Rachel Shoemaker: Sneak Peek

I just got back from an all-day shoot with a really fun girl with a really unique style. Rachel Shoemaker traveled 4 hours — 4 hours! — to do a photo shoot with me today. Rachel graduated from high school with my sister and we’ve kept in touch through the wonderful Facecbook and MySpace, so when I posted something about free photo shoots, I was totally flattered that she wanted to travel all this way to take advantage of it. Add to that the fact that she’d never seen my work. Talk about faith!

We started at about 9 a.m. this morning in Chandler, then worked our way to Evansville and Newburgh. She was up for anything and was totally at ease in front of the camera. She wanted to try some really funky makeup for her photos, so I let her do her thing. She even helped me scout out some unique locations and pose ideas. It was totally fun!

This image was taken behind a church in Newburgh. We were both totally shocked to find that bamboo can grow in southern Indiana, but it sure made for some pretty images. And love that light! Can you believe this image has no Photoshop editing to it at all?

Copyright Nicole Neff Photography

Thanks, Rachel, for a totally fun day. I can’t wait to post ALL of your pictures, because the camera totally loves you!

 

Portrait Bonus!

Because I want my clients to be able to have great prints to hang up on their walls after our sessions, I’ve decided to add in a little bonus to my portrait prices…$100 in ordering credit! That means that you get the 2 hours session time, at least 15 images professionally edited, online proofing and ordering, and $100 in products of your choice. How awesome is that?

This would be especially great for seniors and families to take advantage of before school starts up again. Fill out the contact page of my web site and set up a portrait session right away…this deal may not last forever!

And because it’s rare to find a picture of me since I’m always behind the camera, here’s a little picture that David of Cathy+David Photography took of me at a meeting in Indy this past week. Thanks for capturing me when I’m not making one of my many silly/animated faces, David!

Photo by David of Cathy+David Photography

 

Free Photo Shoots!

That’s right — I’m offering FREE photo shoots! These can be family, senior, engagement, fashion, business, baby, pet, maternity or any other kind of picture you can imagine (well, almost anyway)! That’s a $200 value for absolutely nothing but the pure joy of spending some time with yours truly!

I have some pretty fun shoot sites in mind, but if there is a place near and dear to your heart, you are more than welcome to let me know. Once I’m done with the pictures, I’ll send them off to be edited and then upload them to my proofing section where you can order however many pictures you would like!* You can even give friends and family members the password to your online proofing site so they can order prints, too. Couldn’t be simpler! If interested, leave me a comment and I’ll get in contact with you so we can set up the shoot.

I did a photoshoot this weekend for my cousin Rebecca and had an absolute blast. These were “just because” pictures since her mom never likes the quality of school pictures. Rebecca and I had a great time laughing, and we even had our own Talladega Nights moments. We found ourselves saying several times “I don’t know what to do with my hands” and then bursting into laughter. Rebecca will be a senior this year, and I look forward to doing her senior pictures. She’s a natural! (These images are straight out of the camera…no editing whatsoever)

 

 

*NOTE: I am no longer offering free photo shoots. However, you can check out my web site www.nicoleneffphotography.com for my current portrait session price.

 

Winter Jam

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend a really great concert. Winter Jam, featuring several Christian artists, came to Evansville’s Roberts Stadium. Since I have sort of taken on the youth program at my church, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get our kids out to hear some really great music with a solid message and at a price they could afford. Tickets were only $10 at the door but no one would be turned away if they didn’t have the ability to pay.We were under a winter storm warning with the threat of ice and snow for the evening, so the crowd was not too big. Tyler got to the stadium to wait in line at 5 p.m. so we could be one of the first in and get the best seats. I joined him after work and after I grabbed a quick meal for us from Mickey D’s. To say it was frigid would be an understatement, but Tyler was such a trooper even though he’d been waiting in line much longer than I had. Luckily, the sleet stopped not long after 5, so at least we weren’t soaked AND cold.

They finally let us in at 6 p.m. and I paid my money so I could go in and save all of our seats. Tyler waited at the door to give the kids their money (they had paid ahead since we weren’t sure how the ticket/seat situation would be handled). They were only letting a small number of people on the floor, and I nearly had to fight off several people for the seats I was saving…I had my purse, coat, scarf, camera case, program and several other things strewn across 12 seats. Some people were not happy, to say the least, but our kiddos had some of the best seats in the house! We were only about 15 rows back, so not bad at all.

 

First up was PureNRG. They were three young kids who did more gymnastics than singing. It will be interesting to see if they change their style or just stop performing once they get older. After that was Group1Crew. This trio was a hip hop group, and the female singer was AMAZING! I’ve heard them on XM 32, but they were so much better in person.

Then they had a youth leader reception, so while Tyler and I were at that, Mandisa sang. From what I was told, she was amazing. I was pretty upset that we had to miss it. But at the reception, we got to be up close to the lead singer of Skillet and also Barlow Girl. I think Tyler was a bit starstruck to be that close since Skillet is one of his favorite bands.

NewSong, who I wasn’t too impressed with, played a few songs. They were more praise and worship, which isn’t too energizing for a concert in my opinion. But to each their own.

Skillet’s show was absolutely amazing. They had some amazing pyrotechnics that shot really high in the air and even caught a towel on fire on stage. We could feel the heat at our seats, so I can only imagine how hot it was on stage. Most of all, I was impressed with the band’s stage presence. The lead singer was so energetic. And I loved that his wife sang, played keyboard and guitar, and they also had a new female drummer to replace Tyler’s favorite dummer, Lori. I definitely became a huge fan after this show. I got their CD from Tyler to listen to on Friday and I couldn’t get enough of it!

Steven Curtis Chapman ended the show. He was really great, too, and I can see why my mother in law is a big fan of his. The entire band, which now includes his two sons on guitar and drums, was really solid.

If Winter Jam comes to your area, it’s definitely worth your $10. If you want to read about the concert in more depth, read about it at the Courier & Press.