My Birthday Offering to You!

I will be turning 35 this month, so I've decided to offset the depression (kidding) by being a little generous. In fact, this is the BIGGEST discount I've ever offered on any of my wedding packages! During the month of April, you may:

take 35% off the Divine Wedding Package

OR

add a disc with copyright release to the Lovely or Exquisite Packages for

FREE!!!!!

This discount only applies to weddings booked before April 30, 2012, so call today to take advantage of this VERY special offer! 304-522-7747 (Best time to call is weekdays after 7:00 PM.)

Announcing Boudoir Day, 4/29/12!

Okay, ladies. If you've been thinking about booking a boudoir session, but waiting for just the "right" time to do it, this is the moment you've been waiting for!

Courtney Bell Photography is excited to announce

Boudoir Day, 04/29/12!

This is going to be a day dedicated exclusively to deluxe, all-inclusive, studio boudoir sessions, but at the VERY special price of only $250! Boudoir Day photo sessions will include the following:

• Professional, on-site hairstyling services
• Professional, on-site makeup services
• One hour, PRIVATE photo session in the Courtney Bell Photography studio
• Up to three different outfits of your choice
• You are welcome to bring any props you wish in order to give your photos that extra-special, personal touch
• A password-protected, online photo gallery so you can view your proofs and order prints discretely
• A disc of full-resolution images and a copyright release statement!!!! ($100 value)

There will be five appointments available on Sunday, April 29, 2012. A non-refundable deposit of $100 is required to reserve your time slot, with the balance of $150 due the day of your shoot. You should allow yourself up to three hours for hair, makeup, and photography.

This is the first time a Boudoir Day special has been offered since 2009, so you definitely don't want to miss out on this rare opportunity! Call today to reserve your Boudoir Day appointment while they last!

Courtney Bell Photography

(304) 522-7747

(The best time to call is weekdays after 7:00 PM.)

For a Limited Time Only: 20% off Divine and Exquisite Packages!

The 2012 WKEE Bridal Expo is taking place today, January 22, at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. I'm sad that I'm unable to attend, as I have participated in this fun event for the last several years, but I have decided to carry on my tradition of offering a special on the Divine and Exquisite wedding packages during the week of the Expo!

That's right, beginning today, if you book either the Divine or Exquisite wedding package during the month of January, 2012, you will receive 20% off the package price. That's up to $500 in savings! This offer ends on January 31, 2012, so don't miss this opportunity to save! (Offer excludes the Lovely package.)

Full wedding package details can be found here, and don't forget to read my recent blog for details regarding my new payment policy. Call today to schedule a consultation and/or book your wedding with Courtney Bell Photography! (304) 522-7747 (Weekdays after 7PM is the best time to call.)

2012 Wedding Packages

Dear Newlyweds-To-Be:

After listening to my clients' concerns, wants, and needs, and also learning from my own experiences as a professional wedding photographer over the past eight years, I am very excited to announce that I am implementing some new policies in order to better serve my clients in 2012!

Customer satisfaction has always been my top priority. However, because I am a "one-woman show" and handle every aspect of this business myself (photography, editing, scheduling appointments, processing orders, etc.), I have learned the hard way that it is possible to spread myself too thin. It is for this reason that I recently made the decision to dedicate my business exclusively to wedding and boudoir photography. Furthermore, beginning in 2012, I have decided to limit the number of weddings booked to only two or three per month, depending upon the month. This will allow for more editing time between weddings and, hopefully, improved turn-around time for my clients.

Unfortunately, not all problems have such obvious solutions. Perhaps the biggest threat to maintaining customer satisfaction for me is the sheer unpredictability of life, which is, unfortunately, a factor that is impossible to eliminate or control. Although rare, there have been a few instances over the past eight years when personal circumstances have regrettably caused delays in my ability to deliver to my clients their purchased items in a more timely manner. However, because I am unable to predict when or if other such circumstances may occur in the future, I am also unable to guarantee a certain date by which my clients will receive all of their wedding package items (wedding albums, prints, CD-Rom, etc.). It is for this reason I am implementing a new payment policy for my 2012 wedding photography packages, which I believe will give my clients better peace of mind in this regard, as well as make the wedding packages more affordable. The new payment policy is as follows:

In order to book your wedding date, a non-refundable deposit of 30% of the wedding package price is due at the time of booking. However, I am now only requiring 40% of the package price be due one week before your wedding date, as opposed to the entire balance paid in full. The final remaining balance of 30% will then be due upon the receipt of your purchased wedding package items (wedding albums, prints, CD-Rom, etc.).*

Furthermore, if after six months you have not yet received the above-mentioned wedding photography package items, your balance due upon receipt of the items will be reduced from 30% to 20%. If after nine months you still have not received your purchased items, the balance due upon receipt will be reduced to only 10%. Finally, if you have not received your purchased wedding package items one year after your wedding date, the balance due upon receipt will be completely eliminated.*

*These new policies are not retroactive and apply ONLY to wedding packages booked during 2012. If you are getting married in 2012, but booked your wedding in 2011, then these policies do not apply, unless otherwise specified.

Please remember that such extended delays are not typical. Typically, clients will be able to see all of their fully edited wedding photos in a password-protected online gallery within 4-6 weeks from their wedding date. At that point, the wedding prints, album, etc. will be ordered and then prepared by me for final delivery to the clients. Final delivery times vary depending upon the printing time at the photo lab, supply and printing time with the wedding album supplier (for personalized album covers), as well as the shipping time for those items. However, it is uncommon for the final delivery of all items to take longer than six months from the wedding date.

