Sandals In The Snow: An Animated GIF

I just couldn't resist showing this cute combination of pics...  This is from my sister's wedding in December at the Salt Lake LDS Temple.  Her friends have a tradition of taking a picture holding the bride...  I love that my sister (a beach girl at heart) is wearing SANDALS in the snow.  XOXO  Enjoy...

Dahl Family | Fall Mini-Session

This family is just so sweet!  We met for a quick mini-session a few months ago, and the light was just so yummy!  I loved the color scheme that Collette picked out...it looked gorgeous with the green background.  I love this last picture of the kids running...  I love that is shows a healthy, happy Mason who is cancer-free right now!   I also want to take a minute to pay a huge congratulations to Shane, who over the last year lost 185 lbs!  I took their family photos last year around the same time (you can see them HERE) and when he saw himself in those images, he didn't like what he saw and decided to make some drastic changes in his life.  I am so inspired by his dedication to get healthy, and happy that he is feeling better than ever!  Way to go Shane!

Best of 2012

 It's always a treat to review my work from the past year...  Here is a small collection of some of my favorites from 2012, in no particular order:

I want to give a HUGE thanks to all of my fantastic clients...for trusting me to capture special moments of your lives.  I am truly honored to know you and to have felt of the love you share for each other.

As a photographer, my goal is to capture true emotion...that is what draws me in and keeps me coming back to the photographs in this collection.

I am looking forward to more connections and growth in 2013!

Merry Christmas and a Winner

I guess my title should have been reversed because I am going to announce the winner for my Holiday Giveaway FIRST and then wish you Merry Christmas SECOND.  :)  Don't hate.  Scatterbrained and disorganized is how I roll.

So...after carefully recruiting friends (it was hard to find people who didn't personally know the nominees!) to help vote on the nominations that were sent in, we sat at a TIE for 2 days and this morning another one of my lovely and helpful friends sent in her vote, breaking the tie.  Thank you all for your participation - whether it was in your heartfelt and thoughtful nominations, or in giving your time and consideration as you helped judge the nominations.

Each one of the stories sent in was truly touching...and as I personally know some of the people nominated, I'm sure you understand that there is just NO WAY that I could be the final judge!  So thank you for your patience while we got it fairly sorted out.

You're probably wondering when I'm going to stop blabbing and just make the announcement already!  So here ya go...the winner for my 2012 Holiday Giveaway is:

THE FEATHERSTONE FAMILY!!

I am thrilled, and excited to photograph this beautiful family!  Without divulging too much personal information, I will just say that they have been through A LOT as a couple and as a family and someone who loves photography (and is a great photog as well!) as much as Sara does, I hope they will be equally as thrilled to receive this gift of family photos!

Now that we got the biz stuff out of the way...I wanted to share with you a little newsletter I put together with a cute, FREEBIE template I got from birdesign - they have lots of fun freebies and cute templates for sale, go check 'em out!  

Merry Christmas from the Hansons!  (Click to enlarge)

Much love to you all and thank you for your continued support and encouragement!

Holiday Giveaway 2012

Hello friends!  

It's time for the Shari Hanson Photography annual HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!  

What is it?  

Please nominate a person or a family who you think would love the gift of photography.  There aren't really any guidelines, but for example, it could be someone who has fallen on hard times or just someone who you really admire!!

The winning family must be able to meet me within 20 miles of Huntington Beach for their session, and the session must be completed by August 31, 2013.

All of the nominations will be carefully considered and the winner will be determined by a special, and impartial panel of judges. (not ME!)

The winning family will receive a 1-2 hour photo session PLUS a Top Ten CD AND their choice of two 8x10s or one 11x14. (total value: approx. $670)

Please send a paragraph (or more) explaining WHO you are nominating and WHY to:

sharihansonphotography@gmail.com 

Please include your nominee's contact information (email or phone #) with your entry. 

All entries must be received by midnight on Sunday, December 16, 2012.

The winner will be announced and contacted on Wednesday, December 19, 2012.

**Special Note** If you'd like to remain anonymous to your nominee, make sure you specify that in your email, and I will make sure to keep it a secret!!!

PLUS...as a BONUS, the person who nominates the winner will receive 50% off their next session fee!

Here is a snippet from the session I did with the recipient of last year's giveaway, the Price family:

As most of you know, I adore working with newborns, so I was thrilled when Alison chose to use her session with me for after she had her first baby!  Here's what she had to say about her experience:

"We were the recipients of last years Photo Package Giveaway.  It was a complete surprise!  I was pregnant with our first baby, and my husband had lost his job recently.  Having family photos or newborn photos wasn't even on the list of things we could do financially.  We were so surprised and happy to receive such a generous gift!  I begged and begged Shari to tell me who nominated us, but she wouldn't say.  I felt so honored that someone would even think of us!  

Shari came and did newborn photos of our sweet little guy and it was wonderful!  She was so patient and so gentle with Ryder.  She captured him perfectly and we couldn't have been happier!  What a blessing for us to have worked with Shari and for someone to be so thoughtful in nominating us.  Shari does such a great job and her photos are just flawless.  We love each picture we have!  Thanks to our anonymous nominator and an even bigger thanks to the fabulous Shari! We love you!"  

This is the fourth year I've offered this giveaway, and I look forward to reading all of your entries!  They always touch my heart and I am so happy to be able to share the gift of beautiful photos with another special family!

xoxo,  Shari

Sonya + Solomon ENGAGED!

My gorgeous sister is IN LOVE!  I couldn't be happier for her and Solomon!  We took these photos at Memory Grove Park in Salt Lake City back in September...and I realized I never blogged about it!  Her wedding is this weekend, and I am so excited to share this special day with them!  Congratulations Sonya and Solomon!!

i {heart} gifs!

One of these days I would love to incorporate video into my sessions, but for now I appease that desire by creating animated gifs.  It kind of has a filmstrip effect which I love...  Here's one of my best friends and her cute family...  More from their session coming soon! 

P.S.  Have you "liked" my FB Page yet?  If not, head on over and "like" it before November 30th.  If I reach 500 likes by Nov. 30th, I will do a drawing for a free session ($250 value) plus a gallery cd ($600 value)!!!