Where Have I Been?

Hello everyone. It has been sometime since I have posted on facebook and been a part of the social world (including my own personal page). I basically just kinda vanished off the face of the earth. As far as A Simple Touch Photography goes, I am still in business. I just had an extended break. Where have I been you ask?

May 2nd was the last time I posted anything as far as the business goes. May 3rd, I woke up took my babies to school and within 3 minutes of leaving the school I was side swiped by a Dodge Ram 1500 construction truck with a push bar on the front. (I was in my grandfather's Chevy Malibu.) He ran the red light because he was on his cell phone.

Being 22 weeks pregnant the morning of the accident, I was taken by ambulance to the ER where both the baby and I were cleared. (Although no real testing could be preformed other than ultrasound and just feeling around to make sure nothing might be broken) I then began going to the chiropractor up to four times a week. I have had problems with walking, standing, and sitting. I cant do any of those for a length of time. I have to keep moving. Dr's tried to tell me that it was my sciatic nerve, or the baby was just sitting in an odd spot causing discomfort. Toward the end of my pregnancy I couldn't tell the difference between contractions and the pain I had been feeling all along. The epidural I was given also didn't work. Because of my spine being compressed the anesthesiologist had to put the epidural 2 inches higher than a normal one, and when she did, she still had to puncture through something to get it in. Once I was hooked up with the epidural because of it going higher into my spine, it numbed me from the chest down making it hard to breathe. Since giving birth, I now know that the pain I was in for the last months of my pregnancy were not just pregnancy related but they are in fact from the car accident.

Today in this present time, I am not fully ready to go out full blast and full force however,  I do plan on giving all I can to the clients that have been loyal to me and my company. I miss capturing memories. So within just a few weeks I will be back to working and doing what I love doing.

So with that, stay tuned because within the next few weeks I am hoping to have a few small things posted!

Leanne

PS - Meet Anthony =D

The Zoo & The Park

As a mother of 3, a small business owner, as well as trying to plan a wedding that is less than a month out, I try to divide my time between work, being super mom, and being a wedding planner. Even though I do try my very best to be up to date on all of the photos for my kids I don't always get them on time or even when I really want. However, here in Collier County, the first Saturday of every month is free zoo day for all Collier County Residents. I took this in as a my time to spend time. I took my babies and just had a mommy day with them! I don't think we have had that much fun together in a little while. This is also where I figured I would get some of the photos that I wanted that I never really get to take. So with that in mind we walked the zoo and this mommy got her pictures!

When we first got there, my babies went crazy over these cool looking frogs. I (if anyone knows me) scream when a frog is within touching distance. Because these were behind glass I will say there were really cool looking. If there were able to touch me, I would say that, well I would have been gone, probably screaming lol.

This picture below is when we were looking (trying to look) at the black panther. For some reason this trip to the zoo all the animals seemed to be lazy and hiding or just not moving. My oldest here was telling me that she could see his tail! 

I don't know why babies have to grow up so fast! Here before long the one on the left will be 5, and the one on the right will be 2! Where did all that go, seems like yesterday I was bringing them home from the hospital!

I am by no means a nature photographer. However these were some really cool, yet weird looking flowers that the kids were asking questions about and they liked them. They told me that I had to take a picture of them because they want to remember what they look like forever! I think this was a day well spent at the zoo!

That night after we picked up my soon to be husband, we went out to dinner and took the kids to a park. I love seeing my kids have a really good time. To me it means that I really am doing something right, and they might go to bed early because they are worn out, lol!

My youngest was all about screaming, and being on the slides! She is part baby, and well, part monkey. But isn't she the cutest!! (The bad part is that she knows she is the baby, and tests it everyday)

She told me here that she was stuck, so after I snapped the photo, I rushed over and turned her around.

There is no doubt that this is my little man, He is for the most part always happy and always having fun! Exploring and making the best of everything! He is starting to get into the dare devil stage, because he will jump from high things. Does anyone else see broken bones in my future? lol

My oldest is very hard to get pictures of because she is going through a phase that she only wants to get her picture taken when she wants it taken. It makes it really hard sometimes. But James did manage to get one of her and I while I was pushing her on the swing. Its not the best photo because it is blurred, however, it is the type of photo only a mother would love!

And for the record, normally when we put the kids down to bed at 8pm, they fight and want to come out for a drink, or I have to go potty and its usually about 9pm or 10pm before all three of them are dreaming sweet dreams. It was about 8:15pm when I went and checked on them and they were sound asleep! 

Marlene and Charlie

My name is Leanne, and I am the owner of A Simple Touch Photography. I am not usually the one who "blogs" a whole lot, or even really at all. Candice, my best friend of 11 years, has help me bring my business up to the social ways of today. I am more of a door to door, or even lets go to the mall and recruit kinda girl. This blog, as well as my facebook page, has been kept by Candice so that I can matain my personal relationships with my clients. I have been trying to get more involved in the "social network" so that I can share the experiences as well. Not just the ones that Candice was here for. So with that said...

