th, 2011 and ends Wednesday February 16th at Noon. Winners will be announced the following week.
Contest Revision: So that all entries have 1 full week for voting, ALL entries must be received by Wednesday, February 9th at Noon.
No professional images please. Only one entry per family. Only "likes" on images in the contest album will count. This promotion cannot be combined with any other previous promotions or gift certificates. Contest is open to anyone willing to travel to Alma, Michigan or that lives within a 30 mile radius of Alma. Not valid for sessions that are currently booked with Hayley Hamlin Photography for 2011. You must enter a photo close to the current age of your child. If you should win, the session is for the child you entered, no one else. Contest is not intended for professional photographers. There must be at least 15 entries for anyone to win and the winning photograph must have at least 25 votes (likes). Winner must sign and abide by Hayley Hamlin Photography's Client Contract/Policies Forms. Winners Sessions must be booked and completed by June 15th 2011.

So, what are you waiting for!! Head on over to Hayley Hamlin Photography Fan Page and enter your child now!! :)

In a Heartbeat Collection & Newborn Special {Mid Michigan Newborn Photographer}

Last year I think the question I was asked the most was if I had a babies first year package. So it was at the top of my to do list for 2011. At the beginning of January I announced that I had added this specialty collection to my 2011 pricing but I wanted to share the details about it and launch a special to go with it. Here are the details about the "In a Heartbeat Collection" {babies first year}


To kick off this Specialty Collection, I am offering a Newborn Special. Do you know someone who is expecting? If you do, simply refer them to Hayley Hamlin Photography in January or February. They do not have to have their baby in these months, but to get the referral points they do need to pre-book their session in these months. Upon your referral's booking (and sitting payment), you will receive a $25.00 print credit per referral to be used towards a session of your own. The person you referred also gets a beautiful mini brag book at the completion of their newborn session. If the person you refer books my newest "In a Heartbeat Collection" you will both get a mini brag book :) Contact me with any questions or for complete details :)


And because we can't have a post without a photo, here is 1 of my very favorite newborn images and oddly enough I never blogged this one when I shared this session. Isn't he precious as can be!!

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Their Words~My Art Thursdays...{Mid Michigan Child Photographer}

"To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest”
~Unknown

Happy New Year~{Mid Michigan Newborn Photographer}

So here we are, the last post of 2010!! I can't believe we are already saying goodbye to another year, it sure went fast, but it was a year of blessings and I am thankful for them all!! So, as we enter a fresh new year I can't think of anything better to post about than a newborn baby :) Ella was one of my last sessions of 2010 and she couldn't be more perfect to share in this New Year's post. But before we get onto the little sneak peek I do want to say another thank you for blessing my life and my business in 2010. 2010 was a wonderful year for Hayley Hamlin Photography and I look forward to what 2011 brings. I have set many goals for the next 2 years of my business and I am excited to see what 2011 has in store for me. Many of you may not know this but 2011 is also a huge milestone for my business as it marks 5 years of being in business. Who would have known that a little over 7 years ago when I was expecting my first child and my husband came home with a little Sony point and shoot for me so I would have something to take pictures with I would end up here? I immediately fell in love with photography and a few years (and cameras~ha ha) later, well....the rest is history. I truly am blessed to do what I love!!
And as for new year's resolutions, well, I am not much about making them, but I do know one thing about the next year I will be much better at and that is blogging!! I promise :) I think I only blogged about a quarter of the sessions I did in 2010 but I will continue to feature those sessions through the winter months to try to catch up. Again, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for letting me capture your heart and soul moments!! I wish you all a very Happy New Year and I look forward to making new memories in 2011 and continuing in the memories of the many clients I've met since beginning this journey. God Bless!!

And now, the beautiful and sweet, Miss Ella :)

In this first photo Ella is wearing a beautiful Tutu and headband from Stone Soup Gifts & Home Accessories, located in Downtown Mt. Pleasant.

Love it when they smile, even better when you are lucky enough to catch it :)


This antique scale was a find at "Treasures" located in Downtown Alma :)

Till next time....

