SALE! SALE! SALE! Get your canvas while its HOT!

I just love a good sale, don't you? My canvas company, the fabulous Pixal2Canvas, has just announced a sale on their most popular canvas sizes. Now, what kind of photographer would I be if I didn't pass those special saving on to you!?!?

For a limited time only, you can order these super cool canvases at the special discounted prices below. Order soon, because its unlikely that prices will get this low again in the near future!

8x10 - $70
11x14 - $90
16x20 - $160

Also, P2C is giving the option of a Matte finish (normally an upgrade over the Satin finish) for free!

Hurry now an order! All you have to do is send me a quick email to get your order started!

O.M.G.

Wow. Its been forever since my last post! I've really left all my blog stalkers out there hanging! :-(

Its been a crazy couple of weeks. The day after my last post, I was packing up boxes and moving to my new apartment in Deerfield Beach! The best part? My new place has room for a studio! I will be able to set up a full time studio just like I did back in Atlanta. Its been over a year since I've been able to set my studio up due to space. I am THRILLED! :-) I still have a lot to do until the studio space is completely set up, but I am expecting for it to be up and running by the end of this month!

Secondly, I was sick... again. I ended up with full blown strep. I was on doctors orders not to work for two whole days. Despite my 104 fever, I hated laying in bed all day! There's nothing worse than having to stay home and do nothing all day long. I feel like I lose so much productivity! But the rest was well needed, and I am on my way to being 100% better again!

Between the move, the unpacking, and the sickness, I have been to Orlando, Jacksonville, and now Buffalo. I've got photos from all locations along the way and can't wait to share everything with you guys!

I know I still have promised several other posts to you guys! Tonight, I promise, I will post up my favorite photos from the wedding I shot back at the end of April. You guys are going to LOVE them! :-)

Sorry to keep you guys hanging for so long! Its good to be back!

My Clients Friggin Rock!!!

I was out of town this weekend in Orlando (more on that later), and was surprised by the sweetest email from Nackia about her wedding photos. She told me it was OK to share with everyone...

Melissa,

Again, thank you! The pics are awesome. There are soooo many too. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As I said, you exceeded our expectations. You have a true talent. I am happy we are getting it next week. We leave the following week.

I am happy I chose you. We almost did not hire a professional photographer but one of our bible class members encouraged me to do it because we would never have this moment again.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Nackia

I am so touched by her kind words! I am so happy Nackia and Keron made the last minute decision to hire a photographer for their special day. Photography is one of the few things you get to keep from the event. People often don't realize until after the day is over how important it is to have a professional there to capture all the happenings and emotions of the day. I feel so honored that Nackia and Keron chose me to be the one to do just that!

Yeah, as I've said before, I have the best clients in the world!

Quiet as a mouse

For those of you that have tried to call me lately.... You're going to have to email me. I have completely lost my voice. Its quite annoying that my friends and family think its funny when I try to talk.

Sooooo.... I have been ordered by the doctor to "not speak." For those of you out there that know me, this will prove to be a challenging feat. I like to talk (and love to sing even though I'm horrible at it.)

So if you could, send me an email to melissa [at] melissapowellphtoography [dot] com. :-)

For everyone who's left a voicemail, I will call you back as soon as I can talk.... quite literally.

Are YOU on Facebook??

Alrighty, I confess! I am addicted to social networking sites! I mean honestly, how much do they rock? Ok, ok. I know people who absolutely hate them, but I'm not one of them.

Half of my friends live out of state, so its awesome for me to be able to keep up with everyone through Facebook or MySpace when they live 1000 miles away. Plus, my friends can all keep up with me without me having to call each and every one of them. I have a lot of friends. They make fun of me because I'm always like, "This is my best friend so-and-so." People will ask, "I thought you said this person was you're best friend." Well, they are. I am fortunate enough to have a lot of best friends. :-)

The other thing I love about social networking sites is I can keep up with my past clients. I am good friends with about 80% of the past clients I have. Really, I don't consider them to be "just clients." I tell this to new brides all the time. I want to be more than just your photographer. I also want to be your friend. I don't think they believe me at first, but its true. You can ask some of my past brides. It not uncommon for me to get a myspace comment or a facebook message from one of my former brides saying, "Congrats on the new boyfriend." or "I can't believe how big your nieces are getting."

