Things I have learned about myself while putting this together:

1. I am a total sucker for a bride dancing with her father.

2. I may have just made it so that there will be a continual string of “Best of” posts until Spring because I have way too many favorites!

3. We really are lucky to be able to do what we do and witness the immense joy, love, and laughter of your lives.

4. I am (and in this case I mean we are) so grateful to you for making that possible. Thank you. :0)

First, can I just say how much fun we had getting your cards?  Every day of the holiday season was like Christmas as we made a mad dash for the mailbox to see what was inside! :0)  We received so many wonderful cards and each and every one was special because they made us think of you.  Thanks for including us on your mailing list and for participating in our 1st Annual Holiday Card Contest!  We plastered our kitchen cabinets with your cards and that in and of itself became quite the art installation. :0)

Now, you may be wondering who won the contest…man it was hard to choose!  You guys are so creative/beautiful/funny/just plain awesome!  We did finally choose a winner, but there were a few that really stood out that just have to be mentioned too.  Our honorable mentions are:

Phil and Mindy – Phindy Studios. We heart them – and if for no other reason than the ridiculously over-the-top excitement for hot chocolate that Phil exhibits here. ;0)

Craig and Jennifer – Mr. and Mrs. Weddings and Events. This gorgeous vintage style design had us drooling…

Evan and Amanda – Evan Baines Photography. There’s no faster way to my heart than through a beautiful pop-up and Robert Sabuda is my FAVORITE!  Bonus points to you guys for choosing his wonderful cards.

Amber and Tyler. From the moment they first met with us to discuss photographing their wedding, we have completely adored these guys!  And a card from Saudi Arabia??  Come on!  That’s sweet.

The Baxters – Ohana Photographers. Sean and I have just about decided that no contest on our blog would be complete without the Baxters because after all, they bring it every time! :0)  April, the eldest daughter of the Baxter clan did the amazing drawing of their family for the front of the card.  She is crazy talented!  As if that wouldn’t be enough, they then went on to quote Elf and cemented their place as the most awesome family – ever.

And now – the winner is…..(drumroll please!)….

Bobbi and Mike – Bobbi+Mike. These guys took dedication to funny to a whole new level!  Each little photo is hilarious and the whole thing is just so well executed!  They were so committed that my grandmother came in for Christmas and felt really bad for them because she thought they really look like this. ;0)  Gah – it makes me laugh all over again every time I see it!  You really must click on the link to see the close ups of these images!  Great job you guys!  We loved it and your iTunes gift card is in the mail!

So you’ve seen the photos involved in the making of our card, but we didn’t want to show the actual card before Christmas in case it would ruin the surprise if you hadn’t received it yet in the mail.  (side note: if you didn’t get one and would like to, please send us your updated address for next year.  We had old addresses for a handful that were returned and we’d love to keep up with you!)  Here is our card from 2010.  We went with an old Saturday Evening Post theme and we’re super excited about it because as far as we’re concerned, we’ll never have to come up with a creative card idea ever again.  This is the first edition of the Happy Holidays Post –  get ready to collect the series! ;0)

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to mail us your beautiful cards and participated in the 2010 Holiday Card Contest!  Can’t wait for next year!

McLellan Style will be going into hibernation from December 13th through January 3rd to enjoy the holidays and soak up some much needed rest for the year ahead.  The blog will continue to be updated, but Sean and I will be out of the office enjoying Christmas lights and loved ones, buying Seven entirely too many presents and baking lots of Christmas goodies!  We look forward to working hard to create beautiful things for you in 2011!  In the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy this season with those you love and find some time to relax.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

- Mel and Sean

I know I know- you’re all bummed because you read Mystic and thought “yes!  This will be the photography convention where the attendees break out their elf ears and carry on in a manner that is half way between renfest and comicon!” but no.  Mystic is an amazing little convention that takes place in Mystic, Connecticut where very normal and charming (not that renfest and comicon attendees aren’t charming) people from around the globe gather to learn and share.

For this coming year, Sean and I are honored to have been asked to speak and seeing the incredible lineup of speakers, it’s clear that we have really got to bring our A-game!  We’ve been working hard to put together a talk that is jam-packed with things that you can use right away to start improving the overall body of work you provide for your clients.  We’ve tried it out on a few Pictage User Groups around the country and received great reviews and now it has been tweaked, updated, and jam-packed some more to get ready for all of you at Mystic!

McLellan Style Seminar Description:

Shooting with Purpose, Shooting with Style

Sean and Mel decided several years back that there would be no excuses. No excuses for not being able to succeed, for not being able to get the clients they wanted, and for not being able to deliver above and beyond in every situation.

Failure is not an option.  It may just be one day of less-than-exceptional photos for you but those photos will be with your client for the rest of their lives. We all know what it’s like to not be feeling your best, to be handed a schedule with no time for photography, or to find yourself in less than desirable locations; but not being on top of your game for a couple’s wedding day just doesn’t cut it.  Please join us for real content, practical tips, and advice that will prove applicable no matter where you find your business!

We hope you’ll join us for what is sure to be an incredible few days!  For more details and to sign up, please visit the Mystic Seminars webpage.  See you there!

Sean and I will be leading a shooting workshop for Pictage’s PartnerCon next week and we hope to see you there!  If you haven’t already signed up for PartnerCon, we would encourage you to take a look. The conference is open to both members and non-members and they’ve got a great line-up of amazing speakers ready and eager to share!  We are honored to be a part of what should be a phenomenal week!  Thank you to the Pictage staff who have been working tirelessly to put this thing together!  You guys are great and we appreciate you. :0)

We were in China when registration opened for the shooting workshops and we were blown away when we returned to the states to find that the workshop had sold out in 5 minutes!  THANKS YOU GUYS!!  Wow.  For those who are curious about what exactly we’re up to, we’re excited to be teaming up with our friends and fellow photographers, Whitney and Peter Carlson to do The Ultimate Night Shoot! – Two Studios, Two Ways

As I said, the workshop is currently sold out, but there is a wait list on our workshop page that you can add yourself to and if any openings become available, the Pictage staff will let you know.  There are also lots of other great shooting workshops so be sure ot check out the Shooting Workshops page for more details and to see which ones are still available.  Our workshop details are as follows:

About the workshop: As the days get shorter, you will probably find that more and more of your weddings have the couple portrait time scheduled after dark.  For some this will be an exhilarating change, while others will cringe at the thought.  Sean and Mel McLellan (McLellan Style) and Peter and Whitney Carlson (Dove Wedding Photography) have learned to find the light, in even the darkest environment, and when they can’t find it, they create it through various simple, portable, and efficient means.  Whitney and Peter find speed lights to be their greatest asset while Sean and Mel create using primarily video lights.  They’ve teamed up to show you the best of both worlds in the ultimate night shooting workshop in beautiful New Orleans!  Whether you love to shoot at night, or find the whole process terrifying, there will be something in it for you!

Topics covered will be:

How to use speed lights in a night shooting environment

Utilizing video lighting

Inexpensive lighting options

Finding the ambient light at night

Proper lighting techniques for portraiture

Working quickly with lighting on a wedding day

Creative, portable lighting setups for the photographer who doesn’t want to carry everything!

and more…

Supplying a pocket wizard is encouraged, but not required, for participation in the strobe portion of the shoot.

Following the shoot, get the full experience of Nashville’s awesome community by joining both studios for food and drink over mini mentoring sessions and discussions on community building, mentoring, and how to facilitate both in your community.

We hope to see you in New Orleans next week!  Please come say hi! :0)

Looking forward to seeing you soon…

- Mel and Sean