CATEGORY event

The Rise School of Austin is an early education center specializing in children with developmental disabilities or delays with an inclusive program with typically developing peers. The NISH non-profit organization is one of the major funders of the Rise program, and the board of directors met to participate in a fun art project with the children painting slipper shoes as gifts! No clothing was damaged by too much paint, though we really hope it’s water based!

The children were adorable, about the same age as my own. Crawling around on the floor with a camera trying to capture all of their abundant personalities was just like being at home! And to make it feel more like home, my neighbor was there as she’s the office manager: the NISH office in Washington DC hired me, but it’s a nice coincidence of working locally. I enjoyed meeting the administrators, the board and trustees, but mostly the kids!

Lesley Bowles of Texas Jumping Beans inflatable playground does in-house face painting and body art. Halloween is a great time for adults and children alike to get their faces on! Lesley does outstanding work, and the crowds gathering to watch as she created was fun for the guests and human canvases alike! The full devil face was the final piece of the day, and with head shaved to really carry it off, they had the largest crowd to ooh-and-ah over them. I provided an on-site printing event where the customers walked away with a lab-quality instant print as a keepsake of their costumes. On the last photo, you can see my blue beast printer cart working away in the background! Finally, some appreciation for all “his” hard work with some face time in my portfolio.

This might be my first double photo shoot in one day, and they couldn’t have been any different!
Michelle and I have a gig booked through Halloween at the Mansion of Terror haunted house in Round Rock to “victimize” and photograph the patrons after they survive the attack inflicted by the house staff. Those teenagers with plastic grim reaper sickles become quite cranky and dangerous on that minimum wage. Should be fun!

My friend Michelle Pulsifer is a face and body painter (www.onthespotbodyart.com), and it just goes to show that you never know the people you know! How could two art forms marry better than a face painter and a portrait photographer? Not only is she a joy as a friend, but wonderful to collaborate with. She does beautiful work, and has booked me with all sorts of event photo printing gigs as her camera-toting sidekick! Here are a few of her littler clients for her portfolio.

There’s a fantastic little outdoor chapel near my neighborhood I’ve been itching to shoot, Chapel Dulcinea in Driftwood, Texas, and this weekend I got a last-minute call to cover a wedding there. We didn’t do any posed shots, so this wedding was far more photo-journalistic than any others I’ve done. While I’m not ready to give up the posed romantic couple shots, the natural emotion expressed was great to capture, as long as my fingers were fast on the camera setting dials! A beautiful couple off to a beautiful start!

And speaking of a good start, I’ve been teaching my 10-year-old daughter, and she took this one with my D70 backup camera which I set up to AV mode, an 85mm prime lens, and my back up flash, which the bride ordered! Not bad!

Ho, ho, ho! Especially for this Santa event and Christmas party for Belterra homeowners at KC Memory Lane in Wimberley, TX, I designed 8 greeting card borders to be printed on site for our guests, which was a huge hit. Of course, my family had to test out the setup, lighting, and printer, who else? Merry Christmas!

What a great name for a wedding couple! I’m not sure how long my luck will hold out with such laid back wedding clients, but I enjoyed tremendously working with this bride and groom. Their humor made my sarcastic attitude feel right at home, and their unique sense of style was great fun to capture. And ironically, when Troy’s grandma asked whose wedding I was covering in San Antonio that weekend, said she’s known this family since the bride’s parents were dating! Although they had lost touch, with Facebook around now we have no excuse to repeat that. Thanks again for inviting me into such a special occasion, and I’ve enjoyed our new friendship.

The newest L family was a joy to capture in Bee Cave, Texas this weekend. I felt like a wedding ninja as we only did about 4 or 5 posed shots, and the rest they just let me stealth through, capturing them incognito. Their obvious love came through with all the candid smiles and laughter. I was lucky my 3-week-old newborn didn’t make a peep the entire time, going along for the ride strapped into her little black ninja sling! And I was lucky we were family friends, just in case anyone is wondering, because only the truly insane would cover a wedding with a 3-week-old infant, much less tote her along!

Ryan and Havilah were such a fun couple with a down to earth attitude that is a photographer’s dream. We met at the LDS temple in San Antonio for the wedding, with a reception near Dripping Springs, Texas the next day. Creative themselves, they used that to identify with me and were game to try anything. Their wonderful senses of humor and easygoing demeanor created a fantastic day, calming my nerves for my first wedding shoot. Thank you for asking me to be a part such a special occasion, and I wish you wedded bliss!

