Evie, Jimmy Guy, &Zoey

I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with, and photographing these three children (one of which has enough energy to light up a big city).  They were awesome!

Photographing children was a pleasant change because their expressions are so much more carefree.  If a kid practices making faces in the mirror, they are probably not practicing having their lips slightly parted/being sexy. They're being goofy and real! And I love it!!

Photos like these make for WONDERFUL Mother's Day presents! So if you want to book a shoot before Mother's Day, just contact me via the CONTACT tab at www.sararenee.com
It'll be fun!

Winner!

Alright, so my Inbox was slammed with Business tips and ideas.
AWESOME stuff. I was amused, impressed, and inspired.  All of the ideas were pretty killer.


After narrowing the contestants down to 2 people, I was faced with the awful task of picking ONE. (Actually, really difficult).  But the task is finished, and I am pleased to announce that the winner is one...

ADRIENNE MCNELLIS from Chattanooga, TN. 

I thought maybe it would be interesting to share her idea(s)?
•for starters, she approved of my idea for a Free Photoshoot Contest
•going to local sporting events and photographing them, then handing out my cards and getting e-mail address for people to get their photos (good for getting my name on people's brains)
•since car events are so big down here (HUGE), Adrienne suggested going out to the shows and mingling with the owners to see if they needed/wanted shots of their car.
•auctioning off a Shadowing session for aspiring photographers (annnnd, this is something I offer and if you are an interested aspiring photographer, just e-mail me!)
•Hosting a gallery showing of selected photos, perhaps even having some of it for sale. And making it, not just a plain old gallery, but complete with food and drinks and making it an awesome and official event (you ALL would have to promise to come).


So! Goodness gracious. THANK YOU ALL TONS FOR YOUR IDEAS.
I am sooo glad and grateful to have received all of them.

I will be implementing some of these ideas soon (and some of the ideas I got were things that I had already, just days before, started working on. It's good to see that my brain was at least on the right track).

Thank you all!

On a completely un-related note, here are photos I took this afternoon of my house/woods behind house:

Pretty much, I love this house. Woods, creek, skylight, jacuzzi bath-tub, hard-wood floors...it's lovely.
&it's great to be back in Tennessee!

About.

A little bit (&maybe even more than you want to know!) about me: Sara Renee

First off, you'll notice in the very first photo that I am holding Fluffy, the blue bunny.  He's still around and in great shape for being twenty two years old.    

Secondly, my family rules. I love family photos. Love them. I could look at anyone's family photos for hours.

The left hand side was last summer when I got the Canon 5d MkII. Excited isn't a big enough word. This camera has actually made my mouth water on numerous occasions.
In the second set, and in the photo on the right...this was the first trip to Pennsylvania that my mom let me pack my own things. And I (honestly) forgot the dress shoes for my Christmas outfit. My mom was sooooo pleased!

Can you tell that my mom used to dress me?  In satin gowns and huge bows!   

One time my mom went out of town for the weekend and my dad let me wear my clothes to bed, and wake up in them and wear them another day. For a six year old tomboy, it was heaven.

I also used to have a huge gap in my teeth and was reeeeeeally into Orlando Magic (Go Shaq!).  And I was consistently covered in fake tattoos.  I took piano lessons for 6 years, and this lady was my first piano teacher. 

 

After piano lessons, I played guitar (specializing in classical guitar) for four years.  Oh, and dcTalk was my favourite band when I was little. I still think they're super talented. 

I also wore skirts, with high striped tube socks, and Chuck Taylors.

 Um, next- I shaved my head my last year in college. I started dying my hair (rotating between being a redhead, bleach blonde, and black) when I was in 7th grade. I had no clue what my natural hair colour was. A fresh start was in order! I mean, that adds up to NINE years that I dyed my hair.  I will never colour my hair again.
And the motourcycle! Number one thing to do on my "Before I Die" list. And I did it! Last year, with my Graphic Design teacher. And I absolutely LOVED it!

Otters are one of my favourite animals. A few summers ago I went to CA and found this huge otter.  I was excited to be held by it. (ha!)
The photo on the right is some sort of creative exploration with a manny head and cigarettes. (I don't smoke. Actually, I think cigarettes are kind of gross. And super unhealthy). It was merely a prop for this photo.

 

Mmmm...in case you didn't know- I use a Macbook Pro and I photograph weddings.

(&I love wearing hats. Beanies, baseball caps, any kind of head gear).

