Eight Reasons to Have Your Snoball Photographs Done In Our Studio

After six years as the "official" Snoball photographer, we've decided to return to the studio and let someone else have that opportunity. We enjoyed doing it, and vastly improved the process over what it was when we took it over.

But given the volume, it was very difficult to provide the quality that we like to put into the hands of our clients.

So this year, we've decided to stay in the studio, and provide a really wonderful experience for our clients and their friends.

Read all about the details below, then call the studio for your appointment - 503-588-0902

Snoball Portraits in the Studio

When you get the Snoball, you want to have fun, right? Not stand in line for photographs. Why not have us photograph you in the comfort of our studio before you even get there, and avoid the noise, the crowds, the lines.

Make an appointment at the studio, and plan it as a part of your evening, not an interruption to it.

1. At the dance, you're not the only one with your appointment. You'll share it with a bunch of other couples, and stand in line for up to 15 minutes or more.

Not at the studio. You'll have your own appointment. Just you, not 20 couples standing around waiting at the same time.

2. At the dance, when it's your turn, you'll be rushed in and out. Each couple is photographed for less than a minute.

Not at the studio. We'll spend enough time with you to make sure you get something you love. We'll work with all the details to make sure you look your very best.

3. At the dance, You'll get one pose, and maybe two shots.

Not at the studio. We'll do several poses and however many shots it takes, to make sure everything about you looks it's best - pose, hair, clothing, expression.

4. At the dance, the photographer picks your pose. You have no say.

Not at the studio. You'll pick the pose you like best to have printed.

5. At the dance, the lights are set not for the best photograph, but to be able to photograph the most couples without having to move them.

Not at the studio. We'll make sure the lighting is perfect for each couple or group we photograph. We can take the time to individually adjust it to make you look your best.

6. At the dance, you'll get unretouched photographs - right off the camera. The volume of photographs just doesn't allow retouching.

Not at the studio. Every package will be lightly retouched, maybe more if needed, and we'll make sure you look WONDERFUL. Since we're only photographing a select number of couples or groups, we can take the time to pay individual attention to each photograph, rather than rely on a mass production process.

7. At the dance, the photographer has to pay $1000 for the privilege of being there, which makes your dance photo packages more expensive than they would otherwise be.

Not at the studio. Because we don't have to pay ANYONE just to photograph you, and we don't have to pay a large staff, we pass the savings along to you. Our studio packages will be less expensive than they were at the Snoball.

8. At the dance, you have to choose one of the existing packages.

Not at the studio. We'll give you the flexibility to put together your own packages. The smaller number of clients allows us to customize each order to your individual needs.

Individual appointments
attention to detail
retouched prints
customized packages
and a better price.

How can you beat it?

Call for your appointment today -503-588-0902

Friday in the Park - A Journey through a Family Portrait Session

Well, not actually a park, but the Rasmussen's back yard which sure looks like one.

Peter takes great pride in his yard, and the family spends a lot of time there, so this was the perfect place to create their family portrait.


We started with a more formal look, putting them on what I referred to as the "blue tees", (the place looks like a par 3 hole on a beautiful golf course, but this was actually just a raised area behind the house and overlooking the yard.

Then, we ventured down into the yard itself, eventually adding the two family dogs, Penny and Pugsley (whose full name is Pugsley Sir Underfoot).



When I arrived earlier in the afternoon to make my final selections, Peter had his tractor out, and wearing his overalls, was concientiously blowing all the leaves to regain his park-like look. And that gave me an idea.

He changed back into his overalls, brought the tractor back out and we stages this. The family said it's pretty true as to how things really happen. Peter working in the yard, everyone else enjoying the fruits of his labor.









Then, we gathered them all around the tractor for an "informal formal" family grouping, and finally photographed Peter on his throne - his John Deer. The family said this caught him perfectly.















And how could we end such a great fall day but with a leaf fight between Gretchen and Keith. They really got into it - so much so that the camera couldn't keep up with how fast they were moving - it's amazing how much the body can move in 1/30th of a second.

