I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.......... are you?

How lucky are we to have our last wedding of the year be for our kiddo's teachers. Miss Kelli was Alli and Bobby's 4th grade homeroom teacher and Patrick was Alli's 5th grade math teacher. Kelli is one of the sweetest, most amazing teachers on the planet. And Patrick, well, he's a lucky guy and also a wonderful teacher. I don't know about you, but our kid's elementary school was filled with female teachers. So, all the kids were always hoping to get Mr. Casey for their teacher.

Their wedding was the last one of the season for us. I have so much to blog and because I'm finally seeing the light, I'll be a blogging fool over the next few weeks. I can't wait to share photos and stories from all the fabulous weddings and engagement sessions we've had over the year.

So, tonight I share with you two very sweet photos of Kelli + Patrick. May God bless you both indeed. I hope you always know how forever grateful we'll be to the loving care you both showed our children.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings everyone!!!

~ Dawn

  iPad apps at AppStoreHQ

I'm still really amazed and so proud of Bob that the iPad version of his Lights, Camera, Capture book has been so successful. It's featured on iTunes this week as new and noteworthy. It's also #1 in photography iPad apps in the US and 8 other countries. And today, it's #13 in all iPad Apps. OMG....really???? So exciting....!!! We just can't thank Barry Pruett, Sandy Smith, Courtney Allen and the entire Wiley team for believing in us. And Inkling, the developers, who created this iPad app...... you rock!!!

3 years ago, Bob photographed Amberly & Ed's wedding, (for another company he no longer is associated with or endorses), and we just found out it's finally being aired on VH1. Amberly, won the VH1 Bridal Bootcamp wedding of her dreams and Bob was the lucky guy who photographed her wedding. She worked so hard, I cried throughout the entire episode. Bring tissues if you watch this, you will need them. Or maybe I'm just a big wuss. She's such a sweetheart! I hope you get a chance to watch this!!! Amberly is such an inspiration to me to get back to the gym!!! Enjoy!!!

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE IMAGES FROM THE DAY ~ featuring Brittany Clifton!

This is definitely one of the cutest Bat Mitzvah we've ever seen! Meet Shai and her family. They decided to go with a Project Runway theme. There wasn't one detail left out. They had the dressing mannequins on every table and spools of thread, buttons, scissors and pin hole cushions everywhere. What I loved most was the actual runway they created as the stage. Check it out!!! Reva Nathan and Associates outdid themselves again!

Thank you Shelley and Chuck for giving us the pleasure of spending this incredible day with you. Your family is beautiful and the love you have for one another is so obvious. I hope you love your photos!!!

And thank you Jordana for assisting Bob this day! We adore you and can't thank you enough for all your help!!!

~ Dawn and Bob

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Kudos to all the vendors involved...!!!

Event Planner: Reva Nathan & Associates
Service: Am Shalom
Celebration: Ravinia
Event Design: Kehoe
Linens: BBJ Linen
Lighting: Frost Lighting
Entertainment: Flow Entertainment
DJ: Dance All Night


TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF SHAI'S MITZVAH: CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK GALLERY

Look what came in the mail this week. Janny and James's wedding book!!!! Ohhhhh, I'm so in love! James is a photographer and between the two of us, we took forever selecting their images for their book. Since their wedding was in May 2008, I can wholeheartedly say........ it was well worth the wait!!!

Our book company, GraphiStudio is the BEST book company in the world. And that's fair to say since they are worldwide and located in Italy. They have amazing products and we have always offered the best to our clients. I found out from a really cool photographer, Belen Aquino, that GraphiStudio offers custom engraving on their varnished covers. I immediately knew that James would love this because he's just so cool. I asked him to send me the artwork from East Six, the wedding invitation company they hired, so I could have it engraved on the cover. And violà! Look at this beauty! You can check out their book design here.

If you are a photographer reading this blog, we highly, highly recommend GraphiStudio.