Pipes are relaxing and enjoyable for me (photo by the lovely Shaunae)
This bottom photo is especially funny:
My brother brought me to this all day bbq/cookout/party.  When I say "all day" I mean: we got there at noon and left at 9pm. Of course I brought a book! (I hate parties unless they are 15 minutes long). But all his friends thought I must have been miserable because here I was, reading Sherlock Holmes at this big shindig they're having. Person after person kept sitting down next to me to chat it up....ugh! I wanted to put a sign up saying "Hey, I'm not bored, I actually LIKE to read".
My brother still teases me about reading at parties.

For Halloween this yeae my costume was a moustache. That was it. Best costume ever; I think I will do it every year for the rest of my life.
And I am in the phonebook!

I got this magnifying glass last month and love it. Magnifying glasses are such cool props.
This purple whurple photo on the right is one my friend Max took last year at photo school. (HE IS SO GOOD).
It's karo syrup mixed with blue&red food colouring. He then painted it all over my lips and face with his finger. It was very difficult not to open my mouth/grin for this photo. But it was the most fun I've had modeling all year- which says a lot about Max.

So that's my life in a short photo series.  There's a ton more (my childhood was extremely carefree and full of mystery novels, playing in forests, building forts, exploring foreign territories, and daydreaming).

And now...I do all the same things that I did when I was little, but now I make photographs too!

WIN A FREE PHOTOSHOOT!

Hello!
I am giving away one FREE Photoshoot (good for Portrait, Couple, &Family sessions) this month.  You have one week to message me via the Contact tab on my website and give me one (or more) tip/idea to help me with my business. Whoever has the best & most substantial idea wins a free Photoshoot!

And just to clarify, if you live in Florida and have this killer tip for me, I can not make a trip to FL (but I still want to know your ideas!)
(So) let's say that, unless you are willing to travel to Cleveland/Chattanooga, TN..., you should probably be local. But any and all Business ideas and wanted!

Get brainstorming and get back to me!

New Packaging.

Well now that I'm back and all set-up I re-designed my packaging.

Some people say that brown and black do not match. And I am here to tell you that those people are WRONG. Brown and black absolutely (and clearly) match. People are crazy! My every day outfit is the following: brown boots (either cowboy or equestrian), black leggings, and some sort of t-shirt or hoodie. It's safe to say that I wear this outfit an average of six days a week.

Brown and black just look SO GOOD together. Like, if they were people, they could be best friends. Brown and Black forever. And so, those are my colours.

(And on an earth friendlier note- my packaging is mostly created from recycled goods.)

So to tell you a little about what you get when you schedule a photoshoot with me:
After the (definitely fun &awesome) photoshoot, I take the images to my home office and edit/re-touch them. I then have a custom DVD case and disc made from images from your photoshoot. The case is sooo nice! It has a magnetic clasp and a smooth, matte finish, which is handmade and wrapped in a laminated press print.

Inside the case is a DVD (also printed with an image from your photoshoot) with all your edited images!

Then I package it all up (which you can see in the photos below), delicately slide it into my hand-made gift bag (along with some coupons &a print authorization form) and VIOLA! It's ready for delivery.













Please note that all cards, bags, labels, etc are HAND STAMPED. I do this myself for quality control and because, let's be honest, I love art&crafts time. I had different sized stamps made of my logo, and do it all by hand, order by order.

These kind of things are wicked amounts of fun for me to do, and I am hoping they are as much fun for you to receive.
BingBing!

Dorothea Lauster-Noe.

Ironically enough, I was able to photograph Dorothea while she was vacationing here from Germany. She is the mother and sister of two of my friends and I can confidently say that Dorothea's entire family are some of the kindest and greatest people I know.

I was sooo pleased I had the opportunity to photograph Dorothea! She is (clearly, as you can see for yourself) gorgeous.
And here we go!
































































We had Amelie&Ana with us (Dorothea's nieces), and their SUPER helpful babysitter (thank you Sarah!) and my reflector girl (thank you Jill!) so we were quite the littler entourage, tooling around downtown Cleveland. It ruled! It felt awesome to get back into the swing of Portrait Photography (it had only been about a week or two, but still...).

The thing about me almost moving to Germany is...I DID move to Germany in my brain. So while I was only gone from TN for seven days, I had been living in Germany for at least two weeks in my brain. Ah! What a trip.

Thank you Dorothea for a lovely shoot, for walking all over town in those crazy heels, and for being so cooperative!!!