Porter and his Oma...

Can he be any cuter? │ Mason Michigan Baby Photographer

Simply magic │ Mason Michigan Newborn Photographer

More mama love...

Reminder: Office Closing

Just a reminder... the office will be closed from June 22 through July 4th for an extended holiday. During this time I will have limited access to phone and internet.

All orders put in and paid in full ON OR BEFORE June 21 will be shipped out immediately upon reopening. Any orders put in and paid for AFTER June 21 will be placed with the lab upon reopening (July 5th) and delivery will be approximately the third week in July.

So, if you want your prints sooner rather than later, please have your order and payment in to me BY TOMORROW. If you don't have time to get a check in, you can always pay via credit card/debit card through Paypal... its instantaneous and easy!

By the way, I tried to explain the changes a little better back here on this post.

Beautiful Boy

Get a look at this precious, extremely easy-going little man that I was so lucky to spend my morning with...

Their home was absolutely beautiful, and mom had lots of ideas for pictures, including a family heirloom cradle and an outfit that was baby Andrew's grandpas.... what great memories to capture!

This is one of my favorites... Andrew has a sneaky little look on his face... he's so cute!

Baby, You're Beautiful!

Don't you agree?

Saturday I photographed the winner of our Baby, You're Beautiful! Contest.... Miss Madison and her brother, Xander.

I am just in love with her gorgeous ringlet curls... aren't they precious?

Happy Father's Day!

To all the dads out there.... have a wonderful and blessed Father's Day!

Changes coming July 4th

Please note that my pricing structure will be changing on July 4th, 2007. Yes, I know, the dreaded increase of prices. Whether it be gasoline, postage stamps, heating bills, etc....we all dread it.

Any sessions that are booked before July 4th will be honored the pricing in their Portrait Agreement for up to 30 days past their session date (your session fee and portrait agreement MUST be received before July 4th). Anything booked after July 4, 2007 will be subject to the new pricing structure. **ETA.... what I mean is, if you have contacted me prior to July 4th to schedule a session, and I have received your session deposit and Portrait Agreement BEFORE July 4th, then you are locked in at the "old" prices for 30 days after your session date. Your session does NOT have to take place before July 4th, it just has to be BOOKED and finalized (Portrait Agreement and deposit sent in) before July 4th.

This also applies to past orders... any sessions with outstanding orders that are 30 days past their session date will be subject to the new pricing structure if orders are not in and paid for before July 4th, 2007.

I know, change *sucks* (are you offended if I say that?). HOWEVER, this change will also bring some new things also! I will be changing the structure for purchasing Keepsake Albums, adding some Portrait Collections, possibly some new products (these may come around later in July, depends on how much I get get my butt organized and in gear), and a NEW CONTEST!

Ok, well, that should be it for now. I'll leave you with one more image from my maternity session. I have other images I desperately want to share, however, my monitor has gone wonky on me and I am not editing anything until I get it calibrated. So, I will just be sharing some previous sessions.

2 weeks and counting.. │ Lansing Michigan Maternity & Child Photographer

My clients today were referred to me by fellow photographer Aimee Payne. I can't say "thank you" enough. She told me I'd love this family, but I had no idea.

Not only were the parents gorgeous, but Sienna... this little girl is just breathtaking.

Back to the session. No, this session was not about Sienna at all. It was about her soon-to-be-new-baby-sister. Nicole is just 2 weeks away from her due date, and she is absolutely glowing.

Let me tell you, this session was amazing. We had amazing locations and my subjects were amazing also! I could share a million pictures from this session, but I'll do my best to restrain myself.

Nicole and Fulu, thank you for a great morning/afternoon. You guys are going to be great with two little girls, and I can't wait to meet the newest addition in a few short weeks!

Busy Busy Busy!

I've been busy this week with sessions and orders and scheduling. I'm trying to make sure things are all squared away for when I'll be out of town for 2 weeks at the end of June.

Currently, June is completely booked.

July has three weekday sessions available. I will be in Royal Oak on Saturday the 28th, so if you're in that area and interested in a session, I'll open up Saturday afternoon for one session.

I have just tentatively opened up my August calendar (you can check my availability through the link in the sidebar). The dates available are subject to change... I may rearrange them as needed, but for now thats whats available. I foresee August will book quickly, so if you're wanting a session, think ahead so that you can select a date that works best for you!

