Michael Ryan Photography

Digital negative DVD sale !!!!0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 25th, 2008

As I mentioned below on Feb. 1st the price off the high res DVD of digital negatives is going to go up to $ 750.00 but before that happens we are going to give everyone a chance to take home their digital negative for only $ 500.00, thats a savings of $ 250.00. Simply order and pay for your high res DVD by Feb 1st and save $ 250.00 and have your memories on DVD to make prints from or just preserve forever.

Hurry this offer expires Feb 1st !

Michael

Digital negatives price increase0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 25th, 2008

As of Feb 1st the price for the high resolution DVD of Digital negatives is going to $ 750.00. The high res DVD of digital negatives provides you with all of your images that we have taken on your wedding day on DVD, thats right I said all of them ! So for most couples this means between 750 and 1500 images, and you can make prints from any and all of your images if you so desire. The high res DVD provides a great value and a great way to make lots of prints from your wedding at a reasonable cost and have all of your memories preserved and stored for life.

New Wedding Packages0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 25th, 2008

All of us here at Michael Ryan Photography are pleased to announce the introduction of three new wedding packages ! We think everyoen deserves great photography for their wedding so we are introduce our Basic’s line of wedding packages, these packages are setup to make sure that everyone who wants the beautiful artistry and timeless vision that Michael can bring to your wedding can have it !

In addition to the Basic’s packages we are also proud to announce our bridal registry where your guests can gift you money towards the purchase of your albumsand pictures after the wedding and our new Gift Cards that spend just like cash on anything we offer.

So here’s the new packages,

With all of the Basic’s packages you get all of our planning meetings and tools to make sure your wedding day goes as smoothly as possible, our wedding day schedule that we create for you so all of the important parties in your wedding know where they are supposed to be and when and you get your digital negatives on DVD which you can use to make your own prints from and also archive your wedding forever.

Basic’s Packages,

6 hours of coverage, planning meetings and tools and DVD of digital negatives - $ 1800.00
(This package is not available May through October unless booked within 60 days of the wedding date)

8 hours of coverage, planning meeetings and tools, engagement session and DVD of digital negatives - $ 2400.00

10 hours of coverage, planning meeetings and tools, engagement session and DVD of digital negatives - $ 3000.00

All albums and porints are still available with all of the Basic’s packages and can be purchased individually, so that way you can get exactly what you want and need from your wedding photos !

Cola Wars 08 is coming !!!0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on November 11th, 2007

What and awsome season the Arcola Purple Riders are having ! Last week Arcola defeated the Jacksonville Routt who were undefeated until they met Arcola …. Friday night at the bonfire and pep rally Coach Kiger said that the Greenville Tigers were undefeated but only because they hadn’t yet played Arcola ! Turns out that coach was more right than he could have known because his Purple Riders turned in a awsome performance keeping the Greenville quarterback on the run and the Arcola running backs kept the Greenville defense on the run trying to catch them. Toss in a few turn overs and interceptions and the Arcola Purple Riders had an awsome game that ended up with Arcola winning 35 - 14 ! Next stop is the final four in Champaign where it will be Cola Wars 08, Arcola vs. Tuscola, Tuscola has been tough all year but it looks like Arcola has teh right combination this year to beat Tuscola and move on to the State Championship game !

GO BIG PURP !!!! DO WORK ! DO WORK !!! DO WORK !!!!

Some pictures from the win over Greenville ……

Thomas Bradford Field was jam packed !!!!

Michael

The Fall Family Portrait Schedule is here0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on September 12th, 2007

It is upon us again, school is back in session, the nights are getting a little cooler and the moon is showing that first hint of orange ….. That means it is time to start thinking about Fall Family Portraits ! This is our most popular event every year where we take every weekend in October and go to different parks in the area and setup for the weekend and take beautiful Fall Family Portraits with the gorgeous colors of the Fall season as the backdrop.

These sessions fill up fast so it is best to call as soon as possible to reserve your session. This year were going to be at Walnut Point State park outside of Oakland, Lake of the Woods in Mahomet and new this year we are going to be at the beautiful Rockome Gardens for a weekend. These sessions are the perfect opportunity to update that family portrait hanging on the wall and alot of our families have us make unique custom Christmas cards from the images we capture in their family session.

