Not a bad way to kick off the New Year …

Meet Greer and all of her squishy, wrinkly, fuzzy, curly newborn goodness. G’head. Put your nose up to the screen. Can’t you just smell that new baby smell?

She’s the lone girl in a string of new boys (four boys to be exact) just born this week and soon-to-be-born in the next four weeks (that’s about one a week). You’ll see each of them right here on the blog. I LOVE the way this year is shaping up already!

If you’re an expectant mom, it’s not too soon to get on the calendar with a Signature Newborn Session or a First Year Program. Newborn slots fill quickly and it’s best to do maternity (if you choose) between 32-36 weeks. All 2010  First Year Programs  feature your choice of 25 custom-designed, press-printed birth announcements OR three cute little custom-designed accordian wallet books as well as session prints (sizes and types vary depending on program level).  Newborn sessions and First Year Programs also make perfect shower gifts new parents will treasure for a lifetime  – ask me about gift certificates or how to setup a registry.

Now back to gorgeous Greer and her family. Big brother had the most amazing eyes, too! A handful of my favorites from her session:

I adore those little back wrinkles!

Big brother and one of my favorite sibling shots:

Look where she’s wrapped her little fingers below (in more ways than one) …

Grandpa’s vintage military trunk:

(Drumroll, please) …. The voting was seriously down the wire for the second, third and fourth highest rankings last night.  I am simply amazed: There were a total of 1,568 votes cast. Thank you everyone for spreading the word and voting! And don’t forget, there are still two more ways to get really cool stuff:

Enter to win a $500 Gift Card toward a 2010 Signature Session with me: As a thank you to all the blog readers, past clients and future clients I just haven’t met yet, you have the opportunity to win a $500 gift card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session  simply by becoming a fan of Kami Brady Photography on Facebook or subscribing here to the blog. One Fan/Subscriber will be chosen at random on January 31 as the winner of this gift card.

Added bonus: If  you reserve a session to take place in 2010 by the end of this month, you’ll receive a $50 Gift Card to be used toward prints/products following your session.

WINNERS!!!

The grand prize winner of the 2009 Kami Brady Photography Image of the Year Contest goes to image #5 (13% of the votes) featuring a very vintage little Brendan:

Brendan’s parents receive a 16×20 gallery-wrapped canvas of the winning image AND a $500 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me!

The first runner up in the 2009 contest is image #7 (11% of the votes) of beautiful Miss Lauren:

Lauren’s parents will receive a mounted 11×14 linen art print of the voted image AND a $200 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Ryan, Amy, Pete and Nicole and an even bigger thank you to everyone for spreading the word, getting the vote out and simply for the awesome support of my work.

To commemorate 2009, I’m hosting a 2009 “Image of the Year” Contest. I have absolute favorites from each and every session, so narrowing hundreds down to less than 50 was impossible for me. I have special memories of every single session,  so I asked for a little unbiased help from a few friends in scaling my favorites down to 28. The images below were selected for a variety of reasons and each conveys its own unique emotion, sense of texture, composition or color.

Now it’s up to you to choose who gets the title of “2009 Image of the Year” at Kami Brady Photography and the fabulous prize that goes with it. Happy voting and best of luck to everyone!

UPDATE 1/17/10: Voting is closed, but you still have a chance to win a free signature session and/or get a $50 gift card (see #4 and 5 below):

1) Select your favorite from the list below and click on the “Vote” button at the bottom of the entire list to submit your vote. Voting ends at Midnight, Central time on Saturday,  January 16, and I will announce the winners on the blog by Sunday, January 17. Please keep things fair and vote once per household for one image only; multiple votes from the same IP address will be discarded.

2) The image with the most votes wins. The winner will receive a 16×20 gallery-wrapped canvas of the winning image AND a $500 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me.

3) The first runner up will receive a mounted 11×14 linen art print of the voted image AND a $200 Gift Card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me.

4) Enter to win a $500 Gift Card toward a 2010 Signature Session with me: As a thank you to all the blog readers, past clients and future clients I just haven’t met yet, you have the opportunity to win a $500 gift card to be used toward a 2010 Signature Session with me simply by becoming a fan of Kami Brady Photography on Facebook or subscribing here to the blog. One Fan/Subscriber will be chosen at random on January 31 as the winner of this gift card.

5) Added bonus: If  you reserve a session to take place in 2010 by the end of this month, you’ll receive a $50 Gift Card to be used toward prints/products following your session.

6) Spread the word! There is a “Share” link at the bottom of the poll or you can simply post a link to the voting post on your own blogs, Twitter pages,  Facebook pages or via email. Encourage your friends and family to get in on the voting action.

Some fine print:

The Gift Cards, Sessions and Products/Prints awarded as part of this contest and promotion carry no cash value and may not be exchanged or refunded for cash. They must be used as specified. All sessions will take place in the Greater Kansas City area and must be scheduled in 2010. I reserve the right to cancel or modify the promotion at any time if necessary.

What a fantastic year! It’s been a blessing to be able to do what I’m passionate about for clients who truly appreciate the art in the imagery. So THANK YOU for an amazing year filled with bellies, babies, toddlers, big kids, high school seniors, families and more. To celebrate, I’m holding a BIG promotion and contest – watch the blog tomorrow for details. You don’t want to miss it!

In the meantime, enjoy a special slideshow looking back at the many faces, bellies, piggytails and piggy toes that truly made me smile this past year (click on the play “arrow” in the middle and turn up the speakers to hear the music):