Are you unhappy with your child's school photo?  Or just looking for something with a little more personality?

Bring your child in for a 5 minute session with us and we will match your school package pricing!

Choose from a gray studio background or an outdoor location at the AHP studio.

 Available for student from K-11, in the months of September and October.  Call or email the studio today to book your session.

603-867-4970 [email protected] 

Introduction to Digital Photography for Older Kids!

For kids, ages 10-14, 6 weeks of classes, for $65.  Come join us in the studio to learn how to take your camera off the automatic settings.  Learning the proper exposure using f-stops and shutter speeds and combining them to achieve the desired look for your images.  In class we will discuss the rules of composition and basic lighting patterns for portraits.  There will be fun activities in class, like creating sun prints and photo transfers, along with some homework! Classes begin September 21st and runs thru October 26th, Mondays from 4-5pm at Allison Hope Photography's studio.  Students will need a digital SLR or a digital camera that has manual settings.  For questions or to secure a spot for you child, please call Allison at 867-4970 or email [email protected].  Class size is limited so if interested, don't wait to secure a seat!

I recently received word that I passed the requirements to become a Certified Professional Photographer!  I am thrilled to have accomplished this goal.  I am 1 of only 19 in New Hampshire! So what does that mean?  Well, it means according Professional Photographers of America, I have met a certain standard of what a professional photographer should know and produce the quality of work that a professional in the industry should create.  It is a two part process, first a proctored exam, and then a portfolio review of 15 images.  Six images were compulsory and showed a certain technique, and nine were client images.  All these had to be taken from my last two years of work.  Here are the images that I submitted in my portfolio.

So why would this matter?  You can certainly work as a professional photographer without being certified, but why did I set this goal for myself? I believe that it will give my clients confidence in their experience with me.  Here are the things that you will get with a certified professional photographer (taken from PPA's website)

Consistency. CPPs know how to achieve great results—every time. You get a strong collection of images that tell your story, not a few lucky snapshots, and you will work with someone who knows how to produce a quality image under any circumstances.
 
Technical Skills. CPPs are more than picture takers. They are students of art, lighting, posing, fashion and even interior design. They combine these elements to create images that fit your unique style and become works of art you will treasure for generations.
 
Unique Artistry. CPPs have the skills to create unique, customized works of art—not cookie-cutter pictures. They follow an artistic vision. It’s your story captured as a collection of art.
 
Professionalism. When you hire a CPP, you know you're getting someone who is willing to go the extra mile to deliver the best possible images. They are business owners who thrive on customer service and satisfaction, and they continuously aim to produce products that exceed your—and their—best expectations. These images are keepsakes whose stories you'll tell time and time again and treasure forever.

Check out this video!

I recently returned from spending two weeks up in Maine at our church camp, that my husband and both grew up at and where we met.  Needless to say, it is a very special place to us and we continue to volunteer each year.  This year I decided to teach a merit badge for a week and it was a GREAT experience.  I had 21 kids sign up for my merit badge class (which was about a 1/3 of the campers) and they were split into two classes.  The subject was photography, of course, but I wanted this class to be more hands on and tactile then working in Photoshop.  I also did not want the class to be a lecture format going over the technical aspects of photography.  So what I came up with were some alternative photography projects that were easy enough for the 8 year olds and interesting enough for the teenagers.  We had a BLAST!

First of all here are my classes!

Now for some of the projects we did!

Sun prints are fast and easy and no chemicals or darkroom required.  You can get kits right from amazon.

Next we made Chemigrams.  This involves photo chemicals and photo paper but no darkroom!  Basically we dipped leaves into photo developer and pressed on the photo paper and then washed in fixer.

So cool, right?

Then we made citrasolvs, which are made by spraying the strong natural cleaner, Citrasolv, on national geographic pages which turns the ink to liquid and makes awesome effects. 

We then used the citrasolvs to collage with.  I asked them to incorporate the summer's theme, which is "Fearless" into the collages, but some forgot the "less" part, lol.

Our 4th project was the biggest and best!  We made photo transfers onto wood.  I had my husband pull some authentic Gander Brook wood from the burn pile and cut into pieces for the campers.  Each camper choose a favorite image, which I had printed in reverse onto regular printer paper with a LASER printer (not ink jet).  We then glued them face down to the wood, using a gel medium and let dry.  Then came the hard part, which was removing the back of the paper with a wet wash cloth and our fingers.  The first layer came off easy but then it became tedious as we had to continue to rub the tiny bits of paper away with our fingers.  Our finger tips became raw and I had to keep saying that this was a lesson in PERSEVERANCE!  The final step was to add a top coat of mod podge to seal them. 

They came out great!  Other lessons learned was that there is beauty in imperfection and to realize that the end product might not come out how you thought and that is OK!

Some close ups!

The best part of the whole experience was hearing what the kids said...

"I am so proud of my piece"

"I have done the best artwork I have ever done in this class"

"I think I have found my career."

"I am so happy with how it came out!" (from one girl who was very disappointed at how her photo transfer was coming.)

Thinking it may be fun to do a summer camp some time along these ideas here at the studio!  Would you have a child interested in this?  Or even yourself?  Let me know!

Congratulations!  You are now a Senior!

This is a wonderful time to reflect on who you are becoming and where you are going.  Let us help you capture your unique journey in one of our Senior Sessions!

Our sessions are designed around you! Who you are, what you love, and what your future holds!

Book your Senior Session before September 1st and receive a custom mobile app (a $95 value) Free!

Contact the studio to reserve your session.

603.867.4970

We are very excited to announce, Allison Hope Photography is the featured artist at Apotheca this month!

Stop by and sit to enjoy a treat and take in some of the art from our New Fine Art Line!

I am excited to share with you my awarded images from this year's NHPPA's Image Competition!

Each image is judged individually by a panel of 6 judges and blue ribbons are awarded to images that are "deserving of merit, meaning they meet a standard of excellence in professional photography.

Red ribbons are awarded for those images that meet a standard of "above average" in professional photography.

NHPPA DECAL.pub

A big thank you to my the makeup artists and models who worked with me.

Makeup artists: Rosangela McCann (Seeking Grace, Rag Doll & Protecting Her People)

Katie Churchill (The Balance of Good and Evil)

NHPPA DECAL.pub

Please take a minute and head over to http://www.bridenh.com/Best-of-Bride/ and place a vote for Allison Hope Photography!

Voting is open until June 1!

Thank you to our loyal customers and fans for taking the time to share the love and VOTE!