Studio Life @ Johnston Photography

Miss Crystal Lake 2012

This Saturday the Miss Crystal Lake and Little Miss Crystal Lake Pageant will be held at Crystal Lake South High School. Johnston Photography has had the honor of being involved with this wonderful event for many years. These girls work very hard to prepare for the pageant. They attend classes once a week and learn about presenting themselves in public. They also attend Crystal Lake Chamber Mixers where they are given the opportunity to meet some of the leaders in our community. Contestants in the past have not only gained self confidence but made some great connections in the Crystal Lake business world. There are 4 titles the girls compete for. Miss Photogenic, Miss Congeniality, First Runner up and Miss Crystal Lake. Miss Crystal Lake will receive a scholarship for her achievement. Miss Congeniality is selected by the contestants themselves, and Miss Photogenic is voted on by all of the people that attend Expo on Saturday  before 1. So come on out and pick your favorite, then stay to see the final results!! The pageant starts at 2 in the afternoon. See you there!!

Let's Make Christmas Very Merry for Everyone! {Toy Drive Crystal Lake Photographer}

As we enter the Holiday Season, Thanksgiving reminds us of all we have. Not all are as fortunate however. Once again Johnston Photography is asking for your help in raising toys for less fortunate children. Our annual Winter Wonderland Toy Drive will be Dec. 2nd, 3rd and 4th this year. YES SUNDAY TOO! For the small donation of $35. in new unwrapped toys you can help be the difference in a childs Christmas morning. We are taking appointments for what is by far our most popular event of the year. Sarah will photograph you, your children, pets or family. Then Carol will help you thru the selection and order process. Easy as 1-2-3. Prints, ornaments, greeting cards as well as other products will be ready in time for all your holiday gift giving.

Again this year we are offering special products, packages and prices for this event. Call the studio today to reserve your session time. 800-919-KIDS or 815-459-1481. Don't wait! Session times go fast.

Don't need portraits at this time? Please feel free to drop off toys anyway. This is about giving to the children. We donate the toys so they stay with-in McHenry County. Just one way to give back to the community that has been so kind to us for the past 25 years. 

Thank You All! {Childrens Photographer Crystal Lake}

I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to all of our clients that donated toys for the needy children of McHenry County. The toys head to the Crystal Lake Salvation Army. What a blast we had here on Friday & Saturday with our Winter Wonderland Toy Drive. Your participation is so greatly appreciated. We did family portraits, childrens portraits even pet portraits! All in the name of Charity. This fundraiser has been such a wonderful success for us the past 15 years. Let's go for 15 more! I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season knowing you have helped out those less fortunate. Thanks again!!

New Designs for Holiday Cards { Portrait Photographer Crystal Lake}

Been working hard coming up with s few new designs for Holiday Cards. With the Toy Drive this weekend I thought it would be a great time to debut them. They are totally customizable and you can create your own sentiment to have printed on them. These a 4 of the new ones I designed but we have several other new designs also. A few more from me and some from actual designers. Remember we can always design something totally different for you also.

 

We are still booking appointments for Johnston Photographys Annual Toy Drive also. One spot left on Saturday, several on Friday and we are taking names for Sunday afternoon. So if you are still interested it is not too late to schedule an appointment. $30. in New unwrapped toys will get you a session and a FREE 4x6 print. Packages and great gift products are also available. These sessions are view and order right after the session. All toys will be donated to The Salvation Army who distributes them to families in need in our community. Sessions can be children, small families even pets are welcome! Call today 815-459-1481

Sneak Peak for Winter Wonderland

I can not believe how fast time is going. We had such a great Autumn around here. Perfect weather well into October. Now that November is here and it is getting cold, even talk of snow, suddenly Holiday Portraits are on everyones mind. Our Winter Wonderland Toy Drive will be here in a mere 4 weeks! 7 weeks it will be Christmas Eve!! So I figure it is time to get a move on. Today I had the cutest little girl in to model for this "Sneak Peak" look at this years set. I had to photoshop the year sign, because we forgot to have it changed for today, but that will be real for the sessions in December. More trees will be added and I am still debating the fence somewhere in the back. Then would it be picket or small iron fence. I will decide Dec 2nd when I build it  I guess. The cape she is wearing is a studio prop. I have it in 2 sizes, this being the smallest.

