Hey everyone!  So glad to be on the blog and chatting back with you all.    I hope your mid-week is going well – we’re half way to the weekend!!!    I just wanted to go ahead and let you all in on something that’s going to be changing here at Amanda Blythe Photography. {No worries, a GOOD change}

Though it’s not going to change many things with how the business is operating now, there are still nonetheless going to be some minor changes in my schedule.  As most of you already know {and for those of you still learning more about me as a person} I am a single mom of one beautiful daughter, Abby.  I also have another full time job that I do during the day.  Though I wish photography were my full time job, this is just not a reasonable move for me to make right now.  Aside from work {1st job } and Abby, I am also very involved with my church on the worship team.  So you might say I am quite the little multitasker!  lol….  While in moments past I have prided myself in the fact that I could push so hard and for so long at multitasking my entire life, it is becoming clearer to me as of lately that this is not suitable for my lifestyle as much right now.  The main reason I have noticed this, is because of my little girl.  Abby is 4 years old and is the HUGEST blessing in my life.  Abby’s favorite pastimes are coloring and finger painting {of course the messy stuff}, playing drums {or any musical instrument for that matter} and playing outside on swingsets.    She’s sometimes like my best friend, making me laugh all of the time with her little sayings and quirks.  They are adorable.

As I am sure many {if not most} of you can relate, as a parent, my number one priority besides living a life for God, is my daughter and providing her what she needs throughout her years growing up.  At this point in my life, as grateful as I am for all our extraordinary clients {as I will remain forever grateful} helping me to stay busy, I feel as though I need to pace myself a bit.  I am going to be adjusting my schedule a bit as far as how many hours I will be dedicating to the photography business.  I feel this is what is best right now for Abby’s development and for me as a parent to her.  I do not want to be editing into the wee hours of the night, I instead want to be cuddled up with Abby talking to her about what she did at school and how she should deal with her somewhat complicated classmates {which we did last night}.  I will still be full on operating Amanda Blythe Photography with the help of my wonderful assistant Amy – - – so here are our new operating hours….

Amanda’s Availability:

I will be available for photos sessions or bridal consultations on the following days and times:

Friday Afternoons

Saturday Mornings

Sunday Afternoons

If you are a Bride and are interested in us to capture your special moments, DO NOT WORRY!  We are still available for Wedding Sessions on any weekday or weekend. {Even if it’s a Saturday night}

I unfortunately will not be able to shoot any regular photo sessions or conduct any bridal consultations during the weekday afternoons any longer.  If you absolutely have to schedule a bridal consult during the weekday, you may meet with my assistant Amy and she can tell you everything you will need to know about booking your wedding…  however if you’d like to meet with me personally, we will have to plan on a consult for the weekend when I am available.  As for regular photo sessions, Amy is my second shooter for Amanda Blythe Photography and you may possibly be able to schedule with her when I am unavailable.

** Our (24) hour promise will not be affected by the new shooting schedule.  Because of the wonderful help I receive from my assistant, we are still able to return all client emails and phone calls within (24) hours from when we received them!

As much as I hate that I have to limit my hours to you all, this is just something I have to do… as a parent and for the well being of my daughter.  Hopefully this is just a season for me and I can’t wait until the day when I can announce on the blog that I will be going at it full time!    I have great faith that day will come… and in the meantime, let’s get to booking!  We’re still going strong over here and gearing up for a beautiful Fall and Winter season.  OH!  And don’t forget that if you’re looking to have some family Christmas photos, let’s hurry and get that on the calendar and booked so that you don’t miss out on a spot!  The calendar’s filling up pretty quickly over here. 

I love you all very much and continued thanks from Amy and me both, come your way – - – God is good!

Talk to you again soon…

{and for your viewing pleasure}

Share on Facebook

So I wasn’t lying last night when I said that I had another blog post in the making!  YAY for making headway!  I’ll be hopefully having another {Baby’s First Year} Session up later this week sometime, but in the meantime enjoy these images we captured this past week with the wonderful Crisp Family.  All three of them… Mom, Dad and daughter Mya who is nearly 8 months old now were such sweet and wonderful people.  I love seeing the three of them together… when Mom and Dad would dance, Mya would dance…. when Mom and Dad would laugh, Mya would laugh. 

Thank you Crisp Family for your time this past weekend… I hope that you are fully excited about these images and I hope they prove to be cherished for a lifetime….

Until the next post…

Share on Facebook

Hey everyone!  I guess I’m over here making it a late Friday evening here at the computer…. but I’m definately happy to do it.    I just finished editing a beautiful {Loving Family} session with Casie {the Mom} and Olivia {the daughter}.  Olivia is about to turn 2 years old and Casie thought it would be a great idea to document a visual memory of her second birthday.  After all, these years do go by so quickly. 

I shot with Casie and Olivia last year around Olivia’s 1st birthay and am honored to be able to do it again.  Olivia is such a beautiful little girl… who loves exploring!  I’m sure you will see all of this in her photos… but for now, I’ll let the pictures do the talkin’!

Good to talk to you all again… I know it seems like I’m never on this blog, but let me tell ya… I look at it daily!  So, don’t think I’ve dropped off the face of the earth or anything.  ;o)  lol  I love all of you wonderful clients out there!

