Rebo Photography Blog

Nothing like a quiet Sunday morning home with the kids.  Usually about now we would be at church over at Mount Helena Community Church, but mom is working this morning, and I’m not feeling brave enough to go solo with the 2 little ones.  :)  Besides, they are playing together nicely, and who wants to interrupt that?

On another note, the sun is shining outside, and it looks like spring!  I doubt it feels like spring outside, judging by the frost on the car, but nonetheless it makes me excited for warmer days…

…and warmer, longer days means wedding season is that much closer to starting!  Yes, I am excited, and I can’t wait for wedding season to get underway.  We have the most amazing clients, and I can’t wait to work with all of them this year.

With that, I’m off to play with the kiddos…

Chris

Wow!  Had a wonderful, busy, (exhausting?) holiday season, and now it’s time to get back to work!  Lots of stuff going on that I’d like to share, so here we go… (in no particular order…)

Janna had the opportunity to go to a 1-on-1 workshop with the wonderful Jessica Kettle, of Jessica Kettle Photography, who’s work Janna and I both love.  She learned a ton, and I got to learn a little too, secondhand. 

I’ve got some new pictures to post up here soon, and some old ones as well.  Sometime in the next week or so we will be doing at least one best of 2009 post, and I’m thinking we may even have a little fun with it!  Maybe a vote, and the couple in the winning image gets a prize?  What do you think of that?  Not 100% sure on the idea, so I’m open to hear others. 

Sometime in the not to distant future we will be starting what will (hopefully) become a regular feature: Guest Authors.  We will have posts (and I think maybe even some video posts!) from some people with good info to share for both brides-to-be and photographers alike.  Keep a watch for the first installment sometime in the next few weeks, hopefully.

We are going to be at the Helena Bridal Fair again this year, and we are super excited to meet you all!  Please don’t be shy - we are going to have a great giveaway, and we would love to just chat with you.

We’ve received some wonderful comments and testimonies from our clients in 2009, and some of those will be appearing on the website soon, and we may post them here with a few images tied to them as well.  Hopefully it will be something helpful for those of year who like to know you’ll get what you pay for. 

I think that’s about it at the moment…  I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but that’s ok.  Hopefully have another post tonight with some pictures from a recent engagement session!  Leave some love in the comment box if you have some to give.

Thanks!

Chris

Well, let me rephrase that.

I LOVE my job.

OK, there is the rare occasion when I am staring at my computer at 3 in the morning that I feel like I don’t love it, or at least that part of it….  But then I wake up in the morning and I love my job again.  So it’s all good.  :)

I think my favorite thing in the world to photograph is a wedding.  I know some people say they are all the same, or that once you’ve done a few you’ve seen it all…  I just don’t see it that way at all.  While having done plenty of weddings does mean I’ve seen a lot of things, I think that each wedding really is unique.  Each couple is unique, and there is an ever changing cast of characters…  What more could you want?

I don’t think I’ve ever done another job that is as much work as this one, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  I’m never more exhausted then at the end of a wedding, but it is always worth it.  Janna and I do everything possible to make your experience relaxed, comfortable, and most of all FUN!  If you’ve seen any of the pictures that have been snapped of me working on Facebook and the like, you’ll know we like to have fun, and we like to make it fun for you.

All the pictures you see here and on the website wouldn’t be possible without all the amazing clients I’ve had the chance to work with.  Working with all of you is what makes this job worthwhile, and I can’t wait to meet all the clients for 2010.  Gonna be the best year yet!

So, thanks to everyone who has helped us get to this point, and here’s to all of you who we will meet along the rest of the way!

Chris

Janna and I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and say that we are truly thankful for all the wonderful people we get to work with every week. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Chris Rebo & Janna Beecher
Rebo Photography

So, my friend Josh Lockie from Lockie Photography came up to Helena a couple weekends ago just to hang out, and we decided to try and just do a fun model session for kicks and giggles…  Posted an update on Facebook that we were looking for someone on short notice, and Sarah stepped up to the plate.  And did a great job as well!