We look forward to these sessions all year because we get to some old friends that schedule sessions every year and we get to see how much their children have grown since last year and we always get to meet new friends and create unique images of their family. So this is the best time of year the colors are spectacular and the family pictures we get are so fun and full of such great memories. So call us in the studio to reserve your session, the cost of the session is only $ 150.00 and you get a $ 75.00 product credit to spend towards prints from your session.

Fall Family Portrait Schedule for 2007:

October 6th and 7th - Walnut Point State Park - Outside Oakland

October 13th and 14th - Lake of the Woods Park - Mahomet

October 21 st - Rockome Gardens - Arcola

October 27th and 28th - Walnut Point State Park - Oakland

We look forward to seeing you at one of our Fall Family Portrait Weekends !

Michael

It’s That Time of Year Again - Senior Picture Season0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on August 10th, 2007

Right after the 4th of July we photographers enter a new season for creating some awsomely fun images ! One of my favorite groups of people to work with is our high school seniors. We get the chance to meet so many great young men and women that are entering their senior year in high school and getting ready to step into the real world of college and jobs and bills and loan payments and all that fun stuff that adults get to do. As we get closer to back to school and the summer winds down our schedule around the studio gets more and more hectic with senior sessions so it is best to call us early for the best availability. For the class of 2008 we have totally revamped our senior pricing and have published a brand new senior pricing brochure, we have added so many fun new things to our senior sessions, things like sports and activity coverage where we will come to your games and take action images of you doing your thing, to our Senior Signature books that all your friends sign and the book is full of your pictures in a cool design and the pictures are printed right on the page, our new Keep In Touch business cards are a great way to make sure that all your friends know how to get ahold of you as you go on to college or into the working world and of course our graduation announcements and invitations are always unique. There is so much more new stuff that I would have to type for hours so just check out the new pricing brochure, it will save me and my fingers much pain …..

2008 Senior Pricing Brochure

So Abriann was one of the first seniors of the season and she just took some awsome images, this was the first senior session for my wife Tonesha to shoot with me, Tonesha just moved here from NYC after we got married in June and she captured some absolutely rockin images of Abriann !

I hope everyone enjoys these images as much as we enjoyed creating them, here are some of my favorites and Tonesha’s favorites of Abriann …..

I’ll go first …..

Drumroll Please ……. Now for Tonesha’s favorite images (I’m telling you these things rock …..)

Michael

Ann and Alex - July 7th, 20070
Michael posted in Uncategorized on July 19th, 2007

July 7th, 2007 was supposed to be the busiest wedding day in history with more couples getting married on that day than any other and here in the studio it was no exception both Tonesha and I had weddings to shoot on the 7th. I got to spend my day with Ann and Alex down in Effingham and it was such an amazing day the familes were so much fun ! Alex’s family came from all over and I mean all over some came from Canada and Equador and all over the US and what a fun group of people they had such a good time dancing and being with family they hadn’t seen in awhile.

Of course the wedding was beautiful, Ann made such a gorgeous bride ! Her family was so much fun to be around they were so warm and really made me feel like I was part of the family, I really enjoyed capturing these images from their wedding day and I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed capturing them.

Michael

Jennifer and Clifton - May 26th 20070
Michael posted in Uncategorized on July 6th, 2007

Memorial Day weekend 2007 was an absolutely beautiful weekend, I was in New York with my bride to be Tonesha, starting to get things ready for our upcoming wedding in June and we got to spend Saturday the 26th with Jen and Cliff for their wedding. Not only was the weather beautiful but the venue was gorgeous, The North Ritz Club in Syosset on Long Island NYC. The North Ritz Club put out a fabulous spread of food that all the guests enjoyed, the grounds were beautiful and it made a perfect backdrop for Jennifer and Cliff’s wedding. It was so great to be around both families that truly had so much love in their hearts for Jen and Cliff and truly wanted to help them celebrate the first day of the rest of their lives together. The ceremony was beautiful the reception was kickin with the dance floor packed all night from the great old school reggae that the DJ’s were playing and everyone had a great time. Come the end of the evening there was still a big crowd that just didn’t want to go home ….

Tonesha and I want to send our congratulations out to Jen and Cliff and wish them a long and healthy life together and a big thank you for letting us be a part of your wedding day and letting us capture all the special memories from your day !

