Studio Noveau Blog

Cody and Liz are getting married in Madison in October, but I was SO excited when they said they wanted their engagement photos in Prairie Du Chien. Not only is Prairie Du Chien only a 30 minute drive from my house, it has some seriously amazing locations for photos. Ah-mazing. Really. Check ‘em out:

PDC has some of the coolest historic buildings!

Katie and Eric contacted me a while back for some photos.  They were celebrating an anniversary and Katie’s birthday, and wanted some photos of them.  I call sessions like these “Connection Sessions”… photos for people in love, whether they are married, engaged, or dating.  It’s just an excuse to document that love!  We scheduled the session at Olbrich Botanical Gardens and were lucky to have a gorgeous evening!

Here are a few of my favorites:

They were so cute: anytime they walked anywhere, Katie would reach over and rub Eric’s back, or he’d give her funny little looks that would make her crack up.

This last one was just a pretty shot I grabbed before leaving Olbrich.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I’m pleased to announce a fun and exciting event….

A Sassy Boudoir Marathon Event!

If you aren’t familiar with boudoir photography, imagine tasteful, artistic portraiture that shows off the beauty of your body.  You can view examples on my boudoir website, a join venture with friend and fellow wedding photographer, Mandie.  Our website can be found at www.sassyboudoir.com, or by clicking here.  A boudoir photo session makes a great gift for your groom on your wedding day, celebrating an anniversary or milestone, or just because.

Choose from TWO great dates/locations.

1. Join Mandie on January 16th at her new studio near Madison or
2. Join Rebecca on January 23 in downtown La Crosse.

Your mini session includes 30 minutes of shooting, a private online gallery to view your images, and a 5×7 folio with your two favorite images to give that special guy.  This Valentine’s special is all yours for only $100!  A very limited number of sessions will be booked, so book now!

SPECIAL: refer a friend for the La Crosse date and you’ll both save $20 on your session fee!

For only $75, upgrade your two-image folio to a 10-page mini album! Show off up to 20 of your lovely images in this portable little album that he can carry in a suitcase or stash in his nightstand drawer.

To confirm your session or get more details, contact Rebecca (rebecca@studionoveau.com)!

Happy 2010, Everyone!  If you’ve been a loyal blog or Facebook follower of Studio Noveau for any amount of time, you may have learned a few things about me.

1. My husband just got back from Iraq on December 23.  (Yay for fun surprise Christmas presents!) The photo below is my hubby during his 2005 deployment.



2. I’m actually a U.S. Navy veteran myself, as I mentioned a few posts ago.  (I get seasick.  Blech.) The photo below is me and some of my Navy buddies almost 8 years ago.  Can you pick me out?



3. One of my volunteer activities is working for Operation Love Reunited as a volunteer photographer for deploying or returning military and their families. You can view a sample session by clicking here.

So… this leads me to the purpose of this post.  :)  Several of my clients have been or are currently in the military, and I pride myself on trying to be as military-friendly as possible.  So because of that, I’ve decided to make one very important change, starting in 2010.  Studio Noveau now offers a military discount!  After speaking with a new client a few days ago and learning that many photographers don’t offer military discounts, I’ve decided to make my discount public!  :)  After all, I truly believe that our military and their families are truly sacrificing themselves and years of their lives for us, the American public.

Here are the details:

• This discount is good for 10% off any session.  Yes, this even applies to wedding packages!  And to go a step further, you may qualify for a FREE Op:Love portrait session.  (Please contact me for more details to see if you qualify for the free session.)
• There are NO blackout dates.  The only restrictions on dates are if I am already booked or simply cannot fit your session into my schedule.  Typically, I book weddings and portrait sessions on a first-come, first-served basis.
• This discount doesn’t apply to prints, albums, or canvases.

I hope you are as excited as I am about this.  It’s nice to be able to show appreciation for something so important!  Have a great day!

I adore this engagement session. It took a while to schedule it and pick out a location (Viroqua vs Madison), but we made it happen! After starting out at The Union, we walked all the way up State Street, and ended at The Capitol building. Love love love these photos!

This one is one of my favorite engagement photos of the entire year!

Let me tell you something you may not know about me.  I’m a veteran.  Yup, I spent 5 years in the good ol’ US Navy and it was a fantastic time of my life.  I met some wonderful people and saw a lot of the world.  During that time, I spent months and years at a time away from family and friends,  so I relied on pictures to help get me through those lonely stretches of time.

Some of you know that my husband is currently in Iraq and has been there since May.  When I met him, he was home on leave from his first Iraq deployment.  We kept in touch with emails, phone calls, letters, and photos.  It’s safe to say that we fell in love during that deployment.

