L I N

It has been a strange lately as I have been so busy with other facets of my life. However, I feel bad as I realize how much this blog has been neglected.  As I look through photos from the past year or so, I find photos that I really would like to share, but just didn’t have much of a venue to share them all.  I am contemplating on introducing more of a photo blog aspect to this blog and post a new photo, whether new or old, everyday or two. The post may contain text or not and may contain information on how the shot was taken or what camera settings were used.

So here goes!

I know I have been so bad about keeping up with this blog. Now that the hectic holiday season is over and the new year has started, I thought I would post an update.

Pretty evident is the re-branding of this site’s colors and a newly added logo.  Though the colors haven’t changed all that dramatically, they do invoke a more lively mood and matches my logo a bit more. I wanted to create a brand that is a bit more playful and light hearted than previously.  I hope to start this new year with a few more photo shoots and more time to do what I love to do.

So on my modest to-do list are:

1. Buy a new camera bag.
2. Have new business cards made.
3. Hang an art display at the local pet boutique.
4. Photograph more dogs.
5. Blog more.

I have been thinking about doing an art display at the local boutique but haven’t had much time to really follow through with it.  Mostly, I have had a hard time deciding which photos to use and which medium to have them printed on (canvas vs print).  I am leaning more towards a print either framed or unframed (stand out).  Aside from the logistics (size and quantity), I am confident that I’ll have this done in a month or so. At least that is my plan.

So, while I was rummaging through a few photos from last year, here are a few more of Henry (because every post is better with a photo).

I had one too many Facebook pages, and over this past weekend I finally consolidated them. Here is my new Facebook page. I will be posting my most recent shoots on Facebook and tagging the photographs as well.  I also will be adding local pet adoption and fundrasier events.

Don’t forget, this coming Sunday, December 7th is the annual Home for the Holidays fundraiser event for the Irvine Animal Care Center. I will be taking a few of the photos with Santa.  They are also having lots of holiday gifts for sale there.  Please stop by and help the animals at the Irvine Animal Care Center. Proceeds will go to the shelter. Hope to see a few of you there!

I joined this organization a month or so ago, but never got around to posting about it.  Greener Photography is an organization whose mission is to promote green business practices amongst photographers. I really do believe that the little changes I implement into my work flow helps to make a difference for a healthier environment. Especially since I am such a big nature and wildlife person, I feel it is my personal mission to change what I can.

Some of my green business practices include 100% recycled business cards, using vendors who are known to have green practices (prints and albums), printing contracts, promo cards, and flyers on 100% recycled paper, and using rechargeable batteries for my cameras and flashes. I also use biodegradable doggy bags, and 100% healthy treats for pets.

I also believe in giving back the community.  I donate 15% of my net sales for each session booked with me back to either the Irvine Animal Care Center or to the Pugs ‘n Pals rescue group. It is just something I believe in. 

More information can be found in the Giving Back section of my blog and website.

I am so happy to offer high quality canvas gallery wraps.  These wraps, in conjunction with the Design Collections, provide stunning wall displays for your home or office. I recently received a canvas gallery wrap that I had ordered for the Magoo play date session that I did a few weeks ago. The quality is top notch. The color is bright and very consistent, construction is clean, elegant, and surperb, and there is no loss in sharpness. I am very happy with these canvas gallery wraps and I am very sure The Dog Ranch will be happy as well. I cannot wait to show the owner!

So what is a canvas gallery wrap? An image is printed on fine grade canvas, mounted on a frame about 1.5″ thick, and sprayed with a UV protectant.  The canvas gallery wraps are covered and finished so that the client can immediately hang the art piece.

I have decided to merge both my baby blog and pet blog into a more personal blog documenting both aspects of my photography.  Here is where you will find updated information, wandering thoughts, and photos from recent baby and pet play date sessions. I hope to update this blog from several times a week to every day. So keep checking back!

To quickly find either a pet post or baby post, I have tagged all my posts into their respective categories.  So navigating should be quite easy.

When I decided to start offering albums to my clients, I didn’t want just plain old any album that can be picked up at the local store. I wanted high quality albums with personality, style, and durability.  I chose an album vendor that actually caters to the wedding industry.  High quality albums tend to give you that ‘wow’ factor when you show them off to your friends and family. And why should luxurious albums only be for weddings?  Fine art captures of your pet should be preserved on high quality paper in high quality albums. So what I have shown below is a proofing album in 100% leather; hand made and hand mounted. The prints are printed by a professional lab commonly used by the wedding industry.  I added the decorate bow to give it a more ‘Lin’ feeling to it.

Proofing albums contain 5×5 prints of every proof shown to you during the proofing session.  They can be purchased individually or included in any package.  In addition, 8×8 design albums may also be purchased.  Each album can be customized from an array of cover options (leather, vegan leather, brocade), sizes (5×5, 8×8, 10×10), and colors (black, brown, white, red, blue, pink, yellow, etc.).  I will be more than happy to go over cover choices and bring samples to the proofing session.