Fall Sessions!

We are so thrilled to announce that the Schaefer family will be adding to the family a new sweet baby come March 2015! Thank you all for your prayers. We loved this baby so much before he/she was conceived and now that it is reality we couldn't possibly fill our hearts more with love!

Deciding to take time off from sessions was no easy decision! I thought who is going to care anyway if I take time off and no one will care when I start back up again. Boy was I overwhelmed by the response from so many wonderful people! After I shared my heart in my last blog post I received so many messages of love from so many people. Thank you all for taking time out of your day to sit and write to me and share some of your heartaches and encouragement with me.

The last few months have been some of my favorite days! I didn't take granted for one minute the empty weekends that my husband and son and I had where we sat on the couch on Saturdays and asked "Gosh what should we do today?" What no plans later in the day to account for? No appointments to rush back for? We could do anything we wanted? Whether we decided to take a family hike or just goof off at home it was pure sweet joy.

I yearn to get back behind my camera and capture more joy in my client's lives. As much fun as I had with my family and friends I did miss photographing the beautiful people I have grown so close to and love.

I wanted to share with all of you my heart and intentions when I show up to your sessions.

When I first started in this journey 6 years ago I was a timid young woman that followed diligently the path that I felt God had given me. I roped my husband along with me to every session because he was the people person, not me. So he would keep the conversations going and I took the photos. Well as time went by and we had our first son Elliott, I had to start going alone to my sessions! Oh my goodness that meant I had to make conversation all by myself! Through that struggle out of my comfort zone I learned how to be more invested in the families I was photographing and now very much enjoy chatting along the path of the location we are at as we walk from one spot to the next.

For many years I have kept my pricing very very very low. I wanted EVERY family to have the opportunity to have beautiful prints on their wall and not have to settle to second best because of money. However, I was missing my worth, I was missing moments with my own families. By keeping my pricing so low it kept me incredibly busy and kept me more and more from my family. That was not good. I found myself putting on way too many cartoons for my son so mommy could TRY to catch up on editing. There became way too many rushed trips to Grandmas to watch him to do sessions or leave he and daddy too much on the weekends.

My heart has always been committed 100% to my clients. When you book me for your sessions, you get ALL of me! I don't just show up to take your money and just send you the disc. I think about your sessions before and contemplate the location and feel I think would match the dynamic of your family. I always get there early and pray over your session, especially newborns those little babes are tricky hehe ;)

When I go home to edit your photos, I smile through every image because I know the silliness of the scene that took place to get that adorable smile from the not so sure 1 year old or the timid 10 year old. The giggly images you get back are from me and you chasing your little one before they again for the 10th time wanted to run away!

What I am trying to convey to all of my cherished clients and potential clients is that I love and adore all of you. I love that I have photographed engaged couples, then their weddings, then their maternity sessions, then their first newborn baby's sessions, then on and on and on!

Fall sessions are now in full swing! All sessions will be scheduled from September to November.
I will not be booking during the months from December to April.
I will only be offering limited number of sessions for weekdays and weekends.
I do not offer sessions on Sundays.

Family Session Pricing - $275
Included in your session-
-1 hour outdoor session for up to 5 family members (each additional family member is $15)
-2 outfit changes for kiddos
-Disc of all high resolution images edited in color, b&w and aged
-$30 print credit to order high quality prints

Newborn Session Pricing - $325
Included in your session-
-2 hour session at your home within the first 10 days after birth
-Disc of all high resolution images edited in color, b&w and aged
-$50 print credit to order high quality prints

To inquire about sessions and to book please email me at diane@dianeloveless.com

50% deposit is due for all sessions at time of booking. Remainder is due at time of session. 
After sessions have been photographed please allow 2 weeks to receive your disc of photos. Please remember I am a wife, mommy and pregnant, which means I don't sit down at my computer every day to work. Some days, especially recently I like to enjoy an occasional nap. Something I considered only reserved for the lucky few!

Please never hesitate to talk to me about session fees and if there might be a struggle to pay the full amount. Occasionally I am able to offer sessions at a discounted rate if I have dates opened that need to be filled.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for the encouragement and love that you all showed me!

An Open Letter From My Heart

I have sat down many times to write this letter to my beloved clients, whom many I call dear friends, and now I'd like to share...

