My baby turns ten

It's hard to believe, but my baby turned ten last week. There's a milestone that will put crow's feet under your eyes! She of course is ecstatic now that she's in the double digits. She walks around now calling herself a tween. Don't ask me what is it...I still have to wilkopedia it myself. My guess is that she's starting to feel more grown up now that she can officially write two numbers down when she has to write her age out. We just had a small family party, the bigger "sleepover party" with giggly girls and no sleep will come in a few weeks. This weekend Marty and I reminisced about our grade 5 years and all the things we knew about or had done, that our parents didn't know. It was horrific thought to think our little baby might be the same. nah, oh wait she has our genes so it's bound to be the same *sigh* Nonetheless, she still has the child bit at heart, we noticed this as she ate her cupcake and managed to get the same icing mess on her face as her little cousins which ages start at 6 and go down from there. So without further adieu...Moira's birthday..

We waited with baited breath...and thank goodness, no boyfriends! yay!





yes those are fingerprints, but are they the 6 years olds or the pregant ladies prints? Only Oliver and I know for sure ;)

The grand sugarfest begins!




uh oh, it looks like too much sugar or too many kids has made me go cross eyed! lol



My baby at ten, still beautiful and still mine...for now...

The Rumors are True -baby girl and The Waiting List

I have been getting a ton of emails and phone call about both of these rumors. yes, it's true...to both! Marty and I found out a little while ago that we are having a girl. Or so they say. We all know that sometimes boy parts like to hide. Those of you who know the Schultz side in my house by find it hard to believe that boy parts do hide in this house, but they could, every baby is different. We have the name picked out...that will be our only secret for now. ooh and we also just hired a photographer to come in and photograph the birth! This poor baby isn't going to get a break from being photographed at all.

Now on to the other rumour. For the first time ever, Madchen Studios is experiencing a waiting list. Unfortunately, all of my spots for new customers are completely filled up. Please feel free to still call as I am giving out some great referrals and the waiting isn't that long. It's only got about 5 or 6 people on it right now. Thank you again to all of my clients who have helped me book up the rest of the year, You are going to make the end of 2008 so exciting. I am also still selling gift certificates and other goodies so if you would like information on that, please give me a shout. To all of my Membership customers, the waiting list does not apply to you, this is one of the perks of having a membership. I have left some spots open for you folks

I also have two more exciting announcements to make regarding the studio and moving forward into 2009, but I will leave those announcements for later. I still have a birthday, a family session and a wedding to blog. I have no idea where the time went this week, perhaps I will find where it went when I get around to cleaning up my house.

Rylan is Six Months Old!

Here is another one of my membership babies. He is so gorgeous with his spiky tough guy red hair. Lets just say, I may not be a sucker just for babies, but the red hair....! ooh I just love it. He just got over being a little sick, but you would never know it. He smiled and smiled at his mommy. This one is also a great traveller, i had to be super fast to get him before he decided he was going to roll away. I can't wait until he's one and I get to see him again!

Natasha And Family

This was a super fun shoot, not only are the Schiebelbeins a completely cool family to shoot for, but as a five some gave me a really good up close look at how my family is going to change. I met Natasha kind of through our kid's school and kind of through professional networking. she owns and operates Elegant Events here in the Hat. I haven't had a chance to work with her yet, but I can tell you she's got a good head on her shoulders and is super friendly as she loves to chat and also talk about the industry. We went downtown for their family urban session. I love the freedom and different backgrounds that comes with shooting families in a different environment. It's definitely a little more fun for the kids as well. Thanks for the great morning guys! IT was please to watch you guys interact and have with each other.

It's been a wild week

Wow, it has been a crazy week. I went to see good old Neil Diamond in Concert. I must say that he is absolutely fabulous. And I don't really think you need to be over 30 and pregnant to appreciate what he has to offer. I will say that I felt rather mature sitting in my seat with at least three blue haired ladies sitting amongst me in my row. They giggled with each-other and were whispering in each other's ear. I can only imagine what was being said! Obviously if it had to be a secret it was way too much for my little ears.

Then on Friday my son had the most horrible accident while trying to reclaim his popcorn from our dog. I still really don't know what happened, it's all really a blur. In fact my denial would like to keep me from recalling it, but his "steristripped" forehead keeps screaming at me, "look at what happened!" Thankfully I had a client at the house that was better together than I an managed to get some paper towel. Yikes, you would think that being on my third child and all, I would be better emotionally equipped to handle such emergencies! Thanks again Christine for all of your help!

More about Christmas, Fall Portrait Sessions and Maternity Leave

First off I would I want to take the time to thank all of my clients this year for being so incredible. Without the unique spirit in each of you and your gorgeous babies your portraits would have been unobtainable. We all know that it takes more than great gear and a knowledgeable photographer to make a great photograph...you guys are the icing on the cake and I want you all to know it! I was very nervous at the start of the year. When I thought about quitting my career and taking the leap to serve the public with portraits I was so scared...but I have to say you have made it all worth it. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. You guys have made my heart and soul very happy!

