Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone!

Last year around Thanksgiving, Jas started his gift giving quest and asked the painstaking question of me ‘What would you like for Christmas?’. Ugh! I love Christmas, don’t get me wrong, but I love giving gifts more than receiving them and if I was smart like a fox I’d write these amazing gift ideas down that I think of throughout the year so I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed come Turkey day! So I pondered and answered oddly for him of dance lessons! It’d be something fun for he and I to do and we might be able to score some rhythm for the man who does a wicked Q-tip and Cabbage Patch! (I’m going to get in so much trouble for that one)

So long story short, Christmas came and I received some very lovely gifts and many unexpected treasures but the dance lessons were omitted from Santa’s sack. No worries. I’m a take charge kinda girl so I did my research and emailed a few studios and found Jessie Foster of Jessie’s Dance Studio. In the days following my research I treated Jas to some nice micro brews and dude food and popped the ‘So… About those dance lessons…’ and as the clouds parted and angels appeared (okay I’m being dramatic) we started our dance lessons.

About that comfort zone… I expected we’d look like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers by at bare minimum our second lesson. I never expected balance, posture, or music theory would come into play! I also didn’t expect to meet so many amazingly friendly people or that my husband would out-dance me on some styles!

Comfort zone… Insert Jo! Jo is an amazing woman who dances at the studio almost every night of the week, has been dancing for the past 16 years and before that an ice skating princess! Jo met us maybe two times if that before she gave us hugs and complimented us on how we are when we dance. Her comfort level will continue to amaze me on how she dances, how she presents herself, and just plain how she sees other people. How many people do you know that only after meeting twice would give hugs and share with you like you’re family? Or would simply let their guard down without worrying of preconceived notions?

We see this a lot when we first start to work with our clients.. I mean really, who other than a super model (are there even any in central PA?) feels 100% comfortable in front of a camera?! I’ve discussed with many of our clients how I hate having my picture taken! But in consideration the reason, at least for me is my comfort zone. As learned in dance, you have to sometimes get out of your own way to make it happen. How do we capture those amazing and realistic images of our clients- they step out of their comfort zone!

Try feeling comfortable by wearing comfortable.. Not your PJ’s.. But a pair of jeans that you feel confident in or a dress that makes you feel like a rockstar! Try incentives… ‘if I just get through this one thing I’ll…’. Ladies bribe your spouse with ice cream if you need to, you laugh but Jason’s favorite flavor of the moment is teaberry! And lastly, don’t do it alone.. It’s easier to slip out of your comfort zone if you have a hand to hold, or a toe to step on in our case.

After meeting Jo and learning more about her I aspire to be like her when dealing with others. I also hope that everyone gets to meet a Jo in their lifetime:)

Every Photographer Has Those Days!

Upon my venture out this morning I was deep in thought about today’s blog post… ‘hmmm… What to write, what to write…’ and then it hit me! Ladies and Gentlemen I saw the light. Unfortunately it wasn’t the light of an ingenious moment but the blue and reds of a Lower Paxton police officer.

For those who are close to the McClain’s, my dear and loving husband and I have a friendly wager back and forth of who has the most infractions with our fantastic law enforcement and right now I’m one under par, beating Jas in our little competition! I then start the game we all play of what exactly did he catch me doing? Was I speeding in the 25mph like I always do or did he catch me rolling that four way stop sign… Yes that has to be it.

Nope, completely wrong and guys I really should have known the answer to the ‘why did I pull you over today ma’am’ question I was about to get considering just two days ago in Philly got a love letter from the parking authority that Black Betty (aka Mazda) is out of inspection circa November 2011. Thankfully I have a five day police warning to get inspection complete rather than a nice hefty 300 dollar ticket which is my usual norm, however it was kinda ironic getting pulled over by the officer who had helped us prosecute a bad check claim just a few months ago.

Moral of the story… Be nice to your local law enforcement because the officer writing your ticket today could be the one supporting you someday… And if that fails you can take Jason’s approach of bribing with fried chicken or photography services.. “How about a free boudoir session Sir?… Oops I mean Ma’am!”