Thanks to the Rasmussens for a great afternoon.

It was supposed to be sunny and warm

But apparently mother nature didn't pay much attention to the forecasters opinion, and our wedding at the beach with Kylee and Sean was a windy, cold, foggy misty affair.

But that didn't stop everyone from having a great time. The wedding was held on a bluff overlooking a rather stormy ocean, and the bridesmaids sleeveless dresses made for some great goosebumps.

After every few shots, I had to stop and remove the mist and salt residue from the lenses, and occasionally wipe off the entire camera to prevent it from being wet and sticky.

The couple still wanted most of the photographs outdoors, since that's why they selected the Adobe Resort in Yachats in the first place. They were real troopers, and didn't complain about the weather at all. In fact, I think their very presence actually warmed it up some.

We even did all the family photographs outside, platooning people out just in time for needing them in a photograph, and then sending them back in to stay warm.

The weather made for some wonderful photographic opportunities. Dark and stormy and moody, and strangely romantic at the same time.

The evening finished with a rollicking reception held inside, but still with a great view out over the stormy ocean.

Thanks Kylee and Sean - next time we'll bring warmer jackets!

Baby Henry and the Horn of Plenty

Henry came into the world on Saturday, November 8th at 11:45 pm, and into the studio the following Friday.

Since he was born in November, and adds so much to the lives of his mommy and daddy, David and Melissa, we thought a cornucopia theme might be especially appropriate.

Henry wasn't quite sure he liked all the leaves and gourds, but he did a great job of letting us create this wonderful portrait, along with quite a few others.

Are You Getting Our Newsletter?

We love to keep in touch with our clients between opportunities to see you in the studio. So every month, ( or almost every month), we send out a fun little newsletter called "News Among Friends". It's full of interesting little articles, fun trivia, and news about what's happening in our family, and in staff's lives.

Periodically, we also send out the Enccore! Portrait Design Events and Happenings newsletter, with news of special events, such as this month's "Tiny Tailgaters" and "Grandma's Arms and Grandpa's Hands"

Many of our wonderful clients are receiving it in their email, but for way too many of you, we don't have a valid email address.

But you can fix that. Either email us at info@encorephotography and ask to be added to the list, or go to the main page of the website and fill in the "subscribe to our newsletter" section on the bottom left.

Today, we're mailing out our November Special Events and Happenings newsletter, and you won't want to miss the exciting news and special opportunities.

Coming November 22 - Tiny Tailgaters

Back by popular demand

Tiny Tailgaters - Ducks n' Beavers Portraits

Special Limited Edition Portraits for your little Beaver Believer or Die Hard Duck

We'll have the entire set for each school - almost everything you'd see if you were really tailgating. The only thing missing will be the smell of the hamburgers and chili cooking, and if you really want that, you can visit Casey's hotdogs around the corner for some of the best tailgate food in Salem.

Schedule your 15 minute session any time during the day, and you can choose from special limited edition packages designed just for this event. Dress them in their Orange and Black or Green and Yellow, and we'll supply the rest.

These may be quick sessions, but all the portraits will be fully retouched and finished just like any of our other portraits.

GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS for those grandparents who bleed orange or green. We'll have these back in plenty of time for Christmas.

Call the studio today at 503-588-0902 and reserve your appointment time.

I had no clue that 5 year olds played Tackle Football

But this year, our five year old grandson Owen is playing Pop Warner tackle football.

So the other day, I had the opportunity to go to a "game" , and take some candid photographs of him on the field. This one is Chelsie's favorite. Mine too.

Watching one of these games is very interesting. No score is kept. Each team has the ball for 10 consecutive plays, and they can run it into the end zone on every play if the other team will let them. At the game I attended, the other team was mostly 7 year olds, so they did just that.

It's just to give them the chance to get on the field, and start to get the flavor of playing football. But what a kick.

