Life in perspective

I'm stressing over getting all this work done and got an email just now that made me sit back for a minute and count my blessings.
We had a wonderful newborn session last year with Ava. She died at six weeks old. Her mom just sent me another thank you for the pictures. I can't imagine what these wonderful young parents must still be going through. I'm grateful that I was able to capture Ava in all her beauty.

Photo timeline

It's our busiest time of year! I thought I'd better give a quick update as far as pictures go. Our absolute deadline for ordering pictures for Christmas delivery has passed. We are working as much overtime as we possibly can to get all pictures retouched and delivered.

We are continuing to offer gift certificates for holiday gifts.

We are working on orders in the order they come in. We love ALL of our clients so we tried to treat everyone as fairly as we can. If you would like your pictures pushed ahead of our other wonderful clients, please know there will be a rush charge.

We are so thankful for all the business! Please note that the normal time frame from the date of order to the date of delivery is three to four weeks.

All holiday card images ordered before the November 20th deadline were pushed ahead of normal orders. So now we have several orders to catch up on. We meticulously retouch each image and it's a time consuming process. Our lab is not a one-hour consumer lab so it takes a few days to a few weeks to process the orders and get them delivered. We hope each portrait turns into a family heirloom!

Thanks for your patience!

Peggy and Helen

Marco Island Wedding
Sarah and Will were the sweetest people! Their wedding on Marco Island was just beautiful!
Phyllis (www.weddingsbyphyllis.net) was the officiant. She always does such a beautiful ceremony.
Sarah was just striking as a bride!
These two were SOOOOO in love!

We had a gorgeous afterglow on the back bay!

Sparklers! These were so cool. They burned for four minutes so we had time for some great pictures.

Bridal bowling

Avant-Garde Images participated in the WPPN Bridal Bowl fundraiser on Saturday. The Bridal Bowl raised money for the Shelter for Abused Women.
I won a prize for the biggest bow!

I forget the name of the Inn on Fifth/Naples Transportation team. But the theme was Shotgun Wedding! SOOOOO funny!

And of course the bride and her bridesmaids! Most of these women are the catering managers at all the high-end resorts in town. You want a sophisticated wedding; right?
Options thrift store donated the bridal gown that Dale is wearing. We women LOVE to dress up!

Peggy and Helen! Avant-Garde Images women at work!

Senior Katie

I love photographing senior high students!
Katie and I had so much fun! We played music (of course a lot Fake Problems but I let her play her own music too). Katie brought tons of clothes and props and we took lots of pictures!

Maternity Portrait

Maternity portraits are so special! Rebecca and Brandon have been together since they were in high school and are now expanding their family. Expanding... get it? See Rebecca's belly?
Okay, bad joke!I love the way Rebecca and Brandon interact with each other. I love putting together storyboards of portraits to show the love and connection between family members. These two are so adorable!

Senior Portrait

Sammie came in to the studio for her senior portrait session. We had so much fun! It's always a great idea to bring a friend. You may recognize Justine!
She's my famous underwater model. Her hair's a bit different now!

The necklaces were Sammie's idea. How cute!

The fan is a necessity!

Glamour girl!

Sisters!

Just a sneak peak from a couple of really cute sisters!

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A Few Recent Weddings

High School Sweethearts Wes and Katie
had a sweet and touching beach wedding.
Katie is just stunning!
The two of them were really fun!

Wes and Katie were just so happy! Kelly Werder with No Worries Weddings
made sure everything went smoothly. It's always a joy to work with Kelly!

Danielle and Brian lucked out! They got married on the beach and it was beautiful. Right after the ceremony, however, it rained! We came prepared with props! Danielle and Brian look adorable with our rainbow umbrella.

Helen took this awesome picture!

Inside the Inn on Fifth. Oh my goodness! The Inn on Fifth is so GORGEOUS!

Brady Bunch at the Naples Beach Hotel!
Tracy and Harry blended their two families together at an awesome ceremony on the beach. The weather was incredible, the guests were lots of fun, the Naples Beach Hotel had outstanding service, and the family looked terrific!

Besides the big family portrait, Tracey took advantage of our Canvas Cluster sale, which is still going on! Each canvas is stretched around a frame for a clean look. The clusters are meant to hang one inch apart. This is Cluster 4, which is great for a moderate size wall.
Total wall space is 34x32 inches.

Cluster 6 is for a larger wall. Total wall space is 45x24 inches.

Wall portraits are such a fabulous way to decorate your home. I LOVE the portrait of my son and me. I hug it when I walk by! There is no art piece that can compete with fabulous portraits of your family!

New Holiday Card Templates!

Greeting cards are on special during September!
Receive 10 free cards with every 25 cards ordered (same card)

This special absolutely expires September 30th. You must choose your card and sign off on the design by September 28, 2009. The cards must be paid for by September 30, 2009.
AvantGarde Holiday 2009

Clearance Sale - Frames, Folios, Albums

Studio Cleaning!!
How do I accumulate so much stuff? I buy things impulsively and then have no room to store everything!
I have several items on sale. I've put everything in the projection room so please stop by in the next two weeks to look through everything. First come, first served!

Call first 239-263-7001 to make sure someone is here. Everything is priced at less than what I paid for them!

Frames:
5x5, 8x8, 8x10, 11x14, 12x12, 16x20 Variety of colors and designs
20x30 (two light colored wood available)
24x30 barnwood frames (three available)
24x30 variety of frames

Sale frames alone range from $5 to $75.
If you've ever checked frame prices, you know those are ridiculously low prices!
If you purchase a print to go inside the frame, they are discounted even more.

The black, pink and blue photo bags are only $5 each.
This briefcase will hold a beautiful wedding album. Regular price $150, Sale price $55We have odd sizes and shaped frames too. We can put in a custom sized portrait.

The cat is not for sale.I also have folios and small albums on sale.

Sorry! No shipping is available. I love all my out of town clients, but the labor to package and the shipping costs will just be too much.

So local clients - swing by! Call first 263-7001.
Peggy Farren

Pregnant with TWINS!

Time for something new. It seems like all I've posted lately are underwater photos! Don't forget to schedule your appointment for our underwater special next week.

Magela definitely has that beautiful pregnant glow. She and her husband have one beautiful child and have two more on the way. We had such a great maternity session!

Benjamin is the proud big brother!

Purple on black is so cool!

I've been fooling around with a lot of Photoshop techniques.

The family!

Magela's hair was so cooperative with the fan blowing it back.

Black and white with just a touch of brown: