Was anyone else disappointed that the groundhog saw his shadow this morning? I know, I know…it’s just a legend and doesn’t really mean anything, but the thought of six more weeks of winter is driving me crazy. Especially this winter. We had snow on Christmas and nearly subzero days for a couple of days. When has that happened here before? My husband laughs at me all the time because I tell him that February is the longest month of the year. Yes, I understand that technically it is the shortest month, but man does it drag on and on. It’s dreary. My kids can’t go outside. We start driving each other bonkers.

Well to help pull us out of this funk I thought I would show you what I’ve been up to on my 52 week challenge. Perhaps it will give us some hope that Spring will be on it’s way soon.

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Trisha: These are so beautiful! You should sell them as canvas prints!

Amanda Zika: I was sad when I heard the groundhog saw his shadow too until I saw these amazingly gorgeous photos! Fabulous job girl!

Kelsey: Those are very pretty!

Kim K.: Yes! I'm sick of winter too! Can't believe he saw his shadow. Oh well. lol.....Stunning images! I would have to say the first is my favorite!

Heather R.: Simply Gorgeous!!

Trisha: Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!

sharon v: love these images and I LOVE your new logo.

Becca: Oh my word, these are stunning. Seriously absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing - totally brightened my day!

rachael: so very pretty!

Shekira: Beautiful closeups!

Tiffany: Beautiful! These need to be on a wall somewhere. Great job!

Brunilda: you could sell these by the boatload, its gorgeous

sandrah: Beautiful! Makes me wish for spring even more.

Mandy Leonards: Beautiful!

Laura Hull: Stunning!

Christy: AMAZING macro flower shots! Perfect for Vday!!!!

Melissa Koehelr: I know, I was bummed about more winter too! :) These images are gorgeous!

Kiley: very soothing! love these!

Hi everyone! Lots of changes are coming to Sharon Gartrell Photography in the coming months. First off, I am pleased to debut my new logo. I worked with the very talented Tiffany Willette from On the Spot Studio.
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In the coming weeks I’ll be updating my website, blog and client information pieces to reflect my new branding. I will warn you that coding is not my forte, so please bear with me if you happen to visit and things look awry. Rest assured things will get back to normal soon.

Also be sure to check back next week. I’ll be posting two fabulous casting calls! Thanks everyone!

Kim K.: New logo is awesome!

sandrah: Love the new logo!

The R family is always so much fun to have over to the studio. Baby N just celebrated her first birthday! I can’t believe how big she has gotten since our last session here. She can stand now and she just loves to try and walk everywhere. She got a hold of my hand at one point and just started walking! I loved hearing all the words she can say and all the expressions she makes. She was moving around so much, we had to put her in a chair to try and catch a moment when she was still. Here are the sneak peeks for your session! Enjoy!

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Marinda: Love these! She's a little doll. My fav is the second one. Nice work, Sharon!

Deanna: what a beautiful family! I love your use of textures on these.. they just make the images so much more... wow!

Jenny: She sure is a beauty and so are her parents!! Beautiful work as always Sharon!!

Stacey: She is such a cutie!! Beautiful job on these.

Dana Monticelli: Great job Sharon!

Sari: Love these Sharon! She is a doll!

shawna: These are beautiful! My fave is the 3rd!!!

Kim K.: She is a doll! Great work!

veronica starr: so sweet! and i adore her leg warmers!!!

Leslie: Gorgeous! What a cutie!

Trisha: So cute! Beautiful work!

Malisa: Beautiful pics- she is such cute little girl!

kelly: What an adorable little girl! I love the pink background with the texture-great work!

Becca: Gorgeous fam! Love your textures on these

Jenny: She is SO cute! beautiful shots!

