The Blog has Moved!!

Hello everyone!  For those of you that don't already know, I recently decided to switch over my website to another host.  This has been a great switch for me and I am loving it.  Part of the change did also relate to my blog.  I am now able to write each blog entry within the site.  So with that being said, if you are coming here directly you haven't seen an update in a while. However, everything has been moved to the new site!

Please join me over at the new site which can still be found at: http://www.gabrielleelysephotography.com  or go straight to the blog at: http://www.gabrielleelysephotography.com/gefamilyphotography/ 

Thank you for your continued support!

Gabrielle

Miss B is 3 months!

Wow - Miss B is already 3 months now! I swear she just had her newborn pictures yesterday, right?  She is such a sweetheart and I love getting to photograph her.  During this session we were also able to get some pictures of her with her big brother X.  I can't wait to see her continue to grow and photograph her again in another 3 months for her 6 month session!

Miss B smiling away - such a pretty girl xo

X is such a happy and proud big brother

On Location: Umstead Park

I love Umstead Park- absolutely love it.  I love it from a photo standpoint and I love it from a weekend activity with the family.  Umstead helps provide multiple scenes for your session.  You have trees galore, beautiful trails, gorgeous lake, and a couple bridges.  It truly has a lot of options!

On a personal note, the kids just love this place as they can run around the trails with us.  They love trying to find the birds and walking by the lake.  It is so refreshing!

To help you get an idea of what they have to offer, here are some pictures from Umstead- so many possibilities :-)

On Location: Fletcher Park

Fletcher Park is another great place for photos with a wide range of options for all types of pictures.  Like North Cary Park, Fletcher does have a playground on its premise, though it is not one of the better playgrounds considering other parks in this area.  I did learn that the swings make for some great shots for those of all ages :)  The park also offers a lot of places with beautiful backgrounds and scenery.  Spring and summer sessions here definitely benefit with the flowers on the grounds.  I haven't been in the area long enough to scope this area out in the fall, but definitely am planning on going there sometime this fall to check it out :)

To view a couple past sessions at Fletcher, please check back to these blog postings:

Stroller Strides

Kursad, Claire, and Laura

This park has a lot to offer and I definitely look forward to doing more here.

Enjoy!

On Location: North Cary Park

Congrats!  You have booked your family photo session.  The date is set with your time and its in your calendar.  Your photographer asks if you have any location in mind- and you are blank.  This isn't uncommon and I see it more and more.  While I may be "new" to the Raleigh area I know that it is not short on some amazing spots and it is my job to help pick the perfect spot for you and your family.  I have decided to showcase various places on the blog, taking one place at a time.  I will describe the area, give a general location, and even show some pictures from each place.  I hope that this can be used as a helpful tool and reference as you book your next session!

I thought I would start with one of my new favorite places- North Cary Park.  We kind of stumbled onto this park one day after errands.  Our youngest fell asleep in the car so we decided to drive around.  We came up to this place and I asked my husband to pull over so I could scout it out with my daughter while he stayed in the car with my son.  There was something about it that I just loved right away.  There is a playground when you first walk up and it has a cute arched walkway right there.  There are a lot of open fielded areas, trees, and even a great bridge!  I also think that it has a good location for not only Cary residents, but those that live in Raleigh (especially North).  

Lucas recently turned 1 and we did his family session and cake smash here, it was just perfect!  For more pictures from his shoot, click here.  

If you have any questions about this spot as a potential location for you and your next session, just ask!

Enjoy!

Gabrielle

New Gallery Presentation!

I am constantly on the lookout for ways to improve my business and better serve my clients.  The delivery of your pictures is an extremely important part of my business that has many aspects to it.  It helps represent the moments captured in time; it's social- shared with family, friends, and others; and there is an aspect of it that is personal to not only you but to me as your photographer.  My goal was to find something that would help capture all those things and more when presenting your images.  After a lot of searching, testing, and reviews I have decided to move forward with Pixieset.

There are several other platforms in the market right now that do similar things, but I chose Pixieset for many reasons, some of which I know you will love too:

- It's just easy to use.  From not only my side of things, but yours too.  Everything you need is right there.  

- I can sell single digital pictures as well as the whole album and you can download right from your gallery.  Additionally, you can purchase prints and products right on the spot (with much ease)

- If you want, it is very easy to share through a variety of social media outlets

- It's mobile.  You can view your gallery easily on your mobile device and share your pictures on the go while your gallery is active (even make your gallery an app icon on your phone!)

- You can mark all of your favorites and Pixieset gives me the insight as well 

- It presents your pictures to you in a beautiful and proper way like you deserve

I think that you will all find it very easy to use and enjoy the great features.  I am so excited about this and can't wait to hear how you all like it!

Also offering Back to School Mini Sessions!

I just can't help it!!   With kids in our area getting ready for school and announcing the fall mini-sessions yesterday, it just seemed like a natural fit.  The packages that I am offering for the Back to School Minis will be the same (listed below) as those scheduled for October.  The Back To School Minis will run for the whole month of September, so if interested please make sure you book ASAP before September is full!