I’ve just got a few images I wanted to share from this, and I think Josh may have some soon as well.  Hope you enjoy them, and thanks again Sara!

Let us know what you think!

Chris

Ok, so the winner of our iPod Nano drawing from the Helena Wedding Showcase is………..

Mary Buck!

Mary, if you read this, please contact us to claim your beautiful purple iPod Nano!

Thanks to everyone who signed up, and come see us in January at the Helena Wedding Fair!

Chris

I just wanted to say thank yo to everyone who stopped by our booth at the Helena Wedding Showcase on Sunday.  We had a great time talking with you all, and we look forward to working with some of you soon!

Our Fusion video got a great response from you all, just like we had hoped.  We were really sold on the concept, and we are so excited to be able to share it with you! 

Tons of you got the chance to sign up for our iPod Nano giveaway, and I know you are all eagerly waiting to find out who won…  Sometime later this week we will be able to draw a name and we will post the winner here on the blog.  So keep checking back to see if you’ve won! 

Finally, be on the lookout for our updated website.  We are working like crazy to get it done as soon as possible, but it always takes more time than we think.  We can’t wait to debut it though, so hopefully you’ll see that coming very soon.

Thanks again!

Chris

So, after all the hinting and the teasing, I’m thrilled to announce our new service…  Fusion Video!  We love that we are able to offer this to you, and we think you will love it as well!  As far as we know, we are the first wedding studio in Montana to be offering this, and we are excited to be leading the way.

I’m sure most of you have a few questions…  To get a visual of just what we are talking about, we’ve put together a trailer that shows the concept.  We will have a full video that will be debuting at the upcoming Helena Wedding Showcase (See, you need to come!)  So, check out the trailer…  Details after. 

[flv:/blog/Video/ReboFusionFinal.flv 600 375]

Ok, so now you want to know how this is all done?  Well, our cameras are capable of capturing full High Definition video clips.  We capture those clips throughout the day, and then take those, along with the best pictures from the day, and produce a Fusion video for you!  So, for the 2010 wedding season Janna Beecher will be joining me as the 2nd photographer, which allows us the flexibility needed to do the video aspect, as well as giving you that many more stellar images.

I hope this gives you an idea of the concept.  We have a full length video from a more recent wedding that will really showcase what we can do with this format.  Like I mentioned above, that will be debuting at the Helena Wedding Showcase, October 18th, at the Helena Red Lion Colonial Hotel.

I want to give a shout out to Tony Martin from Focal Point Graphic Design.  We’ve partnered with him to develop this concept, and the results have been great.  I don’t have the time available to really learn the ins and outs of video production, so Tony came alongside us and is going to handle the production aspects, and you may even see him at a wedding or two in 2010…  His work on this is has been an integral part of making this a reality, and we couldn’t do it without him!

So, that’s the big news!  We hope you are as excited about it as we are.  Please come visit us at the Wedding Showcase to really see how these videos shine.  I know we kinda put out a little teaser…  But we really want you to be able to see a finished, high quality version in person.  So much better than a little web resolution version!  Look forward to seeing you all there!

Oh, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so please feel free to leave some feedback in the comments.  Thanks!

Chris

Ok, so I promised that tonight I would update you on my overly cryptic message from this morning.  And, here I am!  I have lots of news to share; all of it good.  I can’t share fully on everything yet, but there are a couple things that I want you all to hear, if you haven’t already. 

First off, as some of you already know, or recently seen…  the always stylish and fabulously talented Janna Beecher is coming to work with me!  I am so thrilled about this!  Some of you have had the chance to meet her over the summer as she accompanied me on a majority of the weddings I did this summer.  So, what does this mean for you?  Well, for 2010 she will be the official 2nd photographer for all of our weddings.  All of our wedding packages will include both of us covering your event.  This allows us to capture your day even more fully, and with a variety of perspectives.

Janna also will be taking sessions on (she’s an amazing children’s photographer - just check out her blog or her website).  We will be offering all kinda of sessions, including children’s, family, maternity, seniors…..  the list goes on.

