Being a child photographer, I know there are some incredibly cute kids out there — I’ve seen a lot!  Now, here is your chance to win a FREE full session with Melissa DeVoe Photography AND receive 3 free 8×10’s from your session! Your session can take place in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary area or in the Columbia, SC area.

To enter, just submit your favorite photo of your child under the age of 17 (a photo you took – not a professional photo) by Wednesday, January 19th. E-mail the photo to me at melissadevoephotography@gmail.com. You may submit one photo per child, or one photo of all your children together. Be sure to include your child’s name and age, along with your contact information.

After I’ve received all entries on January 19th, I’ll post the photos to a folder on my Facebook page. Once the pictures are all posted, voting will begin on Facebook. To increase your chances of winning, simply direct your friends and family to become a fan of Melissa DeVoe Photography and click “like” under your child’s photo. Whichever child receives the most votes (likes), will be the winner!

Voting will take place for two weeks, beginning January 19th and ending at midnight on February 2nd – plenty of time for all of your friends and family to place their votes. The winner will have until 8/31/2011 to use their FREE session and will receive a credit for 3 free 8×10’s from the session.

Can’t wait to see everyone’s entries! Go ahead and become a fan on Facebook by clicking here.

Do you have a portrait session coming up, and are you puzzled about what to wear? Well, I’m here to help. Your family’s outfits can make a huge impact on your photos, so it’s important to put some effort into choosing them.

I’ve put together a sample for you, keeping in mind that it’s still cold outside. One of the things I personally love to do is to pick two or three colors and build your outfits around those colors. You do NOT have to all wear the same exact shirts and pants… in fact, it’s better if you don’t. Use your imagination and find outfits that coordinate, but aren’t exact. And don’t be afraid to use accessories – nice jewelry, scarves and colorful shoes are perfect!

All styles are from Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime. Girl’s shoes are from Justice and girl’s scarf is by United Colors of Benetton. Please contact me if you have any questions about choosing outfits or would like information on a particular style shown above.

And be sure to “like” me on Facebook if you haven’t already!

Now that the rush of Christmas and my busy season has passed, I have an opportunity for some down time. Time to spend with my family, time to relax, and time to get my creative juices flowing again. I was delighted when I came across an opportunity to become inspired and look at things through my camera in a whole new way. An opportunity to really be creative and continue to grow in my photography.

Here’s how it works: each week a new hue and texture will be selected. It’s our project to go out and capture these things. Everyone is welcome to join in on the project, it’s been fun so far! I’m joining in a little late, so I’ll be playing catch-up for a few weeks.

To join in, visit Marta Locklear, and be sure to let me know you’ve joined so I can follow your journey.

Visit me on Facebook!

Be sure to visit me on Facebook!

After asking just about everyone I know, spending TONS of time tweaking and obsessing, I decided I was making things WAY more difficult than they needed to be with this logo-designing! Let’s see… I switched fonts about a dozen times, I interchanged flowers and even a (super-cute, but just not perfect) bird, moved the pictures from the front to the back to the middle of my name… it got out of hand. So I stopped obsessing and just went with my favorite!

And really, I’m so happy with this new logo. I love the colors (though I’ll probably change them when I crave some variety) and I love the dandelion! I’ve done a little updating to my blog to incorporate the new logo, though it’s really a work in progress (I want to find a new template). And my next step will be updating my website!

Hope everyone likes it as much as I do!

So here’s the details on this deal:

Book a session by the end of the day Friday and you will receive a $50 print credit for your session – it’s as easy as that! I am currently booking for January through May 2011, so your session can take place anytime between those dates.

For an EXTRA $25 print credit, simply share the link to this deal on your Facebook page and help me spread the word! If you do that, you receive a $75 print credit. Yes – that’s $75 worth of free prints from your session! Imagine the possibilities!

You can use the credit towards any prints AND you can use it towards the purchase of digital files! How amazing is that?!?

This deal is good until the end of the day Friday ONLY and is the best discount I’ve offered! This opportunity won’t happen again (okay… maybe next year) so take advantage of it now!

To book your 2011 session and receive the print credit, simply send me an e-mail before 11:59 p.m. Friday. I’ll respond as soon as I can to let you know your e-mail has been received. You will be required to pay the session fee within one week of your booking to secure your date. The session fee is non-refundable, but don’t worry – I’m flexible! If something comes up and you need to re-schedule, we can do that! No problem!

E-mail me at: melissadevoephotography@gmail.com to take advantage of this deal or to ask any questions. If you’d like to see my pricing, it’s available at: http://www.melissadevoephotography.com/pricing.html
Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Get ready, everyone! I’m offering a Black Friday Deal!

It will be a HUGE discount good towards your 2011 sessions. So start thinking now what date you’d like to hold a session in the winter/spring of next year so that you can e-mail me Friday to take advantage of the deal.

For now, I’ll leave you all in suspense. Be sure to check back Friday morning to find out the details!

Hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!

This weekend I worked with a local event photographer to photograph the Half Marathon being held in Wilmington, NC. It was a COOOOOLD morning and my fingers nearly froze off! It was quite the experience.

This was my favorite finish line photo. She looks so happy… and she should, she just finished a half marathon!

Congrats to all of the amazing runners!

Be sure to swing by and “like” me on Facebook!

If you’re in need of a nice family photo for your Christmas cards, or just need a few updated pictures of your children, then these mini-sessions are for you! It’s a great chance to get a few nice portraits without booking an entire session. These happen just once a year, so take advantage now!

These sessions will happen on Saturday, November 13th at Joyner Park in Wake Forest. They will last a half hour and are designed for up to four people.

The cost of a session is $125 and includes a disc with 10-15 high resolution images, along with an online gallery to share with friends. You will also receive 20% off all print products, which includes custom holiday cards, gift prints, and canvases – perfect for holiday gifts!

My availability is limited to this one morning and I’m only booking FOUR mini sessions. Please e-mail me soon to reserve your spot! If you’re in Columbia and are interested in a mini session, I may be able to do them the morning of November 21st if I receive enough interest. Contact me asap!

melissadevoephotography@gmail.com

*Full payment is due at the time of booking to hold your spot.*

A few nights ago I visited the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh and brought along my camera.

This picture is for my Dad (I’m an Army brat). Go Army!

These are also for my Dad, who’s a Vietnam Vet. This is the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial outside of the Capitol.

Here’s the Capitol building after sunset. Beautiful, isn’t it?

This is Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.

The Vietnam Memorial at dark.