Play Ball!

Had so much fun photographing these little ones at Bridgeport's own Great Lakes

Bay Miracle League Baseball diamond!

For more photos, please visit our facebook gallery!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.231410503558255.62075.100000679225915&type=1

A wedding...at a CASTLE!? Yes Please!

What happens when you have a beautiful bride (stunning, actually), a handsome groom, and a castle? Answer: We'll let the portraits do the talking =)

Hillier Studio II Sprouted Wheels!!!

Well Blog Friends, FB Friends, Twitter Friends, Myspace...does that still exist?...well in case it does Myspace Friends,

We have some very exciting news!

After a long decision-making process that required pens, paper, pointless drawing with the pens and paper, and lots of sugared items from Buttercrust Bakery we have come up with a solution as to how to better serve our clients from all over the state; and how to spice things up for our close-by clients. A.........................ROAD TRIIIIIIIP!!!!

That's right, we are taking a giant road trip alllll over the place as Hillier Studio II (soon to be formally our Shields studio) goes mobile!

We will not be 'closing' Hillier Studio II, it will just no longer have a permanent home in Shields. It will be everywhere you wanna be! We can and will still be a big part of the Shields area as we spread our wings this summer and fly into Bay City, Midland, Freeland, Petosky, Cheyboygan, Ludington, Caseville, Traverse City, Clio, Motrose, Reese, Frankenmuth, Birch Run, Grand Blanc, Grand Rapids, Holly, Orion and Beijing. Yes Beijing. Someday.

Our first trip to Caseville that YOU can be part of is in July (2nd trip scheduled for August) and you can reserve your place by checking out our online schedule. http://hillierstudio.bookmonline.com/schedules/sunset

Up next...a super fun, super exciting, action-packed WEEKEND Fall Family Portrait Trip to Traverse City! We already have people on the wait-list to hear about this one, so be sure to send us a contact form that indicates in the comments section you want to be the first to know! http://www.hillierstudio.com/contactus.php

And of course our beautiful new Studio in Bridgeport is going to stick around Bridgeport, where the business has been since 1976, for MANY for years to come so you can visit us ANY time in Bridgeport (unless of course we are on the road). Office hours will remain the same in Bridgeport (Tues-Fri noon to 6pm)!

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK TO SEE WHERE WE LAND NEXT!!!!

Summer Time, Summer Time, Sum Sum Summer Time...

Ahhhhhhhh...do you feel that?! That's the feeling of breeze from open windows, sun-kissed cheeks and bare toes! And the smells...oh the smells of food on the grill, flower buds popping out and fresh...just FRESH!! It is SPRING in MICHIGAN! And what comes after spring is even better....SUMMMMMEEERRRRRR!!!

Summer holds some of our favorite things...beach portrait trips, sidewalk sales, bbqs, lemonade...sounds like it's time for a PARTY!

Party time it is...we are celebrating all things summer with our Summer Open House June 28th! Mark it on the calendar because we do parties right! Sales, prizes, food...oh yes it will be great!

Polish your toes and get ready!

We were out of the studio most of the day today...

molding young minds at the Carrollton Career Fair with visions of sugarplums and photography careers! We explained the ins, the outs and the great rewards of being part of such epic events in peoples' lives (like weddings, graduations, births, birthdays, family gatherings, milestone years)....ahhhhhh <3

And then we topped the day off with a Bubbles and Babies Session when we returned....soooooo cute!

Lovely day!

epic things are happening around here...epic things.

Beuhler? Beuhler? Beuhler?.......................................

Is anyone out there?

What has happened to our blog?

It has been neglected.

We are sorry.

Sessions first.

Phone Calls second.

Emails second and a half.

Editing second and three quarters.

Blog third.

Well the time has come to move blogging to second and (whatever is between second and three quarters and third). Take out the trash is now third. Eek.

Anyway - be expecting great things on here once again...updates, pictures and yes even midnight rhymes. We have named our blog 'Sexy'. Why you ask? So we can bring her back. We're bring Sexy (the blog) back.

We're Having A Party!

It’s been in the works for a while now so most of you already know that we are MOVING OUR BRIDGEPORT LOCATION!! We have been building walls, sanding, painting, flooring and cielinging (yeah…it’s a word, Google it!)!! Now we’re to the stages of moving furniture in, finishing backgrounds, and decorating! We are soooo excited for our GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION!! We have lots of fun planned…contests, prizes, entertainment, sales/specials, food…it’s gonna be like a giant block party on Dixie Hwy and you do NOT want to be the only one to miss it!

Let The Good News Roll!