It looks as though the fall is going to be very busy for portraits. Madchen Studios has approximately 4 weekend spots left before November 1. So if you have been meaning to contact me and need a weekend, please do so as soon as possible as these dates will fill as a first come first serve basis. Also I have approximately 6 evening spots left in October. September is completely sold out. If you absolutely need portraits and find that I am booked, please give me a call anyways, I have a few names that I can give out as a referral.

I have the Christmas Packages almost finished! I hope to post those by Tuesday. Madchen Studios is very proud of the XMAS 2008 Cards and packages as there are some fantastic savings and even better yet, some major one stop shopping, so all of you can "knock" a bunch of people off your "I don't know what to get them" shopping list!

My "maternity leave"
Ok we all know I am not going to be taking a real maternity leave, I am just going to slow things down. Here's the deal. I will be closed to the general public Officially November 12-Jan26. This means that I will not be taking single session new clients during that time. However I will still be scheduling my membership customers until November 30. Membership information can be found HERE I do still want to encourage my clients to give me a call if any of my writing confuses you or if you have any questions. Please know that I am available to answer any questions or concerns you may have about my so called "maternity leave"

Full of Energy

This little guy made me laugh, I must say had me so tired by the end of our shoot. He explored with amazing enthusiasm. There was so much exploring to do he didn't even stop long to watch this little frog that had jumped into the pond. He had his dad a running too, it's amazing how fast kids are at that age. It's sad to think we slow down in our pace and enthusiasm as we get older. there is no way my kids could move that quickly now. I was a little sad as I made my way home...I miss my kids being that age and all the wonderment they had in simple surroundings. He was a joy to shoot and I hope the photos i share illustrate that.

BTW I met his mom throughout my summer as she is a fantastic Make up artist. she worked on several of the weddings that I shot this year. If you want to see some of her finished work, head on over to my weddings website and you can take a look at it there. If you are looking for someone to do cosmetics for you, give me a call I would be more than happy to refer you to her. As I said, I have watched her with her clients, she is caring and conscientious and listens to what you want, and all her finished work has been breathtaking.


Seriously, that little hat that he is wearing is the bomb. I loved it!

Photographing a Photographer

This is the second time that I have been asked to photograph Jamie and her very "easy on the lens" family. It was a great morning as I tried in earnest to win over the hearts of her kids...and I think in the end I might of won them over. Jamie said that her daughter thought that I had hair like a princess. lol...wow if princesses only had the problem with gnarly Pregnant natural curly hair like me. She also has the natural wave...lucky girl. We all know that little girls wear their curls oh so adorably and this one was no exception. Man I wish I could just pull mine into a bow like that! Her little boy has become quite the model over the last few months which I must say was a dream come true. It was fantastic to watch them interact with eachother and play the little games that we all play with our kids to distract them from what we are actually trying to do. Maybe if you look close, even you may be able to see "sniper" from wear he was hiding. Thanks guys it was a lot of fun.

So What's the deal with Christmas 2008?--Free photos

It's getting to the point and time where I am designing Christmas packages. There are tons of goodies and gifts to put together to make shopping way easier on my clients. So here's the deal, I need a family to do a super early christmas shoot so that I can send away for all of these goodies to show everyone as samples of the packages that I am offering for this years christmas season. So here's the deal I am going to give a way a free christmas shoot. Not only that I am also going to give all of the goodies that comes in their packages to them after December 10 as my gift to them for letting me use these items as display and samples. Sounds pretty cool hey? Okay here's how we are going to do it.
Here are the Rules

1. The family must be nominated by someone (if you really want to nominate yourself, have your friend do it!)
2. They must know that you nominated them. Hey I don't want to be some crazy photographer stalker phoning random people about free photos
3. The family must contain between 3 and 6 members
4. They must live in Medicine Hat. That may seem unfair, but I will be nine months pregnant by the time this is all done, and I am sure we don't want me running around alberta delivering photos in the snow.
5. They must be available October 5 for a two hour Christmas shoot
6. They must be willing to allow me to use their images for Holiday Promotions for the Christmas season of 2008

Ok, we got the rules down now here's how to do it.
Shoot me an email, click on
Rachel@madchenstudios.com nominate your friend and give them a call to let them know you are doing. In your email be sure to include:
1 Their Name
2. Their Phone number
3. Their Email Address
4. How many there are in their family
5. And just a little bit of information about them.

Then on October 1 I will do a live draw in the afternoon and give them a ring to let them know the details of their shoot. That's it, that's easy!

The list of things they will receive when all of this is over will be

A canvas to hang It will be one 16x20 or two 8x10's, depending on a variety of factors,
Prints (Everything form Wallets to 8x10's
Over 50 Christmas Cards (They will get some of these early so we don't mess up the cards getting to people on time!)
A photo session Story book
Cd of their session with Printable Digital Negatives. (they can go and print more photos if they like at the lab of their choice!)

So the package value is well over 400.00. So if you nominate someone you should mention that it would only be fair if they nominate you back in return. lol...it's all about being a good "neighbor" Christmas

If you have any questions please leave a comment in the comment box and I will answer all of them there so everyone can read the answers to the questions I didn't make clear. That's it, Good luck and I hope to hear from you soon!!