Then, last Friday, he came into the studio and we captured the images for his very own Varsity Edition (if you haven't seen these, check out our website). We'll post that as son as it's finished.

Kathie and I are loving being grandparents. It's easier to start with a five year old - we inherited him in a package deal with his daddy Chris, who married our daughter Chelsie in August.

My Past Keeps Catching Up with Me!

A few of you may know that many years ago, I started my working career as a radio announcer. From March of 1970 through sometime in 1973, I was Charlie Fredricks of KBZY radio here in Salem. That's how I put myself through college.

Although it's been about 35 years since I was last on the radio, I can't escape my past, and every once in a while I get to be Charlie Fredricks once again.

Tomorrow night (September 27th), the station is gathering some of the old jocks from long ago for a brief appearance at the KBZY Talent Showcase at the Elsinore Theatre. Joining me on stage will be Jim Trett and Mike Shannon, two guys I worked with back in those days, and possibly several others.

Funny, the technology has changed so much I hardly recognize the radio station any more. Gone are all the old turntables, the stacks of records, and the commercials on what looked like 8-track tapes. Now everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is on the computer, and the station can actually run itself for hours on end.

But I can't get it totally out of my blood. Just let me hear one of the songs from my days on the radio, and I'm suddenly back in my Charlie Fredricks mode again - back behind the microphone.

And every once in a while, I'll run into someone who remembers me from my past. Last summer, I mentioned my past to the mom of one of my seniors, and I'll be darned if she didn't say "I used to listen to you all the time".

I still have some tapes with old airchecks, and even a 20 minute interview I once did with Neil Diamond. All I have to do is find a reel-to-reel tape deck so I can transcribe them into MP3's.

Is Your Nest About to become Emptier?

Graduation - it was a time of great joy and celebration in our house. - But it was also a time that we realized that those that had been a daily part of our lives for 18 years are about to fly the nest, leaving both our house and our daily lives just a bit emptier.

Not only were our kids about to be gone from our day to day experience, but so were all their activities that we were so involved with, along with all the friends who used to hang out at our house.

I remember taking Hollie, my oldest daughter to college, and driving away with tears rolling down my face, as I realized that my life had now changed forever. Even today, as I think of it, (and as proud as I am of whom both my daughters have become,) my eyes start to well up a little bit. The last time she was home, and a member of our "nuclear family" was the summer after her freshman year in college, in 1995.

Not too many generations ago, it was common to live your entire life within a few miles of your family. But in this global society we live in today, families are increasingly spread out and far-flung Hollie and her husband Tony live in Italy, and we only see them about once a year. With Tony's career as an Air Force JAG Officer, the closest we can ever hope to have them live is Tacoma, if they get stationed at McChord AFB, but we fully expect to live the rest of our years with them (and our future grandchildren) many thousands of miles away.

Even now, getting the whole family together nearly takes an act of Congress. The last time we were all together was at Hollie and Tony's wedding in February 2007.

We may be missing Tony when Chelsie (our younger daughter) and Chris get married in August. He may not be able to come, due to his work schedule at Aviano AFB. So our next opportunity may be three or four years after the last one, and by that time, we'll hopefully have some more grandchildren.

Fortunately, on the all too infrequent occasions we ever do actually get all of us together, we do arrange to capture the family. On our last "family" vacation together (in Hawaii in 2001), we were photographed on the beach and have a beautiful canvas portrait hanging above our fireplace where we can see it every time we pass through the living room. That's the last portrait we will ever do with just the four of us, - the way we were for nearly 25 years. Because now, we're delighted to have added Tony, Chris and Owen to our family.

That's just the reality of the world we live in. Far-flung, rapid paced, ever changing, increasingly mobile. And much as we'd love to keep our children (grown or not) close at hand, it's increasingly unlikely.

That's why I'm so passionate about what we do - about the importance of creating wonderful, story telling family portraits for our clients; Portraits they can hang prominently in their homes, displaying for all the world the importance of their family in their lives, freezing forever the times we don't want to end.

