Category Archives: notes

A New Service!

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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

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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

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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!

New Policies for 2022

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A recent fun time outside with my four kiddos- the reason I do what I do!

Hi friends! It’s so wild to me that in about a month (May 2022) Naomi Elizabeth Photography will be 9 years old! WOW! During those 9 years a lot has happened- for you & for me!

My family, my time & I as a person has changed in those 9 years & to accommodate those things, I’ve needed to make a few changes for NEP that I wanted to share. Even just to have it clear some of my brain space! And really I’d probably call this more of a “state of the union” post haha then a policy change post.

TEAM EFFORT Naomi Elizabeth Photography is not just me- NEP is a team of people! You may see my name a lot & see me at sessions but NEP is not a one man show! My husband Eric is a HUGE HUGE part of NEP. He takes care of so many things including the financial side of NEP. He also takes care of our kiddos a large portion of the time I’m gone at sessions or working from home on photography things. Fall is a VERY busy season not just for me as a photographer but for my husband’s job. My mother, sister & in-laws also help on a regular basis watching our kids when Eric can’t. We also have a high school girl who helps out with the kids twice a month. It’s a team effort!

JOY As we’ve grown as a family & made the choice to homeschool our children, we knew that to proceed with photography, that some other things needed to happen to help make our family life plus a small business run a bit smoother. I have a dear, dear friend, Joy Phillips, who has her own photography editing business. In short she helps photographers get their lives back! I send her galleries from my sessions & she helps narrow down the best photos & then mirrors my style & edits them like I would have. This past fall Joy was who edited my photos for me & it was SUCH a blessing that Eric & I knew to continue forward with NEP, hiring Joy fulltime was a must. So as of 2022, Joy is now a vital part of NEP & I’m so thankful for her!

PRICING Those two things I just shared to show why I’ve needed to make some necessary modifications within NEP to make NEP something I can STILL do with young children. Another thing I’ve done is I’ve updated my photography prices. I know I don’t have to even say anything about doing so. Many people are having to up their prices in things because of life but I really felt led to share the WHY of why I did it. You all are like family to me, you’ve helped me grow in so many ways & thank you for that!

I felt it was important to share all this as I don’t want to seem as someone who “does it all”. Because I DON’T! I truly don’t. I also wanted to share this as I know there are many women from all ages & backgrounds who have dreams & want to use their gifts & I feel it’s good to share that it takes work & a team but it’s worth it!

EMAIL COMMUNICATION I will say, I’m a bit slower with my email communication then I used to be. This isn’t really a policy change haha but I wanted to share this here. I will always respond when I need to it just may be a little slower then it has been in the past! Thank you for understanding that!

SCHEDULING As much as I’d love to photograph everyone who ever reaches out to me, I know with my family’s own full schedule aside from my photography schedule & your own schedule this just won’t be able to happen. SO I would highly advise that as soon as you know you’d like to do a photo session of some kind with me, please reach out to me so that we can make it happen!!!

BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY As of now, I am no longer able to offer birth photography. It was a short but sweet season for me with NEP & maybe someday I can revisit that special world again. I’ve taken it off of my services list but wanted to share that here as well.

HEADSHOTS I’ve been asked many times to do headshot sessions & it’s usually worked out to do them indoors at the place of work for the individual or outside. Recently a need of a friend came up & we used my living room to do her headshots & they turned out beautifully! I now am offering headshots on a regular basis! It was something before that I could do only if it worked out but I am confident with the options I can now offer this on a fulltime basis! So if this is a need of yours feel free to email me!

MINI SESSIONS FOR 2022 For almost all of NEP I have offered Mom & Me Mini’s. The past couple years I haven’t because of covid restrictions & my own pregnancy needs. This year I wanted to make them happen but timewise I wasn’t able to. And to be fully transparent I haven’t booked many of them when I have offered them in the past. So if you could like to see me offer them in the future, please reach out to me! As a mom myself I have realized I desire a family picture MORE then I do photos with me & my kids. It’s work to get ready for pictures am I right? 😉 & if it takes all that work I’d rather have it be with my entire family. Just a personal thought. So anyway, moving forward unless I hear different from you all, I will probably just focus on spring & summer & fall mini sessions. If you think I should change my mind let me know!