Kynnlei

It was so nice to see kynnlei and her family again! It has been over six months, which to me is a little long, but perfect for photos. It's amazing how fast these little ones who slightly resemble their last session have changed. The last time I saw her she really couldn't get away from me, but now that she's running and oh so busy, she is a healthy match for my pregnant belly and heavy camera. But I have to gush and gush and gush...she's is absolutely adorable. I think I have finally driven my husband crazy....I'm like "look at this one, oh and this one, look how cute she is here" Needless to say he is now making parts in the garage while I blog. Poor guy, I may have "over cuted" him tonight. There are so many photos from this session that I adored there was no way I could blog all of them, so I made some collages thanks to the "blog it boards". Otherwise this post would eat up the entire page as it would be full of photos. I had a great time with this family and I hope to see more of them in the future. D and S you guys are super duper parents and she is a beautiful girl. I am honored that you had me capture her at this age!

I think this one was my favorite(That's why it's on top of this post as well), just because she is making direct eye contact with me right before she decided to run off and explore. We are under a bridge, just her and I and the light there was gorgeous.

Ilona and Brandon's Engagement Session

Early on Sunday morning I met with Brandon and Ilona for their engagement session. When we first got to the park the grounds were fairly wet which was a little limiting for some of the things I wanted to do with them. That's okay though, because they did amazing at everything we did. I must say and I know I've commented before, but Brandon knows how to shop, because her ring is absolutely gorgeous!! Congratulations to Ilona and Brandon, I am sorry about calling you Josh, I can assure you that there is no Josh in Ilona's life! I do have quite a few favorites from their session, but you have to check this shot first shot out! It's probably my favorite spontaneous action shot for 2008!

I think they look like a couple of Rock Stars here! I love it!


I twas fantastic hanging out with the two of you, and it was great to finally get to know you guys as a couple as well. I hope that you have a great time planning your wedding and I can't wait for the date!!

The Derouin Family

I met Cindy and Miley back in the winter when I did her newborn photos. She was as gorgeous then as she is now. In fact, I have one of her newborn photos on the wall in the studio, just because I love to look at her beautiful eyes. On Saturday night I got to meet the rest of her fabulous family. Cindy told me she wanted things a little different but wasn't sure how different she wanted to be.so we started her shoot in an alley downtown and ended up in the park later so we could have the best of both worlds. Personally I think they looked amazing as they were decked out against the concrete wall. After the shoot Cindy and i made our exchange. ( I purchased some awesome maternity clothes from her!) It's so nice to be in jeans again. I have to say I had a great time with this family. (I want to be them when I grow up) They seem to have it all together, their kids were fantastically behaved and everyone got along great. Thanks for fun evening guys!!

BIRS Annual Fun Run

This weekend the BIRS annual Fun run took place. The Brain Injury Relearning service hosts an annual fun run to raise money for funding their local projects here in Medicine Hat. I was asked again this year if I would donate my time and take finish line photos for association to help their cause.. I am truly honored to be able to help out and donate my time. You can find out more about BIRS and what they are about here. If you are looking for Race photos, you can view the images down at the BIRS office located at 770-7th St. S.E., right beside Brewmaster.

This year they were graced with the presence of Patch Adams. He set off the start gun for the 10km/5km race. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to meet him or hear him speak later that evening. Congratulations to Murray Barker who won the men's 1/2 Marathon.

A special thanks to Jerry for helping me shoot this one. The pregnant lady appreciated all the refreshment and bathroom breaks!

Well worth the wait

On Thursday Morning I got to meet this "little" guy. I say little, because he is just a month old, but he's really not so teeny. He had his parents wait the full two weeks over his due date, before he came into the world. But I Feel that he was definitely worth the wait. Again my little studio was filled with the ooey gooey goodness of baby. and there was lots of it as this little guy was over ten pounds and counting. His dad brought in his motorbike helmet to use for some of the photos which I think was perfect for this strong little guy. Absolutely perfect he was in every way! Thank you for letting me in on your best kept long awaited secret!

Another little man at 6 months.

I met this little guy back in February when he was a newborn. I must admit that time flies so fast. It's so hard to believe that he is already 6 months old. The last time he was in the studio he was in the studio he made a typical newborn mess, (he didn't hold that crown for long though) but oh this time no messes and lots of crazy super cute smiles. When his mom told me what he was going to wear, I was so excited. There is nothing better than a baby in a hat. The little hats just seem to make their faces and characteristic smiles sparkle. I can not wait to have him come back in. It's a shame that I will have to wait another 6 months. "sigh"

The K. Family

On Monday morning I got to meet this sweet family from out of town. The older little girl and I gelled pretty good. I must say she was a complete natural. She did absolutely awesome for a little girl her age. The smaller one took a little coaxing, but with some magic and bubbles we managed to pull out a few smiles. The poor gal had her shots earlier in the week and she was still feeling the after affects. But boy when she smiled, the whole photo lit up. But seriously, who needs smiles when you have eyes as bright and gorgeous as theirs!! Even mom and dad got in on the photo action.