Kristen Botner - 1st Ambassador

If there ever was a case of "perfect timing" such is the case with Kristen Botner. I was working on my 2011 senior portrait promotion when her dad contacted me about photographing her senior portraits. I had created her brother's images a year or two ago, and Mr. Botner knew we would do an excellent job for Kristen. I needed a model for my "Senior Ambassador" program (student's receive free senior portraits in exchange for the names of graduating friends), so Kristen and Mr. Botner were eager to make the trade.

Kristen was fabulous and we spent several hours creating an experience that she will never forget. The proof is in the portraits that are displayed below and in the slideshow which features all of my favorites. At the end of the session we wrapped up the day with a fun shot of the entire family. Don't miss that image below.

Thanks, Kristen, for a wonderful session and I believe your friends are going to be REAL jealous of your senior portraits.

We started off Kristen senior session
with a great makeup job by Krystal Bianca.




Traditional cap & gown shots were also taken.


Kristen has a "non-stop" smile that goes forever.






This portrait was taken in a vacated storefront.












The grunge look is really in
with the students for 2010.








Although she was home schooled, Kristen
has been accepted at the University of Miami
with a full scholarship. Go, Kristen!


The Botners

To view Kristen's entire senior session
click on the play button below.

www.portraitcorner.com
Make-up: Krystal Bianca

New Toy

Have you every had a precious item stolen from you and you were so angry about the incident you promised not to replace the item? Well, several years ago I had a camera stolen from me while photographing a wedding at Signature Grand. It was a Canon 10D with an 8mm Sigma fisheye lens. I only used it for weddings, but it was a sweet system because of the unique perspective it gave my images. In all I think the system cost me about two grand back in the day when DSLRs were expensive to purchase.

Canon Rebel xsi with Sigma 8mm Fisheye

Anyway, after having anxiety attacks every time I would see a fisheye image in a magazine or come across some of my old fisheye images, I've relented and reinvested into a replacement system. Lots of improvements have happened to digital cameras in the past two years and the loss of that camera did have an upside. 1) The cameras are cheaper, and 2) Their resolution and file handling is much better. Now I can offer my brides this unique look again!

Check out the images I created with this system while on a trip to Arizona.

Enjoy!
Willie

Location: Boojum Tree

Grace For The Moment

"God is using today difficulties to strengthen you for tomorrow".

Max Lucado

www.portraitcorner.com

Love Story Demo 2010

If you saw the recent "love story" session we created for Shaterica and Terry, then here's a chance to take a look at the behind scenes of this session. I want to give thanks to my awesome videoartist partner (David Cabrera) and my new assistant Laura Randazzo for helping create this video.

It was fun, but "baby" it was cold!!

Enjoy!
Willie

New Owner - Dana L. Hill

Three years ago when my daughter lost her job and asked if she could work a couple of hours until she could find another job, little did I know that would be one of the best days in my entrepreneurship. It was also one of the best days in Dana's life, too. I was glad that I could support her during this difficult time, but I was very concerned about the operation of my business because I'd just lost my only employee of four years. I'd invested a lot of time and training with the previous employee and didn't think Dana could handle the challenge of being a photographer and office person.

Boy, was I wrong. Not only did Dana take ownership of the business, but she has quickly learned her craft as a professional photographer and is considered a great competitor in her field. Slowly, I have been withdrawing myself from operating the studio and very much putting a lot of faith in her managing the business. She has definitely paid her dues and earned her wings. So, in October of 2009 I made the decision to sell her exclusive ownership of Portrait Corner Studio, LLC.

This year Portrait Corner Studio celebrates 25 years in business, and I'm proud to pass along this opportunity to Dana. Currently, she is restructuring the entire business model of the studio in the areas of products and services. Future clients can expect some exciting services from Dania Beach's oldest and only certified photography studio.

Congratulations, Dana...you'll do good.