Bob & I have our very first intern working with us for a couple of months and I'm so EXCITED. Her name is Jordana and she's a doll. We receive so many requests to intern and for some reason her email stood out among them all. I think it was fate! God works in mysterious ways. She was born and raised in a small town in Georgia. When she first spoke to me she called me "ma'am" which secretly made me feel old... haha! She calls me Dawn now. Thank God. She has 4 sisters, OMG, and all their names start with a "J". She definitely has a beautiful sense of family and a big desire to pursue photography. She says "y'all" sometimes and it always makes me smile!

She's been assisting Bob with his lighting and learning a lot in the process. She's a quick study and picks up on things fast. She's also helping me and Michele in the office. She fits fits into our business wonderfully and we're so happy to have her around. Please join us in welcoming her! You can find her on Facebook too. If you're coming to our workshop next week, you'll get to meet her!

We had a fun family session with Ed Weiland the other day in his studio and Jordana came along. She's fun and loves to pose! Here's some cute photos of her. Bob took the last photo of her outdoors. Isn't she adorable?

Our next workshop will be here before you know it. I'm getting more and more excited. Michele, our Operations Manager, has been helping me with all the little details we're going to be surprising everyone with. It's going to be an amazing workshop and we can't wait to meet everyone! We already have a fantastic group coming and only 3 seats left. THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE AMAZING!!!!!

Today, Bob did a test shoot at The Narnia Estate, where our workshop will be at October 19 & 20, 2010. Here's a couple of photos of just one of our gorgeous models, Kelly Conrad. She is s.t.u.n.n.i.n.g...!!! The grounds at Narnia are so enchanting. Ohhhh, it's going to be so much fun. We have a lot of wonderful things planned. Shhhhh, many are surprises! Gorgeous models, a white horse and a vintage car to start! Thank you Ed Weiland for all the help with finding models and the location for this workshop!

ONLY 3 SEATS LEFT. REGISTER HERE:

http://davisworkshops.com/workshop/

We have a great group of photographers coming from all over the country and we can't wait to meet everyone!

Meet Kathy + Ernest.......... a fantastically fabulous couple. Not to mention, hot, hot, HOT! I had so much fun editing their photos, I couldn't help but fall in love with everyone of them, hence the reason for 20 images being posted. Kathy is just stunning and Ernest is úber handsome... and well you can see for yourselves how in love they are!

Enjoy!!!

~ Dawn

All of you who know us, know that we are supporters of THIRST RELIEF INTERNATIONAL.

Thirst Relief International is auctioning 90 minute mentoring sessions with 5 talented photographers from the Showit Freedom Tour and we are excited to be one of them. The auction begins tonight, July 29th at 12:00am CST and will end on Sunday August 1st at 12:00am. So please place your bid soon. 100% of your bid directly benefits Thirst Relief.

We can talk about anything! Maybe you are interested in how Bob gets those amazing shots, or maybe you want to know what some of the biggest mistakes that we made in our business and how we course corrected. Are you wondering how we manage a successful business, marriage, AND two kids with active lives? We can chat about why Bob isn't allowed to talk money with our clients.... that's always a good one! Want to know what works for us and what doesn't? All you need to do is bid......!

Your 90 minute mentoring session can take place anywhere in the Chicagoland area. Or we can Skype or chat over the phone... whatever works best for you!

IF YOU WIN OUR AUCTION, YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE:

1 - DVD: "A MASTER'S APPROACH" WITH BOB DAVIS
1 - DVD: "MASTER YOUR CRAFT" WITH BOB DAVIS & MIKE COLON
1 - BOOK: "NOT SO SECRET SAUCES" RECIPES BY BOB DAVIS
1 - SAMPLE CHAPTER FROM BOB'S NEW BOOK: Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers.

A better description of these items can be found at Davis Workshops Products.

CLICK HERE TO BID ON OUR AUCTION

WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU!!!!