A New Service!

For years, pretty much since the beginning of Naomi Elizabeth Photography, when not just clients but anyone local asked my recommendation of where to print their photos, my very quick answer was JMC Photo & Digital! It was a local print shop owned by two sisters. Their parents started the business years ago & the daughters carried it on. They did a wonderful job staying on top of the needs of their clients & offered so many services! It was the easiest answer for me & I loved sending people their way.

I am very, very sad to say that in 2022 one of the sisters passed away. I was able to offer my condolences personally to her surviving sister & was so sad for her. The business closed very shortly.

Over that time many, many of you have asked WHERE should you print your photos?? Yes there is Shutterfly (which I personally am not a fan of & only print my photo books through) & yes there is Walmart (I do use their online option & have it shipped to me – for a better quality print never pickup in store!) & the quick CVS prints & such. But the search for a quality print option that I could recommend has taken time.

I had other photographer friends recommend two online options to me & over the past few years I have printed my own photos with them & been very, very pleased.

Over the past few months questions of WHERE to print have become more frequent & I felt the time had come to help find an answer. In those months Eric helped me look into an option that has always been there. I just hadn’t felt comfortable offering this service BECAUSE JMC was there & I had wanted to support someone local. With their business sadly closing JMC is obviously not an option & I want to help find a trusted place to print your memories.

I use a photo service called Shootproof. It’s the website that if you’re a client of mine you receive your photos from via an online gallery. It’s also the same service I use to send invoices, sign contracts & receive payment.

Shootproof partners with about 5 photo labs from around the United States. Photographers (me) can choose which photo lab THEY prefer & when a client (you) gets their finished gallery from their photographer, they can order prints & products directly from that gallery. The two photo labs I personally have printed from are 2 of the 5 photo labs Shootproof works with!

Starting NOW when you have a session with me & receive your finished gallery, if you choose to you can order prints & products (including Christmas cards!) straight from your gallery! I make a small commission from the items you purchase & a small percentage also goes back to Shootproof the hosting service.

I am really, really, really excited about this! I know not everyone will use this service & it’s quite alright! I just know many of you need this & have asked & I’m so thankful I have an option now! And it’s a GOOD option!

Mpix is the photo lab, should you choose to order thru your photo gallery, that will fulfill your orders for prints, canvases & metal art prints. I have linked those products & prices HERE.

WHCC is the photo lab that will fulfill your orders for Christmas Cards! (The average price per Christmas Card is $1.00. So $25.00 for 25 cards!)

So what happens now? For those clients I got to work with in 2023, you get first dibs! If you were a client of mine in 2023 & want to order a product from Mpix or Christmas Cards from WHCC all you need to do is email me & we’ll get the ball rolling! I’ll upload your photo gallery from your requested session & you can get to ordering!

Questions? THIS BLOG POST has FAQ’s! Or feel free to email me naomi@naomielizabethphotography.com!

Printing Service FAQ’s

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding printing photos & products! If you don’t see an answer to your question, please feel free to email me at naomi@naomielizabethphotography.com!

FAQ

I’m curious on pricing. I got you! Here’s that info HERE!

There’s a particular size of a photo I’d like to order but I don’t see you offering it in a print or canvas I’d like. I may be able to help you out so just email me!

How would you compare the quality of Mpix? Mpix quality is very, very comparable to the print shop JMC Photo & Digital that used to be in Bloomington-Normal. Mpix reminds me very much of the print quality of JMC.


How would you compare the quality of WHCC? WHCC is more of a fine art print option. I personally feel that Mpix is the best option for the budget of my clients so I’m only recommending WHCC for Card printing such as Christmas Cards.

If I have a question/issue with the print products I ordered can you help me? You can always ask me your question but 99.9% of the time you’ll need to talk directly to Mpix or WHCC customer service. They would be very happy to help!  

I want to order Photo Cards/Christmas Cards! Wonderful! When I send your gallery to you it by default is connected to Mpix. So just email me & I will make sure to connect it to WHCC to order Photo Cards/Christmas Cards through!

I see that Mpix offers Christmas Card print options on their website but when I order through my photo gallery only WHCC is an option for Christmas Cards. Yes unfortunately with Shootproof, Mpix doesn’t offer Christmas Cards. That’s why I chose to have use WHCC as they offer Christmas Cards through Shootproof.

You make a commission off of my orders? I do. It is a very small percentage as Shootproof also takes a percentage.

I have other photos (personal or from another photographer) that I’d like to order prints from. Can I order those through you? I am only allowed to upload photos to my clients galleries that I myself have taken to your gallery for you to order.

