The blog has moved!

I've got two new blogs, so this one is retiring and will no longer be updated. 

For newborns, children, h.s. seniors, families, etc., go here.
For the Sugar Sessions (boudoir photography), go here.

What's for Dinner?

Meatloaf. 

Well, I should clarify -- Meatloaf is actually our newest addition to our home.  He may look familiar as he's this year's model for the HMAS Pet Portrait advertisements.  We found him in a parking lot (around dinner time :) ) one cold, rainy night sitting on the back wheel of a truck.  I just couldn't leave him there as my mind quickly thought of what would probably happen to him if he sat there and that vehicle started moving. 

We waited about a week before we started introducing him to our other cats.  Until then, he hung by my side quite a bit and cried when he wasn't by someone.  Since then, he's doubled in size and adapted well.  One of our cats have accepted this fuzz-ball of energy while our other cat is still pretty irritated with the whole thing.  The dogs of course get over stimulated which can create some interesting moments. 

All in all he's a great kitty and glad he's got a happy ending.  There are many animals at the Shelter that are waiting for their permanent homes too -- go check them out.  I'm sure you'll find one that fits perfectly in your lap, too!

Holiday Pet Portraits

We are all set for our third annual fundraiser for the Heart of Minnesota Animal Shelter!  This year's dates will be November 15th, 16th and the 20th. 

Session fee will be $36.00 for the first pet and any additional pets/people will be $10.00 extra.  All of the money from the session fees are 100% donated back to the Shelter. 

Give us a call at 952-913-7677 or email us to schedule a session time.

W.I.P.

Work In Progress.  That's what my surroundings are.  Similar to road construction.  By the time you finish the project, you've got to start all over again! 

Well, that may be taking things to the extreme, but just wanted to apologize for our little projects going on around here.  Things have to get messy and ugly before it gets better, right?

No Twinkies here

Not to be confused with the delicious snack cake made by Hostess (I have a bad sweet tooth, what can I say), I do have a treat that won't send you to the dentist or the gym.

This is a very exciting program to earn free pictures by inviting friends and family for a day of on-location portraits. Not only does the hostess earn free pictures, her session is FREE! And everyone gets special session and print pricing!

THE SCOOP
• Contact Rain Avenue Photography to plan your party.
• Invite all your friends and family.
• 20 minute sessions are done on-location and are $35.00.
• Covers up to 5 people. Each additional person is $10.00.
• One outfit.
• Minimum of 5 bookings required for a party (not including your own).
• Locations up to 25 miles from Hutchinson are covered. Over that will be $.50/mile.
• Packages start at $96.00 (25% savings!).

AFTER THE SESSION
• 3 weeks after the sessions, guests receive an email with their personal password to view their session.
• Images viewable for 1 week. Orders must be placed during this time.
• All orders will be shipped directly to the guest.

WHAT MAKES A HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS?
• Your session is FREE!
• Earn 10% of the paid print sales to apply to your order.
• Earn an additional $25.00 print credit for each party that’s booked by your friends.
(Credit good for 6 months. Non-transferrable. Not valid for cash.  Not valid with greeting cards)

 NEED LOCATION IDEAS?
• Apple orchard
• Garden
• Family farm
• Wooded area
• Field of tall grass / wildflowers
Still not sure? No worries, we will work with you to find the right setting.


And as an added bonus, if you contact us by July 1st to book a session, you'll get an additional $25.00 print credit!

Contact us at:
info@rainavenuephotography.com
952-913-7677

For those who have driven by and noticed the sign gone, no worries.  I'm still here!  The old one is just being replaced.  Ideally I would have liked to have kept the old one out until the new one was ready, however powers beyond my control (a couple of kindergarten aged kids) took matters into their own hands.  And yes, one of those kids was mine - what else to expect!

I'm hoping to have the new one finished and out by the end of next week.  That is if all goes smoothly and my son stays away from the paint and brushes!

gimme some Sugar!

Introducing

We are now offering boudoir photography! 

Here's your chance to give your groom-to-be the most unforgettable groom's gift.  Or maybe your wedding anniversary is coming up.  Better yet, just do the session for yourself.  No matter what your intention is, your images will be unforgettable!

The Sugar Sessions can be done individually or with your good friends (think girls' night out or bachellorette party) in the studio, at your home, or an elegant hotel. 

Hotel you say?  Absolutely!  What a great opportunity to get your best friends together to kick off an amazing girls' weekend.  Have some amazing photos taken and then after -- go out on the town!  Why not, you're already looking great, right? 

More information will follow on the website and blog.  In the meantime, give us a call or email (info@rainavenuephotography.com) with any questions and to set up your Sugar Session!

Merry Christmas!

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

And as you can see, Santa has been hard at work already.  Don't forget to leave out your cookies and milk.  And in my case, put the dogs in their kennels tonight so they don't eat the cookies first!

What's in 1 day, 9 hrs, 3 min, 28 secs?

Santa Claus! 

If you haven't done this before with your kids, it's pretty cool. Oh heck - you don't need kids to do it!

NORAD (The North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been tracking Santa Claus since the 1950's.  On Christmas Eve, they post Santa's location from wherever he is in the world.

Track Santa here

Here's hoping you've been "nice" and Santa stops at your house.  I'm off to bake some cookies!

A Muppet Rhapsody

Hearing this song reminds me of the movie Wayne's World, but has a whole new take when the Muppets perform. Too funny!

Boudoir Sessions, any takers?

I'm looking for models for boudoir / pin-up style sessions that I plan on offering. These sessions will give me the opportunity to fine-tune lighting and sets.

The photos will be very tastefully done and there will be NO nudity. I'll chat with you on what kind of look you'll be most comfortable with. You don't have to be clad in lingerie. A man's button-down dress shirt can be perfect for such a session and be fun and playful.

