And the Communication Problems Continue...

Just when I thought my telephone woes couldn't get any worse, I lose my iPhone. This one is perhaps the most frustrating because I distinctly remember putting my cell phone underneath my pillow as I fell asleep last Saturday night. However, when I looked under the pillow the next morning to retrieve it, it was gone. Just...POOF! I immediately called my phone from a land line, but it went straight to voicemail (the battery was low when I went to bed, so it must have died during the night).

Believe me, I have turned the bedroom upside down looking for it. Actually, I have turned two different houses upside down trying to find my phone! I have retraced ALL my steps. I have dumped out my purse, searched cars, porches, yards, you name it. I plan to do yet another extremely thorough search later today, but as of right now my cell phone seems to have vanished into thin air. Please continue to contact me via email at cbellphoto@frontier.com if you have any questions or need anything at all.

Communication Break Down!

First of all, I would like to apologize to anyone who has been unable to reach me in the last several months. It is literally almost unbelievable the amount of problems I have had with both my phone line and my email! I will spare you the long explanation and just cut to the chase:

The best way to reach me right now is via email, which has recently changed thanks to Verizon switching over to another company called Frontier (hence, the cause of my email woes). My new email address is cbellphoto@frontier.com. Please note, however, that my Spam filter through Microsoft Outlook is VERY sensitive and sometimes email that isn't spam gets filtered there. I try my best to check it often, but sometimes emails can slip by me and end up in the Spam folder. Therefore, if you haven't received a reply from me within a few days, please feel free to send another email.

Again, I cannot apologize enough to those of you who may have been trying to reach me recently. I'm still working on the phone situation, but for now the email problem seems to be resolved (minus the sensitive Spam filter issue). Please do not hesitate to contact me at the email address mentioned above if you have any questions or need anything at all.

New Year, New Outlook

Hello Friends! I know that I've been MIA recently as I have struggled to get through my first set of holidays without my husband, so I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who have sent me kind thoughts and prayers to help me get through this very difficult time. It has not been easy, to use the understatement of the year, but I am slowly gaining momentum and trying to get back to life as I once knew it.

I also wanted to take a moment to talk about my goals and plans for Courtney Bell Photography in 2010. Obviously, last year was the most difficult year of my life and it has really made me step back and re-evaluate a lot of things in my life. As far as my business is concerned, I have decided that in 2010 I will probably focus mainly on my two favorite genres of photography - weddings and boudoir. Some of you may find that to be an odd combination, but I would really love to see boudoir photography "take off" this year. I feel there is a demand for it in the Huntington area, as evidenced by the number of bashful inquiries I have received and the very successful Boudoir Day event I held last summer, but I think a lot of women are still timid and simply unaware of how rewarding these photo sessions can be (for both you and your significant other!). I would love to book more boudoir sessions in 2010, so if you or someone you know has been thinking about booking such a session please let me know! Get your girlfriends together, bring a bottle of wine and make a night of it at my very private studio. I promise you will have a blast!

As for weddings, this has always been my favorite genre of photography. Weddings are like the photography Super Bowl to me! However, because I have been so overwhelmed with trying to catch up my 2009 clients' wedding packages, I have decided to scale back my wedding packages for 2010. This will come as very good news for many of you as the prices have dramatically decreased from the 2009 packages. However, this is because I am no longer including as many "goodies" in the Divine and Exquisite packages, such as the wedding coffee table books or wedding DVD's. All such items ARE still available, though, if you would like to add them to the package of your choice. A list of all the items I offer can be found under the heading "Additions/Substitutions" on my wedding pricing page.

As I mentioned above, I will mostly be focusing on weddings and boudoir photography this year, but I will still consider booking family portraits, children's portraits, and Senior portraits on an individual basis. It will just depend upon how busy I am at the time you request a session, but please do not hesitate to call and inquire.

Again, thank you to everyone who has been so extremely supportive and patient with me as I have been working towards getting both my business and personal life back on track. I know it hasn't been easy for some of my clients and for that I truly apologize from the bottom of my heart, especially since I have also been dealing with the added headache of a phone/voice mail issue over the last few months, but I am slowly and surely getting everything taken care of. In fact, I am happy to report that the phone issue has been resolved! Hooray! So, please do not hesitate to call (304) 522-7747 to inquire about your photography needs. Here's to a very positive 2010!

2010 Wedding Packages

I spent all morning trying to figure out how to update my wedding package prices on my website, but finally had to email my website designer to give me a hand. So, while he works on that for me, the following are my new wedding packages for 2010:

DIVINE PACKAGE

• Engagement Session with 20 4x6 prints

• Bridal Session with 20 4x6 prints

• Wedding day coverage:

• Four hours of photojournalistic-style pre-wedding coverage

• Group photos and individual photos of the Bride & Groom (these can be done either before or after the ceremony according to your preference)

• Full ceremony coverage

• Full reception coverage (candids, traditional moments, detail shots of decorations, etc.)

• Travel up to 100 miles to your wedding location

• All 4x6 prints arranged in a personalized proof album

• $150 certificate towards wedding re-prints/enlargements

• CD-Rom of all images with copyright release!