Yesterday I had an appointment set for 3pm. The mother had called and set it up for her son about 2 weeks prior. Early afternoon I had gotten a call asking if it would it be possible to come a little later. I had no problems and moved her appointment to 4pm. About twenty after four she calls and says that she is running behind and that she just left. Still I have no problem. I didnt have any other shoots for the day and didnt mind waiting. About a quater to five the mother calls me and says that she cant find my studio and that she is lost, maybe she should just cancel. I help her with her directions and she finally arrives about twenty after five.

Im not upset or even annyoed, I love what I do, so I waited! Marlene (the mother who made the appointment) Comes into the studio and was slightly upset with herself for not being able to find my studio, I assure her no worries. So once everything is all set, I am introduced to Charlie. (her son) Now Charlie I would say is in his 40's and he carried around something that looked like a typewriter. I was thinking that he was disabled, but I was unsure, and I waited to be told so I knew if there was any specific way that the photos needed to be taken, maybe posing he could or could not do.

This is Charlie, he was in the United Stated Army. He doesn't speak, because he was injured in the Army in 1991 while on tour. He took a gun shot to the head, and it paralyzed him on his left side. He was in hospitals for some time and Doctors said that he wouldnt make it because it was so intense. 21 Years Later, he donest need a walker or a cane or anything like that. He can walk, hear, and for the most part take care of himself. He just cant talk.

I managed to get Marlene to take a picture with Charlie, because I thought with the story I had heard, his mother seemed to be a big part of his life, and she was something special. Anyone could have seen that by the way that he looked at her when she talked with him about the pictures. Even Marlene didnt like her photo, Charlie liked this one!



Charlie came to me for portraits because either him or his mother donated blood. For the month of February I gave every successful blood donor a Free Session and Free 8x10. They have until June 30th to use the coupon. I was so in shock with Charlie's story that I almost cried. He is by far, the strongest American that I know!

Normally I wouldnt do anything extra for my Free Portraits, but I felt this was needed, as a thank you on my part! This portrait below is what I put together for Charlie's Free 8x10!

Not just to Charlie, but to all United States Military, Retired, Disabled, or Avtive

Thank You For Serving and Defending Our Country!

Sneak Peek! Guliano Wedding April 2012

We recently had the pleasure of working with an amazing couple for their wedding. It was only by luck (or fate) that we stumbled upon one another. We, literally, were asked to shoot their wedding a week beforehand and were only able to be confirmed for the event the weekend of! We commend the couple, as they pulled an entire wedding together in only a few weeks - very impressive!

Because the couple has not been able to see their images, as they've been on their honeymoon all week, we can only show sneak peeks for now. We'll also share more behind-the-scenes thoughts and details when we can fully blog on this event! :)

Maternity: Miss Melissa

After working with Miss Doris, another maternity session came through the doors of A Simple Touch Photography. She came to us by way of a her friend, who had recently started working with us to help promote both of our business (we love connections!) Not only did her friend suggest us to be her maternity photographer(s), but she also did the hair and wardrobe for our client - this girl got pampered! :)

Now that the client has ordered prints from her session, we're going to share some of the photos we shot during her session.

Maternity: Miss Doris

We've booked 3 maternity sessions, 2 of which have already been shot this month. Now that our first mother-to-be has seen her images, we thought we'd share her pictures here on the blog along with some behind-the-scene POVs from the session.

Meet Doris and the father-to-be. They're having a baby girl, due April 5th.

They came in, full of ideas, and with a friend who helped convince her to be more open and try new poses and styles. I love when they bring friends, it helps set the tone of the session and helps to calm the nerves of the person who's in front of the lens. They made sure we got shots of the two of them together, but he preferred to sit back and watch her after these couple shots were taken, letting it be all about her.

Most women are so self-concious when it come to cameras, but this is especially true when a little more skin showing than people usually show. Though her friend had to warm her up to the idea just a bit, she came to the studio hoping to get some sexy shots in. I think all women have the right to feel this way, and we loved being able to help her capture her inner "Goddess". There's no shame in being a hot mama! :)

Lastly, we want to tell Doris, "thank you". It was a pleasure working with you, hopefully we'll do so again soon. Congrats and we wish you a healthy and happy baby!

The Sweetest Couple

Just a few short days ago, we had the privilege of working with a super sweet couple who came in looking to re-create a 2012 version of their wedding photo from 1970 (yes, 42nd wedding anniversay!) This couple had heard about our studio after we had teamed up with the local blood drive, offering a free session with (1) 8x10 for having donated to the drive. Apparently, the husband has been donating platelets for many years now, going every 2 weeks and spending 2- 2 1/2 hours in the chair as he waits for it to be drawn. He jokingly claims he does this to get out of the house, being retired he "has nothing better to do" :) I could think of plenty, but I'm glad there are people who aren't afraid, or impatient, who go in and donate so regularly!

On their original wedding photo, the couple was standing side-by-side, turned in towards each other. In our case, we had to sit them on two stools to achieve the desired height and position because the wife had recently gone through surgery and was wearing a cast during the session. And though they were looking to re-create their wedding photo as it was posed, they ended up choosing this pose instead because, as she put it, "Bob's finally smiling in one". The smiles are a result of a joke that Bob cracked about the position his legs were in, gave us all quite the chuckle :)