I know it’s only August so thinking about Christmas seems so far out of our minds but it’s not! Back to school this month?!? How!? Then while everyone else is sipping cider and carving pumpkins, I’m decorating for Christmas, shooting Christmas all day every day and then when everyone else is juuuust about to start thinking of putting up their lights and decorating the house for the holidays, I am finished shooting and thinking about Valentine’s Day and Easter! Seems crazy but it’s true. Christmas has always been a huge part of why I love my job. Capturing so many family’s holiday photos and seeing so many of my photos come in on greeting cards makes all of the sweat and tears worth it.

LG Fall & Christmas Sessions 2022 (Pricing and What’s Included):

~ ”Oatmeal In Fall” ~

Ok, first things first… I know you are all probably here to read about Christmas Sessions, including Awesome Santa, but I’m happy to announce Oatmeal The Blue Truck will be returning for gorgeous fall photos! What to wear? Anything fall colored. Oranges. Browns. Blues. Greens. Tans. Purple. Maroon. You can’t go wrong because “fall” is a color, I think so anyway. I’ll have some straw bales. Pumpkins and mums. Feel free to byob… that’s blanket not beverage… to match your personal style this year.

Dates: Sat. October 1st & Sun. October 2nd, RAINDATE: Sat. October 8th
Time Frames: 1:30pm-5:30pm

Location: LG Photography Studio Backyard, 2354 Old Post Rd, Coplay, PA 18037
Price: $300 plus tax, $53 retainer due upon booking, balance paid the day of the session (option to prepay if paying credit)
Includes: 5 digital images, 10 minute session (booked every 15 minutes), option to purchase extras & products *Dogs always welcome

BOOKING DATE: Thursday, September 1st at 9:00pm (these will book on the same night and booking site as our October studio birthday sessions)

BOOKING LINK FOR FALL OATMEAL: bit.ly/LGBookNow2022

WAITLIST FOR FALL OATMEAL: bit.ly/LGFallOatmealWaitlist2022

Ok, back to Christmas stuff.

~ ”Awesome Santa” ~

As you’ve probably heard by now…. (Channel your inner dialog from the movie ELF in 3….2….1….) SANTA’S COMING…. Oh My Goodness!!!!! Santaaaaaa!!!!! Yes, YES!!! I know him! I KNOW him! Awesome Santa is making a come back. I had assumed after our two year long hiatus that our days of Santa at the studio were over but Santa called me and told me he had one of his elves tailor him a brand new suit and he was itching to get back to our Lehigh Valley studio to share Christmas joy with the kids. So I figured I’d start there, since most of you reading this want to know that, so yes… AWESOME SANTA IS BACK! Yay! The drop this year is stunning. It’s a snowy stone walkway, a gorgeous wooden doorway and stoop covered in snow and lighted garland! It will match anything and everything and I’m so excited to photograph all of your beautiful families!

Dates: Wed. November 9th, Thurs. November 10th, Fri. November 11th & Sat. November 12th, Thurs. November 17th, Fri. November 18th & Sat. November 19th
Time Frames: various time frames per day

Location: LG Photography Studio, 2354 Old Post Rd, Coplay, PA 18037
Price: $250 (includes tax), $100 retainer due upon booking, balance paid in CASH ONLY the day of the session (because you will have your images in your inbox within 24 hours)
Includes: All “keepers” included in digital format, no set number just based on your child’s cooperation (no edits will be done to these photos beyond basic color correction and straightening, up to 10 minutes experience with Santa (booked every 15 minutes), child alone and/or family photos and a small gift for each child from Santa *No dogs allowed for Santa

BOOKING DATE: Tuesday, August 16th at 9:00pm through SQUARE. You will add to your cart ONE retainer for the session which will get you a spot (pending you can be flexible with scheduling) and will only be confirmed once you receive an email receipt from square that your payment went through. You may only book for yourself and limit ONE session (if you buy more than ONE, you will be disqualified and your spot will be given to the next person on the waitlist and we will refund all of your retainers) unless otherwise agreed upon (such as gifting to a family member or friend). They will be released right at 9:00:00pm through that link and you would just keep 1 as the quantity selected and add to cart. You will be prompted to fill in your personal info, then it will continue to the payment section where you will add your card info and then you’ll be able to submit when all that is filled out. When they are all gone, it will show SOLD OUT and will not allow you to add one to your cart or let you complete checkout if it sold out while you were putting in your info. At that point if you would like be on the waitlist, you will quickly fill out the link below (tip: have the waitlist pulled up in a separate window just in case so you can tab over to fill it out quickly). If you get a confirmation receipt that your retainer payment went through, you will be emailed from us within 24 hours saying YAY you got a spot and a link to a scheduling preferences form.

