We love creating a fun and memorable experience for our seniors. If they don’t have a blast, then we haven’t done our jobs. Plus, when our seniors are relaxed and having a good time, it makes capturing amazing moments that much easier. Every year, we see a new “crop” of seniors come through our studio doors, and we’d like to think they are venturing off to college with some great memories of little ol’ Nac.
It feels like we’re winding down for this year’s graduates, but there is always time for a professional portrait that represents all that your senior has accomplished. So, if you’re one of the few who haven’t made the time, please feel free to call us and set up an appointment. We’ll try to make you feel like the center of the universe… and I bet we’ll have a fun time too.
montage of children, families, seniors, and weddings photos
montage of children, families, seniors, and weddings photos
As we continue to reflect upon and celebrate all that has happened in the past 10 years, we take a look at the numbers of unique moments we’ve captured.
Over 1000 Just4Fun Kid’s sessions with all the goofy grins, silly smiles and unexpected moments one can imagine…
Hundreds of furry friends and their owners, those that behaved and those that made attempts to chase the neighborhood cat…
Over 800 nervous, yet excited graduating seniors, each with their own brand of style and personality…
Nearly 1500 fun-filled, action packed family sessions with crazy kiddos running around being chased by each other while the parents stand back and laugh at the mayhem…
Several dozen voice quivering “I do” moments, decorated Just Married getaway vehicles, and teary dads that are reluctant to give away their baby girls…
You, our clients, have invited us to be a part of creating tens of thousands of special moments. It continues to be a blessing and honor.
A snapshot of our printed newsletter from 9 years ago.
A snapshot of our recent e-newsletter.
For the better part of 10 years, we’ve tried to stay connected with our clients through our studio newsletter “Coming Home.” It’s of great importance to us to remain engaged with our friends and family who continue to support our portrait studio. The newsletter often contains stories of recent family sessions, growing families, photography tips, upcoming specials, holiday recipes, and our thoughts on the day. We want to share our exciting stories with our community. We want to inspire and encourage families and children and graduating seniors. We want to enrich the lives of our readers if only by bringing a simple smile to their faces. Our newsletter has seen its fair share of changes, from originating as a print snail-mailer to the current instant email it is today. So please take the time to peruse and share our newsletter the next time you see it in your inbox. Thanks for reading… and remember to stay in touch.
Memories of those whose help we couldn't do without.
Memories of those whose help we couldn’t do without.
Looking at these pictures from ten years ago, reminds us of how thankful we are for the help we had relocating to our present location. It was a big undertaking and we, more than anyone else, doubted that we could. But, we couldn’t have even considered it had we not had a lot of support. First of all, the place we moved into was a much bigger and older place that needed a lot of attention. In fact, the previous tenant was a fraternity, and judging by the collection of broken glass and such left behind, they must have had a good time! I can’t remember the number of hours we spent painting, sanding, tiling, hammering, spackeling, sewing, weeding, tilling, planting and cleaning (not to mention the actual moving), but there was enough to go around. To mom and dad, we thank you for being available to do anything and everything. And, thinking about how you had to drive in all those weekends makes me even more grateful. You were and are our biggest support. To Juree for being our biggest cheerleader, social planner, office manager, punching bag (on the worst of days), and most of all, friend. And Billy, for being our muscle when we moved and terrific handyman! To Jessica, Daniel and Nathan for just being great and supportive through the whole thing. And Robin, too, for lending us some elbow grease. To Scott Wagner, our master tileman. To Shawn for building us our beautiful children’s playhouse. To Barbera for giving up a weekend or two to come and paint and, then, paint some more! To all of you and the others too who helped us celebrate at our opening and be happy along with us, we love you all very much and are thinking of you fondly this month. Greg & Cindy
Current image of the private portrait garden of G. Patterson Studio
Current image of the private portrait garden of G. Patterson Studio10 year old image of the garden before it was the garden.10 year old image of the pond before it was the pond.
To our friends of the studio, you are certainly familiar with our private portrait garden. We try to use it in some creative way for every session. Hopefully, you would agree that it is one of the little treasures of Nacogdoches. To those that have not had the pleasure of a family or children portrait session in the garden, I am confident that you will be amazed. With greenery and colorful blooms almost year round, pond and waterfall, gazebo and swing, stone walkways and pergola, our garden provides an endless variety of gorgeous portrait backgrounds and settings. Upon seeing our garden for the first time, clients will often “oooh” and “aaah” and exclaim that they never knew this beautiful scene was tucked away in downtown’s back yard.
The garden is wonderful, of course, but it is also a labor of love. Much thoughtful planning went into the initial design and layout of the garden. And countless hours go into maintaining it day after day, year after year. I would be remiss to not mention Cindy’s father, Harry, who pours seemingly every spare minute he has into manicuring the plants. He does an incredible job and we are all thankful. Greg and Cindy and their children also contribute their fair share to this effort. Luckily, we don’t ask our clients to join in the yard work. You get to sit back and enjoy the hard labor that provides fairytale-like beauty.
