one from july i apparently never shared.

the blog needed a pick me up.

i've been very sick for months and barely able to take care of my family, so photo work has been nonexistent lately. i did manage these two though, and figured i'd give the blog a little pick me up.

Transition.

i've been MIA for a while. and no.. not the singer or the mama. i spent most of this summer in transition.. between cameras and learning some new things. but i'll be back soon and i'll be doing some fall promotions!  

heck-of-a come back | colette blair - san diego photographer

so as i stated in a previous post, i've been without camera. it's been a rough week.. haha. i sold my d60 without really knowing for sure what i'd be replacing it with. my plans were for a d90.. at least that's what my budget told me. however, God had bigger and better plans for me. i am now the proud owner of a nikon d300. i was hopping around on craigslist and found an incredible deal on a MINT d300. i mean this thing looks and acts brand new. box, manuals, battery, charger, strap, cf card and an extra book came with it. it was such an amazing find. he was a super nice guy and he'd just upgraded his set up and so he was pricing it to sell. i lucked out. it was out of my budget by about $200, but my wonderful husband didn't make me pass it up. i won't say how much i spent haha.. but lets just say this camera was $1800 brand new. just the body, with no lens. needless to say, it's an outstanding camera. far better than what i had, and what i had planned to get. i'm extremely blessed and excited! i haven't had much time to play with it yet.. but rest assured that after the house is cleaned, laundry is started, grocery shopping is done, and the processing of my recent sessions is finished.. this weekend will be filled with everything d300. i plan to settle in and read the manual cover to cover. i will master this beast of a camera! and a beast it is! take a look at the size difference between the d60 and d300. and here's a picture of mine, via my phone.

on a side note.. i don't know when my next purchase will be able to happen (camera gear wise) but i know it will more than likely be a tamron 17-50 f/2.8  lens. it'll run me about $450. click here. it's an excellent lens for the price tag. well, it's great lens either way. i wish i could afford the far superior in quality AND price nikon 17-55 f/2.8.. but that's not gonna happen. it's roughly a $1500 lens. click here. well worth the money.. it would do wonders for my work, considering i had to sell all of my gear with the exception of my 35mm f/1.8 to afford a new camera. 35mm isn't a lot to work with.. but it could be worse. either lens will be an excellent addition to my set up when our budget allows for it. maybe i'll sell enough in prints and cd's one of these days to afford one! =]

McGuire sneak peek | colette blair - san diego photographer

this little guy was such a delight, and absolute adorable! i could take pictures of him all day long. he was in a happy easy going mood for nearly the entire session! the mcguires are such a lovely little family! i had fun! thank you m family for allowing me to meet your little guy and help you capture him at such a sweet age. enjoy your sneak peek, and i hope we can do it again!

farewell | colette blair - san diego photographer

i am between cameras for the first time in my life (7 whole days!) since i got my first camera for my 16th birthday. i fell in love with photography years ago, but it wasn't until my son was born that i really got into the technical aspect of it. i've had 4 cameras total since my first, and the most recent was my first DSLR. i fell in love with it when i got it, and learned so much while i had it. i did my first paid shoot with it, and documented almost two years of my son's life with it. so needless to say, it was bitter sweet to see it go. but, in order to get a new camera.. i had to sell it. so i packed it up, posted it on craigslist, and sold it. it went to a very nice lady who didn't seem to know much about cameras or photography. if learning about them is her goal.. she made the right choice in cameras. it is the perfect camera to learn on. so jolene.. wherever you are out there.. i hope this camera gives you as much as it gave me. and to you, my nikon d60.. it's been real.

my new camera will be arriving this friday! but for now, it's back to work. i'm still processing two shoots from last week, still working on my new site, and now i'm redesigning my business card! busy busy! 

these are the last two shots taken with my d60, just before it was picked up friday night. nothing spectacular.. just my favorite little guy rockin' out in the kitchen in his star wars tee. i don't usually do selective color edits because personally, i think they're tacky.. but it was the only part i liked about the color version, so i kept it.

