Hi friends!!

Soo, I’ve been sitting here sorting out my calendar for the rest of the year … adding my girlie’s events and sports and such, barely realizing that summer is nearly over — crazy how fast it flew by this year!! It makes me sad to get back to the grind of school schedules and homework, but at the same time … that means it’s finally time for one of my favorite parts of the year — SCHOOL PORTRAIT ART WEEK! Yahoo! I know that may seem so silly to many of you … seriously, who gets excited about school portraits? Well … I do! You see, these aren’t your average school portrait … they are SO much more than that — more creative, more authentic, more custom, more captivating, more fun, more personal … more everything!! I absolutely love these sessions & I know you will love the anything-but-ordinary-photos!

Signups for School Portrait Art Week, which will be held September 6th – 30th — begin today … here are the details:

Session Fee: $40 per child (ages 2 – 18); due at time of booking (6% sales tax will be added)

Each child’s session fee will be applied towards a print or digital collection of your choice.

Sessions last about 10-15 minutes per child, and you’ll receive a private online ordering gallery containing 3-10 proofs within 7-10 days.

Print Collections are ALL $40 and include 1 pose/1 child

collection 1: $40 — (1) 8×10’s, (2) 5×7’s, (8) wallets
collection 2: $40 — (4) 5×7’s, (8) wallets
collection 2: $40 — (2) 8×10, (8) wallets
collection 3: $40 — (1) 11×14

Digital Individual Collection | $60 — ALL digital files via digital downloads for 1 child are included

Digital Family Collection (for family’s with 3 or more children) | $150 — ALL digital files via digital downloads for ALL children are included

A la Carte prints & canvases may be ordered after your print collection has been chosen, pricing below:
A la Carte prints & canvases may be ordered after your print collection has been chosen, pricing below:

(8) wallets | $10
(2) 4×6’s | $15
(2) 5×7’s | $15
(1) 8×10 | $15
(1) 11×14 | $40
(1) 16×20 | $50
(1) 20×20 | $60
(1) 20×30 | $90

(1) 16×16 gallery wrap canvas | $115
(1) 12×12 gallery wrap canvas | $100
(1) 16×16 gallery wrap canvas | $115
(1) 20×20 gallery wrap canvas | $155
(1) 16×20 gallery wrap canvas | $145
(1) 16×24 gallery wrap canvas | $160
(1) 20×30 gallery wrap canvas | $175

**additional sizes available upon request

If you’re ready to book your time slot, click the following link to fill out your portrait agreement & choose your session time(s) — School Portrait Art Week Session Contract & Model Release — sessions are first come, first serve!

If you’re interested in seeing sample images, scroll down to see a handful of my School Portrait Art kiddos, or visit the School Portrait section of my website.

want to bypass session fees? encourage your school to participate in the fine art school portrait program!

in this program, school portraits are done AT school! not only do you (the parent) not have to pay a session fee, your school will actually earn money with every order placed! if you would like to know how to get our program at your school, simply forward them to my website or contact me and i will email them directly AND send them an introductory packet in the mail!

The day after we got back to Ankeny from picking the Byrd up from Camp Carson in Indiana, the most incredible thing happened — they were taking out the recycling, and all of a sudden this torrential rain just came out of nowhere! It was ☀️☀️☀️☀️ sunny ️hot and humid out, and they looked back at me with these longing gazes and I could just see the pure excitement and feel the joy that was so obvious in their eyes! 😍 Of course, they didn’t say a word … they didn’t need to. I knew what they were asking me with their mischevious smiles, so I hollered from the steps — “Go dance in the rain! I’ll be right there!” And so we did, and it was magical — this is what childhood looks like, unplugged.

The Bug wanted to feel the rain fall upon her, so she laid down on the sidewalk in front of our house – It made her feel alive!

We got an Autism Spectrum diagnosis shortly after we moved to Iowa … she was 6. For the longest time, Dr’s called it this or that. Behavioral issues, she’ll outgrow it, she’s just wild, etc. Then there was GAD, ODD, SPD, a huge speech delay they thought was Dyspraxia. We signed for her first two years, and partly into her 3rd. She perplexed everyone because she seemed so, well … what they called “normal” … but no one ever bothered to take the puzzle pieces and glue them together to see the bigger picture. Through our struggles, we’ve grown stronger … our love is fierce and our courage is ever evolving. Through her, I see the world in a completely different way. She’s amazing and inspiring!

She called out to her sister — “YOU’VE GOT TO DO THIS TOO!! LAY DOWN! IT FEELS SO GOOD!” They laid like that for a good 5 minutes …

Then the Byrd ran up to the house for a break … and to show me the worm she found. Eeew. They have this fascination with worms … and anytime they see them out on the sidewalk, they rescue them … and put them back in the grass or dirt. Worm rescuers!

The rain eventually slowed, and the puddle fight began … it really is the little things in life that seemingly bring you the most joy … like playing outside in the pouring down rain. It doesn’t cost a thing and I’m certain this is something they’ll share with their children MANY MANY MANY years from now. 😉

Seriously … this was one of the BEST days of our lives.