Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all of my clients and very Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for trusting your memories with Mazzotti Portraits. Comments from the last vew weeks:

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Bryants

We love them! Thank you so much for being so patient with Sadie :) The Thomas

oh wow, wow, wow, I LOVE them! I'm so excited and it's going to be so hard to choose. you are so talented! thank you! The Evans

- it will be hard to choose. They are great! The Nicholas

I love the pictures. The Mintons

We loved meeting you and the photos are great. The Triers

Irma!!! These pics are GREAT!!!!!! LOVE the pics, so glad I finally booked a shoot with you!! The Rooths

TO DIE FOR!!!!!!! You did great work!!! The Williams

Love, love , love this picture!!
Too stinkin cute! I can't believe you caught them all smiling & looking at the same time :)

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace... how sweet it is. That's about all I can say about the shoots today. Truly an amazing day that left me in tears driving home. Tears of joy, blessing and love. Rarely, can I say a day of shoots is perfect. But today God blessed me with such a rarity.

The day started like any other crazy holiday photo shoot line up. I began with a family who is celebrating their first Christmas with their little guy. I have been fortunate to see him grow through infant to 4 month old to 6 month old. To hear the mom singing at the top of her lungs to make her son smile...was pure joy. It made me think how self conscience we are when we are teens or in our twenties... but when we have kids that all goes out the window. My day followed with several experienced families... all who had so much fun and chaos and love to share. Even the family who has been divorced for a few years were able to set the differences aside to give their 9 year old child a family photo. And by the time my day was ending I could feel my heart just exploding with joy from the days event. And then my last shoot arrived.

Words could not express or convey the true love evident here. This family who has been through an emotional roller coaster with the wonderful C word...not to be mentioned as it does not deserve any recognition on this day... was amazing. As I looked through my lens I could see this sheer pure raw true love pouring out of Mom's eyes, Dad's eyes, and Grandma's eyes...and the little girls as well. It took every ounce of energy to keep the tears from rolling out of my eyes. I wanted to come home and hug my family and kiss them and then run out and have someone take a photo of us....to capture it...the essence of US.

These families were examples today of how every shoot should be, no stress... just love....and grace.

Christmas Gift Ideas for the person who has everything

Here are some great ideas for gifts....

Photo Jewelry starting at around $40 you can use one of your photos from your shoot for a photo necklace. You have seen these. I wear them. Several of my clients wear them. We also have bracelets, rings, and charms that you can add to your own bracelet. There are also photo ornaments. All of these are great keepsakes and truly a thoughtful gift for the one you love or for yourself.

Another Weekend and more fun fun portraits

Well this weekend is SOLD OUT. Amazing, I feel so blessed to have such loyal clients year after year. It's because of you and your referrals that Mazzotti Portraits is doing well during a down turn economy.

Here is an update....

This weekend of course is SOLD OUT

The ONLY Openings left for the weekend of November 21-22:
Saturday the 21st 10:30, 2:30, 3:15
Sunday SOLD OUT

November 29th....a great weekend as your college students and family are in town for Thanksgiving....
Open 2 or 2:30

Thanks again to all of you for making this season so successful!

New Date Added to the Portrait Calendar

I am busy busy with all of your portraits. If you have not yet make the commitment make it now.... here are the dates and times available. Lucky for you some people have shifted times and dates creating new openings. Plus I have added a new date for the calendar!

REMEMBER $65 STARTING price for 50 cards and the sitting....

November 7th 9:15 am and 4:30 pm
November 8th 2:45 pm SOLD OUT and 4:45 pm
November 14th 12pm and 2:30, 3:15, 4, 4:45pm
November 15th 8:45am, 10, 10:45 am SOLD OUT and 4:30 pm
November 21st 10:30 am and , 3:30, 4:15pm
November 22nd 2:30 and 3:15pm

NEW OPENING NOVMEBER 29TH all day available....

Updated Appts available

I keep adding spots and you keep booking them.... thank you! Now lets fill in the rest. Remember refer your friends and you get print credit in return!