Nothing is as important to me as is my family, and I'm sure that's the case with so many of our clients as well.

I've come to the conclusion that we're the cure for separation. Separation by time, separation by distance and separation by mortality.

It's easy to complacently feel that those we love will always be close, but in today's world, that's simply not the case. Our ability to capture for all time the essence of each family in a way that transcends the separation factors that eventually impact each of us is what I love about what I do.

No matter what changes life brings, the people we love the most will always be present in our hearts, and present visually, hanging prominently in your home. It doesn't cure the discomfort of separation, but it certainly can help diminish it.

June is the IDEAL time to finally schedule that family portrait session you've been thinking about for years. It's that time between graduation (or just the end of school) and the incredibly busy schedule that usually hits most of us starting in July.

But a graduation is only one great reason to schedule your appointment NOW. Look around your home? When is the last time you've captured the entire family together? If you're like too many of our clients it was when the children were small. Or worse yet, maybe even never. It's one of those things that's so easy to put off until next month, but "next month" tends to become next year, and next year becomes 10 years, and then finally, they've grown and gone and you've missed your opportunity.

Take advantage of one of our special events, such as the Families at the Beach, or Saturday in the Park, or let us custom design just the right setting and situation for you. Every family has a story. We want to capture just the right story for yours, including the people, places and things that are most important to you.

But DON'T PUT IT OFF AGAIN. Call the studio today at 503-588-0902, and schedule your consultation. We custom design every family session to tell the story of your family just the way it should be told.

Why I'm Passionate about What We Do!

Know anyone who begrudgingly gets out of bed on Monday morning, only to face a week at a job they can’t stand, simply trying to get to the next weekend, and ultimately to retirement? Functioning only in drone mode, walking through the day on automatic pilot, getting no particular reward from what they do other than a paycheck at the end of the month?

Of course. We all know someone who fits this description, and perhaps we’ve all been in jobs where this description fit perfectly (and painfully).

Well, I count myself as one of the luckiest people on earth, because I LOVE what I do. I get up in the morning, and I’m anxious to get to work, and I thought I’d share with you why.

As I write this, I just returned from a conference of some of the top photographers in the US and Canada. Known as the Wall Portrait Conference, this gathering brings together a group of people who are passionate about creating beautiful, heirloom quality wall art telling the story of God’s most incredible creation – the family.

It was unseasonably cold and even snowy in Yakima, Washington, where the conference was held, but we still had a number of sessions outside.

One afternoon, while we were all circled around the fire for warmth, we had the opportunity to share the story of our most poignant and memorable opportunities to create wall art for our customers.

Interestingly, many of the stories were personal. Many were very poignant, some were very joyful, but each touched my heart, reminding me why I’m in this business, and I wanted to share them with you. (Beware, some of these are very heart tugging).

One of our members shared how he had taken the opportunity to create a beautiful portrait of his sister, her husband and their daughter. Down by a lake, the very young daughter held in the arms of her father, he described the setting in great detail, and we could all picture it in our minds. It sounded beautiful, but to this point, fairly typical.

Then, he went on to tell us, two months after the portrait was created, the father and daughter were killed in a tragic automobile accident. We all had tears in our eyes as he told us they were buried together in the same position in which they had been in the portrait (again, my eyes are moist as I write this).

Another of our members shared an actual wall portrait that had been created of her and her son, who looked about 2 or 3 years old. It was beautiful, the two of them exploring the beauty of the cherry blossoms. She then showed us another gorgeous portrait of the two of them walking through a beautiful field of tall grass together. Absolutely gorgeous, and you could tell by simply looking at them of the love that existed between the two.

But she went on to tell us that here children had been adopted, and shortly after these were created, she lost her children to their birth mother. She had to give up her children, and these portraits are all she has left. They are valuable beyond words, beyond any amount of money.

Again, we had tears in our eyes as she told the story (photographers are an emotional group).