The Winter Wonderland Toy Drive will be Dec 3rd & 4th. $30. in new unwrapped toys is your session fee. All toys are then donated to the Salvation Army, who distributes them to children in McHenry County. We will do a mini session with same day view and order. There are special packages and holiday cards available. Plus you receive one FREE 4x6 print from the image of your choice. Sessions are booking up so call today to reserve your spot. There are only a couple of times left on the 4th. If we fill all of the spots for the 2 days we may open up times on the 2nd.

We look forward to a great fundraiser and helping some area children have a better Christmas!

 

November Session Special

We have decided that November might be a great time to offer a session special we have NEVER done before. $45. session fee for what we are calling a "mini" session. It is not really short on time but it is in studio only, 1 outfit, 1 background. We will work with any idea you might have for the session. This is not one of those deals where you have no say in the look. If you have an idea or theme you would like to do for a Holiday Card or gift, let's talk. Any props you want to bring in for your session are always welcome. We can do a consultation either on the phone or you can come in and we can discuss options. We want this to be fun and different. Let's see if we can get a little wild!!

So, just give the studio a call to schedule a time. We can work out details anytime before your session.

815-459-1481/800-919-KIDS

14th Annual Food Drive Complete

Happy Halloween Everyone! The past 2 days was our 14th Annual Food Drive at the studio. This is one of my personal favorite things we do. I just love seeing all of the children come in for portraits in their costumes. Some of these kids have been coming for a number of years, and it is a blast watching them grow and change. Dang I love my job!! I will admit this year our attendance was down a bit. I understand that in this economy people are holding on to what they have. I was hopping for more though. The Food Pantry is busier than ever now and there for in need of supplies more than ever. They will always accept donation, so if you should want to help out, they would be more than grateful! Go to www.clpantry.org for more information. Stay tunes for a couple more great deals here at the studio.

Trick or Treat!!

Yep it is that time once again. Calling all ghosts and gobblins! Today and tomorrow is our annual Food Drive for the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. Every years we raise hundreds of pounds of food and non-perishables for this worthy cause. If you are interested in helping out this year, please give the studio a call and reserve your time! Sessions include a FREE 4x6 print of your favorite image for a donation of $30. worth if items to donate. Costumes are great but not required for this autumn style set. Here are a few from last years event and this years set.

 

Upcoming Important Dates

Just a gentle reminder about some important dates coming up.

First- Less than 1 week left to schedule your appointment for our Annual Halloween Food Drive. Oct 29th & 30th. You will receive a mini session and a FREE 4x6 image on our special set, for a small $30.donation of items  for the Food Pantry. Now more than ever our local food pantries are in need. More families are depending heavily on them for the basics we take for granted. Toothpaste, toilet paper, food. Every year we collect hundreds of pounds of food and goods, won't you be apart of it this year? Call today to schedule an appointment for you children or even your family. 815-459-1481

Second- Nov. 2nd is the last day to order our new Accordion Books for the ridiculously low price of $10. Images can used can be chosen from any session(s) in the past 2 years. These are great gifts for grand parents with the holidays creeping up on us. These little books hold up to 12 images, but you can also include mini versions of any of our 10x20 or 15x30 designers, like The 7up or the new Boxes, even Hot Shots.

Also our Winter Wonderland Toy Drive ( Dec. 3&4) is starting to fill up. If you are thinking about participating this year, please call the studio soon to book your session. Best times are going fast. This years we are planning a park style set with a background that gives the appearance of a wintery sky. We will have snowy trees and ground, park bench and of course the now famous lamp post with the year on it.

So don't wait on any of these if you are interested at all. Call the studio right away to be sure you don't miss out on these great deals. 815-459-1481 or 800- 919- KIDS

This year I have had the extreme honor of photographing McHenry High Schools Cross Country Team. What a great group of young athletes. We met in Harvard at Buch Brothers John Deer Dealership. They wanted to do a take off of the John Deer slogan- Nothing Runs Like A Deer. They do some type of poster every year that includes the team, their schedule and the business cards from local companies to show their support. It is my pleasure to share this years poster with all of you. I hope you enjoy it. One more thing! Please support your local schools activities. It is so important for the kids. GO TEAM!!!!