Here's another hint...

Where in the world is David Lee? Here's another clue...look closely at the image and post a reply if you think you know. This contest ends soon and a new one is about to begin. Bookmark this page...give it a shot...you're not out anything and you could win a $100 session. Anyone? Buler?

Where in the world is David Lee?

So where in the world is David Lee...here's a goofy self portrait...take a close look at the surroundings. If you can guess where in the world I am in this image (i.e. just name the city or town), you get a free sitting on me. Here's the deal...ya gotta post your guess by Saturday November 8th and ya have to use the free session sometime before February 15th of next year. First post to get it right wins. Keep watching, there's more to follow (more clues, more places, more chances to win).

Congrats Dan Bergagna!!!

Congrats Dan,

As I'm perusing the sports page this saturday morning I noticed under Prime Time Performances in the Journal Star that Dan rushed for 166 yards Friday night for La Salle Peru and then checked out the article to see that LP beat East Moline to move to 2-0. Here's a link to the story if you want to give it a look. Since football is a team sport, our hat's off to the entire LP team on a great game and to Dan for an outstanding performance.
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x690583706/L-P-tunes-up-vs-East-Moline

Anyone Who Tells You We're Too Expensive...

...doesn't know what they're talking about. Yeah sure you could go to a picture factory and get something for less but is it really something you want anyone to see? Probably not. When you compare apples to apples, no one comes close, in fact there are a lot of studios out there who charge more...a few that charge a lot more but you're still not getting a better portrait than you'd get right here. Okay...enough blather...I just had to address the people who went somewhere else to save a few dollars and ended up spending a lot more. Anyway...speaking of spending...how about a really cool fall offer that you can use? Click on the banner below and it'll take you our web page with all the details but basically, it's our Senior Express session and a basic collection all for just $299.
So if you're looking to get something really nice for not a lot of money...here's the deal you've been looking for...OR...if you're one of those poor souls who went somewhere else to save a few dollars and didn't like what you got, well...here's a chance to fix it. But either way ya gotta hurry because the last time we did this it sold out. OH...ONE MORE THING...the first 25 callers get a bonus offer free. No I can't tell you what it is because then it wouldn't be a secret:)

Why Limit A Good Thing?

Why limit a good thing? To keep it good of course. From time to time I have people ask us why we limit the number of senior sessions we do each year and the long and short answer is the same...to keep it good, keep it fresh and keep it fun. Years ago we used to do 6 or 7 sessions a day and no limit to how many we did each year...and it was o.k. but...when we started limiting the number of sessions we would do each day and how many we would do in a a year, our creativity shot way up and we felt like we were doing something unique and personal for each of our seniors and that's really what our goal was all along. So...to keep it fun, creative and give you the rock star experience you deserve, we end senior sessions for the year once we've photographed the number we feel we can do and still maintain the high standards you've come to expect from Photography By so where do we stand? As of Tuesday morning we have about 42 openings left but we haven't returned calls from the weekend.

Rumor has it...

...that there's an uber cool offer coming down the pipe but it's going to be for one day only and will probably be the last offer of the year for seniors as we're getting close to our cut off point. Maybe it's because we got a chance to snag a really great deal from one of our vendors and are passing it along to you and maybe it's for all those people who listen to silly stories about us being so expensive LOL!!! Anyway, the deal is going to be...

• Studio/Window Loft session with 10-12 images to choose from
• an 8x10, 2-5x7s and a bunch of wallets (all professionally retouched of course)
• and the grand total is just $299

So what's the catch? Just this...it's only one day...Columbus Day. Yeah, I know, you're out of school that day. Details will be in the senior section of our website (www.photographybylee.com) or you can get details by calling Mary or Karen (309.444.7010 / 1.800.341.1263) or dropping them an e-mail: pbylee@mtco.com Sorry I can't tell you more...I'm just the photographer. You don't have to spend a fortune to look like a million dollars...we just make you look like you did:)

Double Beach Gold

Yeah I know, this is supposed to be about senior portraits and all things Class of '09 but as a die hard beach volleyball fan (not to mention a 12 year stint playing doubles on the local level), I had to post a big HOLY COW for the two U.S.A. teams that just won gold in the Olympics this week. A big standing "O" for Kerri Walsh & Misty May for a straight set win over China in the gold medal match and on becoming the first ever team to win back to back gold medals in Olympic beach volleyball. It's been what...107 or 108 straight matches with out a loss? Unbelievable...and on top of that they are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet...if you ever get a chance to go to the AVP Chicago open, me, my wife and daughters all highly recommend it as the best buy in professional sports.

On the mens side, a big ol' oohrah! for Phil Dalhausser & Todd Rodgers winning the FIVB world championship (first time for American men) and the gold medal in the Olympics in the same year. Yes we were sitting on edge in the second match but 5 straight "Rooooofs" by Dalhaussers (aka the thin beast) put us in celebration mood as our boys cruised to the gold medal in the third game. For those of you not familiar with the sport, the top two countries in the world for beach volleyball are Brazil and the U.S.A. (hey we invented the game), so any win over Brazil is huge but for the gold medal...it's a monster! 6'2" Rodgers was out jumping Brazil's 6' 8" Fabio Magalhaes and crushing the ball with machine like regularity...not since Karch Kiraly has there been such a masterful display of on court strategy. Couldn't have happened to two nicer guys...Congrats Rodgers & Dalhausser. Okay...one last thing...if you want to know more about a fantastic sport and the incredible athletes that play it...check out the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals)...here's a link: http://web.avp.com/index.jsp

Bet you didn't know this...