All of this awesomeness will be taking place underneath an updated brand: Rebo Photography.  Some of you may have noticed some new logo ideas watermarking some of the recent pics here on the blog and on the Facebook fan page.  Sometime soon we’ll be updating the website to reflect the newer branding and showcasing our works together.  This blog will get a little further face lift as well, and you will also see Janna and her work here soon.  Her blog will become mostly for her personal work; both her work and mine will be shown here on this blog.

Anyhow, starting to ramble a bit…  Again, I’m super excited this opportunity has worked out, and I think that you as clients will reap huge benefits from this merger!

On to the next bit…  along with having an über awesome partner for the 2010 wedding season, we also have some super cool products/services that we will be unveiling here soon.  I know, this is supposed to be an informative post.  Well, I just can’t tell you all the details quite yet….  Sorry!  But, I mean it when I say I think we have something to offer for the upcoming year that you’re going to fall in love.  Details to come soon…!

I don’t want to sound egotistical here, but I want you to know…  2010 is booking up incredibly fast.  I don’t want anyone to get left behind…  So, if you’ve been on the fence at all, please drop us a line and start the conversation at least.  :)  For instance, it looks like there is only one weekend left for August 2010.  Just don’t say you didn’t know…

Finally, I just want to give a shout out to my beautiful wife, Bridget.  She really is what makes everything I do possible, in more ways than any of you will ever realize.  I love being a photographer, and I adore shooting weddings.  I couldn’t ask for a better job.  But it means that the summers are absolutely insane, and with 2 kids under 3, it means that she gives up a lot of her own time to make time for this.  So if you ever get to meet her, give her a big hug and tell her thanks, because without her I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.  I love you Bridget!

Chris

Yup, I know it is really only Thursday.  But it feels like a Friday, and I’m thinking maybe with enough willpower, I can just skip right through Thursday.  Maybe?

I figured it was time for a little random update.  For those of you interested, the Rockstar Juiced guava is the flavor of the day.  For those of you sincerely uninterested, well, now you know anyway.

It’s definitely one of those mornings.  I’ve been here at work for over a half  hour, and accomplished a whole lot of staring at this screen, and not a lot more.  Yeah, one of those kind of mornings.  I have made several comments on Facebook, so I guess that’s something productive.  :) 

On another note, had a great maternity session last night!  It was a ton of fun, and I can’t wait to post some of the pics.  That said, you’ll have to be patient, as I am still trying to keep up with all the stuff I’ve done already!  It has been a busy summer so far, which is awesome.  It also means that about this time of the summer I usually feel like I’ll never catch up.  But, I always do.

Speaking of busy, it looks like 2010 is shaping up to be a busy wedding season for us!  Several on the books, and lots more in the works…  I think people are feeling a little more settled down this year - the economy isn’t perfect, but at least we know where we are at.  I don’t think this is going to be the year to wait around to book…  Just a friendly nudge!  :)  Also, for those of you who are considering us as your photographer, just an FYI - 2010 official pricing is going to be here soon.  At this point I am still booking using 2009 pricing.  The 2010 price list won’t have any huge changes, just some small tweaks. 

Just a little tidbit I’ll throw in here near the end…  There’s going to be some changes coming up soon to Christopher Rebo Photography.  All of them for the better, so no worries.  Not ready to divulge any details quite yet, but very soon.  Just trying to get a couple things finalized and hammered out, and then we’ll pass the info along.  Lots of exciting things coming up!  (I know, now you really just want to know what I’m talking about, but I can’t tell you yet…  You can call me names if it makes you feel better.)

Last random fact for my random Friday (but really Thursday) musings…  I’m going to be in Salt Lake City September 24th, 25th, and 26th.  Wanna do a portrait session?  Grab a drink?  Put me in your will?   Drop me an email!

Chris

P.S. - I just started using Google Reader, and I love it!  awesome way to keep up with all your favorite websites.  Try it out (and add this site….) 

P.P.S. - If you haven’t seen my friend Janna’s blog, you should: CLICK ME NOW