And I’m not the only thing headed out of the office. These beautiful products will be leaving my hands today and will arrive in my client’s later this week. I’ll admit that I’m not the greatest product photographer, but these are just too gorgeous not to be photographed. As a custom photographer, I offer much more than just your traditional 8×10 print. These gorgeous image boxes are my current favorite. They hold 15 matted prints and are so dreamy in person.

And this float wrap is a modern take on a 16×20 print. It’s literally your image, wrapped and mounted so when hung it appears to “float” from the wall. How cool is that? I’m so excited for my clients to have these (although part of me wishes I could keep them for myself!).

I would really encourage anyone considering custom photography to look around your home and find the perfect places to display your artwork. Gift prints such as 5×7’s and 8×10’s are meant to sit on desks. But walls scream for large, gorgeous images. Don’t be scared by the sound of a 16×20 or 20×24. I promise you it’s not as big as you might think and I bet you’d even wish you went larger. To me there is nothing more beautiful that decorating your home with images of your own life, so go big!

And definitely don’t forget to leave a comment here after you vote for your chance to win a mini photography session. With only 12 comments now, you’ve got pretty good odds! I know you’re out there, so leave me some blog love! I adore feedback and communication and would love to know who is reading this little ol’ blog of mine! So jot me a quick note and let me know who you are.

I’ve got several sessions coming up that I can’t wait for, but today I tried to snap a few pictures of my own children. That’s definitely a New Year’s resolution of mine–to remember to photograph my own kids. It seems silly, being a children’s photographer and all, that it would slip my mind to capture images of my Abby and Jacob. But trust me, it’s harder than you think. It’s also difficult (as any professional photographer with kids would tell you) to get natural looking pictures of my very unwilling children. My kids run every time the see the camera. Seriously…run! Or scream at me, shake their finger, or collapse into a puddle on the floor. You may think I’m being dramatic, but believe me–it’s not a pretty sight. And I do feel for them. Honestly, I do. They have been subjected to numerous lens testings, backdrop try outs, and countless “just one more!” pleadings from me.

So when it appears that I might, just possibly, have a willing subject, I bust out that Nikon faster than you can say “cheese!” (which you will never, ever hear me say at a session, by the way. Saying cheese is a surefire way to get forced and strained looking pictures of your little ones. If you have to say something to coax a smile out of them, opt for “candy” or something that produces a somewhat more natural grin). Jacob was a good sport and even offered a smile or two for me without any pleading, begging, or bribing on my end. So I’m quite pleased with the resulting image of my little man.

Before I dive into all of my 2010 sessions, I thought I would compile my nine favorite portraits from 2009. I love each of them for different reasons, but they all mean something special to me and when I look that them I still get that “Oh, I love that one!” feeling inside. But now it’s up to you to decide the favorite image of 2009.

The client whose image receives the most votes will get an 11×14 thin wrap (love these–they are new to my 2010 product catalog) from their past session or from a new ‘10 session. And for those who vote–leave a comment on the blog for a chance to win a mini session. It’s a win-win for everyone!

To vote simply scroll through the images at the bottom of the post, select your favorite and then click “VOTE”. If you want to view the images in a larger format, just click on the image. Also, click on the share this button to link the contest to your favorite social networking sites. Easy as pie.

So go ahead, spread the word and cast your vote! I can’t wait to see which image is chosen as the 2009 favorite! (Voting ends at midnight on January 15th.)

{Poll is officially closed–Thank you all for voting!}

But there is one thing that really couldn’t wait, so I had to pop on the blog one last time for 2009. This time of year gets so busy with shopping, wrapping, visiting friends and family, eating (and eating, and eating) and spreading holiday cheer. All good things. Most of them great things. But in the middle of all the busyness it might be easy to overlook the greatest thing of all. That on that night many, many years ago God came down to dwell with humanity in the form of a tiny little baby, wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger. The greatest promise given to man, that we might have eternal life through the gift of Jesus. This is the reason I celebrate.

I wish you all a very, merry Christmas. I thank each one of you for being a part of my life this past year–see you all in 2010!

This is where I need your help.

You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would truly cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $1,000 worth, to be exact. A complimentary session, digital files of their images, as well as a custom image box filled with 5×7 prints of each image. What a great gift to give. And it’s in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a complimentary photography session. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside within 60 miles of the Sacramento area. Tell me who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story: megan@megansquires.com by Friday, December 18th.

The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve so spread the word and get your nominations in! I can’t wait to read all of your entries! Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

And because a post isn’t a post without a picture, here is one of my greatest gifts–my precious four year old, Jacob.

Yep. I was one of those crazies that waited in line for hours to catch the first showing of “that vampire / werewolf” movie. The 12:04 am showing last Thursday to be exact. Myself and six of my other girlfriends braved the sea of sixteen year olds to watch New Moon and I must say, it didn’t disappoint. The only problem is that I am a mom and my kids didn’t get the memo that I didn’t go to bed that night until 4:00 am. Two hours of sleep just doesn’t cut it. So I’ve been trying to catch up on my sleep over these last few days and I still feel like a zombie. Twenty-eight years old feels much older than it sounds right now. What happened to the days of all-nighters? I guess I am an actual grown up now.

In the middle of all my catching up I was able to meet up with the {B} family in Old Roseville for an awesome urban session. I loved everything about this session. The family was so relaxed, up for anything, and just plain beautiful. They even humored me and my bubble gum idea (which we found out that you need to chew gum for a really, really long time in order to blow a successful bubble). I have so many great images for their gallery, but I’ll show just a few for the sneak peek.Little {R} was so adorable. LOVE the pink nails. Actually–the whole family was beautiful. See what I mean?
Dad seemed to get the hang of the bubbles the fastest and I couldn’t resist putting these candid images in. Love the interactions.And just because I love brother’s expression I had to finish with this family image.{B} family–thank you for choosing me to photograph your family portraits. I had a great time at our session and will have many, many more family images for your gallery soon! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek in the meantime!

As photographers we constantly have visions floating around in our heads. We see something and think, “That would make an amazing photograph.” Or we’ll be in a store and see a clothing item and before we know it we dressed an entire family in coordinating colors for their photo session all in our heads. We are creative by nature and that creativity comes out in our images.

So when you are a photographer and have your own family photographed, you already have those images in your mind. You envision how you all will pose, what you will wear, and how the finished product will look. Or at least that’s what I do. So I was nervous. Nervous that I wouldn’t be able to recreate those pictures or be able to give the Runner family the beautiful family portrait that they deserved.

But guess what. I didn’t need to be nervous because every time I would show Sandy an image she would look at it and say, “That’s great!” Or after we would finish shooting one pose she would come over to the camera and say, “Any good ones?” (as if her family could take a bad picture) and then browse through them and say, “Looks good!” I’ve known Sandy for a long time now and have been in a bible study with her for nearly six years and if there is one quality that stands out when I think of her, it’s being an encourager. So my nervousness quickly faded and I was able to just have fun photographing this beautiful family. So Sandy, what do you think of the end result? I definitely think we got some good ones!

Love, love, LOVE this next one of James. When Sandy dressed him in his black, velvet blazer I nearly fell over. It honestly doesn’t get any cuter than this.And I just adore this one of Haylie.
Sandy, I’m glad we were able to get some of just you and the little ones, too. I love how they are both clinging on to your leg. So precious!
As you know I have lots more for you! I hope you love them!