Our First Ever Facebook Contest!!!!

Alright everyone, Forever Photographers is now on Facebook!!! YAY!! Which means that now is the perfect time for a contest! Here's all you have to do....

1. Head over to our Facebook page and become a Fan.
2. Leave us a comment on our page telling us why you dig Forever Photographers.
3. Invite all your friends to do the same!

Easy right!? So what will you win?? A free 1 hour portrait session with Melissa Powell of Forever Photographers! Here are the rules:

• Portrait Session must be redeemed by August 30th.
• Portrait Session can only be scheduled on a day we have open.
• The Session must be shot somewhere in Palm Beach or Broward counties.
• Winner will be selected at random out of all participants.
• Contest ends at midnight on 06/30/09. Winner will be announced 07/01/09 right here on the blog!

Good luck everyone!!! :-)

Once Again, PortfolioSitez saves the day!

YAY! My sites back up with NO data loss! the only thing they were not able to recover was my logo. That took me 2 seconds to reupload. All my other content was there! And they even redirected my domains for me. Every time I have a problem with my site (which is mostly self-inflicted), they come through in high fashion! James answered my ticket last night at 2AM! They literally never sleep!

To all my photographer friends out there looking for a high quality website option that is very user friendly for those that are less technically inclined but with far better customer service than the "other guys", I HIGHLY recommend PortfolioSitez! They are so good and their templates look awesome!

So, for all my Clients and future Clients out there, check out my new site! You can view it directly at www.ForeverPhotographers.com or follow the links from above. :-)

Site Down - Oops, My Bad!

Well... Me being the programming genius that I'm not, I tried to move around the files on my server to redirect my new domain names to my new site that I've been working on for 6 months (yes, SIX months, that was not a typo). I have now somehow corrupted the files and now none of my sites work, except for this one.

Don't I normally tell my Clients to leave the specialties (i.e. wedding photography or anything IT/website related) to the experts???? I don't take my own advice too well huh??

So now I'm sitting back and praying that the gods over at PortfolioSitez can once again save my behind without making me do a crap load of work and further delaying the launching of my site which I had just completed tonight.... GULP. Gosh I'm smart!

Lesson number 1: Don't attempt to "do it yourself". Just leave it to the experts. I'll keep you guys posted. Hopefully this won't further delay the new site going live. :-(

I'M BACK!!!!

Its been a long hiatus, but I'm back and better than ever!!! I know many of you have missed me and still been checking up on me. I've always said I have the best Clients (and friends) in the world!! So what's been going on in the past 9 months or so you ask???? Well, the truth is... A LOT!

First things first, let's get personal! as many of you know, the whole reason why I took some time off was due to a health scare. Truth be told, they thought I had brain cancer. Scary, I know. I didn't want to take any contracts until I was back up to 100%. It wouldn't be fair to you guys! Well, I'm still cancer free, and as it turns out, all my symptoms were due to a rare form of migraines. Sounds strange I know, but with a little bit of meds, they got me even back to feeling even more energetic than I felt before (if you can believe that's possible - I didn't get the name photo ninja for nothing!). So on the health side, I've never felt better!

Now for the business end, I didn't want to just come back after a long hiatus without a bang. Well, I'm still the same cooky, wild yet tame photographer taking super awesome photos for my Clients across the country! I'm still dedicated to stellar customer service and kicking images that will make you look like rockstars! That parts all the same. But, as you can see, things have changed around here on my site. The colors have changed, the photos have changed, and heck, I even changed my name! I'm also offering easier booking processes thanks to my friends at ShootQ (more about that later). There's also a full FAQ listed on my site so you can find the answers to the questions you have without having to send an email (although I LOVE when you send me email!) I've also added one more one to my staff. You'll be introduced to him later on through the coming weeks.

Overall, I'm glad to be back. Its like coming home. I've missed you guys! (awe... *tear*) And now for what's in store this week..... I did an AWESOME maternity shoot this past weekend, so look out for that. Photos will be posted soon! :-)

Health Update: Part 3

Part 3? Geez. I never in my life would have thought I'd be posting health updates in my 20's. Such is life I guess. :-)

Everyone's been asking, so I figured I'd just post an update for everyone. My visit with my ENT went pretty good. He told me my allergies are severe (hey, this is FLORIDA! Who doesn't have allergies right?)I am supposed to start on allergy therapy this week which consists of these drops I have to take everyday for... FIVE YEARS! I couldn't believe it was going to be that long when he first told me. Hopefully it will help. He thinks that most of my dizziness is due directly from my allergies.

