Stills by Hill Photography

I was looking at my calendar and noticed I had only a few open spots left for 2010 weddings! I am offering only 3 new weddings at this super low rate. Please go to the main site and use “contact” to send me an inquiry to see if I am open.

Wedding in 2011? Reserve your wedding by the end of November and receive 10% off your package.

Wow, there was a LOT of voting going on in the past week! A total of 1,041 voters voted for which family they felt deserved the free portrait session and 8×10 art print and by only 44 votes to take the win, the Kerby family won! Please email me or call me this week so we can set up your session! <p>

The following families will receive 50% off their creation fee (session to take place by 12/31/2010): The Kern’s and the Ridges<p>

Thank you to all of you who have voted and participated! I wish I could give all of you a free session, but you know…  :) <p>

I have a LOT of goodies coming to the blog this week– please keep an eye out! Remember the boudoir sessions & grandparents sessions are still open for booking!<p>

I have a special place in my heart for grandparents… I am pretty jealous of those whose grandparents were able to be at their weddings, birth of their children, and just around to enjoy life with them. My grandparents all passed away a long time ago and I was pretty close with my maternal grandmother (named our daughter after her) who passed away when right before I got engaged…. I love seeing my parents and my inlaws interact with our daughter and see that they are close… it just makes me warm inside knowing that Lilly is so close to them and they have this special bond.

Ok enough of my own personal sappiness, how does this relate to you? For one thing, in this digital age, there are not many memories that children will be left with once those cd’s all die containing your pictures. Then what? How will they show their kids who their great grandma and grandpa were? I am just as guilty with my own personal pictures… they sit on cd’s and the harddrive (backed up!) and wait for me to do something with them!  The shoemakers kid has no shoes, right?

Do something nice for this Grandparents Day (September 12th)… schedule your session in the studio which will celebrate grandparents… the love they have for their grandkids, the bond the kids have with them… I know grandparents– all they want is pictures of them WITH their grandkids.

Due to the size of my studio, I am only able to hold a maximum of 2 grandparents and up to 3 grandchildren. The session includes 2 grandparents and 1 grandchild. Please contact me in terms of rates for adding on others. Would you like the whole family to have a session? We can schedule that instead of this and it will be on-location.  This session also includes an 8×10 art print but additional products will be available at your ordering session if you wish.
Remember sessions MUST be reserved– there are no walk ins available. Please use the “contact” section on the main website to inquire!

I have partnered up with the o-so-fabulous Danbury Lane on Etsy (and a San Diego favorite) who I must say, has some of *the* best tutu’s for children! I have used her tutu’s in most of my childrens sessions and love the quality, fullness and finishing touches Rebekah puts into them!

So we thought, how about offering a few FREE tutu’s to my clients?

You have two options… one option is if you book me for a session by September 30th, you will receive a free tutu of your choice from her. The tutu MUST be used in your session!

The other option is you can purchase a tutu from her starting today and you will receive 10% off your session with me (consultation must be scheduled by September 30th).

Take a look around her etsy store and then contact one of us for more details!

Back by request is another boudoir marathon! This is the *last* one of 2010! I have these sessions discounted from regular sessions, but they include everything… your session at a hotel, makeup and hair artist, and a hot little album to show off your sexy side! I am a female photographer with plenty of experience in these sessions and guarantee that you will not only have fun at your session, but will LOVE your images.

I had three spots open and one got taken before I posted the event… who will be my other two ladies?

Please use the “contact” form on the main website to contact me and we will get your consultation scheduled in the studio! It’s right around the corner!

I had posted a contest last week about a free portrait session and 8×10 print where people needed to email me their stories as to why they deserve/want a session from me and also a picture so people could vote! Here are the top 5! Voting is now open and will remain open until SUNDAY AUGUST 22nd at 9pm PST. Voting can only happen once per IP address per day so make sure to send this page to everyone and anyone! Hit “share” to share on facebook and tell people to vote for you…. tweet it on twitter…. get your votes in!

The top number of votes will receive their complimentary on-location (up to 20 miles from 91941) or in-studio (only if up to 4 people) session and an 8×10 art print. Additional products will be available if they wish. The next two runners up will receive a session at 50% off the creation fee ($250/$350).