So, long story short, when I first heard of a volunteer organization called OpLove, or Operation Love Reunited, I knew I had to take part with this group as a veteran, a military wife, and someone who feels that family is such an important part of anyone’s life, especially those service members that  sacrifice so much.  What is OpLove, you ask?  Basically, volunteer photographers donate their time to give a deploying or deployed service member a free photo session.  It can be taken of the entire family prior to departure, of the family while their service member is deployed (and a copy of the photos are sent to the deployed person right away), or the photographer can capture the highly emotional homecoming when the family sees their soldier for the first time in months or even years.

When Stephanie contacted me, I instantly knew I wanted to work with her and Brian.  Their story was so much like mine and Ben’s.  They had been married a year (exactly) by the time our session rolled around, and they’d been apart for most of that year.  It’s safe to say this was a very emotional session for me: I got a little weepy just taking their pictures.  When I started editing them, I definitely had tears in my eyes!  Part of the reason this affected me so much is that Brian’s leave coincided very closely with Ben’s first visit home in months, so we knew we had to make this session happen in our one day window or it wouldn’t happen.  One thing she said that I absolutely relate to is “Our vacation is most peoples’ every day life”.  That is such a profound statement as most of us take so many things for granted.  Stephanie and Brian have both made so many sacrifices in their short married life.

Stephanie and Brian, I hope these last few months fly by for you!  Thank you for letting me share such a precious time during your vacation together.

Wow.  When I announced the photo session giveaway contest, I didn’t expect that choosing a winner would be so difficult!  Thank you to everyone who entered.  There were 22 comments entered, and it was difficult narrow it down to even the top five entries!  But… I did it.  Drumroll, please!

The winner is… Angela and Ben!  Here is Angela’s entry:

• I think it could be awesome to do a high fashion photo shoot at a Christmas tree farm.  Ben in a full Tuxedo (along with bow tie) carrying an axe and chopping down a tree. I would be in a formal evening gown… I’m thinking black satin and lots of sparkles! I’d wear a lot of over the top accessories and jewelry, a faux fur coat, and faux fur boots. We’d bring our dogs, and we’d stomp around in such a juxtaposition that I think the pictures could be awesome! I keep thinking this could be great for our Christmas card this year! And we’d probably get some really awkward looks romping around in formal attire, followed by a photographer, and chopping down a tree.

As I was reading her entry, I kept thinking how fun this particular session sounded, and getting all these great visuals in my mind of what the pictures would look like.  Congratulations, guys!

Because there were so many great entries, I decided I couldn’t give away just one session.  Though it was hard, I narrowed down the list to four additional sessions that really showed some creativity.  This is where you all enter the picture.  Please vote on the “People’s Choice” award by leaving a comment below.  The entry with the most comments below will win a free session as well!

So?  What do YOU all think?  Please comment below with the name of the girl you think should win the People’s Choice session!

Thanks again to everyone who entered. This was an extremely difficult decision and so many of you had wonderful ideas!

With wedding season winding down for the year, I’m looking for a unique portrait session idea.  Hoping to get an engagement session scheduled?  Want to put on your dress for a Trash the Dress session?  Want to get a little Sassy Boudoir?  Looking for an updated family portrait? Need a photo for your website/promotional materials?

To enter the contest: Leave a comment below.  That’s it!  You must comment on an idea you have for a fun, unique portrait session. The sky is the limit… get creative! I’ll choose the winner based on the awesomeness of the idea.  :)

Two rules:
1) Must take place between November and April

2) Location should be in Wisconsin or Eastern Iowa

If you don’t want to enter the contest, but have a great idea for a session, feel free to add your comment and note that you aren’t entering the contest.

Madison Wisconsin Dells Wedding Photographer

This week I was looking over my calendar for 2010 and thought I’d give you all an update.  I’m filling up rather quickly for “wedding season” (May through October), and some months have only one available weekend.  If you are thinking about booking Studio Noveau, please contact me sooner rather than later.

Also, I’ve decided to offer an off-season incentive as a way to encourage weddings in the non-peak months.  Yay!  If you book your wedding between November and April, excluding holiday weekends, I will offer you one of two things:

1) A second photographer upgrade at no cost to you

or

2)  10% off your wedding photography package

Make sure to mention this incentive when you are inquiring with me.  Also, don’t forget to find me on Facebook under Studio Noveau Photography!

Have a great week, everyone!  Let me leave you with a little eye-candy from Lisa and Rick’s Trash the Dress session a few weeks ago:

Continuing the series… here is another video, this time from last weekend’s engagement session with Ashley and Joe. They drove down from Minneapolis / St. Paul and we met up in Viroqua for their totally awesome session. We were able to hit up Main Street and some super secret locations: alleys, graffiti walls, hidden courtyards, and even a local vineyard! I’m really looking forward to their wedding next summer.

Thanks to Ron for acting as videographer and second photographer. I love when we are able to capture some video footage plus the pictures from the session in one of these fun little videos!

Make sure to leave a comment! Let me know what you think of the video or leave some well wishes for Ashley and Joe!

Don’t forget- for firsthand sneak peaks, make sure to become a fan of Studio Noveau Photography on Facebook!