I have a physical therapy evaluation tomorrow for my ears at the dizziness and balance center at the hospital. They said to wear loose pants that can be rolled up and to have someone bring me because there is a strong possibility that I won't be able to drive afterwards. My mother quickly volunteered. :-) I love her.

Speaking of how much I love my mother (I know mom, I'm breaking your rule of no blogging about you. Hey, at least I don't have photos). Yesterday, I went to my mom's house. I hadn't seen her at all the entire holiday weekend. As soon as I got there she told me, "I have a surprise for you," and quickly left the room. Just as I was really starting to wonder what she was up to, much to my total utter shock and sheer excitement, my mom shows up smiling with an 8 pack of none other than.... COTTON CANDY! OMG! I cannot tell you how excited I was. I am a cotton candy FREAK! It is my secret (ok not so secret for those who know me well) guilty pleasure. It is pure sugar, pure calories, and pure love. I can eat tons of it in one sitting. Everytime I go to Publix, I always treat myself and buy some. I feel this hidden guilty satisfaction as I slowly sneak it into my cart as if the person in front of or behind me might notice my odd infactuation. It's an obsession I know. It just goes to prove, my mother really, really loves me!

On a business note, all emails have gone out. If you were expecting to hear from me, contact me. I've noticed I have not received a few emails from some Clients, specifically from gmail. If all else fails, use my contact form on my website. I always get those. Just be sure to fill out everything. Sometime people forget to add their contact information and then I have no way to contact them back. :-)

Once again, I love you guys! You are my daily strength. Well, besides the cotton candy of course. ha ha!

I took some photos a couple of weeks ago purely for me. We went to the wetlands and I got some great shots of all kinda of birds. If I ever get around to editing them, I will post them.

Health Update: Part 2

Well, I just got back from the neurologist today, and I've got GREAT news. He's gotten back the results to my MRI and they are completely normal! I have NO signs of any type of tumor!! Talk about relief! I can't tell you how worried I have been lately. Everyone's love and support has meant so much to me! There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't have someone calling, emailing, texting, or commenting about how they were praying for me. I have the best clients, friends, and family on earth! You guys really lifted my spirits through all of this.

I am still waiting on some of the test results to come back, but the scariest part is now over. I am meeting with the ENT next Wednesday to go over the results from my Hearing and Dizziness tests, and should be hearing from my primary care physician concerning the blood work soon. My neurologist is putting me into physical therapy; although, I am a little uncertain as to what this means as of right now. I've never heard of anyone going to physical therapy for their ears, so this should be interesting. ;-)

Now to the best part, since everything with my health seems to be mostly under control, I am now ready to start taking on new clients! Give me a few days to sort through my email, but I'll start contacting everyone as soon as possible to schedule meetings. I can't wait to talk to everyone concerning their wedding plans and have been eager to use my new studio for everyone wanting their portraits done as well! Christmas is just around the corner (scary right?), and its about time to start booking your sessions for your Christmas cards.

So overall, great news!! No brain tumor, and back open for business again. Thanks everyone for your love and support. That sounds so trite, but you really, really don't know how much you all mean to me!!

Health Update

Hey all! I just wanted to give you guys an update to what's going on with me. I can't tell you exactly as the doctors still don't know. So far, I have been to a ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat doctor) and a Neurologist as well as my primary care physician. Everyone seems to have different ideas of what may be going on. For the most part though, all the doctors agree that it probably has something to do with my ears. I have an ophthalmologist appointment this afternoon as my dizzy spells often blur my vision. I have a dizziness and hearing test tomorrow, go back to my primary care physician on Wednesday, am having blood work done on Thursday, and have an MRI scheduled for Friday. That's only the schedule for this week. I'm so tired of being poked and prodded (sometimes literally), that I can't stand it. And I've only just begun.

Given that I'm not sure how I will feel from day to day, I am still not taking on any new clients. I am lucky to have a break in my schedule (which I NEVER have had since my almost 3 years in business) and I am using it to rest. Some days I am great with limited dizziness, other days I can't even walk, let alone hop in the car and drive somewhere. Because of this, I will be taking some time off.

This is a very scary time for me right now, so I appreciate all your prayers and support. I think the scariest thing about all of this is not knowing. One minute I think that it must just be an oversensitivity in my ears to balance, and the next minute I'm freaking myself out thinking that there might be something growing in my head. Only time (and testing!) will tell. Again, thank you everyone for your love and support. Please keep the prayers coming my way. I'm sure I will be up and running again in no time.