*not going full frame yet. still too poor for that. =[

roblee sneak peek | colette blair - san diego photographer

had a session yesterday with two beautiful little boys! "ryan the baby" and his big brother dane!

  

san luis obispo and good friends | colette blair - san diego photographer

some photos from my trip to slo. a mixture of camera and phone taken.

quiet time | colette blair - san diego photographer

free sessions | colette blair - san diego photographer

i've been working on a new flash site. i'm really excited about it. i'm also excited to announce that in honor of my new site, i'm offering free sessions!

starting june third, i will be offering free sessions for the full month of june! i'm looking for clients of any age. newborns, babies, toddlers, children, teens, graduating seniors, couples, maternity, and families. this offer is only valid for portrait sessions, and does not include events such as weddings.

the goods:

a free session at a location of your choice lasting up to two hours. (a $75 value) (maximum of 5 people)
a cd with all the processed images from your session (15-25 images) at mid resolution designed for web/computer use or small prints up to 5x7. (a $150 value) (these images are NOT sized for large prints. large prints are available for purchasing at regular price.)

no purchase is necessary for this offer. print purchases and high resolution session cd's are available at regular price. pricing for those items is located here.

if you are interested in booking a session, please visit to my contact page and fill out a form! be sure to include your name, phone number and/or email, what type of session you're looking to book, and when you're looking to book it.


clients must still sign a release form for images to be used in promotion of colette blair photography. release can be found in pdf form here.


there are only 12 spots available for this free session offer..  and they will fill up quickly! so please please please share this offer with your friends and family, and book soon!


turn over:

please allow up to two weeks before your finished images are ready. when your images are ready, you will be able to view them online via web gallery and your cd will be available for pick up. you will also be able to order prints at this time if you are interested. web galleries will be open for one week from the date that they are issued.




*please note*

*unless listed differently in this post, all regular session details apply to this free session offer.

*once all free spaces are booked, i will have additional spaces available for regular priced sessions. regular priced sessions do not have any discounts or free items at this time.

*sessions will be booked on a first come, first serve basis. e-mails will be responded to in the order that they are received.

*the free sessions, including any and all accompanying discount/freebie offers, will expire june 30th.

*i will be out of town until may 26th and cannot guarantee that your emails will be read or responded to until after that date.

a bit of sun | colette blair - san diego photographer

so i've had this.. lust affair. with the grass hill outside my kitchen window. i always see it when i stand at my sink. the tall grass. the yellow flowers. the way the evening sun hits it. it makes me drool just a little, and i always tell myself to march up there and snap some shots of the little guy in that glowy sunset light, and then never do it. so finally, i did it. it took some effort and a little help from the hubby to get the boy up the hill, but we made it. however, i think dragging c along was a bit of a mistake. he spent the whole time bombing me with handfuls of little sticky burrs. as if chasing around and trying to take photos of an almost-three-year-old "classic photographer's child" (in other words, he fights the camera tooth and nail) wasn't hard enough.





you see? little. sticky. burrs. everywhere.



"classic photographer's child"

a park day | colette blair - san diego photographer

m and his aunt bunny.




m and his mama

happy easter | colette blair - san diego photographer

carr sneak peek two | colette blair - san diego photographer

so little d had his official shoot today. it was a lot of fun. my good friend jen assisted me on this shoot. i hope she works with me again on some other future shoots, but we'll see. she's a big help!

carr sneak peek one | colette blair - san diego photographer

my friend stacie had her second baby boy on friday. he's absolutely beautiful! i was able to go visit him last night with my good friend jen.. or as m calls her.. "bunny". i did a mini shoot with him at the hospital, but i'm really looking forward to doing a full shoot this week when he gets home. congratulations stacie, paul, and big brother j! and thank you for sharing your little bubba. =]

it'll only hurt awhile | colette blair - san diego photographer

go where your happiness takes you | colette blair - san diego photographer

never enough of a moment that lasts | colette blair - san diego photographer

i hope you never stay inside the lines | colette blair - san diego photographer

this set is from last summer. i never got around to finishing the process and posting it until now.

head, shoulders, knees, and toes.

the silver lining | colette blair - san diego photographer

his best john mayer face. yes.