New blog is up!

It took a bit longer to get the new blog up - being sick myself and having TWO sick children did not help the matter. We are finally feeling better and the new blog is up! Check out the 'Boutique Products' section - you can see a few of the exciting new products I am offering. I will be adding more products there shortly as well.

If you have this blog book marked don't forget to change the bookmark to point to the new blog: blog.LiveLoveLaughPhotos.com.

And to see who won the 'Helping Hearts' contest - head over to the new blog !

Exciting updates coming soon!

I've been quiet lately but I promise there is a good reason for that:)  I've been working on a lot of exciting new things - starting with a brand new blog and an updated website that should be ready soon.   Then there is a whole array of beautiful new products that I am now offering.  And I am also restructuring my packages to give you more value on the items that have been very popular last year - brag books, storyboards, canvases.   Told you - a lot of stuff is going on and I can't wait to share everything with you soon.   So don't forget and check back shortly!

Let's do something to help situation in Haiti

Much like when the tsunami hit in 2004 or with Katrina in 2005, watching the news on the horrible situation in Haiti saddens me. Victor and I, like so many others, have already made a donation to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief fund. But I wanted to do more and hope to raise money for this worthy cause doing what I love to do - photography! So I’m teaming up with many photographers around the world and together, we’re going to try to do something to help. But, we need you, too! Here is the deal:

You could win:

• A custom photography session photographed by me for a family of up to four people.
• Session will last approximately 1 hour and will take place before the end of June 2010
• Winner will also receive 20-25 fully edited images (sized to 8x12) on a CD - print to your heart's content!

How to win:

• Make a MINIMUM donation of $10 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund
• Forward a copy of your donation receipt to Lena@LiveLoveLaughPhotos.com (your email will NOt be stored and will be deleted right away). The receipts must be dated between January 26 and February 14
• All entries must be received by midnight (EST) on February 14
• Winner will be drawn at random and announced on February 15
• You can enter as many times as you'd like, but each entry must be the minimum $10 donation

Other details:

• Session participants must sign a model release.
• Session will be held in Bergen county (location to be agreed on).
• If the winner does not claim his/her prize by February 18 then another winner will be drawn
• This program is not sponsored or promoted by the American Red Cross and I am not receiving anything in return for this effort.

Please share this information with your friends and family. Together we can make a difference!

And in the meantime, here are a few images to get you in the giving spirit:)

And the winner is......

Wow - I am amazed at the great job you did rallying for your favorite images!  We got votes from all over the country and as far as India, China, England and Greece - 237 total to be exact! It was a pretty close call between several images till the end and this morning I was very excited to see who won.

I added up votes from the blog, Facebook and numerous emails I've received and the winner is..... drum-roll please! ...- #14 Sayan - with 69 votes!   Congratulations!!!

And now for the second winner: I plugged in all names from blog comments and emails (Facebook entries were not eligible for the drawing) into a spreadsheet and then used random.org to pick a number.  The number that was selected was 47:

It corresponds to the comment left by Clark: 

Clark: Please send me an email so that I can let you know the details of the spring mini-session, which you can keep for yourself or if you are not in the area - give to a friend/family.

Thanks who participated in the contest!  I had such a great time reading through all your comments and emails that I am going to make this an annual event:)

Best of 2009 - win a free session+prints/canvas | New Jersey children photographer

I want to thank everybody who have made 2009 such a success for me! It was great to meet new clients and make new friends and to watch 'old' little clients grow - thank you for allowing me into your lives and letting me capture memories for you.

As a recap of 2009 I am holding a 'Best of' contest in which you will vote for the Image of the Year. I love all my clients and have favorites from every single session so it was very difficult to narrow down the finalists. After long deliberation, I managed to select my 15 favorite images from this year. Now it is up to you to decide which image gets the title of the Image of the Year at Live Love Laugh Photos - and the prize that goes along with it:)

Vote for your favorite image by leaving a comment in this post to let me know which image you are voting for.

There can be up to THREE winners:
1) Image with the most votes wins. The winner will receive an 11x14 gallery wrapped canvas of the winning image AND a $100 print credit toward prints/boutique items to be used on a regular session in 2010.

2) In addition, to thank you all for participating in voting, I will randomly select one of the comments below and the submitter will receive a FREE spring mini session package valued at $300!

3) And if we get over 250 votes I will give away not one but TWO mini sessions!

So vote for your favorite image, have your friends and family voting and spread the word: blog about it, put it on your 'Facebook' page, etc.

Added Bonus
If you book your session while the contest is going on, you will receive $100 print credit towards any boutique items to be used on a regular session in 2010!

Some fine print:
- The voting ends on Friday, January 15 and I will announce the Best Image and Spring mini-session winners on the blog on Saturday, January 16
- Please keep things fair and vote only for one image - I can check the IP addresses!
- Mini sessions will take place in April in Bergen County New Jersey (location of my choice). If you are not local to the area you can give the mini session package to a friend

Happy voting and good luck!

1: Sam and Alex

2 Maddie:

3 Isaac:

4 Alexa:

5 Paige:

6 Isabella:

7 Niko:

8 Stella and Odysseus:

9 Olivia and Samantha:

10 Natasha:

11 Jayden:

12 Lauren and Amanda:

13 Josie:

14 Sayan:

15 Sylvia and Nils:

EDITED TO ADD: if you are not able to leave a comment below then send me an email at Lena@LiveLoveLaughPhotos.com with the image number you would like to vote for.

Happy Holidays! | New Jersey children photographer

From my family to yours - Happy Holidays! And here is the Holiday Card we sent out this year:

Snow | New Jersey children photographer

Wow, what a busy few months it has been! Now that things are slowing down and the last of my orders are being completed, I can finally slow down a bit and start to enjoy the Holiday Season. And of course, now I have time to photograph my own girls:)

We had our first major snow storm here over the weekend and Mia and Alexa spent most of Sunday morning looking out at the snow:

So Victor and I bundled them up and took them outside to play with snow. Only the reaction we got was not quite what we were expecting:

Alexa did not even want to stand in the snow, so Victor had to carry her. She did like to look down at it though:)

And now a quick calendar update. I am now taking reservations for 2010 so if you are interested in having a session with me please email me at Lena@LiveLoveLaughPhotos.com or call me at 917-647-6385.