BOOKING LINK FOR SANTA (these will not release for purchase until exactly 9:00:00pm on 8/16): bit.ly/LGAwesomeSanta2022

WAITLIST FOR SANTA: bit.ly/LGAwesomeSantaWaitlist2022

Maybe in the last two years, your kids decided they were too cool for Santa… if so, I have many other options this year for you to still update your kids/family photos.

~ ”Kemmerer’s Tree Farm” ~

I am excited to also announce I’ll be back at my favorite tree farm for two short days of shoots. I’m going light on props but intend to have one set geared for the kids to play such as hot cocoa or something like that. I will have a chair or couch for your family to cuddle on in front of a wooden frame covered in pines.  We will do some walking shots this year as well. Dogs are always welcome at the farm! Kemmerer’s Tree Farm is always so gracious to allow us to come and use their farm for photos, so be sure to check out their Facebook page and give it a like.

Dates: Sat. October 29th & Sun. October 30th, RAINDATE: Sat. November 5th
Time Frames: 2:00pm-5:00pm

Location: Kemmerer’s Tree Farm, 3266 Valley View Dr, Bath, PA 18014
Price: $325 plus tax, $53 retainer due upon booking, balance paid the day of the session (option to prepay if paying credit)
Includes: 5 digital images, 15 minute session (booked every 15 minutes), option to purchase extras & products *Dogs always welcome

BOOKING DATE: Wednesday, August 17th at 9:00pm through a Google form similar to how we booked in the past. The form will be “turned on” to accept submissions right at 9:00:00pm and then it will be turned off once we have enough responses to fill the sessions plus a small waitlist. If you are not able to get your response submitted and see that the form is “turned off”, you can quickly fill out our secondary waitlist form linked below (tip: have the waitlist pulled up in a separate window just in case so you can tab over to fill it out quickly). If you get your name on the list, you will be emailed if there was a spot for you saying YAY you got a spot and a link to a scheduling preferences form as well as a link to pay the retainer OR if you didn’t make it on the list in the within the number of spots we have, we will send you an email that you are on the first dibs waitlist.

BOOKING LINK FOR TREE FARM : bit.ly/LGTreeFarm2022

WAITLIST FOR TREE FARM: bit.ly/LGTreeFarmWaitlist2022

~ ”In The Box” ~

New this year is something I have dreamed of doing for roughly 10 years since I saw the idea and pinned it to a board on Pinterest. “In The Box” sessions. Yes, IN the box. A 4×4 very sturdy box has been constructed from wood. I will photograph a series of shots with my camera planted firmly on a tripod. Some of your family together and many of your kids individually and together. Then you’ll choose your photos you want put together for your composite image of 9 squares. This will be a fun shoot. Very non-traditional. So perfect for those busy kids who are on the move and also for the big kids and teens. For this particular photoshoot, I will be allowing well behaved dogs to join in the fun as well.

Dates: Sat. October 15th (one date only as of now)

Time Frames: 9:00am-3:00pm

Location: LG Photography Studio, 2354 Old Post Rd, Coplay, PA 18037
Price: $350 plus tax (+$25 to add dogs), $53 retainer due upon booking, balance paid the day of the session
Includes: One final composite digital image of your favorite 9 images put together and a 12×12 print (client pays shipping), 25 minute session (booked every 30 minutes), option to purchase extras & products *Dogs allowed for the additional fee

BOOKING DATE: Tuesday, August 23rd at 9:00pm through our online scheduler (these will book on the same night and booking site as our Classic Christmas Studio sessions)

BOOKING LINK FOR IN THE BOX : bit.ly/LGBookNow2022

WAITLIST FOR IN THE BOX: bit.ly/LGInTheBoxWaitlist2022

***Below is an example to give you a better idea of my vision, however these were QUICKLY taken with my cell phone, the box I will be using will not have white shiplap behind and be solid white. I will have props available but feel free to bring your own props too for added fun!