SOCIAL MEDIA If you want to stay in touch with me, the very best way is to email me or to be on my enewsletter list (you can sign up HERE!). As my own home & life has gotten fuller, social media has become just another loud voice I don’t need haha! Especially facebook. It’s just a little too loud for me there! I’ve got enough noise around here in my own home 😉 But I do love Instagram you can follow me there . I will try to do better at updating my business facebook page but I can’t make any promises! My enewsletter is going to become the best way to stay updated with me.

EDUCATING MYSELF And maybe I’m the only one who needs to see this written out but I have been taking some online courses to help better myself as a photographer. I took one this past late fall & just purchased one this week. It’s important to me that I’m continuing to become the best photographer I can be for my clients & also for my own memory keeping needs of our family. I’m excited to grow!!!

I truly love photography! I’ve gone through a soul searching journey these past two years, especially in the past 6 months wondering if the Lord wanted me to keep NEP going. He has shown me in special little ways that for now, NEP is here to stay! That’s a whole other blog post for another time BUT I am excited for what 2022 holds!!!

Our Son is HERE+Maternity Leave Info

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OUR SON IS HERE!
I am officially on Maternity Leave!!! Our son Nehemiah Daniel was born June 26! I still have to think about what his birth date was because as of this post he’s technically still not supposed to be here! Nehemiah was born 7 weeks perfectly early as I like to say 🙂 He came home from the NICU in Peoria just over 2 weeks ago now & is doing amazing. THIS LINK has his birth story.

I’m friends with many of you on facebook so you’ve probably seen some of our story as of late. If not, you can always follow me on Instagram HERE as I “journaled” a few of our family updates or CLICK HERE to view my profile. I love sharing Nehemiah’s story & God’s hand in it!

Thank you from my entire family for your prayers & support to us these past two months. It makes me cry thinking about the community we have!

WHEN WILL NEP PHOTO SESSIONS BEGIN?
I will be back to doing photography sessions in September as family life & COVID19 & allows- but that is the plan! In August I will send another enewsletter update that will include how I will handle things with keeping in mind the corona virus. IF you are for sure wanting a session sometime in Sept, Oct & Nov, please email me so I can keep that in mind as I open up my schedule. (I may not respond right away as I’ll be on maternity leave BUT I will see it!)

THIS IS NOW SESSIONS
If because of your family’s situation, you want photos this fall but want to keep close to home, I am opening a few This Is Now sessions. These sessions will be done in either your front or back yard or front porch with practicing social distancing. Please reach out to me if this fits your family best as these openings are very few.

MINI SESSION CHANGES
I will be changing how I do mini sessions this fall for several reasons, but one being I want to spread them out a bit further to align with social distancing recommendations.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL MINI SESSIONS?
Yes! They will be happening late September. I know many people are choosing to homeschool their children this fall so I am excited to meet more families!

FALL MINI SESSIONS?
YESSSSS! These will be in October & I’m SUPER excited to incorporate a change I decided on at the end of last year to do for this fall! Details coming 🙂

ALL Things Printing & Organizing Photos

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For the past few years I’ve been working hard at organizing & printing our family photos. Whether it be from our iphones, my camera or a session of our own with a photographer. I’ve made several Facebook videos on all my methods & suggestions & I’m compiling them all here into one big resource for you!

Yes, it feels good to have your photos printed & organized. But what I love about it most is seeing our kiddos looking at the photos, retelling stories with them & reflecting on the seasons the Lord has walked us through. His faithfulness is written in those pictures.

Choose whatever video you feel is what you’re needing help with & put it on while washing dishes, folding laundry & take a few minute break!