Michael

Central Illinois Dance Academy0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on June 15th, 2007

Well it is that time of year again, time for Jennifer Fincham and all her girls at the Central Illinois Dance Academy to put on their yearly performance out at the Parkland College Theatre. Jennifer was kind enough to invite us back to do the pictures for the recital this year again and I have to tell you this is one of my favorite events that I get to shoot all year ! All of the girls that put on the recital are so much fun to work with and they do such an awsome job putting on the show every year and this year was no exception !

Jennifer has such a great academy and a great program for all the young ladies to learn dance and have fun so if you have a daughter thay has ever wanted to learn dance give Jenn a call and she will welcome you into her Central Illinois Dance family , she will have a great experience, make some new friends and one day be a part of the show.

We captured so many great images for the show and I wanted to share a few, it is going to be a couple of weeks before we get everything processed and up in our on-line gallery so to help you get your dance fix until we get all the images done I put together a little slideshow of a few of my photographer favorites from the show, that I hope you will enjoy !

Michael

CIDA Recital

Happy Valentines Day Sale !!0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on February 15th, 2007

Happy Valentines Day ! I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines day and that everyone got exactly what they wanted ! For some of you ladies that meant that the love of your life made you an offer that you couldn’t refuse ….. All of us here at Michael Ryan Photography want to say congratulations on your engagement. Now the fun starts, there are dresses to try on, flowers to pick out, tuxes to rent, guest lists to decide on, invitations to design and so much more.

So to do our little part in helping you take one of the most important pieces of your wedding day off your planning plate we are having a Valentine’s Day sale ! The images from your wedding are going to capture the all of the planning and hard work you put into your perfect wedding day and your images are how your day will live on with you for the rest of your lives. So to help get the best photography in Central Illinois or anywhere please make sure and include Michael Ryan Photography in your wedding day plans and let Michael bring his unique vision and artistry to your wedding day and if you book your wedding date between Valentine’s Day and February 28th you will save 10% on any of our wedding packages which could save you hundreds on the best wedding photography in Central Illinois or anywhere.

This sale can only last until the 28th of February and you have to have a completed contract and a paid retainer to take advantage of the special prices and if you have any questions about how Michael Ryan photography can be part of your dream day please call us in the studio at 217-268-3388.

Thought I might share a few of my favorites from last fall and winter weddings, hope you enjoy ………

Michael

Let’s Go Cruisin …..0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 23rd, 2007

Last week I got the opportunity to spend the week on board the beautiful Carnival Cruise Lines MS Imagination. I was asked by the awsome folks at WeDJ.com to come on their annual week long educational cruise and present a class to my fellow professional wedding photographers. Of course when the folks at WeDJ called me a few months ago and asked if I would be interested in presenting as part of the cruise in the warm sunny Carribean in the middle of January I must admit I had to think about it, I mean who in their right mind would want to leave the beautiful snow and ice of Central Illinois for the sun and sand of Jamica ???? Well I did think about it for at least Mmmmmmm maybe half a second before I said sure I’ll tag along.

I got to tell you I have never been on a cruise before so I didn’t know what to expect, but the folks at Carnival made this cruise a totally awsome experience, the food was great the staff was totally awsome, great entertainment every night and a beautiful ship as well as 2 very cool ports of call in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios Jamacia. If your ever considering a cruise I highly recommend giving the folks at Carnival a call.

Besides all the fun of the cruise I also got to hang out for the week with a ton of very cool wedding professionals, we acctually did get some work done and made a bunch of new friends and spent alot of time talking about how we could better serve our couples that have included us in their wedding day. It was a fantastic experience and I am so glad that I had a chance to be a part of it, so I thought I would share some pictures from the trip.

The MS Imagination what a beautiful ship she was.

Some really cool lockers at Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios

Dunns River Falls it was a pretty cool experience to be able to climb the falls, it was a long climb but well worth it.

And it wouldn’t be a complete trip without a stop in Margaritaville ….

Very cool architecture in Ocho Rios

The man who is Reggae Mr. Bob Marley

I love the colors in all the little shops and street vendors

Leaving Jamica behind

And we really did do some work I have the pictures form my seminar to prove it …

It’s Bridal Show Season Again ….0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 4th, 2007

I love getting out and meeting everyone at the Spring Bridal shows (well almost spring…….) I get to talk to so many great couples that are planning their wedding day and it is so much fun to share in a little piece of that with them. So if your planning a wedding and would like to talk to me in a little more detail about how I could capture your day for you then come on out and visit us at one of the upcoming bridal shows that were going to be at, I would love to have the opportunity to talk to you about your wedding !