I decided that this year I would challenge myself to a photo walk each week to push my creativity to different levels. I’m so excited about the possibilities and for making the commitment to do this every week. This week was a challenge with wind chills near zero here in Texas (I actually had to check that I was still in Texas!). I decided to do my first photo walk indoors and shoot my daughter. I love the look of timeless portraiture and I wanted to try that out with natural window light. I love the effect and I’m going to try and incorporate this into all of my sessions from now on. Enjoy! I present the first of 52 installments…

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Rezika Zurch: This is beautiful, love the lighting!

Sari: Just beautiful!!

Anita: beautiful!!

Kim K.: She is adorable!!! Great shots! Good Luck on your challenge!

Mandy Leonards: So pretty!

sharon v: these images are GORGEOUS! love the b&w and the contrast with the dark background and her dress.

Stacey: It's timeless and gorgeous!

Lora: I love love love these. The pp is perfect and so is the model. I love your work Sharon!

One of my favorite clients came to visit me early on this cold, cold morning. Miss S is always game to play whatever her Mommy and I come up with. She is nine months old now and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by since we did our newborn session here. You can also view her three months portraits, and her six months portraits.

I love how vocal she is now. She was talking to us the whole time of our session. She loves pulling up and I think she will be crawling soon!

Here are your sneak peeks. Enjoy!

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melissa: Beautiful images!

rachael: these are all so sweet!!

Kelly: How precious! I love them all, but that last one is definitely my favorite!

Rezika Zurch: Totally Adorable

Kim Fordham: Oh goodness, she's adorable. Love them!

Anita: total cutie!!!

Kim K.: These are super cute! Love the second shot!

Mandy Leonards: She is so cute!

stacy: These are so great! What a precious little baby girl. I love that last one!

Amii: These are wonderful! You caught such great expressions!

Toki: What a honey! Great props and beautiful images!!!

I’m really excited to announce that I will be offering Valentine’s Mini-Sessions this year! Stock up on cute, one-of-a-kind Valentine’s for your little ones to pass out at school, dance class, soccer, swim team and all the other activities they are in.

Mini-Sessions will consist of:
*a 30 minute session
*2 5×7s
*40 double sided wallets that are perfect for Valentine Cards (see examples below)
*all sessions will have the choice of either grey or coral seamless
*you will get an online gallery of 5-7 images from which to choose
*This session fee will be $70 (an $80 value)
*Sessions will only be on Saturday January 23, 2010 from noon-4PM at the studio

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*Session fee is due before or the day of the session only.
*Ordering deadlines will be in place to insure that products arrive in time for Valentine’s Day.
*All orders must be picked up at the studio.
*Please be on time. Your session will only last your allotted time. If you are late, your time will not go over to the next client’s session time.
*Card choice must be made before leaving the session.
*Sessions are first come-first serve. Please call or email early for your appointment.
*No other discounts can be applied to this special.
*No substitutions can be made to the package.
*Additional prints can be purchased at a la carte prices.

Thanks everyone! Can’t wait to see you on the 23rd!

Kim K.: Those wallets are awesome!!

kelly: So cute-I love this idea!

Wow! 2009 went by so quickly. Thank you to all my wonderful clients for making it such a successful year. I have really enjoyed getting to know you all and watch your families grow this past year. I thought I would start the new year off by reviewing some of the last sessions of 2009. I was so busy during the holidays that I didn’t have time to post regularly. Plus I know many of my families were wanting to keep their images a secret for their Christmas card. I think it’s safe to share now!

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Kim K.: Great shots! Love the 4th image.

Julie: Such cuties - love the old truck!!

Kelsey: Precious! Love the b/w with the little boy.

Julie: Love the little boy by the old truck - great shots!!

Carrie Owens: that last image is priceless!!

Rezika Zurch: oh so adorable! Love the one with the little boy by the car!

Tina: What beautiful colors!

traci: u do an amazing job at capturing your clients eyes. love them all!

Lisa Harrison: so many gorgeous images in one thread. It looks like you had a very successful year.

Marinda: These are all so beautiful! Looks like you had a great end to your year. Love the last image. So cute!