Wedding Packages

It’s not my job to tell you what you really need or want. You’re the client, you tell me what is most important to you. Stop making sacrifices or trying to compare packages with different hours and products, just custom build your own! Choose the amount of time you need, and the products that you value. No stuck-up wrap you in mystique “I am an artiste” facade going on here. If you want professional, romantic, gallery-quality weddings photos and albums with pricing for real people, look no further. Sorry, you do need to look down, actually; might take a little scrolling…there you go.

Time All weddings are photographed by me personally and at least 1 other photographer. Weddings are booked at $200/hr, 2-hr minimum with discounts the more hours purchased, includes travel and Photoshop magic. No prints or products included, this is for shoot time only! Choose how many hours you need, then add on products to custom build your own wedding package! 2-hour Portrait Session $200 Otherwise called engagement, bridal, or after the wedding madness couple session. My favorites are engagement photos for the invitations or a couple session a few days after the wedding where we can be creative without worrying about getting the dress dirty. Also good for engagement or bridal portraits to be displayed at the reception. Plus a great option to great professional wedding portraits for a bargain price if Uncle Bob with a fancy camera is doing (ruining) your wedding-day photos, you can still have romantic gallery quality images to display for a lot less money! 2-hr Basic Wedding $400 Perfect for small ceremonies, elopements, or reception only coverage 4-hr Simple Wedding $750 Church ceremony with cake and punch reception? Expensive venue serious about kicking you out when your time is up? No sit-down dinner, no dancing, no open bar? This should cover you! 5-hr Standard Wedding $900 The most popular package, covers most ceremony+reception weddings. 6-hr Full-Service Wedding $1050 Suitable for most ceremony+reception especially those at different locations requiring driving time, large wedding parties, or late nights. 7-hr Deluxe Wedding $1250 Great for long wedding ceremonies with party animal receptions. Also suitable for 2-day split coverage with ceremony on one day and reception on another. 8-hr Extended Wedding $1400 All-day or 2-day festivities are no problem. Pre-party, rehearsal dinner, getting ready, long ceremony, party wagon, receptions into the wee hours, or whatever else you can dream up, it’s your day! Add-on Hours $100/hr I’m already there, so you get a discount if your party lasts longer than scheduled and they still don’t kick you out. Accrues $50 every 30 minutes extra; and yes, I am going to bill you for it before delivering any products! Second photographer $50/hr I also work as a second for any photographer you’ve hired. If you like what you see, consider adding me to your existing wedding plans. Perfect for those using Uncle Bob with a fancy camera and want some good back up, or if your pro doesn’t include a back up photographer (did you ask him about that?) I provide all my unretouched images to the primary photographer.

Products Add on these products to your hourly package to custom build your own wedding package! It’s not my job to tell you what you want, so you build your own. Just add up the amounts from hours and products to get your total. I’ll do the Texas sales tax math for you, but you can do your own if you’re nerdy at 8.25% (hint: multiply your total by 1.0825 for your actual total!) Digital Negatives $500 The most popular product, includes a commemorative DVD and downloadable zip file with all photos from the wedding (okay, I take out the bad ones first), typically 300-1000 of course depending on how long I’m there. All images are individually edited with up to 5 images enhanced by request (aka Photoshop plastic surgery). Written copyright release upon request if the store clerk gives you problems. Order online, just check the box that you have permission to print them because you do, because you paid for it. Hardbound Album $200 10×10 10-page/20-layout hard cover album Second on the list because it’s the second most popular product. I know you can print your own photos and now even albums from your favorite photo processor, so I focus instead on custom designing beautiful layouts with traditional or modern scrapbook graphics to express your personality and relive your day. $100 for each additional album. Montages and Scrapbook Layouts 8×10 or 11×14 custom photo montage $100 Montages are several of your best photos blended into a modern image. 1 print and digital negative. 12×12 or 8.5×11 custom digital scrapbook page $50 A single keepsake layout you can hang, place in your own scrapbook, or include in an album you print yourself. 1 print and digital negative. These layouts can be created from images taken by Pal Photo Art or another photographer with copyright released photos. Printed Invitations Flat or folded postcard invitations with photos and custom-designed graphics and text. A modern replacement to the traditional engraver’s invitation. Many sizes and options to choose from. Isn’t that nice of me making it just a little easier with one less vendor to deal with for all your photo and printing needs? Invitations also available using other photos with copyright release. See A La Carte list below for pricing, or call for custom quote. Don’t worry, I’m cheap. Musical Slide Show DVD $350 A video montage of your best photos from all our sessions together set to music with custom text. Like a scrapbook on TV! I also work with your videographer by providing screen-quality photos to create video and still photo slide shows.