You did our photos in 2019! I still haven’t ordered any & would LOVE to! Oh that’s terrific! Email me & let me check my photo storage & we’ll see what we can find!

How about our photos from 2016? Can I still order prints from those? Email me & we’ll see!

Once my photo gallery is uploaded & emailed to me when can I start ordering? Right away! There will be a time frame I’ll give you that items need to be ordered by but if you needed extra time I can more then likely give you more time!

Choosing a location for Mini Sessions

If you’ve ever wanted a peek into the brain of a photographer & wanted to know how I personally choose where I have my mini sessions at this post will have some interesting content for you 😉

So what do I look for when I’m choosing a spot for a mini session? Here’s a bullet point quick list starting with the most important requirement for me:

  • I need a spot that will have shade at the beginning part of the mini session day as I’m doing short sessions back to back & want them to look as consistent as possible. This is the struggle of having mini sessions. I’m working with about 4 hours usually with the sun being at all different points in there & I have to try my best to make the sessions look as similar as possible. SHADE is what helps me with that!
  • For two of the mini sessions I offer during the year, I need a location that will look very similar on two different days as I have a Day 1 & Day 2. (For example I have two days of fall mini sessions.)
  • I really, really prefer to choose a spot not near a playground. I know that’s kind of an odd requirement & I won’t always be able to do that but as a mom myself, if my kids see a playground as we’re headed to get our family pictures done they are going to WANT to play on that playground instead of do photos! And I don’t want my clients to have that battle at the beginning of our time together.
  • I really like to have a quiet spot to do photos. Again this won’t always be able to happen but I try really hard to make it happen. I’ve even used several friend’s backyards for sessions as I know this GUARANTEES a quiet & private place!
  • Again to help my families with younger kiddos & anyone elderly, I try to find a location that has close parking to where we will do the actual photos. Who wants to hike a mile & get all sweaty before photos? Not me!
  • Close bathrooms. And no half the time I’m not able to check this off my requirement box but every once in awhile I do!
  • Something that’s important to me for fall mini sessions is to find a spot that will help block wind. It gets SO windy in October & having some blockage really, really helps make fall mini sessions go smoother.
  • Bloomington-Normal isn’t a metropolis 😉 & I’ve had to use the same locations again & again for mini’s. But I try really hard to use a different area IF I have to use a repeat location. A compliment I was once paid & I’ve always remembered it is someone told me they hardly recognized local spots I used for sessions even though they’d lived in BloNo for years.

Well there you have it! Those are all things I think about as I location scout & think about where to meet with some amazing couples & families. Was that interesting? Did it give you a headache? Haha! Not gonna lie, I’ve gotten a headache or two worrying & looking for the right spot for many sessions! Is there a spot you think I should check out? I’d love to hear what it is!

The very, very first thing I do though for mini sessions & for other sessions is I pray. I pray & talk to the Lord about who I’m photographing, what their needs are & what I’m hoping for their session & for Him to lead me to the right spot. He always does.

BUT a location doesn’t make photos- YOU DO! And that’s what I’m most excited about is photographing YOU & your loved one/s!

Fall 2023 Mini Sessions!

FALL 2023 FALL MINIS
Price $210 || Package Includes:
– entire family (several poses)
– individual pictures of each child (2 poses) 
– mom/dad/significant together (2-3 poses)
– each parent/guardian with all children (1 pose)
– all children together (1-2 poses)
– 20 minutes
These are great for couples, families, even maternity photos!

Click a date to choose & signup for a Fall Mini Session:
SEPTEMBER 30

OCTOBER 14

Quick Facts regarding Fall 2023 MINIS

  • Location TBA in Bloomington-Normal. (For the location, I literally drive around BloNo & watch & look for fall colors & watch for changing leaves. I often don’t pin point down my location until the week of or before. If you really, really want more of fall colorful look I’d recommend going with the October date. I can’t control the weather & the colors changing but I will be watching for the right spot for us!)
  • Each session is $210.00 (After 6 members of an immediate family, there is a $15.00 cost per additional person.)
  • You will receive a few images from your session via your email as a preview within a few days of your session.
  • The full gallery & print release will be delivered via an online gallery where you can download them & print them wherever you choose within three weeks. You can also share this gallery with friends & family to download as well at no extra charge.
  • As we get closer to the mini session date, you’ll receive an email from me with the location of our mini sessions & other details.
  • Email me at naomi@naomielizabethphotography.com with any questions you may have!