Monthly Archives: November 2008

Thanksgiving

November 27, 2008 – 6:00 am

Now, it is especailly a time for Thanksgiving. When times get a little tough, is a good time to give thanks… thanks for what we have, for our abundance of love and family and friends. No matter what the world throws at you, with family and friends you can make it through somehow.

Expressions of gratitude always have a way of making things feel a little better. I am grateful for many things this year… for health and friends, for having a business and clients I love and enjoy, a roof over my head and many other blessings.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday full of many blessings!

By Mark Hayes | Posted in Life, The Universe, and Everything | Comments (1)

Loktah Cases

November 26, 2008 – 6:27 am

For a while now I’ve been looking for something different to deliver CD’s and DVD’s in to my clients who order the fully edited versions of the disk and/or get it with an album. I recently came across a new product that is a wonderful match for the MHP studio in style – and will be a perfect compliment to one of my favorite albums, the Couture Himalaya art book.

The Loktah case is a totally green product made from 100% renewable sources and totally natural. Made from organic paper made from plants in the foothills of the Himalayas. Each media case is dipped in bee’s was and wrapped with twine and a coral bead.

Coming in four styles (and a sampler pack) I had to take a peek at these, and they just arrived recently.Loktah CD Cases

The first thing I noticed is how heavy they seem and very sturdy feeling. I couldn’t easily get one to bend – you’d have to exert some extreme force to damage this and the disc inside I would guess.

Since they are totally natural there is also imperfections in the paper – but that’s part of their charm I think.

So in looking at the four options we’ll start with my least favorite.

Pmegranate
Mine showed the most imperfections of the lot of four. Maybe it just got rubbed in shipping funny along the edge. While it’s still beautiful I might hesitate to give this one to a wedding client to go with an album.

[caption id="attachment_479" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Loktah Pomegranate Case"]Loktah Pomegranate Case[/caption]

The rich color would be great however for a bride who might have something similar as one of her wedding colors.

Seagrass

The most worked version of the series.  A gold and green pattern in the paper gives this case a beautiful and elegant feel.  

 

[caption id="attachment_482" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Loktah Seagrass"]Loktah Seagrass[/caption]

 

Rustic
I really like this one – the case is full of texture and tone.
[caption id="attachment_483" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Loktah Rustic"]Loktah Rustic[/caption]

Alabaster
By far my likely favorite for wedding clients.
[caption id="attachment_487" align="alignnone" width="900" caption="Loktah Alabaster"]Loktah Alabaster[/caption]

Pricing on these is middle of the road – $15, more than some cheaper cases I’ve used but less expensive than some of the really fancy ones. At this cost it’s not an issue for wedding clients and even a portrait client paying for a hi-rez disc I might consider this an option for.

Craftsmanship seems top notch. I have little doubt this will still be a sturdy and protective covering for a CD/DVD long after the last CDROM drive has long since burnt out (anybody even have a floppy drive anymore – or do you remember Zip Disks).

So if you’re looking for something with a little different twist, maybe to match those magnificent Couture Art books, give Loktah a look.

loktah.com

By Mark Hayes | Posted in For Photographers | Comments (1)

Sample Albums

November 24, 2008 – 1:53 pm

With moving so my blogs around a few times this last year I think I’ve lost a few posts dealing with my sample album layouts, so to catch up here’s a few from this year. 

Sam & Sara’s wedding at Dunafon Castle sample album spread. In many ways this one is almost too easy with a venue like this.

 

Samantha and Matts album from their Colorado Springs wedding.  I really like this since it’s one of the few church weddings I’ve actually shot this year.   Indoors with available light certainly puts a the gear and lenses (as well as photographer) to the test.  

 

and the Final copy of Mari and Kliffs album – which I have also recently used for a studio sample. This is one of my favorites because it shows beautiful weddings come in all sizes and styles.  A field just outside of Cheyenne – surrounded by friends, family, and gods beautiful countryside (and rainbow).  This is really what it’s all about.

By Mark Hayes | Posted in Colorado Wedding Photography, Wedding Album Gallery | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Retainer Split

November 22, 2008 – 12:17 pm

OK, raise your hands if this last year was tough on you financially.    Yup, I thought so.  Same here.  

With the holidays fast approaching I realize the wedding date retainer of $1000 can be tough and might impact family holiday plans.   Since I resemble Santa Claus a lot more than Mr. Scrooge I wanted to make this exception to my normal retainer policy.  

You date will be locked in with $500 paid towards the retainer and a signed contract.   The remaining $500 will be due in 90 days with the balance of your package due 2 weeks before your wedding as normal.   This assumes of course your wedding is at least 3 months away.  

We can even setup the billing through Pictage and you can pay by debit or credit on these amounts.

This is only an option until the end of the year.  Come January 1st it’s back to normal.

By Mark Hayes | Posted in Colorado Wedding Photography | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Seasons Of Change

November 21, 2008 – 9:59 am

Text Copy of the Fall 2008 Newsletter.   

Changing Seasons

It is truly a season of change upon us.  A changing political landscape.  The changing of the trees.  Summer is behind us and the winter holidays loom on the near horizon. 

It’s also been a time of change with Mark Hayes Photography.  Much of this last year has been spent exploring all the business options, and my different passions in photography.   It’s been a great time to do a little bit of everything, but there are also some decisions that have been made about the focus and direction of the business as well.

What has been good for the business as well as personally rewarding is the renewed focus on wedding photography this year and I expect that to be the primary focus of business for next year.  

That doesn’t mean the portrait work is going away. If anything I hope to expand some of the offerings in this area in 2009 as well, although I anticipate restructuring the focus to more personally crafted sessions as done with the senior sessions.  

Stock work will continue to be a subject to expand in-between major projects.  If anything, with the current economy as companies are tightening budgets, even their advertising budgets, inexpensive stock photography could likely go up in demand.  

And of course I still plan on doing various side projects.  Wether it be for my favorite non profit, the Dumb Friends League, or the Roseina Hester Transplant Fund , fashion projects for local designers, or those creative shoots with friends and family. 

More than anything I guess I’ve learned this last year photography isn’t just how I try and make a living, but in a large way it’s a part of who I’ve become and how I relate to the world around me.  

Mark 

Holiday Gifts & Memories

This is a great time of year for family photos.

When times are tight photos can make great gifts to the family. (and our printing partner offers 2 for 1 prints)

And as families grow older having the kids home from school is a perfect time to capture those photos.  

Personalized holiday cards are another great option.  Even more so if you have a small business – a great way to re-connect with your clients.

Tell Your Friends   

 Referrals are my favorite type of new clients.  It always means a lot when someone I’ve worked with before passes my name along to one of their friends.  We’ve recently printed up some referral cards that offer $50 off any session fee.  If you know anybody who might be interested drop me a note and I’ll mail some out to you. 

By Mark Hayes | Posted in Quarterly Newsletter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

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