(wordy post, but there are pictures at the end!!!)
Hello all!!!
WHAT a week!!! Between wrapping up the rest of our beautiful newborns, attempting to catch up on the crazy amount of editing, teaching our first Digital Scrapbooking class (which, I do believe, was a *huge* hit!!!), and throwing a “girly-girl party” for my five-year-old daughter (think 8 little girls in tutus and princess hair… pictures coming soon!!!) I must say that this Friday night REALLY feels like a Friday night. : )
As August approaches (did I just type that?!?), we’ve begun thinking about what kind of class we’d like to offer in place of next month’s Photoshop Elements class (August 29), as we’ve decided that there’s just WAY too much information packed into the 2.5 hour “Sweetest Shots, Level III”. Allie and I were just remarking last week about how many requests we’ve been getting lately for mentoring and/or workshops; we thought it might be fun to offer something a bit more “official” to those of you who are either photographers or who’ve been hoping to get your feet wet in the world of professional photography since I seem to have less and less time to work with people individually these days…
So… below are the details for our first ever “workshop”… We’re calling it a “Mini Workshop” because it’s a five hour event, but it will be absolutely PACKED with information! If you think you might be interested, I’d be so excited to have you come on out for the evening! If you’re not into photography yourself but you know someone who is, would you help us get the word out by passing this along?
Thank you!!!
and for those of you who couldn’t care less about all that… : )
here are some beautiful babies and kiddos to make you smile! It was a busy but GOOD week!!! : )
 
The little man in the above photo took the one below… I’m TOTALLY hiring him when he turns 16!!! : )
Whew! Those were just a *few* of my favorites!!!
I’m continually blown away by the moments I get to capture… so much love!!! : )
Today I finished up the last of this crazy, wonderful, ADORABLE avalanche of newborns that we had this week…
Meet baby “N”… the cherry on top of an already-delightful sundae!
SUCH a *sweet* baby boy!!! : )
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Ever since we announced our “Sweet Beginnings” site over a year ago, we have been *meticulously* specific about scheduling these wee ones… because babies’ arrivals aren’t always, shall we say, punctual, we decided that the best way to schedule them (at least, from our perspective) was by due date… one due date per week, up to four each month. We then tell new parents to give us a call sometime right after they’re born and we fit them right into their little 6-10 day window. Simple. Often predictable. Perfect. Right?
Weeeeellllll… if you work in the medical field, especially with little ones, you’re probably aware that there’s been a bit of a baby boom these days. I’d classify it as a tidal wave and/or a landslide, actually… in the past week, we’ve had SEVEN separate weeks of scheduled newborns call and come in for sessions! Three? no Four? nuh-uh. Five? Six? nope. SEVEN. I seriously think these babies called each other, and the conversations went something like this:
…………………………………………………………….
*ring, ring*
“Hello?”
“Hi there! How’s it been going? Getting a little tight in that belly?”
“Oh BIG TIME! I’m ready to bust out and see the world… I’ve heard it’s pretty great out there…”
“Well, hold your horses, buddy. You’re booked for your newborn session with Amy Tripple, right?”
“Yeah… I hear she’s a great snuggler!” : )
“Oh, good… I can’t WAIT to snuggle! Well, my mommy booked with her too, and I know of five other babies that have sessions booked… I met ‘em through birth class. We were all chatting and thought it might be fun to all get ourselves born in the same week, instead of appearing on the weeks of our actual due dates.”
“Cool idea! I’ve heard that due dates are overrated…”
“Big time. So… if you can hang in there an extra week or two, and a couple of the others come early, and I go right on time, we could ALL GO TOGETHER to Amy’s sweet studio and do our amazing poses!!!”
“She would be SO EXCITED!!!”
“No doubt! So… it’s a plan! See you in a few weeks!!!”
“Great! See you then!!!”
*click*
…………………………………………………………….
Who could know?
I’m taking a second to share all this with you guys because, if you have had any kind of session in the past week or two… I want you to know that things are absolutely insane a little busy these days at the studio because I’ve been having a fine time snuggling six additional newborn sessions this week (each of which take between 2.5-3.5 hours). I’m working on editing your sessions during each spare second of my time (haven’t been to bed before 1 a.m. this week yet), but I’m definitely a few days behind.
So, your pictures are coming. Soon!!! But maybe not *exactly* on the day you’re expecting them…
How ’bout I trade you…
a few extra days to wait for your pictures in exchange for a round of AMAZINGLY adorable baby shots here on the blog today?
Hee hee. : )
PS… Though my schedule was completely thrown this week, I *loved* spending time snuggling each and every one of these beauties!!!
PSS… This is NOT all of them. Ha! More later. : )
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak…”
This passage, found in the Bible’s book of Ecclesiastes, continues to mean more to me through each new season of my life. I wholeheartedly believe that these words will grow in meaning for any person who finds their life intertwined in the lives of others; as seasons come and go, our relationships are bound to deepen, the roles we play will shift, & our perspectives will inevitably widen. Life often changes so subtly that we find ourselves facing a new season before we even realize that an old one has passed.
My first paid photography session was four years and one month ago. I felt such joy and exhilaration as I made my way home from that first shoot in June of 2007 that my feet barely touched the ground. Someone had just paid me to do something I loved!!! A new, absolutely indescribable season was born that very day… a season of exploring passions and talents I hadn’t even known I’d had, a season of expanding a peanut-sized business into a something that could support itself and the equipment that it required, and a season of budding relationships with hundreds of precious young families.