You girls out there know who I'm talking to! ;-) You are my fellow blog stalkers, my friends. I love you guys! OK, this really wasn't supposed to be a gushy post. I wanted to let everyone know about my new Facebook page! I need you guys' help!! If you love me, become my fan! Head on over to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coral-Springs-FL/Melissa-Powell-Photography/17533341998 and add yourself on to my page. I have a lot of plans for this. I'm going to start offering special discounts on the Facebook page that no one else gets, so be sure to sign up and check out the page every-so-often.

That's all for now. The new wedding images are ready to be blogged, just have to sit down and type up the post. If you want a sneak peek, head over to my flickr account to check them out!

BIG changes are almost here!

Soon, VERY soon, you will be able to book your entire event/photography session online. This new system will allow you to have your very own password protected site containing ALL the information concerning your event. You will be able to update your contact information, view price quotes, receive invoices, and view your contract from Melissa Powell Photography all is ONE PLACE! I can't even tell you how excited I am to offer this to my Clients.

I think this is a great service and would like to thank ShootQ for making it possible to provide you with EVEN BETTER customer service than I already am!!

This was one of my goals for 2008 and I am so glad that within a few days, it will soon be a reality!

Have a great night everyone!!

My Clients are Amazing!

I love what I do. I am so lucky to be able to wake up everyday and work with the wonderfully amazing people that I work with everyday. I'm talking about YOU, my clients and friends. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to get an email from you saying that you love your photos, or a call back saying you had a great time at your session.

Jen and Matt just made my day today. When I got up this morning I had this email in my inbox after Jen saw her photos (thanks Jennifer for giving me permission to share!)...

OH MY GOD......YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To say I love them is an
understatement. I am so impressed I can hardly stand it. Even Matt is impressed and he is never impressed about anything. OH MY GOD! I can't wait to show them to everyone. Thank you so very much and I am bummed I didn't do this sooner!!!! You totally made my whole day and that black and white of Abby is absolutely what I was looking for. Damn you're good! This may even make me have to rethink the republican party :) Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

A little background, Jen is most definitely a democrat. You know this about her within 5 minutes of talking to her. Being as conservative as I am, it was very easy for us to playfully tease each other about our vastly different views in politics. So when Jen said she may have to rethink the Republican party, that is a HUGE compliment coming from her. I still will love her, even if she does vote for Hillary in the 08 election (my vote will cancel hers out anyway! ha ha!)

You guys make me happy. Thank you all for all your love and support through emails, phone calls, blog comments, and great conversations when we run into each other at the coffee shop! :)

Alright everyone! I'm out!

We Pardon this Interruption to Say

We are having technical difficulties. :( Not sure how many of you have ever completed a server move, but let me tell you, it sucks! As much as I love my new site, I hate that my email is not functioning at 100%. If any of you have emailed me and not gotten a response, I apologize!!! I always try to email someone back within a 24 hour time span except in extreme emergency situations, so you should always expect a prompt response from me.

If you have not gotten a response from me, please send me an email to powell@melissapowellphotography.com. For whatever reason, I am only getting half of the messages sent to melissa@melissapowellphotography.com. I am hoping to have everything straightened out this weekend.

And now back to your regularly scheduled program...

As most of you know by now, I talk about my only child A LOT. He may be short and hairy, but my Yorkshire Terrier, Ringo Starr, is the love of my life (except to my husband of course! - Sorry honey if you're ready this! I couldn't live without you either!) I was looking through some old files today from my dinosaur computer (you know the kind that are 8 years old, that won't run any current programs, but you keep "just in case") and ran across a "baby" picture of my little one. Now mind you, this is before I EVER became a photographer and was taken with a 3 megapixal camera (which was top of the line back in the day), so please excuse the poor quality.

Puppies are harder to take picture of than kids sometimes. He kept getting closer and closer and closer...

For those of you who are wondering, he has masking tape on his ears. When Yorkies are little their ears flop, so you have to tape them for a day to two to train them to stay up.

You can see how little he is here. He's little now (a enormous 4.5 pounds); its hard to remember how small he was then.

He's definitely my baby.

Also, just wanted to remind everyone that its not too late to comment on Tanna and Lori's portrait session! Help them win a prize! Or maybe two prizes! The more comments they get, the better the reward!

I'm out guys! Have a great night!

The Rockin New Site is Up!!!!!!

