Since I’ve already gotten out my Christmas cards, I thought it would be fun to share it on the ole’ blog!! Here it is…the front and back Merry Christmas everyone!! Enjoy your vacations…I sure am!!

~Courtney

Hello everyone! I wanted to post the session I had with ADORABLE little Mr. V He was just too cute to not get on the blog. You might remember his sister, Violet She was the cutie pie in the pink car that I shot a while back…I continue to get rave’s about how precious she is and I’m always sure to relay that to her mommy. Now Miss Violet has a little brother He is one of the most active newborn’s I’ve ever met…such a squirmer and refused to sleep for us…but we were patient and loved seeing his bright eyes He has the sweetest face!! So, I’ll stop talking and let the pictures reflect the cuteness!

I am officially on vacation!! All emails and phone calls will be returned on Monday, December 29th! Merry Christmas!

~Courtney

Making sure that we were still there

Don’t you want to know what’s he’s thinking?

As promised, I am blogging last night’s session to let you in on the cool lady posted below I had the awesome opportunity last night to meet up with Mrs. Felicia Finley, an incredibly talented broadway actress with an immense amount of talent and personality!! Immediately, I felt the warmth of her bright smile and happy demeanor and we just fell into comfort with one another. She has the greatest laugh…I couldn’t hold my camera straight at times, because she was just so adorable and had me cracking up. Felicia asked if I would capture an image for the cover of her new CD she has coming out and I was so excited to be a part of something that is so close to her heart! She has a killer voice and is a hottie tottie to boot!! I am so excited to hear her CD when it comes out She snuck away from the studio to spend a few hours with me in Ybor City and we had just a great, relaxed and fun time! She is a New Yorker, through and through…but she has the sweetest disposition and you can see her southern roots shining through with her warm hospitality! I wanted to post some images from our session together, so you can see how special this lady is and so you ALL can be driven to go out and purchase her CD when it debuts. Also, she is currently playing the part of Pinky Tuscadero in the Broadway hit “Happy Days” check out her profile here.  She is going to be coming back to the Tampa area to perform in Happy Days in 2009, so you should definitely get out and see her! I know I’ll be there :) Now, for some images from last night’s session!! Thank you Felicia for being so fantastic and for making me feel like I’ve known you forever!! Safe travels back to New York!!

I am headed to bed, because I have another early day tomorrow…but I did want to post one image as a teaser from tonight’s incredible session! I plan on making a large blog post about this tomorow, the details that surround the incredible woman below…who she is and what she does and why I am so honored to know her This will have to do for tonight! I know, I know…such a tease

~Courtney

Hi everyone! I hope you guys are all enjoying this very blessed holiday season and enjoying the time spent with family and friends. I have had an amazing year in 2008…I met so many wonderful new people through workshops as well as meeting some incredible new clients and their families. I feel truly blessed to do what I love and to watch my business grow. The outpouring of support from friends, family and past clients is overwhelming and it makes me feel filled to the brim with happiness and love. As many of you may realize, being a photographer is a time consuming vocation. Not only does it involve shooting, but it also involves the administrative side of things as well as post-processing and endless hours of computer work. I love what I do, but it sure is nice at the end of the year to step back, look at all that has been accomplished over the past year and take a break to spend time with my family. Starting Monday, I will be peeling myself away from the confines of my computer and enjoying some much needed relaxation before my 2009 wedding and portrait season start cranking up. I will still be working on any editing and album orders I have left to place, but for the most part it’s gonna be me kicking up my feet and enjoying life a little. I have some awesome things in store for next year and I want to dive into the New Year refreshed, rejuevnated and ready to shoot! I will still be around for scheduling events for next year, but I will not be scheduling any sessions for the week beginning, December 15th and ending December 26th. I am open for sessions the weekend following Christmas however, so if you are interested in scheduling a shoot, just toss me an email and I will give you a call about what times work best for you! I feel it is very important that I spend these 2 weeks loving on my Piper…baking cookies with her, making Christmas crafts, light looking, enjoying my pregnancy and my incredible husband who is truly the backbone of my business and the highlight of my life. He has been such a huge asset to Courtney Fries Photography this year…none of it could have been done without his help assisting me and helping me in all aspects of my work and home life. They both deserve 2 weeks of me just being a wife and a mom…taking off my work hat and throwing on my fun hat! I’m looking forward to getting some bonding time in with both of them I can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store for us! So exciting :) Savor this holiday season with your families and take the time to actually ENJOY the holiday, not just get through them alive and in one piece Much love!

~Courtney

I am so excited to show you pictures from this session I did with a mother and her super handsome, gentlemanly son, Mr. Z. I always love watching my clients interact with one another, but these two just share something special. I felt all warm and fuzzy while I was shooting their session and then when I got home and edited them, I felt it amplified. There is nothing more special than the bond that is shared between mother and child and these two have a very close bond that just radiates through their images. Her son is gonna be a hit with the ladies when he gets older…look at how handsome he is. No doubt owed to his mother who is beautiful herself Thank you so much for allowing me to witness such a beautiful relationship and capture this time in both of your lives!

Okay, okay…don’t hold it against me I know I promised to post this 2 days ago, but things got a little holiday-ish around my house and cookie baking, house cleaning, decorating, shopping, etc. sorta took over…but I’m delivering the goods now

Saturday night, I had the best time with Leigh Ann and Scott down in St. Petersburg. Leigh Ann is one of those brides that people just take a shining to…she’s vibrant, full of life and energy and personality. She radiates happiness from the moment you say hello and you just want to get to know her and hear everything that she has to say. I can completely understand why Scott fell head over heels in love with her and decided so matter of factly that he wanted to make her a permanent part of his life. The coolest thing hands down about Leigh Ann is her laid back approach to her wedding day and wedding planning…I mean seriously, every bride should take a note out of her book. She is a pleasure to work with and to know…she is the envy of bride’s around the world, because A) her wedding is going to be stunning and B) she knows that the only thing that matters is the man standing at the end of the aisle. Smart, smart girl…enjoying her engagement instead of stressing about the future. I love it. She has this incredible ability to spread a smile across Scott’s face in an instant and I just loved watching them interact with one another…it was a treasure and I cannot wait to see it all come to fruition in May at their wedding! Here are a few of my favorite’s from our Saturday night session Thank you so much guys for a great night!

~Courtney

I am super-duper tired, so I am headed off to bed…but I wanted to post a few from today’s sessions. I had 3 awesome sessions down in the Tampa/St. Pete area and I just wanted to give a little peek of 1of them. I will be blogging the others tomorrow, so stay tuned!! This tired mama is headed to sleep

~Courtney

Just a few of my favorites:

Thank you so much for a wonderful evening!!

Just a friendly reminder to my client’s that have had Christmas card sessions with me. If you are still deciding on your card template, please be sure to get your order to me by this Friday in order to ensure timely arrival for the holidays. Things are super busy around here…but I don’t want anyone ordering too late!! I have several client’s that have already done so, but if you are not one of them…shoot me an email as soon as possible. I will be getting out final proofs on Thursday. This applies to Christmas cards only and not prints. The print order deadline will be next Friday, December 12th. I will be starting a print special tomorrow that will offer 10% off any holiday print order! Simply enter in coupon code: BE MERRY when checking out via your gallery. Photo’s make awesome Christmas gifts for friends and family! Thanks and Season’s Greetings!!

**discount only applies to orders place AFTER today! Does not include previous package orders. Special ends Friday, December 12th at noon**

Courtney