But not all the stories were sad. Some were very joyous.

Another of our members told of a portrait of his family taken 20 years ago that still hangs in a spot of honor in their home. It’s a beautiful portrait, taken in the snow, showing their entire family at a very joyous time in their lives. It hangs in their dining room, where his wife can see it clearly and proudly from her kitchen, where she spends a lot of time (she’s a wonderful cook).

Nothing unusual about this, but in the 20 years that have passed, there’s been a number of members added to the family, and of course, being in the business, he could create a new one each week if he wanted. But his wife won’t even THINK of replacing this particular portrait with a new one, because of the wonderful memories this particular time elicits every time she looks at it, which is often.

I shared one of my favorites, taken when I was very first getting interested in this business. It was of my 93 year old grandfather, and my 3 year old daughter, sitting in a rocking chair in my living room, him reading her one of her favorite stories. Pappa-Pappa, as she called him, was my best friend as when I was a little boy, and my daughter was the apple of my eye, so here were two of my very favorite people in the world together in one portrait.

Now, at this point, I didn’t know much of what I was doing, so technically, it was not so great. But emotionally, it’s perfect, and it hangs in my family room, where I see it every day of my life.

My grandfather has long since passed away after a wonderful live of 96 years, and my daughter is now married and living in Italy. I see here about once a year, but every time I look at this portrait, I get a wonderful feeling, and I remember how much I love both of them. This portrait gives them a daily presence in my life.

We carry this same passion as we create the story of our customer’s lives as well. We understand that every family has these kinds of relationships, these kinds of memories. We also know that since none of us is immortal, there will come a time when all those we love will no longer be with us on a daily basis.

But the beautiful wall art I get to create on a daily basis will serve as a constant reminder of the love and bonds that exist between each of our customers and those who are or were a part of their most perfect work of art – their family. It will hang in our customer’s homes for years to come, and provide that constant presence of those they love the most as well. And then, it will become a family heirloom for future generations.

And it’s with that understanding, that emotion, that passion, that we create each family portrait.

Our mission statement is entirely based on the following philosophy:

“When all is said and done, and we come to the end of our lives, the only thing that matters are the people that we loved. No amount of riches or possessions can take the place of the family that made our life complete as we were walking through the journey of life.”

Introducing the Varsity Edition

Well, we've actually been creating these for several years as a part of our senior portrait sessions, so it's really more of a RE-introduction.

But the Varsity Edition is so unique, that we've been creating them for more than just seniors, so we've decided to launch them as a product all their own.

Like our brochure says:

If it involves ACTION...

If it takes SKILL AND PREPARATION...

If it involves SPECIAL EQUIPMENT OR SPECIAL CLOTHING...

If you're PROUD of your LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT...
Then the Varsity Edition is for YOU

It's a CELEBRATION or your skill, your ability, or even simply your passion for an activity that you love.

Check out the Varsity Edition section of the website for complete information.

If you're a senior, and finishing out your high school athletic career, this would be a fantastic way to keep all those great memories alive (and a great graduation present as well).

We've called them Varsity Edition because we started creating them for people involved in sports. But the possibilities go so far beyond just the field or the court.

Ever see a real animated guitar player, or violin player? Actors are also typically very animated when they create and perform their characters. Activities like this make GREAT subjects for a Varsity Edition. Use your imagination. The possibilities are huge.

Call the studio TODAY at 503-588-0902 to schedule your session.

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Welcome Back Lynette!

We're excited that after 6 months on maternity leave, where she was concentrating on being a wonderful mommy, Lynette is back with us starting April 1st.

She'll be working Mondays and Fridays, and will be taking over responsibility for managing all our wedding production, which is a big task.

She'll also be responsible for our Senior Rep program, which sorely missed her presence while she was gone.

And undoubtedly, we'll pile more work on her as well, knowing how things work in our office.

Watch the blog - we'll be posting some images of Lynette, Scott and Hunter shortly.