Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Card Cleanup

Christmas is over and most of us probably spent more than we wanted to.  In the next few days also comes the daunting task of cleaning up. Let Natural-Beauty Photography reimburse you for a little of that Christmas expense you had. Instead of throwing away all of those Christmas cards you got this year, bring them in to Natural-Beauty Photography.


This year, through January 3rd, we are paying you for your Christmas cards!  We will give you 50 cents per card that you bring tous as a portrait credit towards any portrait session in 2012. Bring in 10 cards, get a $5 credit... bring in 20, get a $10 credit... bring in 100, get a $50 credit - it's that simple!

Have questions?  Find us on Facebook, send us an E-mail or call us at (402) 245-3700.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

New Year's Profile Portrait Party

Why not start out the new year with a new Profile Portrait?  You can use it on any of your online profiles.

Our profile portrait party is the perfect way to upgrade your profile from a standard snapshot to a professional portrait.  For only $10, this could be the most affordable makeover you've ever had!

Come enjoy food, beverages and a quick portrait session.


The details:

WHO: You and your friends
     The first 6 people who contact us and pay the small $10 party fee.  Each of these 6 people can invite up to 3 friends who will be added to our party list with their $10 party fee.  If we are not full (24 people) by December 26th, we will open it up for more people.

WHAT: A party!
     We'll provide food and beverages, background and props, music and possibly some games.  We'll take a few pictures and you pick your favorite - we'll provide it for you to use on your online profiles.

WHEN: December 31st from 3:00p - 5:00p

WHERE: Natural-Beauty Photography's Studio
     in KawreS SuperStore at 1515 Stone St.  Falls City, NE

WHY: Because everyone wants to start out the New Year in a fun way!!

Reserve your spot today!  First 6 to contact us and pay the party fee are in and can invite 3 of their friends to join them ($10 party fee each)!  (402) 245-3700 or contact us on facebook!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

2011 Top Holiday Gift Picks

It’s better to give than to receive. Go on—-make them smile with these fabulous holiday gift ideas.  These are some great ideas I found on the Internet - some are a bit expensive, but it's still a great list overall.....



Baby
From infants to six months and beyond, these ball poppers are sure to be a favorite.

Playskool Poppin' Park Eelefun Busy Ball Popper


Toddler
This is an interactive toy that teaches toddlers colors, counting and different sea animals.

LeapFrog Talk-a-Shoe Talking Octopus


Preschool/Kindergarten
These plates make mealtime extra fun and engaging.

Mr. and Ms. Food Face Plate


Grades 1-3 Girl
You don’t have to pronounce it to make her day, just give her one of these adorable dolls. Most come with a cute little pet/sidekick.

Lalaloopsy Doll


Grades 1-3 Boy
Be prepared to bring a huge smile to his face… and get shot in the head, arm, leg, etc.

Nerf Vortex Vigilon Disc Blaster


Grades 3-6 Girl
Tis’ the season to be dolly! Give your daughter the gift of reading, history and fun with a timeless classic—an American Girl Doll. Choose from 12 different dolls—each with their own book. They range from 1764 to 1974, and the assortment of outfits, books and accessories is virtually endless.

American Girl Website
American Girls on Amazon


Grades 3-6 Boy
It’s all about LEGOs at this age. Give him this Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars or any other movie-inspired set, and he’ll have hours of engaging fun ahead of him.

Legos


Tween Girl
You might not like him, but every tween girl is obsessed with Justin Bieber. Give her one of his CDs, his movie, a poster, tee shirt or even a bottle of his perfume.

Justin Bieber Someday Perfume


Tween Boy
At two feet long and three pounds, the world’s largest gummy worm will provide any tween boy with weeks of amusement and sweet albeit unusual snacking satisfaction.

The World’s Largest Gummy Worms and Gummy Bears


Teen Girl
Victoria’s Secret PINK is every teen girl’s favorite loungewear. Make her smile with a colorful option—the brighter the better!