January Show Schedule:

Jan 6 th and 7 th - Saint Mary’s of the Woods College in Terre Haute - The News Channel 10 Bridal Event- Beautiful setting and a great show

January 14 th - Thelma Keller Convention Center Bridal Show in Effingham- this is a great show not too big and not too small, great selection of vendors for your wedding needs and 2 fashion shows.

January 21 st - Cross County Mall Bridal show in Mattoon at you guessed it the Cross County Mall - another great little show lots of vendors and with the size of the mall and the layout there is plenty of room and time to talk to all of the vendors without feeling crowded or rushed.

January 28th - News Channel 15 Bridal Show in Champaign

I am sure there will be more shows coming up in February but if your getting married this year I strongly recommend that you make it out to one of the January shows to have the best chance at getting the vendors you want for your wedding day because this time of year dates fill up fast for all the vendors.

I wil see you at the shows !

Michael

Looking Back on 20060
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 4th, 2007

I can’t believe that 2006 is gone, where did it go ? It seems like it wasn’t that long ago I was getting ready to start the 2006 bridal show season and wedding season and here we are again getting ready to start the 2007 season. 2006 was just an awsome year for us here at Michael Ryan Photography it was so busy and we met so many great new friends that I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to share a moment in the lives of all of our wedding couples and families that we did portraits for and of course our high school seniors what an incredible group, I just love working with our young adults they are so much fun !

With 2006 now completely behind us I wanted to take an opportunity to say thank you to all of our friends that have become part of the Michael Ryan Photography family our success this year is all thanks to you and I just want you to know how much I appreciate your support and your business and your friendship, it is because of you that we are able to be here and do what we love to do !

So now we move on to the new year 2007, usually at this time of year we get to relax a little and take a little breather, well not this year. Since it is January it is bridal show season and it looks like 2007 is going to be a busy year for weddings, normally at this time of year we have 1/4 to 1/3 of our 2007 weddings booked but as of the first of the year we have almost half of our dates booked already, so ladies if your interested in having us be a part of your day pick up the phone and give me a call in the studio and lets talk about your wedding the dates are going fast and we haven’t even done any bridal shows yet.

I am going to be posting our bridal show schedule in a different post so keep reading if you would like to where we are going to be and would like to stop by and say hi and look at our work up close and personal.

January is always busy with bridal shows and meeting with couples to start the process of booking and planning their weddings but this year it going to be even busier because I have been invited to be a speaker at a major industry event that provides education to photographers from all over the country. I am so pumped about this, it is quite the honor to be asked to speak to a large group of other photographers, apparently what we do here at Michael Ryan Photography is well ahead of the industry as a whole and so they have asked me to come and speak and help other photographers from all over the country elevate their offerings to their couples. And the best part is where the event is going to be held at …… your not going to believe me when I tell you that the event is being held on one of the fabulous crusie ships of Carnival Cruise Lines this should be an awsome experience so check the blog everyday during the week of Januray 15th for daily pictures of the event and updates of the whole experience. I have never been on a crusie before so if it lives up to the pictures and the stories others have told me about the experience this is going to be an awomse experience.

With 2006 being so successful for us here in the studio I can’t wait to see what 2007 has in store, we have alot of great new products that we will be adding to the existing line up, a new album manufacturer for our couples to choose from, several very cool new products and finally we are going to get our projection proofing system up and running now that I have a little time to devote to it …… and so many other things that I will be teling you about here on the Blog and of course sometime in February I will have my anual year in review thread on the blog where I go back and pull some of my favorite pictures to share with you from 2006.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday Season and a safe new year’s celebration and I am looking to making 2007 the best year we have ever had here in the studio and welcoming all of the new friends that we are going to meet this year into the Michael Ryan Photography family !

Michael

So what is a custom designed wedding album ????0
Michael posted in Uncategorized on January 4th, 2007

The wedding album is the final product and the best presentation of your images from your wedding day. When your shopping for your photographer it can be very confusing to find one that captures the images of your day in the style that you love and one that has the right personality to mix in with your family and friends and one that fits your budget. Then the final piece of the puzzle is the wedding album that you will have after your weding day. There are two major types of albums out there, these include the more traditional style of albums (think like the one that your mom and dad have …… ) these albums are beautiful, they have pages that have opening where the images are put into different size and shaped openings on the pages.

