Dinosaur Playground Exhibit

Dinosaur Playground has allowed us to display an exhibit of some of our portraits in their awesome parent room! Check out the pictures to see if YOU are in any of them!

http://www.dinoplayground.com/ Dinosaur Playground is an indoor playground for kids. The parent room has a monitoring station so you can watch your child while you sit in a nice relaxing room with leather couches and a big TV! You can also rent Dinosaur Playground for birthday parties. How fun!!

Fairy Special, Operation Smile

Next weekend is our popular Fairy Special! There are still openings! $99 includes a minisession, one 8x10 and two 5x7s. Call or email Peggy today to reserve your date and time. Friday and Saturday, September 26 and 27.
Last week we sent out letters to area dentists to see if they would help promote our fundraising effort for Operation Smile. Not only have many dentists allowed us to display information, but Dr. Cheryl Malick of Dental Excellence http://naplesdentalexcellence.com/ donated $240 to the cover the entire cost of one cleft palette surgery! Thanks Dr. Malick! Check out our sidebar to the right of this post or www.familyportraitmonth.com.
Here are a couple pictures from sessions this week:

The big flood

Condo living!
My next door neighbor's pipe burst so my entire studio flooded Saturday afternoon.
I rescheduled my afternoon appointment, bought a Shop-Vac and spent five hours
cleaning up the mess. This is one way to really get a thorough cleaning! I moved all the furniture, the big vinyl backdrop and threw away the carpet padding to clean and dry everything. I feel so badly for real flood victims. I can't imagine if this happened at my home.

October is Family Portrait Month!

This October, Avant-Garde Images, Inc. Portrait Studio will participate with an elite group of photographers around the country in a very special family portrait promotion. This national fundraising effort will benefit Operation Smile, which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

Avant-Garde Images, Inc. has pledged to contribute 25% ($50) of each October family portrait session to PPA Charities, which has chosen Operation Smile as its charitable partner. October is an ideal time for families to have their portraits created, because the holiday season is just around the corner. Few gifts are appreciated as much a portraits of family members. And when families participate in Family Portrait Month, they are making it possible to truly change the lives of children who would otherwise face a lifetime of pain and rejection.

Call Peggy today to schedule your family portrait! (239) 263-7001

Nikki's Bat Mitzvah!

Nikki did SUCH a great job at her Bat Mitzvah! She sang and read the Torah flawlessly throughout the two hour service. Nikki had a short time to prepare and you would never know it. She is one determined gal!
Nikki has the most loving family you've ever seen. Her sister Erika put together a photo and video montage that brought tears and laughter to everyone who attended the party. Nikki's mom and dad put on the wildest party! Every detail was perfectly thought-out and implemented!

Thanks to everyone who visited us at the Chamber of Commerce Trade Show at the Naples Beach Hotel! It was fun to watch people look through the pictures and recognize so many of their friends. Most of our display was made up of local families. The winner of our drawing for the gorgeous frame set was Kathleen Leavesley of Fifth Third Bank! Congratulations Kathleen!

Saturday's Expo

If you are on my email list, I am sorry, I forgot to tell you where the Expo is this Saturday, August 9!
The Collection at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt and Airport, across from Tiburon
The Expo is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Please come see our display and bring the family for lots of fun!
More info: http://neafamily.com/

I had a GREAT sunset session this week but the pictures are a surprise so I can't share them. I can share two of my fun studio sessions:
I love girlie girls!!
Khloe:

Ruth's maternity session was SO much fun! Her daughter did highjack some of the session. Liora was really into being photographed. She is SO cute! I hope to see you all at the Back to School Expo on Saturday!
Peggy

August & September Specials

We have SO MUCH going on! We've listed our events and specials for August and September on the right side of the blog. We have SIX mini-sessions scheduled - come to one or all of them!
Each includes pictures and you also have the option of ordering wall prints, books, albums, photo jewelry, etc.

We are also exhibiting in two trade shows. August 9 Back to School Expo at The Collection at Vanderbilt (new shopping center at Vanderbilt and Airport) 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
August 21 Chamber of Commerce Trade show at the Naples Beach Hotel. Come visit!

Family Portrait in the Studio!

Portraits with children or pets are almost always a challenge! We had a crazy time trying to get all the kids in one place for a nice portrait. But wow! We ended up with some awesome pictures!

Sometimes, we just photoshopped the others out.....

And sometimes, the picture just worked!

Keating Associates

Keating is a very prestigious real estate company, located right on 5th Ave S in Old Naples. I have the honor of photographing their agents on a regular basis. I photographed a nice group portrait this week of some of the crew. Stop by or check out the Keating website: http://www.keatingrealty.com/.

Joey in July
Every summer, my Godson Joey stays with me for about a month. Joseph was born here in Naples but moved to Tampa about six years ago. We had a fun session in the studio and made a DVD slideshow for his mom of the session.

We may have Photoshopped the background a little on this one! :)

My .000015 seconds of fame

The Dancing with Matt video came out on June 21. If you haven't been reading my blog, last summer, a friend, her daughter and I drove over to Miami to be in this video. It's already had over 6 million hits on YouTube. Look for me at 2.16 in Miami!

Peggy, Matt, Annie and Emily

Here is the link: www.wherethehellismatt.com

This just in..... as I was updating the blog, I received a call from someone who had seen Matt and the video on CNN! I am more famous than I realized.

Buzzards!

If you are wondering why I haven't updated the blog in awhile, I purchased a house that needs work. There have been many unpleasant and expensive surprises. Here is a picture of the house. Close up view:
Does that give you an idea of how it's been going? Ha ha!!!

Actually, the house is coming along. It's been a challenge to keep up with the workload and the house issues but now that it's summer, it is really slowing down and giving me a chance to catch up.

Here are a few pictures from a couple recent sessions:

Sarah graduated from high school this year and was rewarded with a trip to Florida and a senior photo session! Senior sessions include clothing changes and often two locations.

The McGraw family visited Naples from up north and took advantage of our beautiful beach for their family portrait. The sunsets in the summer are the most fantastic! These boys were incredibly well-behaved and a joy to photograph!

We like to finish the session with some fun pictures!!!

The summer is such a great time to schedule your family portrait. It's not too early to start thinking about your holiday card photos!

So busy!

I have been going a zillion miles an hour!
There has been a fun variety of work.

Some hot and sexy engagement sessions:

Some really fun senior high school student sessions. Here a couple of the girls (sorry boys for not publishing you!):

A sunglasses ad! Pet portraits

And lots of weddings:

The Ritz-Carlton The Naples Beach Hotel Sanibel Harbour
We've also had weddings at the Hilton Naples and the Quarry in the past few weeks. It's been a busy season!

Look for our upcoming e-newsletter!

Peggy