2009 Bridal Expo Special!

I had a fantastic time at the WKEE Bridal Extravaganza yesterday, which was held at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington. I met so many wonderful people! My only regret is that I never had an opportunity to walk around and say hello to some of the other photographers at the expo. My friends and fellow photographers, Holly Bond-Farrell and Amanda Nagy, stopped by my booth for a nice chat, as well as a few new photographers to the area, whom I really enjoyed meeting.

Now, as promised, I am offering a special discount on wedding packages this week! If you book your wedding between January 18 and January 25, 2009 you will receive a 20% discount off the Divine and Exquisite packages!!! That is equal to $420 in savings off the Exquisite package, and $700 in savings off the Divine package! And don't forget, if your wedding is scheduled on a non-Saturday you will still receive the regular 10% Non-Saturday Discount, for a total of 30% savings! (These offers do not apply to the Lovely package.)

This discount is being offered ONLY during the week of the 2009 Bridal Expo and, again, ends on January 25th, so don't miss out! Call today to schedule your free wedding photography consultation and/or book Courtney Bell Photography to photograph your special day. (304) 522-7747

Fun Pin-Up Shoot!

Yesterday I had a blast shooting a pin-up session with my friend, Sarah, while she was getting a tattoo! I have been friends with Sarah ever since junior high and now she is an AMAZING hairstylist at Karma Salon in Bourboursville. She did her own hair and make-up for the shoot and looked absolutely fabulous.

The session took place at Tat-Nice Tattoos, located at 1327 4th Avenue in Huntington, with the persmission of Matt Hays, her incredibly talented tattoo artist. I also need to thank Saka, who is a tattoo artist and also a photo enthusiast, for being such a great assistant during the shoot!

All I can say is that Tat-Nice really does live up to its name because everyone there was extremely nice and accommodating. Sarah's photos turned out even better than I had hoped. It's nice being a photographer and having super hot babes as friends. :)
Thanks, Sarah!

Because Valentine's Day Will Be Here Before You Know It...

(Click to enlarge!)


Call today to schedule your Boudoir Session! (304) 522-7747

2008 Christmas Special!

Only $40!

Includes your 1/2-hour studio session and

choice of either

one box of (24) 4x6 folded Christmas cards with envelopes,

OR (1) 8x10, (2) 5x7's, and (16) wallet prints.

You may also add prints ala carte (see Create Your Own Package pricing on website).

I know I'm late posting a blog about my 2008 Christmas Special (surprise, surprise!), but its not too late to book your holiday session! As shown by these sample photos, Courtney Bell Photography uses simple, contemporary backdrops and props for holiday portraiture (in other words, not cheesy!). The new prop for Christmas '08 is the holiday fireplace setting, but I also have a wodden sled, large snowflakes, oversized ornaments, and a variety of furniture.

The 2008 Christmas Special will run until December 12, so call today to book your session! (304) 522-7747

Catching Up and Looking Ahead

Well, I was afraid this would happen. I hesitated to start a blog for a long time because I wasn't sure if my busy schedule would allow me to keep up with it, and sure enough it looks as though I'm starting to fall behind. So, to make up for it I am going to post a few shots from some recent sessions that I've worked on, including:

Senior sessions for Tanisha (my exotically gorgeous Senior!) and Justin (my charming, talkative Senior!), Cara and Wes' engagement session, a portrait from the Herrenkohl family reunion (Amy Herrenkohl's family of gorgeous men), Jamiee's bridal session (my Phoebe Cates look-alike!), and the weddings of Kelly and Joe and Kristen and Scott.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to let you guys know that Courtney Bell Photography now has profiles on both MySpace and Facebook! Be sure to add yourself to my Friends list to stay updated on the latest news, specials, blog entries, etc.!

In addition, I wanted to mention a couple of things that you guys can look forward to from Courtney Bell Photography. I recently discovered that the program I use to create my Wedding Memories DVDs has the ability to export clips to YouTube!!! I haven't actually tried it yet, but my hope is to soon be showing off clips from some of my wedding DVDs!

Also, be on the lookout for some Christmas portraits, which will probably be posted after this weekend, along with some holiday pricing information. (Sheesh...Christmas already!)

All in all, things have been rather crazy around here, but I really wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you to all of the wonderful families, Seniors, couples, and individuals who have helped make this such a successful, busy season! Hopefully, when things calm down a bit, I will be able to post blog entries on a more regular basis.

I'm Forecasting Stardom!

Okay, okay...so I gave this blog entry a really cheesy title, but I just couldn't resist! I had the pleasure recently of working with our local WSAZ meteorologist, Ms. Marina Jurica. In addition to delivering the forecast every weekday morning, Marina also has a great passion for musical theater. She has performed in many local and national theater productions.

Most recently, Marina performed in the Arts Resources for the Tri-State's production of "Clue: The Musical" in the role of Miss Scarlett. The performance took place at The Renaissance Center, which is where my studio happens to be located, and that is how Ms. Jurica came to hire me to photograph some new headshots for her.

I have to say, Marina is even lovlier in person than she is on television and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. I look forward to working with her more in the future.

When Life Hands You Lemons...Wake Up at Dawn?

We've been having such gorgeous weather and fall foliage here lately that I have looked forward to every single outdoor session that I have shot in the last month or so. I was especially excited to shoot Jess Brooks and Bobby Woods' engagement session last Monday because they wanted very few indoor photos. We had also planned to get some shots at sunset at Harris Riverfront Park. Unfortunately, on the day of their session the weather became cold, windy, dark and rainy. To make things worse, last Monday was, in fact, the last day that Jess would be available for an evening photo session until after Christmas! Therefore, as bummed as we were about it, we simply had to give up on the outdoor/sunset photos.

We still tried to make the most of their session, however. After getting a few studio shots with Jess' adorable dog, Chloe, we went on location to the Huntington Arcade on 4th Avenue. I have gotten some really nice shots there recently, but I hadn't realized how much natural light the building utilizes. Therefore, with the dark, rainy skies outside the Arcade was actually very dark that evening. Erg!

Still trying to make the most of our session time, we stepped outside to get a few shots at the entrance to the Keith Albee Theater. I rather like the photos taken at the ticket booth, but it was obviously just too dark outside to try to shoot any place else. So, reluctantly we threw in the towel.

As I was packing up my equipment, Jess and I were talking about how much we had been looking forward to the sunset shots. That's when I informed her that a sunrise is just as beautiful. Her eyes lit up and I knew right away that she was game! Bobby groaned a little at the thought of having photos taken at the break of dawn, but he was a great sport and we scheduled a sunrise session for this morning.

So, I have to say that I'm actually glad that our sunset session was a bust because the shots we got at sunrise this morning are simply spectacular! Its rare to have clients who are that flexible and willing to be photographed at 6:45 AM. Jess and Bobby, you guys are awesome! (P.S. Are you as tired as I am right now???)