Then we have the more contemporary style of albums which are often called flush mount or coffe table or magazine style. In the more contemporary style of albums the photographer lays out each page by hand in a collage style and then the images are printed right on the page. This style of album offers far more design options than the traditional albums and each album is unique for each couple, no two ever look alike.

Since most of our couples are more familiar with the more traditional style of wedding albums I thought I would post some images of the different types of beautiful contemporary albums that we here at Michael Ryan Photography create for our couples.

We offer two different types of albums, both are coffee table style books they just differe in the construction and the printing process that is used to create the books. The latest addition to our product line is our Artist series book, these books are gorgeous the colors are very rich and vibrant and just pop off the pages, you have to see these albums to believe them !

The second type of coffee table album that we offer is a more traditional construction and printing process, these albums are gorgeous as well. the really cool thing about all of the albums that we offer is that once we design the album we can print the album into any of the book styles that we offer, the more traditional style of coffee table album or the new artist series.

Now the latest really cool new product that we have is called our engagement signature book. We take and create an album from your engagement images and then at the reception the book gets signed by all of your guests which creates a one of a kind memory book that is full of your pictures and personal messages from your guests on your wedding day. Think high school yearbook, remember all the fun and funny messages that your friends left for you in your yearbook ? This is the same thing only the images are from your engagement and the messages are from your friends and family that share in your wedding day.

I would love to show you the albums in person, we have several samples in the studio and believe me when you see them in person you will love how we can create a truly unique and beautiful album from your wedding images. Give us a call in the studio and stop in to see how beautiful a truly custom designed album can be.

Michael

What a week …..1
Michael posted in Uncategorized on October 20th, 2006

Well it all started last Thursday when I went to Chicago to do an engagement session for one of my couples that is getting married in 2007, Katie and Nick. It was typical Chicago for this time of year the wind was blowing and it was cold !!! But we had a great day and took some awsome engagement photos which I will be posting here very soon, so stay tuned.

After I got done in Chicago at about 7 p.m. I drove up to Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin which is up in Door County, Now Door county is beautiful espically this time of year with all the leaves changing colors and the lake but if you remember how I described the weather in Chicago just imagine what it was like four hours north of there …… One of my good friends Donna Pepper, the owner of the One Week Boutique childrens sale that happens every spring and fall in both Champaign and Bloomington, Donna had asked me to come up for a surprise for her father who is going to be having his 70th birthday in November. Donna grew up going up to Door county almost every summer and staying on the lake in a cabin that they had rented every year for almost 30 years so as a surprise for her dad she and her husband and children all flew in from Oklahoma to surprise her dad with a trip back to the cabin and I came along to take some family photographs for them. It was cold and windy up on the lake and it even sleeted on us a couple of times while we were out taking pictures but with a few hot choclate breaks we got some great images that Friday afternoon, some of which I will post here later next week.

So Friday night I jump in the truck and drive the 7 hours back to Arcola to go and shoot a beautiful wedding for an awsome couple on Saturday and then I was off to Lake of the Woods park in Mahomet for a few Fall Family Sessions on Sunday …… (yes I know all this shooting and I am way behind on my blogging). That brings us to Monday, Monday at 4:30 am Baily and I head for Indianapolis to get on a plane to fly to San Francisco to shoot a senior session for my neice and hang out on the California coast with my sister and brother in-law and my niece and nephew. So that brings us back to Thursday and tomorrow Baily and I get on a plane to head home to shoot a wedding on Saturday and more Fall family sessions on Sunday, so while I have been packing here tonight I took a few minutes to pick a few of my favs from Emily’s session to share, and I have to tell you after shooting a senior session on the beach the cornfields of Illinois just aren’t going to look quite the same.

How would you like to have this as a backdrop in your senior pics ?????

Or this ……

And they just keep coming ……..

And of course we can’t forget Baily and my sister Tina …..

What a poser ……

A couple more of Emily …..

And finally we Midwesterners don’t get to see sunsets like this very often so I had to capture several images of the sunset cause it was just so rockin beautiful that I had to bring a little piece of it back home with me.

It is going to be good to be back home and get back into the studio next week but this has been a awsome trip and I am going to miss my sister and her family and I am going to miss taking pictures in the California sunshine …….

Michael