Dear Blog, it’s the McClain’s…

“Dear Blog, I miss you! I know in terms of etiquette we should be speaking to each other a few times a week rather than the once every two week timeframe we’re rocking out currently! My stigmatism as to why I haven’t stopped by is it takes me forever to choose images to go along with my posts! I love too many! And then there’s time…”

Okay as not to bore you with my dear John letter to our blog, allow me to fill you in on the happenings recently! We’ve been friggin BUSY! Busy is awesome but unfortunately that leaves our pen-pal relationship sitting on the back burner.

So to make amends we’re.. Well I.. am going to aim for a revamp and twist to include you, our twelve fabulous readers, into more details of us! That’d be us Jason and Melissa, us the business, and us the photographers who catch those amazing images I personally just can’t stop looking at! We might talk a little photo tech talk, and I mean a little..that’s the boys area of expertise, ideas for planning, featured vendors you use and we love, and a bit about our crazy life with five insane animals in our house! I hope to always post images when we chat but if the mood strikes and I’m typing on my iPhone (go Mac!) like I am now.. all bets are off:). In closing hang in there, enjoy our crazy ride because baby wedding season is just starting!

-M

Who Has Inspired You?!

We (Jason and I) like to think that everyone has at least one couple who a person might have looked up to for months, years, or their entire lives.  This couple might have been his/her parents, grandparents, or even friends, who through thick and thin, they are always together, fighting through everyday life but not forgetting about each other.  These couples are strong, loving, and compassionate towards one another and are truly inspirational couples. These couples inspire our own romances!

For Jason, his inspirational couple is his parents.  Watching his mother and father taught lessons of putting another person’s needs before oneself, always finding ways to tell the other person that they’re in the forefront of their thoughts, and establishing that a family bond should never be taken for granted.  Melissa’s inspirational couple is her grandparents who’ve just celebrated 51 years together, always call each other dear and honey, and can laugh and share openly with one another.

In celebration of these couples we’re opening up another session giveaway for the month of April.  If you’d like to recognize an inspirational couple and nominate them for a free session, please email a brief description of why you find them to be an inspirational couple, their names, and an image of the couple to mmcclainphoto@gmail.com no later than April 14th, 2012.  From April 15th-April 30th, voting will take place in the Inspirational Couple Facebook album on the Melissa McClain Photography page.  The couple who receives the most likes or comments on their image will win a free session at a location of their choice, an online gallery for a year, and 2 free 8×10 images.

Be sure to nominate the couple who has helped shape your romance!

Jason’s Parents

Melissa’s Grandparents

How about a Spring Fling Deal?!

Maybe it’s the warmer weather.. or the itch to get our wedding season in full swing starting this weekend.. or the pain from all the darn yard work that Mr McClain had us doing this past weekend but how about a seriously awesome Spring Fling Discount on Wedding Customizations?!  Book your wedding customization (6 hour minimum please) with MMP between March 19th and May 28th and we’ll rock out a $500 discount AND a free engagement session!  How can you stake your claim on saving some green?  Just submit a contact form and let us know you’ve read the blog entry or found it on wedding wire, creeped on our facebook page, or it was just dropped on your lap by a flock of angry birds:)

MMP Gives Back

Growing up I was big into volunteering and working with the York County 4-H Program and even though as an adult I can joke with the MMP team of raising chickens and goats and being a farm chick with values, the program taught us a lot about community involvement and taking care of the areas in which we reside.  With the program ending at age 19 for 4-H youth, the learned behaviors and morals will always remain with us forever.

Since starting our business Jason and I have always talked about giving back to our community and gathering plans of how to do so.  After much planning we’re giving back in two ways to two different local organizations who are always in need and mean a lot to both of us.  We are hoping to work with many organizations over the future years, so if there is an organization that means a lot to you, please share it with us! Check out this year’s beneficiaries and how you can help!

“Like A Furball“- Our pets are our family!  We’ve got five, two crazy Jack-A-Bee’s and three vibrant cats- yes we’re insane!  All five have their own unique personalities and our house wouldn’t be a home without them.  With four of the five being rescued we’re huge advocates of rescue pet adoption if possible!  How can you help?  For every ‘like’ we get on our Melissa McClain Photography Facebook Page in 2012, we’ll donate $.05 to the Harrisburg Humane Society.

