Happy New Year! (a couple days early)

Tomorrow, we will begin the count down to a new year. It seems like just yesterday it was like, I don't know, 1999 or something.. (yes, I've got Prince piping through the office again. He and MJ get me through a lot of busy afternoons!)

Anyway, as we've said a few times since Christmas, 2015 is bringing some pretty awesome changes to Brighter Focus!

One change, you may have actually picked up on, already! We will be officially adopting a new name in 2015. Brighter Focus Photography will become Brighter Focus Photography & Design.  We will still be providing you with beautiful, quality portraits and event coverage, but will also be offering many graphic options as well, such as custom invitations, announcements, and cards, party packs (invitations, games, banners, water bottle labels, etc), business cards, fliers, and other corporate needs. You will also be able to contact us with your ideas for your new business logo and we will work with you create it! You can get a preview of our new business cards here: (but still expect to see some of our previous ones in circulation, we still have a few of those to get through!)

We will announce other upcoming additions and changes as the New Year progresses, so keep a watch out!

I hope you all have a very safe and happy new year!

From us here at Brighter Focus, to your family,

Happy New Year!

Free Printable: Santa Please Stop Here

Too cute to not share with our clients and followers...

Print this adorable sign out for the kids to put on the mailbox, door, chimney, etc..

You're Welcome!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO YOUR DOWNLOAD!

Children are a gift from God.....

Recently, we had the opportunity to cover an infant baptism. Although the video and many posed images were taken while on location at the church, we done a mini session with her, also.

Due to the sanctity of a baptism, I will not share the ceremony pictures here, I did want to share a couple of the studio shots from today.

The collage that these two pictures are in was originally designed for us to use for a newborn baby announcement, but the colors of the dress, backdrop, and chair combined for an amazing contrast with the browns and golds on the collage board.

These collages, for those interested, are available in many custom designs, (color, theme, and layout) to suit your needs and to coordinate with YOUR session and images. They are available in print as 8x10, 16x20, and 20x24. Depending on your design, we may also be fit them to a 12x12 as well, however, not all designs will work well on a square layout, as many are designed for rectangle printing.

Free Printable Calendar!

2015 will be here in just a few days! It seems like yesterday it was 1-1-2014, though, doesn't it?

As we approach the new year, we here at Brighter Focus Photography want to give you a little something. A small token of our appreciation for your business, for having you follow us here on the blog, or on facebook, twitter, or instagram, just because you're special to us!

Feel free to share this link with your friends and family so they can download their own calendar as well!

Hope you enjoy!

~Kana

Click on the image below to download your FREE calendar!

...and now, the time is near, and so I face my final curtain......

As I sit here, and yes, as the title of this post suggests, Ol' Blue Eyes is singing in the background, I'm looking back over the year, a year with amazing clients, lots of personal growth, and some of the best memories ever made. I get emotional and sentimental this time of year, and well, nothing like a little Sinatra to just enable all those warm fuzzy feelings, right?

While I can't say that I did things "my way", because I certainly didn't.. there's legalities, there's clients to be kept happy, and there's a family to tend to, I can say that *had* I done it my way, I wouldn't change a thing. 2014 has been one of the most amazing years I've ever witnessed.

As I look back on the past 12 months, from newborns, to weddings, to families and corporate clients, I have been blessed to work with the most beautiful people God created! Thank you for choosing me to photograph your special moments. It means the world to me, that in a photographer saturated area, you chose me! Thank you, I love you guys!

I also want to take a minute to say thank you to Chris Keller. He has so many titles and wears so many hats, both professionally and personally. I don't know what I would do without him. Both business wise, and in our person lives. He's brought out a part of me that I had burried and let die. And that resurrection of my personality is a major part of what has made Brighter Focus what it is today. So, for all you do for Brighter Focus and for our family, and for me, THANK YOU!

As we move forward into 2015, we have some fun mini sessions planned, and we have some pretty amazing new products to offer you! Watch the blog, our twitter, instagram, and facebook for updates as they'll be coming soon...

.....but first.... let's take a look back!

 

One more time, as I just don't feel like I can say it enough, THANK YOU! We love you! We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And don't forget, as we go into the new year, 

"Everything is Brighter when you focus on what matters!"

