Category: Business Creative

Kimberly+James | Engagement| Cleveland, OH

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This wonderful couple met online on PlentyOfFish.com about little over a year ago. I can tell they love each other and the endearment that James has for her. I was pretty skeptical about online dating, but these sites I can see how it brings together the best people. Just like these two!!Kimberly+James Engagement 4-Edit-2Our session started at Starbucks (Kimberly’s favorite coffee shop) in Cleveland right near the most beautiful chandelier at Playhouse Square. Once I saw them I knew we were gonna have a great time. Kimberly was getting her sign ready to do her save the date and James and I were talking about some additional areas we could stop at. We started at the beautiful chandelier that was right out of Starbucks, which is absolutely huge and photos don’t do it justice! Definitely a must see! I really had a fantastic time photographing them at the locations we went to. Kimberly was an absolute champ braving the wind and cold. And James was right there with her keeping her nice and warm.

Please enjoy their photos from their session

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First Year of Business

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Wow February!! I may be a day late posting this, but it has definitely the busiest month of consultations I have ever had. I love meeting all these new couples and getting to know them and their plans for the most perfect wedding! Another awesome thing is this month marks one year since I started my business. I have survived my first year!! When I mean by this is I have survived all the paperwork and keeping track of every detail of a business. Yea, it can be hard work, but it’s very rewarding. I love this feeling of being my own boss. I can control my hours. I can’t wait to jump into wedding season and being busy of taking photos of all of these wonderful couples in one of the most beautiful journeys in their life. I also can’t wait to see how much the families I’ve taken photos of grow up and grow in size or even new families and get to know them and become great friends. I have learned so much in this first year of business. From how to start and run a business and to give a better experience for my couples and families! 2018-03-01_00032018-03-01_0002This year will be full of education (which is pretty much every year), weddings, families, and planning my OWN wedding! Being able to balance all this and have some time to myself will be a challenge, but it is a challenge very well accepted with confidence. I hope to have much success in providing the BEST experience possible for all of my clients. I know I will because they are all awesome! I hope you enjoyed this little blog post about my 1st year of Business. The next blog post you will read will be an engagement session!

Thanks for reading!

-Heather

Gift Certificates

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Hey All!!

Welcome back!! So to put you in the Spring/Summer mood and to end the long wait…here it is….are you ready….ok I guess I’ll tell you…. I have made a wonderful gift certificate for special gifts for your family and friends. Even better yet, from 2/1/18-2/28/18 I would like to discount these gift certificates by 30% craziness!! So to give you the lowdown on these gift certificates.

-To get the 30% discount gift certificate it must be purchased between 2/1/18-2/28/18.

-The 30% can be used on any hourly coverage session (1 Hour, 1-1/2 hour, & 2 hour) and engagement session. Not valid on Weddings or a la carte weddings. Example: 1 Hour session $150 (150-30%($45)=$105+tax

– Gift certificates must be used on session(s) in the months of May, June, & July. IF not used in these months the client forfeits the gift certificate and can’t be reimbursed. These are not valid on any past sessions.

-Also I only have 30 gift certificates available, so get yours before they are gone.

Steps to get the gift certificate is to:

  1. Get in touch with me via email, contact form via website, text me, call me, etc.
  2. Let me know which session you would like the gift certificate for.
  3. I will get some info from you like your name, email, address, & phone. As well as who will be receiving the gift certificate (don’t worry I won’t be contacting them I will await for them to contact me)
  4. I will then send the invoice to you for payment.
  5. Once payment has been received I will then send the paid invoice receipt and gift certificate via email to you where you will be able to print or send to them as an email. Like I said before I only have 30 so get yours before they are gone.

Down below is what the gift certificate will look like. Pretty huh? I can’t wait Spring & Summer.