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“Feeding with Photos“- With the economy continuing to toggle between not so good and eh, many families are putting their incomes to bills, mortgages, and other needs and forfeiting good nutrition and feeding their children.  Inspired by how far their community reach really is (27 local counties to be exact), the Central PA Food Bank is an amazing service to those in need in our neighborhoods!  For every wedding package booked between March 1st and December 1st of 2012, MMP is donating 1% to the Central PA Foodbank.

We look forward with your help in supporting these organizations and thank you for your support of these two extremely worthy causes!

 

A Small Tribute To Our Military…

Jason, Scott and I have been tossing ideas around on how to give back to our military couples for the past few months.  Regardless of branch, military couples make multiple sacrifices- time, distance, and sometimes missing moments of each others lives that just a memory or an image can get him/her through the day.  To those who have their finance or husband in the military, MMP and Scott Bostjancic Photography are teaming up to offer those ladies a free Boudoir session.

Military ladies need not book any other sessions, have held their wedding with MMP, or feel obliged to purchase disks or prints from their sessions.  Boudoir sessions include a one to two hour photo shoot and a one year online password protected gallery through Scott Bostjancic Photography.  Logical verification (i.e. a picture of your military man/ military ID/ etc) and signed photographic contract required.

What does a Boudoir session look like, you may ask?  MMP/SBP believes in classy, fashion inspired photography sessions.  It doesn’t matter what is worn, but the mystery of how its shown in your images.  The key to great boudoir imagery is being comfortable and relaxed in your own skin and remembering these are going to make your man melt!

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Heading to a Bridal Show? How about for Free?!

Got Wedding Planning on the Mind?! How would you like 2 free passes to the AACA Wedding Show on February 19th? Tell us how your fiancee proposed.. or for the bold, how you proposed! Post your engagement story to facebook and the best story (voted by the number of likes/comments on your post) will win two free passes to the show! Please share your stories on the MMP wall or reply to this post! Stories accepted now through January 20th. Winners announced January 23rd! Want to learn more about the show: http://www.aacamuseum.org/weddingshow/bride-reservation.aspx

Winter Wedding?

Snow in October?!  So, what was to be a picture perfect late fall day turned into a slushy wet mess for two MMP couples.  Thankfully neither had it throw a glitch into their day and both came out with some seriously awesome shots!  Scott and Christin had the privilege to work with Jessica and Asa at the State Museum in Harrisburg for their intimate wedding.  Jason and I were with Dan and Sami in Historic Lancaster!  Both couples looked amazing surrounded by supportive and caring families as they exchanged their vows and danced the night away!  Congratulations to such sweet couples!

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Those little details…

I try to remember a lot!  So much that I’ll ask Jason, ‘Love Duck (oh yeah.. we’re that cheesy) do you remember…’ and I’ll get those husband-like looks of “Really.. you can remember that.. I can’t remember what socks I wore yesterday!”.  One of my favorite client meetings that I remember was meeting up with Carley and Patrick in Carlisle way back when the planning stages were in full swing for them.  I remember seeing them and thinking ‘WOW that is a dashing couple!’.

Both Carley and Patrick are of natural gorgeousness and amazing personalities that through the lens you can’t get a bad image of these two, individually yes and even more so when they are together!  Carley and Patrick had exchanged vows at the Lodge at Blue Ridge Summit (LOVE that place) on an amazing fall day with the trees on the mountain in full color and the sky a nice crisp gray blue!  Carley wore a stunning back plunging gown and Patrick a tasteful creamy brown tux which both styles carried over into all of their fantastic details of seating charts written on old window panes, place card holders from wine corks, mason jars of candy corn with a chalkboard table numbers, and floating candles in amber colored glass pumpkin vases. Carley, a pastry chef at a prominent restaurant in Philadelphia, also made their own cake to which post smash had informed us that cutting her own creation was very challenging!

The best thing about this wedding, as many of our weddings have been this year, is that beginning to end, it was all about Carley and Patrick.  Every detail was each of them individually and together.  Congratulations to the wonderful couple and many years of happiness and success!

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