WHERE I PRINT OUR PHOTOS
4×6’s, Photos I Print, our Photobooks I Make
Video explaining & showing examples of our Photobooks
Video explaining & showing examples of our iPhone Picture Photobooks
Walmart Photo Review
Amazon Photo Review
Where I Order Our Christmas Cards From

HOW I ORGANIZE OUR PHOTOS
PART I: 1. Start 2. Have a Why 3. Choose a Starting Point
A GAME-CHANGER TRICK!
PART II: Organizing Your Smart Photo Photos
PART III: Organizing Your Family Photos

Help Me CELEBRATE with YOU!

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What a season we are all living in. That’s one thing I try to keep telling myself 😉 is that it IS a season. One thing that’s been on my heart is for those, especially our littles who are having birthdays during the time of our pandemic. Celebrations can still be just as meaningful (if not more meaningful honestly since they’re forced to be simplified 😉 ) but they are different for right now & I want to help in a very small way by making it as special as possible.

There’s one thing in common with all the images used in this blog post. All these kiddos have had birthdays just recently or have upcoming ones during the time of our shelter in place. What I want to do is start posting ON the actual special days of these littles, pictures that I’ve taken of them. I’m going to do my best to make sure you as the parent/guardian get the link so that you can show it to them, share it with friends & family & have them comment & wish your little one a special day. It’s their birthday! They should be celebrated!!!!!!!!

Now I don’t remember everyone’s bdays haha. I actually only know a few of these because they are close personal friends to our family or I saw their mom’s post about their bday! BUT YOU know your littles birthdays. PLEASE PLEASE email them to me naomi@naomielizabethphotography.com!!! Email or comment on this blog post & let me know when their special day is coming up & I will mark it on my calendar & use a recent picture I’ve taken of them to use & post on the Naomi Elizabeth Photography facebook page. 

And how about those other things that need to be celebrated? Anniversaries- yes PLEASE let me know & I will celebrate with you! Mothers Day- have I taken a photo of you & your mom or even you & your littles you love? Let me know & I’ll share it!!! And graduates- I have NOT forgotten about you. Class of 2020, I’m coming for you! May is going to be a solid month of posting your pictures & celebrating with you.

An Open Letter of HOPE to My People

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“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –“
– Emily Dickinson

A post regarding the Naomi Elizabeth Photography 2020 season was supposed to happen in February. It didn’t because we ended having a huge scare with our Little Wilcox #3 I’m carrying.

Then I was supposed to send out the info two weeks & we all know what’s been happening in our town, state, nation & world.

Both times I paused, for various reasons, in sending it.

But now I feel I should share it.

Before I go any further, I want to say I am not posting this without first praying & thinking through my words. I am NOT trying to sell anything. Not my service as a photographer, nothing. I don’t feel that in this current season we are ALL in, that pushing my services as a photographer is something I should do.

I do believe in with all my heart is that MEMORIES MATTER. That has been my heart since Day 1 of my photography business. They matter & the best way to remember them is to record them.

I also believe in HOPE. I believe in the HOPE of my Savior & Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe in the HOPE of the future.

I am sharing on my blog HERE the dates of my mini session themes & dates for 2020. I am also sharing my 2020 Photography Calendar complete with my maternity leave. Obviously this is ALL subject to change because of where our nation is & my pregnancy. But with ALL my heart, I have HOPE that Mom & Me Minis will happen this year (even if we reschedule them until later this spring). With ALL my heart I have HOPE that your little’s one year session can happen this spring. That your maternity session can happen early spring. I have HOPE.

At this point, I don’t feel it’s the time to officially open up signup for Mom & Me Mini’s. You can see the dates on the blog & plan & prepare to get one. You can always send me an email to say you’re REALLY wanting one.  I hope that the first week of April I will have more direction on if I can still use the location I have reserved & see what our state’s rules on gathering at that time are. (Some parts of our nation have closed city parks even, so we will see how things go here in IL.)