I am very excited to begin the 2012 wedding season, as several weddings have already been booked! (Full wedding package details can be found here.) As mentioned above, wedding date availability is more limited this year, so don't put off booking your wedding with Courtney Bell Photography until it's too late! You can reach me either at my new email address, cbellphoto@comcast.net, or at (304) 522-7747 (weekdays after 7:00 PM is the best time to reach me).

I Need Your Help!

As you may or may not already know, I have a passion for boudoir photography, which I typically shoot in my studio. While the studio sessions are fantastic, I would also like to be able to offer my clients the option of shooting on-location with natural lighting. The problem, of course, is finding a location that is not only interesting and appropriate for this type of photography (extremely tasteful lingerie and/or nude photographs of women), but is also completely private. So, this is where you come in.

I'm posting this blog to ask if anyone may know of such a place that I could rent for occasional on-location boudoir photo sessions? Ideally, I'd love to find a big, empty, kind of abandoned-looking space, perhaps with exposed brick walls or even peeling paint. Unused office or apartment space, an empty warehouse, or any similar type of space that may even be under construction could work for this idea. I am open-minded as to the aesthetics, but my one major requirement is that the space MUST have plenty of natural light, either from multiple windows or one large window.

Another location option would be to find someone who owns a large, beautiful home with lots of antique or high-end furniture, which I could rent either hourly or by the day for boudoir sessions. The homeowner would have to be able to guarantee 100% privacy during the scheduled photo session(s). If the homeowner is uncomfortable leaving the house, he/she must agree to stay behind closed doors for the duration of each photo session. Also, I would prefer that no children or uncaged pets be inside the home while I am shooting.

If you or someone you know has any of the above-mentioned types of places available, or if you have another location suggestion, please email a detailed description of the location, along with contact information, to cbellphoto@frontier.com. I will be happy to visit the location to see if it fits my needs and, if so, discuss a possible rental agreement with the owner.

In the meantime, I am still currently scheduling boudoir sessions in my studio or in another location of your choice (location must be arranged and provided by the client). So, call today to schedule your own private session, or get some girlfriends together and take advantage of my Boudoir Party discount! (304) 522-7747

August Wedding Booking Special!

20% Off the Divine and Exquisite Wedding Packages

AND

Add a CD With Copyright Release for Only $200!!!!

That's right, NOW is the time to book your 2011 or 2012 wedding date with Courtney Bell Photography because this special is only going to be offered during the month of August, 2011! Not only am I offering a 20% discount off the Divine and Exquisite wedding packages (that's up to a $500 savings!), but you may also add a CD of full-resolution images from your wedding day with a written copyright release statement (a $400 value) to either your Exquisite or Lovely package for only $200!

Offer expires August 31, 2011. Don't let this opportunity to save $$$ pass you by! Call (304) 522-7747 today!

Boudoir!

The phone conversations always typically start the same way. "Um, hi. I was calling to ask if you do....well....I hope you don't think I'm weird for asking you this, but just out of curiosity..." It is usually at this point that I will put the shy caller out of her awkward misery and simply reply, "Yes, I do boudoir photography."

In fact, second to weddings, boudoir photography is my favorite thing to do! I have never had one single client leave a boudoir session that didn't feel completely beautiful (not to mention smoking hot!) and incredibly anxious to see her final images, even though she had entered my studio an hour to two ago complaining about her body and feeling totally self-conscious.

How am I able to help turn shy, hesitant women into purring little centerfolds so quickly, you ask? Well, I'm sure each of my former clients could probably give you a different answer to that question, but overall I believe it's my love and enthusiasm for making women look and feel beautiful that initially puts my clients at ease. Then, once we start shooting I am constantly giving the client "sneak peaks" of her shots on my camera because I want her to see how amazing she looks through my lens. Without fail, this always gives her a huge boost of confidence because she sees that I know which angles and poses are going to make her look gorgeous. From that point on, she not only stops feeling self-conscious, but she actually has a blast during the rest of the photo shoot!

Many of my clients have said to me at the end of their boudoir sessions, "Every woman should do this at least once!", and I couldn't agree more. So, what are you waiting for???? Call today to schedule your private boudoir session OR get some girlfriends together and schedule a Boudoir Party!

PRIVATE BOUDOIR SESSION

Up to 2 hours of photography

Up to 3 different outfits

Bring any props you'd like, or choose from a selection at the studio.

Your 20 final images will be posted in a password-protected online gallery, from which you may order prints directly.

Seven of your favorite, full-resolution images on a disc or emailed directly to you.  ($20 for each additional image.)

$200.00

SMALL BOUDOIR PARTY

Bring at least three girlfriends with you and receive 50% off your session fee!

(Please allow at least three hours for your small Boudoir Party.)

$100.00 for the party hostess

$150.00 for the party guests

LARGE BOUDOIR PARTY

If you bring at least five girlfriends with you, your session is FREE!

(Please allow at least four hours for your large Boudoir Party.)

$0.00 for the party hostess

$120.00 for the party guests

(A copyright release statement may be purchased for an additional $100.)

Courtney Bell Photography

(304) 522-7747