We have so much exciting news that we've been holding in for a while, and we are going to BURST at the seams if we don't start sharing some of it RIGHT NOW!! =)

Today’s announcement needs to begin with a HUGE THANK YOU…to all of you who voted for The Saginaw News’ Best of the Best Award! We consider it both and honor and a privilege to say that we are this year’s #1 BEST OF THE BEST!! We not only attribute your votes to this success, but also your continued support as clients and family members of our studio!! We cannot thank you all enough for everything you have done to help support our dream of providing amazing memories in the form of portraits to last a lifetime!

Thanks again, and stayed tuned for more excitement headed your way soon!

Hardhats are NOT an accessory, thank you

No hardhats to be found in our closets...though they would have come in handy today! We are making GREAT progress at the new Bridgeport location!! ("we" meaning the boys mostly lol). The walls are up, the drywall is being hung and the color pallet is picked!! We are ecstatic about the final design and layout!! Our camera room...oh our camera room ladies and gentlemen is going to be.....drumroll please...approx. 720 square feet. That's a good size addition to what we currently have in Bridgeport AND we even have adjacent space that we will be able to move our lighting into to utilize photographically as well! Of course we made time to take some snapshots of the work in progress...enjoy =)

Karri and Justin

May is such a beautiful month in Michigan...and sometimes Mother Nature likes to be unpredictable this time of year, so we crossed our fingers for Karri and Justin's big day and it must have worked! There were a few tiny raindrops just before the ceremony and then it cleared up just in time for the festivities and ended up being a perfect day in May for a perfect couple so in love!! The ceremony was at the beautiful chapel at Apple Mountain in Freeland. Karri looked stunning and had us all with watery eyed!! Justin was a handsome groom and kept us all laughing and made sure everyone was enjoying the day... especially his bride. The two have one of those obvious loves for each other...the kind that you just want to put in a bottle and show the world....so cute! Here are a few portraits of their big day of "I do's". Congratulations and many happy years to the adorable couple!

(pardon the order of the images, for some reason the blog has a mind of its own this evening...so we shall start with a couple fun post-ceremony ones and work our way backwards) =)

A Celebration of Moms...

Hope everyone had an amazing mother's day! Moms are so many things in life...they are heroes, role models, cooks, cleaners, friends, shoulder-to-cry-ons, band-aid masters, magic-makers, dream believers, secret keepers...the list goes on! Thanks to all of the moms who make the world go round! This of course goes also for Step-moms, Mother-in-laws and Grandmothers...and never forget Aunts, God-mothers, Step-mothers and all unofficial but deserving Moms!! We love to celebrate Moms and here are just a few of the portrait sessions that made us happy to capture a moment between mother and child! (There is another round of sessions, and many more portraits to come...keep an eye out!)

Salon Invasion 2010

We had an AMAZING time at Salon D with our Alpha Psi Hillier Girls (Class of 2011 seniors). The ladies got their hair and make-up done and then we did a mini-indoor photoshoot (and of course there was food)...SO MUCH FUN we can't even stand it!! Thank you so much to Sarah, Scotty and Joanna at Salon D!! The ladies of Alpha Psi Hillier now have official bio profiles...check em out! http://www.hillierstudio.com/alphapsihillier.php

Yes it is true…our Bridgeport studio is moving down the road!!! We are excited for the move for so many reasons, all which will be beneficial to our business, our community, and most importantly to YOU our clients!!

Where: We will be moving just a few blocks West down Dixie Hwy, into the Historic Downtown District of Bridgeport. For those of you familiar with the area, we will be in between Buttercrust Bakery and Bearcat Cutz; across from Hungry Howies. (If you know us, you know we are very excited about the food selection surrounding our new digs!)

When: We have the Grand Opening celebration slated for July 17^th, 2010. In the meantime, our current location in Bridgeport will be fully operable through July 2^nd. (Our Shields location will not be affected by the move and will accept appointments throughout the transition.)

Why: There are many reasons that factored into this decision, but it ultimately comes down to being able to provide our clients with the best experience possible with a new ‘boutique’-style studio. When we use the word boutique, we mean it in the sense there are many elements to the new studio that will provide you with a more personalized, unique and pampering experience!

If you have a few minutes, feel free to take a journey through the design of our new studio…….

Reception area: A welcoming desk area will be located just inside the door to ensure immediate personal attention. We will do all of our editing from this area, so unless we are photographing or assisting with an order this is where you will find our smiling faces!!

