Email Issues

UPDATE:

One of our email addresses is currently in repair (info (@) clsphotography.com). Please contact us at the following phone and/or email address, for the time being:

christine (@) clsphotography.com
(888) 810-4322

Also, I will be out of town today through the weekend - returning all messages Monday, October 20.

Thank you for your patience!

Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith

Van & Heang Received Editor's Pick!

So this morning after finally learning about Google Alerts (I was wondering how people were so well informed) I started browsing what came up when I Googled "CLS Photography." Well, after the expected website and blog references to my sites, I saw one from The Knot.

Intrigued to say the least I quickly discovered that one of my couples from this summer, Van & Heang, won Editor's Pick for their wedding.

Congratulations! You had a fabulous wedding with so many personal touches and lovely details that deserve this recognition.

If you want to read the rest of the story on The Knot, click here.


Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith

We GotVMail

Yea! We gotVmail.

It's finally come to the point that my trusty old cell phone (well, not so old - I'm blessed with an iPhone - I love all things Apple) isn't enough to handle our business phone needs. So at the recommendation of photographer Mike Colon, we signed up and setup shop with a great company: gotVmail.com.

This fabulous not so little phone system lets you signup for an 800, 888, 877, or 866 number then uses a forwarding system to route your calls. So while I'll be able to take calls via my cell phone, they'll be routed through the system so I can have a day off. :) This is possible through call screening and operating hours functions within the internet based phone system.

Ahh, I can feel the freedom already.

If anyone has any questions about the system don't hesitate to give me a ring (or send me an email - I still love email). It's a great and inexpensive investment into your company's future - with room for expansion along the way. Their minutes based system gives great options for any sized business.

So, check it out - give us a ring on our new system and let us know what you think! We, of course, think we have everything all setup, but you know how that goes - there's always something. So let us know if you find a glitch or encounter anything great or not so great about our new system.

Christine Lee Smith Photography can now be reached by phone at: 888.810.4322.



Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith

Personal Project: September 2008

As of this month I'm starting a monthly post called, "Personal Project." My hope and goal is to further share and express who I am through my photography.

For a long time now I've meant to do this and just finally got around to doing it.

One of my favorite times of year is right now, not just because it's my birthday month, but because all of life seems to settle. I don't know why, but I get a feeling of calm as soon as the flowers start to change color and the evenings come a little sooner.

Take a journey with me on this first assignment, to find beauty and hope in Long Beach.

My project this month was inspired by the week our nation has had. I was ambitious to find glimpses of hope and glimers of beauty in my city. I think my journalism background has made me a little idealist when it comes to reality. I half expect to come across some amazing story while I'm driving in my '65 Mustang.

Midway through my shoot I began to get discouraged - thinking I had failed on my assignment if I didn't come back with a soul-shaking photo shoot. But oddly, in the simplicity of wandering down my block, through the rough Northern side and down Pine Ave. I found peace.

I discovered the sky wasn't falling (even though the stock market has taken a hit); I discovered people are still friendly (scroll down to read about "Jimmy"); and the world still has beauty as close as your front door.

Take a look at what I saw today:

Above: Jimmy and friend at his shoe shine booth on Pine Ave.

Above: What caught my attention in this photograph was Jimmy's own shoes. Often, those who work in a service based business don't treat themselves to the service they provide others. I know I'm hard pressed to find a photograph of myself that's not shot in the ever popular "MySpace self-portrait" style (to my mother's chagrin). And yet, Jimmy's own shoes are perfectly shinned. It is an interesting reflection of his seemingly positive self-perception.

From Personal Project: 9/2008

Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith

Truly Honored!

I'm so excited and so very honored. This is an amazing opportunity and I'm glad I get to share it with everyone. We have been nominated to run in the MyFOX LA's Hot List competition for photography. It's a voting competition for photographers listed on the MyFOX LA website. Already a few fabulous people have left some reviews I'm so grateful for.