November
1st 4 appts left for afternoon your location of choice
7th 945am, 10:30 am, Baldwin Park 4:30 pm Lake Lilly
8th am is SOLD OUT - AFTERNOON ONLY 1 SPOT left Rollins/South Park Ave
14th 1 SPOT left Kraft Gardens AFTERNOON ALL OPEN
15th SOLD OUT BOTH AM AND PM
21st 1 SPOT LEFT, College Park area,
22nd 4 SPOTS OPEN LOCATION OPEN

Tis the Season

Well it has started.... my marathon days of picture taking... here is what we have left for appointments. Don't delay!


Saturday 24th of October SOLD OUT
Sunday 25th SOLD OUT

November
1st Open all day
7th 945am, 10:30 am, Baldwin Park 4:30 pm Lake Lilly
8th am is SOLD OUT 3:15pm, 4:45pm Rollins/South Park Ave
14th 945am, 10:30am, Kraft Gardens AFTERNOON ALL OPEN
15th am is SOLD OUT 3pm, 4:45pm Casa Feliz/Park Ave North
21st am 945 am, 1030am, College Park area,
22nd OPEN ALL DAY

Updated Appts available

Just the Cards Appts are filling up. Here is whats left at the moment for JUST THE CARDS package.

October 24th 2 spot available in Baldwin Park near the lake 9:45 am
and 10:20 am.
October 25th 2 spots available on Park Ave near Casa Feliz 3:30, 4:00
AFTERNOON SPOTS SOLD OUT...OPENING MORNING SESSIONS
November 7th 2 spots available .... Lake Lily you pick the time
MORNING SESSIONS LEFT
November 8th 3 spots available in the Park Ave/Rollins area 2 SPOTS LEFT
November 14th 9:45, 10:20, 11 Kraft Gardens
November 15th 3 spots available you pick the time Park Ave 2 SPOTS LEFT
November 21st 3 spots available College Park area 2 SPOTS LEFT
November 27th and 28th MIAMI CLIENTS TIME TO CLAIM THE TIMES

October 16-20

Hello to all my wonderful friends and clients. Just a post to let you know that I will be unavailable this weekend. My husband and I are celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary and I have promised to spend the weekend with him before we go crazy with holiday portraits. Thank you for your understanding. You may always leave me a phone message or send an email should you need to place an order or schedule an appt.

It's time...

T'was a few weeks before Halloween, not a creature was yet stirring but the pumpkins were being set up as were the scary scenes. Hit the department store and you will find all the Christmas decorations inching their way past the fall ones.

Yes its time to start thinking of Christmas all ready. In the world of the photographer Halloween is like Thanksgiving. It might even be more like December 24th at 7pm. I am continuing to keep the Just The Cards sessions for my clients but have also added new Christmas Photo Packages to help you with your Holiday Shopping. As always all the packages and sessions are marked at affordable prices for all wallet sizes. Call me today to get scheduled.

Fall photos

It's football season...so it must be fall. Too bad we don't feel the crisp of the air for another few months. As always I will have the fall backdrop of scarecrows and pumpkins ready for your fall photos. Last year one of my clients had me come to her playgroup for a portrait party. We had such fun. As the kids came in we took some fall photos in fall clothing, others came in their costumes, and some came ready for holiday photos. Moms jumped in for great mommy and me pics too. Everyone was thrilled at the low price and my client got free photos. Everyone wins.

Call now to get on the books.

Start of a New School Year

The daily routine has started at our house as I am sure it has at yours or will be soon: Getting up at dawn to make lunches, breakfast and snacks; Trying to enjoy the one cup of coffee before the house wakes up; and dealing with cranky kids that would love one more week of sleeping in.

Here is a photo tip. Take your child's first day of school photo next to a landmark at the school or outside of your home. For example we always take the first day photo next to our Wisteria tree and also in front of the school doors. And every year you can see how much your child has grown and change next to these items. It is a lot of fun to look back and .... remember when....