That we're one of the only places you can go where you have the option of making your decision at home. So not only do you get image so beautiful you might have to change your phone number, but there's no pressure...take them home, make your decision. If you want to save a little on gas, you can even phone the order in and have it shipped to you when it's done...we'll miss your smiling face but we understand.

Bet you didn't know we offer interest free payment plans for those who need or want to spread the cost out over the next few months. There's no reason to settle for something ordinary... get what you want and make it affordable. All ya gotta do is ask, we're here to help.

Finally...you probably already knew this but just in case...you can get free images for your My Space page, licensed, authorized and yours free. Just ask us how.

Marching Band Is A Sport

I spent my summers getting ready for football season and until recently, playing 2 on 2 beach volleyball. It wasn't until our daughters became involved in marching band that I came to realize that marching band is a sport...and a very tough one at that. Consider this...you have to play an instrument (and play it well because the crowd and judges are listening), while maneuvering through a complexly choreographed field routine. So with band camp about to start (it's kinda like Hell Week but longer), my hats off to all of you who make it look so easy. I mark my tribute with this sports poster of Tom from the WCHS Drumline.

SOLD OUT...

...happens every year, our before school sessions just sold out. That being said, Mary and I have spent the better part of the morning digging through the calendar to find places where we could put an extra session without crowding the people who are already booked on those days. The good news is we did come up with a few (the operative word here being a few). Some of them are spots where we were starting later because of a location session, sometimes they're spots where someone had to move because of vacation or someone got sick, etc. To make it an even better reason to call, here's a little bonus for those who are willing to take the next available session...$50. Use it toward your session fee, session upgrades (when the time slot permits) or toward your portrait order. Your choice, all ya gotta do is say you want the next session and you're golden. You can get all the details on our main website by clicking here.

More Fun Stuff...

More fun stuff...I'm a big fan of people who have the talent AND discipline to be a musician. Couple that with what we call the Rock Star Experience and it's not hard to get really inspired by people who bring in something they're really passionate about...in this case his guitar.

Summer Time...

...and it's hot when the air conditioner goes out at the studio. Fortunately we have wonderful clients who are very understanding. So on top of making us look good, they bring in cool ideas and we get to play with. A magazine add (and a beautiful subject) were the inspiration for this image so despite...or maybe because of the warm environment and fans blowing all over the place...we had a great time creating the image and loved the way it turned out.

Cool New Ideas Inspired By You

I've always said that some of our best ideas walk in the front door. That's why I love personalizing the session to the person I' m photographing. Here's a some cools stuff inspired by the incredible people we have the privilege of working for. This particular image was a mix of her wanting to do something with bubbles and her art work (She's really a wonderful artist). Hoping to get this one to the mall display in the near future because the web just doesn't do it justice...inside each of the bubbles are images she's done...if you look really really close, you can see magic exploding off the tip of the brush as she paints the passing bubbles. Now here's the really fun part...this is just one of the really cool images from her session...you should see the one where a real garden fairy is landing on her hand....hope to have that one on our website in the next week or so....again, she was the inspiration, we were just the facilitators. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you...that was so much fun!

$25 Gift Card is yours free...

Some people like paying full price for everything but most people would rather pay a little less...providing they're getting the same thing as the ones paying full price. Case in point, you can book a session anytime and pay full price (hey we have bills to pay too). Or you can do the smart thing and contact one of our spokes models for a free $25 gift card. That would be free as in costs you nothing, they just send it to you and you can spend it here just like it was cash. So...full price or $25 less? It's up to you but I'm betting you'll click this link: I want a $25 gift card

Summer Fun

O.K. so down to what's important here...and that'd be you and your friends. We've had a great summer so far and I wanted to take a little space to say thanks to some people who've really made us look good...like Katie here who was so much fun to work with we didn't want the session to end. Thanks Katie!

Time Flies...

Wow...can you believe that summer is half over? Yeah it's that 4th of July thing that marks the half way point. It’s been crazy around here photographing seniors since the middle of May…okay so that’s my excuse for taking so long to get our blog going but with a few days off over the 4^th, it’s finally happening. So what will you find here? A lot of familiar faces, after all this blog is about you…the class of 2009…fun little tidbits of my usual nonsense and some general goings on about the studio and the people who make it click (no pun intended). For example you’ll be seeing the first senior posts in the next day or so along with some pretty cool fireworks shots

Mary and I had the opportunity to work on a professional pyrotechnic team and put on a fireworks show for a little town along the St. Johns river in Florida as part of our summer tour dates. Some cool beach pictures and what the heck for those of you who make this a regular stopping place, I’ll even be posting up some cool special offers you can use or pass along to your friends…what are friends for right?

Anyway…welcome and we’ll see ya tomorrow!