Moved!

Find us at: www.cathleenheath.com

Thanks!

Trying a new format

Not to completely baffle everyone... well all 4 of you, but I'm pondering a move to wordpress. That way my photography site and my animal site will be merged and hopefully the blog will look more clean and professional. Posts will still be made here - starting weekly on Monday! And I'll let everyone know when we make the move permanently.

Until then - feel free to pop over and take a peak at what I'm working on: cathleenheath.wordpress.com

Photobook Reviews - Part 1

By the time this review series is done I'll have created/purchased photobooks from: Apple, Snapfish, Walgreens, Mixbooks, and Photobook America. Phew! I guess that's what happens when you follow where Groupon leads you! I'll be reviewing by use from oldest to newest.

I'm hoping to have guest reviews of at least Shutterfly... want a guest post? Let me know!

First up: iPhoto 08/Apple
Overall: 3 stars
Great quality. You have to have iPhoto to make their projects and the projects are drop in - not customizable. (Remember - this is iPhoto 08, perhaps that has changed or will change?) We created and ordered wedding books for our parents through Apple - they were happy with the results, I was not as thrilled. Not that the books weren't nice, but I was looking for a more professional looking book. Also - seemed rather pricey when compared to Snapfish which is has a similar product line but that has changed and they're at a similar price level as Mixbooks now!

Second: Mixbooks
Overall: 4.5 stars
Great quality. Customizable but not completely. Overall it was perfect for our personal wedding album. I was able to manipulate photos as backgrounds and place photos where I wanted. They have themes and I did use one, but it wasn't too strict and the quotes they suggested were removable. I left about half the quotes in/changed to something more fitting for us. This isn't a fully customized book source but it is a nice improvement if you'd like more control over the layout of your  book. If you haven't checked out Mixbooks yet, do so! But first check here for coupon information - like a free book to new customers or free shipping! Also you can find deal information on fb.

Congrats to Mixbooks! They won the 2011 TopTenReviews Gold Award for Best Online Photo Book Service! 

Updates - Friday!

Things have been quite busy around here! Between job applications, my birthday and pet sessions... well, you get the picture! Today I got to watch my cousins in their Irish dance recitals and snapped a few pictures.... 

Then Maya and I went to get her energy out at the dog park - the fields are full of flowers! So pretty!

But most importantly, I've been working on marketing and getting the business listed on Google Places. Also we're all very excited for the upcoming birth of my Mom and Brother's first cria (alpaca)! Hopefully I'll be able to go visit as soon as it comes and grab some of that cuteness in picture form. Keep an eye on fb and twitter for the most up-to-date birthing news!

A few of my favorite things

1. Picnik - great online photo editing tool for those that are just learning about editing. You can get it for free or pay for more options with a premium account! The premium price is pretty reasonable, I haven't tried it yet as I have Photoshop Elements for most editing needs. But I do love the ease and feel of this site. I highly recommend it!

2. Redbubble - this seems like a great online sales tool. The prices are a little high but the seller gets a small portion compared to the overall price. I have yet to sell anything through that site but perhaps someday!

3. 365 Project - Such a great way to keep learning and growing in photography! There's a good community base that you can search through for inspiration, guidance, etc. It's forcing me to be creative *almost* every day. I'm seeing personal growth in consistently better pictures. It's not as much of a sporadic thing as it used to be. I'm forced to pick the camera up EVERY day and try to get a new interesting picture EVERY day. I've learned that my life is rather boring!

4. My dog - she saves my 365 Project more days that I'd like to admit. She always keeps things interesting and I'm learning how to play around with the framing to keep the photos of her just as interesting!

At the dog beach. 

On a board walk in a WI state park.

Everybody loves free stuff!

So, I'm on my way to a week long missions trip... but why not give everyone something to do while I'm gone with a facebook give away! Check it out, pass it along, hopefully when I get back I have a ton of prints to mail out!!

Cathleen Heath Photography on fb

Welcome!

For those that are new... first check out my website: cathleenheath.com. Then come back here! This is where I will go into some detail (as time permits) about the things I am learning about photography, the new techniques I am trying, cool blogs or sites that are educating/inspiring me, etc. 

Hopefully it'll be a fun place!