Looking at these old photos, it’s hard to believe so much has changed in 10 years. We are so blessed to be able to offer this unique benefit to our clients. I hope that you come by to see our private portrait garden some time soon. It is jaw-droppingly amazing in April and May. Bring the family. You’ll be glad you did.
Bunny sessions from the year we began at our new studio. We look forward to these sessions , and we still do!
We would love to hear your thoughts and especially if you remember YOUR bunnies’ names!
Greg & Cindy
2004 Easter Bunnies2004 Easter Bunnies. Looking back 10 years ago.2004 Easter Bunnies. Looking back 10 years ago.2004 Easter Bunnies. Looking back 10 years ago.
Original and signed version of our ribbon cutting picture from Chamber of Commerce. Shown now, ten years later on the front porch of our Victorian Studio located at 122 N Mound in Nacogdoches, Texas.
TODAY we are celebrating our 10th year anniversary in our current location and roughly 20 years in business. With God’s blessings we are proud to have served Nacogdoches and surrounding East Texas area for the past 20 years!
Over the next month we will be sharing some before and after photos while reliving the past 10 years in this historic Victorian location. We hope you join us by following along and sharing your thoughts along the way.
With deepest gratitude,
Greg & Cindy Patterson
Original and signed version of our ribbon cutting picture from Chamber of Commerce. Shown now, ten years later on the front porch of our Victorian Studio located at 122 N Mound in Nacogdoches, Texas.
The image above represents a very special story to me:
One day, a young woman, pregnant with a baby girl, buys a beautiful dress. The woman has a vision of her baby growing into a beautiful young lady that will fit into that dress for her fifth birthday. In her vision, she sees her precious daughter wearing the dress while riding a pony barefoot with wind in her hair. Before the baby is even born, her mother can see this idea as a portrait hanging in her home. For the next five years, the woman patiently waits until the day finally comes when that baby has grown into the beautiful girl she had imagined. This sweet story has a beautiful ending as the portrait of her dreams now hangs in the woman’s home.
This is the kind of story that makes photographers love their job. However, so much has changed in the field of photography over the past few years… for better or worse. Cameras have gotten faster and more powerful, as they simultaneously have gotten sleeker and less expensive. Today, even our phones have better digital cameras on them than existed ten years ago. Everyone has a camera at their fingertips. Sadly for some, the ubiquitous nature of the modern day camera has changed their expectation of professional photography. These families no longer expect a friendly, customized portrait session. Instead, they anticipate a dry, quick, cookie-cutter session with forced expressions. To these families, I encourage you to expect more from photography. Let the story of the young mother inspire you to dream bigger. Though much has changed, one very important thing has stayed the same. A well crafted photograph still has the ability to stop you in your tracks and make you FEEL… happy, nostalgic, hopeful, excited, or even in love.
At G. Patterson Photographic Studio & Gallery, taking a photograph is less about documenting what someone looks like and more about capturing the essence of that person in that moment in time. Anyone can snap a photo and have it resemble the person they were aiming at. But that’s not our goal here at the studio. Our goal is to create a work of art that evokes emotion… that sees personalities shine through… that captures the loving relationships families share. One of the first questions we ask our clients before ever taking the camera out is, “What is your vision for this photograph?” We want to know if they have thought about who will be in it, what they will wear, will it be posed or candid, what type of setting, where will it be displayed, and finally what should it be about. Anyone can point a camera at someone else and press a button. What sets us apart is our willingness and ability to cater a session to your particular needs thereby creating a piece of portrait art that represents what you had envisioned and ultimately tells your story.
Remember that it is still possible to create a photograph that captures the imagination. And that’s exactly what we strive to do each day at G. Patterson Studio. We would love the opportunity to turn your dreams into reality through our fine-art photography.
Greg Patterson holding a portrait of Charles Bright in the building that now bears his name.
Greg Patterson holding a portrait of Charles Bright in the building that now bears his name.
As most of you know, the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau last year was renamed the Charles Bright Visitor Center in honor of Mr. Bright and his efforts to maintain and improve the downtown corridor. Mr. Bright accomplished so much in his 86 years and has a special place in the hearts of the people of Nacogdoches. A quick overview of his life gives everyone of us a great deal to aspire to.
Mr. Bright, with his wife Carolyn, visited our studio a few years ago seeking professional portraits that would capture his personality and character. It was an absolute delight to work with him and see that personality shine through. Thanks to that happy occasion, last month we were asked to produce a portrait of Mr. Bright that would be displayed in the newly renamed visitor center. Now, his image will help “brighten” the walls for our downtown visitors to enjoy. Our hope is that all who see Mr. Bright will remember his efforts and significant contributions to our community.
Greg and Cindy Patterson with Joe Buddy on Valentine's Day.
Greg and Cindy Patterson with Joe Buddy on Valentine’s Day.
Thanks to all who participated in “Puppy Love” and helped us support our local Humane Society. We would hope that every furry friend has it as good as Joe Buddy this Valentine’s Day. He has helped contribute to the happiness around the Patterson household since 2006 when we “rescued” him.
We wish all of our studio friends lots of love,
Greg, Cindy and Joe Buddy.