But I have HOPE my friends. And I pray you have too.

Let me HOPE with you. If you’re hoping for a session in 2020, feel free to email me (naomi@naomielizabethphotography.com). I mean, just being honest, it’d be nice to “talk” to someone 😉 And I want to HOPE WITH you. Nobody is making any set plans around here 😉 But we can HOPE together.

There are all the resources out there to help you spend time with your kids during this time. All the lists of movies to watch on Disney+. All the easy recipes to cook now. I’m SO thankful for all of that. So this post isn’t going to be full of those things because I know you can find it elsewhere.

BUT if you are looking for HOPE & aren’t sure where to find it, email me! I can tell you about the HOPE I have.

I am so thankful for all of you. You’re my people, not just clients.

I want to help spread that HOPE & so you’ll probably see some new posts from past sessions on my facebook page & the blog. I’m way behind on blogging & had meant to do that in February & March anyway. So know I’m posting & sharing to spread HOPE & not to just act like nothing has happened or is happening.

I HOPE to see you soon! Keep in touch & be HOPEFUL for updates!

(OK, just one more HOPE word use 😉 )
HOPING with you!

Naomi Wilcox

PS I’ve done a few facebook videos sharing my journey of organizing our family legacy through photos. You can find them HERE & HERE. I’ve also gotten lots of comments thru facebook & Instagram asking about the photo books I’ve made (here’s a glimpse of my girls looking at them). I plan to share about that process soon to because what better time to organize your personal photos then now 😉

PSS The pictures I used in this post specifically remind me of HOPE! 😀

2020 Mini Sessions & 2020 NEP Calendar!

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*Please note this blog post was written before the virus hit our nation. You can read my “An Open Letter of HOPE to My People” on my blog HERE. These dates are very tentative as changes are daily occurring. To stay informed join my e-newsletter list. Click HERE to join in.

Here it is friends! The list of Mini Sessions I will be offering in 2020! Keep reading for more info about each individual mini session theme/date! Also, I’m sharing my entire 2020 NEP Calendar (months I’m accepting sessions, when my maternity leave begins/ends etc) since things are a bit different this year with us expecting our third child (read more about that HERE)!

2020 MINI SESSION DATES

Mom & Me – TBA (as of April 8)

Summer Family Mini’s – TBA (as of April 8)

Back-to-School Mini’s for Homeschooling Families – September 19, 25 & 26

With our baby’s due date being in early August, dates for Back2School Minis are tentative but this is my best guess & I think they’re good guesses! I will send an email after the baby comes to confirm or change the dates to give enough time for families to plan. I LOVE Back2School Mini’s so they WILL be happening!!!

Fall Mini’s –TBA in October & November

I will be scheduling Fall Mini’s this year like I’ve never before so be on the lookout for that!

I consider those on my e-newsletter list to be “my people” & “my people” find out when I release signups for mini sessions first! Plus you get first dibs on signing up for a spot! Click HERE to join in. Please note that all dates are subject to change especially with Little Wilcox #3 coming! (If you’re not quite sure what a mini session is or if it fits your specific needs, I’ve written a blog post that’s HERE that you can read ALL the details about them.)

Mini Sessions are offered on a first come, first serve basis. I only offer these at specific times of the year & they are typically between 20-30 minutes. If you’re wanting individual portraits of your children or multiple wardrobe changes, a full session would be a better option for you! Please feel free to email me with any questions!

Now on to the Naomi Elizabeth Photography 2020 Calendar:

MAY ~ Tentatively BOOKING!
JUNE ~ NOW BOOKING!
EARLY JULY ~ NOW BOOKING
AUGUST ~ Maternity Leave
SEPTEMBER ~ TBA of when I’ll have sessions in September but email me to get on my September wait-list!
OCTOBER – NOVEMBER ~ NOW BOOKING!
DECEMBER ~ NOW BOOKING Newborn & Fresh 48 only
My Birth Photography availability is closed until further notice J