Custom Art Products by Austin and Santa Fe Portrait Photographer Norah Levine

Part of my job as a professional photographer is to ensure that my clients can enjoy their photographs in unique and meaningful ways. It is imperative that everything I offer is created with the highest quality materials available. I enjoy the process of choosing creative ways for my clients to display the images from their portrait sessions. I offer a variety of options so I can be sure that my clients will be able to find the perfect print format or product that matches their needs and personal style. Some clients are looking to fill a wall with a traditionally framed gallery of images that suits the decor of their home while others may be looking for smaller heirloom pieces such as my custom albums or books. Today I am sharing one of my smaller options for the clients looking to display their images in a more compact space: Custom Heirloom Blocks. These heirloom blocks are works of art to be treasured and combine just the right amount of contemporary and vintage flair. They sit beautifully on a bureau, desk, shelf, or any place in the home or office. These handcrafted blocks include clients' favorite images and are custom designed and created with non-toxic materials. I am so excited to offer this unique custom artwork to my clients. I have several options for design and color themes and clients can even have a special name on the top of the large blocks.  Please inquire for additional details on this lovely way to cherish your photographs from your portrait session with me in Austin, Texas or Santa Fe, New Mexico. Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com

Pet Photography Booth Austin, Texas

I was recently asked to create a photo booth to photograph dogs here in Austin, TX at an event called Pupapalooza. I don't typically photograph events, but I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to get out into the pet community here in Austin and to support a cause close to my heart. All of the ticket sales from my photo booth went to the Austin Humane Society and the Animal Trustees of Austin.  Although the day was hot, I felt I had a pretty good turnout in my booth! I created the background with a board from Home Depot and some chalkboard paint. I filled the chalkboard with "dog" words–sometimes the dog's name to add a little special "flair" to the background. I wanted the booth to be fun and to express a candid feeling while maintaining a beautiful quality of light and color. Pet owner's and their beloved pets joined in on the fun and in exchange for their tickets they received their very own custom photo booth strip! This was absolutely a perfect way for me to meet some of Austin's dogs and their people and for me to play around with my photo booth idea. Special thanks to all of the participants in my booth for their support and to my helpers for making the day run smoothly!

Pet Portrait Workshop this July 10-16 2011 at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

I'm going to branch off from my last post about the importance of self-nurturing. What is it that you have a passion about? Cooking, building motor cycles, gardening, painting, collecting? Is your passion photography? Obviously my true love is creating images and this summer I have been asked to teach for the second time at the world renown Santa Fe Photographic Workshops where I will be sharing my passion and knowledge about creating pet portraits. I'll be teaching a fun packed course entitled "The Creative Pet Portrait" from July 10th to the 16th and there are still a few spaces available! If you've always wanted to learn more about creating portraits, pet portraits specifically, this is the perfect opportunity for self-nurturing. You cannot imagine how much self-nurturing occurs during these workshops. This course is designed to lead you through a process filled with many learning opportunities to connect with people and their pets in a way that truly lends itself to amazing imagery and helps you explore your passion.

Last year I was joined by 10 students who chose to invest in their self-nurturing for a one week photography workshop in Santa Fe. We focused on the interaction and approach for commissioned portraits of pets and their owners, tricks for getting the desired imagery and how to use these new skills in future endeavors. The daily assignments and activities were followed by group discussions and sharing. These discussions were incredibly inspiring and offered the ability to learn in a stress-free and supportive environment.  The students were supportive of one another and shared their struggles and triumphs and we collectively offered support and suggestions for improvement and trouble shooting. We were fortunate to have a variety of special guest speakers.  We discussed lighting, posing, styling on set, clients, interactions, photographing on location, creativity and so much more. By the end of the week everyone was exhausted. For me, this was a good thing to hear! It is my job as an instructor to provide students with as many opportunities as I possibly can during the course and to make it fun! How could we NOT have fun when working with animals?!!

I love teaching. I love to see the improvement of the students through the week of this course and witness the camaraderie that builds amongst the participants. I value the chance to communicate and share my experiences and love of photography with others. It is vastly rewarding to help students pursue their passion and goals.

The following is a link to the course description and details:

http://www.santafeworkshops.com/photography-workshops/workshop/743

I have put a tremendous amount of effort in the preparation for this course and I am so excited to have the opportunity to share my knowledge with a new group of participants from around the country! Whether your passion for photography is a new discovery or an old flame you're looking to reignite, I strongly encourage you to consider joining us!

Here are a couple of the students' reviews from the course:

"One of the Best Workshops I have ever taken."

"The hands-on shooting experiences combined with the discussions beforehand with Norah to prepare us and afterward with the class were invaluable. I can't think of a better way to learn..."

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

The joys of refreshing a website

I've been working on refreshing my website....this "facelift" offers me the ability to share more images through improved navigation and organization, include more information, feature larger images, lots of good stuff. Let me just say that it has been quite the process. Even though I am not completely redoing my website, I've spent hours communicating with designers making changes and tweaking those changes. Now that the design is basically finished I have to decide which images to include in the site..easier said than done! Based on the image I just took of my dining room table I think I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have printed out thumbnail images and find it easier to play around with them on the table. This way I can rearrange images, toss the ones that don't "make the cut" and join potential partners with a piece of tape. Sure I could do this on the computer but there is something nice about having these little guys in my hands.  Once I uncross my eyes I'll see this as an overwhelming but exciting process. As long as the cats stay off my table I should be good to go.

I'm looking forward to sharing the new site with you soon!