When we moved to Downers Grove a little over two years ago, we made a shift into another season with our photography business. Jonathan and I took a risk, deciding to take Amy Tripple Photography full-time so that he could follow his dream of starting a church. The responsibilities that came with running a full-time business were a far cry from the role it had played before… within a year, we found that we had to come up with more effective ways of “making ends meet”. The self-employed life brings with it some amazing perks as well as some white-knuckle struggles: high-priced insurance plans, taxes, long hours, and expensive equipment are the inescapable downsides of going out-on-your-own in the world of small business.
Last summer we raised our prices, but my heart couldn’t bear to bring them anywhere close to the numbers that would bridge the gap between what we made and what we needed. Instead, we put our creativity and determination to work, doing everything we could think of to supplement session prices so that finances wouldn’t be a roadblock for the majority of my clients, whom I’d come to love so dearly. I booked 2-3 times more sessions per week than average full-time custom photographers, created and regularly taught three levels of photography classes for parents, opened an online store selling digital products for photographers world-wide (43 countries and counting!!!), photographed and submitted stock photography images for microstock agencies, opened an Etsy store, and mentored photographers nationwide in shooting, running a business, and post-production Photoshop skills.
I rarely share about these things here… my fear is how easily this list could be interpreted as “Just look at what I’ve done!!!”… On the contrary, I share it with you today because I truly want you to hear my heart: I love working with you all so much that it’s always been worth it to me to “try one more thing” before setting my prices at a level that would support the business and our family but exclude many of you for financial reasons. As a small business owner, I’ve worked fifty, sixty, even seventy hour weeks to keep these plates spinning, and Jonathan and I have both agreed that the season of running my business full-time is approaching its end. I love photography today more than I ever have, but I’m finding, more and more, that I ache to be the mommy of my own three babies that I capture you being with yours.
One of the hardest things in life is to hold two things that are close to your heart in the balance. As every mother knows, however, there really isn’t a question when it comes time to choose. I yearn to be a mommy first, a photographer second. I know that this will mean losing some of you because of higher prices and/or a lack of availability, but my work as a photographer will always be, in one way or another, replaceable. To my children, however, my role as their present, available, full-time mommy is not, and this fact weighs more heavily upon my heart as each month passes. I’ve been to the mountaintop of running a successful photography business, and, though the view is truly breathtaking, the dreams that call to me from the deepest places of my heart have much more to do with diapers and play-dough than grand studios and national awards.
As Jonathan seeks to find a part-time job in addition to his work pastoring our church, I will be cutting back my availability significantly and raising my prices to match current, similarly-experienced photographer’s rates. Because I’ve never been much of a saleswoman, I will still be including the digital images with each session. I find it’s easiest and most comfortable for my clients to know how much they’ll be spending from the beginning as opposed to offering a smaller “sitting fee” and more expensive print packages later. We are still working through some of the smaller, less-significant details of our plan (teaching classes, the studio, etc…), but many have been asking to book your sessions for next year and it’s important that you have what you need to make an informed decision.
With the most sincere heart, I want you to know just how grateful I’ve been for how you’ve stuck with me through these past four crazy, ever-changing years. If the upcoming changes mean that we won’t be meeting for photo sessions anymore, please stay connected! If they mean that you come a bit less often (the vast majority of you book between 2 and 4 sessions each year), I’d be head-over-heels-excited to continue working with you, and more honored than ever to capture your growing family. I’ll be continuing to blog and share here, not just about photography sessions but also about this new season of life that we’re embarking upon… full-time motherhood from the perspective of a crazy, creative, strong-hearted girl.
If you’ve already booked a session and paid your deposit for this fall and/or any time in 2012, please know that (of course!!!) we’ll honor the price that was advertised at the time you booked your session. Our new session prices will apply to all sessions booked from today forward, including a handful of fall sessions and all available 2012 sessions. More information will be coming soon on specific dates and session openings… in the meantime, all new pricing is displayed under the information menu on the blog.
Thank you for the support, business, friendship, and trust you’ve always shown. These past few years have been an absolutely amazing ”season under heaven”, and I will be forever grateful for the many ways you’ve let me into the very hearts of your dear families…
You are each so *very* dear to me…
Amy
These girls are charmers. Always have been, always will be.
I look forward to their sessions as much as I look forward to going to the yarn store. (which, if you know me at ALL, really means something!)
Thank you, again, sweet “R” family, for the opportunity to capture your three babies… love!
Quick note on the next picture…
The “R” family has a chair that I absolutely can NOT stop thinking about. It’s this wonderful, white, downy, chaise-style piece of perfection that I’ve daydreamed about since the day I first saw it two years ago. Someday, someday… : )
See? Don’t you agree?
Aren’t they a blast?!?
YAY sweet C, G, & M!!! : )
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by Amy Tripple Photography
show hide 4 comments
Michelle - Oh my goodness!!! Love the photo’s, but love the workshop even more – I am going to try to move heaven and earth to make it down there…it will be tough, but keeping my fingers crossed that I can – or you will have another one in the future!!! So excited either way.
Tonya - Hi Amy-
Thanks for the sneak peek at the photos– so amazing how you can capture the essence of L and E so well, again! I hope these are some you will be passing on because they gave me a really great idea for a collage with a certain beautiful print I recently purchased from a super sweet Etsy store!! I am sure E would love to work with you! Of course, you would have to take Little L too- she could not stand the idea of missing out on all that Ms Amy fun! They adore you! The day after this session we asked little L what she wanted to do all day and she said, “Ms Amy take-a me picture?” You ever need a 2 yr old model- she’s your girl!
Krissy Dziewior - I think the new class is a GREAT idea! However, I was hoping to attend the August Elements class since I have completed your Sweetest Shots Level 1. Will you not be offering this anymore?
Thanks!
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