About Tara Stallings Photography
I am a custom portrait photographer based out of Daleville, AL,soon relocating to the Southeast Missouri area, where I will be based out of Jackson, and serving the Cape County and other SEMO areas!
As a photographer, my goal is to make your session an enjoyable, personalized experience in order to create timeless photographs that capture you and your family as you really are! I want to create the portraits that you will want to display, share, and love for years and generations to come! Sessions take place at your location, and are tailored to your needs and interests.
To all the lovely mothers and children that I’ve had the pleasure of photographing (and sorry, not all of them are in this post!), thank you for trusting me with your memories 
I hope you all have a fantastic day filled with love and being waited on hand and foot!
And to my own beautiful momma, thanks for being there for everything for (almost!) 30 years I LOVE YOU!
Just a little personal share If you’ve read back any, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve started dabbling in film a little bit. This is some more of my experimentation with various film stocks, and getting to know how best to use it!
I absolutely love these next images- not because of their technical awesomeness, but because of what I shot them on! These were from a test roll through my 1948 Ansco Shur Shot, basic box camera that I bought for $4.99 on an eBay whim… There’s not much that seems cooler than shooting film through something that has seen so much- I mean, there’s no telling what images have been taken on this camera over the years!
The following are just snaps from the backyard, playing with my youngest. These are all from a film SLR, which is much more like what I’m used to with my digital camera.
Yes, it’s about your pictures too, obviously! :)
But, the experience is worth so much in the long run! Not only do you want to be able to look at your pictures and enjoy having them in your home, but it’s great to have a fantastic experience and positive memories of getting those images as well!
While I’m taking down time to transition during our move, here’s another share from a fantastic 2011 session!
In addition to the gorgeous digital photos from my bridal session last month, I also threw some film into the mix. Now, I’m new to film – well, using it intentionally I did rock the film point and shoot back in the 90s- so I wasn’t expecting much with my first roll through at a session.
I love the way my film shots from the session turned out. The tones are lovely, and it’s just … beautiful! There’s definitely something to what they say about film having depth and soul that digital can’t capture (though I do loooove my digitals!)
To my sister and new brother-in-law… Congratulations!
I really do I love their images, I love spending time with them during their session, and I especially love when they walk away happy!
During this transition time, as Tara Stallings Photography looks forward to relocating (while also being sad to leave my clients!), I want to take the opportunity to share some experiences from the client’s viewpoint!
*All testimonials have been voluntarily submitted to Tara Stallings Photography, and are shared with permission.
* $75 deposit nonrefundable, applied to minimum order as a credit at the time you place your image order
* Minimum purchase of $150 required (deposit applied to this cost)
Use ‘Contact’ tab above for more information and to book your session now!
Better late than never!
The 2012 Price Guide can be seen HERE !
All sessions not already booked will be priced and booked under the new policies.
I hope to work with you soon!
I’ve wanted to make a post about just why custom photography is so special, and never could find the words to properly explain. So many people have written about this topic better than I could, and this article is reposted from Professional Child Photographer: The Consumer Guide for Custom Photography .
———–
Custom Photography as something “special”
Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience. Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.
Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session. Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life. Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget, it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).
There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client. The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product. The result of all this are heirloom quality images. The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.
Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle. To get to point B from A let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice. If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea. Custom photography is much the same cup of tea. It is the Lexus of the photography world. It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.
Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels. There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers. The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options. The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing. The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it. That level of quality and commitment is all but lost in the age of “mass produced,” “mass marketed,” corporate “everyone is a number”. Custom photography is based on being unique to you. How great an experience would be, to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?
Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will. The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.
————
No matter which custom photographer you choose, it’s about the experience, and the personalized attention. It isn’t about volume, but it is about quality, timeless portraits that your family will love forever!
***** CONTEST IS CLOSED ******
Announcing a contest made for anyone addicted to Pinterest! If you aren’t yet hooked, email me at tara@tarastallingsphotography.com with your email address for an invite
Once logged into your Pinterest account, make pinning easy with the Pin It button, found here: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/
The winner will be chosen by me, based on the pin board that most inspires me! Happy Pinning!
*Tara Stallings Photography’s standard contract and model release must be signed in order to recieve free session. Prize is non-transferable and has no cash value. Email at address above for questions!