If you decide to do a session, your compensation will be the free session and deeply discounted print pricing is offered.

I have only two requirements. First, you absolutely must be at least 18 years old (that's a no-brainer). Second, you will need to sign a model release as these images will be used for advertisement (print, internet, etc.). So you will need to be o.k. with other people seeing the images.

Maybe your interested but not quite sure if you want to do it by yourself? Get your girlfriends together and we can do everyone's individual sessions all at the same time!

Give me a call or email me with questions or if you're interested in setting up a session!

Heart of Minnesota Fundraiser - Holiday Pet Portraits

This is our second year offering pet portraits and donating the session fees to the Heart of Minnesota Animal Shelter. Last year was so much fun and I enjoyed meeting so many new people and pets.

Yesterday started out the first day of sessions and again had a great time. People often think it's a lot of work for me when doing these sessions, but actually it's pretty relaxing for me. Since we're dealing with animals in new surroundings, I actually have the pet's owner be the "pet wrangler" since the pets are obviously going to be more comfortable with their owner handling them. So my job is pretty simple ... I just sit on the floor and wait. : )

There are still a few sessions left for 10/30, 11/01 and 11/02.

The session fee is $36.00 and you receive a 4 x6. Any additional pets or people would be an extra $10.00 per subject.

Call me at 952-913-7677 to schedule a session!

Dan Thaemert benefit

Not long ago I was asked to donate to an upcoming benefit being held for a man who survived a crash when all odds were against him. His story is truly amazing and no doubt a miracle. There’s just no other way to describe it.
You can read more on his website.

The benefit is 10/24 and his family and friends have certainly outdone themselves with the benefit to make it something for all ages to enjoy. Here’s a quick rundown of the event taken from the website:


INVITATION!!! INVITATION!!! INVITATION!!!
Please join Dan and his family for a day of fun, food, and fellowship.
On Saturday, October 24th, friends and family are hosting a benefit to help pay for some of Dan's medical expenses. Please join us at the Mayer Community Center anytime from 3:00 PM - 12:00 AM.
The benefit will start at 3:00 with a BAKE SALE, SILENT AUCTION, MASSAGE THERAPIST, FACE PAINTING AND TATTOOS FOR THE KIDS. A complete pulled pork and turkey DINNER will be served from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm. There will be a visit from two of the MINNESOTA VIKING CHEERLEADERS from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm. What a photo opportunity! At 7:00 pm, the LIVE AUCTION by Carl Radde will begin and we'll end the night with MUSIC BY DJ MR. BIGG from 8:00 pm - 12:00 am.

2010 Rules!

For some of us who have graduated high school just a short time ago (ha ha!!), you'll remember that your graduating year was THE only year - it was the best. Well it's the "changing of the guard" -- now it's the Class of 2010 that rules.

Here's one of my latest 2010 seniors. Here's a sneak peak for you, Kristina!

Did you not hear back from me?

I've recently found out that I may not have been receiving all of my voicemail messages due to some glich - oh great!

If you happened to leave a message and have not heard back -- please give me a call! I'm assured everything has been resolved.

I'm very sorry to anyone who may have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for me to call back!

2010 Senior Girls

Your perfect prom dress that you searched high and low for now is tucked away in your dark closet. Wouldn't it be fun to wear it just one more time? And - how about getting some stunning photos in it, too? (And no cheesy prom poses - I swear!)

And the best part ..... it's FREE!

If you're a 2010 senior girl who would like to model your prom dress for some test sessions I'm working on, contact me at 952-913-7677 or email me at: info@rainavenuephotography.com

As your compensation, you get the session free and a set of 16 wallets to add to your arsenal of wallets to share with your friends for your senior year!

Free Ride to the Children's Museum

Pretty cool -- I just got an email from the Minnesota Children's Museum and Metro Transit is giving free rides to and from the Museum this Saturday and Sunday. Click here to download the coupon.

Time flies when you're having fun!

Seriously -where does time go? Months have slipped since my last update and I could have sworn I just posted a week ago. It is certainly a good thing to be busy and I'm not complaining at all, but if I'm loosing my mind, we all might be in trouble! ; )

This is one of my favorite images from this session and let me tell you, this little guy is a charmer. He's such a sweetheart and I was lucky enough to get a hug...unsolicited I might add - the best kind!

The Start of Summer

It's official. Summer is here.

Crazy you say?

Nope. You see, when your 4 year old comes running in the house on the edge of a near breakdown because he's afraid he's going to miss the ice cream truck, you know that summer is here (or at least getting there).

Today was the first day the ice cream truck made its rounds in our neighborhood. It was a tough decision, but he ended up with the cherry/lime/blue raspberry Bomb Pop. Oh and what pretty colors it makes on a white t-shirt!

(I don't recall this being a corn-cobb flavor)

Be a fan and win a year of portraits!

All because of my friend Christina, I've been sucked into the land of Facebook. I was never one for MySpace or other sites like that so when she said, "oh just join it", I did. I was surprised to find that it wasn't juvenille like I thought it would be - and now I'm hooked. Thanks a lot Christina!

Oh I kid!

So anyway, Rain Avenue Photography and Rain Avenue Photography Seniors have pages of their own. If you have a session with me, I will post some of the images so you can use them for your profile (of course only if you want them posted).

Then that got me to thinking -- it'd be fun to have a little contest amongst my current clients & Facebook fans as well as new people who join as fans.

I am giving away a YEAR OF PORTRAITS to the person who refers the most people to be fans. Who could pass that up?

If you want to get in on the contest, you must sign up as a fan of either:

The Rain Avenue Photography page

or

The Rain Avenue Photography - Seniors page


The pages have the full details of the contest. Good luck!!