I can't even tell you how excited I am to launch this. You can ask all my friends ( and esp. my husband), I haven't been able to shut up about it! A special thanks to the girls at PortfolioSitez.com. If you are a photographer looking for a website, they totally rock! Their customer service is great and their designs are awesome!

Please leave a comment or send me an email and let me know what you think of the new site. Expect a few tweaks here or there the next couple of days while I get everything fully customized. If you notice anything that could improve, drop me a line!

woo hoo!!! 2008 is finally here!!

Ok, I know I'm a day late. That's what happens when your driving all around South Florida trying to find a free internet connection. I can't wait til BellSouth (or AT&T as they are now known as) gets on the ball and adds internet service to my house in February! Who would have thought that some parts of an area this metro would not have the net? This blog title is correct, right? I didn't get the year wrong by mistake?

Anywho, look for some BIG changes in the coming weeks. I mean HUGE! It will change the way you see things around here *hint, hint* As a matter of fact, the whole site is changing, not just the blog. I'd let you have a sneak peek, but instead, I'm going to make you wait it out! I'm so mean. :)

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Look forward to seeing some photos of my Christmas break in the next day or so (I'll get around to editing them as soon as I'm done with all the portrait sessions that have been going on. Don't you guys know this is supposed to be my slow season? You are keeping me busy!) If you get a chance, send me pictures of your holidays!! I'd love to see what all of you were up to!

Merry Christmas!

Here at Melissa Powell Photography, we want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May your Holiday be filled with loving family, caring friends, and great conversation! Here's to a wonderful new year in 2008!!! There are a lot more surprises left in store!!!



Melissa Powell Photography will be closed from Decemeber 22nd until December 26th in observance for Christmas.

Dios Mio!

Goodness! I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I am right in the middle of a move and my new location will not have the net until February 15th! YIKES! So from now until then I will be catchign every wifi spot I can until I get the internet back. I'll keep everyone updated, but am sorry that I won't be able topost as often. :(

Another Happy Client...

OK, normally I posts these on the testimonials page, but since this bride has already sent in an testimonial, I figured I'd post it here.

Jenea just received her package int he mail containing her album and her DVD slide show in the mail today. This is what she had to say...

"MELISSA

I JUST REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. WE JUST GOT OUR ALBUM AND WE ARE AT A LOSS FOR WORDS. TOBY AND I ARE SO EXCITED AND WE CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR SHARING WITH US THE GIFT THAT GOD HAS BLESSED YOU WITH AND YOU ARE TRULY BLESSED. WE LOVE THE ALBUM IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND THE WAY YOU PLACED THE PICTURES....I'M NOT CHANGING ONE THING.

AND I COULD JUST HUG YOU FOR THE DVD. IT'S WORTH EVERY PENNY THAT YOU COULD HAVE CHARGED US. TOBY TOLD ME TO TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE FIRST CLASS ALL THE WAY AND YOU ARE THE BEST. YES MA'AM YOU SHOULD HAVE SENT ME TISSUES BECAUSE I THINK I STARTED CRYING AS SOON AS I SAW THE HEADING TOBY AND JENEA. LOL:) I GUESS MY HUSBAND AND I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW BLESSED WE WERE BY YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AND YOUR WONDERFUL TALENT, BUT WHAT WE WILL DO IS RECOMMEND YOU TO ANYONE WE KNOW THAT'S LOOKING FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER. YOU WERE PROFESSIONAL AND ALSO BLENDED IN AS ONE OF THE FAMILY AND OUR DAY WAS BETTER WITH YOU BEING THERE.

TAKE CARE AND IF YOU'RE EVER IN THE NC AREA LET US KNOW. OUR HEARTS ARE FILLED WITH SO MUCH LOVE FOR YOU...OK I'LL STOP BEFORE I START CRYING AGAIN.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS

TOBY AND JENEA "

Wow... That's all I can say. Wow...

Welcome to the official blog of Melissa Powell Photography!

Welcome! I am jumping on the blogging bandwagon so that I can be better connected with my friends and clients! If you have ever wanted to get inside the head of a photographer, now's you chance. I will warn you it can be a scary place! ;-) Life can definitely be a little insane for a traveling photographer. Let's face it, sometime's life's a little insane for anyone no matter who they are! This is just a collection of my random musings along with a little bit (ok, a lot) of what I love, photography!