Please contact with any questions or to book your session(s)!

Book Your Fall Mini-Session!

Now Booking Fall Mini-Sessions

Dates

October 4 and October 5, with limited spots available

Package 1-$50 + tax

20 minute session

3 digital images 

10% off print/product purchases

Package 2- $75 + tax

30 minute session 

5 digital images

15% off print/product purchases

Package 3- $100 + tax

30 minute session

7 digital images

1 8x10 picture 

20% off print/product purchases

Please email (gabrielleelysephotography@gmail.com) or call (321.514.9889) to book your session today as spots fill up quickly!

Mini-Play Date Sessions Have Arrived

I have had this plan in the works for some time and am so excited to finally announce it right before summer ends:

Mini-Session + Play Dates= Two awesome events colliding into one!  It doesn't get much better than this :-)

What is it?

Mini-Session for you and 1-3 of your friends and children

At one home or on location

20 minute photo shoot for each mom's children

10 minute photo shoot of all the moms and/or children

5 digital prints for each mom

$50/mom and children

I have opened up some time on August 9th and August 16th for end of summer Mini-Play Date Sessions.  Please don't hesitate to contact me with ANY questions or to book yours now!

Keep on Moving Don't Stop

Thanks Soul II Soul and 1989!  That has been our theme song for the past few couple of weeks, so I do apologize for falling just a tad behind.  After moving to Raleigh a little under a year ago we found a home and neighborhood that we love and have officially made ourselves Raleigh residents! It is such a great feeling yet all the while rather exhausting.  We threw ourselves into trying to settle in as quickly as possible and I think reality has come.  We aren't going anywhere so lets do it right and take our time.  So we are functional though have a list of things we want to do the house based on urgency and will just move accordingly so.  My next big project that I need to do is get my office set back up.  Right now I am sort of nomadic through the house and for my photography in addition to my corporate job, the office is needed.  We will get there! I am hoping to capture some of the before and afters of our projects, so don't be surprised if they find their way here.  In the meantime I am getting ready for a couple of busy weekends and can't wait to show you pictures from the sessions and catch up on some blogs!

Keep in mind as we start to hit August as well that it is never too early to book fall sessions so you can have your pictures in time for your Holiday cards!  Email me to book your session!

Hope this finds all well - it's good to be back up and running again!

Lucas is 1!

Recently I had such the pleasure of getting to capture Mr Lucas' first birthday.  I had such a blast with him! He is such an expressive and loving kid- he was perfect!  Lucas did an INCREDIBLE job hanging in through the whole session.  He gave us some really awesome shots with his smash cake that were only enhanced by the cutest outfit that his mom got for him.  I am so happy to share more pictures from this session!

Thank you guys so much for the opportunity to capture such a fun and exciting milestone in your lives- I hope you love the pictures as much as I loved taking them.

Enjoy!

Such a happy boy!!

I just LOVE his expression on this.

Looking up to Daddy

Momma's Boy 

There is definitely something going on in his head!

And he's off!

Seriously, another great expression!!

Handsome boy!

Hello?! Anybody there??

Happy First Birthday Lucas!!!

Gabrielle Elyse Referral Program- Something for you and them!

I am so excited to announce that Gabrielle Elyse has officially launched a new Referral Program.  Since referrals are largely linked to the success of my business, I wanted to find a way to thank my clients.

For each referral that books and completes their session, you will receive a $50 credit toward your next session.  Additionally, your referral will receive a $25 print credit for their session.

On the Gabrielle Elyse website, the very bottom of the page has a link titled Referral Program.  There, you can find the full details.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions!

Again, thank you for letting me do what I love.

Kursad, Claire, and Laura Photo Session

I can't even begin to say how much fun I had with these three this weekend-  I don't think I stopped laughing the entire time.  There are couples that you meet and you just know they work and make sense- Kursad and Claire are definitely that couple and I think the pictures we got from Saturday show that as well.  I also have to thank Claire's daughter Laura for making my job easy. She was willing to try anything asked and even had some great ideas for her pictures as well- I may have found my future intern down the road :)

Thank you Kursad, Claire, and Laura for letting me capture such a fun and great time in your life- I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Enjoy!

Laura ran up and climbed a tree- we had to catch that!

Love this shot of her

The three of them

Mother and daughter

Yeah he likes her...a lot

Such a great time on the swings!

I love this picture of Claire- she just looks so happy!

How high can you go?  

Welcome Baby Jeremy!

Getting to take pictures of Jeremy and his family was such a special honor.  He was one of the sweetest and most cooperative babies I have ever met who also just happened to be born on Mother's Day- what a gift?! During my time with his family I was able to witness four generations together.  What a true blessing.

Thank you for welcoming me into your home to capture Jeremy's early moments as part of the H family.

Enjoy!

One of my absolute favorite pictures- I just love the contrast of 1st generation against 4th.

A very proud dad with his son

So sweet!

Perfectly content in mom's arms

Look at him!  Eyes wide open and ready for the world

4 amazing generations!

Happy Family of Three!