$2,500.00*

EXQUISITE PACKAGE

• Your choice of Engagement or Bridal Session with 20 4x6 prints

• Wedding day coverage:

• Three hours of photojournalistic-style pre-wedding coverage

• Group photos and individual photos of the Bride & Groom (these can be done either before or after the ceremony according to your preference)

• Full ceremony coverage

• Full reception coverage (candids, traditional moments, detail shots of decorations, etc.)

• Travel up to 50 miles to your wedding location

• All 4x6 prints arranged in a personalized proof album

• $75.00 certificate towards wedding re-prints/enlargements

$1,700.00*

LOVELY PACKAGE

• Full ceremony coverage

• Group photos and individual photos of the Bride & Groom (these can be done either two hours before the ceremony or immediately after, according to your preference)

• Up to 1 hour partial reception coverage (only traditional moments photographed, i.e. cutting of the cake, bouquet and garter toss, etc.)

• Travel up to 30 miles to your wedding location.

• All 4x6 prints from your wedding day presented in a black photo box

• $50.00 certificate towards wedding re-prints/enlargements

$1000.00 *

* A 30% non-refundable deposit is required to book your wedding day. The remaining balance is due one week before the wedding.

You may choose to add certain elements to your wedding package, such as the popular wedding coffee table books, or you can even make substitutions within your package if you so desire. A list of the Additions/Substitutions can be found on the wedding pricing page of www.CourtneyBellPhoto.com.

Dear Friends and Potential Clients...

I am aware that many of you have been or may have been trying to contact me via email and telephone, but I have been unavailable for quite some time. While I am not usually one to air dirty laundry in such a public forum, this has already been in the Herald-Dispatch and on the local news, plus I feel those of you who have not heard what has happened recently deserve an explanation for my sudden absence, so here it goes:

On August 17, 2009, my husband, whom I had been separated from for only a short time, came to my home and took his own life in my living room. I am leaving out many, many details, of course, including events that lead up to this, but the bottom line is that I have not been in my home or had access to my computer for a very long time. I have also not checked my voice mails because I know there are messages from him on there that I'm not sure I am ready to listen to yet.

I am simply being as honest as possible by telling you that, yes, I am EXTREMELY behind in my photo editing, to the point where I cannot even begin to tell you what my turn-around time is currently. I have had many wonderful, thoughful offers from other local photographers to try to help get me caught up in that regard, but I feel that the editing process is creatively just as important as the shooting process and, therefore, I still prefer to do all of my editing myself. They just would not feel like "my" photographs otherwise. I am also adamant about continuing to take my time while editing and not rushing through the process simply to try to get myself caught up as quickly as possible.

Most of my existing clients have been extremely patient and understanding with me about this and I honestly cannot thank you enough. For those of you upset about having to wait for such a long time to see your photos, I cannot blame you. I would be upset as well. All I can tell you is that I am struggling daily just to re-establish a normal routine and get through each day, let alone get caught up with editing without compromising the quality of my work. If there is a compromise you would like to try to reach in order to receive your photos sooner, even if it means they are not completely edited, I am open to any suggestions you may have. The best way to reach me right now is at the following email address: cbellphoto@verizon.net. My computer was recently recovered from my home and I am now able to access my email account.

Again, thank you all for being so very patient with me during this extremely difficult time. For those of you who have sent me cards and well wishes, I want you to know that your love and support are really what has helped get me through this. I am confident that I will eventually be completely back into the swing of things and able to put all of this behind me. Until then, I cannot apologize enough for the extended delays you have all had to endure. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your photos.

Sincerely,

Courtney Bell

Help Make Bombshell Sarah a COVER GIRL!

A few months ago I posted a blog asking for your help in voting for Bombshell Sarah, who is a good friend that I grew up with, to become Miss July in the 2010 Kitten Koffin Zombies pin-up calendar. We were so thrilled when Sarah won and gave all the credit to those of you who were so supportive and voted each day.

Well, it looks like we need your help and support one more time. Sarah is now in the running to be on the COVER of next year's calendar, but she is running against the eleven other GORGEOUS pin-up girls who were chosen to represent their respective months. So she REALLY needs you to vote at least once every 24 hours per registered email account (more registered email accounts = more votes per day!). The more people you encourage to vote for her, of course, the better, so please tell all your friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and even random strangers to VOTE FOR BOMBSHELL SARAH!!!!!!

To register to vote (if you haven't already), click here. After you have entered an email address and password, you then have to confirm your registration by clicking on a link sent to that email address. Once you've done that, you're good to go!

This is already proving to be a very difficult race, so Sarah really needs all the help she can get! Please remember to vote every day between now and July 18th, and don't forget to spread the word!

Thank you!

FREE Bridal Fair at Huntington's Newest Venue!

Courtney Bell Photography is pleased to be participating in a FREE Bridal Fair this Sunday, June 28, 2009, at The Huntington House on the corner of 6th Avenue and 14th Street.

The Huntington House is an exciting new wedding/party venue in downtown Huntington. This beautiful historic Victorian home was built in 1888 by Delos Emmons for Collis P. Huntington and the Central Land Company. The Stafford Family recently purchased this home with the intention to share its beauty as an elegant party location.

If you are currently looking for a beautiful venue for an upcoming party or event, or if you are currently engaged (or plan to be in the near future), this will be the perfect opportunity for you to come check out The Huntington House and also meet with me to discuss your photography needs.

I look forward to seeing you there!