Victoria’s Secret PINK Signature Crew and Vintage Flair Pant


Teen Boy
These hoodies are stylish and feature built-in headphones, so they can be plugged into a phone or mp3 player for a convenient and machine washable wardrobe essential.

Hoodie Buddie


College Girl
There’s nothing like a warm, luxurious pair of UGG boots to keep your little smartie warm on campus.

UGG Australia Classic Tall


College Boy
Just give him money and don’t ask any questions.


Domesticated Diva
Angelic hostesses everywhere will be in seventh heaven with a beautiful fondu set.

Fondu Set


Man’s Man
There’s nothing better than a bottle of Crown Royal whisky. Add some whisky glasses for an extra touch that he will love!

Villeroy & Boch Highlands Whiskey Tumbler


Athlete/Outdoorsman
A Nike+ Sportswatch GPS is a great gift for any athlete. Powered by Tom Tom, your favorite fitness buff can access plenty of data on up to 50 runs, and chart them on their computer with a built-in USB port.

A Nike+ Sportswatch GPS


Fashionista
A large gold watch like this one by Michael Kors will make any fashionista’s eyes sparkle.

Michael Kors ‘Large Gold Runway’ Watch


Bookworm
You can’t beat a reading tablet like Kindle for those bookworms in your life!

Kindle Touch


Don’t forget a card with a personal message!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Custom Portrait Greeting Cards

Our newest 5x7 folding card design.
Top Left (Front), Bottom (Inside), Top Right (Back)
So, you think custom portrait greeting cards are too expensive? They really aren’t as expensive as you think – plus they’re an awesome keepsake for all of your friends and family.


1) If you go to a store to get an individual greeting card, they usually start at $4 - $5 each and they aren’t customized at all.

2) Our custom portrait folding greeting cards are 4-sided…. That’s usually at least 3 or 4 portraits, sometimes more. Sending 3 or 4 different wallet size portraits to each of your friends and family costs more than our folding 5x7 card.

3) With our cards, we take the time to edit each portrait we put in your card.  You get a custom designed display (card) to show several fully edited portraits all at once. 

4) Think about the price again.... purchase a 5x7 for each of the people you want to send a standard card to. 5x7s start at $6.00 each, 25 are $5.40 each or 50 are $4.80 each. Our 5x7 folding greeting card is only $5.00 each in batches of 25 and cheaper with quantity.  That’s right…. a 5x7 custom greeting card is actually cheaper than a single 5x7 and has more than just one portrait on it.

5) Go ahead…. be like everyone else and just send them that basic, generic Holiday card. They may keep it for a month, but after that – it’s trash. Send them a custom portrait greeting card from Natural-Beauty Photography and they’ll keep your card forever.


Get your custom Christmas Greeting Cards today… Order before November 26th and get your second set of 25 at ½ price.

Sold in sets of 25

- 4x6 Double Sided Postcard - $3.00 each
- 5x7 Double Sided Postcard - $4.50 each
- 4x5 ½ Folding Card - $4.00 each
- 5x7 Folding Card - $5.00 each

Monday, October 24, 2011

Halloween Crafts

Here are some fun ideas for Halloween Crafts that kids can help create...


Milk Carton Haunted Houses
Use any size of carton, from an individual sized lunch carton to a half gallon. Cut out a door and some windows and cover entirely with black construction paper. Add some cute halloween stickers and glitter, maybe some candy corn and pumpkins, and you have an adorable decoration that your kids can help create. For an extra spooky touch, add an LED tealight. Create one house, or an entire village!


Boa Bats
These would make great porch decorations! Add glitter and use different colors of construction paper for a more playful effect.

http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/halloween-crafts/halloween-bat-crafts/boa-bats-669215/


Printable Pumpkin Carving Stencils
Our favorite ones are the goofy faces!

http://www.paperpumpkins.com/


Tie Dye Halloween
Create a fun tee shirt, onesie, pajamas or a trick or treat bag with this adorable craft.