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For Clients that have received the gift certificates:

  1. Get in touch with me via email, contact form on website, text me, call me, etc.
  2. I will verify the certificate with my files.
  3. We will chat and get a date scheduled.
  4. I will then send the contract via email for you to look over and digitally sign.
  5. Once that is signed your date will be secured.
  6. After our session together I have a turn around time of 2-3 weeks to get your photos back.

I can’t wait to be able to produce amazing photos for current clients and NEW clients. I can’t wait to see and meet you all. Until then, let’s wait and hope this winter weather is mild until Spring/Summer. If you have any questions about the gift certificates please feel free to ask anytime.

Thanks,

-Heather

Blogging 2018

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Hi there!!

If you found this blog that means you found out what I’m doing new this year. And that’s blogging. I’ll be blogging about engagements, weddings, and portraits as they happen! I’m so excited to bring this into my workflow.

Trust me I was afraid to start this at first and I did a little bit in the beginning of last year, but this is going to a whole new level and I think it will be a nice addition. I did research and research for about 6 months or so to see if this was something I can do and by golly I think I can! Gotta start somewhere right?

How I am incorporating it into my workflow for engagements and portraits is they will be presented about 2 weeks after the session. Which is about the time you get all your photos back. (Now this is only if the bride and groom say that it’s ok for me to blog their sessions with me.) I will compile together of some photos and details on how we met, details about the session, etc. For weddings it will be about 3-4 weeks. It will be about the same as the engagements and portraits, but will talk more about your relationship a little like how you both met and my favorite…how he PROPOSED!

I am excited to bring this to the table and look forward to what 2018 will bring. There is so much going on this year and I’m so excited to get started. I hope everyone enjoys reading their own blog or even learn about what I do during a session.

Thanks for reading,

-Heather

‘Day Of’ Timeline-9/22/17

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A bride wakes up on one of the biggest days of her life and realizes that she has sooo much to do before she walks down the aisle. She is planning things out in her head, but as the day goes by nothing is getting done the way she wants. Therefore she is so stressed out and not able to enjoy her wedding day. When the bride can’t enjoy her day it throws off the whole day for pretty much everyone else.
I never want to see a bride go through the wedding day without having something in place. Usually everyone is in the background helping the newlywed couple instead of the bride and groom being the hosts and waiting on everyone else when they should be waiting for them. I have composed a guide for brides that they can use to help them plan their big day. How I will have it set up is by how much time should be allotted for different things that can occur during your big day. This is from experience of weddings I have photographed and planning my own wedding.
  • Wake up ( it’s your wedding day!) -should take about 5-10 mins…right haha
  • Eat a healthy breakfast- about 1/2 hour or so to cook or get stuff together
  • Get hair and makeup done- this is for all girls, mother’s, and of course yourself could take up to 4 hours depending on quantity
  • Get dress on- depending on if you have zip up or corset this could take up to 15-25 mins
  • First look (this is not a necessity)- take about 15 mins.
  • Pre-ceremony Photos (Bridal party)- depending on how many groomsmen and bridesmaids you have could take up to 1 hour.
  • Hide (don’t want your guests to see you)-always half hour before music starts
  • Music starts-1/2 hour before ceremony. At this time people with start taking their seats.
  • Ceremony (Lets get married!!)-take up to 1/2 hour if catholic then longer.
  • After Ceremony Photos (family photos and a couple bridal)- factoring how large of a family about 1 hour to hour and a half.
  • Grand entrance (bridal and newlyweds)-takes about 5-10 mins
  • Toasts-about 5-10 mins depending on the amount of toasts you plan to have.
  • Blessing-about 5 to 10 mins
  • Dinner-about 45-1 hour
  • First dances-it could take up to 15 mins some couples like to incorporate their bridal party into the dances.
  • Little bit of dancing- just to get people moving a little bit. Up to 15 mins.
  • Cake Cutting-10-15 mins sometimes it can get messy
  • Bouqet Toss/Garter Toss-about 10-15 mins
  • Popular dances (ie.dollar dance/anniversary dance)-these are usually incorporated into dancing through the rest of the evening.
  • Dance (Party!!)- As long as you want it to be.
  • Final Depart-this is where you will depart and leave to go either home or be on your way to your honeymoon.
I know this list is huge and a lot to fit in, but most of these go by fast. It’s always important to have something set in place. It makes things go smoothly and has all of your vendors on the same page and can work as a team to make your day as special as possible. I always help out my brides when deciding how they want their day to go. Since this is only a guide this is not a set in stone type itinerary. This is just to give brides an idea of how they would like their day to go. I hope you find this guide helpful. If you have any questions about this blog please ask away I’m always here to help brides whether you have me as your photographer or not.
Until Next Time,
-Heather M