Kim Hill: What a great round-up of 2009. That last image of the boy looking out the window is spectacular!!

Melanie P: You have such cute clientele! Congrats on a wonderful year. These are really beautiful!

Laura Brett: So many beautiful ones to chose from! Great job Sharon.

Hi everyone! I feel so honored to be selected as a finalist in the Matilda Jane Photo Love Contest. They sent the same dress to 45 photographers nationwide and asked us to do our thing. Now I need your help! Please click on the link below to vote for my submission. Add it to your bag and fill out your information and click submit. You do need to click on submit a second time after it asks you to confirm your vote. The winner receives a trip for 2 to their fashion show in January.

My submission

Here’s what my submission looks like!

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Here are some others I shot with this dress:

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Jennifer O.: These are totally cute! Good luck!

Charlotte's ....fine art photography: I absolutely love that first image! I hope it does well for you.

Christina Engle: Oh my gosh! love #2! What a dollie! Thanks for sharing. Great job.

The H family and I met Sunday morning at a local historical farm. We had to reschedule for the morning because heavy storms were headed our way in the evening. It’s a good thing that we were able to meet in the morning because the storms came right on schedule. I’ve been photographing little Miss M since she was a tiny baby. I can’t believe how big she is getting. She was so clever during our session. She kept finding where we were hiding the cheerios and goldfish crackers! Miss M is absolutely adorable and I had so much fun playing with her during our session. Here are your sneak peeks. Enjoy!

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Jolie Starrett: GREAT job Sharon! Love the location and the carriage!

Krystle Akin: Love these!! Awesome job Girly!

toki: Wow, what an awesome location for this beautiful family session!!!

blushe photography: I love the last one!!!

Laura Brett: Love the location, great job Sharon!

Becca: Beautiful family! Love her little dress!

Kim K: Love that last shot! such a cutie!

Kelly Mendoza: What a beautiful little girl and I LOVE the one with the baby carriage.

Victoria Harris: So cute! That carriage is great!

Marinda: What a beautiful family! Loving the location and lighting. Great job, Sharon!!

Sari: Ooh, I also love the location. The little girls is so cute...love her dress!

Jaclyn Michele: So sweet and cool location!

Trisha: Beautiful pictures! I love the carriage shot! Adorable!

aimeeferguson: lovely shots, all of them, and great location! beautiful work!

Amanda: Beautiful family! Love the last shot.

Amii: Oh, I love the last one! She's too cute!

Sandrah: These are wonderful. Love the last shot with the little buggy. So cute!

I met the M family again this past Saturday. I cannot believe how much Miss F and Mr. G have grown since our newborn session. These two cuties were such a delight. They really enjoyed looking at the water and hiking through the woods with Mommy and me. I love doing babies outdoors. I think the babies like it too.
I’ll see the M family in a couple of weeks to finish this session and do some family pictures for Christmas cards. I can’t wait. Here are a couple for now. Enjoy your sneak peeks!
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Tiffany: Great shots Sharon. What adorable twins. Loving your location too!

Laura: These shots just make me smile! SOO cute!

melissa: oh, they are adorable! great capture in the basket.

Kelly Klatt: Wow-those babies are SO cute! I love the last one with mom!

Jaclyn Michele: Oh my goodness, could they be any cuter?!

Lora: These are amazing, what an adorable pair of twins! Love the location too.

Kristen: Twins! I love them!!!! Great job!!

Amii: Sharon, these are great! Love their little outfits!

Trisha: LOVE these! Twins are the best!

aimeeferguson: oh goodness me, they are so so cute!! these are fabulous, love that basket shot!!

toki: Sooooo cute!

Cecillia: What a fantastic location and beautiful family!!

Amanda: Beautiful babies! Love the last shot with mom.

Sandrah: Oh my, what precious little twins!! Great location!

melissa shelby: What gorgeous colors and locations! Adorable family!