It’s hard to believe that it was 7 years ago that I purchased my first DSLR camera after the holiday season — a purchase I made at Costco several months after Tommy and I got married. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what I was doing when I first got my camera, but the bottom line was, I knew that I wanted to buy my first digital camera kit at Costco, and so I did. We started off shooting portraits for friends and less than a year later, we found ourselves shooting our very first wedding and that was the beginning of this wonderful journey we have experienced as MarieSam Sanchez Photography over the past years.
When I think of this journey in our business, I am immediately overwhelmed with a flurry of emotions, ranging from extreme pride over how our business has grown and continued to flourish, to excitement over the experiences and opportunities that have been opened for us as photographers. But mostly what I feel is an abundance of love and gratitude — for the wonderful places photography has taken us and the incredible people we have had the pleasure of meeting and working with since our business was born. We have now shot hundreds of weddings, events and portrait sessions and through it all we have been blessed to have worked with some of the most amazing and beautiful people and that is something I would have never envisioned when I was a struggling beginner who was just trying to figure out how to focus clearly on people’s faces when I first picked up my camera 7 years ago.
They say every relationship has a 7-year itch — something that makes you contemplate whether you’ve made the right decisions along that journey. And I can honestly say, that I am grateful for every moment and experience that our photography business has brought us. We get to share in the most important days and moments in people’s lives — we are witnesses and documenters of love, life and so much joy. And this is a blessing we are so honored to be a part of — frankly… We. Are. So. Lucky. ♥
Last year, we began contemplating how we could celebrate our 7-year business anniversary in a way that would truly say “Thank You” to all our clients who have been a part of our journey so far. And we could not think of a better way than to express our gratitude than through the gift of pictures.
So, this year on July 16, July 22 and July 23, we will be offering free 15-minute portrait sessions to any and all of our past clients. Yes, I said FREE!!! Is there a catch? Not at all, but we are limiting it to 10 sessions each day and you must sign up for a timeslot ahead of time — so first come, first serve when it comes to signs ups which will take place on July 9th at 7 p.m. PST.
I know there will be a lot of questions, so here are a few details on our Free 7-Year Anniversary Mini Sessions!
- Who can participate? We are offering these mini-sessions to anyone who has hired us in the past to shoot their wedding, portrait session (family, engagement, anniversary, solo portraits, boudoir, maternity, newborn, etc.) or event (birthday party, celebration, baptism, memorial service, etc.).
- Who can we bring with us to our sessions? If we photographed you as a couple, the two of you of course! If you’ve added new family members to your family since we’ve seen you (a baby or two or three, a new pup) — please bring them! If you got married, bring your spouse! If we photographed you as a family, bring the same family members if you can. And if any those family members got married or had children, bring them too! So basically the people who hired us and who we’ve photographed before. And yes, you can bring your pets if you’d like!
- How many photos will we get? And do we get prints? Since the sessions are only 15 minutes long, you will receive between 5 to 10 high-resolution edited files at the very least. These files will be ready for you to view via online gallery and download within 3 weeks of your session.
- What if all your timeslots are booked up? Because we cannot realistically photograph all the clients we’ve ever worked with, we have to limit the time slots to just 10 a day. We want to give all our clients a fair chance to book a slot, which is why we’re making it open by sign ups!
- Where will the sessions take place? The first session will take place on July 16th at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach from4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The second session will take place on July 22nd at Averill Park in San Pedro from4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The third session will take place on July 23rd at Cerritos Sculpture Garden in Cerritos from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- What kind of sessions will it be? These can be any type of portrait session — family, anniversary, solo, newborn, maternity, etc. But it must take place during the timeframe and location you’ve signed up for.
- What if we’re running late? Unfortunately, because we are scheduling these sessions in 15 minute increments, late arrivals will be hard to squeeze in. The first 5 minutes will likely be spent chatting 🙂 So realistically, we will be shooting for about 10 minutes. So if you’re 10 to 15 minutes late then we won’t be able to take you, but we may be able to squeeze you in at the end of the day — but no promises as we are working with natural light. So please please please plan to arrive early if you can so that we can start your session on time!
- What if we want more images that you offer? You can definitely book one of our mini-sessions or a full portrait sessions any other time of the year! And with those sessions, you will receive more images. As part of our anniversary celebration — we are currently offering mini sessions for $350 and 30% off any regular portrait sessions booked between August 1st and December 31st, 2017. Feel free to reach out to us for more details!
- Will this session cost us anything? Nope not a dime, except you may have to pay for parking at the shoot location. Actually, yes correction — you have to pay us with at least one hug and maybe a selfie!
- No really, is there a catch? No, not at all. Tommy and I are so grateful to all those who have invested in our services over the years, we simply want to say Thank You and hope these photos will be ones that you love!
- What if we want to purchase prints or canvases or other products? We are happy to offer prints or canvases for purchase — you can order prints through the online gallery you’ll receive and if you want a canvass or an album, please ask! We are offering awesome promotions for canvases and prints as well!
- Can we use these photos on social media or on our holiday cards? Of course! We hope you will love these photos enough to hang them in your home, use them for holiday cards and share them with your family and friends. These are photos we hope you will treasure! (We just ask that if you share them, to please tag us!)
If you have any other questions that I haven’t addressed, contact me directly at mariesam.sanchez@gmail.com — and make sure to look out for the email signups alert on July 9th! Hope to see you soon 🙂
You have grown your business is a tremendous way! So excited for all of your ventures and your talent is amazing!
Omg can’t wait!!!!!!!