Thank you for your interest in Michelle Misner Photography!
I specialize in unique and artistic studio portraiture of children, families, expectant moms as well as full wedding photography services. I am conveniently located in suburban Johnstown, Pennsylvania and am available in surrounding areas.
For those of you new to my website, studio information and my portfolio can be found under 'Site Map' and all session information and pricing can be found under 'Session Information & Pricing' at the top of the page. I'm so glad you have visited!
For those of you returning, all of the information is the same, it's just presented in a much tidier package - all in one place - and I welcome you back!
Please don't hesitate to forward any comments, questions, or suggestions my way.
Visit frequently to keep up on the latest news and sneak peeks!
I would like to hear from you! I have prepared a quick survey to see what folks want! I'd greatly appreciate a moment of your time to complete the survey so I can better prepare for the new year. I'll be taking the month of December to tweak packages and pricing and I need your input! Thank you! You are able to remain anonymous, so what have you got to lose?
I had the priviledge of photographing Jessica and Jonathan’s wedding on September 20th. Here is a sneak peek of a photo Jessica especially wanted taken.
The rest is coming soon, guys! I hope you had a great honeymoon!
My colleague, Michele Calderon, has blog-tagged me, so here I go….
RULES:
1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them ; leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.
1. I love hot dogs charred on the grill. I’ll take the darkest, most gnarled hot dog on the grill. LOL They just taste better!
2. I’m a neat freak everywhere but in my own home. Not sure what it is - whether it’s just manners or neuroses - but I am an organized mess at home.
3. I’ve become a television junkie. If it weren’t for my DVR, I’d go nuts!
4. Since having children, I have become a complete scatterbrain. I have a planning calendar in three places - one on paper at home, one on the computer and all of it synced up to my cell phone. If it’s not on there, consider it forgotten!
5. I only made it one semester at a University. School has just never been for me…even when I wanted it to be.
6. Once 8:30 PM hits, I’m ready for bed. Weekends I can stay up, but it’s hard during the week. I usually end up sleeping through something my husband wanted to watch with me.
OK - now to tag 6 other unsuspecting photographers:
Anne Dillon
Heidi Smith
Kris Evans
Nicci Derry
Tina Delauter
Lisa Baker
I received this email from my bestest friend today. Thought I’d share my answers.
Who are You?
(X) Gone on a blind date
( ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Hawaii
( ) Been to the Caribbean
( ) Been overseas
(X) Been on a plane
( ) Jumped out of a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
( ) Been on a train
(X) Been lost
( ) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Been to Washington D.C.
( ) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
( ) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about or love
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone snow or water Skiing
(X) Gone to the movies
1. Any nicknames? ‘Chelle
2. Mother’s name? Ann
3. Favorite drink? Galliker’s Lime Iced Tea
4. Tattoo? No
5. Body Piercing? Ears 2
6. How much do you love your job? It’s hard, but I love it a lot
7. Favorite vacation? Gettysburg
8. Favorite TV Program? How Clean Is Your House? and Kitchen Nightmares
9. Ever been to Africa ? No
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes
11. Ever been on TV? Yes
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? No
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4 door
15. Favorite salad dressing? Ranch
16. Favorite pie? Dutch Apple
17. Favorite number? 8
18. All Time Favorite Movie? Monty Python and the Holy Grail
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake
21. Favorite food? Anything spicy and cheesey
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
23. Someone who you would like to see again? All those close to me that are gone
24. Favorite toothpaste? Crest Vanilla
25. Favorite smell? Vanilla
26. What do you do to relax? Watch TV and snack
27. Favorite Sport? Football
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Teaching G how to drive (how scary is that???)
29. Furthest place you will send this message? Who knows!
30. Who will respond to this the fastest? Hard to say
Greetings! I have my Christmas Session info all ready to go, finally!
** All available session time slots can be found here.
** Christmas sessions are $79 and that includes a quarter hour session, 1 8×10, 2 5×7s and 8 wallets. All sessions are on my gorgeous new background!
** Photo greeting cards are available this year in the example provided in this post. The first 25 are $25 and you can order more in increments of 5 at $1.75 per card.
** 25 $40 sessions are up for grabs on WJAC-TV’s “Just Pay Half” in mid-October. All ‘JPH’ redeemers will receive a free 5×7 of their favorite pose.