Retainer To firmly book your date, please email info@palphotoart.com or use the Contact form to inquire about availability. Once your date has been tentatively booked, a retainer of $100 is due to firmly book the date and applies to your total. If no retainer is received, Pal Photo Art is free to book that date for another client. You wouldn’t want that to happen!

Payment Payment is easy because I want to be as convenient as possible for you to give me money…er…I mean for good customer service. Cash in an envelope is always welcome at in-person meetings. Please be sure to request an email receipt to create a money trail. Checks are made out to Emma Powell and mailed to 280 Abbey Dr Austin TX 78737 PayPal is made to emma@palphotoart.com Credit cards are accepted via PayPal to emma@palphotoart.com

A la Carte Services

Printed Invitations (available with my photos or another photographer’s with release)

all cards include custom-designed graphics, white envelopes, identical design for each batch of 50

inquire for bulk pricing over 50, or wedding invitation extras like foil envelopes, double envelopes, full-color front and back design, etc

25 4×6 flat $50, 50 $85

25 4×6 folded with interior design $75, 50 $140

25 5×7 flat $100, 50 $180

25 5×7 folded with interior design $125, 50 $225

colored envelopes, add $25 each 50

return address printed envelopes, $25 each 50

recipient address printed envelopes, $50 each 50

Prints & Enlargements

4×6 $10

up to 300 4×6 proofs from session, $75 (included free in wedding packages)

5×7 $15

8×10 $25

11×14 $35, artboard $50

16×20 $45, artboard $80, canvas wrap $150

Montages and Scrapbook Layouts

8×10 or 11×14 custom photo montage $100

12×12 or 8.5×11 custom digital scrapbook page $50

Albums and Frames (available for my photos or another photographer’s with release)

4×6 proof sleeve album $10

4×6 frame album $30

4×6 keepsake box with all proofs from session, $100

5×7 bound album $45

framing $35 up to 8×10, $40 up to 16×20, $50 20×24 with 16×20 mat

10×10 10-page (20 layouts) bound, hardcover album $200

DVD’s and Keepsakes (available for my photos or another photographer’s with release)

DVD photo-music slide show $350

all images 4×6-quality high resolution on DVD $250 w/ personal reprint rights

up to 100 images enlargement-quality high resolution on DVD $350 w/ personal reprint rights

100+ images enlargement-quality high resolution on DVD $500 w/ personal reprint rights

all images enlargement-quality high resolution on DVD $1000 w/ commercial reprint rights

Print prices are honored 90 days from session. Digital negatives are stored for 90 days from portrait session, and 2 years for negatives selected for prints.

With lab-quality prints in just a few seconds, I cover all types of events (such as weddings, family reunions, quincineras, bar/bat mitzvahs, holiday and birthday parties, sporting events, corporate gatherings,) and provide your guests with excellent, waterproof, smudge-proof prints they carry away right from the party!

Guests choose from a variety of custom-designed card borders and graphics to print directly on the photos.

Professional, fast reliability with a smile to add to your party atmosphere.

No travel fee to cities in Central Texas (surrounding Austin, San Antonio), and travel fees to other locations such as Dallas, Houston, or other cities are always competitive and reasonable. I speak fluent French, working Spanish, and have travel experience in North America, Hawaii, Asia, and Europe.

Parties by the Hour $100/hr, 2-hr minimum
For every hour booked, get 15 minutes free
$25 print credit per hour booked for on-site prints or print orders after the event

Backdrop and “portrait station” for guests included
Roaming candid photography
optional with second photographer or in lieu of portrait station
Unlimited digital photos
On-site prints $0.75 for 4×6, $1 for 5×7

Portraits and Candids Combo $175/hr
Two photographers
For every hour booked, get 15 minutes free

Combine the Portrait Party and a second roaming photographer for roaming candid shots while primary photographer attends portrait station

Commission Parties $500 minimum offset by commission
Guests pay $20 for 2 5×7 or $5 for 4×6 prints
If I sell more than $500 (50 photos), you pay nothing!
If I sell less than 50 photos, you pay only the difference

Free Portrait Parties
Host a portrait party for free photos! Suitable for family holiday cards sessions, reunions, springtime outdoor photos, or anytime: invite family, friends, and neighbors for an afternoon or evening of 15-30 minute sessions. Guests pay $50 for session and 1 8×10, and for every $50 order host receives a free 8×10.

Vendor recommendations available for catering, videography, design/staging, event planners, etc

Entertainers

Face Painter $80/hr
Santa Claus $170/hr, $250 per event for backdrop and chair
Clown $100/hr
Juggler $100/hr
other entertainers available by request