We are booking our second annual Kids in Snow. Last year was such a success and we are so excited for this year’s set, sessions, and kids!
This year will also have a very special addition… SANTA will be visiting the studio for BOTH Kids in Snow days. Let the happy-clapping and jumping up and down begin!
If you’re interested in booking a mini session for your child, please call the studio ASAP at 907–707-1695.

Can you believe it’s already October?
I. KNOW.
But, nonetheless, here it is and this means holiday planning, shopping, decorating and designing are starting for families all across Alaska!
The Picture Lady’s annual holiday card special is here for the month of October. Sessions will book quickly, so be sure to call the studio and get in on one of our most popular specials of the year!

This post is image intense. I will not apologize for this obvious bias, as this post is about my daughter.
Of course I’ve known I would be shooting Rebekah’s senior pictures. As the years ticked by, and this event got closer and closer to reality, I mused about what we’d do, the location(s) we’d visit, what she’d wear… all the things one thinks about when focusing on their own child’s senior pictures.
I’ve photographed Rebekah so many times through out her 17 years on this earth, shooting her senior pictures was really not much different than any other session I’ve done with her. Well, with the obvious exception of not needing to bribe Bek with treats if she’d just sit still for ONE. MORE. IMAGE. like I did when she was 18 months old.
It wasn’t until I started editing her images that the reality of her impending adulthood started to sink in to my brain. And my overwhelming feeling through out the entire process has been one of pride. I am just so proud of the person growing up before my eyes.
It was my pleasure to shoot this fantastic person.
It has been my honor to raise her.

I am so excited to announce the latest and greatest news here from The Picture Lady:
After almost 7 years in our current location, we are moving to our new property!

The Picture Lady storefront opened more than a decade ago, and it has been a wonderful adventure of trying new things, designing spaces and making the best of what we had to work with. We’ve rented two different retail spaces and through each build-out and move, I’ve made notes as to how I want my ultimate dream studio to look, feel, and present my own style.
And now, here we are, at the brink of making that ultimate studio dream a reality!
The building of the new studio is happening in several mini-steps. The first being the biggest…
Moving to our new location.
We are moving out of our current, rented space, onto property owned by me (yay!) and in a VERY convenient location for everyone.
The Picture Lady will be doing business in a smaller space, while we all get to watch the new building get constructed on the same property.
I am so excited to have you all join me and my staff on our journey through the design, construction, and “bumps” along the way as we complete a studio made up of my dreams and your wishes. It’s going to be the best of everyone’s world!

We will be open for business at the new location on June 1, 2012 (so… really, really soon!)
The new physical and mailing address is:
The Picture Lady
2820 N. Silver Creek Dr.
Palmer, AK, 99645
The new location is super easy to find… we are right across the street from Colony High and Middle schools. With the new Trunk Rd and Bogard Extension projects underway, our new location is, literally, in the heart of Palmer and Wasilla.

If you’d like to keep up with the move, the humor of watching us squeeze my current studio into a smaller and temporary space (just for a while!), the construction of the new building, and some of my design schemes and ideas then feel free to “LIKE” The Picture Lady page on Facebook and follow my Studio Designs & Ideas on Pinterest.

We are in for quite a ride and I’m so happy to have you along.

When I first opened the storefront for The Picture Lady, I did teach classes, and they were a huge success. My goal was to help people better understand their cameras and what they can do with the tools they have for image making. Of course, back then, it was film cameras we worked with and film images we discussed. As time marched on and the digital age became the accepted norm for photography, the film classes died out.
So, finally, after quite a lot of cajoling from many (most? ) of you, I’m going to offer some educational classes on How To Use Your Camera!
The focus of these classes are to help you make the best images possible with the equipment you have in your possession.
These classes are not “How To Become A Professional.” If you’re looking at this opportunity as a way to jump start your photography business, I can promise you these classes won’t be of much help.
But these classes will be awesome for the following:
–When your baby falls asleep next to your puppy and you want to catch an image of it with your camera
–When your children are, finally, playing quietly together in their room and you want to have that moment to remember
–When you’re skiing and you want “good pictures” to remember your winter holiday
–Any vacation trip you ever take
–All of those amazing sunsets we get in the winter time
–When you climb to the top of the Butte in the summer (or winter!)
–All of your children’s sports events

We are offering three different types of classes.
–One for the iPhone. This class is probably going to be my favorite to teach, as the iPhone is the camera of choice for me for 96% of my personal photos
–One for the Digital SLR. This class will be perfect for right after the holidays, as I’ve already fielded 10,534 calls from spouses wanting information on A Good Camera to get their significant other. (Hopefully your spouse is one of the ones who called, right?!)
–One for the Point & Shoot crowd. With the influx of the DSLR’s on the market, I don’t want to forget about my beloved P&S clients. I use our family P&S on many of our vacations and my day hikes. These cameras have limitations, but are so convenient to keep on your person where ever you go.

So that’s it! The classes will be held in January and February. Each class type will have limited openings so it would be best to call ASAP for the class you are interested in taking.
I’m looking forward to the adventure!

Mike and I recently flew down to Chicago to bring home our new baby!
We’ve added a very special little man to our life and I could not be more excited about his presence. Guys, meet Leonidas Demetri, the Great Dane puppy!

We are experienced dog owners, Leo being the fourth puppy we’ve raised together (and the SEVENTH puppy I’ve had in my life). But he is the first giant breed dog either one of us have ever owned. Needless to say, a LOT of research went into the process of deciding whether a Great Dane was the right choice for our family. And it turns out, he was!

We are expecting Leo to grow to be about 180lbs, based on his pedigree. This picture of him with Mike will be an image I plan on taking every few months to demonstrate his quick rate of growth!

Leo’s first studio portraits. He was a trooper!

Leo has already made himself at home in the studio. He visits pretty much every day and loves meeting everyone (especially the kids!). I figured a puppy who spends so much time in the studio needs a camera of his own.

We all agree, Leo’s favorite toy is his stuffed armadillo.

Leo was not a fan of the snow when he first arrived. But after about a week of being home, he’s starting to get comfortable with the white stuff.

Leonidas has been a BLAST to train. I’ve been working with him for nine days and he’s, by far, the best trained puppy I’ve ever experienced. He knows his commands, he sleeps through the night (three nights is all it took for him to get the hang of things), he adores his crate, he uses the bathroom outside on command (this was a MUST in my eyes for a dog his size) and he’s wonderful with people and other pets.
Okay, Mom Brag Time over.
Everyone is welcome to stop in to the studio to meet our new monkey. And if you can’t make it to the studio, just friend me on Facebook and you’ll get to see LOTS of pictures of my little man who is growing, literally, right before our eyes!