July 21, 2008

June's wedding of the month goes to Barbara and Paul. Everyone was so much fun! Barbara was beautiful in a gown sewn with crystals and Paul was one handsome fellow. The details were flawless making it a perfect event.

You can check out the slide show in my gallery, but above are a few of my favorites.

We have a busy month in August and are excited to add a feature to our service. We will play a slide show of the ceremony pics on an 80" screen at the reception. It is going to be a surprise for our August weddings but will be a standard part of all packages.

Good Bye for Now,
Janet

May 2008

May became one of our busiest months. With the spring real estate market we book more properties to shoot than any other month ever. One particular day we shot 5 homes in one day! It was great fun and I want to thank all the folks at Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate for keeping me busy.

I was able to sneak away to my daughter's graduation and we booked a house in Newport for the week. My husband's entire family came from Ohio and it was incredibly fun to have everyone together for the event. As soon as the bagpipes starting playing to bring the seniors in, the tears started flowing. Ashley looked beautiful and she received a special award for excellence in French.

The wedding that was the event of the month was with Joanna Shrewsbury and Ted Hasse. Joanna is a reporter for NBC 29 in Virginia and both the bride and groom were gorgeous. The poring rain began early in the day and lasted throughout. But that didn't stop us from incorporating it into fabulous images. The ceremony was at the Union Church of Pocantico Hills in Sleepy Hollow. Yes, the same Sleepy Hollow as in 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. The window in the church were commissioned by The Rockefellers and painted by Marc Chagall. We were not able to use flash in the Chapel and required to remain in one spot but used the bag of tricks to record the event anyway. Just a few of my favorite shots.

"The photos are stunning! I feel like I am reliving the entire day going through the slide show. It's something I would expect to see in a magazine, not my own wedding album. Thank you so much. Ted wants to buy them all and my mother can't believe how beautiful they are. I can't wait to show them off tonight. We've never had such beautiful portraits of our family. This is a treasure!"
-Joanna Shrewsbury

"I love the pictures of Jo and Ted’s wedding… I think they’re just fabulous and really capture the joy we all felt. You have my rave reviews for recording our event in a totally professional and unobtrusive manner and then producing absolutely stunning images of the day... I really appreciate the way you put Joanna at ease about the possibility of rain on Friday. But even more, I love the way you actually incorporated the weather into the wedding story. Thanks."
-Linda Shrewsbury

Good Bye for Now,
Janet

April 2008

April was a great month in many ways. First of all the weather was fantastic and we finally get to see some sun and color. That means a lot to us New Yorkers!

And then, we launched our first website designed for Red Schoolhouse Antiques. We shot over 400 items of inventory and spent many hours cataloging but are very pleased with the result. Don and William, our clients, were so excited and that is what it is all about. Thanks to my partner Neal for the wonderful design and dynamic programming.

We booked four weddings in April and are looking forward to some beautiful settings and locations. Ashley Studios will be featured in the Fall and Winter issue of Ines Del Mar Weddings so check it out! They will run a four page editorial the studio.

Can't forget to mention that I am so proud of my daughter Ashley. Notice that I named the studio after her. She is not only graduating this year from St George's School with honors, she has been accepted into George Washington University's School of Engineering and Applied Science! And.....with an academic scholarship!!! Wow, the proud mom I am.

Pictured is my favorite shot of the month.

Goodbye for Now,
Janet

March 2008

After a long flight, not much sleep and too much to do we dove into our schedule at the WPPI Conference in Las Vegas. I spent the first two full days with Mike Colon and his Plus Class where he took us through his approach and techniques. At the same time Neal was soaking in the business classes. And then we hit the tables! After teaching Neal the way around a crap table it became the game of the trip. Luckily I quit while I was ahead but I can't say as much for poor Neal!

The experience in Vegas was awesome. We brought back a top ten list of what we want to incorporate into our business model. Shooting with Mike and Ray was fast paced and a whole lot of fun.

With all the excitement of Vegas, even more exciting in March was the news that my daughter Ashley was accepted to George Washington University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. And, not only was she one of only 2,250 students out of 19,000, she was given a four year scholarship! I am the proud mom!

Good Bye For Now

Janet

Vegas

February 2008

We have had a very snowy February here in NY and I don't know about you but I am ready and anxious for Spring!  I can't wait for the 1,000 bulbs of Crocus, Tulips and Snowdrops that I planted last Fall to poke through the snow and show me that some warm weather is just around the corner.

In spite of the weather, February has been a busy month.  The studio has been booked solid with interviews for weddings, photographing portraits and head shots, and believe it or not shooting luxury homes coming on the market that need pictures snow and all. We are busy photographing hundreds of rare and wonderful items for Red Schoolhouse Antiques in Millbrook NY for their website that we are designing and will launch at the end of April. They have been long, on location shoots but the results are fantastic.

I attended a fantastic seminar in NYC hosted by Lexjet on print workflow and production. These people are the best and I love working with them.  They really know their stuff!

Neal and I will be leaving on the 12th for Vegas and the WPPI conference.  We are looking forward to it.  I signed up with Mike Colon for a Plus Class and really can't wait to see his presentation.

My favorite shot for the month was from a session with Lisa.  It is a challenge to portray the right emotion in a portrait of an expectant mother and I was very pleased when we did.  She should be having her baby any day.

Goodbye for Now,

Janet

JANET SKINNER and ASHLEY STUDIOS ~ BLOG

It's been long overdue that I sit to write my first blog.  I planned to publish by the end of December and now it is the end of January!  Let me tell you what kept us so busy in 2007.

Our major project for 2007 was a complete re-design of the studio.  Wow, it took almost the whole year but I am happy to say it is complete.  What a wonderful place to work and greet clients.  Simple, sleek, contemporary and soooo clean!  I want to thank Martin and Dad, the contracting team that worked so hard and put up with my ever-changing mind. And, Richard Toland of SagePoint, Inc. for wiring the sound.

Our second major project was to re-design our website.  With just a few more final touches (one of which includes this blog) we are complete and pleased with the results.  The gallery pages will be updated frequently and coming soon is a video of me in the studio.  Please take a look http://www.ashleystudios.com

Ashley Studios has taken on a whole new look in general.  In addition to our busy photography studio, we expanded the graphic art department and are pleased to now offer web-site design. This month alone we have signed two clients and are excited about what the new year will bring.  

What a fantastic year 2007 was.  We had the privilege to photograph beautiful weddings, making lasting friendships with our brides and grooms.  We shot children, pets, models, families and even hand-painted eggs in the studio and enjoyed the visitors who just stopped by to say hello.  Our photographic projects included:  luxury properties for Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate and Christie's Great Estates, lush gardens for The Silent Gardener, pet fashion for Bully Ware, intricate custom umbrellas for Phillisols by Geri, to mention a few.  And, our graphic art department was busy designing brochures, ads, printing and making dozens of clients very happy!  We also were honored to make the Platinum list of exclusive photographers for Grace Ormnode's Wedding Style Magazine.

I want to thank my staff of wonderful people, who I rely on to make it all work.  Neal Martin, my lighting assistant who's background and degree in graphic art/website design has enabled us to take on this new department.  Kristin Wolinsky and Juliann Guiffre for their hard work assisting in all aspects of shooting a wedding.

My goal will be to post monthly, so come back to see what's going on!

Goodbye for Now,

Janet