Here are the stories and pictures…voting is at the bottom of the post

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The Dare Family

(Entered by their best friend Alicia)

If there were ever a more deserving family for a professional photo shoot by Hillary, it would be the Dares. Like most of us out there today, my best friends Kristen and Brandon Dare, are your typical hard working American family. But unlike a lot of us in this economy, with the pressures of finances looming over our heads, Kristen and Brandon still manage to maintain the most selfless and carefree attitudes, concentrating solely on the support and happiness of their children Noah (6 years) and Lola (9 months.) Anything extra whether it be time or money is spent on friends, family, community, and charity.

After 8 years together, Kristen and Brandon were married in a modest wedding ceremony last November, only 2 DAYS after their beautiful daughter, (my god-daughter,) Lola was born. Even after all that time, and through so many note-worthy events and experiences, there are NO family portraits of them ANYWHERE. The photo I’ve included is the closest one I’ve come across, so you can see why they are in need of some professional help, lol. I think it would be really great to give something back to a family that gives so much to others. This couldn’t have come at a better time, since their daughter’s first birthday and their first wedding anniversary is right around the corner.

With love and admiration for my best friends family,

Alicia Kell

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The Kerby Family

My twins were born on 12/22/2008 at just 25weeks weighing 1lb 10oz each. My daughter(Gabrielle) spent 87 days in the NICU and my son(Jerome) spent 112 days in the NICU down in San Diego. Jerome had heart surgery at just 1 week old to save his life. He spent a month on a venitaltor machine before moving to other methods of oxygen. He was released from the hospital on Easter Sunday in 2009 requiring the use of oxygen. Gabrielle needed to have glasses at just 1 year old and has done really well with the adjustment of having them. They are on track with devlopment and my son is requiring therapy 2 times a week to help build muscle tone.

I have been lucky to have my husband home in a non deployable unit since they were born. However he will be returning to the fleet at the end of the the year with a deployment following soon after. I would love more than anything to have a family portrait for him to take with him and to provide to our familes. The kids have over come so much in their short lives that I want to give them the best there is to offer.

Thank you for your time

Christina Kerby

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The Ridge Family

We would love to win a family portrait with you! I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 5 years, and it has gone by in a blink. I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had with my little ones! I will be going back to work full time so we can start building on our next dream – buying a home. Our oldest starts Kindergarten & our twins will go to Preschool in the fall so this is a time for big changes in our young family! Since I’ve made the decision to go back to work, I often fall asleep wishing I could freeze this moment in time before September comes.

Please capture this time — and this memory — for us. An expressive, urban portrait will remind us not only where we’ve come from but also who we want to keep being.

With hope & appreciation,

Lisa

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The Huff Family

My name is Nakia and I think my family(my sisters, my son and I) are deserving of a complimentary photo session! ) If we were to win, I would surprise our mother with the photos.

My mom was a single parent, raising 4 girls. There was never extra money for us to get photos taken. The last time I remember having professional portraits done as a family was when I was 10, my sister Alyssa was 2 and my twin sisters Sydney and Sasha were 1. We sat at a Sears portrait studio for HOURS the week before Thanksgiving. When it was finally our turn, my sisters were in full-blown tantrum mode. We ended up leaving and having to come back later that day. By then everyone was tired and even crankier. We got our photo taken but the picture wasn’t very good at all (lol). Imagine pouty toddlers with swollen, red eyes. Times three.

I am now a mother, myself. My son is five years old. The last time he and I went in for portraits were when he was two years old. We went to a Picture People studio. I spent alot more money than I wanted and I hated the final product.

I would love to have family portraits taken to give to my mom and also for myself.

Thank you,

Nakia Huff

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The Kern Family

Attached you will find a pic of my handsome hubby, Michael, and our 3 darling kiddos, Bella (3), Lola (1) and Xavier (5). Noticeably absent is myself, and this is the reason why I am entering our family in this contest. You see, like many moms across the country, I am the designated photo-capturer in our family because I have better luck getting the kids to smile at the same time & hopefully look in the same direction…..preferably toward the camera We have not had professional portraits taken of the kids since our 2nd-born, Bella, was 3 months old & we have no professional portraits of our family of 5. The last few years have brought many changes…the most obvious of which is caring for our babies…three little blessings in 5 years. But we have also purchased a home in that time & have put any extra money toward remodeling the house ever-so-slowly. We have been blessed with health & happiness so I am certain there are probably many more families with more heart-wrenching stories, but winning one of your fabulous sessions is definitely worth a try!!