Spring Is Here-5/17/17

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Spring is here and all the plants come out of hiding and are blooming. The warm air has come and feels and smells good. Your plans are starting for outside like mowing and gardening. I know mine are like that as well, but of course my absolute favorite is starting my photography season! So far I have had one engagement session, a kids session, and a wedding. With a lot more to come! It’s crazy to think that my spring and summer session times are booking up (weekends that is!). And my fall sessions have just started to get bookings and even next year have started too!! The people I meet are awesome!! I love how my photography family is growing and growing! I also love how all my clients are satisfied with their photos and utilizing them in their homes and work.
I remember when I first picked up a DSLR camera. I was intimidated. I was scared that there was absolutely no way that I would be able to utilize it. There’s so much to a camera like that. Now, all I can say is WOW! I’m sure my clients and readers can see from my photos that they are beautiful. Being a Natural Light Photographer can have its ups and downs, but I can make it work for sure. I will continue to grow in photography whether it be tomorrow or 15 years from now.
I hope that you can find some time in the Spring, Summer, and Fall to get photos of your family, because photos really can last forever. Hope to see you and your family in the near future!
 
Until Next Time,
-Heather M

More Than Just Photographing-4/26/17

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Hey there!!!
So I want everyone to know that I do more than just photographing wonderful moments. I also do personalized items to show off those moments. I’m talking about Christmas cards, save the dates, invitations, or even photo strips (photo booth). These invites are one of a kind. Yea you could get your personalized items at a third party like Shutterfly and use their templates. Which would be easy, but what I do is much cheaper and you still don’t have to do it yourself. I charge a small fee on top of what it costs to produce it with shipping and tax. Which is still really cheap!!
 
 
If you know me I love unique things. I like being different from everyone. I like things that you don’t see everyday. I like the ‘WOW’ factor. Plus, I like doing small projects like this. It’s challenging. I am slowly coming up with templates of my own to personalize these moments for my clients.
 
 
I put my heart and soul into each project. Once I have a couple of examples I will send the samples to the client and see which one they like the best and if they have any suggestions that they would like. If there are no changes then I go to a 3rd party photo lab and get them made up (at the clients expense), the photos at the best price are in the size of 4×6. If there are changes I will keep making the changes until it is satisfactory. I have them come to my house that way I will inspect the photos before handing them to the client. This is a little description of how the process goes. I do all this for my small charge of $15 per 50 made. If there is an uneven amount I round up. So if there are 52, then I charge $15. If there are 70, then I will charge $30. This charge does not include the 3rd party amount. I find the cheapest route for you with the 3rd party photo lab.
 
 
Some projects can be pretty difficult, but that is what I enjoy doing. I love challenges. Once I’m done with the project, it gives me a sense of accomplishment. So if you have a professional photo and want something made on it, I’m your girl. You don’t necessary need to have a session with me to get something made. If you have any questions please contact me on the Main Page at the bottom and fill out the form and we will be in contact soon.
 