** My first three clients to schedule will receive 25 free photo greeting cards!!
** Add me as a friend on Facebook or MySpace to receive additional savings!!
Below is the photo greeting card available for 2008! I look forward to hearing from you!
Michelle Misner Photography Christmas Card
…the samples are almost ready to promote my Christmas Session Season!!
I just started testing it out and it does not yet support the flash that my main website is powered by, so please be sure to go to the blog if you plan on using it as your default browser. Thanks!
Blogging fom my Blackberry today. I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend. It was nice to take a few days off. I’m back to the grind and will have some new previews of recent sessions posted soon. Christmas samples are on their way!
For professionals, for amateurs, for everyone in between. I have, in the works, a new online community of folks who desire some honest critiquing of their work. The most honest way to do things is to make the posts anonymous.
This allows for people to give honest, open opinions without fear of retribution. It also allows for the poster to not be biased by WHO is giving the opinions.
I hope that all levels of photography take part!
There will also be sections of the forum that remain open for all registered members to take part in without being anonymous.
Please contact me via www.michellemisner.com/contact.html if you would be interested in joining! It’s a free forum!
She came into the world a few months early, and looking at her now (at 14 months) you’d never know it!
Wow! What a busy summer…not only busy with sessions, but busy with preparing for CHRISTMAS! I have a fabulous ’signature’ Christmas background on its way (samples will be posted soon!), I have all new marketing materials - brochures, business cards, postcards, mailings, web updates, album samples, sample canvas!
Been working hard to get it all done in time for the Christmas season which will begin the next to last week of October and run through the 5th of December.
I will once again use Just Pay Half on the WJAC website in conjunction with the Christmas sessions. Pay $50 for a full session and $99 package!! There will only be 25 available.
I have finally gotten my profiles complete on MySpace and Facebook. Look me up - I’ll add you as a friend!
I’m looking forward for school to start next week, will give me a chance to regroup and get some other updating done on a regular basis.
Thanks for reading!
Chad Mearns wrote the following article featuring me in my role as the Vice President of the Greater Johnstown Camera Club on the club’s annual exhibit at the Arts Center. I have six pieces there through August 9th.
http://www.ourtownonline.biz/articles/2008/07/25/
entertainment/entertainment_news/sample153.txt
“Michelle Misner
Vice President, Greater Johnstown Camera Club
Through Aug. 9, the Community Arts Center of Cambria County, located at 1217 Menoher Blvd., is displaying over 80 examples of local photography with “Through the Lens,” an exhibition compiled by members of the Greater Johnstown Camera Club.
According to club vice president Michelle Misner, the exhibition is showing steady progress from the inaugural showing last year, which included more than 60 photographs.
“We have also had many new members join us since last year, and much of their work is on the walls for this exhibition,” explained Misner, who has her own photography studio in Southmont.
“Through the Lens” expected to be is the camera club’s only exhibition of the year and only the second in club history.
“Just as last year, it’s an impressive collection of photography. It’s always great to learn about people you spend time with through their photography. You get an insight of their personality, talent, and passion,” said Misner, who joined the club three years ago.
The exhibition, she said, includes examples of landscapes, portraits and urban candids, which are candid snapshots of public settings.
“In my mind it mimics a lot of Life magazine from the ’50s,” Misner said.
Samples of macro photography, which according to Misner use special lenses “that allow extreme magnifiation to allow you to photograph minute details such as within a flower or of insects” are also included.
Misner said “Through the Lens” could offer viewers a few surprises.
“Human beings are very visual creatures and photography is always such a draw for the public because one never knows what they may see. There truly is something for everyone to look at and enjoy because of the diverse nature of the pieces,” she said.
The Greater Johnstown Camera Club is open to anyone 18 or older with an interest in photography. The group includes more than 40 members of various ages, skill levels and styles. For additional information, visit www.inphocus.info.
1) When did you develop an interest in photography?
I was born into photography as my father began his photographic studies when I was born. Growing up it has just always been a part of my life and I’ve never known anything without photography. My children’s births gave me the push to take on studio photography, as my father had done when I was younger and it continues to branch out into other styles of photography.