~Kana

Image Restoration: Corporate Newsletter Framing

A few weeks ago, a corporate client got in touch with me.. Now, I have a personal, working relationship with this particular client, so when I answer the phone to this conversation, I know my creativity will be challenged, my stress levels will rise, and like any other artist, I will question every move I make on the project.. Especially considering that the client always entrusts me with full creative control.

Here's the conversation, if you're interested:

Me:, "hello"
Client:, "Hey, Kana. I have a project for you. You busy?"
Me: "Well, I can manage something, what's up?"
Client: "I have a picture. I need it restored to its original, then framed and plated. We have an employee transferring to another facility."
Me: "Send the file on over, I'll get started on it today."

I shortly received an email with a tiny picture attached. Well, it wasn't too tiny, but it was an older file, of an even older picture.. As you can see, it's crooked, there are lines missing, and while it's not really this small, it's not much bigger.. as it sat, it would print no bigger than a wallet size and still be clear... (as, yes, it's actually a photo of the newsletter cover that was originally published in 1972! That's older than me, and Chris, well, he probably learning his colors then!) (note: image has been watermarked for the purpose of this blog post, as our client owns the picture, not BFP&D)

After re-sampling and clearing the image to be fit to print at the requested
size (to fit an 18x24 frame),

We had to do some obvious color adjustments and touching up the sides, where you can see that borders are missing and the like.



Restoration completed, it was time to order the brass plate and have the framing done! A quick phone call to one of our vendors and a name plate was being created. Marlon done a wonderful job on the brass work, and also surprised me with some new items that he offers and we will, in turn, be offering you, our awesome clients, in the coming year! Yay! (Watch out for that post! We're pretty excited about it around here!)

Sammy, our framer, done a marvelous job, as always, and we enjoyed chatting with him in the frame shop while he "done his thing". Bless his heart, he even stayed about a half hour late just to finish up the piece for us that day!

Delivered to requesting client, who then presented it to it's lucky recipient. I say he's lucky to receive this piece of art, but truth be told, from what I heard from these clients, they were the lucky ones, and the new family he's about to be a part of may not realize how lucky they are to be adding him to their team!

Here's a picture we were able to capture after it was presented.

 

Pictured: Brent Bates presenting to Robby Arn

Mr. Arn, from us at Brighter Focus, we wish you only the best in your new endeavors for Consolidated, and want to congratulate you on the promotion this transfer will afford you! May only the best be in your future!

Chris & Kana Keller
Brighter Focus Photography

Memory Monday: Your favorite photo memory

Today, on the FACEBOOK PAGE, we asked for your earliest photography memory.. For some people, it may be going into that department store studio for family pictures, or Mama making you stand in the same place every year on your birthday to see how tall you'd gotten. There are some who remember everyone in the family lining up on the front porch steps, oldest in the back, babies in the front, Mama and Daddy standing on the sides, for their "family" picture.

For us, we both have strong photography ties from our childhood. Below, you'll find our own memories, along with a picture or two from those memories..

Kana's favorite photography memory
 I'm sure a lot of you know the story of my Papa giving me my first camera and telling me to "shoot the world". I was in the second or third grade. So, about 9 or 10. It was a aqau blue Concord 110. He told me that as long as I was trying to take good pictures, he'd buy me film and develop it for me. I think I had him in the pharmacy sending film off everyday for at least a week.. then I was limited to two rolls a week..
I do not have a picture of Papa and me that I can share today, as the limited pictures I do have are packed up and I can't get to them. But here is a picture of myself and him taken on my wedding day. This was also the last picture taken of me and him, before he passed away less than 5 months later. If I'd known that day it would have been the last, I'd taken a million. So, while we're talking memories, I want to give you one piece of advice. Take as many pictures as you can, every opportunity you can. Don't worry about your hair, your makeup, or the clothes you're wearing, just snap. Those pictures will be all you have one day!

Chris' favorite memory:
Growing up, my mom always love taking pictures. She didn't care for posed pictures, however, she wanted "natural" candid shots. From family vacations to times around the house, she always took pictures. One of my most treasured pictures was a picture of Mama and Daddy that she let me take. I think I was probably around 9 or 10. It now sits on a shelf in our living room.

Now that you've seen ours, share yours with us! Go like our FACEBOOK PAGE and share your favorite photography memory. Or, if you'd rather use TWITTER or INSTAGRAM, make sure you use the hashtag #BFPmemoryMonday

March 2014 Newsletter