Hitting the links - it's for the dogs

     Hitting this links - well it is for the dogs and cats.  Recently I had the pleasure to help out the Burke County Friends For Animals by photographing their annual golf tournament.  The weather was perfect.  We could not have asked for a better day.

      I spend the whole day out there.  Don't worry, I was strictly photographing and not attempting to hit any small white balls.  I am sure the other golfers were glad of that.
     Me and my friend Marcus rode around the course over at Quaker Meadows Golf Course, photographing the golfers.  They all seemed to have a great day out on the course.  And BCFFA raised some money to help our furry friends.  They do a great job at BCFFA.  Can't wait till next year's tournament.  Hope to see you on the course.  Here is a short video of the day.

Giving back

     The past few months I have been busy traveling, teaching and giving programs to other professional photographers as well as putting on a major two day workshop.  Since the end of August, I have traveled across the state twice to give programs. 
     At the end of August, I traveled down to Greenville, NC to give a program to the Professional Imaging Group of Eastern North Carolina (PIGOENC).  The PIGOENC group is a Professional Photographers of America (PPA) regional affiliate association.  It was great to share with many photographers I have learned from over the years and to meet some new friends.

Larry Conley took this image during my program with the PIGOENC group.

          A few weeks ago, I traveled to Durham to give the program to another PPA affiliate group, the Photographic Society of the Triangle (PST).  I had so much fun with this group.  It is already in the plans for me to go back next year to do another program for them in 2011.
          Then last Monday, photographers from North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina came to the studio for a PPA's Super Monday program I taught.  I participated in several Super Mondays in the past as a student and it was great to be able to share what I know to other photographers.
         I also had the honor of serving as the Chairperson for the Professional Photographers of NC (PPNC)'s Western Seminar in October as well.  PPNC has meant a lot to me and my career as a photographer and it was indeed an honor to give back.  We had two incredible days of learning from international and national speaking photographers.  We had fun, learned and even donated some food for the local food pantry.   
        All of my teaching and workshops are done till next year.  I enjoy spending time and sharing what I can with my fellow professional photographers, but I am looking forward to some time at home.  Next year looks like it is going to be busy again though.  It appears I will be giving programs not only in NC, but in Georgia and possibly Virginia.

Merry Christmas

     Merry Christmas?  It is the beginning of November.  We haven't even had Thanksgiving turkey.  Don't worry we will do that, but it is time for Christmas sessions at the studio. 

     This year we have not one, not two, but three set to choose from.  Can you tell I am really in the Christmas spirit this year?  We have a brand new Red & White Christmas that has a very contemporary look to it.  The Winter Wonderland was so popular last year that it is returning.  And it has been several years, but the one and only Santa's Chimney is back. 

     Santa's Chimney is so awesome.  It is perfect for young kids that can sit up and bigger kids that are too big to fit in the chimney (no we don't know how Santa does it either).  For the bigger kids, we have a special trick to where they can sneak up and catch Santa going down the chimney.  It is also great for the whole family too.
      The session fee for any of the special Christmas sessions is only $25.  We have special packages available only for these Christmas sessions.  And you can even order custom Christmas cards from these sessions as well.  This year's cards are going to be so great.  Not only are they custom designed just for you, but you can also get them in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Call me to find out more.
      The session dates are:
Red & White Christmas    Fri Nov 5th, Sat Nov 6th and Thur (no school this day) Nov 11th
Winter Wonderland          Sat Nov 13th
Santa's Chimney              Wed Nov 24th
       The special packages will be back for you to select from before Thanksgiving from the Red & White Christmas and the Winter Wonderland sessions.  Call the studio at 828-397-6055 for more information and to reserve your time.

Sweet baby Claire

Here is another sweet sleeping baby.  I just love newborns.  Claire was only a couple days old and had just gotten home from the hospital when I had the pleasure to go meet her and photograph her at her house.

Claire's dad is known for his cheesecakes, so we had some fun in the kitchen.  I love cheesecake, but I doubt any Claire's dad whips up is as sweet as her.

Mom, dad and sweet baby Claire.  A perfect family portrait. Here is a little video with some of the images from Claire's first session.

Welcome Marshall

 Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby? This is baby Marshall.  I have a feeling this boy is going to break some young girls hearts in the future.  He looks so precious here.  I love my job.

Alabama fans may have something to worry about in about 18 years.  Yes, Marshall is one of those Tennessee Fanatics.  For years I have photographed his big sisters in Tennessee stuff.  Can't wait to have some fun with Marshall in all of the Volunteer gear.

Trick or Treat Halloween Contest

     Was your kid the scariest creature or maybe the cutest this Halloween?  Maybe it was you or even your pet?  Did you take an image of it?
      If so then you need to enter it into our facebook Halloween Contest.  It is easy to enter and vote for you favorite. And if your entry receives the most likes then you will win a $10 gift card from a local store or restaurant of your choice.

Here is how to enter:
1. Go to the Denise Clay Photography fan page
2. You must like the DCP page before you can enter or vote
3. Post on the DCP page your favorite Halloween image
4. Ask your family and friends to vote by liking the image
5. The easiest way to share this with your friends is to click on the photo once it is posted on the DCP page.
6. Once you have only the photo on the page, you can share it by clicking on share.
7. Be sure to type a message to your friends to vote by liking the image in the box.
8. You can also copy and paste the url into a new status update.

     On Nov 10th at 9pm, I am going to look at the total number of likes for each entry on the DCP page and the one with the most likes wins!

Have fun!

Growning up

      Maybe it is the mom in me, but I have noticed over the years that the kids I photograph become almost like my own kids to me.  This is especially true for those kids I photograph since they were just babies. 
      The beauty of this is I get to send them back home with mom and dad after the session.  Hum, that is starting to sound like a grandmaw.  Let's move on to the point of the blog post before I grow any older.
       I have photographed both of these two girls since before they were even born; we did a maternity sessions for both.  And I have had the pleasure of watching these two girls grow up. 
      Now I know Ella and Nora are not grown up.  They are still young girls, but it has been really cool to be a part of their lives.
      Ella is in school now and Nora is helping mom with their new brother.  Yes, they have a little brother to torture, um I mean watch now.

     While we were doing the maternity session for Marshall, I spent some time photographing the girls.  The girls were so much fun that day. 
      We kept it simple and just focus on the different personalities of the girls.  They each played it up for the camera, but still showed their sweet quiet side as well. 
      I just love these two images from the session.  The first one shows the love between the two sisters.  This one shows the shy quiet side of Nora.
      While I was there talking to their mom, Ella showed just what a big girl she has become. She took care of her little sister without even having to be asked.
      I was so proud of Ella.  She has grown up into a great big sister.