Welcome to my new blog!

June 11, 2008

Hi!  My name is Melinda, and I’m a professional photographer here in northwest Arkansas specializing in children’s portraiture.  I absolutely LOVE what I do and can’t believe I get to call this my career!  I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children! (okay, so i’m a little biased ;) )  My husband, Andy, takes care of all our website and blog designing which is really cool because if something goes wrong I can get him on it, no reporting ‘tickets’ for me! :)   Here on my blog is where you can check out recent sessions and keep updated on what’s going on with MJW Photography!

If you are a potential client we can’t wait to meet you!  One of my favorite subjects to photograph are newborns.  If you are planning a newborn session the best age is around the 10 day mark, they curl and sleep the best then.

Photographers love comments, so leave one! :)  Also remember to bookmark this as the new blog because I won’t be returning to the old blog!  Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to check out our website.

Scroll down to see what’s new with MJW Photography

by
mindy
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posted in announcements, children, family, maternity, newborn, specials and travel
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It’s that time of year again!

August 14, 2008

Wow, I can’t believe that summer is coming to a close! My kids start school on monday, and I can hardly believe it. Some of my close friends and I are going away this weekend for a last hurrah of the summer…before all of our lives get busy again. So yesterday I decided I needed to take my kids school pictures. I don’t know about you, but the typical school pictures my children usually bring home don’t exactly make me want to run to the cash machine! While I was taking their pictures I thought about what I could do to help other people get better school portraits? So what i’m going to do from now through the end of September is offer Back To School Sessions. What you will receive is 1/2 off your child’s session fee, and MJW Photography will donate 20% off the proceeds from your session to your child’s school or PTA. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but our schools are FULL, and the area just keeps on growing. We need to help out where we can, don’t you think? :)

I’m going to leave this post up for a bit, so you’ll have to scroll down to view recent sessions.

Til next time…

by
mindy
 | 
posted in announcements, children and specials
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FAMILY MONTH

August 21, 2008

This year MJW Photography is participating in the PPA Charities family month to benefit Operation Smile.  This is an organization that helps children all over the world who suffer from cleft lip palettes and other facial deformities.  For as little as $240 Operation Smile can change a child’s life by giving the gift of a surgery.  In as little as 45 minutes, one cleft lip surgery can change a child’s life forever. It amazes me that for less than a car payment a child can have surgery that will Vastly improve their social life, not to mention the comfort of eating!

Since 1982, more than 115,000 children and young adults have been treated by thousands of volunteers worldwide.  Children who cannot afford surgery and do not receive help from charity donations can suffer a lifetime of ridicule.

During the month of October we will give 10% of the proceeds from your session to Operation Smile, and if you are a returning client your session fee is waived. There will be several ‘extras’ that you may take advantage of with proceeds going to Operation Smile during the month of October as well.  This is truly a worthy case, and it doesn’t take much to really make a difference!

We are booking fall sessions now.  This is the most popular time of year for outdoor family portraits, and with a little more rain it will make the colors Oh so beautiful!  There are several great locations to have sessions at, but don’t forget that sometimes your own place is the perfect spot.  Have you got land, an old barn, maybe a wrap around porch?  Sometimes the best spots you’d never look twice at.  ;)

I know it doesn’t seem like it, but the holidays really are just around the corner and you know what that means….CHRISTMAS CARDS!  (yay!  LOL)

Below are examples of this years cards, and the best part is they are TOTALLY customizable!

These are 5×7 flat cards.  To the left is the front side, and the back is to the right.

Below is a 5×7 horizontal folded card.  To the right side is what the inside flap will look like.

Below are examples of 5×7 flat vertical cards.

This last one is an example of a 5×5 Trifold greeting card.  On the bottom is what it looks like all opened up.  Cool, huh?

Until next time,

MJW

by
mindy
 | 
posted in children, family, infant, maternity, newborn and specials
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Rain rain go away…

August 9, 2008

Even though it was dark and dreary outside, inside we were having fun!  I love using natural window light, and these guys were having a good day.  :)

Thanks mom and dad for being such great troopers this morning, I can’t wait for you to see the bubble bath pics..they look great!  :)

by
mindy
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posted in family and infant
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    April: These turned out great! The picture with Mollie is hilarious:) Can't wait to see the rest.