Thank you!
Brandy Kern

Now you get to vote! Just click the dot next to the families name and hit submit

[poll id="4"]

I can’t believe 3 years has gone so fast! I have been shooting since 1998, but officially got my business license August 7, 2007. I have grown from having clients come meet me in my home to having them come to my studio in the village in La Mesa. I can’t thank every one of you enough (and my parents ) for helping me get to where I am today! SO.. in honor of appreciation & celebration, I am running a contest for a complimentary session (details will be below) and an 8×10 print. The value for this is $410 for an on-location 5 person session.

So how do I enter?

Simply email hillary@stillsbyhill.com with two things:

I will take either all of the images & stories or I will narrow it down to the top 5-10 (depending on entries) and I will post them on the blog for you to vote on. The top number of votes will receive:

The next two top placed winners will receive their session at 50% off the creation fee

Now for the rules…

Ages of children/entries: Session can be for engagement, maternity, newborn (can not be born yet…newborn sessions take place in the first 10 days of life), baby, child or family. Session can not be a boudoir or applied toward a wedding package.

Types of pictures to enter: Please do NOT send any other professional photographers work. Please be mindful of photographers copyrights and yes snatching your images from their blog/facebook IS stealing. Images must be no larger then 800px on the long end. Send a picture where you and your family are looking so everyone can see your faces

When to send? When is voting? You may start sending your pictures NOW! You have until Saturday, August 14th at 9pm PST to email me your picture and story. Email to Hillary@stillsbyhill.com

Images & stories will be up on the blog within 36 hours and voting will open then. Voting will close Sunday, August 22nd at 9pm PST. You will get an email with how to have people vote

A big rule… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not enter if you don’t plan to do a session! It not only wastes my time, but it wastes the voters time as well. Also remember the images will go on the blog and facebook so you must be ok with having a blog post done like you see here

GO FOR IT!! The email box is OPEN for entries! Remember to hit “like”, “retweet” , and “share” to have your friends enter!

It’s back! You all asked for it again and I decided why not. We had so much fun at the last Free Photos for Facebook I decided to do it one more time in 2010! This time, I have different backdrops (gray will be the standard) to chose from. You will receive a complimentary photo on facebook tagged of you… you MUST be a fan of Stills by Hill Photography on Facebook to take advantage of this offer! You will be able to use this image on facebook, twitter, myspace and other websites such as jdate, eharmony, match.com, etc… and it’s free!

When?? July 18th from 11am-3pm. I can extend the time if needed.

Where? At the studio! 4711 Third St. La Mesa 91941. Meters are free on Sunday!

You need to reserve your spot. Sessions are about 10 minutes long and are for single subjects or a small group UP to 4 at the most. Kids will need to be photographed with parents.

Along with the complimentary image tagged of you on facebook, you will be able to purchase (at special pricing) additional files or prints.

Something cool: When you reserve your spot and do the session, you will receive a $25 discount on your holiday session!

Don’t miss out… I had a lot of people last time email me after saying they are sorry they missed it!

Click here to reserve your spot. Please indicate whether you would like an earlier time slot or later.

Holy Moly… I did NOT expect this big of a voting response from everyone! THANK YOU! The top three girls (who will do their boudoir sessions July 25-26) are Vanessa, Connor & Alexandra. Vanessa was the top winner with over 1400 votes. I saw a lot of tweets on twitter about the contest and was so excited! Anyway, Vanessa has also won a $50 Victorias Secret gift card with her paid session!

No worries to Joann & Danielle– I will be emailing you with what you will receive I’m like Ellen– everyone walks away with something good

Keep an eye out for their sessions!

Coming up soon: how to reserve your spot for Free Photos for Facebook on July 18th! It’s a FREE event in the studio and I hope to see you guys there!

Thank you to all of you who have submitted your pictures for the boudoir casting call! It was hard to narrow them down–every single one of you are so beautiful and I know how badly you want a session! I have narrowed the images down to the top 5 ladies. It was hard to narrow the images down, however I didn’t want to overwhelm everyone! All of you who submitted pictures and didn’t get selected– please email me asap to receive your promotion for your boudoir session when you schedule one

There will be 3 boudoir sessions included in this promotion!

“So, what are we voting for?” Oh that’s easy! Send your friends here to vote for you to receive your discounted boudoir session and feel like a model for a day! Even better– the person with the top # of votes will receive a $50 Victorias Secret gift card to use toward items for your session!

**Fine Print**

One vote per person per day.

Voting closes Friday, July 2nd at 11:59pm

Gift card is only transferred over with your retainer for your session paid and contract signed

The Final 5:

Now please vote here:

Good luck, ladies! I look forward to photographing you guys and can’t wait to meet you!

Now… who’s going to win the gift card?!