Seriously, if it wasn't for everyone of my clients, encouraging friends or family this dream of mine (aka. CLS Photography) wouldn't have come true.

Thank you so very much everyone!

If you'd like to vote for us too, just click the link below! Voting concludes November 7.

Thank you!

Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith

About Christine

For the past week I've been working on updating my website - changing photographs, updating pricing and text pages. Working on my bio was on my list, but I had been dreading it. I honestly had no idea what to say, but I wasn't happy with what was there either.

At this same time I was finishing up a book by photographer and author, Dane Sanders. It was a book for photographers on how to build your business authentically. Something finally clicked, and at the same time unearthed a freedom to be myself.

It's a great feeling.

Out of the realizations I made from the book's homework (yes, it had homework) I began to finally see how I have been uniquely gifted for this career. All this time I feel like I have been hiding behind the fact that I didn't know what made me uniquely suited to be a wedding photographer. Newly aware and prepared with the truth about me, in one sitting I wrote my new bio, posted below in italics.

Check it out. Let me know what you think. Leave a comment to this post by clicking the "comment" link below. I know on this new journey to being real I will need refining and guidance. I look forward to your added insights as I embark on this new adventure.

May you have a blessed day and continue on your own journey to being authentically you.



I'm pulling out all the stops. I'm living life - today - while actively seeking my purpose here on earth.

"What in the world does that have to do with being a wedding photographer?" you may be thinking. I'm glad you asked, because as it turns out it has a lot do with being a wedding photographer.

Recently, largely to the credit of my loving husband, I discovered I possess the following strengths: achievement, responsibility, learning, research and connecting. Earlier in life I learned that not only am I gifted at analysis, as well as suited for a career in photography, but that truth and honesty are deeply rooted in my being. This blend of characteristics, traits and strengths profoundly affect the photography I create.

I see people beyond their physicalities - I visualize and capture emotion and the beauty in people, in particular at weddings. The emotional nature of these life-changing events creates some of the most fantastic range of emotions a person can experience. My intimate awareness of environment and surroundings allows me to display honestly, with love, the reality of a moment.

Much of what you've read above was unearthed in me while I briefly studied for a MA program in theology and psychology before I married in 2005. A kind professor pointed out that I had a strong desire to portray truth - which she deduced was likely for influencing my gravity to studying Journalism, which is ultimately the study of storytelling, in my undergraduate studies. The camera in my hands finally made sense.

Passionate for art, I found purpose for it beyond pure aesthetic reasoning. I could tell a story with my photography or words. As I pursued photography, I began to favor it due to its inherit unbaised nature of representation of a moment, a story unfolding.

I love working with our couples every year. I see some of the most intimate moments of their wedding day; and I hope with each couple, each wedding, as they look through the photographs of their day that they sense the respect I had for them, their families and friends, and that they see the unbiased beauty of their love.



Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith

Fall Portrait Promotion!

The holiday season is just around the corner! Now is the perfect time to book your personal, couple or family portrait session to include with your holiday cards. Session dates are limited; book your session today at: info @ clsphotography . com.

Session Price: $450
Session Includes:
*Up to 90 minute session in home or on location
*Online proofing and ordering for friends & family
*Gift Credit of $75 to use on prints or additional products
*Session Book of up to 20 client favorite images


Indulgences (sample images below)
*NEW Gallery Wrapped Canvas
*Custom Holiday Cards
*Modern Albums


GIVING BACK
5% of all portrait profits made (from portrait sessions and portrait products) in the remainder of 2008 will be donated to Zoe Home in Thailand - a haven for children rescued from slavery and child prostitution. Read more, or visit their website by clicking below:

"ZOE Children's Homes is a division of ZOE, an international Christian organization. The Children's Homes were launched to proactively rescue children who are at risk of being sold into human slavery and/or child prostitution. Our first goal is to provide a loving and safe atmosphere. We then educate, motivate and model servant leader principles. With your help, a new generation of leaders can be raised up to help stop these crimes against humanity."

Blessings,
Christine Lee Smith