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/pumpkin-shirt-674600/

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Family Portraits at Indian Cave State Park

Autumn is one of the most beautiful times to take family portraits in a scenic area because of all the beautiful color nature offers.  We're going to be at Indian Cave State Park all day on Saturday, October 29th to take your family portraits.

We have several different locations throughout Indian Cave to take pictures that offer different looks for your portraits.  When you contact us, we'll help you decide where you want to take portraits at and set up a time for your session.  We're happy to take anything from your family group only to the family group, smaller groups (the kids, mom & dad, etc.) to individuals of each person.

Contact us today to reserve your session so we can Capture the Natural-Beauty of Your Family.

Address: 1515 Stone St.  Falls City, NE
Phone: 402-245-3700 or 888-652-9737
Email: Photos@Natural-Beauty.com
Facebook: Natural-Beauty Photography

Thursday, October 6, 2011

You never know who someone might become....

Some kids who are adopted often feel they aren't as good or as special as the other kids.  That is so untrue, but that's a whole different story.  Just because someone's adopted doesn't mean anything... they can still have great potential.

Do you know or remember someone who was a delinquent as they were growing up?  You always thought they won't ever amount to anything except being a trouble maker - or they'll be in prison all their life.  Maybe they just haven't found their calling yet.

What about someone who drops out of college?  They can't have any drive or be successful in life, right?  I personally dropped out after 2 years in a 3 year program.  I decided that it really wasn't what I wanted to do the rest of my life and there was no reason to continue on that path.  How about dropping out after just 6 months?  That's really bad - they didn't even give it a chance... they're really a loser, arnen't they!

One more sign of a loser.... someone who gets fired from their job - not layed off, but fired.  Anyone who gets fired from their job can't be an asset to society, can they?

Now let's put all of these together?  Someone who is adopted.... a delinquent through high school.  Drops out of college after only 6 months.....  gets fired from his job after doing it for 9 years.  This guy has to be a total loser!  This guy.....  is Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs touched everybody's lives. Even as photographers, our lives have been influenced greatly by Steve Jobs. The post process editing we do on our computers, whether Apple or not (in my case, not), came about partially because of Steve Jobs.

Steve's innovative thinking and products will always be part of our lives.

Don't judge people too quickly.... they may surprise you!!!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Education... all the time....

This past weekend I went to Grand Island for the Professional Photographers of Nebraska Fall Convention.  It started at 6:00 Saturday night and went through 3:30 Monday afternoon.  Lots of great speakers that I got several great ideas from.  I'm working on implementing some of those ideas... plan on implementing some in the future and learned some more posing techniques.

Monday, there was also an all day webinar that I was able to download with another 11 hours of training.  I haven't had a chance to actually listen to all of those yet, but I have them saved to listen to in the near future.  They happen to mostly be on marketing, but that's kind of a broad term when it comes to photography.  There's almost always at least a couple webinars a week that I am interested in and try to catch - many on posing and new techniques.

Next Monday, I'm going to Kansas City for a 12 hour seminar put on by the Professional Photographers of America.  Then the following Sunday, I'm going to Omaha for an 8 hour class designated specifically to Senior Portraiture from two established senior photographers from Omaha.  Basically, in a 2 1/2 week span, I'll be getting over 35 hours of live training and another 20 hours or so of online training.

After some great traning, it's best to practice, practice, practice.  The first senior girl and first senior guy who contacts me to set up an appointment for senior portraits will get their session fee waived.  We'll set the session up for sometime shortly after the 9th (the day I'm doing 10 hours of Senior education).  Contact me now to get an appointment setup!!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Lots of stuff going on this weekend

There's a lot of community events going on here in Falls City this weekend... Be sure to catch it all.