For the past almost two years my little family of three has been trying to become a family of four. In July of 2013 we were excited to find out we were going to be having another baby. Jeff and I had names picked out (because I'm a freak like that), Elliott was already talking to my belly to his future brother or sister and we were all happy with excited anticipation.

Nine weeks into that pregnancy I miscarried.

As I sat in the emergency room waiting to hear if our beloved baby was still growing, I was filled with panic and anxiety over the five sessions coming up that I needed to contact and cancel. My worries over those sessions grew to bitterness over them. I had no idea at that time how much that bitterness would grow in my heart.

I had no time for life to happen.

I took a week off and felt that working would help eliminate the sadness and pain my heart felt. So I jammed my schedule tight with everything and anything. I just "needed to get over it," is what I kept telling myself. But my heart grew more and more bitter.

The passion and excitement I had before with the anticipation of my sessions was dying in me along with my beloved baby.

There was a silent death that was quickly overwhelming my soul.

Everywhere I went I was bombarded with pregnant bellies. My first 3 appointments while I was miscarrying were maternity appointments. Appointments that were suppose to be filled with bright growing life instead were filled with feelings of death in me. I fought back the tears during those sessions and "needed to get over it." After all "people have miscarriages all the time," as people would casually say.

Miscarriages may be commonplace in life, but that doesn't lessen the heartache that occurs. Before mine I looked at the word "miscarriage" as just a word. I didn't fully comprehend the severity of it. To one day go from elation and planning a future that included another baby to the next watching your body go into turmoil. Literal turmoil.

“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak. She said to herself, 'If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.' Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart, daughter,' He said, 'your faith has healed you.' And the woman was healed at that moment.” Matthew 9:20-22 NIV

This woman in Matthew pushed desperately through a crowd of people desperate to just touch any part of Jesus. As I read these verses in Matthew I imagined Jesus taking this woman's face in His hands and giving her the healing peace she so desperately needed for so long. 

That was me. I was lost in a world of sadness, hurt, confusion, bitterness and anger. I was desperate to feel Jesus' hands on my face to comfort and heal me.

As I was driving one day and praying, the Lord reminded me of the day that Elliott was released from the NICU. The memory of when they unplugged all the wires, flooded my mind. We twirled around the NICU because we could now that he was free of cords. A beautiful memory that I had not forgotten, but needed to remind myself. Then I felt the Lord whisper in my ear so softly and lovingly, “Be Still.”

I had touched Jesus. I felt as though He was holding my face and reminding me of His love.

Slowly with the encouragement of family and friends I am healing and being OK where I am right now.

My role as a wife and mommy is more important to me right now more than ever before. I look at my darling Elliott's face and I think, “Gosh I am the most blessed woman in the world to be this boy's mommy!”

In the past six months I have been fighting back and forth with myself and the desire to put my photography business on hold. I have spent many hours praying and seeking God for the right direction. In January I told God to take my photography business away. I wanted to be healthy for my family to be able to grow. He in return blessed me with amazing opportunities like the most amazing workshop with Joy Prouty in Washington.

At this workshop I got to have some alone time, and also got the opportunity to sit in a room with eight other women talking about life and photography. As I sat there listening to Joy's story of life and business I started falling in love with photography again. God was reminding me that there is beauty and life in this business that He gave me.

For so long I wanted to serve others in my photography and charge very little so that everyone could get the opportunity to have beautiful portraits of their families. That in return led to an incredibly large amount of work that left me feeling like I was drowning.

It's time I take a step back for a few months and continue to evaluate my business and what direction I'd like it go. Come May I will not be booking any sessions except weddings. I am working with talented, creative people to revamp my logo, website and finally have a fun blog where I am proud to display my work! I need to take this time to love on my family and be the best wife, mommy, daughter, sister and friend I can be. In return I know I'll come back with more passion and love for my photography and be able to give more of my heart and art to my clients.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message from my heart. Please keep in contact and don't be a stranger. I'm not completely hiding away in a hole. I mostly stay active on my instagram account @dianeloveless_photo ;) I am excited for this time in my life and hope you'll join with me again when I make my return back!

“Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8

Photos by Johnny Jaquez Photography