2) They say that kids and animals are always the toughest subjects to photograph. Which one is tougher?
Haha! Well, I have tackled both and they are equally as challenging. A play on Abraham Lincoln’s quote: You can engage some of them some of the time, but never all of them all of the time. Some animals listen better than kids, just as some kids listen better than some animals. The slate is clean with each and every session and you never know what will come through the doors and what the end result will be…that’s the magic of what I do and why I love it so much.
3) Whose work do you like better: Ansel Adams or Anne Geddes?
Both inspire me for very different reasons, so I can’t say that I prefer one over the other. I have had much more exposure to Ansel Adams than Geddes through my lifetime so I am naturally drawn to his work and much more in awe of the wilderness that is most often displayed in his work.
4) What local landmark do you think makes for the best photo?
For a ‘landmark photo,’ I would have to go with the tried-and-true Inclined Plane. For photos WITHIN a landmark, certainly the Grandview Cemetery. There are fascinating things to photograph there, if you look for them.
5) Digital or film?
I shoot all digital, but learned SLR photography on a film camera - and I’m very glad I did it that way. Film is fun, but getting much more expensive to use. The upfront cost of digital SLR photography can be hefty, but is much quicker study as you have your results instantly.
6) Pick a song: Def Leppard’s “Photograph” or Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome”
Kodachrome - it’s a classic!
7) If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing?
I would be doing the same thing I am now and that’s being a full-time mom to my daughter and son.
9) What other hobbies do you have?
I’ve designed websites for about 12 years now and I have a few that I maintain for people in the area, as well as keeping mine as up-to-date as I can.”
I’m in the midst of a bunch of recent sessions…be on the look out for some sneak peeks!
I now have the comment feature enabled, so feel free to leave me a note anytime! All comments will require approval, so don’t resubmit it if you don’t see it right away.
I look forward to hearing from you! 
I’m happy to announce that I have some $50 gift certificates on WJAC-TV’s ‘Just Pay Half’ site that are selling for $25! These are good on any current package.
Certificates went on sale this morning! Buy one today!
The Greater Johnstown Camera Club will be showcasing its members talent during its annual Summer Exhibition “Through the Lens.” Opening reception will be on Monday, July 14th from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Cambria County Community Arts Center on Menoher Boulevard in Westmont. ALL are welcome to attend!
I will have 6 pieces showcased this year. Last year’s was a success and we had a lot of people attend the opening reception. The pieces will be displayed through the beginning of August.
I hope to see YOU there!
You can download the new portrait guide and pricing booklets here:
Portrait Guide
Portrait Pricing
Wedding Pricing
I have taken great care in simplifying ordering to 8 fantastic new collections! Collections start at $99 and I guarantee that there is something for everyone in there!
All session fees are now included in the collection price!
New collections feature storyboards and collages, storybooks, and canvas art prints! I am very excited to release these!
I now have a better system for keeping client information and signed releases up to date - and it only requires you to fill out one form ONCE! Once your form is complete, subsequent visits only require you to verify that the information is correct and then you sign and date the verification sheet.
Less paper waste, less for you to fill out!
I’m in the process of indexing all of my recent clients to the new Client Information Center!
This portion of the website allows for password protected information pertinent to my clients and their sessions.
Included for every client is their scheduled session date and time, any balances due, directions to the studio, required forms to read over, online gallery access information, along with the current portrait guide and pricing booklets!
All conveniently one one page - including a handy link to easily bookmark your page for future reference.
Hi everyone! I will be sending this information out in the next newsletter, too, but I’ve gotten rid of my “info” email address because of all the awful SPAM I get.
To remedy it, I have a new email address. Please update your address books - replace “info” with “michelle”. As always, the most reliable way to send me email is via the form on my site at www.michellemisner.com/contact.html.
Sorry for typing in code, but I have to keep incognito from the search bots that usually extract email addresses via text in searches and then send too much garbage to everyone.
If you have any questions, concerns or think I may not have gotten your last message, just use the instructions above to contact me again!
If you follow me, I’ll follow you! Looks like fun! http://twitter.com/fotawg
Love the backdrop! And now, Tag! You’re it. I’m tagging your blog - you can see my blog post for the rules to copy. Have fun!