Saturday:
From 8:00am - noon, there's a free Health Fair sponsored by Community Medical Center at the high school.  I was wanting to be there, but I'm leaving for Grand Island in the morning for an educational trip and won't be back until Monday night.  It should be very educational, helpful and fun!
From 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, Sunmart is having a fund raiser for the Dallas Jones Park / Ball Field Renovation Project.  For only $2.00, get a boneless pork chop sandwich with a bag of chips and a soft drink!!  All proceeds go to the Renovation Project - a Great Price for a nice meal.... for a wonderful cause!

And finally, from 4:30pm to 8:00pm, Terry Campbell, The Good News Band and One Way Out will be having a 'Hoedown at the Park' at Stanton Lake.  They'll be serving Grilled Hamburgers and Hotdogs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans and Chips.  Everyone's welcome and it is FREE - no donations will be taken.  A great night of music and a free meal, can it get any better??


Sunday:
If you're looking for some entertainment, you can watch the Falls City youth playing Flag Football at the Falls City High School football field during the afternoon.

To finish the weekend off, St. Paul's Lurtheran Church at 20th & Towle will be having a Community Benefit Supper serving an old fashioned roast beef dinner Sunday night from 5:00pm - 7:00pm.  It's a freewill donation and all funds benefit the Falls City Area Ministerial Association.


Take the weekend off - have a fun packed weekend with almost all your meals planned out for you and be sure to hit the health fair for an important health checkup.  Hope everyone has a great time and I'll be back Monday night!!!

Autumn is here

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
~Albert Camus

Today is the first day of autumn. Celebrate with your little ones with these adorable crafts and a great, simple treat we tried last night.

Pumpkin Seed Mosaic Art
http://naturenest.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/pumpkin-seed-mosaic-art-a-fall-kids-craft/

Fall Leaf Mobile
Create fall leaf cutouts from construction paper, fine cardboard or felt. Tape the leaves to thin ribbons, string or twine. Attach each string to a small branch and hang it where it can spin freely for all to enjoy!

Peanut Butter Apple Dessert
   Yield: about 20 servings
   Ingredients:
      1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (approx. 24 squares)
      1/2 cup packed brown sugar
      1/2 cup peanut butter
      1/4 cup butter, melted
      1 8 ounce package Cream Cheese, sosftened
      3/4 cup sugar
      1 16 ounce carton whiped topping
      2 21 ounce cans apple pie filling
      3/4 cup confectioners sugar
      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
      1/3 cup peanut butter

   Directions:
      In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter and butter; spoon half into a 3 quart bowl.
      In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth; fold in whipped topping.  Spread half over the crumb mixture in the 3 quart bowl.  Top with one can of apple pie filling.
      Combine the confectioners sugar, cinnamon and remaining peanut butter until crumbly; sprinkle half over pie filling.
      Repeat layers.  Refrigerate until serving.


What are some of your favorite Autumn activities and foods?

Happy Autumn from Natural-Beauty Photography!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Stayin' Cool at the Pool

The heat of summer is upon us and we have another great Mini Photo Session coming up to help you beat the heat!  Stayin' Cool at the Pool.

Although these photos are really cute for the 0 - 5 year age range, we can create great, fun portraits for kids of any age.  These pictures will be taken at the Falls City Aquatic Center.  We're taking appointments for the afternoon of Sunday, July 31st and the afternoon and evening of Tuesday, August 2nd.

We're allowing approximately 30 minutes for each session.  In that 30 minutes, we'll capture at least 10 - 20 memories, caught forever, that you're going to love.  The session fee for our mini-sessions is $10 ($10.70 with tax).  This price does not include entry to the pool - if you don't have a season pass, admissions is $4 for adults, $3 for ages 4-12, and free for ages 0-3.  Young kids will have to have a parent or guardian present.

Be sure to reserve your appointment today before they're all taken.  Stop in our store at 1515 Stone St. in Falls City, call us at (402) 245-3700, E-mail us at Photos@Natural-Beauty.com or join us on Facebook.