Attention Lisa M

August 4, 2008

This post is for the nice lady I met at the JZ, I have the pics of your daughter ‘A’, but the email address you gave me doesn’t work!  Please email me if you read this so I can get those to you!  Thanks!

by
mindy
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posted in Uncategorized
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News and more news…

August 4, 2008

When I woke up this morning and turned on the news they just happened to be showing the weather across the US.  I don’t remember what the weather man said, all I could do was look at the huge, red circle that was covering us!  Now, they say it’s ONLY 100 degrees outside, but the index makes it feel more like 110 degrees!  I think if this keeps up my sessions are going to have to start at 6am!  :)  (don’t worry, i can’t get up that early, i’m only joking)

There is a new restaurant in town called Crabbys.  It is a seafood bar and grill located in Rogers.  I haven’t dined there yet, but i’m going to as soon as i can find a sitter!  They have a really nice looking menu, and when you open it all the way up you will see my ad at the bottom, how cool is that?!  If you mention my ad in Crabby’s menu i’ll give you 1/2 off your session fee for the month of August.

Also, coming up in October is family month.  I’ll go into more detail later, but it’s going to be a benefit for Operation Smile.  This is the perfect way to get your family pictures, Christmas cards, and to give to an awesome charity.  I’ll be talking about this in the months to come.

Here is a little sneak at what i’ve been working on, i’ll let you know what it’s for soon!

by
mindy
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posted in Uncategorized
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Updates

July 20, 2008

Ok, so ever since we’ve launched our new website with my ‘o so cool’ logo I’ve been wanting to tweak it here and there. After a lot of hours in front of our computers (my hubby and I) we’ve managed to get just about everything the way we’d like it! About the only thing not finished is our new client link. This is going to be so cool when it’s done…not only will you be able to view your gallery in a much more user friendly way, but we will have downloadable versions for you to fill out questionnaires, contracts, subject release forms…and some other stuff as well! I’d love to hear what you think of the new tweaks, leave a comment and let us know! :)

Also, the new prices are now in effect and updated on the ‘investment’ link. Any clients currently in the ordering process will still be purchasing at the old rates!

This is what I like to call the urban ballerina…

Til next time,
MJW

by
mindy
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posted in Uncategorized and announcements
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And were back!

July 17, 2008

Wow, I always love going to visit family…but it’s good to be home! The kids had fun, and we even got to celebrate my 2 younger one’s birthdays while we were there. I know there are a lot of pictures below, but I just couldn’t narrow it down anymore!

Things are going to be busy around here over the next couple weeks, working on 2 different projects…more on that later.

Here are a few of my beautiful niece…

These two amaze me. They live 2000 miles apart and yet they have been the best of friends since they were babies.

ACK! I can’t believe my little girl is 5…and going to kindergarten! Man, I wish someone would have told me just how early all that girly stuff started…i’m in over my head, ha! :)

Can anyone guess who she is dressed up as??? That’s right, Hannah Montana! (like my house isn’t dramatic enough anyway. haha)

Our baby is one! Time flies when your sleep deprived, ha!

While I was visiting back home I got to catch up with my old friend and his wife! I had so much fun visiting and shooting with her. I even got to take some pics of them together, enjoy a little peek guys!

Til next time,

MJW

by
admin
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posted in Uncategorized, children, family and personal
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Bundles of Joy!

July 4, 2008

I just love it when they are small and scrunchy! :)

These little guys are twins alright, but even at just 4 weeks old you can see how different they are. Little ‘C’ just wanted to sleep right through everything, but big ‘C’ was bright eyed and bushy tailed (as they say)! Enjoy mom and dad…and big brother! :)

Just a reminder that I will be gone on vacation starting saturday and will return the 17th. I will be checking messages, so if you want to take advantage of the current pricing you’ll need to schedule your appointment by the 15th!(your appointment can be scheduled for anytime this year, but scheduling must take place by the 15th.) This is a great idea for loved ones that are expecting, or families wanting fall portraits!

MJW……HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

First time father terrified he is going to drop his babies! (you made it through Mark :) )

Gorgeous….

by
mindy
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posted in children, family and newborn
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    Mark and Lisa: We LOVED the pics!!! We can't wait to see the rest. Have a safe trip....we'll be praying for a safe trip back and forth. Love ya! Mindy: Thanks guys! See you when I get back. :)

Email issues

June 27, 2008

For some reason i’m receiving emails, but can’t get them to send out! *ugh*

So for those of you wonderful clients that have emailed me orders I have got them and am working on them! :)

On a side note my daughter and I played dress-up while my oldest son had me do a photo shoot! I have to tell you…he takes a MUCH better picture than his daddy does, LOL. Shhh, don’t tell my husband I said that. ;)

by
mindy
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posted in Uncategorized
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    Dejah Quinn: You are so cute!!! BTW...thanks for adding me to your links!