Enjoy!
Dad

Senior Portrait Models Wanted

We are looking for Senior Portrait models that go to:

Dillard, Ely, South Broward, Hollywood Hills, Hallandale, McArthur, & Everglades, Flanagan, Miramar, and Plantation High Schools.

1. Are you in the class of 2010 or is your child? Which school?

2. Do you like to have your photographs taken?

3. If we do a good job creating your senior portraits, do you think you could get your friends to have their senior portrait created by Portrait Corner Studio, too?

4. Are you willing to get a list of names & address of fellow classmates? You could get your entire senior portraits taken for free and receive cash bonuses as well. We can go into more detail when we meet.

If this is something you feel you can do, contact us today at (954) 921-7959.

Location: Portrait Corner Studio, LLC

My Mother Taught Me #4

My mother taught me LOGIC.
She said, "Because I said so, that's why".

New Studio Logo

I'm very excited about 2010 because we are totally revamping Portrait Corner Studio, LLC. from the bottom up. I truly believe that God has allowed the recession to give us a time to sit back, relax, and rethink everything that is going on in our personal and business lives.

I cannot tell you how many wonderful ideas have come to me over the past months of 2009 which have inspired me to do something different. Below is one of the changes that I've acted on. Here is our new business logo and we're looking forward to branding it on everything we do.

Enjoy!
Willie

New 2010 Logo

Previous Studio Logo


Original Studio Logo

Lori Pantaleao's Glamour Session

Lori Pantaleao and I met at the January Signature Bridal show and it was instant connection while we chatted about her upcoming wedding plans. I remember her so well from many of the other prospective brides-to-be because of her outgoing personality and awesome support team of friends that were with her (Mary & Katie). I kinda felt that she was my type of bride because we were so transparent with each other, and that's a key element to getting great portraits of a person.

Well, Lori, booked a glamour session with us and when she arrived with Katie & Mary in tow I knew it was going to be a blast of time together. I was not disappointed. So, check out several of the images below to see what a beautiful woman she is in front of the camera. No doubt she's going to be a gorgeous bride on her "big day", too.

This is one of my favorite shots of Lori.

Here fiance is a Dallas Cowboy fan

and she's his favorite cheerleader.Go Cowboys!Lori, has killer looks that are easy to capture.
I'm too tired, Willie. These poses are killer!

Lori, Katie, & Mary...best of friends.

Thanks, Ladies, for a wonderful session with lots of laughs and antics. Katie and Mary, you both were great makeup artists and wardrobe specialists. Your hard work paid off for Lori. She looked fabulous!


Enjoy!
Willie

New Video Service A Hit!

Mid-2009 when I decided to add professional video services to our product line I knew it would be a success. As I looked around my industry it was easy to determine that nearly every facet of my profession was moving toward video. Video is every where and is a major player in whatever we do in our daily lives. I personally believe that any photographer who hasn't made the transition is not going to be competitive in the near future.

I've felt that Portrait Corner Studio has always been on the cutting edge and I intend on making sure that all the new technology is an asset for clients choosing our studio.

Well, if you want to take a look at our hot cinematic video service, check out this link: Wedding video. You're gonna love what you see. If you have any comments or questions, please leave a comment on this blog.

Enjoy!
Willie

Tiffany & Nicholas' Love Story

In a few weeks Tiffany and Nicholas will tie the knot and we'll be there. I met Tiffany at the January Bridal Show at Signature Grand and she fell in love with our work immediately. She and Nicholas are a fun-loving couple and after spending a few hours with them during this session we know that they are going to be great subjects during their wedding.

To get out of the cold temperatures we've been experiencing lately, we started at Signature Grand which is where their venue is for the wedding. Then we finished up the session at the beach in Hollywood. Thanks Tiffany and Nicholas for a great "love story" session and we'll see you at your upcoming wedding in a few weeks.

Enjoy!

Willie

This is the favorite portrait for all of us.

To view portraits from the entire session click on the play icon below.