Blondell Gibbs' Wall Portrait

In this profession you have some clients who simply stand out from the rest and Blondell Gibbs has been one of those persons. From the very first moment we met her it has been the kind of relationship that has deepen and grown over the short years we've known each other. A lady of impeccable taste, her appreciation of the finer things in life is reflected in every decision that she makes.

Recently, Mrs. Gibbs commissioned the studio to produce a large canvas portrait of her family to hang over the mantle in her home. There were two options: 1) Regular paper printed portrait with a frame, or 2) Canvas gallery wrap that is often seen in museums. The day we interviewed Mrs. Gibbs it was obvious that a 40x60 canvas portrait was the type of "fine art" photography she needed and wanted to hang in her beautiful home. Needless, to say, this was the correct choice in products to display her family portrait.

I wanted the hanging of this beautiful canvas portrait to be special for Mrs. Gibbs, so not only did we document the event with still photographs, but I invited David Cabrera of my video team to come in and we created a documentary video for her permanent record.

Mrs. Gibbs, thanks for the wonderful opportunity to enhance your life with the creating and hanging of this beautiful family portrait. I believe that not only did you make the right decision as to who would create your portrait, but you also wisely chose the best product to display that image. I'm looking forward to creating the three generation portrait you mentioned as we left your home.

Enjoy!

Willie

Mrs. Gibbs' portrait under wraps.

Preparations for hanging the canvas.

David working his video magic.

The canvas is finally in place.

Mrs. Gibbs admiring her new piece of art.

Dana and Mrs. Gibbs introducing the portrait.

View from the kitchen into
the living room.

Aidan's First Portraits

When my clients contract me as their wedding photographer we do three things. 1) We welcome them into the Portrait Corner Studio family, 2) Instantly they are placed into our "Lifetime Clients" program which guarantees them free future portrait sessions, and 3) We start our "Four Phase Wedding Plan" with them.

I tell my couples that I don't just want to document their wedding day, but I want my services to cover these four major events in their relationship: Love Story (a.k.a. engagement session), Wedding, Maternity, and Family portraits. A number of my clients have gone through this plan, and Justine and Amed Avila (along with Aidan) are the latest family.

Meet Aidan. She's absolutely gorgeous. Actually, she made her debut on a previous blog during Justine's beach maternity session (click here to view) although she wasn't quite ready for her grand entrance. Well, here she is and this is Aidan's first portrait session. To maximize her session, Dana created the still images while I videotaped the session.

Congratulations, Justine & Amed. She's beautiful and I look forward to more portrait sessions with Aidan.

Aidan spent most of her first portrait session
asleep, but she still put on quite a posing show.

Aidan's grandparents.

Amed with his daughter.

Justine and Aidan.

Amed wearing his professional diaper changing gear.

To see a recap of the video session click on the "Play" button below.

Michelle’s Testimony

“Thank you” seems like such a small word to express our gratitude, pleasure, and complete happiness with Willie and his daughter Dana at Portrait Corner Studio. When my husband and I began the process of looking for a photographer, it seemed such a daunting process. Would the photographer meet our high standards, how would the quality of the photographs come out, and would the photographer understand our personalities and make them come alive in the pictures? Not only did Willie make us, especially me, feel like the most important bride, but also he and Dana made us feel like we were family.

No matter what strange request or question I had throughout the entire process they always responded with a smile in their voice. I believe I am one of the luckiest brides because of their amazing skills. Not only did Willie capture stunning images at our “Love Story” Session and during our “Wedding”, he also did an extra shoot for me at a friend’s house. I was able to give my husband a lovely portrait of me in my gown as a wedding gift. This extra session was such a blessing because I was able to work with Willie in advance and he helped me to overcome my shyness. (My best friend, who he renamed “Reflector Girl” because she helped with his equipment, still laughs over the fun we had that day!!!).

I was also the first bride to volunteer for a special project that Willie had in mind and that was to take pre-wedding pictures of my final fitting at a bridal boutique. (I cannot emphasize enough to all potential brides that you should take advantage of this opportunity). Willie met my mother and me at David’s Bridal one evening for this special photo shoot. All I can say is, “WOW! The pictures he took were amazing”. Congratulations, Willie, on your first place prize for these pictures, too. They were truly amazing and the whole session was so much fun with the bridal consultant getting into the action and the other brides running away from your camera.

The images that Willie and Dana captured on our wedding day were not mere pictures, but a story. They show the emotions of the day and the souls of the persons. Our wedding album is by far the most beautiful album I’ve ever seen and the story of our wedding will be forever cherished in its images. Willie, Brian and I cannot thank you enough for being our photographer and more importantly our Friend!! We look forward to many years of visiting your studio for important family events.

Michelle & Brian Hooker