~ ”Classic Studio Christmas Minis” ~

In-studio sessions will be available this year with lots of evening and weekend availability. I have five brand new drops coming your way this year. One is the big Santa Drop as described above. This is large enough to accommodate up to an extended family. Next up we have our version of Festive Glam, which will be our white shiplap wall sporting glamorous black, white and silver packages alongside a white flocked Christmas tree. I have some large shiny black and silver ornaments and I am hoping to secure a new chair or small couch to finalize the set. In my mind so far, you cannot overdress for this one. The fancier the better and who doesn’t like a reason to dress up?! Then we have our Soft Blue set. I am picturing some pops of gold here and there and a pretty bench that will move in and out for a nice variety of shots. The last family set we have is our Cozy Glow. This will be a snuggly bed option perfect for PJ’s with lights, lights and more lights. I did a similar set minus the bed many years ago at my home studio (yes that long ago) and it was the most popular one that year by far. And lastly, I am doing a smaller set for the little ones, Rudolph’s Forest. My little red truck and little blue truck will be there for the kids to sit on or lean next to. A little bench and some trees along with a whimsical “Trees For Sale” sign. This is a small drop, so this will be best suited for smaller children. If older children do this drop, they will need to sit down only and some of the props may not be size appropriate.

Dates: Tues. October 25th, Wed. October 26th, Thurs. October 27th, Mon. October 31st, Tues. November 1st, Wed. November 2nd, Thurs. November 3rd & Sun. November 6th
Time Frames: Various times in the day & evening

Location: LG Photography Studio, 2354 Old Post Rd, Coplay, PA 18037
Price: $200 (1 backdrop)/$225 (2 backdrops)/$250 (3 backdrops) plus tax, $53 retainer due upon booking, balance paid the day of the session (option to prepay if paying credit)
Includes: 5/7/10 digital images depending if you choose 1/2/3 backdrops, 30 minute session (booked every 45 minutes), option to purchase extras & products

*One outfit change allowed ONLY with a 3 backdrop booking (please no outfit changes for infants under 8 months old **No dogs allowed for this session type

BOOKING DATE: Tuesday, August 23rd at 9:00pm through our online scheduler (these will book on the same night and booking site as our In The Box sessions)

BOOKING LINK FOR CLASSIC STUDIO CHRISTMAS MINIS : bit.ly/LGBookNow2022

WAITLIST FOR CLASSIC STUDIO CHRISTMAS MINIS: bit.ly/LGChristmasStudioWaitlist2022

Now to answer a few questions you might have:

Question- Can we see examples of what the booking pages will look like?

Answer- Yes! Below are photos of what you will see once the booking links are enabled on booking night:

Awesome Santa, you will see it says “out of stock” right now and will show that again once they have sold out:

On booking night right at 9pm, you will see the option change to add the session retainer to your cart. You will just keep ONE as the quantity selected (if you buy more than ONE, you will be disqualified and your spot will be given to the next person on the waitlist and we will refund all of your retainers) and then click CHECKOUT.

Next, you will see a form to fill out your personal contact info which looks like this:

After you’ve filled that out you will click NEXT. Then you will fill out your card info in the fields as shown below:

Lastly you can quickly hit PLACE ORDER (no need to click the email offers box).

That’s it for Awesome Santa! You will receive an email from us with scheduling info and next steps within 24 hours if you were able to purchase one of these and received a confirmation email for square that your purchase was confirmed.

For tree farm, we will book as we had in the past with a very simple Google form collecting just your basics. Then if you were able to submit, we will send out an email within 24 hours with a scheduling preferences form and a link to pay the retainer. The form to request a spot currently looks like this and will look that way if the booking has been opened and then closed because they filled up:

On booking night right at 9pm, it will look like this:

If you have booked with us in the past few months, you have seen our new online scheduler, which will be how we are booking In The Box and Classic Christmas Studio. Those session types won’t be available to view until the booking nights, but they will be the only options on those night (birthday options will be removed to create less confusion) and you will click In The Box as your session type or you will choose from 1, 2 or 3 backdrops for the Christmas Studio Minis and then click CHOOSE SESSION as seen in the example below:

This will take you to a calendar to pick your date, you will arrow the month over to October or November and grab a date and time that works for you ASAP!

Once you click on it, you will fill out your personal info quickly and pay the retainer immediately. If it stalls out and doesn’t go through or it then tells you the session time is no longer available, go back refresh periodically for the next 15-20 minutes to see if another spot becomes available that you can grab.

Question- What if I try to book on the booking night and don’t see any
spots left?