September (ahhh, September) and October (ahh, October!)... the leaves... the gorgeous leaves... Sessions in September and October will be VERY limited, and we all know the leaves are limited too! :) I will be opening those calendars up in July, and right now I'll start a waiting list for "Autumn Sessions". If you're interested in an Autumn Session with all the beautiful fall colors, please contact me asap and I'll put you on the waiting list. Once my September and October calendars are available, I'll start at the top of the list and contact you to select your date!

We're booking up!

I now have only one session no sessions available in June and only 4 sessions available in July. I think its time to start setting up my August calendar!

If you're thinking of a session for July or August, its probably best if you get it scheduled soon!

Here's the photo for the day. My son being snuggly with my cousin. Such a sweet moment!

Vacation Vacation....

Wow... utterly exhausting. I'm still "officially" on vacation until Thursday (I'll begin returning any phone calls/emails at that point), but I wanted to do a little update and share a few pictures. We had a GREAT time in Florida, and it was so nice to finally relax a little. We met up with my friend (and a fellow photographer), Jessica Porter (from Georgia) and her family and hit up Disney World and Sea World. Great times in that 98* heat, I tell ya.

So, here are a few pictures to share with you. Get your hand ready because your jaw is going to drop when I told you we took over 3,000 (YES, 3 THOUSAND) pictures on vacation. I haven't even completed going through the first three days of them. So, here are some that I've made it through...

Jessica and little Hailey...

Porter, totally wild over the thunderstorm...

Playing in the rain afterwards..

Magic Kingdom at night...

Sea World...

Porter hamming it up in the pool...

Aaaaand... that'll be it for now. I hope you enjoyed!

Holy Moly, do you believe this?!

I just got home from a nice visit with my family who is in from out of state (Virginia and Georgia) and PollDaddy failed me again... the poll was still up and running. I had it set to close at 9pm, but for some reason it was still running now at 10:30pm.

Well, anyway, not that thats a huge deal, but guess what the polls showed?

I have a tie for second place. Can you believe that?

Anyway, our first place winner, and our soon to be featured face on the homepage of the Nicole Barczak Photography website will be the adorable curly haired Madison! Congratulations! (Madison will receive a complimentary session as well as a 10x20 storyboard featuring 3 images from her session).

And, for second place... what to do what to do? Well, the ever so cute Cade and big smile Eagan have tied... so, they will both receive a complimentary session as well as a complimentary 8x10 from their session.

Congratulations! I look forward to meeting each of you! Emails have been sent regarding scheduling your session as well as an information packet. As I said in my previous post, I've been having some issues with email lately, and thus far I have not received any responses to the emails. So, if you have emailed back to reserve a date for your session, please give me a call at 517-990-2929 as I haven't received your email. (Wait.... Kristin.. I do have you down for June 7th!)

Now, one more thing. I'm thinking of holding a contest for children aged 3-7. What do you think? Is anyone interested? Post in the comments... I'm on the fence with this. This contest has been quite exhausting, so if I don't have a lot of interest, I'll just skip that idea.

Email Delivery Problems?

I suspect I may be having some issues with my email. If you have emailed me and I do not reply within 3 days (I normally respond within 24 hours), then please try to email me again. Or, you can always reach me at 517-990-2929 or my alternate email nic073@sbcglobal.net.

A few weeks ago I received an email that a clients mother sent IN JANUARY. Yes, I'm not kidding. I thought I was losing my mind when I read that she wanted to place an order (that had already closed out 5 months ago!), well, it turns out I wasn't crazy.. MY EMAIL WAS! So, I have no idea where that email was for 5 months, but anyway, I just hope that doesn't happen to anyone recently.

So please, if I don't respond to your email within 3 days, try again or try my phone. It is possible that my email has failed us both and I didn't receive it.

Elizabeth and Rachel

I had the opportunity to do a little shoot with my cousins the other day... they live in Georgia and are visiting the great state of Michigan (HAHA!) for some family events.

I can't believe how GROWN UP they look! Well, they kind of are! I swear, it seems like just yesterday they were little kids running around...

Aren't they beautiful?

Elizabeth:

Rachel: