Autumn Hull Photography

Six Days To Go...

Here is the studio a couple of days after my last post.  This is the camera room, with the new cabinets that were just installed, and all the junk that needs to go into it.  I ended up with one cabinet for all the props, one for the backdrops, and one for all the miscellaneous studio stuff like cords, cleaning supplies, papers, etc.

This is the beginning of the tutu wall just opposite the cabinets.  I didn't have enough hangers, because as it turned out I completely underestimated the number of tutus I've collected over the years! 

This is how the front room looks, with only SIX days until opening day.  Yikes!  At this point, the staircase gallery is the only completed part of the studio and I am beginning to panic just a tiny bit. 

I started on "the frame corner", where all the frame and mat corners will hang.  THAT was a job and a half, let me tell you.  Here's a shot of it as a work in progress. 

Check back soon for updates!

 

 

8 days and counting!!

There are only 8 days left until the official Ribbon Cutting and things are moving along nicely.  I hung the staircase gallery today with a series of 20x24 prints mounted on standout mounts, which are lightweight foamcore backing with black sides and holes on the back for hanging on the wall.  I love it, and it's easy to rearrange and update as needed.

I also finished hanging the canvas gallery of beach images in the bathroom.  I started with the two easiest spaces first, because the task of choosing, ordering, and hanging images all over the studio is a bit daunting to say the least.

The rest of the frames and pictures are on their way, so hopefully I can finish all of the hanging this weekend.

 

I added a few more touches to the play area and it looks adorable!

Stay tuned for more updates...

Little Maverick's 3 month session

This little guy just kills me.  I photographed him as a newborn, and I just loved his images.  I used them on my new business card, on the main page of my new website, on a sample purse for the studio, and on several other new marketing pieces.

He just came back for his three month old session, and I was blown away by how much I got from him.  Normally a three month session is pretty difficult, as they can't sit up yet, and there are only so many poses you can do at this age.  Maverick was so expressive and adorable, in the end I finally had to call the session to an end just to make myself stop photographing him! 

He had laughed for the very first time that day, and he was nice enough to do a repeat performance for me so I could capture it for Mom.  What a little doll.

You can see Mack's entire session here.

Only three weeks left...

It's getting close now, and I'm making some good progress.  I've ordered most of the images that will be going up on the walls, and the kid's area is pretty much complete.  I've been doing some sessions here and there, so I've had a chance to see the play area in action.  It works like a dream.  The kids are so excited when they come up the stairs and see it, and once they find out they can go play there, they run right over. 
It keeps them happy while I'm discussing the session with Mom and Dad, and it makes a great bribe/reward for the end of the session! 

The invitation for the Ribbon Cutting and the Grand Opening dates are going out this week, and I met with the local radio station this morning about doing some promos during the week leading up to the Grand Opening and a little bit on the morning of. 

I've done some training sessions with some of the Associate Photographers, and they went really well.  I'm so excited for the months ahead.  I think it's going to be a fantastic studio.  I hope to see you all there at the Ribbon Cutting with the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, June 19th at 5:30, or at the official Grand Opening Open House on Saturday, June 21st from 11:00 to 5:00.  There are going to be some cute giveaways, a drawing for a session and a canvas print, and special offers that will only be available that day.

New Workshop Gallery Available To View

I've been teaching all kinds of private and group workshops this year, and we've had dozens of practice sessions using my clients as models.  The photographers have captured some absolutely gorgeous images, and I've created a new gallery on my workshop website where you can take a look at them. 

Some of the galleries are taken by just one person during a Private Mentoring workshop, and some are collections of images of the same model, taken by a group of photographers during the Ten For The Weekend workshop.

I'll keep posting new images as they are completed, so be sure to visit the gallery to see the photographers' extraordinary work!