Two Dressing Rooms: We like the idea of each client having a space to call their own during their experience at the studio. There are two spaces designed with specific amenities in mind. The high school senior dressing room will have lots of hooks for lots of outfits =). It will also have a place to do make-up and hair touch-ups. This room will be fun, comfortable and functional…even photographical in some cases!! The family dressing room will have a changing table, children’s toys, and a sofa where the family can rest comfortably and where Mom can feed baby if necessary. This room will be cozy, realistic, functional…and still cute of course!

Family viewing area: A comfortable and cozy space will double as a lounge and a family viewing gallery. The whole family should be able to gather to view their portrait options on a large wall-mounted flat panel. The coffee will be on, and we’ll invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Private viewing room: Smaller groups, one-on-one viewing appointments, and sales will take place in an office-type setting where you will be up close and personal with your images on a computer screen. We will be able to compare images side-by-side, zoom in on facial expressions and manipulate images. Aaaaaand… if you wanna send hubby out to the lounge to enjoy some coffee, he won’t be able to hear when you add on some boutique frames and extra goodies (they just don’t understand sometimes) ;).

The Camera Room: This is the place where your session will take place and where custom artwork will be created!!! From a technical standpoint, starting with a blank pallet will allow us to arrange our lighting in a more efficient and mobile manner. Design-wise, the open space means a lot of room to create new backgrounds! We have a very boutique style in mind for both our high key and low key ends which will consist of hardwood floors, chair rail moldings and nicely finished walls. We will also be rebuilding a slightly varied version of our barn wood scene. There will of course be many other canvas, muslin and paper backgrounds hung throughout; and our ginormous white vinyl will be coming with us so we can still accommodate large families and sports groups indoors!!

The design of the studio was created by Divine ReDeZine, and the logistics and the final move will be possible thanks to lots of help from our families!

APRIL FOOLS

To all of you who wanted pictures with worms, we are so sorry to have had to break the news that that promotion was an April Fool's Joke! We must be a bit too good at marketing (pat, pat on our own backs LOL). Apparently a few people thought it would be appealing to take portraits with worms. Well, um if you'd like to we can make arrangements for that but we'd recommend maybe a puppy or kitty if you're interested in living things in your pictures...and there is always next year's bunny portraits around Easter time!! =) Happy April Fool's Day!

Appreciation is such a great feeling, and it is in the air!!

We love what we do and have fun every day...for others to appreciate our work and much as we appreciate them for allowing us to create it is simply amazing to us!!

We often thank our family, friends, clients and higher power for everything we are able to do and for the creativity and artistic views we get to express! But sometimes we don't thank you all enough, so we would like to extend a huge appreciation back to you for all of the support!!

We are so honored to have been awarded "Business of the Year" by the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce, and given a special tribute from the State of Michigan and our State Senator, Roger Kahn! We look forward to many more great years!!

(Pic of the team with Senator Roger Kahn at the awards banquet)

2010 Bunny Portraits

We are so excited that Bunny Portraits went so well!! The kids were great and the bunnies only got lifted by their ears a couple of times! =) The bunnies are back in thier Alpha Psi Hillier Classic Pink Bunny Caddy on I-75 headed to the West Coast where they'll spend Easter at a spa getting paraffin ear treatments and eating tofu! Thanks to everyone for celebrating the season with all of us!

Bunny portraits

LOOK OUT!! The bunnies are on their way...they're rolling in their '57 Alpha Psi Hillier Classic Pink Bunny Caddy and they'll be here soon!! They still have a few sessions open tomorrow, so book now! (Disclaimer:The bunnies may look slightly different after their makeovers this afternoon!...oh yeah and this photo is compliments of Google Images) http://hillierstudio.bookmonline.com/schedules/Easter2010

Here comes Stefanie Cottontail

Hoppin' down Hillier Studio's Sidewalk,
Hippity hoppity, she is on her waaaaay (to work)

Bringin' her big ol camera bag
with a smile upon her face
She can't wait to get to work

She works with the coolest person

That person's name is Christina (her fans call her Chris)

and Stefanie is lucky to get to work with her....

Written by Chris

To the tune of Peter Cottontail with some slight aversions.

New Sisters!

We are so excited to have some new sisters in Alpha Psi Hillier!! Our Rush Parties were awesome! We got to meet some new faces, and see some old friends. There were pink cupcakes, pink cookies, different pink cookies, pink lemonade, and chips (not pink). We have expanded our family by 7 sisters, and we are so excited to start this year's festivities!! Our new sisters are: Allie, Ashley, Ashley (that's not a typo...there are 2 Ahleys), Chelsea, Kelsey, Jazmine and Stephanie. If you want to join, we are accepting open applications until March 31st...email to get the scoop!! =)