Christmas in … August | Athens, Tyler, Canton, and Kaufman Family Photography

Sidenote: This post is a ‘sticky’ through August 24, 2009 — after reading it, scroll down to view the newest post from Christina McCall Photography.

Around this time last year, we (CMP aka ROLP — our former business name) held the Sweet Summer Faces contest, with a complementary session being the grand prize. Well, we’re at it again this year — although with a new business name, we’re also changing up the contest a bit …

This time around we’re focusing on families! Why? Well, to be honest, I got to thinking about the contest and in the process, realized that other than setting my camera up on a tripod and running back and forth setting the timer, the last time my family had a portrait was when I was 10 years old. Approximately 18+ years ago. So — I know my family cannot be the only ones who haven’t had professional portraits in years!

Why the essay, you ask? Simple — I want to see a family truly deserving receive a full portraiture session — one they otherwise wouldn’t have, whether due to financial setbacks, all the children growing up and going off to college, a parent in the military, health setbacks, or maybe they give all they have to help others and just don’t think of spending that money on themselves instead.

The Details:
So, tell us about your family — or a family you know that is deserving — 500 words roughly. To make it easier, you can fill out this form and copy and paste your essay in the essay section. After you fill out the form, attach a snapshot of your family (no old professional portraits — we can’t post those due to copyright restrictions!) so we can feature you if you’re the winner! If you have any problems attaching/uploading snapshots to the entry form, you may email them to christina@christinamccall.com.

The Deadline:
Entries and snapshots are due by midnight on Monday, August 24, 2009 — CMP will post the winner on Monday, August 31, 2009. Judging will be conducted by a committee of individuals I’ve selected who are not local and are unlikely to know any of the families entered.

The prize:
– A complementary 90 minute to 2 hour custom lifestyle family portraiture session (maximum six people) with one outfit change (total of two outfits) at two locations within a 20 mile radius — sure, we’ll get a handful of formal portraits, but we’ll also photograph your family as you are — location to be determined by CMP within Henderson, Kaufman, Smith, or Van Zandt Counties.
– Full editing of 30-50 photographer selected images with blogged sneak peeks, an online gallery, and an online slideshow
– A 10×20 luxe mounted storyboard featuring images from your session (photographer selected)
– A 2010 Computer Desktop Calendar featuring images from your session on cd (photographer selected)
– CD with web quality watermarked proofs of all color images from your session
– (1) 8×10 premium print of the family’s choice
– 10% off any additional collection or a la carte purchase
Prize value: $350

What are you waiting for? Submit your entry + email me your snapshot ASAP!!!