PS. We encourage you to stay on Sunday, July 31st for the Aquatic Center's annual Luau. Starting at 6:00, they will be serving a light meal and a ton of fun for a free will donation. We will not be doing any portraits during this time, but we will be taking plenty of candid photos of all the fun!!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Softball Tournaments

Softball is probably one of my favorite sports to take pictures of. I'm not sure I like standing in the hot sun for 12 hours at a time, but other than that... it's great. I don't have to use flash, it's not too cold, I've gotten to know and be friends with many of the umpires, and I get to meet a lot of fun athletes while I'm standing in front of their dugouts.

In the last 6 weekends, there's only been one weekend that I haven't been to a softball tournament. Unfortunately, 2 of those weekends I could only attend 1 of the 2 days because of other commitments - but 1 of those 2 weekends that I only had one day... I made it to two different tournaments.

I made it to 4 league tournaments, districts and a state tournament this year. Overall, I took close to 20,000 pictures. That does not include Falls City's Summer Recreation Baseball & Softball which I have been taking the past week and will be taking next week as well.

I wanted to put a special thank you out to the Palmyra 18 & Under Softball Team. While I was taking pictures from in front of their dugout during their league tournament, one of the parents of their players brought a bottle of water over for me. Before the following game, which they were also playing in, the coaches told me that I was welcome to the water in their cooler. I try to drink a lot of water while I'm at all of these tournaments, but I was impressed by the thoughtfulness of the Palmyra team.

There are also many of the athletes that I had a good time talking with and joking around with... including the Nebraska City 12 & Unders from their league tournament, the DC West Falcons 12 & Unders from Valley at their state tournament and many others.

Thank you to everyone who made another enjoyable softball season of taking pictures. I didn't get hit once by the ball.... a few close calls, but no actual conact. :) I hope everyone likes the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Omaha Studio Tour

Yesterday, as part of the Professional Photographers of Nebraska, I got the opportunity to go around to 4 different studios in Omaha. It was a very interesting day, getting to see how some others in the "big city" have their studios setup and how they run them.

As I get the time and money, I have several new ideas that I'm going to implement to make my studio run a bit more smoothly. One of my favorite features was their track rail systems to hang all the backgrounds on and then you can just slide them around to whichever and wherever you want them. That would be a lot easier than having to unfold them and clamp them up like I'm doing now... but the track is more than just a couple bucks. :)

I also got some cool ideas for new backgrounds.... coming soon. :)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Denim & Diamonds

Just got back from the Denim & Diamonds Dance at the Elk's Club, where Borderline Country played. It was a load of fun and I got a lot of great pictures, both of the the people and of the band. Everyone seemed to be having fun. I can't post any of the pictures in the blog because it wouldn't be "fair".

Shortly, we'll be posting several of the pictures on our Natural-Beauty Facebook Page for a contest. The picture with the most likes between when we post them and May 25th will win a free 8x10. Check in the next day or two to see the contestants!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Oklahoma - by FCHS

I'm trying to get my blog back up and going... so here goes my first post in many months.

Thank you to Mrs. Sutton for calling me this week and inviting me to their dress rehersal of the play "Oklahoma". They will be performing for everyone to come see this Saturday at 7:00 and again Sunday at 3:00 at the Falls City High School Auditorium. I love live theatre, and would recommend anyone go watch it if you possibly can.

Although I took over 500 pictures of the dress rehersal tonight, I will only be posting a cast photo and possibly 1 or 2 other promotional pictures on our candids facebook page tomorrow for everyone to see. I don't want to give it all away, so the rest of the pictures won't be posted on my site until after the final performance.

Thank you again to Mrs. Sutton for inviting me and I recommend anyone who enjoys live theatre at all not to forget about this great opportunity for a couple hours of entertainment this weekend.