Happy Holidays!

So you might have noticed that I haven't blogged much this month, and that is because I am completely caught up on editing and shooting for the year.  I actually have been for about a week, and it has been so nice to have a few days away from my computer.  Last weekend we headed to Three Forks for an early Christmas with our family there, and this weekend we will be out at the ranch for Christmas Eve, and then back in Miles City for Christmas day.  This is the first Christmas that I will not be in Three Forks, and although I will miss my parents, sister, cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles a ton, I am also very excited to be spending the holiday with Kevin's side of the family.  I know how incredibly blessed we are to have such amazing families, and we are very lucky to live close enough to our families that we can rotate where we spend Christmas every year.  There is never a shortage of love regardless of where we go, and that is something I am very thankful for.

So what else have I been up to? Hmmm....  Well I haven't had much of chance to share what is new with me since most of my recent posts have been client sneak peeks.  I love being able to share personal part of my life on my blog, but honestly, so many sneak peeks means I have been really busy, and that just makes me so grateful.  December has been such a wonderful month.  I had a lot of print orders to fill, holiday cards to design, and I even took Santa photos.  The Santa photo experience was a first, and I LOVED it.  Some little kids screamed SANTA in excitement while others bawled.  Either way, it was such a fun time, and the girls at Studio Ten (where the photos where taken) and I where thrilled to be doing it for the Mile City Foster Care Project.  It is such a great cause, and I was so honored to be part of the fundraising.  

Anyways...now that you are caught up I want to wish you a Merry Christmas!  I will be working on marketing stuff next week, and am shooting a New Year's Eve wedding so I will be starting the new year off with a fun winter wedding to share! 

 These photos were taken in October.  I didn't want to share them until after our Christmas cards went out.  My sister and parents were in town so I had Carley take the photos, and then we passed the camera around and did a few other fun ones as well.

 I'm pretty lucky that my husband is such a trooper.  He thought I was a little crazy at the time, but I really wanted our cards done before the ordering rush, and I thought we had to take advantage of the fall weather so he went along with it.  Plus we didn't have any photos of the both of us with miss Penny so it was a must :)  (and yes I will always be the person who has her pup in the family photos)

 Love you my beautiful sis!

 This was not a planned family photo but we were together and there was a camera.  Reason enough to take a family photo.  Kev couldn't be in it because he actually took this photo and it is the first time he has ever used my camera.  Not bad babe.  

 And here is the Christmas card we sent out.  It was a 5x7 front and back and I actually had them printed in an ornate shape.

2010 Christmas Cards

Let me just say that I am a bit of a procrastinator so the fact that I am already thinking about Christmas is almost unbelievable for me.  I never start holiday shopping before December even though I wish I was the type of person who shopped all year long for Christmas gifts.  Last year was the first time I made Christmas cards for myself with our engagement photos, and I think I handed out maybe 10.  The rest are in a drawer someplace.  I am always late on birthday gifts.  I've now been married two and half months and haven't even started Thank You cards yet, so I might just take a second and be proud of myself for having Christmas 2010 somewhat on my brain.  I suppose the difference might just be that at this point in my life my career is extremely important to me.  Not that my personal life isn't, but if my sister's birthday gift is late, she will of course understand.  I never want to put myself into a position of being tardy for anything in regards to my clients and business.  Sometimes I wonder if this is backwards, but I have spent years working on my relationships with my family, Kevin, and friends.  The relationships I have with my clients are new and therefore require more effort in a sense.  I really want to impress every single client with my photography and work ethic.  I want my clients to trust me, and think of me as a friend.  I do not at all want to sound as though I take my personal relationships for granted because I honestly don't.  I just feel very inspired at this point in my life to be an excellent photographer and to make Whitney Lin Photography a growing, successful business. 

 Ok SO since I just got a little side tracked below are some example Christmas cards.  Leave a comment and let me know which is your favorite.  I think my favorite is the first one, but I really do think all of these would make great Christmas cards.  

 I haven't had the time to use our wedding photos for much yet, so it was fun to play around with them a little.

Seriously start thinking about ordering your cards now, or booking a shoot for September or October to ensure you have your holiday cards before Thanksgiving!