Answer- If you are on waiting before 9:00pm keep in mind you’ll need to refresh a lot to see either the Square Santa sessions show up as available to add to cart, the Google form for Tree Farm to open or the times to be released into the online scheduler for In The Box or Studio Christmas. Act quickly and add the Santa retainer to your cart, fill out the form for tree farm or choose a date/time from the scheduler. If you aren’t able to grab one, this year we will be doing a SEPARATE waitlist for EACH session type, all of which are listed above. If you have that pulled up in another window for the type of session you were trying for, if you cannot grab one please fill out the waitlist form quickly and submit to be added and we will be contacting in the order of submissions as sessions may become available. If you are trying for In The Box or Studio Christmas, once you get your name on the waitlist, I would suggest going back to the online scheduler to continue refreshing the booking page in case a spot might still open back up if the booking process wasn’t completed.

Question- Can I bring my parents, aunt, uncle etc to the session for photos? How about to watch the session?

Answer- All sessions are priced and booked per family/household, so please bring only your immediate family for photos. Bringing family members to watch is totally fine this year.

Question- Can I still book a cousins session for any of these holiday sessions?

Answer- These would have to be booked per request and best accommodating for the indoor Christmas Studio Minis. If this is something you are requesting, please send us an email so we can help you get set up for this.

Question- Can I book multiple types of sessions?

Answer- Yes! As long as you are able to get a spot for any session you choose, it’s yours! ONE session per family though for Santa (read more details on this above).

Question- Is my retainer refundable or transferable to another session?

Answer- Unfortunately no, not unless I have enough time to fill your spot.

Question- What if my child wakes up sick on a session day?

Answer- Please cancel. We don’t want anyone getting sick, especially now. We will try our best to get you in another day if possible or for a different holiday session.

Question- Can we use gift certificates on holiday minis?

Answer- Yes, they can be used on any holiday mini this year EXCEPT for Santa.

DONATIONS AND PAYING IT FORWARD OPPORTUNITIES:

Every year during the holidays, I like to help people pay it forward and give back to the community. Since the last few years were such a great success and we made such a huge impact, we’ve chosen to work with The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley again to make #HolidayHopeChests, which are needed now more than ever due to the pandemic. They’re wrapped shoe boxes filled with goodies and necessities for boys and girls ages 2-14. We pledged to donate 500 Holiday Hope Chest boxes again this year, but I definitely need your help. Each box gets you an entry to win a $500 LG GIFT CERTIFICATE! We will be collecting these boxes at several drop off spots in the Lehigh Valley to make it more convenient for you.

To make sure we have them split them evenly for the children receiving them, we have created a sign up for you to pledge how many boxes and the age group/gender you will be making them for. You may sign up for multiple boxes!!!! We know that with all of us coming together, we can reach or even exceed our goal of 500 boxes this year. Deadline to drop boxes will be November 19th this year. Below is the link to pledge/sign up for boxes you wish to donate this year and it is active now, so sign up before your preferred ages are filled!

Holiday Hope Chests 2022 Sign Up Link: https://bit.ly/LGHHC2022

We would love to reach our goal of 500 boxes this year and we are asking everyone to please donate at least one box or we will also be accepting monetary donations towards making boxes to help fulfill our pledged goal. You can Venmo me @lori-generose with the subject AWESOME or you can leave a donation at the session time. If we receive more monetary donation than boxes pledged, we will donate to Hope185, a non-profit organization through my church to help provide Christmas gifts to orphaned children in foster care in the Lehigh Valley.

Don’t forget, we will also continue to collect PB&J from now until forever! For every pair of peanut butter (or other types of nut butter) and jelly you bring to the studio, you will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card. We will draw 12 winners at the end of the year (one for each month of the year). This is an easy way to give back to local food banks in our area.

Link to Pay-It-Forward LG STYLE facebook group to stay in the loop
with our giving back opportunities!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/payitforwardlgstyle/

So that’s it for Christmas this year! I hope you’re as excited as I am!

Lastly, you can follow along with fall and holiday sessions on Instagram @TheLGphoto for lots of my #LGBehindTheScenes pics and sneak peeks as I dive into this busy season… click the follow button. Since Facebook algorithms are changing daily, we have created a new facebook group which is an extension of my main business page, which has already had some fun memes posted and will continue to be the go to place for last minute cancellations and valuable suggestions. You can join that group as well through this link below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1157325364817266/

I know this is a lot of info so please let us know if you have questions. I’m thankful for each of you and I am soooooo excited to get started with this busy holiday season!

Xo Lg