The next Ten For The Weekend workshop is scheduled for July 11th through the 13th, and it's the first workshop to be held in my new studio location.  If you've been thinking of attending one of my group workshops, be sure to take a look at the website for more information.  There are only two workshops left this year, the July weekend, and one in August, then that's it for 2008.  There are still a few spots left in the July workshop, and a few more in the August date as well. 

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or give me a call at 661-297-6951.

No turning back now!

My box of 500 invitations to the Grand Opening Open House arrived today, so it looks like I'm committed to getting everything ready to go in less than 5 weeks.  Yikes! 

Things are definitely progressing, but it's going to get interesting around here pretty soon.  I have only been able to get to the space to work on it in 1/2 hour bursts over the past week, so progress on the actual space has been painfully slow. 

Here is how it looked when I left today.  This picture makes me nervous when I look at my calendar!

The playroom is going to be adorable and a great asset to the studio, but why does everything have to come completely unassembled?  I spent two days building the bookcase, and now I'm knee-deep in parts of a little wooden kitchen.  Once it's done, it's going to be so much fun.  I'm going to bring my four over for a test drive and see how long it can keep them occupied without whining that they want to leave.

I'm almost done selecting all the images that I'm going to have printed and hang throughout the space.  I didn't want to clutter it too much, but I want it to showcase different options for printing, like canvas, framed prints, gallery collections, etc.  I ended up mapping them out in photoshop to plan out each wall.  It is taking longer that way, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

I had a great meeting with the group that will eventually be the studio's Associate Photographers.  So far there are about 10 people, in various stages of being ready to start shooting with me.  Some will need some training, but some are pretty much ready to go.  So I'm working on a training schedule and an eventual camera room and presentation room schedule.  It's quite a feat trying to plan that out, let me tell you.  It's a great group though, and I'm really excited to start working with them.  I have a feeling in six months or a year I'll be talking with the owner of the building about leasing the empty space next door so I can expand and add another camera room.  These guys are ready to work!

I'm also in the middle of an entirely new branding strategy, which means frequent meetings and phone calls with my AMAZING graphic designer, Melody Welch, who I will be introducing to all of you pretty soon.  She's created some beautiful pieces for me that will all work together to make a great design campaign from business card to website to presentation materials to final packaging.  Once we're done with everything, we're going to work together to start providing design and printing service to other photographers.

Things are happening!!! 

The Alperns at the beach

Several weeks ago I had a beach session with the Alpern family.  They have two huge, absolutely beautiful dogs that were so much fun to photograph.  This was my first session in Carpinteria, which I checked out on the advice of my good friend Michele (hey Michele!). She was right, it was gorgeous there, and so much easier to get to from my house.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the morning.  I pieced together a couple of panoramic images, because the beach was just so beautiful.

The Dredge Family Sneak Peek

All the preparations for the studio have really slowed me down for my clients, so I am just now finishing up this session with the Dredge family.  They have two gorgeous little girls, and mom had brought the little one, a toddler, in for her own session a few weeks prior to this session, so we'd be sure to have plenty of opportunity to get some great shots.  I'm done with the mini session, but I'm right in the middle of working on the family session.  Here are some of my favorites from the mini, as well as a couple that I've finished from the family and some great shots of big sister, the cutie-pie redhead.

Busy, busy, busy!

So it's been three weeks since my last post.  I haven't been away from the blog because there is nothing to write about.  It's that there is SO MUCH going on, I haven't had time to blog about it.  I technically don't really have time to blog right at this very moment, but I keep getting emails from people who are wondering how the new studio is doing, so I thought it was time for an update. 

Ready?  Here goes... (deep breath)

Since I last posted, they finished painting the walls and installing the new floors.  I love love LOVE how it turned out.  The floor looks like wood, but it's actually vinyl.  It's very rugged, not too loud when you walk on them (which is good since we're on the 2nd floor), and easy to take care of.  They put in the new carpet on the stairs and repaired and stained the banister so it will match the floors.  They also restored the bathroom to new, so it no longer looks like a public restroom with the metal paper towel and toilet seat cover dispensers on the wall. 

Here are some pictures of it.  It's not a huge space (about 975 square feet), so I took several shots from one vantage and merged them together.  It's not really as cubist as it looks here!

Here is the front room, which will be used to show clients slideshows of their sessions.  I'll also have a changing table for the babies, and a kid's play area so they can be entertained while their parents meet with me to place their orders.

Here's looking down the stairs to the entrance outside.  The banisters are much prettier.  I doubt the pretty banisters are going to make my maternity clients feel any better about the long haul up the stairs though! 

Here is the second room, which will be my shooting room.  I love the big bank of windows, and they are mirrored on the outside, so they let in plenty of light, but give complete privacy.  I'll also have a workspace in this room, where I will prepare prints to go out to clients. 

This room will also be where I have my workshops.  When I have the Ten For The Weekend workshops, I'll move the equipment off to the side and bring out my folding conference table and chairs.  I'll store them behind the backdrop when I'm not using them.  It's a nice big room, bigger than the main room.

They gave me the keys a few days earlier than expected, so I found myself not quite mentally prepared to get started, but very excited.  I started moving some things in and sorting out my studio into what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to get rid of or replace.   (It looks like I'll be having a "new studio" equipment sale pretty soon !)

Here's how it looked with the studio set up:

It was a little odd at first to shoot in such a nice big space, I have to say. I've been in the garage so long, that is was weird to not have to climb over strollers and bikes to get ready.

Yesterday, I had the first of my furniture delivered, and I worked a little on the kids' play area.  I love the couch and chair I found.  I really like the shapes, they are very comfortable, and they are covered in a microfleece fabric which made them (a)less expensive (b)very easy to clean, and (c)soft and comfortable.  I bought the chair with nursing mommies in mind. You just sink into it and you can arrange the pillows around you as needed.  Comfy.

The play area still looks pretty bare.  All I have is the table & chairs and the cutest little brown velvety sofa I found at Home Goods the other day.  I am still waiting for my play kitchen and bookcase to arrive.  The baskets in the corner are for the changing table that will go over by the restroom.  I'm still not sure what I'm doing to the walls here.  I might get a mural painted, or put up some wainscoting, or maybe just leave it.  I haven't decided.

So the actual studio space itself is at least underway and making some progress.  I have an official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, June 19th, and the Grand Opening Open House on Saturday, June 21st.  I still have a lot to do to get the space ready, like finish furnishing it and hang pictures on the walls, but I think it will be done in plenty of time.

Making progress...

I have been popping by the studio space quite often to see how things are going.  Things are moving along pretty quickly, and it's both exciting and nerve-wracking.  As soon as they're done, I need to be ready to hit the ground running!

They finished with the construction part, so the doors and floor to ceiling windows are gone, and the wall separating the two smaller offices are gone.  Now I have two big rooms:  the greeting and slide show presentation room and the camera room.  Do you like all the junk the previous tenants left behind?  (Did you notice that computer monitor from the mid-1800's?)  They also left an entire room full of office furniture.  Thanks, but no thanks.

I finally picked my Grand Opening day, which will be on Saturday, June 7th.  A couple of the local magazines are going to cover it, and I think the chamber of commerce is going to come do a ribbon-cutting ceremony with me. 

I've got most of my new branding/packaging/presentation materials planned out and designed, so I need to finish that up and start getting it all printed so I can put it all together.

I'm almost done finalizing my product line, and I'm excited about some of the new things I'm going to be offering.  I am still only halfway done with my price list and my budget, so I still have some work to do there.

I have to go back and measure the walls and start planning out my sample prints and decide how I want to display them.  I can frame them, get them as hangable canvases, mounted prints, or a combination of all of those.  How many collages do I want to show?  How many groupings vs. large prints?   Hmmm.... 

OK, gotta get back to work to make all of this happen!