I will miss the summer days of just hanging with my children. But I am very excited for the busiest season of the year. Starting in September appointments are made for fall and holiday photos. Please do check your calendars so you can get your appointment and location secured.

Enjoy your first week back to school!

We are back!

Mazzotti Portraits will reopen for business Tuesday the 18th. We have enjoyed our family time in the Smoky Mountains. I must recommend that all families take a vacation to the mountains in the summer time when the animals and nature is just at full throttle. We stayed at a family cabin up in the mountains in unincorporated Pigeon Forge. We drove in daily into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We hiked, swam, climbed, rafted and spotted wildlife (deer, bear, elk, turkey, horses, birds, snakes etc...). It was also a very affordable vacation.

Aside from the free place to stay....we found you could rent a cabin or there were plenty of family/mom and pop hotels reasonably priced. What made it affordable as well: the National Park is FREE. You have a huge playground of places to swim and hike and view animals for FREE. We ate all three meals a day from home. We made old fashion big breakfasts of eggs, corned beef hash, pancakes, etc.... We packed our snacks in our backpacks for hiking. We packed a cooler that we would leave in the car with our picnic lunch (we picnicked either in official picnic areas or by the side of a creek). Packing lunch was a family affair as well. The kids each made their own sandwiches and snacks....I learned that my daughter loves spinach leaves in her roast beef....who knew? And for dinner we would cook up a great meal ... each member picked a favorite dinner from home to cook at the cabin. BUT the favorite...the campfire at night outside of the cabin where we made nightly smores. YUM.

I am not afraid to admit that I am a big city Cuban girl. I never carved a pumpkin until I was 20 years old! My family was a beach family definitely not a camping family. Roughing it was bringing the picnic to the beach. As a parent I want to expose my kids to the experiences I had as a child but also to those I never did get to experience but my husband did. So a trip to the mountains...not during ski season....was in order. My daughter is def a big city girl too...she did not get a thrill from the salamanders her brother and dad were catching. She did enjoy the wildlife spotting and photographing. In fact I rarely touched my own camera as my kids both wanted at it.

Seeing a part of America preserved in its Natural state was breath taking. It was a vacation we will do again. I hope you will take advantage of Natures Beauty and God's gift to us....and venture out to the wild.

Mazzotti Portraits closed for vacation

Mazzotti Portraits is closed from August 8-18th. You may send your orders via email or leave a message on our phone line. However, orders will not be completed until August 22nd. Thank you for your patience as we take time off to spend with our family. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Event Photography

This past week I was busy with event photography. Event photography is very different from portraits. Mainly because you really are not posing, your documenting the day or the event. This can sometimes be much tougher when it comes to lighting and background. It really requires that you know how to manipulate the camera to your advantage. However, event photography is always lots of fun. You meet so many new people from all over the world. Event photography also thrusts me into almost the position of a handler for the person whose event it is, or the celebrity present at the event. The most important part of this position is to befriend that person. Help them feel relaxed and calm. The best compliments I get after these events.... "it was like having my best friend with me," or "I feel like I have known you forever." Consider hiring Mazzotti Portraits for your next event.

Beach Portraits

This late afternoon or early evening I will be doing a beach photo shoot. I love these shoots especially when I have a family who doesn't mind getting wet and having fun. From surprising a sibling or parent with being splashed at the shore, to everyone being game to sitting on the shore and wait for an unexpected wave to come to them. There are so many opportunities to create a portrait that is truly showing the persons personality due to the candid and relaxed environment at the beach.

Thinking of doing a beach shoot.... call me up and get a free 11x14 for mentioning this blog.

Check us out at Chick-fil-a this week

This week you can see Mazzotti Portraits in action at Chick-fil-a on Tuskawilla Road on Thursday evening from 5:30-7:30. I have been hired to photograph their Pirate and Princess Night. Kids eat free if they are in costumes. So drop by and say hi, grab a free kids meal, and have your photo taken by your favorite local photographer.