Until the next blog {which is in the making now}… I’ll talk to you all again soon!

Share on Facebook

Hey everyone, it’s Amy here!! So I am sure you have heard me comment before about just how good Amanda is with children and babies…. well it’s TRUE!!   This past weekend we had several different {Little One’s} Sessions back to back and I had just as much fun capturing photos of Amanda interacting with the children as I did capturing just the children!! I have said this before, but I am saying it again… Amanda has a God given gift!!  She truly can bond and connect with any baby or child she meets… it happens every time!  Amanda is a mother herself, and she is one of the best mommie’s I know  I am constantly hearing the parents say, “Wow! How did you get my child to smile? They never smile for anyone!” …. I am so blessed to work side by side with Amanda, she truly has taught me so much!! If you are considering Amanda for your little one’s photo session, I would say you have come to the right photographer… you will be so impressed by her work, personality and charisma!   If you want to read more about the artists at Amanda Blythe Photography, you can click HERE!  Here are some shots I captured recently of Amanda interacting with her clients  Enjoy!

Love,

Share on Facebook

So this past weekend we had back-to-back Little One’s Sessions and we had a blast!!  Here is a quick teaser of what’s to come very soon…. ENJOY!

Love,

Share on Facebook

…..Fa La La La La, La La La La! ….

Well, sort of!! I was shopping yesterday and noticed that some of the stores have already begun to put out CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!! I was like, “WOW! This year has flew right by!!” I guess working {almost} full time with the business and taking care of an {almost} terrible two year old toddler can make your year go by a little bit faster!

Hmmmm…. So I was thinking…. I think there are two types of people out there… people like ME that will have all their Christmas shopping done, wrapped and put away in a very good hiding spot way before Thanksgiving comes around…. and then people like AMANDA who will most probably wait for the “Black Friday” sales the day after Thanksgiving and have everything wrapped and put under the Christmas tree on Christmas EVE…. (LOL.. both options work, just as long as everything is done before Santa is suppose to arrive!)  Since I am me, and think like I do, I have convinced Amanda to run a….

:: CHRISTMAS INCENCTIVE  ::

For all you early birds out there, I would encourage you to take a look at our appointment book by clicking HERE (November is just about BOOKED) and go ahead and book your Christmas Sessions!!!  If you are booking a {Loving Family} Session with 12 or more family members, we will be giving you a FREE DVD with all usable, printable and edited images selected by the photographer with a Rights and Reproduction Release.  You can take a look at our session prices HERE!  Just remember that {Loving Family} Session photos make a really great Christmas gift!! Please contact Amy at amy@amandablythephotography.com to book your session today and we look forward to capturing your special family moments!

Love,

Share on Facebook

So I  made this video of my daughter Abby last night…. we were just playing around in the house and I have really been wanting to play around with the video feature on my camera…. so here ya go! I hope you enjoy this video…. 

xoxo

A Day In The Life Of Abby – 08.19.10 from Amanda Ratcliff on Vimeo.

Share on Facebook

I am so excited to blog about Mrs. Estelita’s beautiful grandchildren!  Amanda and I knew it was going to be a GREAT session when Mrs. Estelita pulled up to the Arboretum with her car packed with fun props, toys and games for her grandchildren!  Mrs. Estelita is probably the most organized and creative client we have had yet!!  She literally thought of everything… kids favorite toys {CHECK}, art easel {CHECK}, snacks {CHECK}, family pet {CHECK}, picnic blanket {CHECK}, and even matching color coordinating outfits to change into {CHECK}!!  We just LOVED her and everything about this session!  She really took Amanda’s words into consideration  about “Dreaming” about your photo session {Click HERE to view Amanda’s recent “Dream” about your photo session blog}.  She knew what her grandchildren were passionate about and wanted to capture those special moments.  Whether it was Zaire painting a masterpiece, or Lily just being Lily…. she has really inspired us to encourage our clients to bring something along with you that represents you or your family when you come to your photo sessions…. let us incorporate the special things in your life on film. We are honored to be apart of this precious families memories and we hope you enjoy the photos!!

Until next time….

The children were bird watching in this picture!

The doggie was so cute that I just couldn’t help myself from taking some pictures of her =)

Share on Facebook

{Little One’s} Session coming soon on the blog…. Enjoy this sneak peek!!!

:: Lily ::

:: Esias ::

:: Zaire ::

Share on Facebook

Hey guys and gals!  I just want to write a little note letting you all know just how proud of my darling assistant, Amy.  She actually shot this session in it’s entirety… and I couldn’t be more proud.  Amy is a great learner and is doing a wonderful job!  Enjoy these photos of sweet little Cienna….

xoxo

Amanda

{enjoy this blog post from Amy…}

Hey Everyone!  I would like to introduce little Miss Cienna Grace to everyone!! Cienna is a little princess full of personalisty at just 7 weeks old!  This session was very special to me because Cienna’s mother, Heather, has been my best friend for over 10 years now!  Heather and I have always dreamed of having little girls one day and I can’t believe the dream has finally come true!  Congrats Heather and David on your beautiful baby girl and I love you all so much! MUAH!

All My Love,

Share on Facebook