Their Words~My Art Thursdays...{Mid Michigan Senior Photographer}

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time"
~ Thomas Merton

Featured Senior~Logan~Mt. Pleasant High School

The "B" Family {Mid Michigan Family Photographer}

This past August, the "B" family came from Bay City, Michigan to have me photograph their family here in Alma. I showed you a few pictures of their little guy by himself right after their session, but have not shared any of their family photos yet. I absolutely loved their session, so many beautiful memories were made. There little guy was such a dream to photograph and their family photos are full of love and laughter. I walked away from that session feeling inspired and refreshed. Thank you for letting me be apart of your families memories :)
They ended up ordering a lot of large wall portraits for their home in black and white, so I am going to post a series of black and whites for this post. Even though, I promise, I did do color images too...lol :)




These image melt my heart!! What I would give to have images of my family like this!!

The look of wonder and excitement on his face, I just adore in this one. I just love photographing children, they are so honest and refreshing!!

Can you hear the laughter...love this!!

I adore these, there were a few like this, but this was the one they selected for a large print.

And here is the whole series of little man "D" bring his mom a flower, I adored this moment so much had to put it in a storyboard. :)

Next time, I'll share some of the little guy by himself, I love those images too!! Such a beautiful session!!

Till next time...

Melissa & Alan ~ Engagement Sneak Peek {Mid Michigan Wedding Photographer}

I recently met up with Melissa and Alan for their engagement session. They wanted to get in a little fall color for their session and thankfully the color held on and we were able to find lots of leaves to play in :) We started out in Downtown Alma and then hit a few other locations. We had lots of fun just hanging out, they are such a sweet couple and I look forward to photographing their Fall 2011 wedding. They will be getting married in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, which also excites me because Mt. Pleasant is another area I love shooting in :)

These first 2 I absolutely LOVE!! They are definitely my faves ;)

This one is so cute :)

I can't tell you how happy it made me to get to this alleyway after the recent events in our downtown. I am SO thankful this building is still standing!!

Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek :) Thank you for letting me apart of this very special time in your lives!!

Till next time...

Holiday Ordering Deadline!! Mid Michigan Photographer}

This years Holiday ordering deadline is Wednesday November 10th. If you want your pictures by Christmas, you must have your order placed and payed in full by this date, NO exceptions. This is a bit earlier than in years past, however due to my surgery putting things behind about 3 weeks and the high volume of orders coming in all at once this will allow me 6 weeks to process all orders and get them delivered. All orders placed by the deadline will get first priority, so seniors, this means you need to be aware of your yearbook deadline. If you have a winter deadline of December or January you need to meet this Holiday ordering deadline. And as much as I hate making these reminders, because we are approaching many deadlines, please be aware of gallery deadline policies. If you have any questions about your yearbook deadline, please contact me.

Okay, enough serious talk, here's something to make you smile :) One from a recent children's session. Just love this little guy!! I have had the pleasure of photographing him since he was 6 months old. I'll share more from this session later :)


till next time...

Historic Downtown Alma ~ Fire 10-14-10

What a sad day for Downtown Alma. There really are no words to describe the feeling of witnessing everything yesterday. Anyone who was there, can tell you it was just a sick feeling. My heart ached as I watched part of our historic downtown be taken by fire. My continued thoughts and prayers go out to all the business owners who lost their businesses! I had a chance to talk with many of them yesterday and shed tears with some too. Although I do not own a storefront in the downtown, my business home is in Alma, and this downtown has been part of many of my photographs. Our community has been through so much lately, but one thing that always gives me hope, is in the face of hard times, it's a community that always pulls together. A huge thank you to all the Firefighters and Officers who worked on site. Please continue to pray for their safety. According to the Gratiot County Herald there were Fire Departments from Alma, Ithaca, Breckenridge, St. Louis and Mt. Pleasant on site helping. It was amazing to see the teamwork as they all pulled together. It was also such a blessing to see all the area downtown businesses doing everything they could rather bringing, drinks, food, etc. Like I said we may be a small town but we are one that pulls together. God Bless you all!!

I couldn't bring myself to pick up my camera too many times. I don't know, I guess I don't have it in me to take pictures in moments like this. But I did take some photos because this downtown means so much to me and my business and this was my way of "feeling" what was happening. I did share these yesterday on facebook and have had many people ask to share them on their personal facebook pages so I thought I'd put them in a more public place where people could access them or look at them.

Please feel free to pass this link on to anyone or you can access the album link from my facebook page.

till next time...