 
Until Next Time,
-Heather M

Business Owner-4/14/17

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It’s only been a couple months now since I started my official business! I feel like it’s been a good 6 months!! It has been such a learning experience so far. I have been figuring out ways to be completely paperless, especially with contracts and invoicing. This world has been advancing and I wanna be a tech savvy business owner. For one it will be good for saving money to utilize emails instead of paper and ink. Also I’m looking into ways to allow credit/debit cards. Here is my research that I have done so far, but if you (the reader) have a good idea I may just throw in a discount for you on your next session with me. *wink wink* I also found a good way for clients to pay for their sessions. Utilizing the invoice option that I send to my clients they can pay for their session or prints via PayPal! That way clients can pay at their own convenience.
 
Things I’ve learned so far have been time consuming. Just learning what all needs to happen before you can actually say that you have a business. Also doing the research into what sites to use to run your business. Knowing me I’m all about saving money. Finding out ways and things to use to lower cost. Of course, having a site that will help out in every section of a business is ok in my book not to skip out on.
 
The site I use for everything for other than my website is called Pixifi. It was recommended to me by a local photographer. I started the trial and found out how amazingly great it is! So when my two month trial was over I had to figure out if I wanted to keep it and pay a monthly fee or find anther site that was as amazing as this one for a free monthly fee. I was unsuccessful, so I continued this site and I’m so glad I did. I keep being surprised of this site. It tracks all my expenses, payments, can send invoices and contracts via email which can be digitally signed and electronically paid, and has a client portal for clients to view all documents such as contracts and invoices. Of course there is so much more that this site can do.
 
Even though this business adventure is a lot of work, it is definitely worth it. I’m excited to continue on this journey and photograph my client’s special moments in life.
 
Until Next Time,
-Heather M

My 2016 Clients-2/27/17

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I would like to thank all of my 2016 clients for amazing year. I really have enjoyed our time together and hope to have more in the near future from all of you. I’m very excited for the future sessions and events that are coming this year in 2017!
As we come into this new year there are new special times happening. Is your little one having their first birthday? Did you just get the ring that will start an amazing journey? Have a new bundle of joy that entered this world? Just want to get some photos to hang in your home? I can cater to your need at a GREAT price! I love capturing these moments for families.
If you are not needing any services now, but know someone that is looking for someone. Have them get in touch with me and if they refer you, then you get a discount on your session with me at a later time when you do need some photos. I keep track of all my clients on their profile with me when someone refers. Once that person has their session I will then reach out that that referred client to let them know what their discount is. This will be based on a tier of how many referrals they get.
Until Next Time,
Heather Merkle

RSVP Site For Events-2/24/17

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Being an Event Photographer there’s nothing I would like more than to help brides and other event planners (parents or yourself) SAVE MONEY & TIME! Who has the extra cash to spend on little cards or postcards with stamps on them? Invites and Save the Dates are already expensive. This site is called ‘Splash That!’. Sounds fun!!! Cause it really is!! Here is the direct link: www.splashthat.com. One of my relatives used this awesome free event RSVP site for his wedding. You can also use this for birthdays or any other special event. You put the site on the invite and tell your guests to RSVP on there. The link is pretty short so it’s an easy fit. You can also give them the option to call you as well if you have some non-techy relatives/friends that are invited.
It isn’t that hard to set up. It’s kind of similar to setting up your Facebook. You set it up with your email and password. The rest is pretty simple. You can use a picture that you absolutely love as the background picture on the site. I offer to set this up for free for my clients for their special events. I get the email and create an easy password and give this to the bride or planner, so they can utilize and see who all RSVP’d or they may play around and add more things onto the site page.
I like the idea that it is easy to use and can help the environment and your wallet. It’s less paper that goes out, not much but a little can do something. Right? Oh and those pesky stamps. I certainly will use this site for my future wedding. I would rather spend the extra cash on other items instead of stamps and extra little cards to send with the invite. Also those little cards can be misplaced so easily. For me anytime I get an invite to any party I put the invite on the fridge and enter it in my iCalendar on my iPhone, but those little RSVP cards sometimes get stuffed back in the envelope and get forgotton. Having this option of putting a website ON the invite that gets put on the fridge there’s no way to lose it. Take a look at this awesome site. Plus its free!!!
With Love,
-Heather